THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | OCCULTISM | MAGIC | BOOKS | NECRONOMICON

The Book of Power: Evaluating the Necronomicon

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.mythology,alt.magick,alt.necronomicon,alt.horror.cthulhu,alt.religion.wicca,sci.skeptic,alt.paranet.skeptic,alt.aliens.imprisoned,alt.tv.x-files
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (ny'rl'thot'p)
Subject: The Book of Power: Evaluating the Necronomicon (was ...)
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2000 20:59:03 GMT

"Boots" :
>I have a question concerning the mythological(?) power that of the
>necronomicon. Is the possessor suppose to first believe that the 
>power that could be bestowed? If so, why? 

the obsession with the Necronomicon is typically on the part of
hyper-intellectuals (academics) whose knowledge and experience
would otherwise preclude the belief in said object by virtue of
their solid grounding in the sciences. one might compare the
Lovecraftian scenarios involving the Necronomicon and "Cthulhu
Mythos" with the Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Stalker,
and, especially, X-Files (in its single, monster-episodes).

the Necronomicon is both cherished by supposed cultists who
would like to assist the Old Ones or some other Lovecraftian
entity to achieve its pinnacle of power ("when the stars are
right"), often at the expense of the human species, and feared
by conspiracy-buffs who are somehow clued to the nefarious
cosmic interlopers ready to gobble up our little planet. this
brings to light immediately the tendency of participants and
converts to the ostensible goals of these extraterrestrials
to be insane, mad, sociopathological, or twisted into shadows
of their former human selves. those who research on the
fringes of such cults tend to begin resembling that which
they are studying (compare Mulder in the X-files and how he
is seen in the FBI as a fruitcake).

in fact, the power objects such as the Necronomicon which
may be used by Lovecraftian storytellers (whether between
the pages of a book or in such interesting contexts as role-
playing games) are usually coercive, corrupting of those who
come into contact with them, and yet there is the promise, 
like so many Cosmic Antagonists, some future role of power 
as an underling to the New Aeon Rulers. sometimes the very
experience of having contact with the book at all is
sufficient to warrant its pursuit without regard for the
possible consequences (compare how Dr. Pretorius and his 
assistants and obsessed followers react to his Resonator in 
the Lovecraft-inspired film "From Beyond": their search
for extended human experiences and becoming a part of an
ambiguous psychic conglomerate monster defies rationality).

the Necronomicon specifically contains the rituals and
symbols needed to summon powerful entities who, if they
don't decide to have hir for dinner, may (the lure) be
beneficent to the spell-worker, no matter the price that
one must pay for the ritual. this appears to be a kind
of Faustian pact, untold short-term glories and promises
of future shelter from a coming Apocalypse which one is
helping to make happen exchanged for assisting antagonists 
to the human species in gaining a foothold (compare the
corporate enterprise in films like 'Aliens' who try to
keep and breed the alien species, yet in Lovecraftian 
material assitance will more often activate through ritual 
summoning, conversion of other cultists, or merely laying 
the groundwork for others to do likewise). some of the
cultist conversion occurs through the dimension of dreams
(as with Cthulhu, who is said to be contacting converts 
therein).

here is an egregore of the Book of Power, including 
grimoires such as "The Lesser Key of Solomon" or
"The Goetia", the "Book of Shadows", which may be said
to contain (at least access to) unspeakable power and
a technological description beyond the bounds of
ordinary scientific understandings. the Necronomicon
falls into coercive or destructive end of these books,
which span from simple books of spells and formulae to
cosmic formularies and tools of the Sorcerer Supreme
("The Book of the Vishanti" in Doctor Strange comics),
to social contracts with deities ("Torah", "Old Testament",
"New Testament", "Qur'an") of a presumed positive 
attitude toward humans and reservoirs of mystical power 
("The Book of Five Rings", "Tao Teh Ching", "I Ching", 
"Diamond Sutra", termas of various sorts, cf. "Liber 
Grimoiris" by Frater Nigris at
  http://www.luckymojo.com/avidyana/gnostik/grimoiris.tn).

