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Table of Contents Ophiuchus volume 15-1, Publication of Sekhet Bast Ra

Vernal Equinox anno IV-18 March 20, 2010 e.v.

Page 3: Letter from the master. Page 4: Baudelaire’s Metaphysical Journey of Self-Knowledge: Correspondences to the Cosmos by Bryan D. Adams Page 14: A True and Faithful Opening of Watchtower Ceremony by Frater Lazarus Page 17: “Sophia” artwork by Frank Suchomel Page 18: Ode To My Memories A Poem by Ahmad Alhour (Belial) Page 19: The Poetry of Major Grady Louis McMurtry Page 21: “Angelic” artwork by Frank Suchomel Page 22: What happened to Aleister Crowley’s Ashes? by Hymenaeus Alpha 777 Page 24: Liber B vel Magi Sub Figura I Ophiuchus submissions are gladly accepted for future issues, to request information about submitting articles/artwork contact: secretary@sekhetbastra.org To contact Sekhet Bast Ra Oasis email to: master@sekhetbastra.org The mailing address and location of Sekhet Bast Ra is: 2714 N. Pennsylvania Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73107 To leave message: (405) 706-7379 Visit our website at: http://www.sekhetbastra.org

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Letter from the master: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Happy New Year and welcome to the Vernal Equinox issue of Ophiuchus! The last year has been a productive and busy time for Sekhet Bast Ra. It was my great honor to take over as bodymaster in October of 2009. I am blessed to have such great officers and members to work with. We have been holding a regular schedule of Masses and classes and are currently celebrating the Holy Season with our 2nd annual 22 days of Mass. We are currently planning our schedule for the next year and look forward to many Masses, classes, initiations, EGC ceremonies and Grand Lodge events. We will also be hosting the Thelemic Santa Claus, Lon Milo DuQuette, in late May. Please keep an eye on our website for events. I would like to thank Fr. Lazarus for resurrecting Ophiuchus and getting this issue out. It was truly his idea and motivation that made this current issue manifest. I hope to see many of you in the future at the Sekhet Bast Ra Temple. As always, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Love is the law, love under will. In the Bonds of the Order, Sr IMMEIV Master, Sekhet Bast Ra Oasis master@sekehtbastra.org

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Baudelaire’s Metaphysical Journey of Self-Knowledge: Correspondences to the Cosmos by Bryan D. Adams

of Sekhet Bast Ra, Ordo Templi Orientis, Oklahoma City January 2009

Charles Baudelaire was born in Paris in 1821 and died in 1867. A dandy of the

19th century Parisian société, he often shocked readers with his unapologetic description

of death and decay and, along with other poets such as Verlaine and Rimbaud, quickly

entrenched himself in the “décadent” movement of the time. To these poets,

metaphysical experience could be brought about either through writing, reading, or both.

Rimbaud’s poem “The Drunken Ship” (Le Bateau ivre) is such an attempt to describe a

metaphysical voyage using the ship as a metaphor. These poets lived largely and, as bons

vivants, experimented with alcohol and other substances to tear down the wall between

the mundane and the sublime. Baudelaire presents his version of a metaphysical voyage

in his work “correspondences” – a poem taken from his tome Les Fleurs du mal. The

discovery of the key to unlock this metaphysical voyage is very aptly illustrated by

literary critic Jacques-Henry Bornecque (my translation from the French):

In our being, we are much like theoretical owners, however dispossessed

and pathetic, of a palace where we must live confined in a few narrow and

encumbered rooms – in need of the key to other rooms, from which we

can only sometimes perceive the glimmer of light and of divine music

behind the locked doors of our subconscious.i

Before considering how Baudelaire presents his theory of departure, the poem is

presented (first in the English translation [mine] then in the original French) in order to

allow a point of departure.

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Nature is a temple where living pillars Let escape sometimes confused words; Man traverses it through forests of symbols That observe him with familiar glances. Like long echoes that intermingle from afar In a dark and profound unity, Vast like the night and like the light, The perfumes, the colors and the sounds respond. There are perfumes fresh like the skin of infants Sweet (or soft) like oboes, green like prairies, —And others corrupted, rich and triumphant Having the expanse of infinite things, Like ambergris, musk, balsam and incense, Which sing the ecstasies of the mind and senses. La Nature est un temple où de vivants piliers Laissent parfois sortir de confuses paroles; L’homme y passe à travers des forêts de symboles Qui l’observent avec des regards familiers. Comme de longs échos qui de loin se confondent Dans une ténébreuse et profonde unité, Vaste comme la nuit et comme la clarté, Les parfums, les couleurs et les sons se répondent. Il est des parfums frais comme des chairs d’enfants, Doux comme les hautbois, verts comme les prairies, -- Et d’autres, corrompus, riches et triomphants, Ayant l’expansion des choses infinies, Comme l’ambre, le musc, le benjoin et l’encense Qui chantent les transports de l’esprit et des sens. -Baudelaire In the nineteenth century, the notion of “pantheism” becomes much more

interesting for the poet since heii attempts to understand the rapport between his own

microscopic existence and the macrocosmic universe. This quest takes a spiritual tone

