Category Archives: Supernatural

Including references to the Supernatural, Praeternatural, Paranormal, Occult, and magick generally.

August 4, 2010 · 12:07 pm

Creative Visualisation – Lessons from a Christian Mystic

Here are two methods creative visualisation which you can use to alter your life for the better. These are basic techniques which ideally should be carried out every day. You may notice a certain similarity to techniques recommended by certain occult or new-age / theosophical sources suggesting that they are far eastern in origin, but in fact they are nothing of the sort: they were actually first mentioned by the fifteenth century mystic Saint Thomas à Kempis. Not only is this Saint respected in exoteric Christian circles, he is also endorsed in Rosicrucian ones as well, e.g. Theophilus Schweighardt.

Thomas à Kempis wrote:

If you cannot recollect yourself continuously, do so once a day at least, in the morning or in the evening. In the morning make a resolution and in the evening examine yourself on what you have said this day, what you have done and thought, for in these things perhaps you have often offended God and those about you.

Imitation of Christ, book 1, chapter 19, “The Practices of a Good Religious.”

Kempis has an unfortunate pre-occupation with sin and offending God, and comes across as negative. He could of course have focussed on the positive instead – by recollecting oneself at the end of the day one might discern that you have pleased God and those about you – not for the sake of indulging in piety, but for that of rejoicing in the goodness of the Universe.

Yet in this short quote Kempis has hit upon the basis for a workable system of daily creative visualisation. I have therefore formulated the following practices of which anyone of any faith (or lack thereof) may make use.

Morning: “Prospective Visualisation”

First thing in the morning on waking up, visualise how your day is going to proceed whilst mentally repeating an appropriate affirmation or resolution. You should visualise yourself being successful at everything you know is going to happen, i.e. you see yourself being happy, being popular, achieving what you want to achieve, etc. You can even visualise things coming to you from sources outside your conscious control – i.e. because your mind is connected to the Universe in ways which you only unconsciously appreciate. Never assume that anything is completely impossible, even if it seems unreasonable, because you would then be creating limiting self-beliefs.

Evening: “Retrospective Visualisation”

This is almost identical to an exercise which I recommend in connection with Lucid Dreaming. In the evening, last thing before going to bed, meditate by visualising the events of the day, remembering them backwards. When you discern something going right for you, contemplate a feeling of gratitude to whoever caused it, and to the universe in general. If you realise something went wrong, you should also express gratitude for being able to discern your mistake, and resolve that you will learn from your experience and do better in the future.

Results

Getting into the habit of using creative visualisation regularly everyday increases the probability that one day you will be pleasantly surprised to find events happening as you had intended them that morning. This can include apparently remarkable occurrences like people getting in contact with you, offering you opportunities, which you did not cause to happen. In fact you did cause them, though not in a way that skeptics might appreciate.

Retrospective visualisation helps to improve the memory – some sources allege that it can ultimately help one recall ones past lives. I also find that by doing this immediately before going to sleep, ones dreams are less likely to be plagued by memories of the day just gone, and instead will be filled with images from the deeper levels of the unconscious.

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August 1, 2010 · 3:46 pm

Golden Dawn Manuscripts and Where to Find Them

This blog post was first published in August 2010. Recently it has been brought to my attention that some of its contents need updating! See below for details.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is of course probably the most influential occult society of all time. Recently [i.e. July 2010] a book has appeared on Amazon entitled The Golden Dawn: Unpublished Lectures of the Hermetic Order of the AO. This has sparked some controversy on message boards across the interwebby thing along the lines of “It’s a fake,” “Oh no it’s not,” “Oh yes it is,” etc ect tec.

This got me thinking: where can a scholar go to find the original Golden Dawn manuscripts him- (or her-) self? So for example one does not have to rely on books of dodgy provenance? For this reason I present the following. Note that I do not claim that accessing any of the following is easy – this is probably why the original manuscripts of the GD remain not so widely known.

The Warburg Institute, London

Contains: The Yorke Collection

This archive is famous for containing Aleister Crowley’s papers, most of which have now found their way into print – either with or without the OTO’s approval. For a Thelemic magician this would be interesting enough. However two points should be noted: amongst Crowley’s own papers are documents which he himself got from the Golden Dawn, and from Allen Bennet, when he was a member.

Secondly, the Yorke Collection also contains Golden Dawn material that would never have come into Crowley’s possession. This includes material from the AO on the Tarot, and most interestingly a number of rituals of the “Cromlech Temple” (otherwise known as the Holy Order of the Sun) which to my knowledge have not seen the light of day, proverbially speaking.

