Tag Archives: Doctor Who

Are Angels Female or Male?

Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who

The Archangel Raphael

A traditional Christian viewpoint is

Angels are neither male nor female in a human sense, because they belong to a different order of beings. Still, when biblical writers try to describe angelic appearances, they consistently use masculine pronouns and male attributes:
1 Chronicles 21:16: David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem.
Luke 24:4 (at Jesus’ tomb): While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
Revelation 10:1: Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.
The idea of female angels, then, must have come from outside Judaism and Christianity. … Many pagan religions featured winged servants of the gods … and some of these were distinctly female.

The foregoing editorial betrays its patriarchality, because some of these winged beings weren’t servants of the gods, but gods and goddesses in their own right, e.g.:

Nike, Greek goddess of Victory

However, a separate website points out that “[w]hile angels generally appear as men in Scripture, Zechariah 5:9 may suggest this is not always the case.” I.e.:

Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.

Zechariah 5:9

In Islam, the position is more neutral, i.e. that it is impossible and indeed inappropriate to say one way or the other:

The angels are not regarded as either male or female. As for being female, Allah has stated that they are not female … As for describing them as male, no such thing has been narrated.

Islam Question and Answer

In the magical system of the Golden Dawn, there is supposedly a way of ascribing gender to an Angelic being, to wit: analyse the Hebrew letters making up its name in terms of whether they are masculine or feminine – the majority will determine the overall gender (or “epicene” if there is no majority). However – this applies only to the Telesmatic Images of these Angels – in other words, the images that we create in order to visualise them, not what they necessarily are in themselves. In terms of actual gender, the GD accepts that Angels do not have gender in the sense that we humans understand the notion. However, unlike the chauvinistic examples of exoteric religion quoted at the beginning of this article, the GD accepts that Angelic beings do appear as both Male and Female (or other).

This is rather good news for members of the GD, as it has been pointed out that the Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn is an Angelic being. Therefore Fratres and Sorores are free to believe that the Secret Chief is either male or female, and can regenerate between the two as the occasion arises! šŸ˜‰

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How to Predict the General Election 2017

In my experience of trying to use Astrology to predict election results, I have come to the following conclusions.

  1. Astrology isĀ indeed very good at predicting the way theĀ popular vote will go.
  2. Astrology is not so good at predicting the final result.

This is especially true where a country has an electoral system where votes do not translate directly into seats, either in the House of Commons (UK) or the Electoral College (USA). So for example, in the most recent US Presidential election, I announced that Hilary Clinton had the most favourable stars on that occasion, and indeed she edgedĀ the popular vote… but Donald Trump got in nonetheless. Likewise, at the last UK general election, held just two years ago in 2015, I predicted great success for the UK Independence Party, and indeed they became the third most popular party in the country… in terms of people voting for them. However, because of the way their support was distributed across the country, this only meant that they came third in almost everyĀ constituency for which they fielded candidates, hence they did not actually gain any MPs that way.

With this is in mind, I shall now publish my predictions for the next UK general election, including the major issues that the new government will face, as well as how the popular vote will go for the major parties on the day.

Overview

Current Prime Minister Theresa May has called the election for Thursday June 8th 2017. Polls will close at 10pm that day, which is the moment that the fate of the election is sealed. I have therefore taken 10pm on 8th June 2017 at Westminster (where the House of Commons is situated) as the time, date and place of birth for the new Parliament. A chart drawn up using these parameters looks like this:

The General Election: 10pm on Thursday 8th June 2017, at Westminster.

What I immediately noticed about this chart is that the date of the election is very close to the Full Moon. We should therefore expect a high turn-out of voters from the extremist ends of the spectrum, as the Full Moon always causes theĀ special members of the electorate to crawl out of the woodwork!

The new government is represented by the Sun, which is in Gemini in the 6th House. The moon – which represents the People – is in opposition to it in the 11th, whilst both are squared by Neptune, making a nasty T-formation. Neptune here represents political systems based on collectivity, which suggests to me it should represent the remaining 27 members of the EU, In which case we can be confident that the public will generally feel frustrated by our soon-to-be-erstwhile European partners, who will in turn be trying to pressurise the Government into taking a decision that it would rather not take.

Ironically, however, BREXIT will only be one issue that the new government has to deal with. The main focus of its forthcoming term of office, rather than Europe, will actually beĀ reform of the National Health Service.

The general population will mostly be opposed to the work of the Government, instead caring moreĀ about Parliamentary reform, especially in the way the House of Commons works.

