Category Archives: Comment

January 23, 2012 · 2:11 pm

Alex vs the First Amendment

At times when I am desperately bored I read the UK’s comedy newspaper, the Daily Mail, looking for some badly written news article … and just today I find one entitled Pagan mother’s fury after son brings home Bible from school but witchcraft books are banned. It tells of a Pagan woman who was outraged when her son brought home – of his own accord, mind! – a Bible from school, which was one of a consignment donated by the Gideon Society. So incenced was she that such scurrilous literature was available at the school, she tried to bring in a load of spell-books to distribute to the pupils… but was declined.

This story is remarkable for a number of reasons. For a start, this is the first time I have heard of a Pagan giving her books away for free, given that Llewellyn usually charges top-dollar for all kinds of rubbish 😉 . Secondly and more to the point, though, American schools apparently have an all or nothing approach to religion based upon an interpretation of the First Amendment. This is alleged to be part of a successful “grand experiment” to avoid religious trouble which has happened in e.g. Germany and Ireland. This of course plainly ignores the fact that such trouble has not happened in the UK, which operates a Church-of-England-by-default-but-you-can-opt-out-of-it-if-you-want type of system. Maybe this system works in the UK because the Church of England doesn’t count as a proper religion!

Anyhoo, in the all-or-nothing debate, I am backing the “All” option – for the simple reason that if it goes through, I intend to found my own religion! That way people will be forced to read my books! (Actually I don’t mind if they don’t read them as long as they pay for them 😉 ).

Incidentally, I note from another article on the same news story, that the day the School Board is meeting to decide whether to allow Pagan Books in schools is February 2nd. Oh the irony!

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December 24, 2011 · 6:26 pm

Yale Scientists want to brainwash you into becoming mindless Zombies

“Inception becomes reality: People can teach themselves new skills in dreams” says the Daily Mail. Apparently researchers at Yale University have published a paper on the same in this week’s New Scientist.

Honestly: when I first read the article, I thought that the Daily Mail had raided my site for one of my old blog posts – but no, apparently, despite the fact that lucid dreamers like myself and others have been saying it for years, some scientists have now done experiments on it, which purportedly makes it official. The idea of being able to control ones dreams so as to stimulate ones learning sounds so plausible to me that I didn’t really give it much of a second thought. Until I saw the following throwaway remark – referring to Peter Morgan, the author of the paper:

Morgan hopes to be able to improve a person’s social control and decision-making abilities.

(Emphasis added).

I think not! Is it just me or does this remark sound incredibly dodgy? What the fuck is a person’s “social control” any business of Peter Morgan, Yale University, or anyone else’s for that matter? To “improve” a person’s social control you have to lay down a standard by which it can be judged. In other words, it entails imposing one’s own arbitrary values on someone else. And they intend to control someone’s dreams to do it!!! Never have I heard of such an intrusive idea! Oh wait, yes I have, as a matter of fact: Aldous Huxley first wrote about the same thing in Brave New World in 1932. Fuck me, these scientists ought to be ashamed of themselves.

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November 9, 2011 · 12:45 pm

How To Use Satanism To Market Your New Book

Aleister Crowley (1875 – 1947)

Aleister Crowley has been condemned for many things such as leading a debauched life of sex, drugs and Eastern mysticism, and for making the Occult popular today. He has also been praised for many things, such as leading a debauched life of sex, drugs and Eastern mysticism, and for making the Occult popular today. He has of course also been made the subject of a number of unfounded allegations, of which I thought I had all heard – until now. Whilst reading the Evening Standard (hey! I was bored) yesterday, I came across the newest allegation, in a full page article luridly entitled: “Were six bizarre deaths, linked to curse of King Tut, actually the work of this notorious Satanist?”

