Omphalos The 131 Club Magickal Film Festival (review)

Omphalos The 131 Club Magickal Film Festival (review)

Surrounded as we occultists often are by 'tinkling vapidities' and the spawn of photoshop - it would be easy to forget how truly cutting edge magical cinema can be. What better way could there be to spend ones sunday but in the company of their satanic majesties? It was a very rich and productive day in the company of some real black-sky thinkers, both on and off the screen.

I arrived just in time to catch the end of film critic Levanah Morgan's introduction to the lost experimental works of Maya Deren. Deren is rightly famous as the maker of a groundbreaking documentary about Haitian Voodoo, into whose folds she eventually disappeared - before dying in a fit of rage. We sat in reverential silence as these luminous apparitions of the surreal captivated everyone there - which was no mean trick considering the actual soundtrack was lost. The experience was greatly enhanced by the loan of some state of the art projection equipment from the local film charity - which meant that even VHS copies were projected with a clarity rarely seen these days apart from in the very best arthouse cinemas. So it was a real surprise to experience Kenneth Anger's Lucifier Rising a perennial of many of good occult gathering - but this time as never seen before. Well I already feel totally renewed and its not even lunch time!

After a short break we saw two films by a contemporary film maker which showed how vibrant the art still is. Marc Aitkin warmed us up with a his previous work Do Angels Cut themselves Shaving an homage to post Crowley Victor Neuberg, addicted and strungout but still blessed by the occasional kiss of the yogini. This was followed by his new work inspired by his own spiritual journey from christian to thelemite - via the Abbey of Thelema - worth it just to see that handheld camera crawling through the window into the still just beating heart of Crowley' s Cefalu.

I must admit I took a break during the showing of James Stewart, Kim Novak, and Jack Lemmon in Bell, Book and Candle, a 1958 film directed by Richard Quine, where Hollywood actually got right for a change. Its a great film - so good that it gets played in our house almost every month - so I had a good excuse to eat my second sandwich.

I returned for Yinke Selley's "Dragon Dreaming, Dragon Rising" and "Happiness Tends to Infinity". Dragon Dreaming, Dragon Rising is a film of meditation and exploration into the ancient myth of St George and its roots in land, spirit, and psyche. A visual, rhythmic and poetic journey into the dragons archetypal and energetic meaning, which was another little gem which would almost anyone with a pagan heart would enjoy. There are loads more but by now I was flagging and had space in my little brain for one more which for me was the real star of the day, Gavin Baddeley's The Devil's Disciples. Gavin is a self styled satanist, which as he explained so eloquently in the film is really a form of post-rennaissance radical atheism. Really excellent piece of work covering all the main facts about the cult of satan in popular musick, as documented in his book 'Lucifer Rising' - which I've not yet read but will make a point of now doing. I never realised he was such a fan of schlock horror satanic sinema - very entertaining - and exactly where did you get that soft-core version of To the Devil a Daughter - we all want a copy now!

Well done Charlotte and the whole team for such a stimulating ride - I can wait for the next one.

Check out http://www.omphalos.org.uk/ Gavin Baddeley will be talking in the flesh sometime soon. - mogg.

The Key to Solomon's Key: Secrets of magic and masonry
by Lon Milo Duquette, £12.99, isbn 1888729147

Now I have to say this isn't the sort of area I'm normally interested in at all but as soon as I started to read this book I just couldn't put it down. It is written with a clarity and intelligence one rarely encounters in books covering this subject area. Duquette uses archaeological evidence, reasonable and informed speculation in a manner rare indeed amongst semi-popular books dealing with controversial aspects of biblical history.

When was first asked to review this book I thought it might be yet another version of that well known magickal grimoire The Key of Solomon of which there appear to be so many of late. But to my delight and not a little relief I found this not to be the case.

The first chapter of the book is titled 'I confess, I'm a Freemason' and it is in many ways the mysteries of freemasonry and their connection, mythic or historic, with the Knights Templars that provides the central theme of the book.

In his youth the author was a member of the 'Order of DeMolay' a Masonic organisation for young men between the ages twelve and twenty one, a sort of youth section of freemasonry. It was while a member of this organisation that his interest in such matters was first sparked. DeMolay it should be noted was apparently the last Grand master of the Knights Templar.

One of the first questions addressed in the book is the supposed lie at the heart of the church's teachings. Did this goad the Masons to make the leap from religious to mystical point of view and so become an order with a mystery tradition at its heart? Did they possess a truth so dangerous that it could only be passed on in secret among themselves? Was it a secret that both liberated them from religious slavery and also gave them, for a time at least, some leverage over the Catholic Church?