The rest of the Golden Dawn material seems to be a complete set of documents of just about everything that was published by Regardie, as well as the Flying Rolls which were later published by Francis King.

Entrance to the Warburg Institute is free so long as you are a student or member of staff of a recognised University and are engaged in a relevant course of study – documentary evidence of this will be required. So hoi polloi cannot just turn up and discover the Sun Order’s Ritual of Initiation of Fire for instance by claiming to be a “student of the mysteries,” I think they might be wise to that one.

[2018 update: Since I first wrote this, the Warburg Institute has completely redesigned its website, so that it is now quite atrocious for trying to look up what is and what isn’t in the Yorke Collection. If they have not been alienating property from the collection, they are certainly doing so to researchers! Grrr.]

Bridwell Library, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.

Contains: The Carr P Collins Collection

Carr P Collins Jr (born 1918) was highly interested in druidism, wicca and magick and was allegedly the source of the documents which Regardie used for The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic. Maddeningly however his collection is not fully inventorised – at least not on the web.

The Bridwell Library may be used by students and staff of Southern Methodist University: otherwise it is necessary to become an associate member which costs $50 per annum. As far as I am aware you have to be in situ to make use of the facilities, so if anyone is in Dallas kindly let me know what goodies are there!

The National Library of Ireland

Contains: Occult Papers of W B Yeats

Of all the members of the Golden Dawn, Nobel laureate W B Yeats achieved the most in public life, so it was kind of inevitable that the Republic of Ireland would want to preserve his papers for the world. Fortunately for the Golden Dawn scholar, Yeats was an Adeptus Exemptus of the Stella Matutina – so his archives in the National Library of Ireland contain  manuscripts from the original order of the GD, the “Morgan Rothe” which was the London faction’s name when the order split in 1900, and the latter Stella Matutina all the way up to 7=4. It also contains Yeats’ GD notes and a lot more besides.

Two documents from the higher grades of the Stella Matutina are particularly interesting. One is a detailed analysis of the Adeptus Major 6=5 ceremony, which describes the inner astral workings of the ritual: this has been published by George Mills Harper in Yeats’ Golden Dawn. The other is the 7=4 ritual itself, whose full title is “The Mystical Grade of 7º = 4 Being the Grade of the ROD Which Blossoms. ” NB A version of the 7=4 ritual was published by Pat Zalewski in which it was called the “rose which blossoms.” However, assuming the Yeats version is the correct one, this would imply that the 7=4 is themed about the story of Aaron’s Rod, which when it blossomed confimed Aaron’s authority as High Priest.

Sometime last year photos were made available on Flickr of a small sample of the kind of things which are in the Yeats collection. A goodly sample is can also be viewed online in the Virtual Yeats Exhibition.

Yeats’ handwritten / drawn notes on the Minutum Mundum

Most excitingly the Library indicates that it may make copies of items in the collection which are in good condition, also the price of actually doing so is enough to dissuade most indigent occultists.

Miscellaneous

I personally know of the location of several other original GD documents although scholarly access to them is limited for one reason or another. For example, the Library and Museum of Freemasonry at Great Queen Street has a cache of material belonging to Wynn Westcott: unfortunately it is still in the process of being catalogued so it won’t be available for public inspection until sometime in the (hopefully near) future.

[2018 update: however, a lot more work has been done since 2010 – see: The Library & Museum of Freemasonry > Explore > Search The Collections.]

There are also organisations to which members of the GD also belonged, which have material from the GD locked in their cupboards for safekeeping: however just how much is hidden away I cannot say. I was privileged enough to have a brief glimpse inside one such archive and found a single ritual dating from 1916, and nothing else from the GD (the ritual itself is one that has already been published).

Doubtless there are other archives about the place, not to mention the collections of private individuals (e.g. Bob Gilbert), so I shall probably post a follow up to this post once I have tracked them down.

[2018 update: the preceding comment should be re-read in the light of my subsequent blog-post, Golden Dawn Exhibition, 19th December 2013]

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July 31, 2010 · 11:20 am

Happy Lugnasadh!

Lugnasadh or “Lammas-tide” (July 31st) is an ancient pagan feast which yet again has been assimilated into the Christian church, in much the same way that Samhain has been assimilated in the form of Hallowe’en. Lugnasadh is the origin of the Harvest Festivals which take place in churches up and down the land.  Apparently in Pagan times it was also when the divine priest-king was sacrificed in the fields and his body scattered.

