THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
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From: "John B. Fleming" 
Subject: HERALD-TEPAPHONE
Date: Sun, 24 Nov 1996 15:41:08 -0500 (EST)
                                      
A Quarterly Publication of IAO Camp, Ordo Templi Orientis
Summer Solstice, 1995 e.v.
Volume One, Number Two

     _________________________________________________________________
  
   _Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law._
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   IAO Camp,
   Ordo Templi Orientis
   P.O. Box 5793
   Bloomington, Indiana 47407
  
      Personnel:
     
   The Non-existent Brother R. B., Camp Master
   Sr. Shekinah, Minister of Protocol and Appetizers
   The Non-existent Sister R. H., Treasurer
   Fr. In Profunda, Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
   Fr. The Magician Formerly Known as Wayne, Minister of Magical Formulae
  
   Outside Contributors:
  
   Sr. Manibhadra
   Shriguru Paramahamsa Cyberananda
   A. Quiller III
   Adam Weishaupt
   A. C. Swinburne
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The _Herald-Tepaphone_ is the quarterly newsletter of IAO Camp, a duly
   chartered body of Ordo Templi Orientis. The _HT_ is published on the
   Equinoxes and Solstices. Subscriptions are $3.00 per issue or $10.00
   for one year (4 issues), make checks or money orders payable to
   `Bowyer'. Membership in IAO Camp and/or O.T.O. is not required to
   subscribe or to submit material. Text submissions may be sent on paper
   or on 3.5 in. disk for WordPerfect or Microsoft Word (versions 6 or
   lower), illustrations had better be on paper at present.
  
   All copyrights reside with the individual authors if they are willing
   to 'fess up.
  
   The opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the
   individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of IAO Camp,
   the Ordo Templi Orientis, or of anyone else.
  
  
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  In this issue...
     * From the Propaganda Ministry
     * In Memoriam
     * A Letter to the Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
     * Top Ten Rejected Study Group Ideas
     * The World Wide Web Wizard
     * The Ceremony of the Six Seals: being a modern interpretation of
       the Ma'aseh Beraishith
     * Twelve Conversation Hints When Dealing With Trogs
     * Typhonian Tomes: Being a Guide to the Works of Kenneth Grant
     * Poet's Corner
     * The Thelemite Test
     * A Roundel of Rabelais
     * Reviews
          + Mumbo Jumbo, Ishmael Reed
          + Witchcraft and Black Magic, Peter Haining
          + The A.`. A.`., Aleister Crowley [alleged]
          + The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their
            Nature and Legacy, Ronald Hutton
          + Lady of the Northern Light: a Feminist Guide to the Runes,
            Susan Gitlin-Emmer
          + An Introduction to Chaos Magick, Adrian Savage
          + Bluff Your Way in the Occult, P.J. Owens and Alexander C. Rae
          + The Pathworkings of Aleister Crowley, Aleister Crowley
          + The Key to Immediate Enlightenment, Supreme Master Ching Hai
          + The Secret Grimoire of Turiel, Being a System of Ceremonial
            Magic of the Sixteenth Century, Marius Malchus
          + The Number 666, W. W. Westcott
     * Correspondence Received
     * IAO Camp Calendar of Events
      
  
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  From the Propaganda Ministry:
 
   The past quarter has been truly eventful for the denizens of IAO Camp.
   For the first time in its history the Camp hosted O.T.O. Initiations
   in Bloomington. Sr. Manibhadra of Indianapolis was made a Master
   Magician at the hands of Brother C. L. (who once remarked how
   appropriate it is to have one's Temple consecrated by the ritual
   murder of a willing victim!) Our own Sr. Shekinah was similarly
   honoured a month later after many setbacks, including the destruction
   of the Initiator's car as he was en route from Ohio! Thanks to Brother
   C. L. and Brother D. G. and all those involved for giving us the Rite
   stuff.
  
   Shortly after all this, Sr. Shekinah, a bookseller by trade, attended
   the A.B.A. convention in Chicago, encountering such luminaries as Ray
   Buckland, Dr. Ruth, and Lon duQuette. A week later she was joined by
   Brother R. B. and Fr. I. P. as we attended Initiations in East
   Chicago. Congratulations to Fr. D. on his Third, and Sister C. on her
   First Degree.
  
    Subscription Rates Drop!
   
   As the costs of producing this publication have turned out to be far
   less than expected, we are reducing the single issue price to $3.00.
   Subscription rates are now $10.00 for four issues. Existing
   subscriptions will be extended by one issue.
  
    News Flash!
   
   As we go to press we learn that Fr. The Magician Formerly Known as
   Wayne is in distress due to a fire in his apartment. Fortunately he is
   unharmed and in good spirits. He notes that he had just signed his
   application for Third Degree. The Camp extends its sympathy and
   assistance.
  
