Maryland Locals

For those local to MD, I'm going to take a stab at keeping the Maryland Center for Occult Studies blog up and running. If anyone has any local events going on in the MD-Baltimore-PA-DC areas, let me know and I'll update the blog.

My First Lecture

This Saturday is my first public speaking engagement related to things of the occult nature. I'm going to be speaking at Thelesis Lodge in Philadelphia. The subject, fortunately for me, is the Modern Angelic Grimoire. It's a topic I've covered on my blog for years now, and it's the system I've worked with the most.

Ararita418, whose voice and video page I linked to previously, is going to be there. He and I have been online friends for longer than I've worked the Angelic Grimoire. I heard him speak, and the man has polish. He's OTO, and he's all professional. The correspondence I've had with the leadership of the Thelesis Lodge has been very proper and correct as well. I don't mind pretending to be polished and civilized at work, but the topics I'll be covering are near and dear to my heart. As a result, there's a lot more of "me" that will come through, and "me" drives a camaro, chews tobacco, and spent time in a trailer park in Oklahoma.

I'm downright nervous.

On the one hand, I'll be talking to Thelemites who wear real robes during their rituals, who expect more from a ceremony than "Yo, Jesus, you ready? I'm set! Let's go!" I conjure in jeans and t-shirts. I bathe before rituals... sometimes. My approach is much more earthy than intellectual. These people are paying me to present information that will help them in their Great Work. I don't want to disappoint them.

But on the other hand, I totally got the results I think they're looking for. It's an awesome system, perfect for anyone to attain the highest levels of the Great Work, if they use it. There's no end to the stuff that can be done with it. I get excited thinking about how much I grew and developed as a man using this system. The insights, the attunements to the different spheres, the relationships I've developed with each of the Archangels over the years...

I just don't want "me" to make the system look bad.

In the final analysis, I know everything came together for a reason. A series of fortunate events, synchronicities, cause and effects, all the earmarks of God's plan unfolding indicate that I am the right man for the job. So I'll just shelve the anxiety until I'm about to talk, and then get all aquiver until I get into it.

And I'll TRY not to come across like the pentecostal charismatic fire and brimstone preacher I've always secretly been at heart. Wouldn't want Legion running screaming from the Lodge looking for a herd of pigs to drown, now would we?

(Anyone interested in coming can contact me for more information. It's 12-3 on Saturday the 10th in Philadelphia, PA. It's $15 per person last I heard, prices are subject to change. Also, if you're local to Baltimore, I'll be presenting the Trithemian System locally soon too.)

Enochian Paranoia

Are the Enochian Angels out to get us? Do they want to bring about another Apocalypse? Are they the evil Watchers, Grigori, pretending to be the good angels that taught Enoch their wisdom in order to lead us into bringing about the next recreation of the Earth?

Donald Tyson seems to think so.

For years I have thought that Tyson is a great researcher, but his apocalyptic theories were a bit over the top. I have a few of his books, including his translation of Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Enochian Magic for Beginners, and The Power of the Word. Say what you like about Tyson and his theories, but you cannot condemn the man's researching capabilities. The notes in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy are solid gold. And regardless of what he is writing, he always clearly indicates when he is reporting facts and when he is expressing his opinions. He never implies that his conclusions about the Enochian Apocalypse are based on information he has found in his research. It's always expressed as an opinion.

Although, he did write an essay called "The Truth About Enochian Magic" (linked above) wherein he details all his theories. Hmmm.

Anyway, at least he is consistent. In all his books that I've read, he has stayed his ground regarding the Enochians. For years, as I said, I shrugged off his warnings as delusional paranoia. I recently chanced upon someone claiming intimate knowledge of Tyson's personal beliefs. It seems he is at least allegedly a Gnostic Christian. The warnings of the apocalypse are not, in his world-view, a bad thing at all. It would return us to a right relationship with God.

