POPULAR
OCCULTURE 13
Reviews
by Shade Oroboros
Guest Reviews by Aion, Papa Nick, Justin Patrick Moore & Lyrus.
This is an
ongoing feature in Silver Star Journal. Any and all readers are
encouraged to send in book, film and music reviews for this column if
they feel they pertain in some way to the magickal community.
Please send submissions to: robertcarey12@gmail.com
Here, take this
book and peruse it well.
The iterating
of these lines brings gold;
The framing of
this circle on the ground
Brings thunder,
whirlwinds, storm, and lightning…”
- Marlowe's Tragedy
of Dr. Faustus
Reviews by Shade Oroboros
I’d
like to
begin by pointing you all to the new 2010 release of our sister journal
SilKMilK (s p o o l # 4), which
is just a stunning production both
technically and in terms of esoteric and artistic content: 70 very
varied contributors filling 184 glossy pages, 80 in full color, with a
great pull-out, a DVD with 80 minutes of video and 60 minutes of
audio/slideshows, plus an 80-minute audio CD with some amazing music.
It is beautifully designed and really shows the extreme diversity and
creativity performed at the cutting edge of multi-media magick, pushed
to the level of fine art. It is edited and published by our friend
Orryelle Defenestrate, who has created an astounding world indeed.
Ordering information is at:
http://www.crossroads.wild.net.au/silkmilk4.htm
and you can also see the covers in our announcement section (next page).
So, what’s new and notable? Okay, an unsung heroine and the Sabbatic
traditions first …
Homage To Pan: The Life, Art and
Sex-Magic of Rosaleen Norton by Neville Drury, Creation Oneiros
2009. 255 pages, many illustrations, bibliography, index.
Rosaleen Norton (1917-1979) was known as a controversial artist and
sorceress in Australia in the 1950s, a time and place not necessarily
conducive to such activities. She defined herself as a traditional
witch well before the Gardnerian revival became public, and her
bohemian lifestyle put her at odds with a very Christian and
conservative country; much of her notoriety arose from an obscenity
case centered on her artworks. The author Neville Drury, who has
written many excellent books on the occult, has done much to rescue her
from obscurity; his previous study of her life, Pan’s Daughter, is superseded by the
present massive work, which presents a great deal of her art, a full
account of her life and interesting associates, and an outline and
analysis of the modern magical revival (including Wicca, the Golden
Dawn and Crowley) before a providing a detailed description of her own
personal mythology and rather sophisticated practices of sexual sorcery
(centering on Pan, Hekate, Lilith and Lucifer). She was well
aware of the many aspects of the supernatural, psychological and
artistic trends of her time, and can be seen as independently
manifesting many of the same currents as Austin Spare; comparing their
art, one might think they had met at the same astral Sabbats. At the
same time, she wove a very creative system of her own, and Mr. Drury
does a wonderful job of delineating both her work and the many
parallels to it. This is a great book on magick in general, and the
best account of one of our forgotten heroines.
Thorn In The Flesh: A Grim-memoire
by Rosaleen Norton, edited by Keith Richmond, The Teitan Press, 2009.
160 pages, illustrated.
Keith Richmond is another true scholar of Norton’s life, and this is a
fascinating collection of her poetry, art, diaries and surviving occult
writings, which show a very rare, keen and independent intelligence and
a visionary and clairvoyant spirit at work. I would consider it the
other source essential to any serious study of her life and thought. A
longer review by Papa Nick is contributed below, read it!
Three Macabre Stories by
Rosaleen Norton, Teitan Press 2010, 63 pages,
illustrated.
Also edited and introduced by Mr. Richmond, perhaps a bit more
ephemeral, a few Weird Tales-like stories from Rosaleen’s younger days,
rather clever and quirky, and not without wit and entertainment value…
The Book of Pleasure in Plain English:
Based on Austin Spare's Original Work Paraphrased by C. J.
Chibnall, Winged Feet Productions, 131 pages.
