"There is an aristocracy of the spirit, and those who belong to it instinctively recognize each other. When they err, it is usually on the side of the angels, so to speak. Being noble, they tend to see nobility everywhere. They are few, and yearn for their peers. They give beggars the benefit of the doubt. 'Compassion is the vice of kings.' "

I agree completely that the man who commits murder must live ever in fear of attack, that the thief will never feel secure in his property, that the liar can trust no one, and so on. By their offenses they create an unpleasant life for themselves.

I forgot what I was going to say after that, though.

 Crowley to Jones many years later on August 28, 1936:

“One thing I will say: that I do not expect anything to come of qabalistic speculations. I think that they may even be extremely mischievous in times like the present. Our sole business should be to use the Law to reconstruct the world from the chaos into which it is already half tumbled. That formula is a simple one, and requires no specialised training. The work requires the cooperation of tens of thousands of people who have never heard of the Qabalah, and they have to be addressed in language which they can understand.”

 time for more Nuit...

"If the nuclear missiles had remained we would have used them against the very heart of America, including New York City ... We will march the path of victory even if it costs millions of atomic victims ... We must keep our hatred alive and fan it to paroxysm." - Che Guevara, London Daily Worker, November 1962.

 Okay, where are my PR's[press releases]?????????????

The quiet confidence of those who are secure in their abilities and/or human worth is always an interesting contrast the the way that insecure people try and throw around their authority (which is never quite as great as they seem to believe it is).

At one time I sometimes got rubbed the wrong way by the latter sort of people.  Nowadays they seem more laughable than ever, but I do get a little discouraged about my fellow humans.

People are so weird.


Drama disclaimer: no, I don't mean you.  Or you, you, or you!  But actually maybe it means YOU :p !

This was sparked off tonight by a weird and funny interaction with someone who probably doesn't even have an LJ (although it applies to a whole lot of humans in general; this particular one I feel sad and a little worried for). 

So if your skin started to burn for a minute--check your own nuts and not mine.  I know how things can get when no names are mentioned.  Sometimes a need to vent can turn into a whole shitstorm, it seems.  Would like to unload without lighting a fire, however.

 
Article on how "people skills" will carry you farther than your other skills.

Still learning this one myself. 

 'Part of having a strong sense of self is to be accountable for one's actions. No matter how much we explore motives or lack of motives, WE ARE WHAT WE DO'. ~Janet Geringer Woitit

  thelemaversicle is a community for sharing Holy Book replacements for old AEon pantacle verse.

For example, if you've found that the 4th Pantacle of Mars works well with "Therefore strike hard & low, 
and to hell with them, master!" or have a sneaking suspicion it might work with, "On the low men trample
in the fierce lust of your pride, in the day of your wrath," thelemaversicle is the place to post it.

 I heard second-hand about a fellow Thelemite who said that she thought Satanists shouldn't be let in to OTO.  I scrambled to Big Blue b/c I love the footnote where Crowley equates Satan=Hadit and states that Ol Snake is actually the savior of the Human race etc. etc.

Said source (name removed less any ignodrama result from this post) told me that the nameless sister (or guest--I forget) could probably quote something that would prove her point as Crowley had said something about we must overcome "the Devil".  Said source mentioned something about about how people who quoted the Holy Books really didn't impress said source etc. etc.  So much for my favorite footnote.

And it got me to thinkin about some shit I was thinkin about last week when I was thinkin about Northrop Frye.

1) In both religions the individual is primary--as is the concept of the Will to Power.   The two religions, taken in their "pure" forms, encourage this. I don't know of any others that do (esoteric mystical traditions may be anotehr thing.)

(I know that most Protestant forms of Xtianity the individual is in some ways primary, but with a muich different take, esp. concerning the will to power.)  

1a)Satanists are at least as big on Nietzsche as are Thelemites.  Satanism and Thelema are the only two religions I know of that share these three traits.

(From what I know of various Nordic/Germanic reconstructionist religions, there might be a litte bleedover with some of these points, though I think the emphasis lies at least as much on community in one shape or another?  Very little of that with us.  And sometimes it really shows...)

2) "Do what thou wilt," is our central tenet, stated plainly.  The same ethic prevades throughout Satanism.  See point one above.

3) Both religions are big on being outside the concept of good and evil (see point 2), although Thelemic practice seems to often be something different.

Of coruse there are some differences, too.  Such as:

1) "Every man and woman is a star," vs. the 7th Satanic Statement and the general tone of its primary source material (Satanic Bible, Satanic Rituals, and Satanic Witch.  I'd put The Devil's Notebook and Satan Speaks on that list, as I'm sure would most Satanists).