Now, Tyson's theology is weird, based on what I've seen in his books. I don't understand how he could have painstakingly worked his way through Agrippa and not have come away with a more cohesive stance on Christian beliefs, past and present. The "right relationship" with God is established through Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Furthermore, Jesus says in his parable about the Good Shepherd:

I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:16)

Most Christians say he's talking about the Gentiles that will convert to Christianity. I personally think he's talking about Pagans, Neoplatonic Philosophers, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and anyone else that sees past their religion's B.S. and gets into a direct relationship with God based on what God has revealed to them. Thelemites say it's discovering their True Will and following the guidance of their HGA. To me, it's all the same thing in different wrappers.

What does that have to do with Enochian Apocalypses? God has a plan for everyone. Part of that plan includes Christians and Jews. They received the parts of God that were appropriate for them for God's plan... for them. If you're in another pen, you'll hear the voice of your good shepherd calling you into a right relationship with God in your own language. If you're stuck in the material realm and are unable to hear the voice over the cacophony of voices of the radio, television, media, internet, bloggers like myself... then you're doomed. Doomed to go through your own apocalypse. And I'm sure the Enochian Spirits will happily oblige you.

If you're in a right relationship with God, even if He manifests to you as a bunch of Pagan deities or sprites and gnomes or whatever, then you'll be able to hear the difference between the seductive distractions of the spirits that would take you away from this relationship.Furthermore, God (in whatever form) wouldn't be tempting you away from himself. He'd be keeping you close. You just have to pay attention to Him (or Her) first and foremost.

The Enochian Spirits are, in my current opinion, Terrestrial Spirits. They are not Celestial, designed to get you into a right relationship with God. Contrary to the assertion that Tyson begins his essay with, they are not particularly Theurgic spirits. In my visions, and in those of Fr. POS and Sr. Gimel, I see evidence that they are the spirits that manifest the physical realm. The visions we've had go back to the beginning of time, the big bang, but they remain within the confines of the earthly realm.

I haven't read Ben Rowe's plethora of writings, but I started to once. From what I remember and what I've heard mentioned by others, his work with them extended into the Astral Realm. While this may appear to be at least within the realm of the Moon, which would be in keeping with Tyson's declaration of their lunar nature, the Astral Realm is not, in my opinion, really beyond the realms of the Earth.

The Realm of the "Earth" includes all of manifest reality, everything that can be said to be made up of the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. This includes the physical planets. The Planet Mars is a rock. Mercury too. Their locations in the sky relative to the Earth and observed for astronomical purposes are signposts, indicating the spiritual forces that are affecting the manifest realm at any given moment. Astrology has been revealed and developed to help us in identifying what is going on (in general) at any given time. This is a hit-and-miss kind of thing, because there are variables that are still debated and misunderstood. We can see the signs, and can read some of their meanings, but we don't understand what it all means and how it all fits together.

But to think that the Archangel of Mars lives on the planet Mars and that their spiritual realm is maybe like Heinlein's fantastical inhabitants of the planet is silliness. Would an asteroid from Mars be more potent as a Martial Talisman? Maybe. But if it's made of iron, it's made of iron. The four elements come together to form it into a matrix that is identical (pretty much) to what we find on Earth. So even the planets are Terrestrial, spiritually speaking.

The Astral Realm seems to reside between the Lunar realm and the Earthly realm on  the cosmological scale. It's sort of the borderlands between the Celestial realms and the realm of matter. Magicians have gotten lost exploring this realm at the guidance of odd spirits before. I'm not saying Rowe was mislead or anything, but I don't think astral visions should ever be taken without some large nuggets of sodium chloride.

I don't know Rowe's history, or whether he ever went through attaining Knowledge and Conversation with his Holy Guardian Angel. I don't know if he ever had a spiritual experience with which to compare and test the results he received with the Enochian Entities. Regardless, I have both.

These spirits I've worked with so far haven't popped up large quantities of Gold. In case you were wondering. (Yes, it's still on my list. I want at least ONE gold brick.)

That said, of the spirits I've worked with so far, these seem to be the best suited for manifesting quantities of material objects. They seem to be directly on the bleeding edge of manifestation here in the physical realm. The Goetic entities I've worked with are removed from the actual processes of manifestation, but they can manipulate these processes through whatever authority they've been granted. The Angelic (Celestial) spirits I've worked with have been even further removed from manifestation, and by the time the orders trickle down through the ranks, it seems like they've either lost their punch, or were never really understood to mean what I thought I meant when I was talking to the Archangels.