This is actually a very clever idea, and quite well executed. Spare’s Book of Pleasure is one of the most
vital documents of modern sorcery, contributing the seminal concept of
sigils to Chaos Magick among other advances. Lao Tzu said, “My words
are very easy to understand.” Well, Spare’s are not. He was largely
self-educated, he employed a sophisticated, unusual, quirky vocabulary,
and the British historian of magic Dave Evans has suggested that he was
also dyslexic. Noting that Spare had been translated into various
foreign languages but not into English, Mr. Chibnall set himself the
task of deeply studying Spare’s writing and carefully paraphrasing the
entire book to clarify the process of comprehension, and I really think
he has succeeded. I have read Spare many times, always finding new
meanings, and this work (alongside the original or not) gives a whole
new focus to the essence of the message. My friend Aion commented (and
now I
am paraphrasing): “I thought he was crazy, but he really gets it!” I
agree. Gavin Semple also contributes an introduction; he is author of Zos Kia (hard to find!), which
joined the works of Kenneth Grant and Neville Drury in the canon of
Sparean studies…
Cover price is £9.99 plus £1.00 P&P in the UK, or in
the USA $20.00 via Paypal to chrischibnall@hotmail.com
(and ask him to sign it if you like). Highly recommended!
Opuscula Magica Vol. I: Essays on
Witchcraft and the Sabbatic Tradition by Andrew D. Chumbley,
Three Hands Press 2010. 150 pages, illustrated.
The late and lamented Andrew Chumbley is another of the artists and
heirs of true witchcraft, a man informed by the Sabbatic rites and the
traditional practices of cunning-men as well as the works of Spare and
Grant and esoteric religions ancient, Asian and otherwise. He is best
known for his books Azoetia, Qutub: The Point, and One: The Book of the Golden Toad,
and for those books being expensive and sadly hard to find. This
handsome
volume posthumously collects a number of his essays on such twilight
topics, and the mysterious depths of his writing show why he his
respected by those of us who search out such curious mysteries of olden
times and find them reborn anew… as usual, a limited edition.
Moving on to our customary Crowleyolatry…
The Magickal Essence of Aleister
Crowley by J. Edward Cornelius, privately published 2010. 246
pages, index.
The author was a friend and devoted student of the late Grady McMurtry,
and can claim legitimate O.T.O. and A.A. lineages. This important book
is a revised and expanded version of a once very controversial issue of
his influential journal Red Flame,
and is a study of some of the essential teachings at the core of
Thelema: the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel
and its roots in the Damon of classical greek and gnostic teachings,
the varieties and mutations of the Qabala, the nature of the Aeons and
the formulas of Babalon and Abrahadabra, and many other aspects of the
House That Crowley Built. And over fifty years after Crowley passed on,
it certainly seems to me that some progress and reevaluation is due,
that deep thought about the man’s complex and amazing system is in
order. Crowley constantly evolved, and it would be a shame if his
complex systems were frozen in time, becoming the embalmed relics of a
static cult. Living teachers maintain living systems, evolution is
essential, yet aside from the works of Kenneth Grant and a brave few
regarded as heretics there have been far too few authors who expanded
on Crowley's works instead of simply trying to explain them.
Thelemic Alchemy I by Frater
Serpentis Satori, iUniverse 2004, 177 pages.
A very interesting and suggestive attempt at covering a very large
subject: the alchemical (and tarot, specifically the Thoth deck)
subtexts that flow through the history of Hermetics and how they
re-emerge in the works of Crowley. Alchemy in these decadent times is
not studied as much as magick or astrology, but it remains an essential
pillar of the occult arts (and was also a key to the Golden Dawn). The
author began by attempting an analysis of the Enochian experiences
chronicled in The Vision & The
Voice and then expanded it to Liber
AL and the other Holy Books,
and it cannot be denied that many of the alchemical and Thelemic
sources contain parallel themes and very similar language and imagery.
