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thetriplesnake:

Ἀκέφαλος – A Headless Rite Experience

Ok, take this with a grain of salt. Writing about a magical experience can seem like insanity. I have reread my magic diary notes, tried to gather my thoughts and form some type of thesis.

Backstory
Over a year ago my life had become rather chaotic, frustrating and uncertain. Family and work life had drastically changed and no conventional ideas seemed to improve matters. At my wits end I began looking for “magical” solutions to break out of the rut. I don’t remember exactly how but I came across Gordon White’s Rune Soup blog. This discovery thrust me back into something I had spent the last decade trying to ignore and that was practical magic. Feeling very curious I purchased The Chaos Protocols by Gordon and was inspired to give the Headless Rite a go. However please note, my ritual is not as prescribed by Gordon, I’ll explain why later.

Ritual
It was performed during the day on a Sunday on the planetary hour of the Sun in my backyard. The choice of day was not in my control, as it was the only day I could have my place to myself. But I did choose to perform it in the hour of the Sun to take advantage of the various Sun correspondences.

I began with a meditation to relax and enter a light trance state. I lit white candles located at the four directions as well as frankincense resin. Cast a circle by walking incense around a central altar (it’s just a small table). Read out barbarous names printed on paper, held to my left and right temples facing North. Then facing West towards Orion (who was below the horizon at the time) I read out the Headless Rite. I’m Greek Australian, so I read the rite in the Ancient Greek and not the translation. I don’t think the language used matters as long as the barbarous names are unchanged (that’s possibly where some of the magic is). I then activated some sigils using Gordon’s method of staring at sigils until they flash/fade and go back to normal. Then more meditation to cleared my mind. I ended the ritual and banished by clapping my hands and laughing. Tidied up the backyard.

Considerations and observations
Gordon suggests combining an invocation to the Demon Kings. I didn’t, mainly out of fear to be honest. Calling a demon back then felt sacrilegious and conflicted with my Greek Orthodox upbringing. It technically still does, but I’ve subsequently expanded my beliefs/views… not very Orthodox any more.

I don’t feel that the Demon Kings are demons anyway, well not in the biblical fallen angel style. I now view them as very significant spirits who represent/influence the cardinal directions, similarly to the Ancient Greek Anemoi (winds) and the Chinese Heavenly Kings. They are not a part of the Headless Rite, so their omission didn’t break anything.

The incense that was happily puffing smoke did flare up doing the ceremony, which did get the heart racing. The self lighting charcoals can do this which is normal. However I do find it amusing that it tends to happen as an accent or during the climax of a ritual.

I do remember feeling very invigorated once I completed the entire ritual. I didn’t think it was successful, but I felt good.

Then the fun started.

As crazy as it sounds I believe that performing the Rite opened me up to contact from the spirit world. The contact I received however was not what I expected, surprise surprise. My dreams three days later felt very, very real. I can lucid dream, but the feeling was far more intense. The first dream was a blend of nightmare and lesson. I won’t describe the entire dream, but basically I was given a lesson, I can either continue wasting life/vitality/energy by being sucked into base desires or I could channel my vitality/energy into meaningful magic. This choice was emphasised by two menacing black hounds with glowing green eyes giving me very threatening looks and growls. Oddly I felt a compulsion to give thanks for the dream after I woke up.

The hounds returned on two more nights. But on the last night within the dream, after I crossed a large canyon the angry black hound split into two dogs. One old, calm and friendly, the other young and active. I had worked through a few personal things so I felt the hounds were happy with me.

“So what, you dreamt of dogs?”, I hear you say. Well yes, but I’m trying to change my life and rediscover magic by performing an “exorcism” possibly written in the 2nd century BC, calling upon Egyptian Gods. No point in rejecting experiences because they sound trivial now.

Conclusions
To me the Rite when spoken in Greek has the same mouthfeel as prayers to God I could say in church. I kinda think it is, as it even mentions an “Angel of God”. Please note that I’m definitely not suggesting that the Headless Rite is a Christian prayer, far from it. Calling upon a Headless daemon (Akephalos), Osiris, Set, Bes and others would make a Church Father have apoplexy. I’m talking about the feeling.

I do think this Angel made contact with me and the hounds represent… her. Yep, I think the angel was female. Why do I think this? Well I’ve researched the words in the Headless Rite and symbolism in my dreams. The Headless Rite is included in the Greek Magical Papyri, other “spells/rituals” in the PGM include many of the same deities and barbarous names. A certain female deity is featured quite extensively in the PGM. One of the epithets she has is “Angelos” or Angel of God, so there’s the connection. This Angelos is also more typically known as the Goddess of Magic Hekate. Her heralds are “black hounds”.