There will be a major allegation of electoral fraud, probably made by the UK Independence Party (for reasons which I will outline below), due to foreign interference in the election – either by the EU or by Russia. The Judiciary (represented by Jupiter) however will resolve the allegation in a manner which is favourable to the Government, and at least satisfactory to the people.

On the plus side, the economy will improve. On the minus side, Russia and North Korea will continue to be headaches.

How the Parties will fare in the Election

To determine this, I have used my tried and trusted method of analysing the transits formed by the Election’s chart with the horoscopes of the parties’ leaders.

Theresa May

Conservatives (incumbent)

Led by: Theresa May, bornĀ 1st October 1956, Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Theresa will have transitting Saturn trine to natal Moon / Venus / Pluto; transitting Caput Draconis conjunct natal Moon / Venus / Pluto; andĀ Jupiter just past natal Sun but arguably within the orb, though this must be considered weak at best. Generally this is favourable: a sense of responsibility and needing to take things carefully sits well with Theresa’s emotions, her relationships with others and secret (inner) strength. She has a sense of destiny that is pulling her out of her comfort zone, but ultimately to her good. This is a time of increasing success in her life.

Jeremy Corbyn

Labour

Led by: Jeremy Corbyn, bornĀ 26th May 1949, Chippenham.

Transitting Jupiter conjunct natal Neptune, trine to natal Mercury Px and Venus.
Transitting Sun conjunct Venus / Mercury.
Transitting Mercury conjunct natal Sun.
The result of the election and the newly formed Government will work out well for Corbyn, but not as pronouncedly as Theresa May. Corbyn will experience a certain amount of popularity on the day, but is not a good long term prospect.

Angus Robertson (funny picture not available)

Scottish Nationalist Party

Led by: Angus Robertson, born 28th September 1969, Wimbledon. NB: I haveĀ not based my calculations on Nicola Sturgeon, as although she is first minister of Scotland, she doesn’t hold a seat in the House of Commons – Angus Robertson, her deputy, the parliamentary leader of the SNP. Hey, I correctly predicted the SNP’s result in the last election based on Robertson’s chart, so I’m damn well going to do it again!

Transitting Jupiter conjunct a whole load of natal planets: Jupiter, Mercury, Uranus, Sun.
Transitting Saturn square to Pluto.

Angus is in a very strong position, going through a Jupiter Return at the moment. His fortunes are on the increase. It is likely that the SNP will win the remaining seats in Scotland, and get their desired wish for a new Referendum.

It is likely that Robertson will be seen as a strong and capable leader in the House of Commons, and the SNP will wipe out the few seats in Scotland that are still held by other parties. On the downside, however, the SNP’s seats in Parliament will be limited not by electoral defeat, but by the new boundary changes!

Tim Farron

Liberal Democrats

I had to look this up, but apparently they are led by somebody called Tim Farron, of whom I had never heard until earlier this afternoon. Tim was bornĀ 27 May 1970, Preston, Lancashire.

Transitting Saturn opposed to Natal Mars, square to Natal Pluto.
Transitting Uranus opposed to natal Jupiter.
Transitting Mercury conjunct natal Sun, trine to natal Uranus.

Despite the fact that his and Corbyn’s birthdays are a day apart, their fates will be very different. His need to be resonsible and careful is diametrically opposed to his temper – he is likely to blow his chances with angry outbursts. His attempt to criticise Donald Trump will backfire on him, as he will come to be seen as someone not fit to conduct transatlantic relations with America. Like Corbyn, he will benefit from a slight filip of transitting popularity on the day.

In fact, the only thing that can be said in his favour is that he bears a passing resemblance to The Master, as portrayed by John Simms! We may joke, but if Farron suddenly summons a load of Toclafane to decimate the world’s population, you know where you read it first.

Separated at birth?

Master_with_laser_screwdriver

Tim Farron

farron2

The Master

The Green Party

Caroline Lucas, getting to know her constituents.

Led by: Caroline Lucas, born 9th December 1960, Malvern in Worcestershire. Technically the Green Party is led by two people, but I am going with Caroline’s chart as she is leader of the Parliamentary Party, by virtue of being the party’sĀ only MP.

Sun opposite Sun!

Transitting Mars trine natal Sun and sextile Moon. Her energy and passion is in the right place, however the Green Party itself will not make significant headway.

Paul Nuttall

UKIP

Led by: Paul Nutall, born 30th November 1976, Bootle, Merseyside.