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because the poet is interrogating not only his psyche but also all of nature that he sees

before himself. From this quest is born the lyrical tone that is so rooted in romantic

literature. As a result, the poet interrogates himself about the possibility of absolute truth

that might become known through a secret code during a shared moment between self

and the divine cosmos, manifested in concrete nature. This interrogation is organized

according to a hypothetical system of subtle relationships between everything that exists

on a concrete level, as well as subtler levels in Baudelaire’s “Correspondences”.

For our poet, all that exists on the terrestrial plane has an equivalent in the au-delà

(the words “heaven” or “ether” do not adequately capture the meaning of this word. I’ll

therefore use the French). One is reminded immediately of Plato’s IDEA theory, but

Baudelaire’s notion goes much further. It concerns not simply the equivalent of an object

in the au-delà, but also of correspondences that can be evoked (by way of concrete

objects) and of relationships that exist analogically between, for example, smell and taste.

This phenomenon of the intermingling of the senses known as synesthesia plays an

important part for Baudelaire. Furthermore, in his poem we can also see analogies

between what is visible and what is invisible.

As magicians employ an object, a perfume, or even a verbal vibration in order to

evoke a harmonic accord on the spiritual level (or in the au-delà), Baudelaire performs

the same task through his writing. In this manner, the poet serves as a “decipherer” and

even as a “priest” for those who dare to examine these correspondences in the world and

the universe. Let us now consider Baudelaire’s poem “Correspondences” in order to see

in what manner the poet puts this theory into practice.

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In the first quatrain, the poet quite simply presents his theory in thesis form; in the

second, we see a progression of this thesis through the macrocosm; and in the two tercets,

one can see an illustration of correspondences throughout the microcosm. In this manner,

the poet serves as a sort of “tour guide” to the reader by taking him on a round-trip.

In the first sentence, “Nature is a temple where living pillars / Let sometimes

escape confused words;” the reader is struck by the vivid metaphor that both “nature” and

“temple” are not simply unified but are the same. One can immediately reference the two

pillars of King Solomon’s Temple (Jachin and Boaz). According to Masonry Defined,

Jachin,

Hence called by Dudley and some other writers, who reject the points,

ichin. It is the name of the right-hand pillar that stood at the porch of King

Solomon’s Temple. It is derived from two Hebrew words, jah, ‘God,’ and

iachin, ‘will establish’. It signifies ‘he that strengthens,’ or ‘will

establish.’ The other pillar was called Boaz, ‘in strength’ – the two words

signifying ‘in strength shall this my house be established.’. iii

By referencing the pillars in this manner, the poet evokes the pantheistic nature of the

universe and suggests that by exiting from the two living pillars (the mother’s legs) at

birth, each human being is already initiated into the mystery of “Nature”. Everything is,

therefore, sacred, and the pillars are living. The alliteration that we hear in the original

French “t, d, v, p” in the phrase “La nature est un temple où de vivants piliers / Laissent

parfois sortir de confuses paroles;” brings a drum to mind – a sacred ritualistic image.

Additionally, it can be suggested that the heart is now beating and the voyage has begun.

Thanks to the words “temple”, “pillars”, “confused words”, one gets the impression that

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Baudelaire might be suggesting the image of the oracles of Delphi that offer words of

wisdom if one is ready and able to decipher them. Life is, in and of itself, a mystery

which seeks to understand itself throughout its course. By undergoing this first initiation,

the process of discovery is inevitable. In the third line, we see: “Man traverses it through

forests of symbols”. This refers to horizontal movement and highlights two things:

horizontal correspondences as well as the cycle of the human life. Man is limited by

horizontal movement and human life is, in general, of a linear nature. Man is obviously

bound to a time-space continuum, but by heeding the poet’s message, one can learn to

transcend linear restrictions for a fleeting moment. Furthermore, the poet suggests that,

most of the time, man passes through life ignorant of these occult correspondences that

surround him and are found everywhere – both in the outside world as well as inside his

psyche. In other words, man has “forgotten” and become ignorant of the divine

correspondences in the cosmos. He fails to see himself as divine because this

information has been lost to him. According to James J. Hurtak:

After the first ‘fall,’ the religious sense descended to the level of the

‘divided’ consciousness; now, after the second, it has fallen even further,

into the depths of the unconscious; it has been ‘forgotten.’ It is now our

privilege to discover the potential dimensions of human existence and face

the great challenge of the ‘ascension of consciousness’ through the Man-

God-Spirit transformation.iv

The forests of symbols suggest the inexhaustible number of possibilities for man

in his process of self-exploration. These symbols are also the tools by which one can

begin to “remember” one’s nature and reunite with the forgotten divine. In other words,

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there are many paths that must be trod and each is correct in its appointed hour. We are

therefore, each of us, psychonauts in the quest of understanding our true selves through

the process of identifying our Will. It is interesting to see that the notion of symbology

reminds one of Jung’s theory of the unconscious. Jung was attempting to highlight major

archetypal moments in the human psyche; and although Baudelaire precedes our

philosopher, archetypal constructs were already intuited. Nevertheless, according to

Jung, everything that exists in front of us also exists in a sort of collective human

memory. The systems of the eastern magicians call this notion the Akasha. According to

Donald Michael Kraig, the definition of the word Akasha comes from Sanskrit and

means: “The records of all that has occurred, is occurring, and will occur in the

universe.”v Baudelaire’s “forests of symbols” suggest the possibility of aligning oneself

with shared information that exists in the au-delà. Attaining the Knowledge and

Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel is another way of describing this same process.

In the last verse of this strophe, we see “That observe him with familiar glances.”

The living pillars are personified because they see man and we intuit an often benevolent

complicity in the universe for everything that surrounds us. It is possible that Baudelaire

suggests the archangels that one might evoke – beings that witness our works in the

magickal space. Finally, the unification of these two pillars (man and woman) has

resulted in the birth of a human being who is being initiated into life. The “familiar”

glances suggest complicity and a shared responsibility between the two pillars and the

individual who has now passed through them and entered into life. Furthermore, the act

of reading is a shared experience and the poet is at work with the reader – a notion that

forges yet another correspondence concerning complicity.

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In the second quatrain, we see that the echoes become mixed and muddled due to

man’s poor perception in the phrase: “Like long echoes that intermingle from afar / In a

dark and profound unity”. It is now necessary to have an intermediary (our poet) to

interpret these echoes for us. The word “unity” underlines the fact that these

correspondences do not reside in a world of disorder but in equilibrium that exists both in

the concrete world as well as in the entire universe. This universe is “Vast like the night

and like the light”. To a Thelemite, this phrase brings the goddess Nuit immediately to

mind. Nuit is the vast, starry night sky who invites us to lie in Her bosom for a moment

to share Her love. Interestingly, the word “nuit” in French is the word for “night”. Since

the universe is both vast like the night as well as the light, we see a suggestion of the

dualistic principle. Hadit is the secret centre of light as Nuit is the vast night sky. This

space becomes neutral and possesses both bright and dark qualities. To use another

metaphor, we see this concept suggested by the temple dais of alternating black and white

cubes. We also see the romantic notion of a duality that is highlighted in the title of the

work from which this poem was taken, “The Flowers of Evil.” A flower is neither

positive nor negative; it is man’s interpretation thereof that gives meaning. Nuit reminds

us of this duality when She proclaims that She is divided for the sake of union. This dual

principal allows us to see how the magician makes his vibrations echo back to him from

the au-delà due to harmonics. In other words, that which is affected in one world (the

microcosm) is mirrored in the other (the macrocosm), and vice-versa. The same notion

applies in the last verse of this strophe: “The perfumes, the colors and the sounds

respond.” This verse also evokes Baudelaire’s definition of synesthesia. Finally, such

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elements (perfumes, colors and sound) are used in ritual as a trigger by which to attune

the psyche to the divine.

In the first tercet, we encounter the phrase: “There are perfumes fresh like the

skin of infants, /”. Baudelaire suggests once again the pantheistic, living nature of

everything. We might also suggest the development of divine man by evoking the image

of the babe. This child, known in the Ancient Egyptian world as Heru-Pa-Khrat,

represents the developing human in the new aeon. Therefore, the joining of the dark

“Nuit” and the light “Hadit” creates the “infant” as explained by Lon Milo Duquette:

As Nuit’s expansion and Hadit’s contraction are both infinite, so too must

be their points of contact. This infinite contact creates the basis of

possible vibration (their Child Horus); the field of operation in which the

universe can manifest.vi

Here we see that the perfumes are also “Sweet (or soft) like oboes, green like prairies /”.