That’s when the penny dropped. I got the result I needed but not what I expected. I had not considered Hekate in any way prior to these dreams. It also explains a series of events I experienced as a young child and many other bizarre correspondences throughout my life.

What’s interesting is that it has unlocked the PGM and how I perceive magic. Whether it’s Greco-Egyptian, Solomonic, Cyprianic ( another rabbit hole right there), Chaos or Eastern magic I know that it’s actually real. The spirit world is real, divinity is real and the universe is not just a mistake of randomness explained only in materialist ways.

So call the loony bin, we’ve got a real nutter here. Life will never be the same again.

Here is a recording of the Headless Rite spoken in Ancient Greek.


 

If you’re interested in the Headless Rite and other magical ritual then check out the book below.

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation: Including the Demotic Spells: Texts (Volume 1)

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Techniques of Graeco-Egyptian Magic Hardcover – 2014

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The Chaos Protocols by @gordonwhite

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Occult Timeline

luxoccultapress:

This is a compiled timeline of significant “Occult” publications and events throughout history that shows where the influences/knowledge came from over time.

3100 o.c. Pyramid Texts [egy]
2953-2838 Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi, produced first w.v. of I Ching [cfu]
1800 Enuma Elish, Bablyonian Creation Myth. [ane]
1760 Gilgamesh Epic.[ane]
1600 Orig. Egyptian Book of the Dead. (Book of Coming Forth by Day)
1550-1450 o.c. Rig-Veda,Sama-Veda and Yajur-Veda [hin]
1300? Zarathushtra founds Zoroastrianism, the religion of the Magi
1000-500 Shih Ching (Book of Odes) [cfu].
1000 o.c. Atharva Veda [hin].
990-922 King Solomon.
950 o.c. Torah/Pentateuch, Song of Songs.
800-700 Brihad-Aranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads [hin].
800-400 Aranyakas, Brahmanas and Upanishads [hin].
800 or 700 Homer (?): Illiad and Odyssey.
800: Hesiod: Works and Days, Theogony
740 O.T. Book of Isaiah.
700 Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Samuel. (O.T.)
700 o.c. Ramayana  [hin].
650 o.c. Tao te Ching.
600 w.v. Rig Veda [hin]
664-525 Rev. Egyptian Book of The Dead
628-551 Zarathustra/Zoroaster
610-570 Sappho.
599-527 (trad.) Mahavira, founder Jainism.
580-500 (trad.) Lao-tzu, founder of Taoism.
563-483 Buddha (b. April 8, 563 BCE).
540 w.v. Mahabharata  [hin].
540-468 (hist.) Mahavira, founder Jainism.
551-479 Confucius (K’ung tzu), founder of Confucianism.
520 (trad.) Tao-te Ching [tao].
520 Books of Zechariah, Isaiah. (O.T.)
500 w.v. Gensis, Exodus, Numbers. (O.T.)
480-390 (alt.) Lao tzu.
409 w.v. Confucian Canon.
400 Books of Proverbs, Job (O.T.)
371-289 Mencius (Meng-tzu). [cfu]
369-286 Chuang-tzu. [tao]
360 Critias by Plato: contains story of Atlantis.
350 (hist.) Tao-te Ching. [tao]
350 w.v. Song of Songs (O.T.).
300 w.v. Mahabharata, Bhagavad-Gita. [hin]
340 Writings of Chuang-tzu. [tao]
300 Book of Jonah (O.T.)
285 Septuagint, first Greek trans. of the O.T.
250 Abhidharma, part of the Tripitaka. [bud]
250 w.v. Tao te Ching. [tao]
240 Dhammapada canonized by Asoka. [bud]
213 Emperor Ch’in Shih burns books, including Confucian, Taoist texts and the Five Classics. [cfu]
200 w.v. Atharva Veda. [hin]
200 I Ching commentaries, Rev. Chinese Classics. [cfu]
164 Book of Daniel  (O.T.).
160 O.T. Apocrypha: Tobit, 1 Esdras, Enoch, others.
150 Yoga Sutras of Patanajali. [hin]
150 Early Qumran (Dead Sea Scrolls).
100 Ramayana of Valmiki. [hin]
86 Rev. Shu Ching (Book of History), Shih Ching (Book of Odes). [cfu]
47 First burning of the Library of Alexandria (by Romans). including works of Sappho, and possibly ancient manuscripts and maps from unknown Ice Age civilizations.

