Silver Star Journal Vol 3 Issue 1

7/27/2019 Silver Star Journal Vol 3 Issue 1

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Silver StarA JOURNAL OF NEW MAGICK


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Table of Contents0. Letter from the Editrix by Soror Iris E.

1. Cogitoby Russel W.B. Kirkby

2. A Greater Feast, Rite of Passage

by Nema AndahadnaArt by Matthew Baldwin-Ives

3. Temple Buildingby Alicia ColeArt by Max K. Grimm

4. Lucifer and Set: Exploring the Magickal Archetypes of theRebel and the OutcasteSamhain Night Musing

byChakra 37

5. A Poem at the Moment of Sunrise

Words for the WallThe Nu of Nuit

How to Sing Yourself into BeingbyNormandi Ellis

6. Heaven For Some, Hell For Others

byGerald del Campo

7. HERU-AKKER-BENUWoodgodLiber IO

byAion 131

8. The Path and the Fieldby William Streek

9. Di-anna, Painting

byMishlen Lindon

10. DachtaphemnRon Fiasco

11. The Electric Snake BoogyCain MarksDreamer of the Dark FantasticA Witched Wardrobe In ReverseThe Empire Never Ended

by Justin Patrick Moore

12. The Apocalypse of Narcissus

by Ariel Saklas

13. Initiation to Arunachalaby KAzIm

14. Hypermile Prelude, and Hypermile Prelude Archon

Gnostic Mixby Shamaniacal

15. Dr. John Montanee: A GrimoireThe BIRTH of a New Orleans Loa: Resurrection In

Remembranceby Dr. Louie Martini

16. Spiritual Banishing, Boltby Denny Sargent

17. Report on the Founding of the Budapest Nexus of theHorus-Maat Lodge

by Saddie LaMort

18. Rudra PrincipalHieros GamosIncluding a Beautiful Pyramid

byPaul Hardacre

19. The Litany of ShoabySean Woodward

20. Under the Shadow of Bright WingsClaws of Time (The Sphinx)Ancient EgyptWith a Pen of Reed & Ink of Red

byShade Oroborous

21. Dancing With the Shiva/Shakti All StarsGanesha Puja-Emerald Zonule Renewal

by Hermeticusnath

22. The Space-marks Confoundedby Soror Iris E.

23. Meditations on the Abyss

Untitled (In the Presence of the Knight of Cups Thoth TarotCard)Untitled (In the Presence of the Magus Thoth Tarot Card)Untitled (In the Presence of the Star Thoth Tarot Card)

bySoror CVIII

24. Ignite the Spark Eye Manifest

Scriptures of A NU AeonFrom Stardust to StardustMorning GloriesSome Tention to Open the Gates

Invocation of NowTo Go

Re-Evolve

Ode to Lady Justice

AnimA Motrix (Musick)

byDaniel Niehaus

25. Further Notes on the Elevenstar Workingby Frater P.V.N.

26. A Thelemic Negative Confessionby Nemus Irradiatusnath


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Image Table of Contents"Upon the Threshold of the 6th Aeon" (Cover) by Matthew Baldwin Ives

"Entre l'amour et la mort" (photograph) by Matthew Baldwin Ives

"Still Water, Clear as the Mud Settles" (acrylic on canvas) by Don Farrell"A Descent of Nine, Pt. I" (ink on paper) by Don Farrell

"X. The Wheel of Fortune (Rota Taro Orat Tora Ator)" (acrylic on panel) by Don Farrell"The Light of the World" (acrylic on panel) by Don Farrell"IX. The Hermit" (acrylic on three panels) by Don Farrell

"Vessel" (ink and acrylic on paper) by Don Farrell

Stills from Cogito by Russell W.B. Kirkby

"Gateway to the Akashic Records" by Max K. Grimm"Gnostics Cross and Lotus" by Max K. Grimm

"Lucifer" by Patrick Larabee

"At the Heart of It All" by Patrick Larabee"Ophidian Dawn" by Patrick Larabee

"Hieroglyphica Naturae" by Patrick Larabee"Hekate Propylaia" by Patrick Larabee

"The Tree of Life" by Patrick Larabee

"Heaven for Some, Hell for Others" by Gerald del Campo

"Tranquility" by Aion 131"Truth" by Aion 131

"Woodgod" by Aion 131"To Go" by Aion 131

"Di-Anna" (oil oncanvas) by Mishlen Linden

"Bolt" by Denny Sargent

"Litany of Shoa" (poetry and image) by Sean Woodward

"Meditation on the Abyss" by Soror CVIII"Untitled (in the presence of the Knight of Cups Thoth Tarot card)" by Soror CVIII"Untitled (in the presence of the Magus Thoth Tarot card)" by Soror CVIII

"Untitled (in the presence of the Star Thoth Tarot card)" by Soror CVIII


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"Still Water, Clear as the Mud Settles" (acrylic on canvas) by Don Farrell


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Letter from the EditrixNema Andahadna, prophetess, and author of Ma'at Magick, has now unveiled www.maatmagick.com. Also upon the reception,

and delivery of Liber Phoenix by Frater Aion 131, Silver Star Journal of New Magick has exploded with the certain Star Fire of NuLife; Something like a small Death all of its own, for those intimately aquainted especially with its inception. Firstly, the journalhas taken on a newer digital format, as a tail end on the meteorite landing of a new website for the Horus Ma'at Lodge(horusmaatlodge.com), accounced this summer, 2013. This is in part of a push for the Journal to come virtually up to date with thetimes as with the web site which prompted a shift in editors in the journal's ninth year, with an intermittent two year hiatus. The

changing of hands means that Silver Star will look different as it evolves, but the Spirit of the journal surely remains the same. Justas the Heart of the Phoenix never dies, some torches of a certain Promethean Fire may be passed on though the source of their forcecan never be smothered, their flames are Eternal, or at least, Eternal -Seeming. Frater Aion respectively began this periodical in2004, and it is largely to both him, the inspiration, and he grit of other core members, that we may all toast our chalices of ink,

blood, or meta-(possibly fizzical)-liquid of our pick for the opportunity to participate in Silver Star Journal. This publication hasbeen sustained, and manfiested by the participating, practing artists, ritualists, magickians, writers, essayists, and magickal folkwho's Great Work has made the journal possible these many years long. Silver Star has helped to solidify the Foundations of theHorus Ma'at Lodge through Time. It has fortified, and stregnthened our virtual esoteric community for Past, and Futuregenerations of Magi/Maga. Through the constant flow of Arte-istic themes, synchronicities are woven from the intentional Web ofthe Work of the Lodge, and can easily be witnessed. Beyond this having an effect to tighten the bonds of those interested in theLodge, its members, and the Work thereof, Silver Star has become manifest even as its own seemingly intelligent Egregoricenterprise. Silver Star represents the abundance in personal freedom, ripe for the taking, available to any adept who but reaches outtheir hand in an effort to make a drop in the pool. For our unsuspecting contributors from Times Yet to Be, do not be surprisedwhen the pool jumps up, and envelops you.

We are releasing this Volume III, issues #1 on October 12th, affectionately referred to by Thelemites, and (oc)cultists alike asCrowleymass, the day when Aleister Crowley was born unto this Earth via the loins of a perposterous matron. If there is one thing

that I have garnered from Aleister Crowley recently, it is toward the ends of learning to take some enjoyment from being vilified.We are in an age when ignorance is truly an excuse, as we exist heavily steeped in nothing short of the evidence of knowledge. It'slike the scent of flowers on the Aire; we only need to pick it up. In fact, quite literally, all that we need do to answer most questionsis refer to the internet; The Great Library of Alexandria, re-erected, without walls! Even in the case of metaphorical questioning,where the answers can truly only be found by the Self, the internet can still give us some fantastic indications aiding greatly in the

process of our unfolding. Those of us who seek answers ultimately must go beyond the limitations that our soceity has set for us. Inthe United Kingdom it's being said that come 2014, the internet will be subject to a mass censorship campaign against things likechild pornography, buggery, suicide web sites, and other extremely heinous, often illegal activities. In this pile of things to becensored, and cut out of common internet exposure, is broad term " esoteric content." To even have these words put into the samecategory as kiddie porn, is a sort of vilification of homo veritas, or evolved man, Itself/Himself/Herself/Hir Self. It is a stonehurled from the past, directly into the faces of our Future, and many have heard tell that other countries will be asked to follow suit.The Horus Ma'at Lodge's web site exists on an independent server that we feel can be relied upon come any attempted seige ofonline consciousness, thankfully though there are no concrete rumors of the United States jumping on board with this just yet. Thiscould hardly be more frightening to those amongst us who realize that here poses an extreme threat to our freedom as people, andas Ssspiritual beings, and practitioners. Regardless, the censorship does not limit us from experiencing our own experiences, ortreading our own unique paths, and no government will ever win any war on our very thoughts, expressed without killing the mostimportant parts of themselves in the process. Now, more than ever, we must see how despite our differences we are better when we

ban together, as Silver Star Journal has actively encouraged nothing short of acceptance, and inclusion of all creeds. This allegedforthcoming law is not the Law, and may well limit others in the future wishing to follow their own paths, who will not have the

priviledge of such easy information plucking from the storehouse of Yesod. It is in this time that we may consider renewed supportin our occult book, and magazine publishers. For some, this devastation could be seen as a blessing. For observant others, to seeonly the blessing is to ignore the great boon that is carried with it, a clear attempt to smother out pagan, and occult knowledge fromthe masses. Perhaps we've been getting too popular for those in power, with the resurgence of publishing houses dedicated to thework of making the Wisdom of the Craft, and Artes, Understood. I ask that we all stand in solidarity with one, and other, andembrace our connections, as opposed to our distances, and disconnects with the clarity of a gratitude aware of its own witness, aswe move farther into this new century.