Transitting Jupiter conjunct Pluto, sextile Sun, Neptune, Mars.

UKIP will poll a respectable share of the popular vote, which will reflect well (in the eyes of UKIP supporters) on Nuttall’s leadership of the party. However, having a large share of the popular vote did not help UKIP last time, so this is not necessarily any indicator of increased success in the House of Commons. Of all the party leaders, Nuttall is the most significantly affected by transitting Neptune, the planet of corporate crime and electoral fraud, hence why I suggested he would be most likely to call foul.

Conclusion

Hence my predictions are:

  • Theresa MayĀ and the Conservatives for the win.
  • Labour willĀ only come second. Although this will be a huge disappointment for Labour supporters, many of the actual losers will be Corbyn-opponents, so ironically Jezza himself will survive.
  • SNP to do very well. Referendum 2 is definitely on the way.
  • The Green Party andĀ UKIP will not see great increases in their seats. UKIP will however be notable for kicking up the most fuss in the lifetime of the new Parliament.
  • The Liberal DemocratsĀ will fare even worse than they did two years ago. Tim Farron would best be advised to quit politics and go into showbiz, e.g. in popular science fiction programmes.

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Who is the Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn?

This is a response to a blog post by Aaron Leitch about the Archangel Raphael being Frater Lux E Tenebris. IMHO the identification of Frater LET with this Archangel is far too simplistic, as it conceals much more than it reveals. The “Archangel Raphael” is itself a pseudonym: however I, Alex Sumner, the World’s greatest expert on the Occult, can now reveal even this august person’s real-name.

“Raphael” itself is a Hebrew word meaning “Healer of God.” Now to the ancient Hebrews, God lived in Heaven, and Heaven was thought to be synonymous with the Sky. Thus “Raphael” might be more accurately translated as “Heavenly Healer,” “Celestial Healer,” or even “Doctor From Outer Space.”

Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who

Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn

Yes, folks, the “Archangel Raphael” aka “Frater LET” is none other than The Doctor. As further evidence I cite the following:

Frater LET appeared to Mathers. A secret chief named Frater LET appeared to David Griffin. Clearly it is the same person, who was able to manage this feat by travelling through time!

Secondly: the Doctor is well-known to be cagey about revealing his true name. This is why he attempted to get the Book of Tobit (the only scriptural reference to “Raphael”) downgraded from the Old Testament to the Apocrypha, in the hope that people wouldn’t pay much attention to him suddenly materialising in the life of young Tobias.

So there you have it! Not only have I revealed the true identity of the Secret Chief of the Golden Dawn, I’ve also spoilt Doctor Who for millions of fans! šŸ˜‰

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Precognition

River Song (from Doctor Who)

Spoilers, Sweetie!

This blog post argues a point of view which will upset a whole load of Doctor Who fans! But before I get to the controversial bit –

“Alex, do you believe it is possible to prophesy the future?” a gentleman asked – about five minutes after I guessed that he would. šŸ˜‰ This got me thinking: although I keep talking about astrology, tarot and what-not, what evidence do I really have to say that predicting the future is in fact possible?

The fact is that on rare occasions I have had precognitive dreams which have been accurate in a general sense. However I would have to qualify this assertion with two important points. An example I most remember was I wanted to know how a meeting with a certain person would turn out. I therefore, whilst having a lucid dream, willed myself to travel forward in time to the meeting and spatially to where it was due to take place. The demeanour and behaviour of the person as I experienced it in my dream turned out to be an accurate indication of what later transpired at the actual meeting – however, the precise detail of the words spoken was not.

On another occasion, I once dreamed vividly, a propos of nothing, of Yorkshire Pudding. That evening I visited my parents’ house for dinner, when they served up Toad In The Hole – which, of course, is made with Yorkshire Pudding. A friend to whom I told this anecdote said that he would have been freaked out if it had occurred to him, but I was made of sterner stuff, and not to be put off by a load of sausages!

The Sense of Being Stared At: And Other Aspects of the Extended Mind, by Rupert Sheldrake

Hence: my first qualification is that the only instances of precognition which I have had have been accurate to generalities, but not to specifics. This is why I am not currently a Lottery millionaire. I would love to know whether it is possible to get specifics – for what should be obvious reasons! On a more serious note, this also serves to confirm why precognition is so bad at predicting disasters. In his book The Sense Of Being Stared At, Rupert Sheldrake describes research he carried out on precognition after 9/11. His results were that there were plenty of people who had a feeling that something was going to happen, but few could say exactly what. And as for the few who predicted something bad about the World Trade Centre, there was nothing to indicate – prior to the event itself – why those predictions should be believed and why predictions naming any of the other skyscrapers in New York should not. Based on the precognitive information available prior to 9/11, it would have been impossible to avert disaster without evacuating every high-rise building in Manhattan.