CE

5-7 (ca.) b. of Jesus, founder of Christianity.
10? Diamond Sutra, Heart Sutra. [bud]
15? o.c. Kojiki, Nihongi. [shi]
1-33 (trad.) Jesus. Events described in the first four N.T. books.
33 (trad.) either April 3, 30 CE or April 7, 33 CE: the Crucifixion.
30-96 New Testament.
50-63 (N.T.) Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, Philippians.
60-80 (N.T.) Acts of the Apostles.
70 (N.T.) Gospel of Mark.
80 (N.T.) Gospel of Matthew.
80 (N.T.) Gospel of Luke.
90 (N.T.) Gospel of John.
81-96 o.c. Revelation of St. John.
65 Entry of Buddhism into China.
100 o.c. Nag Hammadi scriptures.
100 Lotus Sutra, Buddha-Charita of Ashvagosha. [bud]
100-300 composition of Corpus Hermetica
150 N.T. Apocrypha. [chr]
150 w.v. Shu Ching (Book of History). Shih Ching (Book of Odes). [cfu]
166 Buddhism formally established in China.
170 Lotus Sutra, Buddha-Charita of Ashvagosha. [bud]
200 Mayan Classical Phase (to 900 CE), o.c. Popul Vuh.
300 Denkart in Pahlavi.
300-400 w.v. Nag Hammadi scriptures in Coptic
350 w.v. Avesta in Pahlavi.
350 Jewish Talmund and Gemara.
325 Council of Nicea, Can. of Christian Bible.
365-408 Burning of Sibylline Books.
391 Second burning of library at Alexandria (by Christians).
400 Babylonian Talmund [jud].
400 w.v. Angas in Prakrit [jai].
401 Confessions of St. Augustine. [chr]
404 Cod. of the Vulgate (Latin Bible).
400-450 Cod. of the Abhidharma (Tripitaka) [bud].
550-950 Bundahishn. [zor]
538-552 Buddhism reaches Japan.
550 Last temple to Isis (at Phiae) closes.
550-950 Bundahishn. [zor]
560 (to 7th Cent.) o.c. Eddas.
600 (to 9th Cent.) o.c. Welsh Mabinogion.
570-632 Muhammed, founder of Islam.
610 w.v. Qur’an. [isl]
630 First Hadith. [isl]
642 Third (and final) destruction of Library of Alexandria (by Moslems).
644-656 Can. of Qur’an. [isl]
712 w.v. Kojiki. [shi]
720 w.v. Nihongi. [shi]
742 Can. of Writings of Chuang-tzu
760 o.c of Bardo Thödol (Tibetean Book of the Dead). [tib]
800 Sepher Yetzirah  [jud].
800 Shikand Gumani Vazar  [zor].
800 w.v. Poetic Edda
850 Can. of Hadith [isl].
868 Diamond Sutra is first book printed in China [bud].
900 Agamas [hin].
927 Yengiski [shi].
946 Start of Tibetan calendar, Kalachakra Tantra [tib].
950 (trad.) Necronomicon of Abdul Alhazred.
1004-1007? al-Majriti, author of Picatrix, passes
1016-1100 Naropa [tib]
1039-1123 Milarepa [tib]
1054 Schism between East and West Church [chr].
1150 Kuo-an Shih yuan’s Ten Pictures of the Ox. [bud]
1175-1120 compilation of Confucian Canon by Chu Hsi.
1179-1241 Snorri Sturlson (auth. Prose Edda, Heimskringla).
1220 Prose Edda.
1222-1282 Nichiren [bud].
1236 Dogen, founds Soto School of Zen [bud].
1250? Liber Juratus (Sworn Book of Honorius) compiled by Honorius of Thebes, son of Euclid
1280? Sefer Ha-Zohar written by Moses de León but attributed to Simon ben Yohai
1300 o.c. Key of Solomon.
1306-21 Divine Comedy by Dante.
1300-1325 w.v. White Book of Rhydderch (Mabinogion).
1375-1425 Author of Red Book of Hergest (Mabinogion).
1433 Marsilio Ficino, Italian philosopher born. Under the patronage of
the de’Medicis, he translated many Greek classics including the Corpus
Hermetica
1440-1518 Kabir, Isl. Mystic.
1456 First p.v. Vulgate Bible by Gutenberg.p
1463 first Latin translation of Corpus Hermeticum.
1469-1538 Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism.
1471 Ficino’s translation of Corpus Hermeticum published
1483-1546 Martin Luther chr. reformer.
1486 Malleus Malificarum: textbook for witch-hunters.
1489 Ficino’s Libri de Vita
1494 Reuchlin’s De verbo mirifico published
1503-1566 Nostradamus
1517 Reuchlin’s De arte cabalistica published
1517 Martin Luther’s 95 Theses.
1525 N.T. Translated into Englsh by W. Tyndale (1494-1536).
1527-1608. Calls of Enoch, by J. Dee.
1531 Three Books of Occult Philosophy, Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa published in Paris ¤¤¤
1533 Agrippa’s De Occulta philosopha published
1535 p.v. Bible in English by Miles Coverdale (1488-1569).
1539 (5th) Guru Arjan [skh].
1545 Giorgi’s De Harmonia Mundi
1546 O.T. Apocrypha  Can. by Catholic Church.
1554-1558 w.v. Popul Vuh.
1558 Giambattista della Porta’s Magia Naturalis ¤¤¤
1558 Zohar printed ¤¤¤
1560 Foxe’s Book of Martyrs [chr]
1564 Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica
1575 Arbatel of Magic (first appears)
1584 Bruno’s Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast published
1584 Reginald Scot, Discouerie of Witchcraft
1589 John Dee and Edward Kelley began the Enochian workings
1600 Janam Sakhis [skh].
1600 Final version of Adi Granth [skh]
1606 Trithemius’ Steganographia first published
1614 Rosicrucian Fama Fraternitatis
1617-19 Fludd’s Utriusque Cosmi Historia ¤¤¤
1618-9 Synod of Dordrecht. [chr]
1618 Maier’s Atlanta Fugiens
1618 Johann Grossschedel published Calendarium magicum (The Magical Calendar)
1629 O.T. 1546 O.T. Apocrypha removed from Protestant Bible
