Feast Of the Hive
 

by Soror Nema
 

 N'Aton:

 These rituals are given to Man to know in the seventy-third year of the
 Aeon of Horus. They are practiced in the flowering of the Aeon of
 Maat. They have been revealed at this time so there may be a
 comprehension and understanding of the nature of Man as he will be, and
 of the Alchemy of Maat.

 The "post-Victorian" climate of sexual liberation has diluted the
 intensity of the subjective appreciation of sexual Alchemy. The social
 environment of Western man in the seventh decade of the Aeon of Horus
 has rendered a sacred form profane.

 In keeping with the formula of IPSOS, by which the Magickal Current of
 Maat has been united with the Current of Shaitan, it is now the time
 and here the place for the unveiling of the evolution of Alchemy. To
 the end of infusing new life into the High Art, are these rituals
 given.

 The celebrants of these rituals are Kings, individuals secure in
 their self-awareness and personal sovereignty. They freely choose to
 function as priest and sacrament for the benefit of the gestalt. Not
 from a desire to cease living, nor from a concept of the "nobility of
 martyrdom" do they base their acts... From a profound love for and
 unity with their Race, they donate their physical bodies.

 Individuals dwell in small enclaves, or Hives, whose populations range
 from a few hundred to about a thousand. There is but one true city on
 the planet, Meshikan. It is mounted upon a platform and travels from
 continent to continent. Its function is to serve as the administrative
 and archival center of the Race. In our time, there is no desire to
 crowd together in cities. We are en rapport through individual
 participation in the gestalt.

 The Hive Temple functions as a center for religious gathering,
 artistic-display (as a museum/theater of creative and performing arts),
 and local administrative functions. It is not uncommon for individuals
 of other Races of the Comity to be guesting in the Hives (provided, of
 course, that such Brothers are of structures compatible with the
 environment.) These Brothers may, if they choose, participate in the
 Hive-Feasts -- our definition of "human" has expanded considerably
 since your era.

 The Shadow Priesthood functions as a balance-weight for the Hive; as
 such it is perhaps philosophically more akin to the essence of Maat
 than the Dayside order. We have found that only the younger
 Race-members of the Comity, such as ourselves, still distinguish
 between noumena and phenomena, the Nothing and the All. Until we
 achieve the degree of maturity enjoyed by our Elder Brothers, however,
 we will maintain the dual priesthood for the sake of polarity and
 balance.

 The rituals presented here may strike some individuals of your time as
 a reversion to barbarity and precivilized practices. Evolution
  progresses in spiral form, with a point on the circle also moving
 forward with each revolution. To acquire the essence of certain virtues
 our ancestors ate their enemies; for the same basic purposes we
 eat our friends and brothers.

 The Christian Communion service was a type of prefiguring of the
 Hive-Feast, though the symbolism of bread and wine, despite the factor
 of "transubstantiation", was indirect and dilute. The sacramental
 flesh of the Feast of the Hive is the most direct transmitter of energy
 available to us on the physical plane.

  As you read of these rituals, be careful of your guard. There are
 eaters of bodies other than flesh, who lurk about the Gate between our
 times... By the same mouth that eats the holy flesh is the word of
 love and balance spoken.

 To the south of Temple rotunda is a large iron cauldron, suspended
 over a fire-pit. In the Great Hall of the Temple is the banquet table,
 large enough to seat the entire Hive. On the north of the rotunda is
 the Arena. To the west is the dias-altar, vested in crimson, and to
 the east, a latticed meditation-bower.
 

                        THE WAY OF COMBAT (Rajas)

 Two Warrior-Priests/Priestesses, of matched skill, strength and
 spiritual enlightenment, shall, agree to participate in this Working.
 They shall have been on a vegetarian diet for at least six weeks prior
 to the working, on a regimen of lean, rare meat for the week
 immediately preceding the rite. and fasting for twenty-four hours in
 advance of the actual combat.

 Only after five years of intensive physical and spiritual training is
 an Aspirant qualified to participate in a Ritual of Combat, and that is
 as an Armed Warrior. The only weapons permitted are a blade of
 forearm's length and a shield of forearm's diameter. After surviving
 five years of armed combat and further training, a priest is then,
 qualified as a Warrior of Air; the only weapons are the naked hands.

 Both types of ritual are fought to the death of one Combatant.

 This ritual is performed on the Solstices. The Combatants are the
 concelebrating priests for the rite, with the Firemaster, Tanner,
 Goldsmith and assistants as acolytes.