  
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  In Memoriam
 
   On Saturday, 29 April, 1995 e.v. our own Soror Shekinah suddenly and
   unexpectedly passed on after a long illness. There was a close call
   during the previous month, but she escaped by virtue of a exploding
   car nobly sacrificing itself in her stead. It seemed to the dismay of
   all concerned that she might prove immortal. However, she had recently
   attended a Led Zeppelin concert and apparently such sustained ecstasy
   was more than her simple Catholic frame could withstand. Her last
   words were reportedly `_Uuuuaaaghhh_'. She is survived by two
   children, a pot of melted cheese, and a pile of overdue library books
   in one corner of the sofa.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  A Letter to the Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
 
   Dear Sir,
  
   Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
  
   I was greatly amused by the article _Notes on the History of Liber 365_
   in the last number of the _Herald-Tepaphone_. The author's sneers at
   `a well-known authority on modern ceremonial Magick' are of course
   well-deserved, but the author's own ridiculous blunders and
   misdirected speculations about 365 bring to mind a certain exchange
   between a pot and a kettle. For the benefit of your readers (and the
   edification of your `Brother R.B.'), I should like to correct a few
   mistakes from the article in question.
  
   Your author ventures a guess that Mathers was inspired to create 365
   by reading the fragment of it which appears in Budge's book on
   Egyptian Magic. While it is true that a fragment of _Pap. Lond. XLVI_,
   in the translation of Goodwin, occurs in Budge's book (1899, reprinted
   1901 as volume II of the series "Books on Egypt and Chaldea"), it is
   ludicrous to assume that Mathers's knowledge of the ritual depends on
   this book. Had your author done a modicum of research, he would have
   found that a ritual composed by Allan Bennett, for performance on May
   13, 1896 (and later published in _The Temple of Solomon the King_,
   Book II, in _The Equinox_ vol. I, no. III), prominently features the
   refrain of _Liber 365_ in the exact wording with which all your
   readers are doubtless familiar -- the same wording found in the 1904
   _Goetia_.
  
   This fact might induce your egregious R.B. to speculate that _365_
   might be the creation not of Mathers but of Bennett: in order to
   forestall such nonsense, let me point out that in an editorial note to
   the _Key of Solomon_ (Book I, cap. V), it is made clear that Mathers
   was acquainted with `the style of the barbarous names in the
   Graeco-Egyptian Magical Papyri' no later than 1888, the year in which
   Bennett turned 16.
  
   Furthermore, it is asserted by Ellic Howe (_Magicians of the Golden
   Dawn_, p. 23 n.) that `Mr. Gerald Yorke has discovered that Mathers
   adapted material for the Neophyte ritual from C. W. Goodwin....' As
   far as I can tell from the Golden Dawn initiation printed in _The
   Equinox_ and from the Stella Matutina initiation printed in _The
   Golden Dawn_, the adapted material amounts to no more than the word
   `_Onnophris_', which occurs once at the end of the ceremony:
   nevertheless, this particle of evidence helps establish that Mathers
   was familiar with Goodwin's text around 1888, and certainly before
   1899.
  
   I hope that these notes will help your author learn to check his facts
   more carefully before offering such wild speculations as those that
   mar his recent article.
  
   Love is the law, love under will.
  
   Yours respectfully,
  
   A. Quiller III
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Top Ten Rejected Study Group Ideas
 
   10. Trog Religions and Why They Suck.
   9. Gnostic Gnitting.
   8. The 333 One True Orders of the Golden Dawn.
   7. Irregular Freemasonry for Fun and Profit.
   6. A.`.A.`. Group Rituals.
   5. Shmoozing with Members of Grand Lodge for Fun and Prophet.
   4. How to Make an Enochian Quilt.
   3. Dating Trogs and Why it _Really_ Sucks.
   2. Samekh Final.
   1. Qabalistic Codes in _Leah Sublime_.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  The World Wide Web Wizard
 
  
  
    by Shriguru Paramahamsa Cyberananda
   
   With all the blather about the Internet that's been going around these
   days it should be no surprise that a large number of occult-oriented
   services are on-line. The following is a guide to a few of the more
   interesting and useful homepages which I have discovered during my
   Websurfing. They are accessible with Netscape or Mosaic, and cover a
   fairly diverse range of subject matter. Most also have links to other
   related sites.
  
   _The Works of Aleister Crowley_
   http://scene.com:80/mpc/crowley/
   (Text files of the Equinox, MTP, MWT, etc.)
  
   _Baphomet Lodge, OTO_
   http://www.cinenet.net/users/cberry/baphomet.html
  
   _Scarlet Woman Camp, OTO_
   http://www.auschron.com/thelema/swc.html
   (Two fairly new OTO homepages that seem mostly designed as contact
   addresses for the bodies in question.)
  
   _A Page about Freemasonry_
   http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/dryfoo/Masons/Main-page.html
  
   _Hiram's Inner Chamber_
   http://international.com/hiram/hiramhome.html
   (Some Masonic homepages, still mostly under construction. The second
   one in particular will be extremely comprehensive when finished.)
  
   _Alchemy Homepage_
   http://www.colloquium.co.uk/alchemy/home.html
   (A very comprehensive site maintained by Adam McLean, editor of the
   Hermetic Journal and the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series.)
  
   _Anders Magick Page_
   http://www.nada.kth.se/~nv91-asa/magick.html
   (The single most comprehensive homepage on Magick I've yet seen. Has
   links to almost every occult subject out there.)
  