Likewise, in my own attempts at astrology and current events in North Korea, whilst I accurately predicted violence against those involved in communication and the media, I was not able to predict exactly who the regimes first victims would be. However, it does not take the world’s greatest psychic to say: if you are involved in any way with the media, or with communication or entertainment, and you happen to be in North Korea – you should get out now if you have not already done so.

The second qualification I would have to make is that as far as my precognitive dreams were concerned, they were about events in which I was personally involved. I do not know if it is possible to be completely objective about these things, which is why something like astrology has appeal.

I have a theory why the Future can never be predicted with 100% accuracy, and it has nothing to do with the fact that all systems of divination areĀ a load of cobblers. It is this:

THE FUTURE DOES NOT EXIST.

What’s more,

THE PAST DOES NOT EXIST EITHER.

THE ONLY THING THAT DOES EXIST IS A CONSTANTLY CHANGING PRESENT.

Think about: we talk about the Past and the Future as if they are places, but the single observable fact about Time is that it is never measured at any point other than the Present. The only sense in which the Past and Future can exist is as a memory (in the case of the former) and a potentiality (in the case of the latter) – but in both instances, the Memory and the Potentiality themselves exist only in the Present.

Thus, Divination, precognition, etc, does not work by foretelling the future, but by accessing implicate parts of the Present. By identifying Present-Causes – some of which may be considerably more esoteric than others – we can speculate what the Effects will be when the Present transforms into the moment that the Effect occurs.

To say that the Future is fixed would be like saying that an event has happened in a place where it has not happened.

Likewise, when in Golden Dawn magick one travels through time and space and across dimensions to the Hall of Judgement in the Egyptian After-life, this is not to be thought of as something which once existed thousands of years ago, but which exists NOW, in a magical region of the Present.

By positing that neither the Future nor the Past exist per se, one is able to neatly explain every time travel paradox put forward by scientists. Why have we not seen tourists from the future who have travelled back in Time? Given that the future has not occurred, there is no place from which to travel back! Likewise the Grandfather paradox is actually a fallacy, because it is not possible to travel back to somewhere that has ceased to exist.

Now, you may begin to see the problem with Doctor Who! Whilst the postulate that “neither the past nor future exist as places to one which can travel” would neatly explain the observed facts of time-measurement, it would totally rip the guts out of any science-fiction based upon time-travel. Unless of course it were predicated upon some fantastic method of transforming the Present.

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The Placing of the Elements In A Golden Dawn Temple

This is a follow up post to The Elements and the Four Cardinal Directions by Aaron Leitch. The question naturally arises – why are they where they are? And: should they ever be changed?

As to the first, there are actually several plausible reasons. The first is that the stated reason in GD documents is that they are placed according to “the winds.” As I understand it this refers to Tetrabiblos, a second century work on Astrology by Claudius Ptolemy, thus:

East Dry Spring Air
South Warm Summer Fire
West Moist Autumn Water
North Cold Winter Earth

Whilst Ptolemaic Astrology is thus the proximate cause of the placing, it does enable several layers of symbolism to be interpolated into a temple arranged in this manner.

Alchemy

Now, I have actually seen some exponents of Alchemy claim thatĀ Fire is the most volatile of all the elements. However, whenĀ IĀ learned Alchemy, I learnt differently – thatĀ Air is the most volatile. Trying to figure out why these differences occur, I came to the conclusion that those in the Fire camp were taking their cues from Jean Dubuis, of the Philosophers of Nature, whilst the chap from whom I learnt Alchemy was instead inspired by Frater Albertus, of the Paracelsus Research Society.

After the Chaos has been prepared, the elements are separated from it in the order of Most Volatile (requiring only a very gentle heat), Second Most Volatile (requiring a slightly more vigorous heat), Third most Volatile / second most Fixed (requiring a fairly robust heat), and finally Most Fixed (requiring the fiercest heat of all). The Order out of Chaos, as I learnt the elements is

First, Air, the Subtle part of which becomes the Mercury;
Second, Fire, Sulphur;
Third, Water, Salt; and finally
Earth

Hence, in this manner, starting from the East and circumambulating Deosil, one encounters the elements in the order they come out of chaos, from most volatile to most fixed.