We are absolutely fortunate, some may say destined to have such a vast array of talented individuals on so many various levels,and planes, contributing to this journal whom have all been such a pleasure to be the Messenger betwixt Worlds, Webs, Wells, andWords, to and for.

In nomine N'Aton, homo veritas,Do as thou wilt shall be the Whole of the law,

Love is the law, love under will.

Sincerely,Soror Iris E.

93.222.696
http://www.maatmagick.com/http://www.maatmagick.com/http://www.maatmagick.com/


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CogitoA Short Film by Russell W.B. Kirkby

Tag Line: "How do you know what you think you know?

A man narrates his personal deconstruction of his reality as hejourneys to an audition to discovers that he is an actor auditioning for

the film he is already in.

"A post modern interpretation of Descartes Meditations."

Watch the film at

http://www.cogito.net.nz
http://www.cogito.net.nz/http://www.cogito.net.nz/http://www.cogito.net.nz/


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"Entre L'Amour et la Mort" (photograph) by Matthew Baldwin Ives. Model: Carol Stuart Jones


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A Greater FeastRite of PassageBy Nema Andahadna

A feast for fire and a feast for water; a feast for life and a greater feast for death!Liber AL vel Legis Ch.II v.41

As I write these words, my husbands mother lies dying. She was a formidable woman, a widow with three sons, a partner in a marketresearch company and a person both generous with her gifts and devastating with her commentary.

Although Anita was born and raised a Jew, she didnt practice a religion. She did practice selective traditions, however, and delighted inthe company of children. This ritual is shaping itself as I reach out to her astrally from my home and in the guise of prayer in her carefacility.

There are times when Magick must be done invisibly and effectively in crowded conditions. A good mask to use is prayer, particularlyduring deaths, births and weddings. Ceremony eases transitions while it transmits a power to the participants, a power called Tao-Teh,

prana, shakti, mana, grace, etc.

When possible, have flowers in the room, preferably alive and potted. Since candles and oxygen supplies might not peacefully coexist, useone or more mirrors to reflect light on the ceiling, preferably natural light from a window. If placing a mirror is impossible, visualize lightfilling the room, soft and shadowless.

When the congregation (including the dying Goer) consists of magi, then the ritual can be done aloud, with gestures, dance, chanting, andother spiritual aids. When your companions are strangers or are known to you as uninitiate, then speak silently in your mind and imagineyour movements, sounds, and surroundings. To avoid conversation, close your eyes, fold your hands, and move your lips silently (optional).

The rite begins.

[You hang suspended in a pearl gray mist, facing toward the Goer but not straining for an image. You declare: ]

This is a time that is not a timeIn a place that is not a placeOn a day that is not a dayIn a space that is not a spaceBetween the worlds, and beyond.

[Envision or look at the Goers head, listen to his/her breathing, and call: ]

Guardians of the watchtower of the East, the powers of Air, clarify the mind of (Goers name) in preparation for a new way of

seeing and understanding.

[Envision or look at the Goers arms and chest while invoking: ]

Guardians of the watchtower of the South, the powers of Fire, lead (Goers name) heart and strength to surrender this phase ofexistence.

[Envision or look at the Goers abdomen and hips, then say: ]

Guardians of the watchtower of the West, the powers of Water, flow the peace and relief of completion into (Goers name)soul andemotions.

[Envision or look at the Goers legs and feet, while summoning: ]

Guardians of the watchtower of the North, the powers of Earth, establish the unity of matter and time in (Goers name)knowledgeand senses.

So mote it be.

[Silently, astrally, call his/her name three times, identify yourself, then say: ]

Its good to see you and to be with you. Soon youll leave this material world and step into mystery. Gather yourself to a pointbehind and above your eyes; this is your best gateway.

When you feel yourself losing feeling in your hands and feet, in your arms and legs, in your trunk and head, go to that point andleave on your last breath. Soar up and out into freedom when you know that your time has come.

For now we wait together patiently. There is no hurry, there is no delay. Rest in the love that surrounds you.

[ As the Goer slips into sleep, invoke the godform(s) of your choice, if any. Example: ]


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(Chanted, silently or aloud:) ISIS, ASTARTE, DIANA, HECATE, DEMETER, KALI, INANNA (x 3)WE ALL COME FROM THE GODDESS, AND TO HER WE SHALL RETURN, LIKE A DROP OF RAIN FLOWING TO THEOCEAN.

PAN, WOTAN, BAPHOMET, CERNUNOS, OSIRIS (x 3)PAN, WOTAN, BAPHOMET, CERNUNOS, OSIRIS

WE ALL COME FROM THE SUN GOD, AND TO HIM WE SHALL RETURN, LIKE A SPARK OF FLAME SOARING TOTHE HEAVENS.

(Spoken, silently or aloud: ) HAIL, LADY NUIT, GREAT NIGHT SKY, BLESS (Goers name) IN HIS/HER DYING, OPENINGHIS/HER SOUL TO YOUR SPLENDID GLORY, EMBRACING HIM/HER IN YOUR OMNIPRESENT LOVE.

SO MOTE IT BE.

HAIL, LORD HADIT, POINT AND SINGULARITY, BLESS (Goers name) IN HIS/HER DYING, DRAWING HIM/HER INTOYOUR INFINITE WILL.

SO MOTE IT BE.

Optional hymn/verse (poet unknown)

LEnvoi

Under a wide and starry sky,Dig the grave and let me lie.

Glad did I live and glad do I die,I lay me down with a will.

And this be the verse ye grave for me:Here he lies where he wants to be.

Home is the sailor, home from the sea,And the hunter home from the hill.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law; love is the law, love under will.

NEMA/MAGGIE

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A Greater Feastwas first published inTHE FENRIS WOLF, issue no. 6

Edited by Carl Abrahamsson in 2013.

Edda Publishing * [email protected] *www.edda.se
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.edda.se/http://www.edda.se/http://www.edda.se/mailto:[email protected]://www.edda.se/


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"Gateway to the Akashic Records" by Max K. Grimm

Temple Buildingby Alice Renard

Purpose: Reflections on an Enochian scrying sessions and its potential intersection to Voudon practice.

What Follows:(1) A presentation of questions driving the scry session; an analysis of the Bawon veve in light of the driving question.

(2) Thoughts on the Angelic working with further connection to section 1.(3) Poetic reflections, by an external author and the author of this writing.(4) A final question.

Part 1: Approaching the Angelic Working and an Analysis of the Bawon veveApproaching the Enochian scrying, I came with several questions in mind. Speaking with Baron Samedi in advance, I knew I wanted toinvestigate his Masonic ties and try to ascertain his connection to Temple building in terms of laying the foundation/firming up the materialties to Earth.Primary Question: What connection, if any, is there between Bawons work below and his ability to connect to spirit on the high?Looking at his veve, Samedis cross bisects the plains material and spiritual; all of the veves show the connection between spiritascending and spirit descending. The foundation of Barons cross is interlaced with the square and cross of Masonism, continuallymeeting, G-d in the center of each intersection.


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The veve: G-d at the base of matter; G-d uttermost high. The symbol is praise from the small realm of spirit to the arc of G-d.Im beginning to think that we, as vodouisant, servers of spirit, are charged with elevating spiritual substance that has been, for generations,enslaved to the impoverishment of substance and the material plane. Because of the poverty that spirit is asked to ameliorate, they too

become small and full of need. We approach the veve to elevate the spirit.Each corner of the cross, each apex of each coffin, bears a star. Perhaps through a larger definition of working giving to spirit withoutthought of recompense or gaining back we can help spirit return to something larger and more universal. The star seems to promisewhere Baron can go. His realm is the water of the dead; why is he not eligible to connect to the universal water? What is death but areturning to the universe?*Part 2: Thoughts on the Angelic WorkingThrough the layers of smoke, small motes of light, then brighter flashes different spheres of light, radiating outwards from the earth. Thelayers were something akin to this:

____

God as Thorn____God as Smoke from the Mountain____ Bodies of Light

____ Constructed Desires____MatterA hand held a ball to me, a small, brown ball. It peeled from the outside to reveal infinitely smaller layers.Is there a center to our being or does that also peel continuously? Is that center place the echo of G-d within us?Descending and ascending into the central core of what it is to be incarnate at whatever realm of incarnation we exist at; the hand seemedto encompass the plane where our infinite selves radiate through the spheres.I saw a great fountain of golden water spilling continuously downwards through the layers of the heavens. All we are ever asked to do isdrink.Returning to the question of Baron, can the water from above meet the water from below? Can the living and the forgetting water meet? Isthis the Bardo Thodol again? Is there a possibility of understanding the cycle through work with Baron as the builder/architect?