   _Shawn Knight's Occult Resources_
   http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~eclectic/occult.html
   (Another good set of links.)
  
   _Pagan Resources on the Net_
   http://www.netspace.org/~/athomps/pagan/paganres.html
  
   _Paganlink_
   http://mindvox.phantom.com/~reive/pagan.html
   (Two pretty comprehensive pages of links.)
  
   _Dark Side of the Net_
   http://www.cascade.net/dark.html
   (A truly bewildering array of links covering horror, the occult,
   Paganism, Magick, gaming, the Gothic subculture, and about a dozen
   sites devoted to Winona Ryder.)
  
   _Hyper Weirdness by World Wide Web_
   http://www.physics.wisc.edu/~shalizi/hyper-weird/
   (Lots of links to all manner of odd things. Includes conspiracies,
   politics, religion, sex, media, entertainment, and science.)
  
   _Official Dead Can Dance Homepage_
   http://www.nets.com/dcd.html
  
   _Dead Can Dance_
   http://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/u/sfwhite/dcd.html
   (Two sites devoted to our favourite band. The official page has sound
   samples while the other one has lyrics.)
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  The Ceremony of the Six Seals: being a modern interpretation of the Ma'as=
eh
  Beraishith
 
  
  
    by Fr. `Ovde'is
   
   _[WWW note:_ Or, rather: Fr.
   `{omicron}{nu}{delta}{epsilon}'{iota}{sigma}]
  
      Section 1: Yod
     
   Stand facing East and intone these words:
  
   _In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth._
  
      Section 2: Heh
     
   While visualizing or meditating upon their meaning, intone these
   words:
  
   _Ten Sephiroth out of Nothing:
   Their measure is ten, without limit.
   An infinity of Beginning and an infinity of End;
   An infinity of Good and an infinity of Evil;
   An infinity of Height and an infinity of Depth;
   An infinity of East and an infinity of West;
   An infinity of South and an infinity of North.
   The sole Lord, God the faithful king,
   Ruleth over all from his holy dwelling for ever and ever. _
  
      Section 3: Vau
     
   Seal each direction with a Hexagram, intoning these words:
  
   _He sealed the Height and turned toward above, and sealed it with YHV.
   He sealed the Depth and turned toward below, and sealed it with HYV.
   He sealed the East and turned forward, and sealed it with VYH.
   He sealed the West and turned backward, and sealed it with VHY.
   He sealed the South and turned to the right, and sealed it with YVH.
   He sealed the North and turned to the left, and sealed it with HVY. _
  
      Section 4: Heh
     
   Stand facing East and, while visualizing the Lightning Flash, intone
   these words:
  
   _Ten Sephiroth out of Nothing:
   Their appearance is like a flash of lightning, without limit.
   His word is in them when they go and return;
   They rush like a whirlwind at his command,
   And abase themselves before his throne.
   Blessed art thou, YHVH our God, ruler of the universe, Who performest
   the work of Creation. _
  
      Notes by Fr. `Ovde'is
     
   _[WWW note:_ Or, rather: Fr.
   `{omicron}{nu}{delta}{epsilon}'{iota}{sigma}]
  
   This ceremony employs a synthesis of piety and blasphemy familiar in
   many magical rituals: it puts the Magician in the place of the
   Creator. While it may sound like a pious Qabalistic prayer, the
   Magician who performs it is actually identifying himself throughout
   with the creative power. Through meditation or visualization, the
   Magician carries out the injunction of the Sepher Yetzirah by seating
   the true Creator (himself) upon his throne.
  
   The ceremony itself is in four parts, corresponding to the letters of
   the Tetragrammaton. The ceremony was composed from three ancient
   Hebrew texts (it was originally intended to be performed in Hebrew,
   but since this is not practical for the majority of modern Magicians,
   only the English version is printed here), and the student of Qabalah
   will observe that the quoted texts are closely linked thematically.
  
   Section 1 is, of course, the opening line of _Genesis_; it is
   simultaneously the most familiar line of the entire _Torah_, and the
   line most pondered by Qabalists. Its first word in Hebrew is BRAShITh,
   `in the beginning', and this word has been used since the earliest
   period of Jewish mysticism to refer to one of the chief objects of
   Qabalistic interest, the `work of creation' or _Maaseh Beraishith_.
   When intoning the words of this section, the Magician should visualize
   himself as `the only being in an abyss of darkness', as the Creator
   before Creation.
  
   Section 2 is borrowed from the Sepher Yetzirah, and could be loosely
   compared to the "Qabalistic Cross" of L=8Evi. The Yetzirah is, of
   course, the essential text of _Maaseh Beraishith_ mysticism. While
   intoning these words, the Magician should visualize himself as the
   `sole Lord' in his `holy dwelling' (Magick circle), from whom emanate
   the Sephiroth in the form of ten infinities. It is pointless to try to
   comprehend these words, but they may inspire some appropriate
   visualizations or meditations.
  
   The third section, also straight out of the Yetzirah, seals the six
   directions with permutations of the Trigrammaton YHV. The Magician
   should experiment to find the most fitting way to do this part, but at
   first he may wish to stick with standard G.`.D.`. style, using the
   hexagram of Saturn and projecting the Names with the signs of a
   Neophyte, etc.
  