Apparently this is the theme of a new book published this week called London’s Curse: Murder, Black Magic & Tutankhamunby a chap called Mark Beynon, whom the Evening Standard describes as a “historian.”  The Curse of Tutankhamun has been the subject of books before, but this new work focusses on some half a dozen deaths allegedly connected with it. Amongst those cited are:

  • Captain Richard Bethell, personal secretary to Howard Carter – died in his sleep whilst staying at his Mayfair club in 1929.  Beynon alleges that he was “smothered.”
  • Lord Westbury, father of Bethell, died from falling from a sixth-floor window in St James, 1930. Beynon states that he kept Egyptian artifacts which his son had given him. NB: Lord Westbury was 78 at the time.
  • E A Wallis-Budge, the famous Egyptologist, died at home in Bloomsbury in 1934 aged 77.
  • Aubrey Herbert, Lord Caernarvon’s half-brother, died in a hospital in Park Lane in 1923. Wikipedia states that he died from complications arising from an extremely bizarre dental procedure, although Beynon said that he had recently visited Luxor as well.

Now Howard Carter first breached the seal of Tutankhamun’s tomb in November 1922, only fully entering the tomb in February 1923. The original idea of The Curse arose from Lord Caernarvon dying just three months after stepping inside, in April 1923. Thereafter, a number of deaths of people connected with the expedition in relatively quick succession poured fuel on the notion.

Hence: although Aubrey Herbert’s demise looks pretty ominous, the other deaths cited begin to look increasingly improbably due to the remoteness in time from the opening of the tomb (Howard Carter himself died in 1939). Also note that two of the people in the list above were in their late seventies, so Lord Westbury’s demise could have been an accident due to his infirmity.

Ah, no! Says this new book. They were in fact all murdered by notorious Satanist Aleister Crowley! Indeed, Crowley rushed over from North Africa to London in 1923 to murder Aubrey Herbert, and then plotted the deaths of the others over an eleven (!) year period. Now here is the kicker: the reason that Beynon concentrates on these as well as certain others is apparently because that their places of death, when plotted on a map of London, form a Pentagram, which is obviously a Satanic symbol.

Where can I begin to pick apart this notion? Well for a start there is an allegation in the book that “Crowley murdered his servants while in India.” I presume this is a reference to the infamous Kangchenjunga incident in which one of Crowley’s fellow mountaineers and two servants died not through being murdered but in an avalanche. (Crowley did attract notoriety for this, not for causing their death but for not going to help them after they had suffered their accident, thus breaking the code of honour commonly observed by mountaineers). However the most glaring flaw in the whole scheme is the inclusion of Wallis-Budge. Wallis-Budge retired from the British Museum in 1924, only a year after the opening of the Tomb, and was not directly involved in the Expedition. Crowley would however have had reason to be grateful to Wallis-Budge, as the latter was the pre-eminent translator of classic Egyptian texts such as the Papyrus of Ani (aka The Book of the Dead).

It seems fairly obvious to me that Wallis-Budge’s death has been included for the sole purpose of finding fifth point for the overly-contrived Pentagram-theory. Indeed, poor old Aleister Crowley seems to have been picked upon simply because he was the most famous occultist around the time of the alleged events. Never mind that there were other students of the Egyptian mysteries alive during the whole time period! I suppose it was probably too difficult to actually find evidence against one of the more obscure occultists of the time period, although were Mark Beynon a real historian, in the academic sense of the word, this kind of task would be par for the course.

All in all, the attendant press-hype is a good example of how to use Satanism to market your new book.

THE NOVELS AND SHORT STORIES OF ALEX SUMNER – NOW AVAILABLE FROM AMAZON AND ITUNES (the author would like to point out that rather than scholarly historical works, his books are most definitely fiction!)