1652 Kircher’s Oedipus Aegyptiacus published Part One (¤), Part Two (¤)
1652 Thomas Vaughan publishes English translation (not his own) of the Rosicrucian Fama and Confessio
1677 Paradise Lost/Regained by J. Milton.
1677 Christian Knorr von Rosenroth published first volume of Kabbala Denudata
1678 Pilgrim’s Progress by J. Bunyan
1684 Christian Knorr von Rosenroth published second volume of Kabbala Denudata
1700 Mahanirvana Tantra [bud]
1708 death of last Sikh guru
1749-56 Swedenborg’s Arcana Coelestia published
1750 Walam Olum
1674 Westminster Shorter Catechism
1776 Weishaupt formed the “Order of Perfectibilists”, later known as the Illuminati
1781 Tarot as book of Thoth, Monde Primitif by Antoine Court de Gébelin (¤)
1785 How to Entertain Yourself With the Deck of Cards Called Tarot by Etteilla
1793 Thomas Paine’s Age of Reason
1802-1884 Elias Lönnrot (auth. Kalevala)
1805-1849 Joseph Smith, founder Mormonism
1812-1820 English trans. of Walam Olum
1817-1892 Baha’u’llah, (Mirza Husayn-‘Ali), founder Baha’i, auth. Kitab-i-Iqan. [bhi]
1819-1850 the Bab  (Mirza ‘Ali-Muhammad) [bhi]
1823 Book of Mormon  tr. Joseph Smith
1835-1849 Kalevala), national epic of Finland, by Lönnrot.
1855 Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levi (pentagram, tarot) (¤)
1859 Darwins’ Origin of Species
1861 Levi’s masterpiece Le Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie published
1871 Darwins’ Descent of Man
1871 Albert Pike – Morals and Dogma (¤)
1875-1947 The Book of Thoth, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1875-1947 777, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1877 Isis Unveiled, H.P. Blavatsky
1879-1910 Publication of the Sacred
Books of the East by Max Müller, 50 volumes of English translations of
primary texts of Eastern religions. [hin][bud][zor][cfu][isl]
1880 The Book of Oahspe
1882 Kojikitrans. into English by R.H. Chamberlain.[shi]
1882 Atlantis, the Antediluvian World. by Donnelly
1888 Papus’ Traité Elémentaire de Science Occulte published (¤)
1888 Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn established in London
1888 The Secret Doctrine by H.P. Blatavsky
1889 Mathers’ edition of Kabbalah Unveiled
1789 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer
1890 the 1st volume of The Golden Bough, by James Frazer, was published
1891 Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling  by Charles Godfrey Leland (¤)
1891 Baltimore Catechism
1892 The Art of Worldly Wisdom, by Balthasar Gracian, tr. by Joseph Jacobs
1896 The Nihongi  trans. into English by W.G. Ashton.[shi]
1897 Levi’s Le Clef des Grandes Mystères published
1898 Aleister Crowley joins the Golden Dawn
1898 Mathers publishes The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage [original] (¤)
1899 Aradia, Gospel of the Witches, by C. Leland. [wic]
1900 Crowley expelled from the Golden Dawn
1903 the Societas Rosicruciana became the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
1904 the Book of the Law was dictated to Crowley (published?) (¤)
1908 The Kybalion by three Initiates. (Paul Foster Case?) (¤)
1909 The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception by Max Heindel (¤)
1909 Darwins’ Voyage of the Beagle
1909 The Equinox, Vol. I, Aleister Crowley et al. (¤)
1910 the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck was published
1913 The Book of Pleasure by Austin Osman Spare (¤)
1919 The Blue Equinox, Aleister Crowley et al.
1921 The Witch Cult in Western Europe by M. Murray. [wic]
1923 HP Lovecraft first mentioned the Necronomicon in “the Hound” (¤)
1929 Magick in Theory & Practice, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1932 The Middle Pillar, Israel Regardie (¤)
1934 Declaration of Barmen by K. Barth condems Hitler [chr]
1933 God of the Witches by M. Murray. [wic] (¤)
1935 Dion Fortune’s The Mystical Qabalah (¤)
1937 Israel Regardie publishes The Golden Dawn, includes the bulk of the Golden Dawns’ rituals/teachings. (¤)
1945 Discovery of Nag Hammadi scriptures. (¤)
1947 Jack Pasons and L. Ron Hubbord did the Babalon Working
1947 Aleister Crowley died
1947-56 Discovery of Qumran (Dead sea) scrolls.
1948 The White Goddess  by R. Graves. [wic]
1949-61 Gardnerian Book of Shadows  [wic]
1950 I Ching (Richard Wilhelm translation)
1954 Gerald Gardner published early works on Wicca
1954 Magick Without Tears, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1956 Initiation into Hermetics by Franz Bardon was published (¤)
1957 The Fourth Way, P.D. Ouspensky (¤)
1962 The Secret of the Golden Flower, Tung-Pin Lu (¤)
1963 Meetings With Remarkable Men, G.I. Gurdjieff (¤)
1964 Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, Frances A. Yates (¤)
1965 The Three Pillars of Zen, Philip Kapleau
1967 The Magus, Francis Barrett (¤)
1968 Principia Discordia