   Section 4 could be seen as the second `Qabalistic Cross'. Here the
   Magician again visualizes the Sephiroth, but this time Order has been
   brought out of the Chaos of infinities: the Sephiroth appear in the
   familiar form of the Lightning Flash, and are again to be seen as
   emanations of the Magician himself. This concluding section is taken
   from the Yetzirah, except the last two lines. These concluding lines,
   to be said after the visualization is complete, constitute one of the
   _Berakoth_, a collection of brief prayers dating from the same era as
   the _Maaseh Beraishith_. This particular blessing is to be recited
   upon seeing a flash of lightning, and the `work of creation' in the
   last line is, in Hebrew, `_maaseh beraishith_'. The ritual, when
   performed in Hebrew, thus opens and closes with the word Berashith.
   These few remarks should suffice to give interested students an
   introduction to the ceremony.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Twelve Conversation Hints When Dealing With Trogs
 
  
  
    By Sr. Chak and Sr. Manibhadra
   
   1. TV Shows / Sports.
   2. Weather.
   3. Work.
   4. Gardening.
   5. Health.
   6. Music.
   7. Other People (particularly if they're in a sex-cult).
   8. Sex.
   9. Cars.
   10. Politics.
   11. UFO Phenomena.
   12. Children.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Typhonian Tomes: Being a Guide to the Works of Kenneth Grant
 
  
  
    by Frater In Profunda III`
   
   Part Four: _Images and Oracles of Austin Osman Spare_ (Weiser, 1975)
  
   A. O. Spare (1886 - 1956) was almost certainly the greatest occult
   artist of the last century, as well as being a powerful Magician who
   devised his own highly effective system of thaumaturgy. He has had
   considerable influence, especially on the Chaos Magick movement, even
   though his few published writings are couched in a very obscure and
   idiosyncratic style, besides being hard to find in the first place.
  
   For these reasons it is fortunate that we have an in-depth analysis of
   Spare's system by an occultist who knew the man well and can therefore
   make things plain. Shockingly enough, he turns out to be Kenneth
   Grant.
  
   Readers of these articles will have noticed that I consider Grant's
   chapters on Spare to be the best part of his _oeuvre_, and now that he
   devotes an entire book to the subject he seems to leave his bad habits
   (sloppy scholarship, peculiar vocabulary, dumb ideas, and general
   loopiness) almost entirely behind. Grant has a firm grasp on this
   material that he lacks in other areas and he presents matters clearly
   and succinctly. The first half of the book is a brief biography and
   character sketch of Spare that gives one a clear sense of knowing the
   man. Grant then launches on a discussion of Spare's philosophy and
   Magick system. In this he quotes liberally from both published and
   unpublished material -- Grant is Spare's literary executor --
   ocasionally reproducing actual manuscript pages from Spare's
   uncompleted opus, _The Zoetic Grimoire of Zos_.
  
   The book also includes liberal amounts of Spare's finished artwork and
   sketches -- many of them automatic drawings -- that makes this a fine
   introduction to the artist as well as the Magician, although one
   wishes some of these could have been reproduced in colour.
  
   I was pleased to hear recently that Skoob Books plans to reprint
   Images and Oracles soon; as this is the only one of Grant's books that
   really deserves to be kept in print I was certain that this would
   never happen. Let us rejoice in this miraculous defiance of universal
   degeneration.
  
   (Prepare to quake in fear and terror, gentle readers, for next issue
   we shall explore _Nightside of Eden_.)
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Poet's Corner
 
   There once was a man named J. E.
   Who wanted to be Tenth Degree.
   When the Order said "No!"
   He left O.T.O.
   And founded the T.O.T.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  The Thelemite Test
 
   There is perhaps no better way to start an argument than to pose the
   question of just what is or is not `Thelemic', or who is or is not a
   `Thelemite'. This issue has long been in need of resolution, and here
   at the Propaganda Ministry we have devoted a wholly absurd amount of
   time to this very issue. We now present the results of our labours in
   the form of an easy and objective test that will allow the reader to
   finally determine, once and for, all his essential Thelemicness,
   Thelemitude, and Thelemicity.
  
   _Scoring_: Unless otherwise specified, give yourself one point for
   each correct answer; if you don't know the correct answer (and it's
   not always `yes'), then you got it wrong. Grade scales are at the end
   of the test.
  
   _A: Personal Information_
  
   Were you raised Catholic?
   Did you flirt with Satanism in your youth?
   With Wicca?
   Do you wear mostly black?
   Do you wear a Pentagram?
   Do you wear a Unicursal Hexagram?
   Do you wear a funny hat?
   Have you ever had asthma?
   Do you shave your head?
   Do you have the reputation of being a `Black Magician'?
   Do you object fundamentally to this test even though you're already
   getting 100%?
  
   _B: Questions of the Law_
  
   How many copies of Liber AL do you own ? (One point each, limit ten.
   Include copies published separately or as part of a larger book.)
   Are you offended by The Book of the In-Laws?
   How many `Secret Fourth Chapters' of Liber AL have you read? (One
   Point each, limit ten.)
   Have you written any `Secret Fourth Chapters' of Liber AL?
   Have you written any commentaries on Liber AL?
   Do you accept the `Short Comment'?
   Do you understand it?
   Did you actually burn your first copy of Liber AL?
   How many copies of Liber OZ have you posted? (One point each, limit
   ten.)
  