He begins with introductions to the ancient Egyptian mythological and
later European sources including the work of Jung, and then delineates
the stages of the transformative process as he sees them. This does not
include much in the way of laboratory work but is presented more as a
series of personal Thelemic rituals and meditations, of dream-work and
guided meditation, a psychospiritual and even sexual initiation.
Some might find this a bit strange, but there is a great deal of
insight to consider here, and while I might vary on the details I
largely agree with the essential insight and utility of his thesis. I
really liked this book, it makes some very good points.
Beauty & Strength: Proceedings of
the Sixth Biennial National Ordo Templi Orientis Conference, OTO
USA 2009, 191 pages, illustrated.
Seventeen diverse presentations from O.T.O. luminaries at the 2007
conference, covering Crowley in the media and popular culture, aspects
of his writing in various Libers and the inevitable stuff about the
Gnostic Mass, untold history, tattoo- and sex-magick, and the vexed
questions of Thelemic Feminism. Clearly a sign of a movement maturing!
The Wickedest Books In The World:
Confessions of an Aleister Crowley Bibliophile by Blair
MacKenzie Blake, photography by Duncan Blake. Privately Published 2009,
99 pages, profusely illustrated.
A tribute to Crowley’s penchant for vanity publishing that is itself a
glossy piece of vanity publishing, and like Crowley himself is vastly
entertaining. The author is best known as the lyricist of the well
known and quite Thelemic band Tool,
and the work opens with an excellent long essay upon the evolution and
expansion of the Crowley phenomenon in the popular and esoteric
mutations of modern times. It then wanders through a very amusing
account of a quest to collect Crowley first editions and the odd ways
they were acquired, illustrated with photos of many unusual, expensive
and hard-to-find volumes. There is also consideration of the nature of
the collector’s mania and how it may spill over into magical
obsessions. Perhaps a volume for the dedicated specialist, but
hey, I can relate…
IJYNX by Blair MacKenzie Blake.
Privately Published 2004, 103 pages.
From the same author, a collection of magical poetry and Thelemic
invocations: soaked in opium and sensuality, lush and lusty, deep and
dark, esoteric and erotic, suggestive of decadent rites, and influenced
in part by one of Crowley’s oddest and least-known but very interesting
works, his
account of the fabled Lost Continent. While consulted only by certain
cognoscenti, Liber LI: Atlantis
does contain many veiled allusions to sexual magicks that the dedicated
decipherer may well find enlightening. Kenneth Grant has described Mr.
Blake’s volume as “…glittering wordplay… dazzling in their jeweled
splendour.” Spot on!
Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune: The
Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of the Age by Alan Richardson,
Llewellyn Publications 2009, 194 pages.
An exceptionally entertaining work of esoteric history, exploring two
of the great mages of the last century. Both emerged from the Golden
Dawn to found orders of their own which still survive, and both found a
stream of sexuality in their magical lives that was alien to the
Victorian ethos. This is a comparative study, beginning with their
deaths and going back through their parallel and occasionally meeting
lives. It works as biography and gossip, as a history of ideas and of
personalities (and they both had strong personalities!). Many new
sources and documents make this a unique view of two unique and often
controversial innovators.
Another longer review by Papa Nick is
contributed below, read it!
Miscellaneous magick…
The Inner Guide to Egypt by
Alan Richardson, Llewellyn Publications 2010, 190 pages, illustrated,
bibliography, index.
From the same author, a multi-dimensional guide to Egypt, “the mother
of magicians.” A rather odd but always interesting work, bouncing
around the history, geography, culture, divinities and metaphysics of
the Nile with guided meditations and words of wisdom. The gods empower
magick, and the best way to contact gods old or new is to immerse
yourself in their culture, whether through meditation, creating your
own artifacts, or taking big art books out of the library… and this
book
makes a number of subtle connections.
The
Sorcerer’s Secrets: Strategies in Practical Magick by Jason
Miller
(Inominandum), New Page 2009. 224 pages, illustrated, index,
bibliography.