1969 Minutes to Go by Brion Gysin, William S. Burroughs, Sinclair Beiles, Gregory Corso
1969 The Satanic Bible by Anton LeVey
1971 Joseph Weed – Wisdom of the Mystic Masters (¤)
1972 The Tree of Life, Israel Regardie (¤)
1972 Programming and metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer, John C. Lilly (¤)
1973 Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, Carl Jung
1975 Illuminatus Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea (¤)
1975 The Book of The Sacred Magic of Abramelin The Mage, S.L. MacGregor Mathers
1977 Exo-Pyschology by Timothy Leary
1977 Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1977 Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1978 Liber Null & Psychonaut, Peter Carroll (¤)
1978 Journey of Awakening, Ram Dass (¤)
1979 The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, Aleister Crowley (¤)
1979 The Spiral Dance, Starhawk (¤)
1979 Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler
1981 Light on Pranayama, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
1981 Alchemy, Marie-Louise Von Franz (¤)
1981 Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Carl Jung (¤)
1981 The Magical Philosophy – 3 volumes, Denning and Phillips (Ogdoadic tradition) (¤)
1982 Edward Peters: The Magician, the Witch, and the Law
1982 Kabbalah, Gershom Scholem (¤)
1982 The Complete Guide to the Tarot, Eden Gray
1983 Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti by Maya Deren (¤)
1983 The Black Arts, Richard Cavendish (¤)
1983 The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets, Barbara Walker
1985 Angel Tech, Antero Alli (¤)
1985 TAZ by Hakim Bey
1988 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (¤)
1988 Foucoult’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco
1988 Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu (Stephen Mitchell translation) (¤)
1988 Tanya Luhrmann: Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft
1988 Modern Magick, Donald Michael Kraig (¤)
1989 Voudon Gnostic Workbook by Michael Bertiaux (¤)
1989 Meditation and Kabbalah, Aryeh Kaplan
1989 Crowley’s Apprentice, Gerald Suster
1989 Real Magic, Isaac Bonewits
1980-1990 Internet Book of Shadows
1990 Lords of Light, W.E. Butler
1990 Gabor Klaniczay: The Uses of Supernatural Power
1992 Dead Sea Scrolls published on microfiche
1992 The Eye in the Triangle, Israel Regardie
1992 Liber Kaos, Peter Carroll (¤)
1992 Prometheus Rising, Robert Anton Wilson (¤)
1993 Light on Yoga, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
1993 Undoing Yourself With Energized Meditation, Christopher Hyatt (¤)
1993 Prime Chaos, Phil Hine
1994 The Mystical and Magical System of the A.’.A.’., James A. Eshelman (¤)
1994 Hermetica, Walter Scott
1995 Self-Initiation Into the Golden Dawn Tradition, Chic and Tabitha Cicero (¤)
1995 The Goetia, S.L. MacGregor Mathers
1995 Condensed Chaos, Phil Hine
1996 Total Freedom: The Essential Krishnamurti, Jiddu Krishnamurti
1996 Women of the Golden Dawn, Mary Greer
1996 Practical Solitary Magic, Nancy Watson
1997 Angels, Demons, and Gods of the New Millenium, Lon Milo Duquette (¤)
1997 The Art of True Healing, Israel Regardie (¤)
1998 The Golden Dawn Scrapbook, R.A. Gilbert (¤)
1998 The Ritual Magic Workbook, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki (¤)
1998 The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manley P. Hall (¤)
1999 My Life With the Spirits, Lon Milo Duquette (¤)
2000 Do What Thou Wilt, A Life of Aleister Crowely
2000 The Training and Work of an Initiate, Dion Fortune (¤)
2000 Richard Kieckhefer: Magic in the Middle Ages
2000 Georg Luck: Ancient Pathways and Hidden Pursuits: Religion, Morals, and Magic in the Ancient World
2001 Tao Te Ching, Lao Tsu (Jonathan Star translation)
2001 The Chicken Qabalah, Lon Milo DuQuette (¤)
2001 Promethea, Alan Moore
2002 21st Century Mage, Jason A. Newcomb (¤)
2002 Richard Kazcynski’s “Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley”
2003 Light on The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar (¤)
2003 Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, Lon Milo DuQuette
2003 The Essential Golden Dawn, Chic and Tabitha Cicero
2003 The Magick of Aleister Crowley, Lon Milo DuQuette
2005 Abrahadabra: Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thelemic Magic, Rodney Orpheus (¤)
2005 Nikki Bado-Fralick: Coming to the Edge of the Circle: A Wiccan Initiation Ritual (¤)
2005 Generation Hex, Various
2006 Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary, Aleister Crowley et al.
2006 Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Druidism, Isaac Bonewits
2006 Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Witchcraft & Wicca, Isaac Bonewits (¤)
2007 Alex Owen: The Place of Enchantment
2008 The New Hermetics, Jason A. Newcomb (¤)
2008 John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery, John Dee