 The Hive assembles within the Temple before the Solstice dawn. From
 the appearance of the first light, all sit in silent meditation, and
 then hymn a greeting to the sun as the disk rises above the horizon.

 Wine, cakes and fruit are distributed among members of the Hive, as the
 young candidates for Warriorhood are brought forth and presented with
 their Aspirants' robes and practice weapons.

 They are received by the teaching-priests with due solemnity, and this
 reception marks the beginning of their training-period.

 There follows a duel-dance by pairs of fourth-years students using
 blunted weapons. They enact an appropriate Martial legend from the
 race-past. As the Sun approaches noon, the Arena is cleared and the
 Hive falls silent.

 The Firemaster enters with the Combatants, who are naked and oiled. The
 Firemaster kindles two torches and hands one to each of the Combatants.
 They bow toward the Hive to the Firemaster, and embrace each other.
 They touch the torches together, uniting the separate fires into one
 flame, then cast the torches into the bed of kindling beneath the
 cauldron. As the flames grow, they return to the Arena.

 They fight, each seeking to inflict a swift and fatal blow upon the
 other. Lithe, catlike, their strikes and parries are more rapid than
 the eye can follow. They are evenly matched, veterans of other such
 rites, and dedicated Masters of their Art. Their fasting has heightened
 the senses, the danger has brought them to the peak of their ability in
 act.

 The Balance of the Feather brings the decisive blow; one stands, one
 fails. The Firemaster determines death; if necessary, he indicates one
 further strike by hand or sword, and the first part is complete.

 The body of the vanquished is suspended, and the Tanner removes the
 skin, which he will process into fine parchment for the Temple scribes
 The scribes will write of the life of the slain upon it, and place it
 within the revered Book of the Great Ones.

 The body of the slain one is butchered and seethed in the cauldron
 until sundown, when the feasting begins. At sundown, the cauldron is
 removed from the fire and the stew is served as main dish for the
 banquet. The victor is awarded first choice of parts, usually the heart
 or the liver.

 The Skull will be gilded and jeweled and placed in a niche of honor
 in the Temple wall above the Arena. The bones will be
 transformed, where possible, into hand weapons; the remainder will be
 burned.

 The preliminary dietary discipline of the combatants, plus the
 battle-engendered adrenaline, form the chemical base of the sacrament
 of this rite. It is part of the Firemaster's task to so employ the use
 of herbs in the cooking process that the communal benefit from the
 feast manifests in terms of strength and endurance rather than
 agitation and belligerence.

 Communion in the ritual of the Way of Combat confers upon the
 participants those virtues - peculiar to Mars, Jupiter and the Sun, and
 special facility on the Paths connecting them. To balance the forces
 invoked by this rite, its Dark counterpart is performed by the Shadow
 Priests in the subterranean chambers below the Hive Temple.

 The Shadow Priests are few in number; the Hive is aware of their
 existence and necessity, but they operate on a hidden basis, as a
 symbolic Unconscious of the gestalt. Their ranks are filled by a
 selective process: candidates are those who discover within themselves
 a talent for Working the Qlipoth, and who are deemed acceptable by the
 practicing priesthood. Their Initiation Ordeal consists of living for
 a year severed from participation in the gestalt.

 The Dark version of the Way of Combat has, as its major distinguishing
 feature, the death by suicide of one of the combatants. Instead of
 defending one's life while seeking to bring death to the other, the
 warriors of the Shadow Priests seek to prevent the other from suicide
 while attempting to bring death to oneself. The first death
 accomplished signals the end of the Combat, with the one left alive
 obliged to preserve himself for the next occasion.

 Following the feasts in the Temple above and the Temple below, the
 Firemasters from both priesthoods meet to exchange a small quantity of
 their Sacrament. The opposite broths are then distilled for use as
 seasonings, thus maintaining Balance for the Hive.
 

                        THE WAY OF LOVE (Tamas)

 This rite is held on the Equinoxes.

 The celebrants' are a priest and priestess, assisted, as before, by the
 Firemaster, Goldsmith, Tanner and others.

 Unlike the Way of Combat, the first part of the ritual is conducted
 not in assembly of the entire Hive. but with the Brothers and Sisters
 of the Priesthood of the Bee. This priesthood consists of those whose
 Will it is to maintain the open communication of the Hive within itself
 (i.e., to keep the health of the gestalt) and with the forces of
 nature.