This is a very clever book that condenses a large number of useful and
powerful techniques (including the basics like breathing and
meditation) from a number of diverse cultural streams (including
Ceremonial Magick, Tantric Yoga and Hoodoo, NLP and how to pick up
girls). The
author also works as a professional sorcerer, so his concern really is
practical and repeatable results, which implies working on several
levels, mobilizing mundane as well
as esoteric efforts for important things like finance and romance and
psychic self-defense; and
of course one must occasionally deal with base reality on its own
terms, even though
magick and divination can also really give you an edge. Money does not
arrive by simply materializing from thin air: you need a channel, and
you need to know how to handle it once you have it. Divination provides
intelligence. This is indeed a
‘field manual’ designed to give you tools and strategies on many
levels, and I hope we all know you really have to work for change to
have it
happen. Highly recommended, this is the real deal.
His website is http://www.inominandum.com/home.html
and his blog http://strategicsorcery.blogspot.com/
Where Do Demons Live? Everything You
Want To Know About Magic by Frater U.’.D.’. (Writing as Aunt
Klara), Llewellyn 2010, 187 pages.
Frater U.’.D.’. has contributed four interesting previous volumes on
arcane matters sigilic, chaotic, sexual and historical. This is that
fairly rare bird, a straightforward beginner’s guide to post-modern
sorcery, personalities and movements, and sensible answers to burning
questions sent in by his readers (Dear Abbey of Thelema?).
Practical advice is always appreciated on the labyrinthine path to
enlightenment… as with any other volatile experiment, it is wise to
know how to not blow oneself up… and he deals out the straight skinny
on some of the magical orders and personalities of our time in an
informative and entertaining way.
The Spiritual Journey of Alejandro
Jodorowsky: The Creator of El Topo by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Park
Street Press 2008, 288 pages.
Alejandro Jodorowsky is mostly known for his stunning
films (including El Topo, The Holy Moutain and Sante Sangre) and like Fellini and
Greenaway, he is an excellent example of the director as magician. This
very personal memoir narrates his experiences with his meditation
teacher (the Zen Master Ejo Takata) and also the circle of various wise
women (or magiciennes) who guided his path toward enlightenment. These
included the surrealist writer and painter Leonora Carrington;
Reyna
D’Assia,
daughter of the spiritual
teacher G. I. Gurdjieff; Doña
Magdalena, who taught him “initiatic” massage; a Mexican
actress known as La Tigresa; María Sabina, the famous priestess
of
the sacred mushrooms; the healer Pachita and the Chilean singer Violeta
Parra. A remarkable story.
The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual
Teacher in the Cards by Alejandro Jodorowsky &
Marianne Costa, Destiny Books 2009, 552 pages, illustrated.
Jodorowsky has also studied the Tarot deeply since the early
1950s, and apparently still does readings for the public. This massive
work on the art of the original Marseille Tarot (one of the oldest
still in popular use, created during the 11th century according to
some) exhaustively explores the minutest details of each card’s
symbolism as a “nomadic cathedral” of psychological, spiritual
and hermetic symbolism. Mandalas are formed and insights found on many
levels, in a striking example of ancient tradition reinvented for the
future.
Origins of the Tarot: Cosmic Evolution and
the Principles of
Immortality by Dai Léon, Frog Books 2009. 548 pages,
illustrated.
Most authorities trace the Tarot cards to medieval Italy, but the roots
of these images may go back much further in time and have been ascribed
to many other cultures and spiritual traditions. The author finds
viable connections including “Kabbalah, Western esotericism and
alchemy, Buddhism, Taoism, yogic disciplines, Sufism, mystical
Christianity, Gnosticism, and Neoplatonism,” and I imagine one could
make something of a good case for all of these; personally I would
point to Egyptian and Greco-Roman influences as well, passed down
through a long line of philosophers and heretics. This is a substantial
and thought-provoking study, ranging widely over many centuries and
much geography. I may not buy into all of his thesis (the Asian
connections
are perhaps a bit of a stretch) but in the end, what has the tarot
become if not an ever-expanding and multidimensional dance
incorporating all the archetypes of the human race?