Key to Abbreviations for BCE (Will add these later for CE)

auth. = author
b. = born
ca. = circa
Can. = Canonicalization
Cent.= century.
Cod. = Codification
comp. = composition.
d. = died
hist.= accepted historical date
o.c= date of original (typically, although not necessarily oral) composition.
Orig. = original
O.T. = Old Testament.
p.v. = printed version
Rev. = Revised.
trad. = traditional date
trans. = translation
w.v. = written version
[bhi] Baha’i
[bud] Buddhism
[tib] Tibetan Buddhism
[chr] Christianity
[cfu] Confucianism
[hin] Hinduism
[isl] Islam
[jai] Jainism
[jud] Judaism
[shi] Shinto
[skh] Sikhism
[tao] Taoism
[wic] Wicca
[zor] Zoroastrianism
[egy] Egypt

This is incredible. May I suggest an addition:

100 BCE – 400 CE Greek Magical Papyri (PGM)

You’re a conspiracy nutjob and you need to start thinking before throwing around your bullshit.

Way to go anonymous with accusations. You accuse me of
spreading “conspiracy theories” but make absolutely no reference to what I said
that you disagree with. Which makes me suspect that you lack skills in effective
communication. That lack of communication skills is what this post is all
about.

Though I’m loathe to do so, I’m going to have to assume that
you are talking about a recent post. I hate making assumptions, but you didn’t
give me anything to go on. The OP also accused my words of being conspiracy
theory, so I’m guessing you are either the OP or someone who agrees with their
statement.

Here’s what the OP took umbrage with:

“The problem I keep running into is that these sites (twitter
clones) are designed by coders who think that no one would possibly want to say
something longer than 500 characters. It’s okay if the pictures are tiny and
shitty. It’s okay if the interface is confusing as fuck.

It’s completely Orwellian. It is designed to limit
information, limit conversation, and prevent art from being presented in a
format that actually conveys meaning. You keep talking about how it’s
unregulated and decentralized, but you fail to mention that the very format
controls how we choose to communicate. It’s so much more insidious, because
it’s not direct control, instead it makes your thoughts conform to its limits.
Of course, every medium does that to extent, but not with the same choke-hold
that twitter clones have.”

First, we’re going to have to unpack the term, “conspiracy
theory,” which at face value is simply stating that I have a suspicion that one
or more people deliberately planned for an outcome. It’s funny how the term “conspiracy
theory” in our culture has become synonymous with outlandish allegations based
on tenuous evidence. There’s another example on how the power of language
controls our thoughts. But what I was referring to is not a conspiracy theory
in the classical sense. I in no way implied a bunch of people got together in a
room and decided to make these things happen. Except, they kinda did, but it’s
much more complicated and subtle than that.