 The major celebrants are assisted by six other couples of the
 Priesthood of the Bee. Maat is invoked as the Gynander, and Gaia also
 is called as the general representative of elemental Nature. This is
 done at the dias altar.

 The first couple unites on the dias altar. They consume a token amount
 of the Elixir, but leave the greater part of it to be taken by the
 second couple. The second pair, after sharing the Elixir of the first,
 assume their place upon the altar, proceed with the Mass and Communion,
 sharing this intensified Elixir with the third couple. This process
 continues to the point where the sixth couple has shared Elixir with
 the major celebrants. There is here both a cumulative and distilling
 effect, so that the primary celebrants will be producing an Elixir of
 seven distillations and seven increments.

 On this final occasion, however, when the priestess mounts astride
 the priest, the Firemaster binds them together with cords, permitting
 just enough mobility for the act to be performed. As the first slow
 movements begin, to the soft chanting of the encircling priesthood, the
 assistants of the Firemaster quietly enter with a silver-pointed
 javelin. This he takes and holds, standing at the foot of the altar.

 As the tempo of the act increases, so does the chant rhythm. At the
 orgasm of the priest, the priestess leans forward upon him in embrace,
 and the Firemaster hurls the javelin, piercing both through the heart.

 The binding cords prevent any death-reflex from separating them; still
 coupled they are spitted and slow-roasted until nightfall. The bodies
 are gutted and cleaned through lateral incisions that do not disturb
 their positioning.

 In preparing the flesh for serving, the Firemaster carefully
 extracts the Elixir. He extends its quantity with consecrated and
 purified ingredients and it is used with the fleshmeat in the form of a
 sauce.

 The Hive assembles at sundown for the feast. The twelve participating
 priests; and priestesses wait upon the feasting Hive-Members, bringing
 the Elixir to each in a silver vessel. The Singers perform love songs
 and lays in honor of the day's concelebrant couple. The wine for the
 feast is aphrodisiac, and a variety of drugs is available after the
 eating is finished. Night sees the Hive in embrace, in dance, in
 love-making.

 A torchlight procession forms at midnight and the bones of the
 concelebrants (excepting the skulls) are carried to a plot of earth on
 the Temple grounds that is the representation of all lands under
 cultivation. The bones are buried in a trench along the perimeter of
 the plot, except for the femurs which are added to those already
 positioned vertically as fencing for the plot.

 Gala is invoked by the Firemaster, a small libation of the Elixir is
 poured on the earth, and the procession sings hymns to the elements and
 to the planet as it returns to the Temple and home.

 The Goldsmith silver-plates the skulls and jewels them, after which
 they are placed in niches above the dias-altar. The Tanner's only task
 following this rite, is to plait the hair of the celebrants in
 intricate patterns to form a mat upon which the skulls will rest.

 The virtues here pertain to Mercury (communication), Venus (unifying
 relationships) and the Moon (receptivity to and linking with the spirit
 of Nature).

 The Shadow Priesthood, meanwhile, conducts the obverse rites
 underground. This consists of a dual process of oral homosexual
 workings, with the Sisters and Brothers working on twin dias-altars.
 The description will follow the male aspect, but the Sisters work in
 the same manner, with the vaginal fluids being processed like the
 semen.

 There are six participants assisting the main celebrant. The first is
 fellated to orgasm by the second; the majority of the Elixir is
 conveyed by mouth to a silver vessel between the dias altars (the
 Sisters deposit their Elixir within the same vessel), and a small
 portion of it is retained and consumed by the second priest. The third
 priest duplicates the process, and so on until the major celebrant
 completes it with the sixth priest.

 The Firemaster stands ready with the javelin, and the Tanner does the
 same at the Sisters' altar.

 The first assisting priest kneels before the celebrant who is
 spreadeagled on the altar, and with the utmost skill, brings him to
 orgasm. This is timed as closely as possible with the Sisters, so that
 both achieve ecstasy and are slain simultaneously.

 The first assistants then turn to each other and commingle the Elixirs
 in a kiss, again depositing the majority in the vessel and retaining a
 small amount for their own consumption.

 The Firemaster binds the slain priest and priestess back-to-back for
 the roasting, and proceeds with the preparation of the Elixir as a
 sauce. There is an exchange of a small quantity of it between the
 Firemasters later, as in the Way of Combat.