In this phrase we find the sensations of hearing, sight and touch. Each sensation

corresponds to another, exactly like the relationship between all things in the universe. In

the last verse, we see how perfumes can also be “corrupted, rich and triumphant, /”. The

magickal number of three comes to mind. The divine trinity of the Father, Son and the

Holy Spirit becomes a metaphor for a single living being who seeks to find his Will in the

forests of symbols of the universe. The unusual adjectives used to describe perfumes

“corrupted, rich, triumphant” are being used such that the reader also makes a subliminal

correspondence to people, gods, or leaders, according to his personal experience. May

we go so far as to suggest descriptions of the sephiroth?

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The first verse of the last tercet shows the possibility of correspondences that can

be triggered by perfumes: “Having the expanse of infinite things, /”. Baudelaire suggests

two levels of existence: vaporization and concentration. Alchemically speaking,

“concentration” is where man spends most of his existence. This is, therefore, his/her

cell. “Vaporization” represents his passage into the au-delà. Baudelaire suggests this

when he evokes the image of incense rising into the au-delà. In this manner, one

understands better “the expansion of infinite things” to which Baudelaire refers.

Furthermore, the correspondences are infinite: everything responds to everything else

and everything bounces into everything else. One might consider the movement of an

atom where each particle has a distinct relationship with another, with another, with

another ad infinitum. The enumeration of ambergris, musk, balsam and incense suggests

several possibilities. The first image evokes the church (which uses incense in its rituals)

as well as the tools of the alchemist. Alchemy allows man to transform his life with the

use of such elements. We also see a suggestion of vertical movement. Earlier, we saw

that man was stuck to horizontal movement in his voyage of life. Now, however, we find

an alternative: the incense transports prayers toward the heavens. Instead of being glued

to the earth, Baudelaire suggests that the reader (who is now being initiated into

priesthood) may find a correspondence (or a “trigger”) to lift him upwards. This echoes

the very moment during the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram when the magician

announces that the pentagrams flame about him and the six-rayed star shines within the

columns. Although Baudelaire would not have been familiar with this ritual, the

archetype of connection between the microcosm and the macrocosm is deeply rooted in

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human consciousness. Obviously, this magical moment can occur under the guise of

many rituals and Baudelaire is illustrating a mystical experience through his writing.

In this poem, we have seen how Baudelaire sees correspondences in all of nature.

All symbols, therefore, exist in a world that has now become sacred. This pantheistic

view shows how the poet serves as an intermediary and explains these sacred analogies if

the reader is ready to be initiated and understand them. In addition, Baudelaire presents

his poem in the present tense in order to underline the eternal quality of sacred nature and

we see, therefore, that this experience in voluntary. This experience is trigged by objects

and symbols at man’s disposal. We can see how Baudelaire foreshadows the writing of

Marcel Proust, but for the latter, the sublime experience becomes involuntary and

sporadic.

i Jacques-Henry Bornecque, « Rêves et Réalités du Symbolisme. » Revue des Sciences Humaines 5-23 (Jan –Mars 1955) : 17. ii For the sake of convenience, the word « he » will be used to represent any individual. iii Mackey, Johnston, Masonry Defined : A Liberal Masonic Education (Kingsport, Tennessee : National Masonic Press, 1939) 300. iv James J. Hurtak, Gnosticism : Mystery of Mysteries (Los Gatos, California : The Academy For Future Science, 1988) 96. v Donald Michael Kraig, Modern Magick : Eleven Lessons in the High Magickal Arts (St. Paul, Minnesota : Llewellyn Publications, 1996) 523. vi Lon Milo DuQuette, The Magick of Thelema : A Handbook of the Rituals of Aleister Crowley (York Beach, Maine : Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1993) 81.