Turning to the historical grimoire tradition:
Qabalah, Qlipoth & Goetic Magic
by Thomas Karlsson, Ajna 2009. 240 pages, illustrated.
A very dark book, collecting a vast amount of traditional lore
(Judeo-Christian and Goetic) and magical practice regarding the
Nightside universe, the Tree of Death that balances the Tree of Life.
Rigorous enough to be an academic title, dangerous enough for you to be
found dismembered in the morning, with a full panoply of daemonic seals
and the necessary extracts from the grimoires. Written by the founder
of the esoteric order Dragon Rouge.
Legion 49 by Barry William
Hale, Fulgur Ltd. 2009, illustrated.
A true grimoire, a catalog of demons illustrated in
the blackest outlines of the paper-cut traditions of old Mexico, along
with practical advice and scholarly essays on the ancient mythologies
which evolved into the Solomonic traditions common to the
judeo-xian-islamic and now Thelemic evocation… a darkly beautiful
volume, for those who dare! And who have a genuine personal
relationship with Beelzebub.
The Book of Abramelin: A New
Translation edited by Georg Dehn,
translated by Steven Guth, Ibis Press 2006. 270 pages, illustrated,
bibliography.
This grimoire is one of the ancient wellsprings of current magick,
especially important for the concept of the Knowledge and Conversation
of the Holy Guardian Angel (which is central to Thelema). It was
probably written by Abraham von Worms, long thought to be a
pseudonymous figure, but who was very likely a 14th century Jewish
scholar named Rabbi Jacob ben Moses ha Levi Moellin. This is the first
modern translation since that of MacGregor Mathers’ well known version
over 100 years ago, and includes much important additional material
omitted from the sources he accessed. It is traditionally a bad idea to
use an incomplete grimoire, especially one which has such a reputation
for actually working. This edition includes all the extant manuscripts,
which make it much more clear how it was used in practice. A very
important historical work.
The Veritable Key of Solomon by
Stephen Skinner & David Rankine,
Llewellyn 2008, 446 pages, illustrated and indexed.
Yet another vast improvement over the earlier translation by
MacGregor Mathers, consolidating and annotating three separate variant
editions of perhaps the most famous book of ceremonial magick. Solomon
was the King of demons and djinn as well as Israel, and both biblical
and islamic folklore recount tales of his exploits. The book itself is
of course medieval, but records traces of many older traditions, and is
one of the most coherent grimoires. Still in use today, as the magical
signs on the necessary dagger can still be seen on the hilts of
Gardnerian athames. Another very important historical volume, in a very
handsome edition.
The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy
by Henry Cornelius Agrippa (and
others), edited & annotated by Donald Tyson, Llewellyn 2009.
465 pages, index, bibliography.
Mr. Tyson has completed the scholarly work he began with the earlier
release of Three Books of Occult
Philosophy (previously reviewed). This is “a fully
annotated, corrected, and modernized edition of Stephen Skinner’s 1978
facsimile edition of the original work, which was six tracts published
as one volume in 1655.” It contains seminal works on Astrology,
Geomancy, Ceremonial Magic, and Necromancy, including the famous texts
of the Heptameron and Arbatel of Magic. Annotated and well explained,
these two volumes represent some of the best and most consulted sources
of their times.
Guest
Book Reviews by Papa Nick
AMERICAN
TANTRA: A Modern Guide to Sacred Sex by Sienna Newcastle,
iUniverse,
2009.
This is the
first book I would recommend to someone who knows little about Tantra
but wants to learn what it is really all about. They would learn
that Tantra is more than sex with an oriental ambience; it takes work
-- months or years of it -- before one's body and mind are truly
prepared to harness the primal power of sexual energy. In manuals
of Traditional Tantra, this course of training is often obscured by
layers of symbolism and Hindu religious concepts, and in more recent
books of Neo- or New Age Tantra the goal seems to be "playing with"
sexual energy rather than mastering it. AMERICAN TANTRA stands
out as the most practical and to-the-point manual on this subject I
have ever read.