 The Shadow Priesthood assembles for this feast, which is followed by a
 great ring of oral-genital connection, with the sexes alternating.

 A torchlight procession forms. Since the Shadow Priesthood is
 relatively small in number, the remaining flesh is placed on the Tower
 of Silence for the Temple vultures to consume in the morning. The bones
 are carried to the sea, or to the nearest inland water-way. The Dark
 Mother Ocean is called upon, and Dagon. Cthulhu and the other Elder
 Gods are invoked. A libation of the Elixir is poured into the water,
 and the seal of Maat is placed upon the Gate between when the Elder
 Gods withdraw. The Shadow Priests return to the Temple before Dawn.
 

                 THE WAY OF THE DRAGONFLY (Sattvas)

 There is no fixed time for the culmination of this ritual; it is set
 according to the word and will of the celebrant.

 The celebrant selects a young assistant from among the Priesthood of
 the Black Flame. This assistant vows a year's time to the completion of
 the Dragonfly rite, during which he or she will live with the celebrant
 as chela.

 They will spend most of their time in a hut in the woods, coming to the
 latticed bower within the Temple during the Full Moon. They are
 assisted in the Temple by the Healer and the Firemaster.

 The ritual is begun by an invocation of Shiva on the night of the Full
 Moon. He is invoked in his Lion Face aspect.

 With the assistance of his chela and the Healer, the celebrant severs
 his left foot and offers it to the Firemaster to be prepared. The
 celebrant then consumes his roasted appendage, sharing a portion of it
 with the chela.

 The bones are carefully cleaned and varnished and are used to begin
 the construction of a Shivalingam. The ritual is continued for the next
 eleven Full Moons, with the severings at ankles, knees, hips, wrists,
 elbows and shoulders.

 The periods of time between the rituals are used by the celebrant to
 bring down and manifest within himself the essence and completion of
 the All. In the process of self-consuming, the celebrant concentrates
 the All in an ever-decreasing volume of his earth-self, symbolized and
 materialized in his physical body.

 On the thirteenth Full Moon, the group again assembles within the
 lattice-bower. Upon this occasion, however, the chela takes up
 the Dagger, and upon command of the celebrant, stabs the limbless
 trunk to the heart. The chela receives the dying breath of the
 celebrant in a kiss.

 The Firemaster prepares the body for a Hive-feast, reserving the pineal
 gland which is carefully sun-dried, and covered with gold leaf. The
 skull is plated with iron, and set within a niche above the lattice
 bower. The remaining skeletal bones are placed within the Shivalingam
 sculpture, which is then added to a circle of similar symbols
 surrounding the bower.

 A Shadow-Priest compliments the ritual as follows:

 Kali and Maut are invoked on the dark of the Moon. With the severing of
 each part on the following months, the chela bears the part to the
 Tower of Silence for the vultures. Any bones that may remain are
 collected on the following visit.

 The Shadow Priest spends the intervals between rituals in a
 subterranean grotto, expanding his being toward the Nothing. The
 vultures disperse his physical self in like manner

 On the thirteenth occasion of the rite, the Firemaster and Healer
 attend. The chela dispatches the celebrant with a Dagger, but here the
 celebrant receives the chela's breath with his dying gasp.

 The Healer cuts two openings in the skull, immediately above the cars,
 and thus removes the pineal gland. He then carries the skull to an
 anthill where the soft parts are removed. The trunk is carried to the
 Tower of Silence, and the available bones are recovered at an
 appropriate time. The skull and bones are taken to the shrine of Kali
 in her cavern-temple and are added to the adornments begun by previous
 celebrants. The skull is strung on Her necklace, and the skeletal bones
 are hung from her girdle.

 The gilded pineals are brought by the respective Firemasters to an iron
 coffer that occupies a niche in the corridor that joins the Temple of
 the Hive and the Temple of the Shadow Priests. Not even the Firemasters
 can distinguish among these Eyes of those who became All, and those who
 became Nothing.
 

                                ***
 

 In considering these Ways-to-come, o ye Warriors of Heru, remember that
 the atoms of your body were once dancing at the heart of a star. That
 of which you are made will dance again in many forms, down through the
 Aeons, for nothing of the Universe is ever lost.

 Pour out freely your blood, and eat whatever is given to you - for
 which is the greater ecstasy - "to be sugar, or to eat it"?