The healing technique I got from working with EHNB has yielded some promising results. I'm looking to expand on that type of technique, or find others, while working with the other spirits of the four Elemental Tables. I'd like to be able to build a brick of gold, one elemental block at a time. I've started experimenting, but so far everything I've made from scratch just falls apart when I try to make it manifest.

For the record, I do not think the Enochian Angels are any more dangerous or out to deceive mankind than any other spirit. I think they understand what would distract us from seeking our Source, however it has revealed itself to us, better than some other spirits. I am thankful that I waited until now in my magical career to begin working with these entities. Having already experienced the Seven Governors of the Seven Heavens, and having already attained (at least began attaining, it's nowhere near complete) Knowledge and Conversation with my HGA, I have other experiences with spirits that mean me well with which I can compare my Enochian experiences.

How to DO Something With Your Life

How to DO Something With Your Life

(In Four Easy Steps)

By Fr. R.O.

Step 1:

Think of SOMETHING you want to do.

Step 2:

Figure out what the steps are between where you are today and where you would need to be to do the SOMETHING you want to do.

Step 3:

Follow the steps. If you find you didn't plan well, adapt the plan. Start over at Step 2 with the new information.

Step 4:

When you're ready to DO SOMETHING... DO IT.

Notes:

Repeat as needed.

Thus endeth the lesson.

Angels and Angels

There are Angels and then there are Angels. Pretty much all of the spirits I deal with are "angels" in the strictest sense of the word. The strictest sense of the word itself is "Messenger." Angeloi, in the original Greek, was used to indicate a messenger. As theology mutated and transformed across the centuries, the word "Angel" became specific to the messengers from God who were doing only what we humans would consider good. At least, those of us humans that benefited from thier actions. I doubt the Angels that visited Lot in Sodom or Gamora would be considered particularly beneficial to the Sodomites or Gamorians. The Egyptians probably weren't too fond of the Angel of the Lord after their firstborn were slaughtered either.

Nevertheless, when I started getting into conjure magic, I went after Angels first, rather than demons, because they had a better reputation in my mind. Even if they weren't particularly nice all the time, at least, I felt, I could remain confident that anything they brought about in my sphere would be for the good in the long run. The same, of course, couldn't be said for demons, right?

A few years later, I'm faced with the truth that the spirits I call Angels aren't that different than the spirits I call demons. Or elementals. Or Sirits. In fact, they can all be called angels or daimons, it means about the same thing.

So when I started with the Enochian Angels, I didn't go into it believing that just because they have the word Angel in there that they necessarily were celestial beings that traverse the seven heavens. Nor do I think they are particularly interested in making my life great. Judging by what they had Dee and Kelley doing for a while, and what they tend to tell people ("You're great, I have a mission for you... SPREAD THE WORD!") in general, I am careful with them. They wouldn't be the first "angel" that tried to do harm to someone.

I'm finding that the angels of Enoch ermind me a lot of the spirits of the Goetia. Both are angelic, but they are both also concerned with things of this world. Things of this world. I've been waiting for a sign, even asking for one directly, that the Angels of Enoch are more than spirits of the realm of the Earth. A neat system that provides a direct channel into the realms of the elemental spirits.

I don't know right now though. They haven't "done" anything yet. I've had neat dreams and visions, interesting insights about healing, and things like that, but there hasn't been anything dramatic that would convince they are worth more than the mental stimulation I get from working with them.

The other night, I brough Bune along with me. While Adoeoet was there, I asked Bune if it was a Goetic Spirit. He said it was not. I asked Adoeoet what he thought of Bune. He didn't really see him. They were obviously of different "species" of spirit. Bune wasn't uncomfortable in Adoeoet's presence, and Adoeoet didn't even notice Bune there.

But what kind of spirit cares about how clean things are, but can't see another spirit? Soror Gimel's visions of them being "busy" during storms and othersmake me thiink they're like the spirits within the elements, right, but they just seem to lack something. There's a hollowness to them that I can't quite pin down.

Well, I haven't worked with many, that's for sure. So far it's an interesting journey, but it's way too early to do more than wonder. Conlusions reached now are sure to be meaningless.