Adonai vs Jehovah

Pentagram (approximately) drawn on the belt of the Zodiac.

Pentagram (approximately) drawn on the belt of the Zodiac.

The “Fire-first” school however do not rest there: taking the Air and Fire flipped around, they apply the order of the elements to the Tetragrammaton, hence: Fire, Air, Water and Earth = Yod Heh Vah Heh. This is in contrast to the GD view of the matter, which holds that the Tetragrammaton is based on Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

I believe the confusion arises because the Fire-first fail to consider the following point:

The YHVH formula is based on Astrology, and is reflected in the Hexagram Ritual, the placing of the Elements on the altar in the Vault of the Adepti, and the order in which you would see the Cardinal signs rise above the Horizon if you got up at dawn on the Spring Equinox: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn – Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. The YHVH formula (actually the Yeheshuah Formula) is also the reason the for the assignment of the elements to the particular points of the Pentagram.

The placement of the elements in the Outer order of the GD, however, is not based on the YHVH formula but on the ADNI (“Adonai”) formula – which is identical to that of the Four Winds of Ptolemy. What what what? There’s an Adonai-formula, I hallucinate that I hear you ask? Well, yes, actually. There are twenty four Ā combinations of Aleph, Daleth, Nun and Yod, which each refer to one of the 24 seniors of the Book of the Apocalypse. The Adonai Formula is not generally known amongst English-speaking occultists as it comes from continental Europe. This is what Macgregor Mathers referred to when he mentioned the significance of “ADONAI” in his paper on the magical formulae of the Zelator grade (see: Pat Zalewski’s Inner Order Teachings of the Golden Dawn).

The late Robert Ambelain mentioned it in his book Practical Kabbalah, until his publishers decided to force the translator to take the English edition off-line. Hence I cannot in any good conscience encourage you to search for it online, despite the fact you may feel curious to do so.

Embedded commands aside, the applicability of the Adonai formula to the placing of the elements is thus:

ADONAI
ALEPH Elemental AIR East
DALETH Venus, a planet associated (according to Eliphas Levi, amongst others) with FIRE South
NUN Fixed WATER West
YOD Mutable EARTH North

The Fire-First school of thought thus tries to bang their own placement of the elements into the YHVH formula like a Hollywood film producer trying to bang the wrong actor into the role of Batman: everyone know it does not fit, and it will only upset people. However – by removing the assumption that one necessarily has to work with the YHVH formula in all circumstances, and by learning that there are other Qabalistic formulae which are better suited to the task, a much more elegant solution is provided.

Chakras

The Human Aura

Chakras

Just as an aside, I would like to point out that at this point that the order Air – Fire – Water – Earth, is also the order of the elements as they are attributed to the four lower Chakras in Yoga: Air – Anahata (Heart); Fire – Manipura (Solar Plexus); Water – Svadisthana (Groin); and Earth – Muladhara (Base). Hence one is working the Pentagram ritual one can be said to be opening the four lower Chakra, in succession.

Should the Order of the Elements Ever Be Changed?

The TARDIS

In Golden Dawn ceremonies we get to travel through time and space, and across dimensions!

Sometimes I hear people opine that when casting the four quarters, the elements should be changed to fit local circumstances – for instance, a number of people who live in the Southern Hemisphere think that Fire and Earth should be flipped around, to match the course of the Sun as seen from their perspective.

Now, what various pagans choose to do in their own traditions is up to them: but what about the Golden Dawn? Should the placing of the elements be changed in a Golden Dawn temple working in the southern hemisphere?

In my opinion, there can only be one answer – a categoricĀ NO. And I say so for the following reasons:

A Golden Dawn temple physically located in England or America, isĀ not operating in England or America;

A Golden Dawn temple in (e.g.) Australia, isĀ notĀ operating in Australia.

Both of them, despite being on opposite sides of the world, are actually operating in one and the same place. The magical inner-workings of the Golden Dawn ceremonies take the Temple, and astrallyĀ transport it through Time and Space and across dimensions – to the Hall of the Duat, in the Egyptian otherworld.

Hence, the correct placing of the elements should neither be for the Northern Hemisphere, if your temple is in the Northern Hemisphere, nor for the Southern Hemisphere if it is physically located there, but for how the elements would be placed in the Hall of Judgement in the Egyptian otherworld. And according to the GD tradition, that is: Air, East; Fire, South; Water, West; Earth, North.

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