>What would be vitually important for a ...human, a mortal, 
>to be convinced the books powers are real in order to make 
>them work? Or am I mistaken the necronomicons powers for
>pyschokinesis/magic?

there are two levels from which to respond to this question:
	(1) from the context of the stories associated with
	    Lovecraft's constructions: the character's
	    stated or implied motivations in encountering
	    the Necronomicon or its class of magical item

	(2) from the context of nonfictional usage of these
	    kinds of magical items regardless of their
	    fictional descriptions and reputations

(1) there is no rational motivation for individuals who,
knowing what the reader knows, to pursue these books,
determine their reality, or apply them toward nefarious and
sociopathological ends. usually the characters 'fall under
the spell' of the nefarious object, their curiosity leads
them to an understanding of "what humans ought never know",
their academic standards are abandoned in favor of their
gradually increasing obsession with possessing and shelting
others from the horrible effects of the Book of Power.

the premise behind the fictional stories is usually that the
character begins from a standpoint of radical disbelief,
yet whose skepticism inspires hir to examine even what could
seem flaky leads in a survey of whatever subject they happen
to find compelling (esp. archaeology, anthropology, or similar
sciences in which the alien might be discovered amongst general 
historical simian remains or cosmological traces).

the character cannot HELP but become convinced of the aweful
horror that everything she knew about the world as presented
from 'the scientific method' is WRONG, and that, lurking just
beneath a filmy coating of conspiracy or occultism, such
objects of power exist and would lead to catastrophes in both
academic as well as existential human realms if the objects
of power were to '"get into the wrong hands".

(2) where this fits in with the world outside of fiction is
of course the controversy surrounding the Necronomicon in
its various versions promoted by post-Lovecraftian authors
and "discoverers". how much one is willing to accept of the
outlandish (and classic, for its genre) fiction Lovecraft
penned determines immediately what one is to make of and to
what ends one might find use for the book. 

at the most intellectual and academic end of the theoretical
spectrum, books in and of themselves do not contain power. 
their contents may make certain natural human experiences
possible for those who choose to perform in the manner that
may be described therein. the rituals or knowledge which is
contained in the Necronomicon, being a reflection of the
works of a fiction author, will never amount to much more
than amusing entertainment or the basis for a peculiar kind
of ceremonial magic (on par, possibly, with that that uses
the medieval grimoires as its basis). at best one might use
a Necronomicon to further one's spiritual development, at
worse become lost in a fantasy world absent the discernment
between fact and fiction, true power and insanity.

from the perspective of the most liberal-minded rationalist,
books can contain configurations of information which may
have transformative effects upon the people and cultures
to whom they are exposed. fictional works like Neal
Stephenson's "Snow Crash" contain believable theories
(mixed with fiction) about how religio-magical texts may
function as a kind of information-virus that can be
instrumental in shaping entire societies, perhaps the
whole of the human species. the Book of Power, from this
more imaginative perspective, could catalyze personal and
sociological changes undreamt by previous authors. while
it might be a stretch to accept Elder Gods transported
through time and space vying for the minds and souls of
a hominid species on a speck of dirt circling a medium-
sized star (the rationalist evaluation of many a science-
fiction story), there is no arguing that certain texts
have become the focus of intense human obsession, and
may have some innate structural or conceptual content
which makes possible what would othewise seem outlandish
and unnatural.

as a demon-summoner, the Necronomicon appears to be the
apex of challenge to the adventurous, and symbolizes, if
not functioning as, the mechanism by which one might
bring into one's personal sphere of consciousness that
alien element, forgotten and displaced by the development
of civilization and higher "education".

from the perspective of the religious, the Necronomicon
must seem the epitome of evil, surely the comparable
Shadow of the Bible to Christians, a textual Satan that
can only result in doom and the demise of human concerns
at the expense of faint promises to a deluded few. its
very existence or fable must be denied and rejected so as
never to give rise to human behaviours that replicate the
cruel and insane outcomes depicted in Lovecraft's fiction.

the general attraction of the Necronomicon are not that it
contains secrets of parapsychology, E.S.P., telekinesis,
or precognition, but that it affords allegiance with
potent and dangerous entities whose fictional basis is
disputed by many of those who make a study of gods and 
spirits with the intent of communication and pact-making.

n'yrl'thot'p

The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org.

Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small
donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site.

The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories,
each dealing with a different branch of
religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge.
Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit:
interdisciplinary: geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness
occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells
religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo
societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc.

SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE

There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races