The most
"American" thing about the book is its straightforwardness; the author
clearly knows what she is talking about and says it in plain
English. The Chakras are not even called by their traditional
Indian names (sacrilege!) but by English words describing their
function. Another "American" aspect is her classification of the
three modus operandi of each exercise -- white for solo, red for
couples, and blue for group workings. This, the author admits, is
not Traditional Tantra, but is a modern adaptation of it. It might not
be based on a lineage, but it is founded on the bedrock of
experience. Americans (and Westerners in general) tend to like
this approach: "Forget the speculation: let's cut to the chase".
There is a
profound philosophy enveloping the Tantric path, but at its core it is
a series of psycho-physical exercises designed to increase awareness of
and control over the energy field of the body. These exercises,
described clearly, are the focus of this book, but it doesn't read like
a technical manual. There is alot of earthy humor herein, and the
results of the practices are colorfully illustrated by insets of
success stories from her pupils. Definitions of some of the
"alien" terminology and words are highlighted in shaded boxes within
the text so that these are not lost amidst the instructions.
"American
Tantra" is a fresh approach to an ancient subject, and that makes it
stand out from the dozens of other books that are merely rehashings of
Hindu/Buddhist sexual yoga.
ALEISTER
CROWLEY AND DION FORTUNE: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of the
Age by Alan Richardson, Llewellyn Publications, 2009.
I've thought
it, and maybe you have too: Dion Fortune's contribution to modern
Magick, while not so trumpeted as that of the Crowley's, was in fact
the complement and counterbalance to the excesses of the Great Wild
Beast. Now somebody has written a book about it, and Fortune has
at long last been shown the respect she deserves.
Crowley is best
known for his magnum opus "Magick in Theory and Practice", a book which
is impossible to understand at first reading, and requires the study of
many of his other books and essays before it finally makes sense.
Fortune's perennial gem is "The Mystical Qabalah", still the best
introductory book on the subject, not only because of its depth of
wisdom but because of its clarity. Fortune never tries to talk
down to her readers, or thrown in intentionally misleading
statements. Crowley, on the other hand, took a perverse joy in
having a personal laugh at his readers' expense, and wallowed in the
role of high mucky-muck Guru. Fortune's approach was certainly
more mature and measured.
Not that
Fortune was immune from concealing her true meaning behind veiled
words; in her novels she skirted around the details of her formula of
sexual polarity -- the explicit instructions were probably only
available to initiates of her own Fraternity of the Inner Light.
That's too bad, because her "sexual polarity" truly seems to be a more
balanced approach to sexual magick than Crowley spermo-gnosticism.
Richardson's
presentation of the parallels between the lives of the two Masters is
unique in that it is just the opposite of chronological -- the chapters
are arranged so that the first is about their lives and influence at
the time of their deaths, and the last is about their birth and early
childhood. This makes it more involving for readers who are only
familiar with the legacy they left: in this approach, the story
unravels as it travels backwards to its beginning.
The author
makes it clear that Crowley and Fortune were far from rivals or
enemies, in fact, if they seemed distanced from one another, it was
because their philosophies were more in tune than their respective
students realized. There is good evidence that at the time of her
death, Fortune was ready to go public with her acceptance of the Law of
Thelema. This would not have been a case of Fortune submitting to
Crowley's will, it would have been an acknowledgement, in my opinion,
that Crowley did not in fact own Thelema. It would have been the
Shakti of the New Age claiming her rightful place astride the Logos of
the Aeon.
THORN IN THE
FLESH: A Grim-memoire by Rosaleen Norton, edited by Keith
Richmond, The
Teitan Press, 2009.