*Part 3: Poetic ReflectionsExcerpt from Duino Elegies, The Fourth Elegy

Who shows a child, just as they are? Who sets itin its constellation, and gives the measureof distance into its hand? Who makes a childs deathout of grey bread, that hardens, - or leaves itinside its round mouth like the coreof a shining apple? Killers areeasy to grasp. But this: death,the whole of death, before life,to hold it so softly, and not live in anger,cannot be expressed.

Rainer Maria Rilke


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The Secret Shore

When I came to the secret shore,the lake water like fire, likeruby, was a thirsty throatchanting. The unraveled wellof my soul, lowered down knotupon knot, lapped like a dogadoring a puddle poured out

by its master in the yard. Says

my soul: my master's flameis a husk of light in my mouth,my body continuously raveling,

building itself out of endless water.-Alicia Cole

*Part 4: Final Questions

Who, if I cried out, would hear me among the Angelic Orders? Rainer Maria Rilke, Duino Elegies, The First Elegy

Are Lwa part of the Angelic Orders? If the spheres connect, how do they connect? Who can answer these questions for me?

"Gnostics Cross and Lotus" by Max K. Grimm


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Lucifer and SetExploring the Magickal Archetypes of the Rebel and the Outcasteby Chakra37

Pondering the psychological forces necessary for effective creation, maintenance, and destruction, it seems that these two, the rebelliousone and the outcaste, are perhaps among the least appreciated and most under utilized in magick and psychology. The Luciferian is able tosummon the audacity to defy tradition and the Setian is able to bear the consequences of being ejected from the fold. I see these twoarchetypal energies as skills that one can develop. The Luciferian skill is the ability to go against the grain. The Setian skill is the ability toabide outside the protection of the inner sanctum of family, clan, or tribe. Both of these skills can be applied to enact significant changes in

social situations.

Lucifer

Lucifer is the Latin word for the being in the Hebrew bible said to have been cast from heaven or as he is often depicted, Satan beforethe fall. His name in Hebrew is Heylel and he has been depicted as the fallen angel in Jewish thought who came to personify evil. He isalso the light of Venus as the morning star. Origins of this depiction in the Book of Isaiah from the Old Testament may have been derivedfrom several Near Eastern myths of Babylonians and Canaanites. In any case, Lucifer is cast from heaven for challenging the AlmightyGod, perhaps as a rival god. So the Luciferian can be seen as one who presents a rival idea to the prevailing one. Thus the rebel can be seenas the challenger. He can be seen as the new voice challenging the old order. In terms of Current 93 and the Aeon of Horus, the Crownedand Conquering Child, the warrior Ra-Hoor-Khuit can be seen as this challenger-rebel as David Beth points out in his essay, AleisterCrowley and the Dawn of Aiwass. In another sense, Lucifer can be seen as the force of scientific thinking that rivals blind faith in religiousscenarios. The atheist, the scientist, the humanist, the scientific illuminist, the skeptic these can all be seen as Luciferian forces against the

propagation of narrow-minded thinking. Lucifer is also a god of light, a bringer or bearer of light, and is equated with the wisdom-light ofgnosis in some Gnostic texts. Thus in some forms of occultism Lucifer represents the light of wisdom. In LaVeys Satanism he is seen asthe light of intellectualism contrasted with the darkness of blind dogma. Here we have Lucifer shining the light on fakery and forcedcompliance.

In history, it is often the rebels that spur upgrades in human nobility, though not always. Of course, challenging the status quo isdangerous business and many of the Luciferians of that sort did not succeed, or at least did not live to see the results of their efforts. Onemight think of Bruno, Galileo, William Wallace, Tesla, and many others. Thus, the unconventional paths of uniqueness and perhapseccentricity, can also be seen as Luciferian. Lucifer, as a fallen angel, is sometimes said to represent a descent into selfishness and the questfor power. One literary archetype of selfishness as a form of evil is that of Faust as the dealmaker, trading his future for power in the now.But this Faustian image can also be seen as a fearless foray beyond the confines of dogma-bound belief, into the land of unknownconsequence. In other words, what may begin as a selfish pursuit out of fear or desire may become a noble quest. The great Tibetanmeditator, Milarepa, noted that he first went into his mountain retreat due to fear of the consequences of his magically violent actions. Thushis initial motivation was selfish but later his motivation became the desire to benefit others.

Lucifer can be seen as a balancer, and an adjuster. The Luciferian force can be seen as one that brings to light certain facets of the unseenor subconscious realm, the realm of darkness that is normally hidden from us. By revealing the hidden we can balance the imbalancescaused by the hidden mechanisms of the psyche. So Lucifer can also be seen as the revealer of the hidden, bearing the light that exposes.Exposes what? The truth of things. Many of the neuroses and complexes that imbalance us are subconscious. Contemporary medicine oftenignores this to the detriment of the patient. It is often the rebellious force that exposes the ineffectiveness of the status quo. Those whoadvocate more consideration of things like holistic health care are often seen as rebellious. A key to the value of holistic models is that they

incorporate subjective data which the objective scientific empirical models tend to reject. Subjective data is difficult to qualify andquantify. To do so often requires shining light on the dark places of the psyche.

The Black Mass

The use of reversal magick as a form of therapeutic subversion can be successfully applied for some people. Kali Black talks about thisin her book: Raising Hell. Anton LaVey also saw his Church of Satan as having a therapeutic value. We often get caught up in sharplycontrasted good vs. bad scenarios which seems to be a symptom of narrow-minded views. Reversing the polarity can balance things. As ameditative method one can notice when one dislikes something for possibly biased reasons and examine why. Vice versa one may do thiswhen one likes something for possibly biased reasons. A big part of holding open-minded views is empathizing with the other to someextent. The Black Mass as therapy is not about evil but may be about selfishness (as LaVeys philosophy was influenced by Ayn Rand) or atleast an enlightened self-interest. It can also be about breaking away from the embedded social influences of oppressive systems typicallythrough the insidious cultural memes with which we are infected. The traditions of 'carnival' coming from Medieval Europe can be such ameans of reversal magick where one 'tastes' the devil, the opposite way of being to that normally prescribed. Even the Amish have such atradition - although these mechanisms are certainly open for abuse. Mircea Eliade noted that the days before the renewal at the feast of the

New Year in Sumero-Babylonian culture often included a period of reversal where sexual licentiousness, general disorder, and reversal ofroles such as masters and slaves occurred. He equated this to a temporary reversion to the original primordial chaos before creation was

renewed and the order of the cosmos was restored at the New Year. The antinomianism of Tantra can also be seen as reversal magick but ina different sense since the behaviors are not indulged as a temporary reprieve or as a precursor to renewal, but as a way of seeing all

phenomena as the undifferentiated nature of wisdom.

Set

In many cultures there are rites of passage where one is cast out into the wilderness alone in order to find a vision or develop powers. TheNative American vision quests, the utset of the Germanic tribes, and the exploits of the Vratya brotherhoods of Vedic tribes are someexamples. The shaman is often an outcaste, both sought out for healing and feared as a dangerous force. Those who go out find visions andsongs, dances, stories and yogic practices to heal the tribe. But this is not the only outcaste. Also there is the criminal who is caste out. InGermanic lore these are called wolves or sons of the wolf, the scavenger-dweller on the outskirts. So too is Set the jackal, anotherscavenger. One is thrown out into the primordial chaos. In Egypt and the Middle East, the wilderness is the desert with its desolation, itsheat, its dryness, and other dangers. In other places it is the forest with fierce wild animals. The dweller on the threshold roams the twilitgates betwixt the known and the unknown, the liminal zones that are neither this nor that. In cultures reaching back through time one


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method of punishment is banishing, of casting the criminal out of the tribe, of shunning, of acting as if that person no longer exists, so thatthey are cast out into the spirit world and become part of the unseen landscape. This is the world of darkness and loneliness, the underworlditself. It is this casting out that brings a person face to face with the unconscious. The wanderer in the wilderness is effectively turned insideout. The outcaste is also the despised, the scapegoat, the afflicted, and is often considered ritually impure. Penalty or penance, whetherimposed by the society or self-imposed by the ascetic, is a means to encounter hardship for the sake of repaying ones transgressions. Thisis akin to initiation and its function of de-programming and re-programming. In magick, it is typically the mage who banishes but as Set,one becomes the banished, the outcaste one. As an ascetic practice one may consider that ones banishing is just, but if one is outcaste bythe society one may feel that one was unjustly treated. Feelings of revenge and disgruntled sentiments may prevail. To be cast from the foldcan be an emotional experience indeed. And yet to be cast out is merely to go from one situation to another due to the ravages of time andimpermanence. In this sense it is natural and perhaps even healthy to be cast out periodically, to have one's beliefs shattered now and then,

to keep from the more subtle fetters of a closed and narrow mind splattered with dogma and pretension.

Set is also associated with darkness and the nightside of things as his sometimes brother, sometimes foe, Horus, is dayside. This hadto do with the daily path of the sun - in the world by day and in the underworld by night. The word Set, or Sut, may mean black. Set is alsoa prototype for Satan. The mother of Set is equated to the Greek serpent Typhon. According to Frater Achad the Set-Typhon mother andson mythic pattern is older than others in Ancient Egypt. Typhon is also considered as the feminine aspect of Set. In modern Typhonianmagick there is exploration of deep aspects of the unconscious referred to as the tunnels of Set. This has been referred to as exploring the

Nightside of the Qabalistic Tree of Life where dwell the Qlippoth, the shell demons. Tunnels are dark, dank, and confining. Shamanicjourneys and dreams often involve entry and/or exit through tunnels. We also speak of reality tunnels to indicate our own truthcomplexes.