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A True and Faithful Opening of The Watchtowers Ceremony : By Fra. Lazarus 1. Knock 1-3-3-3-1 2. Standing in the center facing the east perform the LBRP and the LHR. 3. Purify by water and earth. Consecrate by fire and air. 4. In center, holding the wand say aloud: “The 4 houses are the 4 angles of the earth, which are 4 overseers, and watchtowers, that the eternal God in his providence hath placed, against the usurping blasphemy, misuse, and stealth of the wicked and Great Enemy.” 5. Recite the 1st Enochian Key 6. Perform the Greater invoking ritual of the pentagram, invoking spirit and using the names from the tablet of union. 7. Move to the north and uncover the Earth tablet and hang the cloth of passage behind while saying: “Who is he that is rich?” Move deosil to the west and uncover the Water tablet and hang the cloth of passage behind while saying: “He it is that openeth the 4 store-houses, not such as fly away with the wind, but such as are pure, and without end.” Move deosil to the south and uncover the Fire tablet and hang the cloth of passage behind while saying: “To the pure in spirit, and such as he delighteth in.” Move deosil to the east and uncover the Air Tablet and hang the cloth of passage behind while saying: “So does glory comfort the just, and shall rise again with a threefold majesty.” 8. In center facing the east say aloud: “The good angels are ministers for this purpose and the angels of the 4 angles shall make the earth open unto you, and shall serve your necessities from the 4 parts of the earth.” Vibrate loudly each archangel of the quarters and ring the bell for each name called. 9. Recite the 2nd Enochian Key 10. In the center holding the wand and facing the east in the sign of Osirus Slain say aloud: “O IHVH Zebaoth, I (N.) (a star and not a slave), most earnestly invoke and call upon the divine knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. I faithfully demand the favor and assistance in all my deeds, words, and thoughts, and in the promoting, procuring, and mingling of the mercy, severity, and beauty of the crown. Through these, the 12 mystical names that are borne upon the banners of the Store-houses: ORO-IBAH-AOZPI (make the appropriate figures in the ENEx3 Ex4 ESEx5)

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OIP-TEAA-PDOCE (make the appropriate figures in the SEx3 Sx4 SWx5) MPH-ARSL-GAIOL (make the appropriate figures in the WSWx3 Wx4 WNWx5) MOR-DIAL-HCTGA (make the appropriate figures in the NWx3 Nx4 NEx5) I conjure and pray most zealously to the divine and omnipotent majesty, that all the angelic spirits will be called to me from any and all parts of the universe, at any time, through the domination and controlling power of these holy names. Let them come quickly to me. Let them appear visibly, friendly, and peacefully. Let them remain visible according to my will. Let them depart and vanish from my sight when I request. Let them give reverence and obedience to me and your 12 mystical names. I command that they happily satisfy me in all things and at all times of my life, by accomplishing each and every one of my petitions – IF NOT BY ONE MEANS THEN BY ANOTHER – goodly, virtuously, and perfectly, with an excellent and thorough completeness, according to their virtues and powers, both general and unique, and by the united ministry and office of the crown. 11.knock 1-3-3-3-1 12. say aloud : “The sign of the cross is of great power and virtue.” Perform the qabblistic cross starting in the east pick up the Air Dagger/Feather, trace the invoking elemental hexagrams of air invoking the seniors of the air tablet: (air hexagram invoking Mars) Habioro (air hexagram invoking Jupiter) Aaoxaif (air hexagram invoking Luna) Htmorda (air hexagram invoking Venus) Ahaozpi (air hexagram invoking Saturn) Hipotga (air hexagram invoking Mercury) Avtotar replace the Air Dagger/Feather Move to the south and take up the Fire Wand, trace the invoking elemental hexagrams of fire invoking the seniors of the fire tablet: (fire hexagram invoking Mars) Laidrom (fire hexagram invoking Jupiter) Aczinor (fire hexagram invoking Luna) Lzinopo (fire hexagram invoking Venus) Alhctga (fire hexagram invoking Saturn) Lhiansa (fire hexagram invoking Mercury) Acmbicu replace the Fire Wand Move to the west and take up the Water Cup, trace the invoking hexagrams of water invoking the seniors of the water tablet. (water hexagram invoking Mars) Lsrahpm (water hexagram invoking Jupiter) Saiinou (water hexagram invoking Luna) Laoaxrp (water hexagram invoking Venus) Slgaiol (water hexagram invoking Saturn) Ligdisa (water hexagram invoking Mercury) Soaiznt replace the Water Cup Move to the north and take up the Earth Disk, trace the invoking hexagrams of earth invoking the seniors of the earth tablet. (earth hexagram invoking Mars) Aaetpio (earth hexagram invoking Jupiter) Adoeoet (earth hexagram invoking Luna) Alndvod (earth hexagram invoking Venus) Aapdoce