Poor old dying god! He keeps getting sacrificed and reborn all the time!

According to my book of witchy things (“What Witches Do” by Stewart Farrar), on this day cakes and wine are meant to be taken as well – so doubtless I shall observe this obligation later.

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July 27, 2010 · 7:15 pm

The Ultimate Sigil

This is a re-post of something which I did last year which appeared on my Facebook page but not on my website.

The Ultimate Sigil

So there I was,  tinkering around with sigils, and I thought to myself: “Hang on! Creating a new one for every new magic spell is a bit of a rigmarole? Why not just create one all-purpose sigil?”

The Ultimate Sigil with elemental colours.

After some experimentation, I came up with this design (see left). Given that there are 26 letters in the English language, it follows that one sigil which contains all of them therefore represents all possible sigils that can ever be expressed in English. The Ultimate Sigil, in which all 26 can be found, thus represents Omneity, in which all things exist in potentiality like an acorn which contains a full grown Oak.

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July 24, 2010 · 5:31 pm

Inception – An Initiated Review

Inception star Leonardo Di Caprio

Inception is the 2010 blockbuster from Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo Di Caprio as a rather unusual burglar: he breaks into people’s dreams to steal information. This talent he uses as a highly sophisticated form of industrial espionage. The main action of the film comes from when he is challenged to break into a businessman’s mind, not to steal information – but to plant a false idea at the behest of the victim’s business rivals: the so-called “Inception” of the title. Needless to say, a lot of mayhem involving gunfire and potential brain-damage (and worse) ensues. I won’t give away the ending although anyone who is reasonably intelligent can guess what the ultimate fate of Di Caprio’s character might be. He wakes up from the dream and lives happily ever after. Or does he???

The film’s premise is an interesting one for yours truly for, being a seasoned Oneironaut, I wanted to see if it is true to life.  “What’s that?” I hallucinate that I hear you say. “How can something so fantastic be anything other than science-fiction?” Because, my imaginary friend, it happens to touch on one of my favourite subjects, that of Lucid Dreaming.

Inception and Lucid Dreaming

There is a scene early on in which Di Caprio’s character (“Cobb”) is attempting to recruit a young lady named Ariadne (played by Ellen Page) into his team, and he suddenly reveals to her that she is in fact dreaming. This causes her world to explode, though not entirely, as she is able to recover her wits and get used to existing in this dream environment.

Nolan, who wrote as well as directed the film, takes some cinematic license in this scene – and a good thing too, because otherwise to depict what actually happens when a lucid dreamer first gets lucid would not really fit into a fast-paced action thriller. Ariadne is in effect being taught to lucid dream – and picking it up extremely fast. It is possible in to learn to lucid dream oneself, however it usually takes weeks or months of practice if one is a complete beginner. Moreover when one first becomes Lucid, the surprise is enough to cause one to suddenly wake up. However, after becoming lucid several times one eventually gets used to the sensation, and remain in the dream state for some time without waking.

Ariadne then goes on to spontaneously create the landscape of the dream as she is walking along. This too is possible in Lucid dreaming although again this would take considerable practice: it is a skill which would need to be honed over many nights. To be fair to Nolan, one could say that Ariadne could have been able to do this right off the bat assuming that she had had prior coaching in lucid dreaming, possibly at the instigation of her teacher (portrayed by Michael Caine).

Drug Use

In another scene, Cobb recruits a pharmacist (who despite being Kenyan is played by an  actor of Indian ethnicity) because he can tailor-make the particular drugs that they will need for this operation. Which leads to the question: can drugs actually affect dreaming states in the manner the film suggests? Unfortunately the answer is yes.

The concoction which the *cough* African *cough” pharmacist shows is a murky brown colour suggesting it is some kind of opiate. Now it so happens that in her greatest novel The Sea Priestess Dion Fortune needed a plot device whereby the central male character was able to quickly go from being just an ordinary bloke to being able to loose the bonds of the physical world and journey in the astral. So she had him become an asthmatic. Why? Because before the invention of the Ventolin inhaler, the most effective way of relieving the symptoms of asthma was a shot of Heroin, as one of its side-effects is that it suppresses the cough-reflex. Hence: because he is under the effects of powerful morphiates he is able to loosen the bonds which the bind his astral body to his physical one.

