One day, men will look back...and say I gave birth to the 20th century.
The following short excerpt from Chapter XI of Aleister Crowley´s Magick in Theory and Practice, possibly sheds further light on the intentions and philosophical underpinnings of Jack Parsons´ and L. Ron Hubbard´s Babalon Working. The operative word here is possession and with it, a metaphor for occupation (or even adverse possession, also known as ´squatting´) of ´vacant lands´ makes itself manifest.
Chapter XI
Of Our Lady Babalon and of the Beast Whereon She Rideth
The contents of this section, inasmuch as they concern OUR LADY, are too important and too sacred to be printed. They are only communicated by the Master Therion to chosen pupils in private instruction.
...
You take some organism already existing, which happens to be suitable to your purpose. You drive out the magical being which inhabits it, and take possession. To do this by force is neither easy nor justifiable, because the magical being of the other was incarnated in accordance with its Will. And "... thou hast no right but to do thy will." One should hardly strain this sentence to make one's own will include the will to upset somebody else's will!
Yet it might happen that the Will of the other being was to invite the Magician to indwell its instrument.
Moreover, it is extremely difficult thus to expatriate another magical being; for though, unless it is a complete microcosm like a human being, it cannot be called a star, it is a little bit of a star, and part of the body of Nuit.
But there is no call for all this frightfulness. There is no need to knock the girl down, unless she refuses to do what you want, and she will always comply if you say a few nice things to her.
Included in this expatriation of another magical being, is the notion of dispersion or balkanization. Dispersion is a key concept in the understanding of the Dweller in the Abyss or the demon Choronzon--a Demon of Dispersion, which first appeared in the occult system of Enochian magic as conceived by Sir John Dee, court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century. A more detailed account of Crowley´s invocation of Choronzon, which took place in the Sahara Desert near Bou-Sada, Algeria, in 1909, can be found here.
In the system of Thelema, Choronzon is the Dweller in the Abyss, that great spiritual wilderness which must be crossed by the adept to attain mastery. Choronzon is there as the final obstruction. If he is met with the proper preparation, then he is there to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the Abyss. If unprepared, then the unfortunate traveller will be utterly dispersed into annihilation.
...
In The Vision and the Voice, Crowley describes Choronzon:
The name of the Dweller in the Abyss is Choronzon, but he is not really an individual. The Abyss is empty of being; it is filled with all possible forms, each equally inane, each therefore evil in the only true sense of the word—that is, meaningless but malignant, in so far as it craves to become real. These forms swirl senselessly into haphazard heaps like dust devils, and each such chance aggregation asserts itself to be an individual and shrieks, "I am I!" though aware all the time that its elements have no true bond; so that the slightest disturbance dissipates the delusion just as a horseman, meeting a dust devil, brings it in showers of sand to the earth.
With occupation and later dispersion, comes the complete physical and spiritual obliteration or evisceration of another human being, group of people or even other life forms. As noted previously, Crowley´s system can perhaps serve as the Microcosm; and thus perfectly compliments the Macrocosm as represented in sections 9-11 of F.T. Marinetti´s Manifesto of Futurism, which was first published in Paris in 1909, the same year as Crowley´s invocation of Choronzon in Algeria.
Further regarding Microcosms and Macrocosms, it it interesting here to note Hermes Trismegistus´ axiom as above, so below, as it relates to the central ´focus´ of magickal ceremony communicated in Chapter VIII of Magick in Theory and Practice:
As said above, the object of any magick ceremony is to unite the Macrocosm and the Microcosm.
It is as in optics; the angles of incidence and reflection are equal. You must get your Macrocosm and Microcosm exactly balanced, vertically and horizontally, or the images will not coincide.
The reversal and metamorphosis of VIII and XI in The Book of Thoth is also of interest, a Strength transforms into Lust and replaces Justice.
Returning to Chapter XI of Magick in Theory and Practice, at the end of this very secretive chapter on Our Lady Babalon, Crowley concludes with the following paragraph:
It is not necessary to say much more than this concerning transformations. Those to whom the subject naturally appeals will readily understand the importance of what has been said. Those who are otherwise inclined may reflect that a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.
