Accelerated Thinking

This month I have mostly been thinking about the power in distancing the useful words or ideas of a given person from the more troubling aspects of their character. With cancel culture running in overdrive it is all to easy to see the inherent racism of Lovecraft or sexual deviance of Crowley as in some way rendering all of their insights as forbidden. Nick Land, and the entire early Accelerationists with their political misanthropy too. I am sure some would burn every work of fiction while the mob cheers, just in case the author once did something naughty behind closed doors. Sure, it is hard work finding the diamonds among the slurry. But none of those authors would have produced the output we know them for if they did not allow said flaws to seep into their writing. And it is always worth asking yourself, before you judge others too harshly, exactly what biases are seeping into yours.

Empowered Words

“On Saturday night, I would see men lusting after half-naked girls dancing at the carnival, and on Sunday morning when I was playing organ for tent-show evangelists at the other end of the carnival lot, I would see these same men sitting in the pews with their wives and children, asking God to forgive them and purge them of carnal desires. And the next Saturday they’d be back at the carnival or some other place of indulgence. I knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man’s carnal nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scoured by any white-light religion.”
— Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible

Occult Almanac

March remains relatively quiet from a celestial perspective, though a couple of notable observances break up the monotony. Of these the Spring Equinox, or Ostara, which occurs on the 20th is likely to be the most familiar, though some demonolaters recognise the First Rite to Lucifer on the 21st and a Rite to Belphegor on the 31st as well. For those who keep a close eye on the lunar cycles, the Third Quarter falls on the 3rd and a second Super New Moon in a row on the 10th. As with the one in February, such close proximity to the darker aspect of our nearest neighbour is a great time for hexing or demonological incantations. After this the First Quarter is on the 17th and Micro Storm or Ash Moon creeps across the sky on the 25th. Some will be lucky enough to experience a penumbral lunar eclipse on that date, and for those who prefer to see the planets they are calling on for spellwork Mercury reaches its greatest elongation East on the 24th too.

Necronomicon Mortui

A list of notable members of the occult, paranormal and Fortean community, ordered by date of death as opposed to birth. James Lewis Spence, Author, born 25th November 1874, died 3rd March 1955. Dan Apostol, Cryprozoologist, born 12th July 1057, died 4th March 2013. Franz Mesmer, Mystic, born 23rd May 1734, died 5th March 1815. William Hope, Spiritualist, born 1863, died 8th March 1933. Martinus Thomsen, Mystic, born 11th August 1890, died 8th March 1981. Israel Regardie, Magickian, born 17th November 1907, died 10th March 1985. Otto Wilhelm Rahn, Author, born 18th February 1904, died 13th March 1939. Roger K. Leir, UFOlogist, Born 1934, died 14th March 2014. Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Magickian, born 22nd February 1950, died 14th March 2020. Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Author, born 20th August 1890, died 15th March 1937. Isaac Newton, Alchemist, born 25th December 1642, died 20th March 1727. Nicolas Flamel, Alchemist, born around 1330, died 22nd March 1418. Hellmut Wolff, Mystic, born 30th March 1906, died 22nd March 1986. Constant Chevillon, Rosicrucian, born 26th October 1880, died 23rd March 1944. Marshall Herff Applewhite Jr., Mystic, born 17th May 1931, died 26th March 1997. Emanuel Swedenborg, Mystic, born 29th January 1688, died 29th March 1772. Harry Price, Parapsychologist, born 17th January 1881, died 29th March 1948. Rudolf Steiner, Mystic, born around 27th February 1861, died 30th March 1925. Allan Kardec, Spiritist, born 3rd October 1894, died 31st March 1869.

Memento Magus

Otto Wilhelm Rahn (born 18th February 1904, died 13th March 1939) is an understandably divisive character. Best known for membership of the German SS and the interest that Heinrich Himmler took in his research, Rahn’s travels in Southern France laid a notable part of the context which would go on to place both the Cathars and the Château de Montségur at the centre of the esoteric Holy Grail mythos. His first published work on that topic, Kreuzzug gegen den Gral, would have few National Socialist overtones, though his later Luzifers Hofgesind did carry that political and Ariosophic bias. Be it due to his inability to prove his racial origin, disgust with the atrocities at Dachau where he was briefly stationed or his homosexuality becoming more widely known, Otto resigned from the SS and committed suicide shortly after, his life’s work forever tarnished by his political associations.

Grimoire Guides

Viewed by some as a core text in any modern shamanic practice, The Book Of Werewolves By Sabine Baring-Gould is both enlightening and frustrating in equal measure. Essentially two separate essays in one, the first ten chapters are concerned chiefly with the nature of mankind’s at one time universal belief in their ability to assume the form of an animal. This psychological and folkloric discussion is where the book really shines. The second part revolves around a dated evaluation of Gilles de Retz many crimes and as is of little value to the modern reader. The book further shows its age with lengthy Latin quotes for which it provides no immediate key, therefore leaving the aspiring therian to either skip over the details and continue reading or run the whole thing through an internet translator. All in all far from perfect by any means, but a worthwhile read regardless.

End Notes

And there it is, issue nine done, dusted and ready to be distributed far and wide. As things stand I have almost depleted my reserves of previously published writing at this point. And as a result the effort to get everything edited and backed up here should ease soon, allowing me to pivot towards creating more professional submissions for consideration by the industry. My post ChaosMagick.Com hiatus is over, and while I do miss the site and was sad to see it close I always knew my residency as a contributing editor would not last forever. It was truly a fun ride though, and taught me a lot about media production and actually getting the ideas out to your audience in a visually pleasing way. As such the biggest recent change those who have been following my portfolio for a while will notice is the more uniform images to the side of these posts, and an easier to follow menu system too.