Accelerated Thinking

This month I have mostly been thinking about how the last twelve have gone. The Accelerated Chaote is a year old in June, specifically on the Summer Solstice, and I am quite proud of what I have created here so far. More than just a simple portfolio of published writing it has become my main way to blow off steam and point the bone at the aspects of occulture which annoy me, as well as a showcase for essays that would never see print due to pop culture content or unpopular hot takes. As for year two, I can predict more of the same as I continue to maintain this monthly newsletter and the Unpublished Notes blog style entries as well. I also have some more submissions on their way to editors for approval and a bunch which are almost done that are looking for a home. Watch this space, as they say, because things can only get weirder from here on out.

Empowered Words

“The essence of magic boils down to the application of two ordinary mental skills: attention and intention. The strength of the magical outcome is modulated by four factors: belief, imagination, emotion, and clarity. That’s basically it. The ceremonial robes, sombre settings, black candles, secret shakes, chanting in ancient languages, sex, and drugs – all are good theatre, which may help in withdrawing the mind from the distractions of the mundane world. But ultimately, they’re unnecessary.”
— Dean Radin PhD, Real Magic

Occult Almanac

June is surprisingly quiet from a celestial point of view. The lunar cycle starts with the New Moon on the 6th and First Quarter on the 14th before the Honey or Hawthorn Moon slides into view on the 22nd. We then finish the usual march across the heavens on the 28th with the Third Quarter. By far the biggest observance this month is the Summer Solstice or Litha, occurring as it does late on the 20th. Some Demonolaters who follow the calendar as laid down by S. Connolly observe the Rite to Flereous on the 21st, and while this would usually occur on the Solstice itself the slightly earlier timing of that observance has left it adrift. The nights are at their shortest now and solar energies have reached their peak. Truly miraculous magickal acts of a fiery nature should be much easier to achieve, though try not to forget that the journey into the darker half of the year begins once Litha is over.

Necronomicon Mortui

A list of notable members of the occult, paranormal and Fortean community, ordered by date of death as opposed to birth. Leonora Piper, Medium, born 27th June 1857, died 3rd June 1950. Dr. Harley D. Rutledge, UFOlogist, born 10th January 1926, died 5th June 2006. Carl Gustav Jung, Mystic, born 26th July 1875, died 6th June 1961. Giulio Cesare Andrea Evola, Mystic, born 19th May 1898, died 11th June 1974. John Lambe, Astrologer, born 1545, died 13th June 1628. Marie Laveau I, Voodoo Queen, born 10th September 1794, died 16th June 1881. James Hyslop, Parapsychologist, born 18th August 1854, died 17th June 1920. John Whiteside Parsons, Magickian, born 2nd October 1914, died 17th June 1952. Bonnie Lu Nettles, Mystic, born 29th August 1927, died 19th June 1985. Daniel Dunglas Home, Medium, born 20th March 1833, died 21st June 1886. Edmund Gurney, Parapsychologist, born 23rd March 1847, died 23rd June 1888. Robert Joseph Grugeau, Author, born 7th April 1909, died 24th June 1978. Marjorie Cameron, Magickian, born 23rd April 1922, died 24th June 1995. George Frederick Kunz, Folklorist, born 29th September 1856, died 29th June 1932. Johann Reuchlin, Kabbalist, born 29th January 1455, died 30th June 1522.

Memento Magus

A key figure in the workings of the Heaven’s Gate community, Bonnie Lu Nettles (born 29th August 1927, died 19th June 1985) would pass away from cancer around a decade before the mass suicide which cemented that group in Fortean folklore. Considered to have had a mostly unremarkable family life up until she began experimenting with spirit communication in her 40’s, Bonnie joined the Houston Lodge of the Theosophical Society in America in 1966 and remained a member until she met Marshall Applewhite in 1972. The pair would go on to found a series of groups, including the Christian Art Centre, Know Place and Human Individual Metamorphosis. She remained the mystical heart of what would become Heaven’s Gate before her death undermined its ethos of immortality, leaving Applewhite no choice but to lead his away team towards an all too public end in 1997.

Media Magick

This may be a little self indulgent for reasons that will become clear later on in the review, but I really enjoyed Ghosts of Darkness. Retitled House of Ghosts for its UK release, and now available for free on YouTube under that name, this film punches way above what you would expect from a low budget haunted house horror. Following a British psychic and American sceptic as they unravel the mystery of a rambling country house and face all the evils that reside within, it is the performances of the two main leads that really sell the show. Indeed, the on screen chemistry between Michael Koltes and Paul Flannery is some of the best I have seen, and watching those diametrically opposed characters warm to each other is a genuine delight. Plus it helps that Flannery’s character, Johnathan Blazer, strongly reminds me of my old ghost hunting days, back when I was the only necromancer in the room.

End Notes

And there it is, issue twelve of my occult and paranormal newsletter arriving at inboxes far and wide. We hit the dozen, folks, and if anything could now be considered a mainstay at The Accelerated Chaote it is most definitely these. Seeing as I covered my portfolio news in the opening section of this newsletter I will mention a couple of the publishers that helped me see print in this section instead. Firstly, Hadean Press. Truly understanding the long and storied history of the Grimoire tradition, their pamphlets and anthologies are second to none. I was in their Conjure Codex series twice. The we have Anathema Publishing, a company that creates some stunningly beautiful limited editions hardbacks on the darker aspects of the magickal lifestyle. It was a pleasure to be featured in their Pillars periodical among some other really well known authors. Both companies are worthy of your support.