I have not even begun to mention the vast number of entheogenic substances used in shamanism and related practices, although given that the character in Inception refers to his concoction as a “sedative,” the idea that it is in fact an opiate or morphiate is the one that seems most likely.

Shared Dreaming, Telepathy, Etc

Central to the plot of Inception is the notion that it is possible to enter someone else’s dream. Also that it is possible to communicate with one or more others within a dream – a form of dream telepathy, if you will. I have written in other blog posts that although machine-assisted telepathy might well be possible in the future, the state of the art is currently far too crude at the moment for any hope of reliability (see for example here, here and here).

Can dream telepathy occur at all? The late Montague Ullman conducted a series of experiments to investigate just that, which he detailed in his paper Dream Telepathy – experimental and clinical findings. The procedure was that a “sender” concentrated on a picture in one room, whilst a receiver fell asleep in another and reported on what dreams occurred. There were no recorded results of 100% correlation between the dreams and the target picture – however in several cases the dreamers managed to dream about key characteristics of the paintings – though without identifying the full paintings. So for example in one picture the composition of the figures was in a semi-circular arrangement: the dreamer meanwhile dreamed of a completely different scene which nevertheless featured a semi-circle prominently therein.

Clearly then there is no scientific evidence that dream telepathy can be done on a consistent, reliable basis of the kind featured in the movie. However the evidence does exist that it might nevertheless occur and could possibly be developed to a (high) degree if a group of individuals worked hard enough. Occultism already asserts that it is possible through control of the astral plane – i.e. by forming an astral image of the receiver and then speaking to it, it is possible (so occultists say) to send the receiver a telepathic message.

Inception itself

The ultimate question really is whether the film’s central premise of planting an idea into someone else’s mind is possible. I have already mentioned one scientific study which suggests that it might be possible to transmit an idea telepathically – however the most promising results suggested that only vague, general notions can be implanted this way. Note also two important factors: firstly, the participants in Ullman’s experiments were all willing volunteers; secondly the ideas were all essentially harmless* – they were just paintings and drawings of various things.

* – Well, I assume they were harmless. Ullman does not say whether he kept track of the volunteers in the years after his experiments, whether they lived euthymic lives or whether they developed psychotic symptoms, suicidal tendencies etc etc.

The film Inception concerns whether it is possible to implant a potentially harmful (or at least unwelcome) idea in the mind of an unwilling victim. From the point of view of both a writer and an occultist I must say that Nolan at least works out the most sensible method of achieving this within the frames of reference of the plot. I.e. – attempt to trick the victim into accepting the idea by making him think it was his own all along. It is the basis of “glamours,” the casting of illusions and enchantments. And of course, due to its highly manipulative and intrusive nature, an example of Black Magic of the most serious variety.

I would also say that Nolan’s idea of defence mechanisms is well observed – by simply taking a logical point of view. I once attended a talk by the scientist Rupert Sheldrake, who pointed out that there is as much evidence for saying the mind exists within the brain as there is for saying that TV programmes exist within a TV set. Yet the fact that Telepathy is not more common than it is points to two alternative conclusions: one, that it does not exist at all; or two, it does exist but it is extremely difficult to do. Assuming that the second alternative is true, I believe that the reason for the difficulty is that there is a natural bond between mind and brain which causes only one mind to be associated with the one brain and excludes all others from interfering.  Thus if one mind tried to invade someone else’s – firstly there is the difficulty of getting over one’s own Mind-Brain defence mechanism; secondly one would be naturally resisted by the Mind-Brain defence mechanism of the other person, quite possibly leading to images of violence.

A far more interesting notion, to my way of thinking, is not whether it is possible to implant a harmful idea in the mind of another person; but whether it is possible to implant a benevolent idea in one’s own mind – for example, an idea that will cause one’s life to change for the better. This is in fact the essence of real Magick. It is what occultists are trying to do all the time through works of self-transformation: some through ritual, some through more contemplative practices, whilst others through working with dreams themselves.

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July 21, 2010 · 5:48 pm

Of (Were)Wolf And Man

Werewolves would seem to be the next sensible topic after having already dealt with Vampires. Lycanthropy, the real-life condition of believing one has transformed into a were-wolf, has been reported as still existing, at least in a study conducted in the twentieth century, although it is described as a psychosis.