The Setian aspect of the outsider is seen in antinomian cults throughout the world. Indian Tantra has many antinomian aspects, beingboth Luciferian and Setian, wherecultural conventions are deliberately reversed. The so-called left-hand path, or left-handed Tantra, can be of this sort. Simply beingoutside of the norm or being a catalyst for change in choosing 'alternative' forms of expression, one can be said to be antinomian. TheSaivite Aghori cults of India made an art out of reversing cultural norms. Crowley vowed to make man love and treasure what he scornedand feared. Such reversal magick has both a shocking aspect toward purveyors of the cultural norms and an alienation aspect for the

practitioner. Those who break vows and those who eschew rules are often cast out. In the deep past this may have meant being cast out ofthe safety of the city gates. Some even suggest that there were organized societies of hunter-gatherers who terrorized those who travelledoutside the gates of early cities and that these hunter-gatherers became known as mountain gods and the dragons of lore. The elder gods,

perhaps those of hunter-gatherers, were often depicted as dragons, giants, or titans. Judeo-Christianity seemed to pioneer the idea of goodand evil as God and Devil, where before, the gods could be both kind and unkind, although the Jews may well have picked up the idea fromthe Persians and Zoroastrian dualism.

The Desert of Set is a place of lawlessness and danger. Set was associated with chaos and confusion. He was also a god of storms and agod of foreigners. As a god of foreigners, he appealed to foreigners who came to rule Egypt, namely the Hyksos. After the Hyksos wereexpelled, xenophobia towards foreigners increased which had the tendency to demonize Set, although the cult of Set survived in Egypt. Setwas particularly vilified when Egypt was ruled by the Assyrian and Persian empires, though in outlying regions of Egypt his cult survived.

The Setian skill is the ability to dwell beyond the confines of the accepted fold, as an outsider. The ability to be able to handle beingdespised, misunderstood, and often slighted, can be a valuable skill. Many people cannot do this. The Setian often travels alone and entersalone. Many people have difficulty going into situations and among people where they are not known and respected. There is inertia toovercome. The Setian tends to make peace with restlessness and unease. There is a certain power potential in being an outsider, ofappearing from beyond to within, of heightening the suspicion-awareness of those who think of themselves as protectors of the fold. A

masked or disguised one may also arouse this suspicion-awareness. The ritual implications could be interesting and perhaps exhilarating aswell. Xenophobia is yet a powerful force among groups of humans, even ones who may consider themselves more open and enlightened.Thus, the Setian can challenge the discriminatory aspects of xenophobia. Secret societies, inner circles, and social cliques can feed the Setcomplex of others by excluding them which is related to xenophobia. The play of insiders and outsiders reaches down to the instinctuallevel. What evolutionary scientist E.O. Wilson refers to as tribal sentiments, developed through long periods of cooperation with in-groups and conflict with out-groups, led us to trust insiders and distrust outsiders. He sees this as a form of group selection where humansand other eusocial species such as ants, wasps, and bees, are subject to the forces of group selection as well as individual selection. Set, asthe banished, allows the mage (typically the banisher) to identify with the other. The heretic, excommunicated one, banished, one withoath-breaker status, scapegoat, defendant, etc., are all examples of the status of the one who identifies with Set. There seem to be two typesof Setians: one who is boisterous and fiery who often arouses the ire of the wards and gets fought off and mistreated; the other who is quietand more hidden, who is often unnoticed, unheard, and dons the cloak of invisibility and loneliness.

Finally, the question should be asked: What is the usefulness of cultivating these archetypes of rebel and outcaste? For one it could helpfree one from the attachment of always seeking and longing for belonging, for fitting in. One could also be freed from the fear of stickingout, of not fitting in. We tend to crave acceptance and seek to avoid rejection. In the siddha traditions of India and Tibet, there is the crazywisdom where one displays irrational, unpredictable, and unconventional behavior. At the deeper levels this is a display of siddhis, onesmagical accomplishments. During such display, one goes far beyond the comfort zone of normality and risks ridicule and persecution, and

in Thelemic terms, laughter of the folk folly. Much like their precursors, the Aghoris, the siddhas forge their realizations in the fires ofdissent and disapproval.

Further Reading

Frater Achad The Egyptian RevivalE. O. Wilson The Social Conquest of EarthDavid Beth Aleister Crowley and the Dawn of AiwassKenneth Grant many worksAleister Crowley many worksLee Carter - Lucifer's HandbookStephen E. Flowers - Lords of the Left-Hand PathMircea Eliade Cosmos and HistoryWikipedia - Set, Lucifer


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"Lucifer" by Patrick Larabee


17/76

Samhain Night Musingby Chakra37

Far far away from the merry month of MayCorpse of the grain king torn asunder, turned underTwilit passages pass messages twixt hidden statesWhile fates are strangely wovenHooves cloven stomp barren earthsAnd tread girths of land on lonely forest pathsAs wintry wraths threaten and growl

Now moon dogs howl at milky shimmering starsAnd wind scars the snowy tendersThe veil renders await conditions

Now becomes then and chance gates close againBack to the world of foes and friendsAnd to a kingdom that merely pretendsGreen Man and Flower Maiden snatched by the lusty royals of HadesBoth men and ladies with thou strangely glowing shadesBut high time fades and we are bound to our fatesOur loves and hates with but a smidgeon of luckWe wade through the muck of our daysWith rarely a gaze beyond and betweenOur programmed sheen of momentsJoys and laments rising and falling like wavesEnter the caves of the mothers dark wombWarm silent room of comfort and terror

And she the bearer is also the changerSo safety and danger rarely know one anotherFor each is the other and that is the quality of a loverTo cross over and explore the unknownConjoined or alone we can only but roamDeeper into our home, the vastness of here and now

A Poem at the Moment of Sunriseby Chakra37

Earth, turn toward me.Let my body warm yours.My body has no other purposethan to touch yours with gentle kisscoaxing life to rise, seed to grow. Matteruplifted strains into air--a tree of life, perhaps--leafed and unfolding, sap rising, Lights dew falling.Dearest clay, striving toward form, let me touch youthe way sunlight becomes enflamed upon the hip of Earth,tenderly, irrevocably changing you, illuminating this earthly life.

The Nu of Nuitby Normandi Ellis

The water thirsts for the thirstyfor the hand that reachesfull of purpose.The two the water and the thirsty oneshall fill the other,

become the One.Reach toward me.Receive my starlit liquidlonging to fill you.Drink me in, Beloved.There is no end.

Words for the Wall (To Help a Man Pass Through)by Normandi Ellis

This language an old songSome ancient waterWords veiled and unveilingSequences of stars, bird, hand, serpentPalimpsest bearing the scribe's mistake eternally

Needing the rest of his life to amend.How long did God search his heart and

Hold his tongue before he pronouncedThe Light?Text and tongue simultaneousThe goddess appears at the sound of the voice.There are eyes observingFrom these chinks in old stoneThe whole world behind the wordsGazing out at you

Standing in the darkHolding your little candleWith pick axe and Open Sesame

Begin to read from left or rightDepending on where you want to goAll words are a doorHands and feet do nothingIt is the MindThat opens, a trick accomplished

Without thinking.I dreamed some hieroglyphic worldAn awakening into the First AgeAnd I saw how, at least for myselfI've grown meat around the stoneMyself for better or worseWith each utterance.All words are words of power:Pebble on the banks of the riverCat blinking slowly beneath the chairA knock at the door.The ache we feel staring at a silent language(Begging to be understoodAs if it were plain enoughYet our own hearts indecipherable)Begins the work of true translation.

Never mind what it means.What is it insisting?

How to Sing Yourself into Beingby Normandi Ellis

Try not to make any mistakesand youll never get there.In order to sing yourself into beingyou have to open your mouthwide enough to let the Goddess in.Your heart becomes her instrumentyour music complete with all sorrows and joyall ecstasy, disappointment and grief

all loneliness and longing for unity.Let all your full-throated beingbecome an instrument of grace.The only wrong note is the one unsung.


18/76

"Heaven for Some, Hell for Others" (120mm real film, Photoshop) by Gerald del Campo


19/76

"Tranquility" by Aion131 "Truth" by Aion131

HERU-AKER-BENNUby Aion 131

TUA RATUA HATHORTUA TUMTUA KEPHRA!

TUA ATENPERFECT SOLAR CIRCLEOF LEAVING AND RETURNSUN AND GATE OF THE SUNFEIRY BEASTUNITEDWITH SCARLET WOMANSELF REVEALING SELFSUN BEHIND THE SUNONE STAROF INFINITE RAYSGOD WITH A FACE OF A HAWKBODY OF A LIONWINGS OF A PHOENIXCOME THOU FORTH AND FOLLOW USHERU-AKER-BENNUAND MAKE ALL SPIRITS SUBJECT UNTO USHERU-AKER-BENNUSO THAT EVERY SPIRIT OF THE FIRMAMENT AND OF THE ATHYRHERU-AKER-BENNUABOVE THE EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTHHERU-AKER-BENNUON DRY AND AND IN THE WATERHERU-AKER-BENNUOF WHIRLING AIR AND OF RUSHING FIREHERU-AKER-BENNUAND EVERY SPELL AND LIGHTENING BOLT OF THE AEONBE FLASHINGFROM USTHROUGH WILL AND LOVEAND THE GLORY OFTHE 11 STARIAO SABAO!