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

                               IPSOS
 
 

First published in The Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick
                        Volume I, Number 3, 1978
Feast Of the Hive
 

by Soror Nema
 

 N'Aton:

 These rituals are given to Man to know in the seventy-third year of the
 Aeon of Horus. They are practiced in the flowering of the Aeon of
 Maat. They have been revealed at this time so there may be a
 comprehension and understanding of the nature of Man as he will be, and
 of the Alchemy of Maat.

 The "post-Victorian" climate of sexual liberation has diluted the
 intensity of the subjective appreciation of sexual Alchemy. The social
 environment of Western man in the seventh decade of the Aeon of Horus
 has rendered a sacred form profane.

 In keeping with the formula of IPSOS, by which the Magickal Current of
 Maat has been united with the Current of Shaitan, it is now the time
 and here the place for the unveiling of the evolution of Alchemy. To
 the end of infusing new life into the High Art, are these rituals
 given.

 The celebrants of these rituals are Kings, individuals secure in
 their self-awareness and personal sovereignty. They freely choose to
 function as priest and sacrament for the benefit of the gestalt. Not
 from a desire to cease living, nor from a concept of the "nobility of
 martyrdom" do they base their acts... From a profound love for and
 unity with their Race, they donate their physical bodies.

 Individuals dwell in small enclaves, or Hives, whose populations range
 from a few hundred to about a thousand. There is but one true city on
 the planet, Meshikan. It is mounted upon a platform and travels from
 continent to continent. Its function is to serve as the administrative
 and archival center of the Race. In our time, there is no desire to
 crowd together in cities. We are en rapport through individual
 participation in the gestalt.

 The Hive Temple functions as a center for religious gathering,
 artistic-display (as a museum/theater of creative and performing arts),
 and local administrative functions. It is not uncommon for individuals
 of other Races of the Comity to be guesting in the Hives (provided, of
 course, that such Brothers are of structures compatible with the
 environment.) These Brothers may, if they choose, participate in the
 Hive-Feasts -- our definition of "human" has expanded considerably
 since your era.

 The Shadow Priesthood functions as a balance-weight for the Hive; as
 such it is perhaps philosophically more akin to the essence of Maat
 than the Dayside order. We have found that only the younger
 Race-members of the Comity, such as ourselves, still distinguish
 between noumena and phenomena, the Nothing and the All. Until we
 achieve the degree of maturity enjoyed by our Elder Brothers, however,
 we will maintain the dual priesthood for the sake of polarity and
 balance.

 The rituals presented here may strike some individuals of your time as
 a reversion to barbarity and precivilized practices. Evolution
  progresses in spiral form, with a point on the circle also moving
 forward with each revolution. To acquire the essence of certain virtues
 our ancestors ate their enemies; for the same basic purposes we
 eat our friends and brothers.

 The Christian Communion service was a type of prefiguring of the
 Hive-Feast, though the symbolism of bread and wine, despite the factor
 of "transubstantiation", was indirect and dilute. The sacramental
 flesh of the Feast of the Hive is the most direct transmitter of energy
 available to us on the physical plane.

  As you read of these rituals, be careful of your guard. There are
 eaters of bodies other than flesh, who lurk about the Gate between our
 times... By the same mouth that eats the holy flesh is the word of
 love and balance spoken.

 To the south of Temple rotunda is a large iron cauldron, suspended
 over a fire-pit. In the Great Hall of the Temple is the banquet table,
 large enough to seat the entire Hive. On the north of the rotunda is
 the Arena. To the west is the dias-altar, vested in crimson, and to
 the east, a latticed meditation-bower.
 

                        THE WAY OF COMBAT (Rajas)

 Two Warrior-Priests/Priestesses, of matched skill, strength and
 spiritual enlightenment, shall, agree to participate in this Working.
 They shall have been on a vegetarian diet for at least six weeks prior
 to the working, on a regimen of lean, rare meat for the week
 immediately preceding the rite. and fasting for twenty-four hours in
 advance of the actual combat.

 Only after five years of intensive physical and spiritual training is
 an Aspirant qualified to participate in a Ritual of Combat, and that is
 as an Armed Warrior. The only weapons permitted are a blade of
 forearm's length and a shield of forearm's diameter. After surviving
 five years of armed combat and further training, a priest is then,
 qualified as a Warrior of Air; the only weapons are the naked hands.

 Both types of ritual are fought to the death of one Combatant.

 This ritual is performed on the Solstices. The Combatants are the
 concelebrating priests for the rite, with the Firemaster, Tanner,
 Goldsmith and assistants as acolytes.