Much of what we think we know about werewolves has – surprise surprise – been invented in modern times by Hollywood and by certain bestselling horror and fantasy authors. Take for example this whole business about Lycanthropy being an infection that can be passed on through biting: a modern invention! The fact of the matter is that before Hollywood came along, traditional folklore was consistent in saying that the way to become a werewolf was through Magickal rituals – either voluntarily or involuntarily.

So for example you could be made subject to a curse, either by a black magician* or by falling foul of some superstition. However it is remarkable that many ways of becoming a werewolf are through voluntarily conducted rituals – “Self Initiation In The Werewolf Tradition,” as it were: e.g. drinking water from a wolf’s paw print, sleeping outside on the night of the full moon, etc.

We are therefore faced with the fact that a great many lycanthropes were in fact people who deliberately wanted to become wolves: and moreover, there are and have been occultists in the modern era wanting to do just that. Why should they want to? Why indeed did people of old want to? Simply – in order to derive benefit from taking on the characteristics of the Wolf – or other animal as appropriate.

The classic example is that of the Berserker, who by magic ritual purported to take on the strength and stamina of a bear or wolf when going into battle. The Berserker did not physically transform, but there is plenty of evidence to say that they did take on the characteristics – such as ferocity – of the animal in question.

Amongst modern occultists who advocate animal transformation – commonly referred to as “shapeshifting” – include shamans. One has to remember that in shamanism a “power animal” has an importance equivalent to “the Holy Guardian Angel” in ceremonial magick, so that a shaman in attempting shapeshifting by becoming possessed by his or her power animal is attempting to contact the higher self. Does a physical transformation take place? Despite the fantastical nature of the idea, when one takes clairvoyance into account it is at least reasonable that it appears to happen, especially if the onlookers are all caught up in the energy of the transformation ritual.

Another occultist who practiced this kind of magick was Austen Osman Spare – who called it “Atavistic resurgence.” His idea was that we all contain within ourselves the karmas from all previous stages of evolution, including animal stages. It was thus possible to magickally draw on this in order to take on the characteristics from a previous animal stage. Interestingly although Spare never claimed that he himself transformed in appearance, he did claim that his magickal use of atavism did on at least one occasion result in the apparition of bizarre thought-forms in the air around him.

Finally, it may be noted that one magical order did provide a full framework for creating Transformation rituals – the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It is theoretically possible for an Adept to work a transformation ritual by creating an astral form and then taking it on for a while, then banishing it.

So all in all, perhaps the real psychosis of Lycanthropy is that there are some unfortunates who tried to take part in magical transformation or shapeshifting rites, but were not spiritually prepared for it – and then suffered the consequences.

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July 12, 2010 · 5:30 pm

More on Vampires

Following on from my recent post on the subject, I thought I would present the following. I had previously speculated that the Supreme Banishing Hexagram of Binah Ritual ought to be good enough to get rid of any bloodsucking fiend. I have now come across an authentic Rosicrucian ritual for getting rid of Vampires and the Undead. This is taken from “The Sacramentary of the Rose+Croix” by Robert Ambelain – who implies that this is just the sort of theurgic ritual that would have been undertaken by the Elus Cohens (though I cannot attest to the veracity of this statement).

Exorcism against the dangerous Dead (vampires, ghosts, etc.)

The operator of the Exorcism comes next to the body of the presumed Vampire, sprinkles the tomb with Holy Water, or, if the body is outside the tomb, sprinkles the body itself. Put the blessed Crucifix on the dead’s chest or on the tomb and start the Exorcism.

Almighty God, Word of the Father, Jesus Christ, who gave to the Apostles the power to crush the Snakes and the Scorpions, and to annihilate all effort from the Enemy, You whose Power vanquished Satan and made him fall from the sky as fast as lightning, here I am, trembling and begging, I call Your Holy Name for You to forgive my sins, I, N……., Your servant, and for You to give me the necessary Faith and Power to attack this formidable demon sheltered in Your powerful arm, O You who reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. +

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew, Chapter VIII, 28ff – “When He arrived at the other side of the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could pass that way. “What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and died in the water.”

Psalm LIXii – “Lord, deliver me from my Enemies and protect me from those who rise up against me! Deliver me from evil-doers and save me from bloodthirsty men. See how they lie in wait for me! Fierce men conspire against me for no offense or sin of mine, O Eternal! I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me… Arise to help me; look on my plight… You, Eternal, God of Armies, God of Israel, rouse Yourself to punish all the Nations, show no mercy to wicked traitors… They return at evening, snarling like dogs and prowl about the city… See what they spew from their mouths, they spew out swords from their lips, and they say, ‘Who can hear us?’ But You, Lord, You laugh at them; You scoff at all those Nations…O my Strength, I watch for You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God…God will go before me and will let me gloat over those who slander me.