So what was this secret I can almost hear you screaming out? Ha! well dear reader I wouldn't want to spoil that discovery and couldn't do it justice in such a short review, so you will just have to read the book!

Duquette points out how Freemasonry is full of clues to what the secret was/is, might have been. He suggests that it is this tradition of mystical liberation that Freemasons have inherited from the Templars even if they failed to preserved the secret itself. But then again maybe it is the effect of the discovery that is more important than the secret itself?

The final section of the book gives excerpts from The Goetia, The Lesser key of Solomon or Clavicula Solomonis Regis including the list of the seventy-two traditional spirits with their attributes and abilities together with their magickal seals. Here the author connects this liberation mysticism born or maybe rediscovered by the Knights Templar or Pauvres Chevaliers du Temple to the so-called Solomonic grimoires. Could the clue be in their name and or their foundation myths? Recommended - Jack Daw

8pm - at the Devereux Public House, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, Strand, London WC2, near Temple Underground)

(Check for updates on http://www.pflondon.org) (Talking Stick began at The Plough on 14th February 1990, moving through the years to The Marquis Cornwallis, The Dog Trumpet, the Black Horse to the Princess Louise, there becoming Secret Chiefs on 15th March 2000. Now at the Devereux)

Wednesday 15th November – Geoff Freed (8pm start!!)

"The Awakening"

Geoff has been an apprentice pro-soccer player, a martial arts teacher, an engineer and a researcher into the paranormal. He has stayed periodically with Tibetan Monks at Samye Ling and is also an ex-Findhorn member. He argues that there is an alchemic process at work in the world consciousness which is part of an evolutionary paradigm shift. This will be explored and the history expanded to make clear the extraordinary events that are and will unfold.

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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

The Southwark Mysteries

23 November (Thurs) John Constable 7:15 for 7:30 start £8.00

This evening is the anniversary performance of the Southwark Mysteries, an epic cycle of poems and mystery plays which have been performed in Shakespeare's Globe, Southwark Cathedral and at many festivals. When it first appeared it took London by storm, and tonight John Constable performs it once again. In large part the Southwark Mysteries celebrate a character called ‘The Goose’ - the spirit of a medieval prostitute, licensed by the church yet buried in the unconsecrated Cross Bones graveyard. John Constable aka John Crow John Constable is a playwright, poet and performer. He is the author and playwright who also directs community dramas, holds storytelling workshops and leads unusual guided walks. Website: www.gooseandcrow.co.uk (film-clips) and www.into.org.uk/SouthwarkMysteries. Please book in advance for this Treadwell’s performance.

Nosce Te Ipsum : Lorraine Clarke

The Dean and Faculty for the Creative and Cultural Industries request the pleasure of your company at the opening reception of an exhibition of installation and mixed media works by Lorraine Clarke exploring the link between Magic, Medicine and Religion.

private view Tuesday 14 November 2006 6:00 - 9:00pm Performance by David Medalla Adam Nankervis 8:00pm

exhibition 15 November - 21 December 2006, 9:30am - 5:30pm Monday - Saturday

Art Design Gallery College Lane Hatfield, AL10 9AB. 01707 285376 info.uhgalleries@...

Coach transport at £7 per person is available on a 'first-come-first-served' basis for the PV evening, departing 6:00pm from York Way (next to St. Pancras Station). The coach will depart the gallery at 9:00pm for the return journey to St Pancras. Please send a cheque (of appropriate value) "payable to Euroart Studios Limited" to: Nigel Young, Euroart Studios, Unit 22F, 784/788 High Road, Tottenham, London, N17 0DA. Please also include your e-mail address as confirmation of your booking will be notified by e-mail.

Travel Information: UHG is adjacent the A1M junction 3. Frequent WAGN trains depart from London Moorgate (40 mins) or Kings Cross (25 mins) to Hatfield. The gallery is a short bus ride from the station, bus numbers 603 or 341. nayoung@... Tel: 07802 502136 www.euroart.co.uk

Arianrhod A Journey to Spiral Castle

By Levannah Morgan (review)

£3 PO Box 314, Exeter EX4 6YR cheques to J.Higginbottom (inclusive of postage).

This booklet explores the complex evolution of the Welsh goddess Arianrhod, from the earliest references to her in Welsh literature through to modern visions of her as a powerful stellar goddess of inspiration and magick. It traces the author's own experiential journey as a priestess of Arianrhod and suggests some ways of working with this goddess."

I’ve heard Levannah Morgan speak on a number of occasions, and I’ve always enjoyed what she had to say, how she said it and by and large have come away enriched by the experience.

