Treadwells and Secret Chief Talks

Hello from Treadwells, Here's a selection of talks at Treadwells. Full descriptions of all events are to be found now on website, http:www.treadwells-london.com. Treadwells 34 Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London Places booked on 0207 240 8906 or by email info@...

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Friday, August 26 Psychogeography: Walking with Intent
7.15 for 7.30 pm start £5.00 Julian Vayne, Practitioner

Thursday, September 1 Wilhelm Reich Reconsidered 7.15 for 7.30 pm start £5.00 Daniel Lowe

Nathaniel J Harris will also be talking
on "Phaerie Blood: Mysteries of Hereditary Witchcraft"

Nathaniel is a hereditary witch of East Anglian descent, taking the position of Fool in his parent coven. He has made a small number of television appearances, including a documentary commissioned by National Geographic featuring Nathaniel and other members of his family. His work 'Witcha, A Book of Cunning' (Mandrake of Oxford), was published late last year. His talk concerns the survival of 'old' witchcraft from the medieval period to the modern day, and will draw heavily from his personal experiences. at London Secret Chiefs on Wednesday 24th August - 8pm - at the Devereux Public House, 20 Devereux Court, London WC2, near Temple Underground)

Black Flag Productions - Crowley Classics

Well not sure where they come from - but two rather nice 'pirate' CDs have just landed in my inbox. They both contain electronic versions of 'restricted' material that can only be had at premium rates via secondhand markets - ie: White Stains (actually that may well still be in print from Duckworth); Snowdrops form a Curate's Garden; The Scented Garden; Leah Sublime; plus selected essays and comments.

The second CD is the famous wax cylinder recordings of Crowley. The producers are almost certainly those that previously issued The Secret Rituals of the OTO. It appearance put a few noses out of joint, icluding, so I'm told, people at Weiser's, who were wrongly credited on the CD with its publicationn. Obviously these are bootlegs and therefore highly controversial. Somebody out there obviously objects to the current restrictions on this material, enforced by various copyright holders - this is 'gorilla' war. So far, I have been no complaints about the previous issue from the Black Flag people. Last time a looked they were at: http://www.tobew.com/SR

2005 Canizares Book Award Finalists

Ashé Journal Announces 2005 Canizares Book Award Finalists

Ashé Journal is proud to announce the establishment of a award for spiritual nonfiction in honor of Baba Raul Canizares.

Canizares was one of the founding spiritual advisors to the Ashé project. He was a respected spiritual leader, author, artist and scholar. The Cuban born Canizares left a successful career in academia to devote himself full-time to his roll as a Santerian priest (santero). He founded the Orisha Consciousness Movement and continued to direct the organization until his death in December of 2002.

Journal editors chose four works as finalists for this years award. Eligible books included non-fiction works published between January 1 and December 31, 2004 that focused on a spiritual theme (historical, auto/biographical, scholarly, philosophical or devotional).

A selection from each chosen work will appear in the Summer 2005 edition of the Journal (street date July 25). Selection of the final award recipient will be based on reader selection. Voting will be conducted online via the Journal's web portal (http://www.ashejournal.com) and will commence with the issue's release. The Award winner will be announced in the Fall issue, September. The 2005 Finalists Are:

Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson In the Extent of My Own Stupidity,
Soko Morinaga (Translated by Belinda Attaway Yamakawa) Published by Wisdom Publications

The Shamanic Way of the Bee,
Simon Buxton Published by Inner Traditions Press

Jesus The Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love,
Will Roscoe Published by Suspect Thoughts Press

Queering Creole Spiritual Traditions,
Randy Conner Daniel Hatfield Sparks Published by Harrington Park Press

The Center of the Sunlit Sky,
Karl Brunnhölzl Published by Snow Lion Publications

For more information regarding the Canizares Book Award or Ashé Journal, contact the editor:
Sven Davisson Publisher Founding Editor Ashé Journal of Experimental Spirituality

http://www.ashejournal.com

Mystical Vampire: The Life and Works of Mabel Collins
By Kim Farnell

Omphalos (Bath alternative moot) Talks

All talks held at Batheaston Scout Hall, School Lane, Northend, Batheaston 7.30 til 9.00 p.m [ And yes its easy to find - map on request]

Sep. 10th. 2005 Payam Nabarz on Mithraism: the Pagan belief that shaped the Christian world
Mithraism, the ancient Roman mystery religion that was immensely popular in the Roman Legions from the late second century B.C. until A.D. 400 and was taken to every corner of the Roman Empire. As the last pagan state religion in Europe, it was the most important competitor to early Christianity and heavily influenced Christian doctrine and symbolism. The parallels between Christianity and ancient Mithraism are striking--for example, the god Mithra was born of a virgin in a cave on December 25.