   _C: Bibliomania_
  
   Do you collect Crowley books?
   Do you have more Crowley books than any other kind?
   Put together?
   Was the last book you read a Crowley book?
   Do you have multiple copies of any Crowley books other than Liber AL?
   Do you own any first edition Crowley books?
   Do you own a set of the Equinox?
   Do you collect Kenneth Grant books even though you think he's a
   complete cheesehead?
   Do you collect books that simply mention Crowley?
   Do you make friends with people just so you can borrow their books?
   Do you refer to Crowley books by their initials?
   By their numbers?
   Do you build your library around the reading lists in the back of MTP?
  
   _D: Hardcore Than Thou?_
  
   Do you actually say `Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law'
   instead of `hello'?
   Do you actually say `Will' before every meal?
   Do you actually do Resh four times a day?
   Do you read Fundamentalist Satanic Conspiracy books just to see if you
   are mentioned therein? (Bonus point if you were.)
   Do you actually refer to non-Thelemites as `Trogs'?
   Do you actually say `APO PANTOS KAKODAIMONOS' to any clergy you happen
   to meet?
   When looking for a place to live, do you do you consider a building's
   orientation to Boleskine?
   Do you choose your phone, PO box, PIN, or license plate numbers for
   Qabalistic reasons?
   Do you date your checks Thelemically?
   How many copies of the Thoth Tarot do you own? (One point each, limit
   ten.)
   Have you ever `worn one out'?
   Do you play card games with the Thoth Tarot?
   How about `strip' card games?
   Would you name your daughter `Nuit Ma Ahathoor Sappho Hecate Jezebel
   Lilith'?
   Would you name your dog `Because'?
   Do you make a point of buying 93-octane gasoline?
   Do you wear your Magical robes around the house?
   Around town?
   Do you refer to the founder of modern Witchcraft as `Brother Gardner'?
   Do you make a particular point of this when around Wiccans?
   Do you get all the obscure in-jokes in this test?
  
   _E: Crowleyanity_
  
   Do you demand 12 October off from work/school for `religious reasons'?
   Do you actually like Crowley's poetry?
   How many reincarnations of Aleister Crowley do you know? (one point
   each, limit ten.)
   Are you the reincarnation of Aleister Crowley?
   How many pictures of Aleister Crowley do you have on your walls? (One
   point each, limit ten.)
   Do you make pilgrimages to places Crowley visited?
   Have you ever `poured over maps of New Hampshire' in search of Lake
   Pasquaney?
   Do you have a sample of dirt from a certain backyard in New Jersey?
   Would you buy a limited facsimile edition of _Aleister Crowley's
   Laundry Lists_?
   Would you brag about it if you did?
   Have you ever tried smoking perique soaked in rum just because it was
   Crowley's favourite?
   Do you have the hospital bills to prove it?
   Can you name all of Crowley's pseudonyms?
   Have you ever used one of them yourself?
  
   _F: Arts and Entertainment_
  
   Have you ever seen The Devil Rides Out ?
   Have you ever read Somerset Maugham's _The Magician_?
   Do you collect Current 93 albums even though they suck?
   Did you actually buy that $31.00 CD of Crowley reading his poetry?
   Do you think the Simon Iff stories would play well on Mystery?
   Do you think The Vision and the Voice would make a good interactive
   computer game?
   Should completing the game successfully entitle you to the Grade of
   Magister Templi?
   Do you collect Dead Can Dance albums?
   Do you refer to the lead guitarist of Led Zeppelin as `Brother Page'?
   Do you have a bootleg of Page's _Lucifer Rising_ soundtrack? How many
   Kenneth Anger movies have you seen? (One point each, limit eight since
   that's all there are!)
   Did you understand any of them?
  
   _G: Social Life_
  
   How many Magical Orders do you belong to? (One point each, limit ten.)
   Are you the Head of any of these Orders?
   How many of these Orders have expelled you? (Bonus point if you were
   also the Head of the order.)
   Do you live in the bad part of town?
   Are the local gangs scared of you?
   Have you ever been arrested for carrying your Magical sword around?
   How many Thelemic 'zines or newsletters do you get? (One point each,
   limit ten.)
   Have you contributed to a Thelemic 'zine or newsletter?
   Have you edited a Thelemic 'zine or newsletter? (Bonus point if you
   had to do the whole thing yourself.)
   When traveling, do you plan your route so you can crash at other
   Thelemites' homes?
   When visiting other Thelemites, do you spend the first half-hour
   looking at their books?
   Can you be with another Thelemite for one hour without arguing?
   Are arguments better than sex?
   Are Crowley books better than sex?
   Have you ever tried to combine all three?
   Within one month of starting a new relationship, have you persuaded
   your new girl-friend to donate her monthlies to the cause?
   (Conversely, were you that girlfriend?)
   Do you try to get your dates in the mood by reading from Snowdrops?
   Does your family think you're going to Hell?
   Does your family think you're dead?
   Subtract one point for every relative you are on speaking terms with.
   (Limit ten.)
  