But do not kill them, O Lord our shield, or my people will forget…In Your might make them wander about and bring them down. For the sins of their mouths, for the word of their lips, let them be caught in their pride…For the curses and lies they utter, consume them in wrath, consume them till they are no more…Then it will be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob…(Silence).”

“They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city…They wander about for food and howl if not satisfied…But I will sing of Your strength; in the morning I will sing of Your love; for You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. O my strength. I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.”

Psalm XCI – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadows of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord: ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.’ Surely He will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence…He will cover you with feathers and under His wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and your rampart… You will not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday…A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you…You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked… If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent…

“For He will command His Angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone…You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent…’Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name. He will call upon me and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him…With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

The Exorcist takes the Sword in his left hand and the Sacramentary in his right.

Exorcism

I beseech you, ancient Serpent, Evil Spirit, Power of Darkness, by the Supreme Judge of the Living and the Dead, by the Creator of the World who has the power to push you to Hell, go away this instant from this human body. He orders you, cursed demon. He is the one who, from the Heavens, pushed you into the abyss of the earth, He commands you! He is the one who has the power to make you fall back. Listen, O Satan, and tremble so that silence accumulates on your head on the great Day of Anger… Get out this instant, vanquished, crawling and adjured in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead, and who will purify the world with the Fire. Amen. +

The Exorcist “pose l’Epee”, and sprinkles again the new Body, or if it has been exhumed, on the Tomb.

Then you begin the “Our Father”

“Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into Temptation, but deliver us from Evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Psalm CXXX – “Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I put hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with Him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.”

The Exorcist again takes the Sword in his left hand and the Sacramentary in his right.

Exorcism

“I beseech you again, o you vile Spirit, deceitful Ghost, diabolical Invader, I beseech you + in the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, who, after the baptism of John, was led into the desert where he triumphed over you in your own territory. I beseech you to stop fighting against the one who God has created from the mud of the earth for the honor of His Glory! Make way for + Jesus Christ, who, for this man, spilled his Precious Blood. Make way for + the Holy Spirit, who, through the blessed Apostle Peter + made you fall with Simon the magician, who condemned you in Annanie and Saphire, who beat you through Herod, refusing to honor God, who, through his apostle Paul, plunged you into the darkness of blindness along with the magus Elymas, and who, by the same Apostle, made you go away from Pytonisse + with just one word.

Get out now and + go away, vile impostor. Your journey is the desert and your home is the snake. Here comes the Lord, your ruler, an ardent fire walks before him and his igneous sword springs out of the mouth of the One who must come one day to judge the living and the dead and purify the world with fire. Amen. +

God, who possesses mercy and forgiveness, we beg You for the soul of Your servant, N……. (or Your female servant N…….). Do not give him to the hands of the Enemy nor forget about him but order Your Angels to receive him and lead him to Heaven, his country. May he, after believing in you, not suffer the sorrow of hell but possess eternal joys. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord and Master and through Saint John His servant. Amen. +

God, whose mercy procures rest for the souls of the faithful, deign to bless + this tomb and give Your Holy Angel Doumiel the guard. Freed of all ties with sin, may the souls of all those whose bodies lie here be forever rejoicing with You and Your Saints. Through Jesus Christ Our Lord and Master and through Saint John His servant. Amen. +

The Exorcist puts down the Sword and prepares the Incense which he then blesses. The Exorcist goes around the tomb and the Body by incensing them both. He then says:

Lord, may You visit, we beg of You, this tomb and this human body and chase away all obstacles from the Enemy. May Your Holy Angels guard it, keeping the Peace Your Servants, and may Your Holy Blessing + be always on us and on them. Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Master, and through Saint John His servant. +

Lord God Almighty, whose Army of Angels surround with trembling, whose spiritual and ardent service we all know, Lord, may You look and + bless this tomb and this human body so that all evil passion, satanic possession, all murderous and bloody madness disappear and dissipate at the smell of this Incense, and may it have no more hold on Your Creature from now on, sheltered from the bites of the Ancient Snake and redeemed by the Precious Blood of Your Son who lives and reigns with You, God the Father, in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. +

If the Body was in a leaden, wooden, or marble tomb, you then take it from it and the body is put on the soil of the tomb. You remove the wood or the metal which will be afterwards put into the fire.