Fascinating
fragments from the notebooks and diaries of Australian artist/occultist
"Roie" Norton, the notorious "Witch of Kings Cross" who shocked postwar
Sydney with her sinistererotic paintings based on her traffick with
spirits, elementals, gods and "the littles". These words lay
hidden for decades until Richmond was given permission to cull a
selection of her secret writings for presentation to the public.
Roie was a
"born witch" if there ever was one, attuned to the elemental and
animals kingdoms even as a child. She was self-taught, but said
she gained most of her magical instructions from her familiar
spirits. Not finding what she sought in the qabalistic/masonic
orders she developed her own system of the Witch Craft. She was
an ardent devotee of Pan; the small coven she drew into her orbit
followed a traditional Welsh path called the "Goat Fold".
The first
edition of the book came with a CD of readings by Roie, and this brings
her even more to life -- she has the smoky, animated voice you might
expect, and a very wicked sense of humor.
“The
Bodmin Moor Zodiac”, by Nigel Ayers
Reviewed
by Justin Patrick Moore
Since 2006
Nigel Ayers work has been focused on the investigation of folklore and
geography of place, specifically his home in Cornwall, England. As part
of his ongoing guerilla sign ontology campaign to boycott consensus
reality he undertook a series of ritual walks into Cornwall’s sacred
landscape, documented in this book from 2007. Part narrative essay and
part scientific log, with ample photographic evidence provided by his
wife Lesley, it follows Nigel’s journey into the Otherworld through the
zodiac gateways of the Bodmin Moor.
As I read this
book my consciousness was systematically disarranged. Nigel Ayers does
to the landscape what William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin did with
text, using cut-ups and fold-ins as a method for designing the ritual
walking routes. He also employs the Situationist technique of
detournement applying it to a territory or space, calling it spatial
detournemen. Contrasting this idea with the concept of recuperation
(when originally seditious ideas and cultural works are appropriated by
the mainstream) Nigel has created a technique for revolutionary
rambling, where the walker, “reuses elements of a known territory to
explore a new psychic space with a different meaning”. This meaning
steps past established boundaries leading the walker into frontiers
that have not yet been demarcated.
The subject of
his investigation is the terrestrial zodiac of the Bodmin Moor, an
enormously scaled map of the stars formed by the features of a
landscape, such as lanes, creeks, hedges and walls. The Bodmin Moor is
famous for its many rocky granite tors. It is also legendary among
cryptozoologists as being inhabited by the Beast, a phantom cat sighted
on numerous occasions and rumored to have slain and mutilated livestock
in the area. The idea of terrestrial zodiacs, disputed by the
scientific establishment, remains a popular motif among folklorists and
in occult circles.
The book is
illustrated with trace maps of the ritual walks made by a novel use of
global positioning satellites for each of the twelve zodiac signs
explored. These are used comparatively with the shapes of Cornwall’s
Bodmin Moor landscape zodiac, illustrated with cut outs in the proper
constellation shape from a road map, with the shapes made by the ritual
walks. It is remarkable how close the GPS trace maps resemble the
shapes of the constellations, and is part of what makes this book such
an important artifact. The chapters for each sign also contain bits and
pieces of curious lore about the star signs and the stories behind
them. These chapters also describe things observed along the routes
that correspond to the various characteristics associated with the
zodiac signs and their constellations. This shows off the fractal
concept Nigel calls “nested signs in nested landscapes”. These parts of
the text read more like a logbook, yet the way he manages to tie
disparate ideas together holds my attention.
Audio field
recordings were also made as part of the documentation of this
psychogeographic project. Later they were used in a sound installation
called “The Planetarium Must Be Built!” consisting of multiple CD
players placed in a circle within a geodesic dome, along with visual
material, and things to interact with such as books and texts. I am
curious to hear these recordings and it would have been a nice touch if
the book had come with a CD containing a selection of the recordings.