   _Grading:_
  
   _0 points or less_ -- You are probably the reincarnation of Victor
   Neuburg, but that's all right, we won't hold it against you.
  
   _1 to 5 points_ -- Come on! Even John Symonds could do better than
   that!
  
   _6 to 10 points_ -- You've heard about Crowley and know to visualise
   the White Light whenever his name is mentioned so those evil Satanic
   Crowleyites don't mess up your aura.
  
   _11 to 21 points_ -- You are a borderline case. Stop reading Starhawk
   and study the Bagh-i-Muattar.
  
   _22 to 43 points_ -- You are Thelemic but you need to work harder. We
   suggest a Magical Retirement to contact `the little clouds of deities
   that inhabit the nostrils'.
  
   _44 to 55 points_ -- You are a dedicated Thelemite who can eat your
   weight in fluffy Neo-Pagans for breakfast, and probably does if given
   half the chance.
  
   _56 to 76 points_ -- You are seriously hardcore. You practically live
   in your Magical robes, subsist entirely on Cakes of Light, and have an
   aura so dark no one has actually seen you in years.
  
   _77 to 92 points_ -- You are almost certainly the reincarnation of
   Aleister Crowley. You now have the right to attend the annual
   convention at Boleskine.
  
   _93 points or more_ -- Even Crowley would be scared of you.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  A Roundel of Rabelais
 
  
  
    by A. C. Swinburne
   
   Theleme is afar on the waters, adrift and afar,
   Afar and afloat on the waters that flicker and gleam,
   And we feel but her fragrance and see but the shadows that mar
   Theleme.
   In the sun-coloured mists of the sunrise and sunset that stream
   As incense from urns of the twilight, her portals ajar
   Let pass as a shadow the light of the sound of a dream.
   But the laughter that rings from her cloisters that know not a bar
   So kindles delight in desire that the souls in us deem
   He erred not, the seer who discerned on the seas as a star Theleme.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Reviews
 
   `Treat 'em Rough.'
  
   Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed. Doubleday, 1972, (223 pp.).
  
   This is a very interesting esoteric conspiracy novel written from an
   African-American perspective -- the Prince Hall _Illuminatus_, if you
   will -- and it is certainly significant that they were written at
   about the same time. Mumbo Jumbo deals with Harlem in the Twenties,
   the birth of Jazz, dirty dancing, Voo-Doo, the Templars, ancient
   Egypt, Secret Societies, Shadow Governments, and any number of other
   endearing subjects. The treatment is highly original and makes this
   well worth dipping your head into.
  
   -- Adam Weishaupt
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   Witchcraft and Black Magic (Knowledge Through Color series #36) by
   Peter Haining. Bantam Books, 1973, (159 pp., $1.45 new).
  
   Well...the illustrations (in COLOUR as advertised) are kinda funky;
   but one suspects the author of wanting to be a kinder, gentler
   Montague Summers; in particular the section on Bro. Crowley sets what
   I sincerely hope is the all-time record for errors of fact per
   paragraph.
  
   -- Adam Weishaupt
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The A.`. A.`. by Aleister Crowley [alleged]. Mandrake Press, 1993, (13
   pp., $6.00).
  
   This is one of several booklets available from Mandrake which carry
   this note: _`The above excerpts and fragments were copied by Cosmo
   Trelawny from a mass of papers and typescripts left in his rooms by
   Macgregor [sic] Reid. The originals were then sold to a bookseller,
   and lost when his shop was bombed during the war.'_ There is a faint
   aroma of herring about this.
  
   I don't know Cosmo Trelawny, but George Watson MacGregor Reid was
   Chosen Chief of A.D.U.B., a Druid order established in 1245 E.V., from
   which the Golden Dawn and Speculative Freemasonry are descended (no,
   really!)* . His MacGregor pedigree is exactly as legitimate as those
   of S.L. MacGregor Mathers and several other turn-of-the-century
   occultists: it seems that in those days it was as popular to be a
   MacGregor as it is nowadays to be the reincarnation of Crowley. One
   wonders why Reid was distributing the papers of his cousin (Aleister
   MacGregor Crowley, you know). It was certainly not because he had
   inherited them, since AC survived both Reid and the Battle of Britain.
   Of course, AC did frequently complain about the piles of MSS that had
   been permanently borrowed or simply stolen from him by various people
   (see the May 1995 Thelema Lodge Calendar for a fine example), but that
   is beside the point. So, regardless of how it comes to us, what is
   this little book about?
  
   There are three introductory paragraphs explaining that the Golden
   Dawn and the Theosophical Society were the inner and outer schools of
   the A.`. A.`., and listing some 45 `Chiefs' of the Order from the
   XVIII, XIX, and XX centuries e.v. Blavatsky, prime mover of the
   Theosophical Society, does not appear in this list, but --
   surprisingly? -- Macgregor Reid does. Then we are treated to twelve
   pages of vitriolic biographical sketches which sling mud at most of
   the illustrious chiefs just mentioned. Blavatsky appears here (`an
   exponent of semi-fake Occultism'), but -- surprisingly? -- MacGregor
   Reid does not. Eug=8Fne Vintras is listed on p. 1 as a Chief, but on p.
   8 we are told that he was refused admission to the Order. Two of AC's
   life-long heroes, L=8Evi and Bennett, are dismissed as a traitor and a
   snake, respectively. And, best of all, we read of S.L. MacGregor
   Mathers that:
  
   _'Macgregor [sic] was a drunken sot,
   in point of fact God's incarnated snot."
  