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October 31, 2011 · 11:46 am

Places to celebrate Halloween

  • Glastonbury – it having the highest concentration of pagans in any one place in England, it comes as no surprise that Samhain is very popular here.
  • Whitby – Traditional hang out for Goths, owing to its association with Count Dracula. This, incidentally, reminds me of one of the bugbears I have with Dracula, the original Bram Stoker novel. If you were an aristocratic vampire, with a big castle, abundant wealth, three hot mistresses, and a nearby peasant population in case you needed a snack – why on Earth would you want to move to Whitby in North Yorkshire? I was discussing this in the pub the other day, and we came to the conclusion that Dracula moved to Whitby because they do nice fish and chips there – this being the only good thing they could think of saying about the town. Needless to say, Francis Ford Coppola spotted this plot-hole when he made his film version, but decided to reject the fish and chips angle and go with something implausible about searching for the reincarnation of Dracula’s long-lost lover. (But again: this begs the question – why did she reincarnate in Whitby, if not for the Fish Suppers?)
  • Cordoba, Spain. Apparently there is a bar called Oculto Cafe which as its name suggests is an occult-themed bar in Cordoba, which sounds like a nice place. Unfortunately, when I read a review about it, the reviewer got so freaked out about the “Satanic” decor that he forgot to say whereabouts in Cordoba it actually is! Fortunately this is not a problem for the resourceful magician like yours truly, as if I ever go there I will surely find it by using my powers of dowsing – either that or going on a pub-crawl of all the bars in the town just to check if it’s the right one.

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October 28, 2011 · 10:18 am

Which Witch?

Halloween is rapidly creeping up on us, so I was interested to read to day of a researcher who has collated a list of every single person who was ever tried for Witchcraft in Britain (including the Channel Islands) during the so-called “Burning Times,” (nb kids, most of them were hung!) i.e. from 1289 to 1712. A certain amount of circumspection must be taken with this list, as a significant number of people had their charges demonstrably trumped up: either because they were political enemies of the King of the time; or they were some other Undesirable e.g. being a Roman Catholic in Protestant Britain. However, here are the numbers suitably crunched.

The grand total of people tried was 320.

Of these the total number of people known to have received a “Fatal Sentence” – in which I have included both being executed and dying in prison – was 199 (62.2%). Of these,

  • 108 were hanged (33.8%)
  • 49 were burnt (15.3%)
  • 8 died in prison (2.5%)
  • 1 was hung, drawn and quartered (0.3%)
  • Whilst 33 (10.3%) were executed in an unspecified manner.

Of the remainder,

  • 2 (0.6%) escaped execution by fleeing the country;
  • 15 (4.7%) were given a Non-Fatal sentence (e.g. banishment, the pillory, imprisonment, dismissal from service, miscellaneous);
  • 6 (1.9%) were either pardoned or reprieved;
  • 36 (11.3%) were acquitted altogether;
  • Whilst the fate of 62 (19.4%) is unclear from the records available.

Source: http://www.fancydress.com/content/Witch_List

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September 5, 2011 · 11:38 am

Free Peter Aziz!

British-based Ayahuascero Peter Aziz

Disturbing news that a Shaman living in England has been convicted and imprisoned for supplying a class A drug. Peter Aziz is an Ayahuascero who has been conducting Ayahuasca healing-sessions in the West country for several years now. Ayahuasca – the Peruvian “Vine of Death” – is technically legal in the UK … but decocting it into an Ayahuasca Tea is not, as apparently this counts as supplying L-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which in England is a banned substance.

This will come as disappointing news to Ayahuasca enthusiasts in this country, who will now have to travel abroad to Spain or Peru itself if they want to go on a healing session.

Your humble blogmaster whilst not a partaker himself is nevertheless acquainted with more than a few people who have gone on Ayahuasca retreats. The remarkable thing is that in most cases they have come back looking and acting healthier, and reporting beneficial changes, for example, resolution of various psychological issues, or being miraculously cured of long-standing illnesses such as allergies.