 The Hive assembles within the Temple before the Solstice dawn. From
 the appearance of the first light, all sit in silent meditation, and
 then hymn a greeting to the sun as the disk rises above the horizon.

 Wine, cakes and fruit are distributed among members of the Hive, as the
 young candidates for Warriorhood are brought forth and presented with
 their Aspirants' robes and practice weapons.

 They are received by the teaching-priests with due solemnity, and this
 reception marks the beginning of their training-period.

 There follows a duel-dance by pairs of fourth-years students using
 blunted weapons. They enact an appropriate Martial legend from the
 race-past. As the Sun approaches noon, the Arena is cleared and the
 Hive falls silent.

 The Firemaster enters with the Combatants, who are naked and oiled. The
 Firemaster kindles two torches and hands one to each of the Combatants.
 They bow toward the Hive to the Firemaster, and embrace each other.
 They touch the torches together, uniting the separate fires into one
 flame, then cast the torches into the bed of kindling beneath the
 cauldron. As the flames grow, they return to the Arena.

 They fight, each seeking to inflict a swift and fatal blow upon the
 other. Lithe, catlike, their strikes and parries are more rapid than
 the eye can follow. They are evenly matched, veterans of other such
 rites, and dedicated Masters of their Art. Their fasting has heightened
 the senses, the danger has brought them to the peak of their ability in
 act.

 The Balance of the Feather brings the decisive blow; one stands, one
 fails. The Firemaster determines death; if necessary, he indicates one
 further strike by hand or sword, and the first part is complete.

 The body of the vanquished is suspended, and the Tanner removes the
 skin, which he will process into fine parchment for the Temple scribes
 The scribes will write of the life of the slain upon it, and place it
 within the revered Book of the Great Ones.

 The body of the slain one is butchered and seethed in the cauldron
 until sundown, when the feasting begins. At sundown, the cauldron is
 removed from the fire and the stew is served as main dish for the
 banquet. The victor is awarded first choice of parts, usually the heart
 or the liver.

 The Skull will be gilded and jeweled and placed in a niche of honor
 in the Temple wall above the Arena. The bones will be
 transformed, where possible, into hand weapons; the remainder will be
 burned.

 The preliminary dietary discipline of the combatants, plus the
 battle-engendered adrenaline, form the chemical base of the sacrament
 of this rite. It is part of the Firemaster's task to so employ the use
 of herbs in the cooking process that the communal benefit from the
 feast manifests in terms of strength and endurance rather than
 agitation and belligerence.

 Communion in the ritual of the Way of Combat confers upon the
 participants those virtues - peculiar to Mars, Jupiter and the Sun, and
 special facility on the Paths connecting them. To balance the forces
 invoked by this rite, its Dark counterpart is performed by the Shadow
 Priests in the subterranean chambers below the Hive Temple.

 The Shadow Priests are few in number; the Hive is aware of their
 existence and necessity, but they operate on a hidden basis, as a
 symbolic Unconscious of the gestalt. Their ranks are filled by a
 selective process: candidates are those who discover within themselves
 a talent for Working the Qlipoth, and who are deemed acceptable by the
 practicing priesthood. Their Initiation Ordeal consists of living for
 a year severed from participation in the gestalt.

 The Dark version of the Way of Combat has, as its major distinguishing
 feature, the death by suicide of one of the combatants. Instead of
 defending one's life while seeking to bring death to the other, the
 warriors of the Shadow Priests seek to prevent the other from suicide
 while attempting to bring death to oneself. The first death
 accomplished signals the end of the Combat, with the one left alive
 obliged to preserve himself for the next occasion.

 Following the feasts in the Temple above and the Temple below, the
 Firemasters from both priesthoods meet to exchange a small quantity of
 their Sacrament. The opposite broths are then distilled for use as
 seasonings, thus maintaining Balance for the Hive.
 

                        THE WAY OF LOVE (Tamas)

 This rite is held on the Equinoxes.

 The celebrants' are a priest and priestess, assisted, as before, by the
 Firemaster, Goldsmith, Tanner and others.

 Unlike the Way of Combat, the first part of the ritual is conducted
 not in assembly of the entire Hive. but with the Brothers and Sisters
 of the Priesthood of the Bee. This priesthood consists of those whose
 Will it is to maintain the open communication of the Hive within itself
 (i.e., to keep the health of the gestalt) and with the forces of
 nature.