20/76

"WOODGOD" (High-fire ceramic mask) by Aion 131


21/76

The Path and the Fieldby William Streek

There is always talk of magic or rather the pursuit of magic being a path. A left hand one, a right hand one or even a crooked one, thereare just so many paths to choose. In this piece, I aim to give a personal view of the how I view the path that I tread and of the field that my

path transverses. What follows is mainly theoretical, but it is a theory that has developed over year and has come to under pin the practicalaspects of my magic. It is also a personal theory, and just that a theory which at this stage I have no way to prove or disprove but I hope thatit can, in a small way, illustrate how magic could operate. This concept also underpins my own system of practical magic which I callWalking Magic and have written about in the previous edition of Silverstar.

In order to illustrate my theory, I wish to start with the idea of paths through physical space and time and then present the idea of pathsthrough a magical field. To this end, as well as being users of magic we also all inhabit (even if sometimes we would rather not) the physicaluniverse and because of this we are subject to the physical laws of the universe. These physical laws involved in space-time place each ofus, at any given instant, at a location within space. Even at rest (on a local scale) we are still ploughing a path through the universe. Forexample, as I sit here writing a draft of this I am stationary, apart from the movement of my pen on paper, however, I am on a planetspinning on its axis and following a path around a sun which is also following a path around a super massive black hole at the centre of ourgalaxy.

Even if I argue that, for this discussion, the movement of our planet, sun or galaxy has no bearing on me, and that while sitting at my desknow typing this article up I am stationary and thus at a fixed physical location, I can be seen, as the second hand ticks round on my watch,to be moving on a path through time. Grant Morrison, in a talk he gave to DisinfoCon in1999, suggested that if an individual was observedfrom outside of this physical universe and thus outside the circles of time created by the physical universe. Then the individual would beseen as a many legged centipede like being as they moved along their individual path from birth to death.

What are these forces that cause us to take such a physical path through the universe? In physical terms they are the forces created asobjects travelling through fields. Some of the better understood fields are those of gravity (the first to be discovered) and electromagnetism.

One of the latest is the Higgs field, that has been postulated for many years but its existence has been confirmed recently, through thediscovery of the Higgs boson at CERN last year. Generally, all fields have one thing in common. That at each point in space and time thefield has a value and at any given point in space and time this value may have an effect on matter passing through that point. For examplethe gravitational field of a dense object in space i.e. our sun, warps the fabric of space time around it.

You may well argue what has all that you have just written got to do with magic, and you have a point. The above is just some examplesof quite basic physics, and possibly quite badly explained by me. What I want to suggest is illustrated by these physical examples and is asfollows. Being practitioners of magic in what ever way that we do our magical Art, we all know that magic shows us that there is more tothe universe than the physical reality surrounding us. A magical side to the universe remains hidden to the vast majority. The talk of anoccluded black sun behind the physical sun seems to ring true.

My view of the reality that surrounds me, whether real or imagined is informed equally by both science and magic. I feel that both arecomplementary to the life I lead and that one can help to inform the other.

To this end I wish to take the leap and suggest that if there is a hidden magical side of the universe then what is there to say that it wouldnot be subject to similar laws to the seen physical universe. I would further suggest that this hidden side of the universe could be in theform of a magical field.

If such a field acts like a physical field (for example the Higgs field), then the magical field would suffuse all points of the universe and allmatter that moves through it would be subject to the fields effects. In stating this, I make the assumption that the value of the magical fieldis the same at all points of physical reality. This may not of course be the case, (and more fundamentally, how can this be proven?). It could

be argued that we can see over time time that magic, as equated by the interest in magic, can ebb and flow. This could be equated tochanges in the value of the magical field either at physical locations or over time.

Why then is everyone not affected by said magical field? There are two possible answers, firstly they may well all be but due to the subtlenature of magic it may well be that the vast majority are not aware of any of the effects of their path through this field. If, as science is

beginning to predict that there are hidden dimensions within our universe; the subtle nature of the magical field within physical realitycould be due to a bleed through from a higher dimension where magical force if felt more strongly. Such a postulation has been put forward

by science a theory as to why gravity is a weak force compared to other forces.

A second and related suggestion is that the effects of a magical field only affect matter that is attuned to it. Very much like the fact thatnot all metals are magnetic or that some materials are better conductors of electricity and some materials are insulators. It could be arguedtherefore that some people are more naturally in-tune with the magical field than others, through evolution; while others may become moreattuned through practice. If this is the case, then it could be suggested that the aim of the HML is to attune humanity to the magical field and

that this would constitute the evolutionary leap.

Are there any pointers to the theory of a magical field suffusing the physical universe? To me it could explain one of the fundamentalquestions. That of how magic works. The body of a magician is not a single point, rather it is a vast collection of atoms that has formed intoits present state. These have come from stars and will, when we die, eventually return to stars. Magic, to me, is a mental art. While Crowleysuggests that the easiest way to affect change in accordance to ones will is to write a letter, or for that matter using the mediums of languageand sound in any medium. I also would suggest that magic can be made by releasing mental ideas or snapshots into the universe. Anexample the release of a mentally held sigil through ritual or sexual release is one such event. How can such a mental exercise cause changeto happen, especially if it is never spoken about or discussed in any medium? The idea of a magical field gives one possible answer.

If as stated above, the body of the magician is seen as a collection of atoms rather than a whole. And if a field can pass through everypoint in the universe, then the field must pass through all parts of the magician, including wherever his or her mind is (which has yet to beconfirmed by science); then it can be suggested that the magicians mind is directly linked to the whole of the universe and visa versa. That

by undertaking mental activities one can interact with the magical field and by interacting with the field one can interact with all matter


22/76

passing through the field. The field is therefore the medium through which magic can operate. The path is the movement through suchfield.

A practical aspect of this discussion is the production of sigils through movement. If we again consider the example given by GrantMorrison, then if viewed from outside of our universe or away from the constraints of time then each of us will seem to produce a sigil ofour lifes work a sigil unique to the path of the individual from birth to death, and while this can be mundanely traced in physical space itcan also be seen as a path of interactions through the magical field. This by its definition will be the practitioners life work but there aremore short term aspects of the great work that can be viewed as sigils in their own right. For example, the act of physical movement withinmagical ritual. On a mental level, the act of tracing or holding a shape, sigil, picture, thought or ritual in the minds eye will also produce a

path through the magical field.

In my system, the art of walking to produce a sigil in physical reality through the path traced by feet through a landscape, will, at the sametime produce a mental sigil as my mind moves through the magical field. The effects of this can be heightened through the undertaking ofmental activities, while walking, to aid interaction with the magical field.

Thus I am moving along path, upon a path within the complete field of my perceived reality (or something?).

"Di-Anna" (oil on canvas) by Mishlen Linden


23/76

Dachtaphemnby Ron Fiasco

The original of this rite was lost, somehow through the passing of time, the energies of the Dragons dissipated and the few left spread outamongst Terra's Face. With the Veils between the Worlds thinning and more and more Adepts finding their voices, the Dragons havedecided to communicate their WORD. This word is "DachtaPhemn" being two words, "Dachta," the Wind, the Fire and Force of theFather. The Alpha Dragon from which the form of the Majestic Beast arises. Yet, alone He has no power, He is energy without substance.The substance and vessel of the force arises in His consort, "Phemn". "Phemn" is the Holy Queen, the Mother of Dragons. Her name means"Healing." Within Her the force becomes a creative force which begets the Egg of new DragonKind, of Life.

As mentioned earlier, Dragons are few and secret. They are Harbingers of Wisdom and of passion in the highest point possible. They arepoints of potential within the adept's immortal core and inmost being. The Dragon as a symbol is one that transcends barriers betweenculture and sect. The Dragon as a being transcends the symbolic concept and lives and breathes Magick.

We as adepts explore the world and worlds seeking the true evolution of our species and all sentient life for the greatest gift to allmankind, "Healing Wind".

In this we are universal.

The work that the author proposes is to bring oneself into alignent with the living breath of these creatures, (beings) and to transcend thesymbol so widely known and revered from continent to continent and beyond.

To this end their is in preparation a bibliography of Rites and a language, with Qabalistic attributes and true potential for those drawn tothe Dragonkind and to "Healing Wind". In our current cultural climate, who wouldn't be?

"Et Aeida Del Ana Sui, Bei On Alarda Mei Mayamar""Come join the feast of manifested beauty with Us"

(Author's note: It was hoped that the "Rite of Phemn" to be published after this introduction. The rite was partially channeled but notcomplete when misfortune arose, and halted the work temporarily. It is hoped that the work will see it published soon, and results in its usewill be shared.)

We stand at a nexus point where all the available information of those who seek the Dawn of the Aeon of MAAT will stand up and bringus to the Golden Dawn envisioned by our forebearers; By the people, for the people.