   _I have no idea what the point of this essay might be, other than to
   discredit the A.`. A.`. and make AC look silly. If it is true,
   however, that G.W.M. Reid was somehow involved in this nonsense, then
   I can think of one MacGregor who deserves to be remembered as `God's
   incarnated snot'.
  
   (* MacGregor Reid could also refer to G.W.M. Reid's son. R.A.F.M.
   Reid, who became Chosen Chief on his father's death in 1946.)
  
   -- M. MacGregor Mouse, 33`
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and
   Legacy by Ronald Hutton. Blackwell, 1991, (xvii+397 pp., $39.00).
  
   This overview is based mostly on archaeological and historical remains
   (meagre as they often are) with special reference to the `claims' of
   modern Pagans. The main problem with the author's approach is that he
   simply worships at the altar of Documentation, making the unwarranted
   assumption that `no evidence =3D no possibility'. He also fails to
   realise that the `latest scholarship' he takes such pride in using is
   undoubtably just as much a product of intellectual fashions as the
   `out-dated' work he criticises so profusely. Admittedly his critique
   of the `Female-Supremacist' version of pre-history is quite good and
   perfectly reasonable, but one wishes he could have done a better job
   with other areas. His discussion of Earth Mysteries is particularly
   off-handed. Like most establishment scholars he simply does not know
   enough about occult view-points to argue with them effectively; he can
   only attack his own erroneous preconceptions. In discussing modern
   occult history he makes more blunders than one could hope for in a
   careful professional historian, having been led astray by Francis
   (the-Third-Evil) King, among others.
  
   Actually the book is not as bad as all that, especially considering it
   is such a wide-ranging production involving more specialties than the
   author had at his disposal. It is certainly nice to have all this
   archaeological data in one convenient place. Still, one waits for a
   superior and more sensitive treatment of the subject.
  
   -- Adam Weishaupt
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   Lady of the Northern Light: a Feminist Guide to the Runes by Susan
   Gitlin-Emmer. The Crossing Press, 1993 (126 pp., $12.95).
  
   In her study, the author has "scraped off the layers of patriarchal
   misinformation" to discover the original meanings of the Runes. Her
   findings are remarkable: I had never known the Vikings were new-age
   Wiccan feminists!
  
   -- Diana Silver-Moon Water-Jones
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   An Introduction to Chaos Magick by Adrian Savage. Magickal Childe,
   1988, (50 pp. of Really Big Print, $6.95).
  
   This over-priced and under-edited essay starts off with fifteen pages
   of goofy misconceptions about Satanism, Ceremonial Magick, and Wicca,
   then contrasts these three with Chaos Magick. Briefly, the author
   states that Chaos Magick is a free-form synthesis of Eastern religion
   and Western Magic, with a special emphasis on the techniques of Austin
   Spare. This may sound fairly typical of contemporary neopagan
   eclecticism, but we are assured that Chaos Magick is far superior to
   "the man-hating mouthings of the maxi-matriarchal Wiccans," the gross
   stupidity of the Satanists, and especially the Ceremonial Magicians,
   who are too busy "licking the toes of their Aleister Crowley statues."
   Sure, whatever.
  
   -- A. Quiller III
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   Bluff Your Way in the Occult by P. J. Owens and Alexander C. Rae.
   Centennial Press, 1989, (77 pp., $3.95).
  
   This is pretty much exactly what you think it is. The scary part is
   that I've met `expert occultists' who get by on much less.
  
   -- Adam Weishaupt
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The Pathworkings of Aleister Crowley by Aleister Crowley, introduced
   by David Cherubim with contributions by Lon Milo DuQuette, Dr.
   Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D., and Nancy Wasserman. New Falcon
   Publications, 1994, (160 pp., $12.95).
  
   This book contains 2 1/2 pages by Crowley, no pathworkings at all, and
   57 pages of Really Basic Introductory Stuff -- typical New Falcon
   pabulum. The main text is The Treasure-House of Images, being 90 pages
   of dreadful poetry by J.F.C. Fuller (who, you may notice, gets no
   credit on the title-page).
  
   Like other books from these guys, this one seems to be written for
   either intermediate students or total beginners, depending on what
   page you read. If you're advanced enough to create your own
   pathworkings but have not yet learned the Banishing Ritual of the
   Pentagram, then this book is for you!
  
   -- A. Quiller III
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The Key to Immediate Enlightenment by the Supreme Master Ching Hai.
   International Supreme Master Ching Hai Meditation Associates, 1990,
   (106 pp., free (and no wonder)).
  