 The major celebrants are assisted by six other couples of the
 Priesthood of the Bee. Maat is invoked as the Gynander, and Gaia also
 is called as the general representative of elemental Nature. This is
 done at the dias altar.

 The first couple unites on the dias altar. They consume a token amount
 of the Elixir, but leave the greater part of it to be taken by the
 second couple. The second pair, after sharing the Elixir of the first,
 assume their place upon the altar, proceed with the Mass and Communion,
 sharing this intensified Elixir with the third couple. This process
 continues to the point where the sixth couple has shared Elixir with
 the major celebrants. There is here both a cumulative and distilling
 effect, so that the primary celebrants will be producing an Elixir of
 seven distillations and seven increments.

 On this final occasion, however, when the priestess mounts astride
 the priest, the Firemaster binds them together with cords, permitting
 just enough mobility for the act to be performed. As the first slow
 movements begin, to the soft chanting of the encircling priesthood, the
 assistants of the Firemaster quietly enter with a silver-pointed
 javelin. This he takes and holds, standing at the foot of the altar.

 As the tempo of the act increases, so does the chant rhythm. At the
 orgasm of the priest, the priestess leans forward upon him in embrace,
 and the Firemaster hurls the javelin, piercing both through the heart.

 The binding cords prevent any death-reflex from separating them; still
 coupled they are spitted and slow-roasted until nightfall. The bodies
 are gutted and cleaned through lateral incisions that do not disturb
 their positioning.

 In preparing the flesh for serving, the Firemaster carefully
 extracts the Elixir. He extends its quantity with consecrated and
 purified ingredients and it is used with the fleshmeat in the form of a
 sauce.

 The Hive assembles at sundown for the feast. The twelve participating
 priests; and priestesses wait upon the feasting Hive-Members, bringing
 the Elixir to each in a silver vessel. The Singers perform love songs
 and lays in honor of the day's concelebrant couple. The wine for the
 feast is aphrodisiac, and a variety of drugs is available after the
 eating is finished. Night sees the Hive in embrace, in dance, in
 love-making.

 A torchlight procession forms at midnight and the bones of the
 concelebrants (excepting the skulls) are carried to a plot of earth on
 the Temple grounds that is the representation of all lands under
 cultivation. The bones are buried in a trench along the perimeter of
 the plot, except for the femurs which are added to those already
 positioned vertically as fencing for the plot.

 Gala is invoked by the Firemaster, a small libation of the Elixir is
 poured on the earth, and the procession sings hymns to the elements and
 to the planet as it returns to the Temple and home.

 The Goldsmith silver-plates the skulls and jewels them, after which
 they are placed in niches above the dias-altar. The Tanner's only task
 following this rite, is to plait the hair of the celebrants in
 intricate patterns to form a mat upon which the skulls will rest.

 The virtues here pertain to Mercury (communication), Venus (unifying
 relationships) and the Moon (receptivity to and linking with the spirit
 of Nature).

 The Shadow Priesthood, meanwhile, conducts the obverse rites
 underground. This consists of a dual process of oral homosexual
 workings, with the Sisters and Brothers working on twin dias-altars.
 The description will follow the male aspect, but the Sisters work in
 the same manner, with the vaginal fluids being processed like the
 semen.

 There are six participants assisting the main celebrant. The first is
 fellated to orgasm by the second; the majority of the Elixir is
 conveyed by mouth to a silver vessel between the dias altars (the
 Sisters deposit their Elixir within the same vessel), and a small
 portion of it is retained and consumed by the second priest. The third
 priest duplicates the process, and so on until the major celebrant
 completes it with the sixth priest.

 The Firemaster stands ready with the javelin, and the Tanner does the
 same at the Sisters' altar.

 The first assisting priest kneels before the celebrant who is
 spreadeagled on the altar, and with the utmost skill, brings him to
 orgasm. This is timed as closely as possible with the Sisters, so that
 both achieve ecstasy and are slain simultaneously.

 The first assistants then turn to each other and commingle the Elixirs
 in a kiss, again depositing the majority in the vessel and retaining a
 small amount for their own consumption.

 The Firemaster binds the slain priest and priestess back-to-back for
 the roasting, and proceeds with the preparation of the Elixir as a
 sauce. There is an exchange of a small quantity of it between the
 Firemasters later, as in the Way of Combat.

