SILVER STAR

"Every man and every woman is a star."
- Liber AL vel Legis c. I, v. 3

INTRODUCTION

Greetings & Welcome!
To the first issue of the second volume of SILVER STAR,
"An Unofficial Organism of the A.'.A.'."
(or should that be 'Orgasm'?)

We are the Occult Arts & Leisure section that the NY Times secretly wishes it had.
With our Greatly Honored Editor Emeritus Aion now retiring to his yurt,
I have somehow mysteriously become the Head Monkey in Charge (Ape of Thoth?),
and I trust that I will maintain our tradition of Outlaw Magick and Great Art.
On a personal note, so far I have learned two things that Aion clearly already knew:
that doing this journal take takes a hell of a lot of time and effort (he did it 11 times!),
and it also takes a lot of prime material from many fine people to make it work!
The man really deserves much good karma for building this house we are playing in now!

So do not send us 'your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free', what
we really need is your Visions of Art: painting, sculpture, photography, embroidery or collage,
and your Voices of Magick: articles, rituals, reviews, poetry, fiction and humor.

Looking back at our first six years and 11 issues,
I am struck by the stunning creativity and diversity of the
Worldwide Magickal Community,
and the ease with which the Internet enables us all to Subvert the Dominant Paradigm
by spreading Art, Music, Film, Sex, Politics, Science, Freedom, and especially Magick.

The World Wide Web is now enabling resistance to oppression around the Globe:
in Iran and Tibet, in Burma and Russia, in Europe and China, Africa and the Americas,
the winds of Change are blowing harder, and progress is becoming less of an illusion.

Every creative act can be in its way a revolutionary act, a personal act,
a magical moment in time when we do make a decision and a difference.
Whenever we change our minds, our lives, we are building the future:
a New Aeon and a brighter world.

It may seem that as individuals we have little influence, but new ideas spread in odd ways,
and there is nothing that tyrants fear more than people with the freedom to think.
Throw a stone into the rippling waters, shoot a burning arrow into the sky,
make a difference in someone's life, pass what you have learned along.
You never know what may come of it, but very odd things do happen...
in a life made strange out of magick!

Honor & Thanks to all our Brothers and Sisters of the Royal Art: as Aleister Crowley said,
"Great Kings and Queens of Thebes and Babylon."

While I am giving thanks, I will also apologize, since this issue was a bit late in coming out.
That was pretty much all my fault (steep learning curve, unforseen events, chaos)
although I am officially blaming bloody Mercury Retrograde; however,
I would like to thank Denny, Jim & Jody in the US and Ariel and Tim in the UK for technical advice.

~ Shade Oroboros

“The profession of magician is one of the most perilous and arduous specializations of the imagination.
On the one hand there is the hostility of God and the police to be guarded against;
on the other it is as difficult as music,
as deep as poetry, as ingenious as stage-craft,
as nervous as the manufacture of high explosives,
and as delicate as the trade in narcotics.”
    -William Bolitho, Twelve Against The Gods

OUR MANIFESTO:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Welcome to Silver Star: A Journal of New Magick. It is being presented to you free, in e-zine format.
As your interest and our resources permit, our ultimate goal is to also release it in printed form.

WHAT:

This unique Journal of Mysteries is totally eclectic, with a focus on serious practical and theoretical essays, fiction, rituals, art and poetry that all express The High Art: those countless aspects of magick and the alchemy of the 'Great Work'. The material herein is primarily, although not limited to, the realm of Thelema. This means operating on the principle of love under will. Other terms such as Tantrik, Shamanic, Chaotic, Wiccan and so on may also apply. The Will to Love is the Law to Live.
In the end, Silver Star is what our contributors and readers choose to make of it.

WHO:

While being in a sense a magickal child of The Horus/Maat Lodge, Silver Star is not limited in any way to being a 'house organ' for the Lodge. Silver Star seeks to provide an open source and forum for all serious Adepts who will to share with their Brothers and Sisters the work of the Art Magick. A closed system dies. We seek to help inspire the metaphysical knowledge of the New Gnosis as an open system. Our simple goal: The magickal evolution of humanity.

HOW:

 You send us wonders and we will help spread them. Omnia Veritas (everything is true) . If you like what you see here, then we want your work as well. All arcane materials are acceptable from all types of open-minded people, belonging to any and all (or absolutely no) orders, lodges, circles and so on. Sincerity, scholarship, and creativity are our desired qualities. Silver Star seeks to represent the widest possible spectrum of Magick and its practice as it is evolving now. Most disciplines have a Journal that transcends politics and becomes a serious forum for the whole community, a free space where ideas and knowledge can be shared. This is ours.

WHY:

Because we can. Many of us marvel at the current proliferation of magick everywhere. Who has not witnessed the fertile chaos of these uncertain times? Who has not found the tools and information necessary to create conscious change in abundant supply? Cyberspace and the tools thereof provide powerful ways to effect change with Will. We can Evolve. Each one of us now lives in a world where critical choices must be made. As the old song goes: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." We are united in one simple ideal: Love IS the Law. Do you truly know how much your heart weighs?

WHERE:

HERE and NOW! This is all that matters. We are scattered about the globe, a beautiful 'net of stars', yet in this magick circle of cyberspace we are together. Let us gather in love and will to share our visions and affirm our unity. This is a time of great changes: a new consciousness is rising phoenix-like from the ashes of a restrictive age. Let it take flight here.

If you are Asatru, Buddhist, Chaote, Druid, Enochian, Faerie, Gnostic, Heretic, Illuminati, Jungian, Kali-worshipping, Lovecraftian, Maatian, Nordic, OTO, Pagan, Qabalist, Rosicrucian, Shaman, Taoist, Unitarian, Voudon, Wiccan, Xenophile, Yezidic, Zoroastrian, or something completely different, Silver Star is your e-zine. The editors gratefully acknowledge the many contributions that have been made to our project.  We hope that our readers will find connections with the magickal experiences presently assembled before you.
 

 Silver Star Editorial Collective

 Nemus, Aion, Shade, Nema
 

Love is the law. love under will.

'In the velvet darkness
Of the blackest night
Burning bright
There's a guiding star
No matter what or who you are...'
- Rocky Horror Picture Show

robertcarey12@gmail.com

Publication dates: Spring & Fall Equinox
Deadlines: One Month Before each Equinox

There is no payment for submissions except Good Karma. Authors/artists all retain their copyrights.
We request that submissions, if possible, be sent in MS WORD as attachments or as text documents
(rich text is fine as well). Images as GIFs or JPGs, and please keep them small memory-wise and size-wise! Thanks! Also, please be very clear about the titles of your pieces and the names you want to be known by!
The journal often has text centered on the pages, one reason for this is the formats in which we receive submissions, often this is the best way we can display them on the web page without intensive editing.
Note that I do NOT edit for style, content, grammar or typos, I spend my effort getting it up online;
  PLEASE send ready-to-print materials. In other words, all typos and grammatical errors are owned by their authors. Any major mistakes or problems with our content, contact me and I'll attempt to fix them...

All works in this journal are copyright their creators 2009. All else is copyright Silver Star Journal 2009.