   The Supreme Master is a Chinese woman who seems to run an
   international Buddhist sect (contact your local representative now!).
   Now, it is said the Buddha was reluctant to allow women into the
   Sangha because he only expected the true Dharma to survive 1000 years
   at best, and with women involved the figure would be only half that.
   The lectures in this booklet leave one with the depressing thought
   that Siddhartha might have been right after all.
  
   -- Adam Weishaupt
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The Secret Grimoire of Turiel, Being a System of Ceremonial Magic of
   the Sixteenth Century introduced and edited by Marius Malchus. Sure
   Fire Press, 1994, (42 pp., $6.00?).
  
   While visiting the Canary Islands in 1927, Mr. Malchus purchased from
   his tour guide an English translation of this grimoire (he was also
   offered the original Latin MS, dated 1518, but did not buy it). Later
   he recopied the grimoire and destroyed the original (for reasons which
   are apparently supposed to be clear to the reader) so that his
   personal copy was -- he believed -- the only English translation
   extant.
  
   The grimoire is a short little thing, very Catholic, that combines
   elements of the Greater and Lesser Keys with the Olympic planetary
   spirits -- nothing especially exciting. A couple of pages at the end
   are plagiarized from A.E. Waite.
  
   This little book is of personal interest to me because I happen to
   know that Malchus's copy of the grimoire is not the only extant
   English translation. The fact is that the 1518 Latin MS made its way
   from the Canary Islands to Papua, New Guinea, where my father
   purchased it in 1943 from a native girl, under rather mysterious
   circumstances. Years later, I discovered it among my father's war
   memorabilia and prepared an English translation, after which, for
   reasons which should be clear to the reader, I destroyed the original
   sixteenth-century manuscript.
  
   -- A. Quiller III
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   The Number 666 by W.W. Westcott. Mandrake Press, 1993, (5 pp., $6.00).
  
   OK, but not really worth seventy-five cents a page. The author
   neglects to mention that one way of representing 666 is with three
   Vaus, or in English letters `WWW'.
  
   -- A. Quiller III
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  Correspondence Received
 
   _(The following missive was recently received by the Minister of
   Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda at his place of mundane
   employment. We here present it verbatim.)_
  
   _Dear Friend,
  
   How are you? I just had to send a note to tell you how much I care
   about you.
  
   I saw you yesterday as you were talking with your friends. I waited
   all day hoping you would want to talk with me too. I gave you a sunset
   to close your day and a cool breeze to rest you --- and I waited. You
   never came, It hurt me --- but I still love you because I am your
   Friend.
  
   I saw you sleeping last night and longed to touch your brow so I
   spilled moonlight upon your face. Again I waited, wanting to rush down
   so we could talk. I have so many gifts for you! You awoke and rushed
   off to work. My tears were in the rain.
  
   If you would listen to me! I LOVE YOU! I try to tell you in the blue
   skies and in the quiet green grass. I whisper it in the leaves on the
   trees and breathe it in the colors of the flowers, shout it to you in
   the mountain streams, give the birds love songs to sing. I clothe you
   in warm sunshine and perfume the air with nature scents. MY LOVE for
   you is deeper than the ocean, and bigger than the biggest need in your
   heart.
  
   Ask ME! talk with ME! Please don't forget ME. I have so much to share
   with you.
  
   I won't bother you any further. It is your decision I have chosen you
   and I will wait---
  
   I LOVE YOU
  
   Your Friend JESUS
  
   _(The Minister is currently in the process of getting a restraining
   order against this stalker.)
     _________________________________________________________________
  
  
  
  IAO Camp Calendar of Events
 
  
  
    Summer, 1995 E.V.
   
      July
     
   Wed. 5: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Fri. 7: Camp Business Meeting, 8pm.
   Wed. 12: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Fri. 14: Ron's Birthday.
   Mon. 17: Sr. Shekinah's Birthday.
   Wed. 19: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Thr. 20: CUUPs Class on Tantra, facilitated by Sister R. H., 7pm.
   Sat. 22: Gnostic Mass Celebration, 9pm.
   Wed. 26: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Thr. 27: Initiation Rituals Study, 7pm.
   Sat. 29: Cursus ad Insulam Regis.
  
      August
     
   Wed. 2: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Fri. 4: Camp Business Meeting, 8pm.
   Sat. 5: Brother R. B.'s Birthday.
   Wed. 9 Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm., Sr. Manibhadra's Birthday.
   Thr. 10 -- Sat. 13: Summerhawk Festival at Brushwood, _Feast of the
   First Night of the Prophet and his Bride_.
   Wed. 16: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Wed. 23: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
   Thr. 24: Initiation Rituals Study, 7pm.
   Sat. 26: Initiations at Chicago, 0`& II`.
   Wed. 30: Gnostic Mass Study, 7pm.
  
      September
     
   Fri, 1: Camp Business Meeting, 8pm.
   Tue 5: Fr. The Magician Formerly Known as Wayne's Birthday.
   Thr. 21: Autumnal Equinox.
  
   Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPs) Magick Classes meet
   at the U.U. Church on North Fee Lane. All other events, unless
   otherwise specified, meet at the IAO Camp Temple.
  
   All times and events are subject to change, so please call ahead to
   confirm.
     _________________________________________________________________
  
   _Love is the law, love under will._

EOF