 The Shadow Priesthood assembles for this feast, which is followed by a
 great ring of oral-genital connection, with the sexes alternating.

 A torchlight procession forms. Since the Shadow Priesthood is
 relatively small in number, the remaining flesh is placed on the Tower
 of Silence for the Temple vultures to consume in the morning. The bones
 are carried to the sea, or to the nearest inland water-way. The Dark
 Mother Ocean is called upon, and Dagon. Cthulhu and the other Elder
 Gods are invoked. A libation of the Elixir is poured into the water,
 and the seal of Maat is placed upon the Gate between when the Elder
 Gods withdraw. The Shadow Priests return to the Temple before Dawn.
 

                 THE WAY OF THE DRAGONFLY (Sattvas)

 There is no fixed time for the culmination of this ritual; it is set
 according to the word and will of the celebrant.

 The celebrant selects a young assistant from among the Priesthood of
 the Black Flame. This assistant vows a year's time to the completion of
 the Dragonfly rite, during which he or she will live with the celebrant
 as chela.

 They will spend most of their time in a hut in the woods, coming to the
 latticed bower within the Temple during the Full Moon. They are
 assisted in the Temple by the Healer and the Firemaster.

 The ritual is begun by an invocation of Shiva on the night of the Full
 Moon. He is invoked in his Lion Face aspect.

 With the assistance of his chela and the Healer, the celebrant severs
 his left foot and offers it to the Firemaster to be prepared. The
 celebrant then consumes his roasted appendage, sharing a portion of it
 with the chela.

 The bones are carefully cleaned and varnished and are used to begin
 the construction of a Shivalingam. The ritual is continued for the next
 eleven Full Moons, with the severings at ankles, knees, hips, wrists,
 elbows and shoulders.

 The periods of time between the rituals are used by the celebrant to
 bring down and manifest within himself the essence and completion of
 the All. In the process of self-consuming, the celebrant concentrates
 the All in an ever-decreasing volume of his earth-self, symbolized and
 materialized in his physical body.

 On the thirteenth Full Moon, the group again assembles within the
 lattice-bower. Upon this occasion, however, the chela takes up
 the Dagger, and upon command of the celebrant, stabs the limbless
 trunk to the heart. The chela receives the dying breath of the
 celebrant in a kiss.

 The Firemaster prepares the body for a Hive-feast, reserving the pineal
 gland which is carefully sun-dried, and covered with gold leaf. The
 skull is plated with iron, and set within a niche above the lattice
 bower. The remaining skeletal bones are placed within the Shivalingam
 sculpture, which is then added to a circle of similar symbols
 surrounding the bower.

 A Shadow-Priest compliments the ritual as follows:

 Kali and Maut are invoked on the dark of the Moon. With the severing of
 each part on the following months, the chela bears the part to the
 Tower of Silence for the vultures. Any bones that may remain are
 collected on the following visit.

 The Shadow Priest spends the intervals between rituals in a
 subterranean grotto, expanding his being toward the Nothing. The
 vultures disperse his physical self in like manner

 On the thirteenth occasion of the rite, the Firemaster and Healer
 attend. The chela dispatches the celebrant with a Dagger, but here the
 celebrant receives the chela's breath with his dying gasp.

 The Healer cuts two openings in the skull, immediately above the cars,
 and thus removes the pineal gland. He then carries the skull to an
 anthill where the soft parts are removed. The trunk is carried to the
 Tower of Silence, and the available bones are recovered at an
 appropriate time. The skull and bones are taken to the shrine of Kali
 in her cavern-temple and are added to the adornments begun by previous
 celebrants. The skull is strung on Her necklace, and the skeletal bones
 are hung from her girdle.

 The gilded pineals are brought by the respective Firemasters to an iron
 coffer that occupies a niche in the corridor that joins the Temple of
 the Hive and the Temple of the Shadow Priests. Not even the Firemasters
 can distinguish among these Eyes of those who became All, and those who
 became Nothing.
 

                                ***
 

 In considering these Ways-to-come, o ye Warriors of Heru, remember that
 the atoms of your body were once dancing at the heart of a star. That
 of which you are made will dance again in many forms, down through the
 Aeons, for nothing of the Universe is ever lost.

 Pour out freely your blood, and eat whatever is given to you - for
 which is the greater ecstasy - "to be sugar, or to eat it"?

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

 
IPSOS
 
 

First published in The Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick
                        Volume I, Number 3, 1978