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(earth hexagram invoking Saturn) Arinnaq (earth hexagram invoking Mercury) Anodoin replace the earth disk Say aloud: “The sign of the cross is of great power and virtue.” Perform the Qabblistic Cross 13. In the center and facing east say aloud: “In each of the houses, the chief Watchman is a mighty Prince, a mighty Living Beast of the Lord, full of eyes before and behind!” Advance to the East and take up the Air Dagger/Feather, and say aloud: “And the first Living Beast had the face of a Man.” Trace the whorl of the King of the East with the Air Dagger/Feather invoking loudly: “Batavia” Trace the sigil of Aquarius, replace the Air Dagger, and make the sign of 2=9 Advance to the South and take up the Fire Wand, and say aloud: “And the second Living Beast had the face of a Lion.” Trace the whorl of the King of the South with the Fire Wand invoking loudly: “Eldprna” Trace the sigil of Leo, replace the Fire Wand, and make the sign of 4=7 Advance to the West and take up the Water Cup, and say aloud: “The third Living Beast had the face of a flying Eagle.” Trace the whorl of the King of the West with the Water Cup invoking loudly: “Raagios” Trace the sigil of Scorpio, replace the Water Cup, and make the sign of 3=8 Advance to the North and take up the Earth Disk, and say aloud: “The last Living Beast had the face of a Bull.” Trace the whorl of the King of the North with the earth disk invoking loudly: “Iczhhca” Trace the sigil of Taurus, replace the Earth Disk, and make the sign of 1=10 Return to the center and make the signs of L.V.X. then say in the sign of Osirus Slain: “The seals and authorities of these houses, are confirmed at the beginning of the world, and are given to 5 that will carry the burden of the Living Beasts.” 14. Knock 1-3-3-3-1

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“Sophia” artwork by Frank Suchomel

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Ode To My Memories A Poem by Ahmad Alhour (Belial) Written : Feb 7th, 2010 - Sunday - 09:47 PM Cold was the fallen murmuring snow Upon the surface of my tangible skin Back when loss of memories: Pain it did flow Like ecstasy of monumental sin Stood I with pride of a hundred lions Aflamed with fires of memories No winter cold, nor passion of aeons No earthly snow, nor mundane glories Could, atop of my furies ascend Nor exists below my sanity a Sane For I drift in my silence seeking no end A tenuous struggle as winds membrane Remained the signs for ages today As I journey in silence wild and soar "Slay every friend!", my memories did say "Slay every foe!", it said before Then silence, so dull in me appeared Echoing a voice louder than the Sun: "Your memories, O son, fears they bring... Your shadow of existence, death it adores!" Replied with a chant that I did sing: "An end I shall bring of wars! And be when salvation comes, the king... For kingdoms where thrust awakening endures!" ( © 2010 - All Rights Reserved Belial )

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The Poetry of Major Grady Louis McMurtry “Poetry is the geyser of the Unconsciousness” -A.C. 666 In 1969, Grady would comment upon his poetry, writing - “I have been writing poetry since I was a teenager. Much to the amazement & shock of my ‘Okie’ family who, I suspect, probably thought it was a sure indication that I was ‘queer’. But it has always been a very positive thing. Something I did for my own amusement. Or edification. It would not be until relatively recently that I would see its fantastic potential in reinitiation. To know that, by reaching ‘out’ in that blind, groping, intuitive sense, that I really could, when lucky, bring down ‘fire from heaven’.” He continued, “Much of my poetry is ‘writing poetry.’ i.e. bumbling along, putting sentences together, imitating, even if only sometimes subconsciously because it was the last book of poetry I read, somebody else in their style, technique. But then, once in awhile, I start writing ‘as a poet’. The floodgates of inspiration open. You are acting as the ‘hand & pen’ for some universe outside the span of time. And it is at times like that, that one must most beware, at least in my experience, of ‘tampering with the product’. And then will come those lines of initiatory experience that will tell you, rather than you tell them. Or even ‘write’ them, for they are being written for you. To you thru you, as it were, from somebody else. Or at least from somewhere else. Much of my initiatory experience has come from ‘letting it flow,’ and then trying to understand it later, even if it didn’t seem to make much sense at the time. As the Greek poets used to say, ‘from the Gods’. And you wouldn’t believe how many times I have been absolutely amazed as what I have ‘told’ myself, as it were, when thinking about it later. And then sometimes I have even told myself things that I have never been able to understand even to this day." Nadir - by Major Grady Louis McMurtry I have stood upon the battlements Of ebon stone, and jet Black light has bathed my body With the force it can beget. The Brothers of the Shadow In the gloom that never fades Have welcomed me to keeps that guard The gulf thrown palisades. I have stood in their cathedrals And the hymns of hate I've sung. I have heard the Mass of Mendes Chaunted by a slitted tongue. I have taught the works of blasphemy With Succubi I've lain By necromancy I have raised The phantoms of the slain. My steed has been the basilisk My armor was a spell By sorcery I could command The fiery gods of Hell. In monasteries of the Night I've worn the hooded gown