Payam Nabarz reveals the history, origins, and spiritual and philosophical tenets of Mithraism and its connections to Christianity, Islam, and Freemasonry. He also describes the modern neo-pagan practice of Mithraism in evidence today.

Payam Nabarz, a Persian-born Sufi and practicing Dervish, holds a Ph.D. from Oxford University and is carrying out postdoctoral research there on genetics and cancer. He is a Druid in the Grove of the Order of the Bards, Ovates, and Druids; a member of the Golden Dawn Occult Society; and a revivalist of the Temple of Mithras. He lives in England.

Oct. 8th. 2005 Marian Green on Witchcraft, Magic and the Western Mysteries

Marian Green has been working in the field of ceremonial and folk magic since the early 1960s; she has also organised the Quest Conference every March since 1968 to bring together writers and their readers. She has written more than a dozen books on ceremonial magic and aspects of witchcraft as well as editing QUEST magazine since 1970. She is a council member of the Pagan Federation and former editor of Pagan Dawn.

Today Marian writes and teaches, both through The Invisible College at its various locations and at local gatherings of the Green Circle (an open organisation for seekers founded in 1985) . She often speaks at venues like Alternatives at St. James Church, Piccadilly, in London as well as at other national conferences. Since 1986 she has run ! weekend workshops in The Netherlands, often being one of the teachers during a week-long summer school.

Nov. 12th. 2005 Mogg Morgan on The Personification of Evil
Event Details: Mogg Morgan is a former member of the Typhonian O.T.O., a founder of the Oxford Golden Dawn Occult Society and a Zonule holder of east/west Tantrik order AMOOKOS. His daytime job is CEO of innovative ‘new edge’ publisher Mandrake of Oxford. He has published several books and articles, including Isis in India; Ayurveda: Medicine of the Gods; The English Mahatma (a Tankhem novel) , and as ‘Katon Shual’ a book on Sexual Magick. His most recent book is: Tankhem: Seth Egyptian Magick. Mogg will be speaking to us about his most recent research relating to The Bull of Ombos: Seth Egyptian Magick, Vol II.

Crowley, The Masons and The Mafia
by Akashanath, July 2005 e.v.

Introduction
Like many occultists, I avoid mentioning my practices to my secular friends wherever possible. One reason is the association most people seem to have between ritual magick and human sacrifice. My denials are often met with suspicion and disbelief. Today most serious occultists, whilst acknowledging that ritual slaughter played its part in the distant past, will scoff at the idea that it could have more than a symbolic role in modern magick.

An example of the gap between reality and popular perception can be found in the myth of Aleister Crowley, initiate of the Golden Dawn and founder of Thelema. Whilst it has now become relatively commonplace to hear him described as a child murderer, Crowley was actually never accused of this during his lifetime. He was, however, widely and publicly blamed for the death of his pupil Raoul Loveday. According to the Crowley Biography The Great Beast(1) , Loveday visited Crowley at his Abbey of Thelema in Cefalù in the summer of 1922. In April 1923, he died of dysentery. The London Press, although not levelling any direct accusation, called for an immediate investigation. While the reports seemed mainly to be an excuse to reprint salacious details of life in the Abbey, they nevertheless had some impact on the newly installed Italian fascist government. On April 23rd, if The Great Beast is to be believed, Crowley was summoned to the Police Station and shown an expulsion order. He left a week later.

Whilst Crowley’s murderous activities may have been largely imaginary, Mussolini may have had his reasons for being suspicious. Like most small Sicilian towns in the orbit of Palermo, Cefalù was run by Mafiosi. A new book by John Dickie titled Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia(2) , cites new evidence from research carried out after the Italian Mafia trials of the early 1990s. This material, much of it published in English for the first time, confirms long-standing rumours about links between the Mafia and other secret societies. It can now be verified that, like members of many magickal groups including the Golden Dawn and Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), members of the Mafia underwent initiation rituals, swore binding oaths of loyalty, and were organised into units based on geographical boundaries. Unlike their occult contemporaries, Mafiosi were then obliged to carry out tactical murders on the say so of their superiors, murders which often carried a gruesome symbolism.