You would know this if you had a good Liberal Arts
education, which I would bet you don’t, because most people have never received
one, and there are reasons for that. Our modern education system was developed
during the Industrial Revolution. Believe it or not, it was the factories
themselves that created the first modern classrooms. The owners recognized that
their workers were handling more and more complex tasks that required the
ability to read and do math. So schools were put right into the factories so
that the employees and their children could acquire the skills they needed to
work in the factories. Mom, dad, and the kids could work side-by-side, learning
how to multiply and be wage-slaves at the same time. When these schools were
designed, the industrialists absolutely did openly talk about what should and
shouldn’t be taught. And in the UK, in Parliament, there were debates on just
how much a factory worker should be taught.

You can see what changed in the education system by noticing
what was removed. Prior to the industrial schools, church schools and
universities spent a large portion of their time teaching Rhetoric—the art of
debate. They thought it important that a person could form a logical and
well-communicated argument. Factory owners wanted none of that, and most people
today haven’t even heard of the discipline of Rhetoric.

But the factory owners got sick of having to pay for this
education, and like good little capitalists, they decided to socialize the
costs. Make the public pay for it. So when the government created public
schools they simply copied the model of the factory schools. Industrial
education for industrial workers, kids lined up in desks and force-fed
information. The same care was taken in determining just how much these kids
should actually learn, so they don’t start to question the whole system.

You can hear our politicians echo the same reasoning today,
except they are more subtle about it. They talk about how education should, “prepare
people for the workforce.” And how we should concentrate wholly on STEM
education. They don’t need to actually learn about how to communicate ideas,
especially social and political ideas.

So all our modern communication systems were designed by
people focused on STEM. They have been programmed to look at the world that
way. Art, literature, and history mean very little to them, because that’s not
what they were taught. People hate being told that they have been programmed.
They like to think they are smart enough to break such control. But we are all
controlled in this way. Even you. Even me. I know my entire argument comes from
a Liberal Arts background. Just like the OP made extremely good arguments about
the technical issues involved because that’s what they know. The trick is to
recognize the expertise on both sides and make a truly informed decision.

So when I say twitter was deliberately designed to stifle
debate, I’m not saying the designers of twitter were sitting around going, “how
do we dumb down the public?” They were thinking like coders and engineers. They
just didn’t see the value in long-form communication. Also, they didn’t want to
make another Facebook where people argued endlessly. They failed on that one.

So is that a conspiracy theory? From a certain point of
view. Our society was absolutely designed to produce a website like twitter.
But not directly. It’s about shaping our modes of thought. That’s what Orwell
was talking about when he said the Ministry of Truth’s goal was to remove words
from the dictionary, so people couldn’t even think that way.

This entire post is kind of a testament to how this works,
and how it can be broken.

I heard the website called Pillowfort. Heard its like tumblr, but decentralized? It’s worth of recommendation?

butchsocialist:

queeranarchism:

socalledunitedstates:

@lumisateenkaari replied to your post: I heard the website called Pillowfort. Heard its…

socalledunitedstates:

No, it’s not decentralized. It has the “communities” feature, but that’s much closer to reddit’s subreddits than Mastodon’s instances

Now’s a good time to mention that you can never trust centralized social media. Pillowfort is currently ad-free, run by an attentive and cool set of devs, and has a lot of cool features, which is great. There’s no guarantee it’ll stay that way though. They might decide to sell, they might decide to include ads to get a little more money, they might just decide to fire the whole staff and go in a completely different direction. Remember, we thought tumblr was different too

Pillowfort’s source code is closed-source, meaning we have nothing but their word to go on that it’s not harvesting and selling your data, and that there’s no vulnerability for hackers to harvest that data instead. And since it’s all hosted on one server, if there’s an attack, or a disastrous bug in an update, or just an update that sucks balls, the entire pillowfort community will have to suffer through it

Plus, pillowfort doesn’t use ActivityPub, the standard that allows the entire fediverse (from Mastodon to WriteFreely to PixelFed to PeerTube to FunkWhale) to interact, share, follow, and get notified from any federated site. Federation is a really cool concept that is still in its infancy, but is actively getting cooler

If you really want a tumblr-like experience, and refuse to adapt even a little bit to a similar but slightly lesser network, there are some federated tumblr clones currently being worked on. Until then, don’t expect finding a new master to solve your problem, and don’t give your money to pillowfort please

Difference between AO3 and pillowfort, is that AO3 is open source
software developed and hosted by a non-profit organization. Pillowfort
is closed source software by for-profit company.

↑↑↑↑↑↑↑

Edit:

Oooooooo this is very important stuff to consider.

From Pillowfort’s TOS:

“When you register, Pillowfort may collect information such as your name, e-mail address, birth date,
gender, mailing address, occupation, industry and personal interests. You can edit your account
information at any time. Once you register with Pillowfort and sign in to our Services, you are no
longer anonymous to us. 