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With monks who crucify The Toad. Where endless stairs go down To the stagnant wells of shadow Where the Four Great Princes stand. I am alone. I am alone! Dead. In a charnel land. 9-28-41 THE BLACK OSIRIS Dread Virgin, Mother, Harlot, Crone Thy dusky beauty sears my dreams Direct my quest to Thee alone Dissolve this world in all it seems KALI! Mother of Horror Transmitter of the Secret Seed Thyself untouched and undefiled Bend down and bless us in our need Pure black perfection that has smiled KALI! Mother of Horror Deep black Abyss that is the mind Eternal Worm that cannot die Save by Your grace to humankind: Relieve us in our agony KALI! Mother of Horror Dark Virgin pregnant with The Child The Dragon's Head is raised for Thee To tread upon. The bruise is mild But he explodes in ecstacy KALI! Mother of Horror 6-24-61

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“Angelic” artwork by Frank Suchomel

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WHAT HAPPENED TO ALEISTER CROWLEY'S ASHES? by Hymenaeus Alpha 777 We know from Crowley’s Last Will and Testament that he instructed his executors to preserve his ashes and give them to Karl Germer (Frater Saturnus), Grand Treasurer General of the Order. Fr. Saturnus was to preserve them for posterity (and certain operations suggested in Crowley’s comment to my poem, NADIR). A.C. also placed considerable emphasis in his Will upon the fact that his Seal Ring should be preserved. His Seal Ring was preserved – though under the most unlikely of circumstances – it was found by the Coroner Calaveras Country in Sascha Germer’s purse. Apparently it never occurred to the "Solar Lodge" outlaw gang while they ware gutting Crowley’s library at West Point and walking all over her in the process, to ask about only thing of real value in the library – namely Crowley’s Seal Ring. Probably they didn’t even know that it existed… Anyway, we know from several sources that Crowley’s body was cremated in Brighton, England, in 1947. So what happened to the ashes? Why have they not also survived? The answer is rather simple and completely stupid. In 1951 I was called back to active duty as a Captain in the American Army during the Korean "crisis" …we did not call it a war in those days, although it obviously was… at least those of us who got to Korea quickly discovered that it was a real live shooting war. My particular piece of the action was that of Ammunition Supply Officer for the Central Front—that would be from Chunchon north to Whacon, Kumwa and the Iron Triangle – the Main line of Resistance being held by 9 Corps American on the left, 2nd ROK in the center, and 10 Corps American on the right, which we damn near lost when the Chinese hit the Khumwa Ridges with a human wave offensive that went on for a solid week in October of 1952… we never thought about North Koreans then … So far as we were concerned we were fighting the Chinese ... but more of that another time. Anyway, in 1951 I was assigned as Training Officer for a bunch of Reserve Units in Baltimore, Maryland, which is not far from Hampton, New Jersey. So I found occasion to visit Karl at his Hampton address. Now, as I have said in my rap about "Continuity in the Order," Karl’s place outside Hampton was a house with grounds. That means that it was a good sized residence, not a mansion, but still a good sized house, sitting on several acres of grounds. Anyhow I remember on one of the visits, Karl and I taking a walk down the driveway and into the front yard. I remember it had rained – one of those sudden New Jersey thunder squalls that are heralded by hot, muggy winds and high white cumulus, and followed by heavy downpour. I was walking on the right. Naturally I was in uniform. It seemed like always was in those days. While we were walking along – as usual I had lighted my pipe – Karl suddenly pointed to a scroungy tree and said; "And that is the Aleister Crowley tree!" Being a little slow on the uptake, I said: "What?," and he repeated with somewhat more emphasis: "That is the Aleister Crowley tree!" I still didn’t get it and said something like: "What do you mean," and he said (obviously I am paraprasing as I have no tape recording of the conversation): "Well one day Sascha and I were discussing what to do with Crowley’s ashes (which completely blew my mind, because what was there to do with them other than to comply with his Last Will and Testament and keep them) and suddenly she took the urn in which they were kept and dashed them at the foot of this tree and said, "This is the Aleister Crowley tree!" So I looked at the stupid tree and I looked at the muddy ground at the base of it. Obviously there was no sign of the ashes and obviously there was no way they could be recovered, and I was sick in the stomach. But what the hell could I do about it? Nothing was possible but to remember the incident. Years later I would write to Gerald Yorke, and he would write back saying that I must be mistaken, because