The Origins of The Mafia Before the Mafia trials of the 1990s, many myths surrounding the secretive criminal fraternity were deliberately allowed to survive, and in some cases were actively fostered by Mafiosi themselves. One such notion was that the organisation stretched back to feudal times, representing a kind of underground aristocracy during successive foreign occupations. In his book Dickie argues convincingly that the Mafia in fact grew up during the Bourbon dynasty that ruled Sicily from Naples during the early nineteenth century. The Neapolitans brought with them Freemasonry, which grew in popularity from the 1820s. With its secret meetings and signs of recognition, masonry provided the perfect cover for revolutionaries and others not content with the Bourbon regime. As early as the 1830s nationalistic Sicilian lodges known as ‘carbonari’ (charcoal burners) were reported as cornering the market for certain types of government contract. Following Garibaldi’s successful uprising in 1860s, Sicily was incorporated into the new Italian state. Being ruled from Rome rather than Naples brought little advantage to the impoverished Sicilians, however. The secret societies did not disband, but refocussed their activities on extortion. Soon they had establised a stranglehold on the island’s valuable citrus trade. It was through this that connections were first made with American ports, connections which would multiply in value enromously when the export of lemons and limes was supplemented by a much more lucrative commerce - in opiates. The Mafia Initiation

The Mafia initiation ceremony is cited a few times in the book, based on ‘primary sources’ such as accounts from Mafia defectors. Details vary, but the basic pattern follows that laid out on page 160.

“… only six months earlier Verro [the initiate, a local trade unionist] had been woken at dawn by a handful of gravel thrown at the window of his house in via San Nicolò. As agreed, he dressed quickly. Once outside, he was led a short distance to the the house of a man he knew, a gabelloto [farm foreman] on one of the estates that surrounded the town. There he was shown into a room where he found a group of men around a table. At the centre were three rifles and a piece of paper with a skull drawn on it.

The presiding boss began by explaining the purpose of the meeting was to admit Verro to the secret association - the members called themselves Fratuzzi (‘the brothers’). When prompted the initiate Verro explained how the social movement he had founded in Corleone aimed to champion the interests of the oppressed proletarian masses. Satisfied with this account, the boss warned of the dangers that faced any man who did not keep the society secret.

Verro was asked to repeat the Fratuzzi oath of loyalty before holding out his right hand thumb to be pricked with a pin. The blood was smeared on the image of the skull, which was then burned. In the light of the flames, Verro exchanged a fraternal kiss with each of the mafiosi in turn. He was told that, to introduce himself to any member of the Fratuzzi, he was to touch his incisors and complain of a toothache. He was now a member of the Corleone cosca of the mafia.”

In some versions, the image of the skull is replaced with the image of a saint, and the rifles with knives or daggers. The author of Cosa Nostra suggests parallels with masonic initiations, without going into details, and indeed there are some. In particular, there are marked similarities between the above and the so-called ‘Vengeance Grades’. Although unfashionable nowadays, these enjoyed a wide popularity in the 18th and 19th centuries. The basic motif, as always, revolved around the murder of the Master Builder of the Temple of Jerusalem, Hiram Abif. In this version of the myth, the initiate discovers one of the assassins and plunges a knife into his breast. The Vengeance Grades have a particular resonance within Red Lodge masonry because of it’s Templar grades, and the oath of vengeance allegedly sworn by the Templars’ 23rd Grand Master, Jacques de Molay.

According to occult legend the Order goes ‘underground’ after being betrayed by the Church and French King. Whilst burning at the stake, de Molay cries out to God for vengeance - a prayer that is answered by the death of both Pope and King within the year. The coming decades also see the end of the French Capetian dynasty, with many of the remaining monarchs meeting unpleasant ends. This led them to become known as the Rois Maudits, or cursed line. Interestingly, the Vengeance Grades have often been cited by the Catholic Church as evidence of the murderous and un-Christian nature of masonry. As Cosa Nostra now reveals, though, the Mafia had at least as much overlap in membership with the Priesthood as with the Masons.