Aum-Ha!(Gila In Manu Dominae-44)

"The Hermit" (acrylic on three panels) by Don Farrell


24/76

The Electric Snake Boogyby Justin Patrick Moore

The Fakir had cultivated the venom of his winged cobra with such care and erudition that connoisseurs of the ecstatic delights gainedfrom poison came from all corners of the kingdom to sample its bite. As is frequently the case among addicts there were those whooverestimated their resilience to tolerate the effects of the reptilian substance. Feeling the pinch of the Uraeus at the base of the spine andsubsequent flooding of the sensorium with inexplicable tinglings, sensing the emanations of the stars, was known, in some, to causemadness and death.

So the Fakir Srikanth was never surprised when his assistant Legrange, a dirty French emigre, had to drag another casualty down to thebone yards alongside the river. The first time a corpse came back, blackened but not burned, revivified, breathing, intact, it did surprisehim. It was a strong venom indeed which took a man so deep into a coma as to resembled death. Of these cases, and there were only a few,the celebrant of the serpentine mysteries often reported such vivid encounters in the supernal realms as to defy even the the Fakirsratiocination. With supreme dread and fear he reluctantly sent the poisoned back out into the world. They had been torn apart and were inneed of healing. Yet he was no healer. His hand was not for mending. They walked away from his shack, back into the desert, woundsgaping wide.

He rued that word from these few fortunate unfortunates would somehow spread, and the respect he had earned for geneticallyengineering such fine specimens as the winged snake would be ruined. Only the opposite was true, and those who had been so close to

becoming ash came back to test once again their temper and strength against the fire of the serpents venom. And they brought with themdevotees eager to submit themselves to the hand of chance, people fervent to partake of the miracle themselves. So it was that many

pilgrims began slithering to the Fakirs once humble dwelling. And so his pride began to swell as did his purse with gifts received from themany petitioners desirous of the ineffable poison. Indeed, his now frequent visits to the brothel, his commanding swagger and sway amongthe people of the nearby village who feared his art, all combined to attract the attentions of the Heresiarch.

The electric chair of the inquisitors had been sitting dry for many a year as the populace had finally succumbed to his lashings. Yet the

Heresiarch was eager for the high he got when he made another man taste the juice. There was nothing quite like watching eyeballs boil to ablister in the socket. When he want to the Fakirs dwelling he hadnt counted on being taken in by the strange rhythms of the circle ofsnake charmers whose somnolent pipings now attended the increasingly elaborate services of the Fakir.

Soon he was among them, the sweating poor and merchants alike, among the warriors and converted priests, among the flying reptilesamidst the celebrants. All burned with violent inebriation. The snakes were hungry and ready to pounce.

"A Descent of Nine, Pt. I" (ink on paper) by Don Farrell


25/76

CAIN MARKSby Justin Patrick Moore

For those of us marked by Cainthere may be no outward signjust an awakening of the blood

a tingling of the brainas once silent voices whisper memories

of the violent choices made by the founder of our line.For such whose eyes have been swaddled

for those who now dwell in the dark

from the recesses of an ancient cavecomes the shower of anvil sparks!

The hammer cries out resplendenton the steel forged in fire & ice

the swords sting is unrepentanttill turned into a plowshare to furrow fields

as the first farmers sow the grain of life.

For such as you who are bread makers

or know the ways of the horsestirrers of the cauldron & keepers of the hearth

who despise the wealth of tyrant kingsand their minions who tear down woods

be firm in your knowledge, in your second sighteven as you become soil, food for the growing worms.

You have known toil and troublewatching as boughs break, as hunters make spoil

only to find yourself in the kitchen, dough in your handwandering when the soldiers will depart the Land

and leave these Seven Hills in peace.Or will they continue to plunder until all is asunder,

until the fields are barren with grief?

This is the mark of care on our shoulder

the burden and exaltation we take from life to lifewe sow plants in the garden under new moonlight;

as cast outs from Eden we saved seeds from the firsta song of serpents is on our tongue, as cloven as our feet.

Ours is the gnosis transmitted in dream

from the origin of fire to this waning age of steam,marked out, the Flaming Sword setting us aside

we Zig-Zag back and forth on our lightning trail to the Grail,in shadows we grow, and in shadows we stride!


26/76

"X. The Wheel of Fortune (Rota Taro Orat Tora Ator)" (acrylic on panel) by Don Farrell


27/76

DREAMER OF THE DARK FANTASTICAN ODE FOR KOIZUMI YAKUMO: PATRICK LAFCADIO HEARN


Lafcadio,your Irish eyebrows

pour over paperwhile your classic Greek handunfurls spindly writing

beneath diminutive lamplight.

Your one good eye is scrunched, myopicyour fingers cramped, back sorehead full of fantasy and folk lore,the perfumed dreams of a fairy in a Tea garden.

You were a spiritual ambassadorfor your final home in Japan,adopted by the Kami as much by the peoplefrom your birthplace on Lefkada,

by way of Dublin, Cincinnatithe West Indies and New Orleans.

Your gift was to tease outthe soul of a place,to translate the genius lociinto a liquid language

soluble to friendsleft behind in the West.

You were locked away as child,shut in a closet, a punishmentto cure fears of the dark.With age you end up going nearly blind,

befriending many ghosts along the way.

Your gift was inner sight.In a playground game you lost an eye

but like Odin, became a seerpeering into Other worlds,more at home in the Mittelmarchthen under the smoky towers of industry.Your pen was made of foxfireand all your words were goblin.

Washed up penniless in the Queen Cityyou slept on paper shavingsat the local printers,nourishing your dreams in the library,

breathing in a host of fantastic heterodoxies.

Bootstrapped up from the pavementyou eventually landed behind a news desk.

Never afraidyou stared down the barrel of horror,from violent cremations to tan yard murders;immersing yourself in haunted landscapes,listening for echoes, voices of ancient ancestors.

You did not mind bucking authorityeven when it bucked you back.Three glasses down, coming home from the beer gardeninto the kitchen at the boarding house,your eyes fell on Mattie, a black skinned storyteller.The world wasnt ready for your illegal love,

cast upon the rocks of social disdainyou couldnt reach a safe harbor,and your marriage, void under law, dissolved.

So you slinked on down to New Orleansand simmered yourself in Creole cuisine,hacking away at the papers again,scribbling down many a fanciful sketch,making attempts at translations from French,growing your powers, pouring your lightinto newsprint, denouncing corruption,disabusing fallacy, penning obituariesfor Doctor John and Marie Laveau.

Then tiring of the Southern scene,waxing weary of the socials while wanting the weirdyou traveled even deeper south,

skipping off for two years to Martinique,where you wooed the Muse of the oddin search of tropical flavorsto quill your cryptic travelogues.

Then off again, pit stoppingin New York to wrangle with editors, publishers,magazine men;

before tacking along on a train to Vancouverto step aboard the good ship Abyssiniaon a Pacific passage dark as any of yoursand step off on St. Patricks day in Japan 1890,Yokohoma, among people who smiled,wishing you well during the days torrential raindreaming at night of ideographs and insectssoundless visions running on phantom wheels.

In Matsueyou married during the frozen winterSetsu the warm daughter of a Samurai,who melted the coarser aspects of your nature.There wasnt much language between youso she spoke in the shared sympathy of Shintoin the grave voice of her countries oldest chillers,

breathing life into ghosts,awakening cruel demons who slept close to Earth.

Finding home at last you were made a citizen,became professor Yakumogave birth to a son Kazuounleashed yourself on paperletting the local spirits do the writing,as your blood boiled under oil lamplight,

possessed, prolific, a passionate interpreter.

On good terms with Kitsunethe last years of your life were happy.

You made a boat of wordsto crest over this rocky world of men,and resting, sailed beyond them

your final voyageoff to visit the Hare in the moonone last stopon the river to Heaven.


28/76

A WITCHED WARDROBE INREVERSE


The Faun once lost in darkest nightsteered by the glow of the lamppost lightthrough the acres and fields of snow,to walk through worlds, a weary traveler

shifting frequency to Earth

slipping on the ice stained mirrorfalling down a Witched wardrobe in reverse.

The door from the wardrobe opens inwards

to a household estate in a sorry affairlaundry is in the oven, dried spaghetti

clings to sauced dishes on the stair.Someone threw an old car part down the

tainted well.I wasnt prepared for visitors. I was feelingfar from swell.

Yet it was still delightful to receive avisitation,to entertain a cloven hoofed house guest.

I swept out the sitting roomand dusted off Grandmas bestchina, blue porcelain cups, elegant laceI conjured a pot of Darjeeling tea

and a platter of quick bread and marmalade.

So much to catch up on since the last timethe Faun said

Im still distraught the Lion is dead.

He rubbed the graying fur over his breast.Yes, the King of the Wood is gone.Things dont seem much better round here.Look at all this wretched mess.

Its not at all my fault, I said. Mother left,

and Father went to the coal mine, bereftonly to dig up clay that does not hold its

shape.The grape vine was torn down

and now the arbor is fallen over.

The Faun considered, smiled.You must let the Witch back inside

and you must kiss her wartsunfreeze the Winter, else the sick rosewill grow ever more poisonous in your heart.Wake again your own joy to sing

and wonder this happenstance Earth.Unpluck the loathsome dart.

Then creeped another creaturethrough the open doordown through disused roomsher veiny fingers on a brittle cane broomwith the face of a frog and the smell of a hog

she bristled, and helped herself to a spot oftea.

The tea turned to urinethe cups trembled in their saucers

a wyrd breeze slitheredhearts fluttered like madand spider senses prickled.