2) Introversion vs. extroversion.  I don't have the source in front of me where Crowley mentions that it's basically our deal to become one with every experience possible, where he calls Thelemites "the ultimate extroverts (and there is other material relating to this attitude, that of seeking out myriad experiences for the chance of knowing them and knowing one's self).

vs.

Again, I don't have the source material close by, but I know it's from The Church of Satan (book, whcih along with The Secret Life of a Satanist rounds out the list of what is considered primary source material for Satanists).  But there is a quote about staying inside "our citadels to hide away from the insensitivity of the rest of the world."  However, at the same time, you also find the injuction that Satanists live life at its fullest.  

From my experience with both religions and their adherants, I'd say that in Thelema there exists the potential to count any experience as gratifying to one's practice, while this might be a little harder in Satanism.

3) The Thelemic Holy Books (the Class A material) are all in poetic language, while the Satanic primary sources (I feel safe calling them the equivalant of Holy Books) are for the most part in some of the plainest, simplest (if sometimes sly) language available.  If you'll leap with me into Northrop Frye's The Educated Imagination (as it started this whole train of thought for me a while before the aforementioned conversation.)

Poetry represents both what we as cultural humans aspire to, while the more plain-spoken language is used to describe what we currently observe.  I don't think this is entirely true (esp. w much of the poetry written after Frye's book) but it does seem to throw at least a little light on the two religions.

(Frye also asserts that poetry is at the center of language.  Which is intersting to think about for at least a couple of reasons, gif you take the other assertions as true.)


As far as I can see it--and as someone who's called himself a Thelemite and a Satanist--the core value of both religions is the same.  The practice and worldview is a little different.  (I.e they start at the same place but move in different directions...and often intersect!)

It's not the most airtight comparison, esp. if you consider Class A to be the only true authoritative material for Thelema.  But not bad for a layperson.

Another thing to mention is that Crowley probably didn't consider any "devil" that had to be overcome, in the to be the same as Satan(=Hadit).  He seems to use the name as a deific.  (And the whole Satan=Hadit footnote comes from the MTP chapter where he states "a devil with any unity would be a god".  For him, it seems the "devil" for us to overcome is summed up in the conception of Choronzon, anything that brings you away from focus on your will.)

The Satan referenced in Satanic primary texts is, surprise surprise, quite the gentlemanly, earthy, quite dapper Hadit.  With an occasional Choronzon walking stick and top hat...

But aside from all that, as someone who came to Thelema as a Satanist, I find the ethic pretty goddamn Satanic for the most part.  Chapter II is straight-up Satanic and I was pretty happy about the Satanic morality and concept spoken at my Minerval.  Then there is the whole "There is no god but man," thing, which is The Satanic Bible's sole statement concerning theology.

AKA as someone who knows both religions first-hand, I think they are the only two actual religions that share the core value of seeing the individual and will to power quite like they do.  And I think that the whole deal about "we shouldn't let Satanists in OTO" is retarded--and would be only slighly less stupid than drug-testing resteraunt employees.

But that gets me into the whole rant about when Siblings want to close in and keep certain types of people out/run them off.  The two-sponsor system isn't 100% perfect, no...but it probably doesn't need anybody's "extra help," either.

 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY, Albert Mackey

 I googled the term "brother jubelo" sans quotes and found a link to this link on G's first page.  The comment was on a page of comments:


OMG! Chicken fried bacon!

 Rid yourself of useless mystery keys.

 "If there is somethin you can do much better than others can--or soemting you can do that others CANT, but might wish they could--either keep it secret or be a fuckin cheez-dick about it.  if you['re a cheeze-dick then people can at least hold you in contempt for bein a cd.  but if not, they just hate you from their little fucking jealousies, from comparing themselves to you, or whatever, 98% of the time.

in other words, if you're gonna be a show-off, be an absolute retard about it.  the mob is much less vicious towards retards than towards their superiors--or anyone they judge to be so.

Mostly, just don't let people know when they're being dumbasses--and learn to recognize when you are.  Cause you're gonna be.  Sometimes."

Cuz I'm proud.

(This isn't to get anyone to buy--in fact I'll send a free copy to anyone who thinks they might want one--I'm just feeling good about it and have to show off!)

51 copies sold since...about 5am Friday morning.

What, you mean you didn't know I'd gone the soul-selling marketing route?  But of course!

Charles Brown's Lesser Feast

"Your life is not a gift that you give to the world or even to the people that you love.

Your life is a gift that you have received.  It was given to  you and to you only.  Take care of the damn thing like you're supposed to.

Do what thou wilt, and fuck'em if they don't like it."

--Uncle Robert

 i need to develop a spirit guide website

 Happy 34th to corvus93  !