However, I have also heard of people who complained that some Ayahuasca sessions were run by people who did not know what they were doing, and hence the sessions did not go particularly well. Clearly, Ayahuasca should only be taken – if it is going to be taken at all – strictly under the supervision of someone who is thoroughly trained in it, e.g. by having studied extensively under Peruvian shamen. Which is ironic seeing as Aziz, who is one of the few British-based Ayahuasceros who is reputable in this respect, has just been banged-up in hokey.

Given that Ayahuasca apparently has therapeutic uses, we should be conducting scientific studies to see if it can be incorporated into mainstream medical practice, and establish a responsible methodology for its administration: not prosecuting Ayahuasceros who act in good-faith, such as Aziz. I do hope that Aziz gets out soon, preferably by having his conviction overturned.

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August 11, 2011 · 9:28 am

Looters spared by Void Of Course Moon

The seal of Andromalius.

So there I was, thinking, “What can I, Alex Sumner, the world’s greatest expert on the occult, do to help the people of London who have been affected by the riots recently? I know: I’ll evoke the demon Andromalius to get all the looters to return the property they have stolen!” So I decided to cast a Horary figure to see whether this was a good idea or not.

And what do you know? The Moon – which, in Horary astrology indicates the circumstances in which the question arises, would not form a major aspect with another planet until after it left the current sign (Capricorn). It would however form several minor aspects, i.e. be inconjunct to a retrograde Mercury, and semi-sextile to Neptune and Caput Draconis.

So here is my dilemma. According to one definition, if the Moon does not form a major aspect to another planet before it leaves the sign it is in, it is said to be “Void of Course” (VOC). If a Horary figure is drawn when the Moon is VOC, the only information it provides is that “Nothing will come of this question” (NB: not “the whole chart is meaningless” – the chart has a meaning, just not a very helpful one). So unless VOC is defined as “any aspect” instead of “any major aspect,” it would appear that the looters have been spared the wrath of Sumner by a Void of Course moon.

(If however the chart is not VOC, I would still be put off because the Lord of the Ascendant – Mercury is not only retrograde, but opposed to retrograde Neptune. Deceit, deception and illusion (retrograde Neptune) are likely to cause my project to go awry (retrograde Mercury)!)

More generally though, when looking at the chart for the day, one notices that there is a Grand Cross featuring four Malefic planets – Mars, Saturn, Pluto (r) and Uranus (r). At the height of the trouble several days ago, the Moon transitted retrograde Pluto!

This could of course be a coincidence … or it could mean that THERE WILL BE FRESH TROUBLE NEXT WEEK – when the Moon transits Uranus. There will also probably be a new development in the phone hacking scandal when it transits the Mercury-Neptune (both retrograde) opposition.

Horary figure for the question: "I intend to evoke Andromalius to cause all looters to return their stolen property. Is this a good idea?" Note also the current planetary positions.

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June 17, 2011 · 2:03 pm

Black Swan

Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman

I don’t normally review DVDs but this one was recommended to me by another occultist. “Alex!” he said to me. “This has got deep Qabalistic significance – it’s all about the Pillars of Mercy and Severity!” Intrigued, I decided to investigate.

There is obvious dualistic symbolism throughout the film – for example, Natalie Portman spends most of the film wearing white clothings, while Mila Kunis wears dark. However with the greatest respect to the Frater who suggested it to me, Black Swan is a perfect example of how not to integrate light and dark, yin and yang into ones personality. The way of the initiate is that of Balance, i.e. the Middle Pillar. One makes use of both mercy and severity as the need arises but without ever becoming in thrall to either. This is not the method by which Portman’s character is able to portray both the Swan Queen and the Black Swan (Hidden spoiler alert). She is suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder (“split personality”).

However, instead of Qabalistic symbolism the film is more of an example of a “magical realistic” type of filming. As such, the film needs to be analysed at a metafictional level in order to really understand what is going on: although the director over-eggs the pudding by becoming more and more obvious with the visual clues as the film progresses towards its climax. One of the clever touches though was featured earlier on. Whilst Portman is practicing her ballet, she is filmed in a rehearsal room with a large mirror. However, the camera is not seen in the mirror! The obvious reason for this is that it is an example of trick photography. However – could  it not have a deeper meaning – a visual metaphor for the idea that the mirror does not reflect reality?

