New DuQuette book.

Barleywine

Aeon418 said:
On the whole Knight's book isn't bad either. I did notice in the latest printing that he had to defend his strong views on homosexuality, and why he felt that the original text should be left alone. Was it in the Netzach chapter that he says homosexuals are perverts and black magicians?

Yes, he says homosexuality is "like the use of drugs, one of the techniques of black magic," used to create a kind of "short-circuit" of the proper interchange of force. I had forgotten about that. He also talks about the insidiously increasing androgyny of the "Aquarian" male and female body types, bemoaning the loss of the "really patriarchal beards" and the classically "buxom mammalians" of yore. As Pepe Le Pew might have said "les cringe, les pew."

I have the 1978 Weiser edition, in the brief preface to which all he did was apologize for dissing C.C. Zain and defend his appreciation of Scientology. It appears to have been published initially by Helios in 1965, and the attitudes of that era are evident.

Aeon418

Always Wondering said:
I wouldn't say it is only for beginners though. I found a lot of little gems throughout. There is just not enough of honest talk about practical magick to be read, so there is always value to his work, in my opinion.

The UK arm of the Book Sepository just got it in stock today, so I've placed my order. I should have it in about a week. I'll let you know what I think.

Aeon418

Barleywine said:
Yes, he says homosexuality is "like the use of drugs, one of the techniques of black magic," used to create a kind of "short-circuit" of the proper interchange of force.

What else can you expect from a Christian mystic-magician?

It's pretty much the same backwards attitude that Crowley encountered during his Golden Dawn period. He was exploring his sexuality, but the more conservative Golden Dawn-ers thought he was a pervert who was dabbling in black magic. I suppose they had an excuse though. After all it was only the beginning of the 1900's. I'm not sure what Garreth Knight's excuse is though. Unless being an outdated throw-back counts as an excuse?

Barleywine said:
He also talks about the insidiously increasing androgyny of the "Aquarian" male and female body types, bemoaning the loss of the "really patriarchal beards" and the classically "buxom mammalians" of yore.

I can't remember where exactly, but Crowley said something about increasing androgyny and bisexuality being natural indicators of the advent of the New Aeon. It's something to be expected. But I don't believe Crowley's comments were meant in the exclusive physical/sexual sense. There are multiple levels of gender within each person that this androgyny can occur on. I seriously doubt that beards and curvacious women are going to disappear any time soon.

Personally I wouldn't mind if beards went extinct. But I would not want to live in a world devoid of buxom mammalians. :laugh:

Barleywine said:
I have the 1978 Weiser edition, in the brief preface to which all he did was apologize for dissing C.C. Zain and defend his appreciation of Scientology. It appears to have been published initially by Helios in 1965, and the attitudes of that era are evident.

I currently don't own a copy. At one time I had a hardback of part one. And then I bought the modern paperback reprint that contained parts 1 and 2. I gave it away last year though. It was only collecting dust anyway.

Always Wondering

Aeon418 said:
The UK arm of the Book Sepository just got it in stock today, so I've placed my order. I should have it in about a week. I'll let you know what I think.

I look forward to hearing what you think.

AW

Aeon418

Always Wondering said:
I look forward to hearing what you think.

My copy arrived this morning. I will have to leave it until the weekend before I get stuck in, but I like Lon's drawings. :laugh:

Always Wondering

Aeon418 said:
My copy arrived this morning. I will have to leave it until the weekend before I get stuck in, but I like Lon's drawings.

Yes, there are not enough of those. Also there is music to go along with Invocation of the Truban if you follow Panpiper's link to thelema now. He plays the guitar and sings it, or something close.

AW

Aeon418

Gotcha!

Jellybean said:
One of my emails to him made it in there. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw it.

I spy with my Third Eye...

Monday Night Magick Class (p.181)

CornissMagorniss

Aeon418 said:
The UK arm of the Book Sepository....

I hope that was a typo. I don't even want to THINK about a Book Suppository, let alone its "UK arm".

Aeon418

Chana Siegel said:
I hope that was a typo. I don't even want to THINK about a Book Suppository, let alone its "UK arm".

No, it was my silly sense of humour. I wondered if anyone would spot it. :laugh:

Aeon418

Always Wondering said:
I look forward to hearing what you think.

I had more free time than I expected last night, so I read the whole book from cover to cover. You're right, it's not quite Crowley's, Magick Without Tears. But that did not stop me enjoying it a lot. Like you I did notice a slightly less jokey and humerous Lon, but in it's place was a more acerbic and straight-talking Lon who was prepared to cut to the chase when he had to. I also liked the way he was "cosummately comfortable slipping into profanity."

The letter on page 145 was a good example of Lon seeing straight to the core of many of the problems. Is Magick Harmful to Children? I thought this line was great, "Magick isn't harmful to children, but parents who behave overly dramatic, spooky, fearful and superstitious often are." In the context of the letter that line read like a slap in the face. It was totally on the money though.

Admittedly some of the questions are dumb like, I'm Being Magically Attacked!(p.159), and Can I Have A Vasectomy And Still be a Sex Magician?(p.196). But some of the questions were good in that they focused on "typical" misunderstandings that rarely get addressed. I seem to remember you asking something similar to, Do you have to practice magick to be a Thelemite?(p.50).

Favourite quotes.

People with existing emotional and mental issues should stay away from guns, drugs, alchohol, magick, and Christianity.

While I personally feel that everything is inherently holy, and Truth can be found in anything (including, as the Buddists point out, in a pile of dog shit) the Bible is, in my opinion, a most unsatisfactory focus for spiritual meditation. As a matter of fact, for me the Bible is neck-n-neck with dog shit.

Seriously, I banish to set the stage for other magical operations. It gets me in the head space for further work. I view it like that - just like I've learned to unzip my zipper before I take a piss. Sure there are other ways to get my John Thomas out, but unzipping the zipper is a tried-and-true preliminary to piss work. Then again, what's to prevent me from just letting go with my pants on?

New DuQuette book.

Barleywine

Aeon418

Aeon418

Always Wondering

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Always Wondering

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CornissMagorniss

Aeon418

Aeon418