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drugs and magick

To: alt.magick
From: pstuart@aol.com (PStuart)
Subject: Re: Drugs and Magick
Date: 4 Nov 1996 10:05:40 -0500

93

WhtMagick writes:

<<> Dear Alex: Sorry but you've fallen for one of Crowley's many fool
traps.
> (so did Gardner). Drugs DO NOT get you "Willed Manifestation" (Magick).
> Drugs may get you high, but YOU are not in control, the drug is.
> Pharmacology is not Magick. Drugs can't , don't and won't teach you
> anything that you can USE in the REAL WORLD. >>

Sorry, but you appear to be ignorant of the history of magick and somewhat
head-stuffed by contemporary propaganda. Certain drugs have been allies of
magickians dating back to at least Egyptian times, Cannabis being
principal among them. According to A. Hoffman, LSD-like ergot derivatives
were the essence of the original Rites of Eleusis, the initiation ceremony
that actually formed the basis for most of our present philosophies.
Nitrous oxide was probably key in the rites of the Oracle at Delphi.
Cannabis was part of the sacramental incense of the Roman Catholic Church
for hundreds of years (until it became scarce in the 1930s). The Amanita
muscaria mushroom was a sacrament not only of the Greek traditions, but
was particularly important in the rites of early Vedantism and in
shamanistic traditions throughout Asia (see R. G. Wasson).

AND... what isn't a drug? Different foods cause different altered states.
Do you use incense? There are psychoactive components in most incense (for
instance, German researchers recently isolated opiate-like chemicals in
myrrh smoke).

As well, you might be interested in reading the book "Intoxication" by Dr.
Ron Seigel, one of the world's foremost pharmacologists. Seigel makes a
strong case for the theory that intoxication is an innate drive in humans,
equal to the drive for food or sex. My own take on that is that the drive
to alter consciousness is a SPIRITUAL drive, and drugs form only a part of
our response to that.

The point, however, is not that drugs will create magick, but that a
compentent magickian can turn almost any tool to their will. We are
talking about INTENT and proper ritual structure here, NOT about random
recreational use. Each of us has our own unique course through life, and
blanket statements about what is good for everybody are generalizations
that amount to nothing. I don't take the dogmatic stance that the original
poster in this thread did that LSD is the key to magick. I think it might
be key for some, but not for others.

93  93/93
Phil
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FUTURERITUAL: Magick for the 21st Century by Philip H. Farber
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