The horse comment here is possibly a reference to Haitian Vodun (Voodoo) and the concept of the spiritual beings known as Loa:
These are the various spirits of family members; the spirits of the major forces of the universe--good, evil, reproduction, health, all aspects of daily life. Loa interact with the people of earth. They mount
people now and again during religious ceremonies and they give messages, and even cause various good and bad things to happen to people.
The act of mounting and the obvious association with a horse--or the Cheval of the Loa-- is further explained as follows:
Horse
A Loa, possessing a person, is said sometimes to "dance in the head" of that person, but the more traditional expression is that the Loa "rides" the person's head. The person is thus regarded as the "horse" (in French, "cheval" of the Loa.)
...under reconstruction...
This is just a place holder...check back later.
Posted by: ce399 | 13 March 2007 at 15:55
I´m sure F.T. Marinetti and the CEOs of Corporate America (those ´lusty men of business,´ to paraphrase Valentine de Saint Point) would agree:
Crowley saw no use in the vaginal fluids nor did he think that women are divine, therefore he could not imagine lesbian sexmagick. He believed that 'man is the guardian of the Life of God; woman but a temporary expedient; a shrine indeed for the God, but not the God.' Women exist for the use of men. His ideal female: 'robust, vigorous, eager, sensible, hot and healthy.' [15] That is to say, his interest was in the woman's body and he wanted no spiritual or intellectual participation from her."[16]
Typhonian
Spermo-Gnosis
Ordo Templi Orientis
Interesting what AO Spare had to say in regards to the obese and gluttonous:
Their practices prove their incapacity, they have no magic to intensify the normal, the joy of a child or healthy person, none to evoke their pleasure or wisdom from themselves.
Their methods depending on a morass of the imagination and a chaos of conditions, their knowledge obtained with less decency than the hyena his food, I say they are less free and do not obtain the satisfaction of the meanest among animals.
Self condemned in their disgusting fatness, their emptiness of power, without even the magic of personal charm or beauty, they are offensive in their bad taste and mongering for advertisement (48).
Discord in the Garden of Janus
Posted by: ce399 | 14 March 2007 at 18:08
Here´s the Valentine De Saint Point bit:
Lust excites energy and releases strength. Pitilessly it drove primitive man to victory, for the pride of bearing back a woman the spoils of the defeated. Today it drives the great men of business who run the banks, the press and international trade to increase their wealth by creating centers, harnessing energies and exalting the crowds, to worship and glorify with it the object of their lust. These men, tired but strong, find time for lust, the principal motive force of their action and of the reactions caused by their actions affecting multitudes and worlds.
Posted by: ce399 | 14 March 2007 at 18:33
Self condemned in their disgusting fatness, their emptiness of power, without even the magic of personal charm or beauty, they are offensive in their bad taste and mongering for advertisement.
Ever visit a shopping mall in America on a weekend?
Remember the slogan after 9/11? America...(legs spread) Open for Business.
In reality, it was... America: Open For Business.
:X
Posted by: Hemisphere Creep | 14 March 2007 at 18:39
He believed that 'man is the guardian of the Life of God; woman but a temporary expedient; a shrine indeed for the God, but not the God.' Women exist for the use of men.
It also describes imperialism and occupation rather nicely as well...
Posted by: Hemisphere Creep | 14 March 2007 at 18:51
Hugo Chavez would be quite proud.
Posted by: ce399 | 14 March 2007 at 18:53
On the other side of the river, that is where that little gentleman of the North must be. Let's give him a big boo! Gringo, go home!
Posted by: Hemisphere Creep | 14 March 2007 at 19:01
Coincidently, March 13th, the date of this post, is the birthday of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
Posted by: ce399 | 19 March 2007 at 15:43
It´s time for Aphrodite to become death born.
Posted by: Hemisphere Creep | 25 March 2007 at 15:48