She has also, in my eyes been one of the few woman whom I have heard talk of the Goddess forms in experiential, no holds barred, and dare I say I ‘real’ terms, and I’ve a lot of respect for what she has to say.

Thus I was more than willing to read and review this booklet, at that point sight unseen and subject relatively unknown.

A section of one of my bookcase holds some of my most valued magical literature. Not a hard cover amongst them, they are all magazines or all self-published booklets, oft printed in small numbers but containing more information that many of my glossy and expensive tomes do.

Bearing the above in mind it is really no surprise I find it as easy to write a review for ‘Arianrhod- A Journey to Spiral Castle’ as I would for a more traditionally formatted book.

‘Arianrhod’ is a great booklet; it is nicely written and in a relatively few pages (which includes a bibliography and all online sources used) she explores the roots of the Welsh Goddess Arianrhod in historical terms, as well as looking at the process in which Robert Graves fleshed out a very rudimentary amount of information to animate the Arianrhod who became so well known amongst the contemporary Pagan community.

Then Levannah goes back to source, so to speak, and presents her own research, and historical and experientially realised interpretations and perceptions of Arianrhod.

This results in an easy to read balance of the proverbial art and science that could be seen as being the backbone of true magic.

I think this booklet will be enjoyed and appreciated by practitioners of many diverse paths as well as being appreciated in general by those of both an academic and a creative bent.

‘Arianrhod- The Spiral Castle’ is of interest not just for the process, both academic and creative, of giving life, substance and character to a god/dess form but also for Levannah’s relating of more personal aspects of her journey, which creates an accessibility that endears the reader further.

Her suggested practical work is well done too; written in intensely ocular and evocative language, the visualisation is near automatic as one reads the text.

Call me a shallow, but aesthetics are of great importance to me, and the pleasing presentation only adds to something that at three pounds is more than a bargain.

Julian Vayne (author of Now That's What I Call Chaos Magick) writes:
So we all know Arianrhod right? Goddess of the Silver Wheel and Spiral Castle. Sister (or reflection) of Ariadne, the spider queen; haughty lady of the strange legend of Llew Llaw Gyffes and Blodeuwedd. Well yes and no. These things are part of the story but the tale of Arianrhod is much subtler as Levannah Morgan shows. This slim, well-produced volume traces the evolution (or creation) of this goddess from the earliest Welsh legends into contemporary paganism and directly into Levannah’s own story. As a Welsh speaker Levannah is able to shed light on the first traces of the goddess in both text and the Welsh landscape. She shows how the modern perception of her myth was woven according to the ‘poetic truth’ of Robert Graves and later stitched into the fabric of twentieth century Wicca. But this book is far from a hatchet job on an esteemed member of the modern pagan pantheon. Instead Levannah demonstrates how the goddess herself has been woven, and celebrates the creativity of this process. Levannah provides some evocative glimpses into how she has contributed to this divine fabric herself through her work in 1970s goddess feminism, witchcraft and the Fellowship of Isis. An excellent marriage of well researched cold hard facts and poetic, inspired magick, this book is a essential reading for anyone who wishes to walk the spiral road to the castle of the Otherworld. Highly Recommended.

As Brothers Fight Ye?

Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog # 9. has some interesting and informative items. For example:

James Graeb, Legal Papers relating to the Ordo Templi Orientis. 2000. A large collection of photocopied documents, emails, letters etc collected together by James Graeb, former IX° member of OTO, and later given by him to Helen Parsons Smith. Most were collected together by Graeb at the time of the copyright suit with A. R. Naylor, and comprise materials relevant to that suit (ranging from copies of Crowley's and McMurtry's wills, to documents about the structure of the OTO, its incorporation, the selection of its Officers etc etc.) as well as Graeb's attempts to negotiate a settlement between the parties. Other documents relate to Graeb's subsequent expulsion from the Order - in part for involving himself in said process. Over four hundred pages in total. Most have been carefully put into sections separated by colored dividers, and been secured together with a comb-binding - creating a huge book some two inches thick. The remainder are contained in a manila envelope. Of particular interest is the lengthy transcript of the OTO meeting to elect McMurtry's successor which has been annotated by Helen Parsons Smith (one of the key participants) with the full names of those in attendance, and some further comments concerning about the eligibility of some of those present to vote. VG condition. (31692) $250.00

An illustrated version of this catalog, with numerous photographs, can be found at: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalog/

Groups Meetups

Conferences Gatherings

PF Wessex April 07 Speakers: Maxine Sanders; Mogg Morgan, entertainment: Inkubus Sukubus; Wolfshead Vixen Morris. More to be announced.