The Exorcist then blesses a great quantity of salt which is sprinkled on the body.

Blessing of the Salt

I exorcise you, Creature of Salt, + by the Living God + by the True God + by the Holy God + by the God who wanted you to be thrown in the water by the prophet Elisha to heal the sterility of the water so that you become exorcised Salt for the rest and salvation of Believers. From all places where you will be sprinkled may all ghosts, prodigies, evil illusions, tricks, and
all wickedness of Evil Spirits to go away and disappear like all Vile Spirits, conjured in the Name of the One who will come to judge the living and the dead, and purify the world by Fire. Amen.+

Almighty and Eternal God, we humbly implore Your leniency and Your Mercy to bless + and to sanctify + this Creature of Salt which You created for man’s use so that those who will use it obtain the Salvation of the Soul and all which will be touched or impregnated by it be from now on purified of all impurities and of all invasion of the Evil Spirit! Through Jesus Christ Our Lord and Master and through Saint John His servant. Amen. +

The Exorcist sprinkles abundantly the tomb (or the body laying on the ground) and says:

“May this Soul and those of all defunct faithful rest in peace through the Mercy of God. Amen. +

“Lord, grant to them eternal rest…”

“And may the light which is never extinguished shine on them. Amen. +

If the acts of Vampirism were to continue and need to be burned as was done before in Central Europe, here is the blessing of the Fire of the stake:

Blessing of the Fire of Cremation

“Lord God Almighty, whose multitude of adoring and trembling Armies of Angels surround You and obey You spiritually with the ardor of the Fire, Lord, may You look + bless and sanctify this Creature of Fire so that it can devour all evil signs and all material support of the wickedness of the Enemy. May by this Fire all supernatural illnesses and disabilities, all magic, spells, charms, and evil be forever destroyed and disappear, forever removed from Your creatures redeemed by Your Precious Blood, O You, He who lives and reigns with God the Father in the Unity of the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. +

“I thus bless you, Creature of Fire, and I sanctify you in the Name of He who created you and appeared to His servant Moses as a scorching bush. I bless you + I exorcise you + and I conjure + you, O Creature of fire, in the Name of He who made the Earth shake and has the power over all things so that you help me against the dark Spirits who, lifted from the dead to torment the Living, want to destroy in them the Image of He who vanquished and chased them into the Abyss. I thus order you, O Creature of Fire, in the Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the Name of the four Archangels, Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, and Uriel, chase them away and punish them by burning them in the Fire of Hell, a Fire more scorching than sulphur.”

“Lord, may You bless and sanctify this Creature of Fire which is Yours, so that it becomes a Fire devouring the Demons with all their works and evil doings whatever they are, the ones already done or those to be done, may they be consumed, destroyed, and annihilated through these Holy Flames. All those works, all those things, all those spells, and all the power of the demons, in Your name, Lord, I destroy and annihilate them forever. It is why, Lord, we humbly beg Your Almighty Mercy and Your Infinite Kindness to give to this Creature of Fire such a power that not only this Fire bring to the Infernal Spirits the bitter souvenir of their terrible punishment but also because of their persistent stubbornness against You and Your Ministers, he torments them, he exterminates them, and chases them away. I thus bless + and sanctify + this Creature of Fire, in the Name + of the Father and of + the Son and of + the Holy Spirit. Amen. +

You then throw into the Fire the blessed Salt, in four throws, in the shape of a Cross.

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July 6, 2010 · 8:22 pm

EU-FO

As if reading countless standard response letters to reported UFO sightings is not mind numblingly boring enough in one language, now some MEP wants to force the same repeated in all the linguae francae of the European Union.

Yes: Mario Borghezio wants all EU governments to release all the data they are keeping on UFOs – in much the same way that the British Government did last year.

Personally I think he could save a lot of time by prioritising. The one EU country that UFO hunters definitely do want to release data is Belgium, because it is the scene of one of the only exciting incidents since that of the Halt Memorandum in the past thirty years. Several years ago an F16 was scrambled from an airbase in Belgium in response to a UFO alert. The British MOD has consistently resisted commenting on the incident on the grounds that because it happened in another country it is none of their business.

I do hope though that however the situation is resolved it is not through more EU red-tape and bureaucracy. The more I hear about the goings on of the EU Commission, the more I am reminded of the Vogons from Douglas Adams’ Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy!