Crowley, of course, would have known a great deal about the Vengeance Grades: as ‘Outer Head’ of the Ordo Templi Orientis (or Order of the Eastern Temple), he would have had a special interest in the Templar grades of English masonry, and may well have used his Italian travels as an opportunity to familiarise himself with the variants practised abroad. Sicily was itself an important Crusader stronghold, part of a chain of island fortresses that brought supplies to, and treasure from, the Holy Land. Also the skull was an important Templar symbol (often but not always combined with the two crossed thigh bones now usually thought of in connection with pirates).

Of course, the skull also has a much more obvious secular meaning, which bears directly on the work of the Cosa Nostra. According to Dickie, murder was absolutely at the core of Mafia operations. In 19th and early 20th century Sicily, poverty was nearly universal and life was cheap. Dickie’s book documents numerous killings over incidents such as vandalised bushes or slight discourtesies, which could be interpreted as deliberate insults and therefore threats to the authority of Mafia bosses. One police informant is strangled (symbolising silence) after first having had his arm cut off (symbolising the futility of opposing the Mafia). Another boy is held hostage until his 14th birthday, and then strangled (murder of children was forbidden).

For me, the Mafia (as well as the Masons) exemplify the folly of taking oaths of loyalty and secrecy more seriously that one’s oaths to the gods or the higher self. Obedience and secrecy in secret societies may once have been necessitated by persecution, but nowadays is hard to justify. Personally, I like the injunction in Lokanath’s translation of the Ganesha Upanishad: “This Arthava Shira [Magickal Text] should not be given to those not pupils.” The requirement for secrecy is qualified: it’s OK to share with genuine students, but not to boast or try to impress those who have no real interest. All of which brings me full circle, to why I don’t talk about magick to my secular friends. All things being considered, there are usually plenty of other areas of mutual interest, often topics where I have more to learn and my friends have more to say. My magickal intent remains focussed, and my friends don’t start looking at me nervously and wondering if the rumours are true ...

References

1 Symonds, John (1951) The Great Beast: The Life of Aleister Crowley, Rider, London. Chapter XXI ‘The Gods Claim A Victim’, pp.197 -215
2 Dickie, John (2004) Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, Coronet, London

The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism (review)

Daniel C. Matt, Castle Books, 1997

Reviewed by Tom Bland
(who is facilitating a reading group in London based around this title - see end of review for details)

Daniel C. Matt, in his book The Essential Kabbalah, provides us with a perfect introduction to the central teachings of the Kabbalah. His book is a series of passages translated from the primary source material of the Kabbalah, organised and arranged by theme. He also provides a short and precise introduction that outlines a basic history of the tradition.

In his introduction, Matt touches upon the famed Lurianic Kabbalah, and provides an answer to why Rabbi Luria wrote down so little of his teachings.(1) Matt answers this through a reply Luria gave to a student who asked him why he had not written a book. Luria replied:

It is impossible, because all things are interrelated. I can hardly open my mouth to speak without feeling as though the sea burst its dams and overflowed. How then shall I express what my soul has received? How can I set it down in a book? (p14)

The question that Luria asks in the passage above is one I am sure Matt asked himself in composing this volume of extracts. Matt has chosen a poetic and graceful approach to the material. There is a simplicity to his translations that are both profound and yet subtle in style. It is this style which makes the renditions gentle in their nature. They have a contemplative quality that allows for the text to be meditated upon in a quiet space.

Matt’s translations are interpretative in nature. It is a hermeneutics that is grounded in good scholarly research on the passages. He provide notes on the passages at the end of the book, detailing the meaning of the more abstruse Hebrew and Aramaic terms, comparing the quotes to passages in other books of the Judaic canon, and finding connections with other mystical traditions in a way that is both relevant and meaningful.