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June 12, 2011 · 1:23 pm

The Divine Current: It works!!!

Constance: The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde

When a candidate to the Golden Dawn is obligated, he or she has to swear a terrible oath, the breaking of which entails sinister occult penalties for those who are foresworn. In the Cipher Manuscript the penalties were described simply as:

Death or Palsy

In the original Golden Dawn, this was described more colourfully as:

…the awful penalty of voluntarily submitting myself to a deadly and hostile current of will set in motion by the chiefs of the Order, by which I should fall slain and paralyzed without visible weapon as if slain by the lightning flash.

At Whare Ra this was rendered:

…a deadly Stream of Power, set in action by the Divine Guardians of this Order, Who, Living the light of their Perfect Justice, can, as tradition and experience affirm, strike the breaker of this magical obligation with death or palsy, or overwhelm him with misfortune.

In the Bristol Temple of the Stella Matutina, whence Regardie half-inched the rituals that he published in The Golden Dawn, the corresponding passage is rendered:

…a Stream of Power, set in motion by the Divine Guardians of this Order, Who live in the light of their Perfect Justice, and before Whom my Soul now stands.

So basically we can infer that the penalty was meant to be some pretty heavy-duty magic, like being struck down by a lightning bolt – only the Bristol temple decided to water it down and make it sound like some kind of fluffy-bunny politically correct version.

Now some people with an interest in esoteric Freemasonry – or at least, those people who remain in Freemasonry longer than two minutes so they can appreciate how esoteric it can be – will be aware of the Symbolic Penalties. Furthermore, they may be interested to know if they are not already aware that after you see through all the blood and gore, each Symbolic Penalty relates to a chakra: the first to the Throat; the second to the Heart; the third to the Solar-Plexus. This has further led people like Sebottendorf to speculate that the S…s – which relate to the Symbolic Penalties – indicate the way energy flows in a particular degree.

Now let’s look again at the original Golden Dawn obligation. Whilst the Cipher Manuscript merely talks about death or palsy, the version created by Mathers says: “as if slain by the Lightning Flash.” Oh-ho! The Lightning Flash is also the symbolic arrangement of the Sephiroth on the Tree of Life! So perhaps Mathers too had this instinctive grasp of the relation between the Symbolic Penalty and the Energy Flow. Perhaps the real meaning – i.e. the real nuance that Mathers was trying to convey – was that if a Neophyte did not integrate the lightning flash (i.e. the Tree of Life) in his or her soul, then they would end up being destroyed by it instead. If this be true, and it appears quite reasonable, then we have to thank Mathers and his knowledge of the true value of Freemasonry for getting this point across.

There is however one problem with this whole business of being slain by the Lightning Flash, and that for all the oath-breakers in the original Golden Dawn there is no evidence that any of them ever suffered it. Until now. Some enterprising historian has actually discovered that at least one member of the Golden Dawn was actually struck down from creeping paralysis and was overwhelmed with misfortune after she left the order: Constance Wilde, wife of the famous playwrite. In a story published in the Sunday Express today, it is alleged that Constance Wilde left the order after only a year as a member and revealed such as she had learned to her husband. Everyone is familiar with the calamities that befell Oscar thereafter, but apparently she herself died aged 40, after having suffered from paralysis in her arms and legs.

Crikey! So the deadly stream of power does work after all! Ironic, then, that with all the people who did break their oaths and damaged the order, she was the only to succumb. Even more ironic is the fact that if you read Wilde’s output there is no evidence that he made use of any of Constance’s secrets. Want more irony? The first London production of Salome was put on in 1905 … directed by Florence Farr. 😉

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June 11, 2011 · 1:08 pm

The Magus Trilogy (vlog)

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