She slammed her fist on the tablewords flew with white foam spit.Your house is a battered womanon the eve of her blood tide!

Shes ready to brew up a hurricanehurl down a tornado and slam her foot.

Have you not seen her, exhausted andenraged?

She was supposed to be your bride.The flame in the bed chamber is now an

ember.As she shakes the ground I hope you chokeon the coal dust of your miserable life.If I were you, Id open up this place

and run it as a home for beaten wives.

But Father wouldnt-

but she cut me offYou cant live in a storybook forever.Didnt he move into the Hotel Six?Did you not make a troth, and tie your wrists

with the weavers finest bolt of cloth?She scratched the stiff booger off her upperlip.

I must admit I think I made a slip,

steam rose off my voice, the room had growncold as the hull of an arctic ship.I must say I was hoping for a bail outand I thought this was a place to set sail from.

Ive been feeling rather glum.I cant afford the gardener, let alone the maid.All my efforts are exercises in escape.

The Faun placed the last log into the fire graterelit his pipe, scratched his horns.It was nice when you visited us so youngwhen your liver was free from glass

and your heart unbruised by thorns.Whatever happened to that bonnie lass

who you sallied over?I remember catching you two frolic

amidst the sun warmed clover.

I knew her well, I saidthough Ive now forgot her name.So much of that summer was buried

and I a must admit I am a bit ashamedabout the way I tarriedwhen I should have asked her handthat we sealed the door once opened

that led into your land. But she stayed.She ate the grape off a faery plate.

The witch fanned herself as sweat boiled offher nose

she turned up the lampand shapes menaced from the paint peeledwalls

as a host of wicked elves knocked oat tinsfrom the shelves.When did you last kiss a girl? she askedher breath was like minced garlicsoaked in a snake oil flask.

Her lips puckered to reveal her gangreneteethas the rat ducked back into her soot gray hair.Crowned with mistletoe, her robes still

reekedas she cackled do you not think me fair?

The Faun shoved me forward in my seatuntil I was tangled with the Witch

I could feel the pull of my own heart threadthe wrinkled smell of her, familiar, filling me

with dread.I felt where I had darned the ninth stitch,

over my tweed heart, not made in time.Then my hands explored the ridges of herhipsand my mouth groping, found her warts,

found her tongue.

It was then she shed her skin.

With her old rags dropping

my blood beat was near to stoppingand I could hardly smell the sweet primroses

perfuming her auburn hair.Her toady warts dissolved

alongside the lapse in my resolve.A Lion stirred in my aorta,his tail the twitch of my ventricleand I could see now

where the wardrobe had been hedged

grown over here, with junkand a wedge left in on the otherthe glimmer of a waya home on either side

I could feel the ice clouds recede.On my knees, I did not have to pleadas our power joined together in a true loveknot

the Faun held out his broom

and we both jumped over.

-November 28, 2012


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THE EMPIRE NEVER ENDED (CITIES OF REFUGE)by Justin Patrick Moore

I.We seek the light of other realms,to cast new light on these despotic ruins.

We hope to catch times wrinkle

tesseract into some Otherworld Neverland,and tap its keg of untold wonders.

We are in need of a traveling improviserto slip from one sector to anotherby the turn of a coin, a tip of the magic hat,

the flash of a tarot card, or the play of smoke across crystal.

(Do not be deceived by the amethyst.)

Morphing and remorphing from here to there,you will come back whisperingabout a life of constant disappearanceabout how you branched out along sidereal linesonly to reappear among membraned rootsin an Underworld city.

Therethe street patterns

are tracings left by gnawing butterflies& the languages heard sound only as deafening noise.

Werent you warned?

II.All roads lead to Babel& the Goddess of the Tower is many tongued.

In the places we cannot hear, you were our ears.So tell us how, after reckless nights in spent oblivion

haggard as a ghost among lowlifes, carousing with damselsin a tavern of crossed destiny you still managedto break the curse of the black iron prison.

Compose for us a picture, of your circling pathsof your perambulating trajectories.

innumerable unimaginable secret visitationsYou penetrated cities known only to dream refugeesmade murky maps of little known territories.Your attempts at transcription met little success.Each avenue was disparate & every road the echo of another.

You returned to us only out of desperation,like a wayward dog to an unfit master.Your family was in crisis.Yet the way you walked helped untangle the skein.

Traveling you passed through the mouth of the sphinxon a dare & forged your willto know the silence of riddles.

III.Magic is a strange science.You sought the doctorateon a worldwhose concept of time, jangled.

A million disparate clocks joined togetherno working moments, or waking, rather reverieawake against thieves who would steal the ever present always

vigilant for smugglers breaching times wallsselling parcels of seconds, bags of minutes,and trunks stashed with misplaced hours.Mute statues were arrested from participation.

outside the circles of timethere are no fractal ripples

One bar melted from the rigid chronology.

From there you went forth to a city of islands,a burned out archipelago in a dying star system,whose ports had been taken over by enclaves of pirates.

All become savagesall are obliterated in cultural fugue.

The time bandits go there, it is after all a placeto stash their non-material goods.

Vultures come to harvest relics

as the burned out towers fallbadges from ambassadors left in the high-riseembassies of decaywhere the wrecking crewsornament the streetswith the skulls of gargantuan house cats.

IV.Who returnswhen transient is the default mode for home?

Does it matter whether you visited

in flesh, dream or book?

Drunk with the dust of foreign lands on your lipsyou remain insatiable, incorrigiblea thief whose honor we can always respectwe drink your every word, distilledinto a pastel liqueur

from the radiant gas cloud of a tipsy moon.

Staying home will always be different nowin this place of gardens, drainpipes, sewer gratesin this culture of terminal beaches,endless roped off docks & barred harbors.We will only taste echoesof the faded memory of your taste

as we string glass beads togethernight after night in this holographic bazaar.

For us, the bastard children of the high courtour love for the other, for the alien,for strange seafaring gods, must always be secret, subliminal.

We send our chosen vagrants forth, playthings of our game

while our hearts look to spires falling in the sunset.Our delight is in the capsized crownso you go out to reassure us, all empires crumble

all towers do fall down.


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"The Light of the World" (acrylic on panel) by Don Farrell


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The Apocalypse of Narcissusby Ariel Saklas, submitted by Justin Vaughn

The enclosed is a full and accurate copy of Ariel Saklas' 'the Apocalypse of Narcissus' as it was found at the foot of the god, inthe temple of the Eye, in Washington, during the commander's inspection. As for they who read it, may there be strength of understandingin them.

VANITAS

It begins with a state that is really quite impossible to describe. There is no past. The sequence of events has been singularly disrupted.Think of it, you could have picked up this book and begun reading from any point, but suddenly there you are. Amnesia has the affect ofdriving the audience from the scene. The curtain is opening to an empty theatre, and there is light and shadow, but for whom? Perhaps itwas this chance reflection, or some motion of the eye, which first caused our hero to question his involvement in the scene. It was as if hecould have been born in this very moment; and seeking answers, yet finding nothing, he called its name:

'VANITAS!'

'I like it so far,' interjects Renee, who has been helping students with the college's creative writing program this semester. Renee, whosename signifies 'reborn' in some child of Latin. Jeremy, whose name signifies either 'Yahweh rises', or 'exalted of Yahweh', continues, 'Idon't really understand this character; but he awakes on the battlefield in the valley of the Albis river in Marcomanni territory unable toremember who he is, and becomes obscessed with this point in time, as if he craves amnesia. There is a dent in his helmet. Then a soldierin the background cries out:'

''Narcisse!' 'No, that is not the name I was born with, but that's what they call me now,' thinks Narcissus silently to himself. That is the

name they have called him for a very long time; either for his boyish looks, or the mirror, which is one of his few personal belongings.'You may have noticed a change of voice just now,' he continues ', Yes, there is always that problem of the voice, the voice from nowhere,the hand writing on the wall, the thunder.'

'Are you alright?' asks Renee with a smile intending to convey humor.

'I'm just saying that I've been having a lot of trouble with the beginning. For one I want to try to explain the feeling of waking up in themiddle of a battlefield with amnesia, which is very difficult to describe to someone who isn't one of the few to have experienced it

personally. For another, one of the recurring characters is this sort of disembodied voice, whose origin can't really be identified. There arereasons for including this character that are hard for the author to explain.'

'That's alright. It's like Margarette Atwood said,' and then a defining moment, she pulls down a copy of the Oxford Orations. No, notjust a copy, but the copy of which Jeremy himself had been reading in the original Latin that very evening before she arrived. Yes, it wouldhave had to be some moment like that. She must have said, or done something clever. 'That's how she got my attention.'

'Are you talking to yourself?'

'I've been thinking out loud a lot since I began writing. I feel like I have to pay more attention to how things sound.''I could see that. Maybe that will help. Anyway, as Margarette put it ', When one is in the midst of a story, it hardly seems like a story at

all.''

'Especially when it's a non-linear narrative set in three time periods, but it always seems to come back to that moment, when Narcissuscries out 'vanitas' on the battlefield.'

'Vanitas, that's the other thing I wanted to ask you. What does vanitas mean?'

'It's Latin for emptyness, or nothingness.'

'Is he going to be speaking Latin the entire time?'

'Well, the character would have been speaking Latin most of the time, but I see what you're getting at. It does present certain difficulties.'