Furthermore, the registering party hereby acknowledges, understands and agrees to: 

1) furnish factual, correct, current and complete information with regards to yourself as may
be requested by the data registration process, and 

2) maintain and promptly update your registration and profile information in an effort to
maintain accuracy and completeness at all times. 

If anyone knowingly provides any information of a false, untrue, inaccurate or incomplete nature,
Pillowfort Blogging LLC will have sufficient grounds and rights to suspend or terminate the member
in violation of this aspect of the Agreement, and as such refuse any and all current or future use of
Pillowfort Blogging LLC Services, or any portion thereof”

Am I correct in understanding this measure as similar to Facebook’s requirement that you provide your real name, date of birth, and so forth? If so, couldn’t this be harmful to trans folks or other people who want to be anonymous for whatever reason, safety or otherwise?

All of these are good arguments. I totally understand the need for decentralized social media. It would be nice if someone actually builds one that most people want to use.

The problem I keep running into is that these sites are designed by coders who think that no one would possibly want to say something longer than 500 characters. It’s okay if the pictures are tiny and shitty. It’s okay if the interface is confusing as fuck. 

It’s completely Orwellian. It is designed to limit information, limit conversation, and prevent art from being presented in a format that actually conveys meaning. You keep talking about how it’s unregulated and decentralized, but you fail to mention that the very format controls how we choose to communicate. It’s so much more insidious, because it’s not direct control, instead it makes your thoughts conform to its limits. Of course, every medium does that to extent, but not with the same choke-hold that twitter clones have.

You have to take into account that a blog is an artistic endeavor. None of what you have suggested replaces tumblr in that regard. Nothing else out there lets you make an individual blog yet still easily share and follow actual content. ‘Cause buddy, what’s on Mastodon is not content. It’s random bits just flung against the wall.

You have mentioned Plume several times. Would be nice if I could find an actual website for them. From what I can tell it’s mobile only, which is a total deal breaker.

These people moving to Pillowfort have good reasons. They’re not ignorant of the circumstances, and they don’t trust any platform. We all have to make decisions based on what works best for what we are trying to do. If how Pillowfort is running their operation is a deal breaker for you, I get it. But it IS the closest thing to a tumblr replacement right now.

10-Card Celtic Cross Tarot Readings by Frater Threskiornis

10-Card Celtic Cross Tarot Readings by Frater Threskiornis

scrollofthoth:

scrollofthoth:

So I just looked at the demo version of Pillowfort. Gotta say it looks like a better version of tumblr. I really wish I had $5 right now. So here’s the deal. Buy a full 10-card tarot reading from me this weekend (12/8-12/9) and I will send you a Pillowfort.io key. I get one, you get one. How does that sound?

Let’s sweeten the deal. I’m going to extend this offer until tumblr-pocalypse on 12/17. Also, for every tarot reading I sell after the first, I will pick one person who reblogs this at random and send them a Pillowfort.io key as well. 

Attention All Tumblr Witches, Magicians, Occultists, et al

scrollofthoth:

scrollofthoth:

This is Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon, and the man
ultimately responsible for destroying this website. It may not have been his
decision, but corporations being the top-down authoritarian institutions that
they are, he gets to say yes or no to any policy. This is the man responsible
for taking away your joy and the happiness of thousands of others. As the CEO
of Verizon he is also responsible for various schemes to end new neutrality and
fuck over poor people in general. He’s a horrible human being who puts profits
over people.

Let’s curse his ass.

Specifically, let’s curse his dick. Seems appropriate since
he’s taking away other people’s outlet for sexual gratification.

On the night of December 16th (midnight on the 17th
in your time zone), since we won’t be hanging out on tumblr, we will be
performing a mass curse/binding on Mr. Vestberg’s ability to feel love and
sexual release.

Feel free to come up with your own ritual according to your
own practice. Share your plans on tumblr, and let others know how to get it
done. Maybe add a curse jar, or burn his picture. Put all your mojo into it.

Your incantation may look something like this:

In the name of
Babalon, Great Harlot and Mother of Abominations, I curse you, Hans Vestberg.

May your penis remain flaccid.

May you be stripped of
all joy.

May those you adore
turn from you in disgust.

May all lips you kiss
taste of ashes.

May your love wither
away and go cold.

May you never find
release from your frustrations.

I beseech all spirits
who call me friend and ally to curse Hans Vestberg. I call all spirits at my
command to destroy his potency and take away his joy.

What you have done to
many, Hans Vestberg, may that return unto you.

Re-blog this! Post it everywhere! Share it with your uncle
that works in the media. Let’s get this fucker.

I will be reblogging this twice a day until it picks up steam.