This book is quite simply a good introduction to the esoteric teachings of the Kabbalah.(2) Matt writes with an eloquence that is able to speak to the soul as it comes from the soul. This mystical element is integral to the work, which is perfectly balanced with providing good and sound scholarship. This is what makes it remarkable is that Matt joins these two elements in a coherent whole, without privileging one over the other. It is truly what Henry Corbin calls a ‘dualitude,’ which means ‘two inseparable and two independent parts of a whole.’(3)

This is what makes Matt’s book essential reading for those involved either in Middle Eastern mysticism or in the Western esoteric tradition. It is important from an occidental perspective, because of the modern interest in Kabbalah, as expressed in A. E. Waite’s The Holy Kabbalah, Israel Regardie’s The Garden of Pomegranates, and Charles Ponce’s Kabbalah.(4) It offers a means of re-assessing these works in light of the original source material of the Kabbalistic tradition. It provides a way of deconstructing and reconstructing, deepening and elevating our knowledge of the Kabbalah.

To end this review, I quote a passage from Matt’s work that reveals the experience of wholeness, which is at the heart of the Kabbalah(5):

When you contemplate the Creator, realize that his encampment extends beyond, infinitely beyond, and so, too, in front of you and behind you, east and west, north and south, above and below, infinitely everywhere. Be aware that God fashioned everything and is within everything. There is nothing else. (p25)

Notes:

1) For more information on the Lurianic Kabbalah, see Sanford Drob’s website, which can be found at www.newkabbalah.com.

2) Matt’s synchronic introduction to the Kabbalah is perfectly complimented by J. H. Laenen’s historical approach to the subject in his Jewish Mysticism: An Introduction (Westminster John Knox, 2001).

3) The quote comes from Henry Corbin’s paper, The Dramatic Element Common to the Gnostic Cosmogonies of the Religions of the Book, published in the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 14: 3 4, Summer-Autumn, 1980, p. 220, n. 18.

4) Although occidental thinkers have known about Kabbalah since the Renaissance, it is only in the past hundred years that it has taken upon such a central role in the Western esoteric tradition, which is partially due to these texts.

5) See Chapter 4 of Moshe Idel’s Kabbalah: New Perspectives (Yale, 1988) for a discourse on the role of union and unity in the mysticism of the Kabbalah.

ALEPH
THE KABBALAH READING GROUP

‘Just as your hand, held before the eye, can hide the tallest mountain, so this small earthly life keeps us from seeing the vast radiance that fills the core of the universe.’
Nahman of Bratslav

This reading group is an introduction to the mysteries of the Kabbalah. It seeks to provide an overview of the essential concepts of the tradition. It will do this through the reading of the primary source material as translated in Daniel C. Matt’s book, The Essential Kabbalah, Castle Books, 1997. The book is a collection of passages from the whole range of Kabbalistic literature arranged by theme. The meetings will follow the general arrangement of the book.

Each meeting will consist of a basic fourfold structure. Firstly it will begin with a presentation on a particular theme, secondly by exploring the passages Matt provides on the concept, thirdly by comparing and contrasting these quotes, and finally by providing space for discussion and consideration. The topics will include the tree of life, God, creation and meditation. There will also be some presentations on topics not covered in Matt’s book, such as magic, angels and messianism.

The group is open to all. It attempts to integrate many different perspectives into a coherent whole. It embraces the scholarly, esoteric and mystical study of the Kabbalah.

The group will be held at the C. G. Jung Club Library in Chelsea, London. It will meet fortnightly on a Sunday from 4 to 6 pm. The dates for the group are:

September 11th and 25th
October 9th and 23rd
November 13th and 27th

The cost for attending each meeting will be £10.00.

The reading group will be led by Tom Bland.

Tom Bland is an independent researcher specialising in the study of the Kabbalah. He is also studying the writings of Carl Jung through Andrew Burniston’s study group. He is a member of the C. G. Jung Analytical Psychology Club.

To join the reading group please contact Tom on 020 8686 4373, or email him at inward@...

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Groups

Bath Omphalos, a Moot for LHP magicos in Bath area. For more details contact omphalospaganmoot@.... Essentially a discussion group at the moment, open to all. The first speaker meeting is

Conferences

5th Annual Witchcraft Seminar 23rd October 2005

Wookey Hole Caves, Somerset.

Speakers include Cassandra Eason, Rae Beth, Jack Daw, Julian Vayne, Teresa Moorey,

Ian Read, Cassandra Latham, Damh the Bard, Melissa Rufus Harrington and Hollow Bones.

For more information phone Adrian on 01749 674712 or visit our web site at www.witchcraftseminar.com