========================================================

[then insert the other beginning]========================================================

....

UBI IOHANNES VIVIT

....

ANGUIS PATEFACTA


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INITIATION ON THE SACRED MOUNTAIN OF ARUNACHALAby kAzIm

____________________________________________________________________

A thought on Non-Duality :

When One is in perfect alignment with the Universe, as the Buddha wrapped in silence and the diamond shining in the hearty petals of the

lotus, when the Forces align naturally, revolving around the axis of an eternal Instant of boundless creativity, Reality is perceived as both a

Presence and an Absence. Where the Black Hole of fecund darkness contemplates the projection of its True Will through the four arms of

the great Spiral of Life and Death, there the interstellar dancer plays the mystery song of creation and destruction, rhythmed by the

lightning notes of the Damaru`s Circles of Eternity. Without leaving any trace he goes, as the camel trooper walking in the desert sand, for

thus is the way of the ever wandering Magician, crossing an Abyss that never came to Manifestation.

Nataraja is Stillness and Motion wrought together

____________________________________________________________________

After the fulfillment of the Global Chakras Working instigated by Orryelle Defenestrate Bascule, in which participated both brethren ofthe Chaorder of Silver Dusk and of the Horus Maat Lodge, leading to a wonderful physical and trans-local magical gathering, and beingwell reminded of the non-linearity of time and interconnectedness of all things, specially as the last working finished for the 21st December2012 (seeCurrent 13 for more infos) I would like to present two reports taken from my personal journey in India, during a lunar month

passed on the Sacred Hill of Arunachala, which were going to prepare myself to this workings. Situated on a natural place of power of theEarth, the mountain constitutes a powerful nexus of shiva te energies and a place of Naga worship over which practitioners of the Art and wanderers to India may want to connect to. Linking the individual experience to the collective one, i wish thus to contribute to a network ofresources of inner and outer energetic exchange which may inspire further investigations.
http://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/current13.htmhttp://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/current13.htmhttp://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/current13.htmhttp://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/current13.htm


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In The Magical Revival Kenneth Grant considers Arunachala as one of the chakras of Planet Earth and, more precisely, he states that:

The supreme seat of energy - the Sahasrara Chakra - is not located within the physical body at all, but above the cranial suture, where,figuratively speaking, the Lotus of Infinite Light blooms and bathes with its perfume the subtle anatomy of man. The Sahasrara is the seatof the Atman, the True Self in Man which is known as the Brahman in the Cosmos. It is the Abode of Siva and is represented on earth bythe Sacred Hill of Arunachala in South India. This is the cult-centre of the most profoundly spiritual Path now open to humanity, theAdvaita-Marg or Path of Non-duality."

The mountain, beyond its mythical comparison to the tibetan Mt Meru, is said to be the place where Shiva appeared before Brahma andVishnu and transmitted the basis for his cult in India. It also became famous through the teachings and life of the s dhu and master of the Advaita Ved nta, Ramana Maharshi, who has been living in the mountain and meditating in its caves for more than 15 years.

The two reports i have chosen to present, beside a more regular practice, have marked two important steps of my personal sadhana there.The first one presents my impressions and progressive steps on the mountain, its particular energies and history, and ends with a narrativeof a spontaneous ritual performed inside the temple of Dakshineshwar, the city bordering Arunachala. It served for me to establish anenergetic link with the temple and the mountain which may be reactivated by people visiting the site or who want to connect to the templefor energetic workings (Shiva is also associated with the Ajna Chakra : the trishula being amongst other a representation of the meeting ofthe 3 energetic channels ida, pingala and sushumna at the place of the brow. The central sushumna channel and arrow is thus said to belonger because it continues to the Sahasrara, giving an interesting symbolism linking the two chakras). The second report describes a ritualdedicated to a Naga deity living in a hidden magickal lake at the border of the mountain and transmits the particular feeling i had with thePath at this moment. Both have been key-moments of my practice there, marking for the first one the apotheosis of a month of dedicationto Shiva, and for the second an unexpected connection with a Naga deity which became a powerful ally and guide to my personal tantric

practices on the place.

/*\

Chapter 1 : Arunachala Lighting

Arunachala, the mountain of Shiva possess this sanctity of certain places in India where an energy constantly fed by centuries of prayersand devotions inevitably takes you toward unexplored horizons to an unpredictable travel and encounter with the Self.

Arunachala, Sacred Mountain where Shiva appeared in the form of a Lingam of Pure Light:

During a conflict between Brahma and Vishnu to know which one of the two possessed the superiority, Shiva, who didn't yet reveal histrue nature, appeared before them in the form of a cosmic Pillar of Fire between the waters. The gods threw a challenge : the first whowould successfully reach the end of the column of light would prove his ascendancy over the other and permanently establish hissuperiority. Vishnu turned into a boar and plunged into the depths while Brahma took the form of a swan and flew as high as possible. Butthe column rose and descended beyond any limit, so that the two gods failed in their attempt. Shiva, remained silent till this moment,revealed his presence to the two gods and proved his supremacy. He established from that day the principles and origins of his worship.This mythical place where Shiva appeared is located in South West India near the city of Tiruvanamalai : its mountain has for nameArunachala.

Black Moon - Arrival at Tiruvanamalai

The Lands of Lord Shiva open their doors before me.. Shiva is a lunar god, majestic, far beyond the limitations of men, he carries with himthe overcoming of the limitations and habits of the ego, and ultimately leads you to leave the ties of a daily routine for a travel at the core ofthe Self, beyond the boundaries of the world of forms. His is the play of all energies. He is the cosmic dancer, the stillness in motionbeyondthe revolution of cosmic cycles. He is the Lord of Time, of Death and Rebirth, and the rhythm he plays on his damaru leads with each drum

beat to the creation and destruction of a new world.

Virupaksha Cave and the Maharshi

Appointments are made with Morgan to go for a walk in the sacred mountain, where lived and meditated for many years Shri Bhagavan

Ramana Maharshi, Hindu sage, master of the Advaita and great prince of Non-Duality. The first thing that strikes me about his story is thatthe Maharshi describes an experience of complete death of its different bodies (physical, astral and mental) and dive into the Self at the ageof 16, experience which undoubtedly changed his all life and awoke within him the yearning for a life of meditation and mystical devotion.

Shiva had made his call heard. For a one way travel to the Unknown. For a journey leading to leave ones profane life to devote entirelyoneself to the pursuit of an Ultimate Reality.

After an hour walking on the side of the mountain, we behold Virupaksha cave where the Maharshi meditated for over 15 years. Thecaves are adorned with photos of the Hindu Master. His eyes emit an impression of luminous deepness, infinite plenitude and absoluteserenity. It is even difficult to write about them as they surely invite one to contemplate in silence. The Maharshi is present everywhere: inthe mountains, in the city, on the walls, and in the minds. The first meditation makes me quickly feel the breath of his benevolent presence.The breath of an Unity revealed in the depths, which opens the doors to the soul and makes the bells of melodies from another perspectivering the songs of the dakinis and pour down the light of the stars.


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Shri Bhagavan Maharshi

I should also immerse myself in those energiesWalk on the mountains, walk the corridors of the temple.

Know the Lord Shiva in all its forms.God of Time, Lord of Creation, Destruction,

Of Mystic Intoxication and of Cosmic Rhythms.

-

Forget, Die, and Be Reborn.

Ritual in Arunachaleschwar Temple

After shaving my head, I'm heading to the Temple without particular intention aside from visiting and getting accustomed to the place.Behind the halls of the market of the city, where gather vendors, saddhus, women and rickshaw drivers, stands the Gopuram (a towermarking the entrance of the pyramid temples in South India) of the main entrance. With its 13 floors, all in white stones, it staysimperturbable and stoic before the hubbub of the city and the mantras that resonate from the music stores around.

A month of visits in different Shiva temples behind me and I am still surprised to find myself in this particular and unique atmospherethat reminds me of my first contact with the fiery energy of Shiva, a year earlier, in the temple of Trimbakeshwar in Nasik. In this small

pilgrimage town fringed with more than 200 religious edifices stands, at the top of the valley, one of the 12 jyothir lingams. Temple of blackbasalt with absolutist lines that gives the impression to belong to another world ; Furthermore its inhabitants and the few tourists there, thecity welcomes thousands of pilgrims who sometimes walk hundreds of miles to pray a few seconds before the main statue of the sanctuary.There is a two-hour queue before entering, the excitement of the people is at its peak, the fervor of the moment hitting you in the guts. Inthe main hall, the crowd is chanting the divine names and mantras of Shiva, making them resonate as thousands of drumbeats in his honor.The electricity of the atmosphere is amplifying as the crowd rejoices and comes closer to the main room. I can now see the altarapproaching... people walk and make gestures there ; Arriving at the statue, I get one of the most intense energetic charge I ever felt in atemple. A good introduction to the experience of Arunachala..
http://www.kaosphorus.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Arunachala02.jpg


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After the main entrance comes a first inner temple dedicated to Kaala Bhairava, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated withannihilation, who beheaded the fifth head of Brahma for his pride saying he was the only Supreme Creator. The pieces of sandalwood andcups of ghee keep the flame alighted and the smoke of incenses. All are dedicated for the prasad, the spiritual n

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Silver Star Journal Vol 3 Issue 1