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Karl had written to him saying that the reason Crowley’s ashes could not be recovered when he left the Hampton address was that he had buried them in a wooden box at the base of a pine tree – when he went to dig them up the box had disintegrated and the ashes were unrecoverable. Personally I consider this story to be a crock of horse-shit. Apparently it had occurred to Karl some time after he told me the true story that letting Sascha strew Aleister Crowley’s ashes in the mud at the base of any tree was not the brightest of all posible things to do; so he invented a story to cover his actions. In any case, to the best of my knowledge, that is the true story of what happened to Aleister Crowley’s ashes; and why they have not been preserved today as it was specified in his Last Will and Testament they should be. 93 Hymenaeus Alph *777* Note: This article originally appeared in O.T.O. Newsletter Vol. I, No.2 Atumnal Equinox AN. LXXIII e.n. Sept., 1977 e.v., pgs 6-7 and was Grady's reply to a question asked by Christopher Gait, or "Do you know what happened to Crowley's ashes."

LIBER B VEL

MAGISVB FIGVRÂ

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A∴A∴ Publication in Class A

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00. One is the Magus: twain His forces: four His weapons. These are the Seven Spirits of Unrighteousness; seven vultures of evil. Thus is the art and craft of the Magus but glamour. How shall He destroy Himsef?

0. Yet the Magus hath power upon the Mother both directly and through Love. And the Magus is Love, and bindeth together That and This in His Conjuration.

1. In the beginning doth the Magus speak Truth, and send forth Illusion and Falsehood to enslave the soul. Yet therein is the Mystery of Redemption.

2. By His Wisdom made He the Worlds; the Word that is God is none other than He.

3. How then shall He end His speech with Silence? For He is Speech.

4. He is the First and the Last. How shall He cease to number Himself?

5. By a Magus is this writing made known through the mind of a Magister. The one uttereth clearly, and the other understandeth; yet the Word is falsehood, and the Understanding darkness. And this saying is Of All Truth.

6. Nevertheless it is written; for there be times of darkness, and this is as a lamp therein.

7. With the Wand createth He. 8. With the Cup preserveth He. 9. With the Dagger destroyeth He. 10. With the Coin redeemeth He.

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11. His weapons fulfill the wheel; and on What Axle that turneth is not known unto Him.

12. From all these actions must He cease before the curse of His Grade is uplifted from Him. Before He attain to That which existeth without Form.

13. And if at this time He be manifested upon earth as a Man, and therefore is this present writing, let this be His method, that the curse of His grade, and the burden of His attainment, be uplifted from Him.

14. Let Him beware of abstinence from Action. For the curse of His grade is that He must speak Truth, that the Falsehood thereof may enslave the souls of men. Let Him then utter that without Fear, that the Law may be fulfilled. And according to His Original Nature will that law be shapen, so that one may declare gentleness and quiteness, being an Hindu; and another fierceness and servility, being a Jew; and yet another ardour and manliness, being an Arab. Yet this matter toucheth the Mystery of Incarnation, and is not here to be declared.

15. Now the grade of a Magister teacheth the Mystery of Sorrow, and the grade of a Magus the Mystery of Change, and the grade of Ipsissimus the Mystery of Selflessness, which is called also the Mystery of Pan.

16. Let the Magus then contemplate each in turn, raising it to the ultimate power of Infinity. Wherein Sorrow is Joy, and Change is Stability, and Selflessness is Self. For the interplay of the parts hath no action upon the whole. And this contemplation shall be performed not be simple meditation�how much less then by reason? but by the method which shall have been given unto Him in His initation to the Grade.

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17. Following which method, it shall be easy for Him to combine that trinity from its elements, and further to combine Sat-Chit-Ananda, and Light, Love, Life, three by three into nine that are one, in which meditation success shall be That which was first adumbrated unto Him in the grade of Practicus (which reflected Mercury into the lowest world) in Liber XXVII, �Here is Nothing under its three Forms.�

18. And this is the Opening of the Grade of Ipsissimus, and by the Buddhists it is called the trance Nerodha-Samapatti.

19. And woe, woe, woe, yea, woe, and again woe, woe, woe, unto seven times be His that preacheth not His law to men!

20. And woe also be unto Him that refuseth the curse of the grade of a Magus, and the burden of the Attainment thereof.

21. And in the word CHAOS let the Book be sealed; yea, let the Book be sealed.