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July 6, 2010 · 1:50 pm

Vampires – the Truth

As the world’s greatest expert on the occult, I often hallucinate that people are asking me whether there is any truth to this vampire mullarkey. Well, gentle reader, the answer is Yes … though not in the way depicted by certain books and films.

The modern vampire as a literary concept (“modern” here being the operative word) – of which Dracula is the definitive example, and the Twilight movies the latest continuance – derives from Eastern European folklore of the seventeenth century onwards. However the more general concept of bloodsucking monsters or demons (in humanoid form) dates right back to ancient times and spans the globe – to such an extent that one is tempted to speculate that each culture, no matter how remote, has evolved its own version of a Vampire or vampire-like monster.

It is here that the occultist ought to be on guard. If different cultures do independently come up with Vampire myths, this would suggest either or both of two possibilities. Firstly – the Vampire-idea is an archetype of the collective unconscious. Secondly – all these separate Vampire-like beings are actually based on something from real-life.

Now we may scoff at the second possibility easily enough by saying “where’s the evidence?” The first though is somewhat more serious, because it tends to suggest that in a certain way “there is a vampire in all of us” – lurking in the dark and mysterious depths of the psyche.

There have been various attempts made – in real-life – to release this “inner vampire” with varying degrees of success. On the one-hand witness the Vampire subculture which is a part of the Goth or S&M scene – which in extreme cases apparently involves actual blood-drinking. Bizarre though this lifestyle choice appears, there are however occultists who allegedly use black-magick  to transform themselves into actual vampires. There was a method published by the occultist Dion Fortune, who described it in her novel The Demon Lover (and less explicitly in her previous book The Secrets of Doctor Taverner) and also wrote about it in her non-fiction work, Psychic Self-Defence.

The method apparently is this: it requires great control of one’s astral body. Whilst astrally projecting, the putative-Vampire attempts to absorb the life-force of a victim. In this way the putative Vampire can (it is alleged) live on independently of the physical body. The Vampire in question in Doctor Taverner and described more fully in Psychic Self-Defence attached itself to a living host (i.e. not its original self) who was its regular source of “nourishment.” As you can imagine, this left the host feeling tired and run-down all the time, however it also led to a more serious side-effect: the host started having blood-cravings himself, in order to restore his own vitality.

The literature of the Golden Dawn also suggests that “astral vampires” can be created accidentally, by creating an astral form and allowing an evil spirit (or possibly just a socially-maladjusted one) to take possession of it. This is said to be one of the things that can go wrong if the order’s rituals for Invisibility or Transformation are performed badly. Such an astral vampire would then attach itself to a human host – causing the same sort of unpleasant effects as that described by Dion Fortune.

So, how does one actually get rid of Vampires? Well, one could theorise that if the Vampire-idea is archetypal, then so too are traditional Vampire-defences. However, if the theory that Vampirism is caused by unpleasant astral entities is valid, then a more scientific method is to exorcise the alleged fiend. The Golden Dawn suggests that the Supreme Banishing Hexagram of Binah Ritual should be powerful enough to get rid of even the toughest bloodsuckers: although Dion Fortune states that the method used by Doctor Taverner’s real-life counterpart involved absorbing the astral being into his own aura and then digesting it – a method so strenuous that he was left unconscious for three days after attempting it.

(This gives me an idea of how to establish its validity by experiential proof. Kidnap a Goth from off the streets of Camden and perform the Banishing Hexagram of Binah Ritual at him. If he loses all his taste in clothes and music and turns into a Chav, it obviously worked!)

More seriously though, if the Vampire-idea is indeed an archetype, a far more constructive approach would be delve into the unconscious and confront the inner-Vampire, in a sort of active imagination cum quasi-shamanistic type venture. Perhaps that is indeed the real-truth behind Vampire stories – the quest to tackle the Vampire in its lair is actually a metaphor for finding the Darkness within oneself.

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July 4, 2010 · 10:37 am

How to use dreams to improve learning – part 2

You are able to use your dream state to facilitate learning – this is what scientists from Harvard found back in April. Now it appears that more scientists have been conducting research in similar areas.  Scientists this time from Washington University claim that sleep helps prospective memory (remembering future tasks) and the ability to make associations between ideas.

The example given was of two sets of students who done an equal amount of preparation for one test. However – one group did the test in the evening before going to bed, the other did it in the morning after a full night’s sleep. Surprise, surprise – the morning group fared better than the evening group.

Full story here.

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