However, with this book being a print-on-demand title I can understand
how it might not have been easy logistically or cost effective to
include a disc. Maybe they’ll turn up on some future Nocturnal
Emissions material. He’s been known to use field recordings extensively
in the past on such masterpieces as “Stoneface/SpiritFlesh” among
others.
With the work
recorded here Nigel Ayers has really done a service to the field of
psychogeography. While he does not encourage walking on the same routes
as he made, stating rather that people should make up their own, he
does provide a blueprint and methodology that can be used as a starting
point for other people who wish to further explore and use
landscapes creatively. The book, heavy with applied artistic theory,
also shows him as being comfortably at home in the 21st century, a true
multimedia and multidimensional artist working on several levels
simultaneously.
This title is
available from Earthly Delights (www.earthlydelights.co.uk) See also,
www.nigelayers.com .
Note: this
piece originally appeared at www.brainwashed.com , specifically at the
following URL: http://brainwashed.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8015&Itemid=1
Authors
to Look
For by
Lyrus
The readers of
this E-Magazine are undoubtedly conversant with many authors of both
fiction and non-fiction that are worthy of praise. There are, however,
two authors, one of fiction, one of non-fiction, that remain lamentably
unknown to many that I talk with.
Tim
Powers
Tim Powers is a
two-time winner of the World Fantasy Award, and both a Nebula and Hugo
Award nominee. He was a protégé of Philip K. Dick, and
counts as friends both James Blaylock and K. W. Jeter. He will be the
Guest of Honor at the 2011 Worldcon in Reno, Nevada.
His novels are
set in diverse locations – modern day L.A. and Las Vegas, medieval
Vienna, the Caribbean Sea in the early 17th century. There is always an
historical basis for the frameworks of his stories – the British spy
Kim Philby and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the depredations of
the pirate Blackbeard, and his death at the hands of the British Navy,
Einstein and his invention of a time/space travel machine. Then, in
between the historically recorded events, he interpolates of the
darnedest explanations for them: djinn from the Arabian Desert, the
Fountain of Youth as a quantum-mechanical device, and pirates as
devotees of the Loa.
His plots are
fast moving, his characters well developed, and the supernatural
elements are sure to give you chills. He does his research, whether it
is voodoo (On Stranger Tides) or the history of Tarot and playing cards
(Last Call). I have never had anything but great reads from Tim Powers.
As a point of
interest, his fourth novel was optioned by Disney and will be coming
out in 2011 as “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.”
Be afraid, be
very afraid…
Teilhard de
Chardin
Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin was a walking contradiction. A Jesuit Priest, he
was trained as a geologist and paleontologist. He spent years in the
field, digging human fossils in Europe, China and India. He wrote a
number of books on human evolution and so raised the ire of the Vatican
that he was not allowed to publish his books (in his lifetime).
However, after his death, the publication of these books raised him to
a high position in minds outside the Church, On the table next to his
death bed, Jung had a copy of “The Phenomenon of Man”, which he
considered a great book.
If Charles
Stansfeld Jones announced the Aeon of Maat to Thelemites, de Chardin
announced it to the rest of the world, though not in those terms. In
The Phenomenon of Man he analyzes the evolution of the universe, from
primordial dust to the sun and planets, to the development of life, and
then to the phenomenon of consciousness, as exemplified by human kind.
The concept of a universal field of consciousness he calls the
Noosphere. I prefer to think of it as the Internet. In addition, this
consciousness is not proceeding blindly, but is being directed, pulled
along, from a point in the future, which he calls the Omega Point. I
call it N’Aton.
It should be
pointed out that de Chardin received criticism not only from the
Vatican, but from scientists as well. Not all of them related well to
the spiritual aspect that he imparted to the evolutionary force.
Though he wrote
many works, The Phenomenon of Man remains probably his best-known work.
No doubt it represents a synthesis of his positions as both Catholic
Priest and evolutionary paleontologist. It is available in translation,
and I’m sorry I didn’t pay more attention to my French lessons. It is
not an easy read, but well worth the effort.
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