The Brass Goggles Occult Society...The Esoteric Order of the Brazen Dawn...

[jarmara]

I do remember one particularly entertaining glamour that an old friend of mine used to cast. It's more of a trick than the occult although it is very Victorian in its execution.

1) Have a nice roast chicken dinner. collect a good number of the small bones, clean, heat in the oven for about 10 minutes at around 80 degrees, put them in a good strong cup of tea (no milk 2 bags) for about 20 minutes, return to the oven for another 10. Remove and leave to cool.

2) Get a nice round bit of belly leather or cotton sacking. Stitch a draw string around the top. Find a nice bollocks occulty symbol from the internet (NOTHING DANGEROUS) paint this on the inside of the round circle. This is your prophesy bag.

3) At the party seat yourself apart from most people open the bag take out the bones, shake them 3 times in your hand and drop them gently onto the circle. Pretend to read the bones, take the one that's nearest to the centre and place it somewhere "significant" on the design. Throw the bones again. And on ad infinitum.

4) People will arrive. Get the idea that there is some method going on and try to work it out. It the mean time they'll hang on your every word as long as you keep it fairly general. Don't get trapped into specific yes no questions ask more questions than you answer.

This technique was used by Rodger (TM) a Bournemouth goth around 1993. To date (last in contact 1997) it had resulted in 6 shags and over 50 free drinks. I now pass this cheeky little trick onto you. Use it wisely.
   

Well done, that man! There's a lot of this sort of thing in a branch of magic called "bizarre". It's to do with storytelling and dark places. Lovely stuff with some lovely props to match. In fact, I'm giving a talk to the Doomsday conference in Whitby next Friday night. It's a full house, too, which should be fun.

If there are still places open, I'd very much like to be included in the Esoteric Order of the Brazen Dawn. May I present my bona fides: I'm the seance master every Halloween at a friend's party and have read the old tarot cards since I was 14.

I hope you had a good time at Doomsday My two best friends had a stand at the confrence (Aquarius Magic), they said it was good this year and that the talks and shows were very good indeed.

[Khem Caigan]

Let the Mystic Circumambulation take
place in the Path of Darkness, with the
Light of Occult Science to guide the Way!

< circumambulates the temple with
steampumpkin and thurible >

Inheritor of a Dying World, We call Thee
to the Living Beauty.

Wanderer in the Wild Darkness, We call
Thee to the Gentle Light.

Child of Earth, long hast Thou dwelt in
Darkness - quit the Night and seek the
Day!

Welcome, Frater Plinth, to the Order
of the Brazen Dawn.

[Isidore]

I am a practising Pagan and i know a fair bit about it.

[Lord Nicholas Horsethorn]

Hello Fraters & Sorors

Just thought I'd throw in a mention of a forum you might be interested in, with the restrictions here about discussing religion

http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php

It's a continuation of the BBC Religion & Ethics board, which was closed down a while back.

Hope to see you there?

Lord Nick

[Tito Alba]

This could be an interesting thread.

I've been intrigued by occult shenanigans for a long time with some of the members of the Golden Dawn being the first Victorian eccentrics that inspired me to steampunk activity so you can count me in, if I can find a pair of sponsors and rustle up the initiation fees

[Khem Caigan]

I've been intrigued by occult shenanigans for a long time with some of the members of the Golden Dawn being the first Victorian eccentrics that inspired me to steampunk activity so you can count me in, if I can find a pair of sponsors and rustle up the initiation fees

Simply choose the name or motto you would
be known by here; Brother Ayton vouches for
you.

His Work has made the collection of fees
quite unnecessary.

[Khem Caigan]

Another text from the E.'.O.'.B.'.D.'. Archives :

The Magicians of the Golden Dawn
by Ellic Howe, 1972
( 13.63 MB .PDF )

The file is down as of 10/8/2011EV.

If anyone would like a copy, please
feel free to message or email me.

[Seaton Begg]

I suppose that as the League of Steam Illuminati is locked I will find a home here instead 

Using steam power to immanentize the eschaton should be fun.

Any other Discordians in the club?

[Tito Alba]

I always had a fondness for the philosophical anarchism and downright silliness of the discordians, although I never pursued it in any organised fashion.  Just as a discordian should!

I was once going to design my own discordian society called the Ordo Pileus Illumintas Veritas Maximus, the Order of the Illuminated Hats of Great Truth, or O.P.I.V.M. for short.  Its rules were naturally secret and revealed gradually through initiation but suffice to say, if you have ever felt a gut urge to bow in deference to a truly impressive hat, then you might have what it takes.

[Frater Salem]

Greetings, Frater:

Just at a cursory - and admittedly superficial - glance, I noticed that the particular sigil of Scorpio you have presented contains within it three reversed eihwas (yew) runes of the Elder Futhark. Interestingly enough, I note that the yew is a representative of the connection between worlds, and that Scorpio as an astrological sign governs the majority of the month of October, to include Samhain, that time of year when the veil between worlds is thinnest. Perhaps you may find more of what you seek in further Work based on these associations.

With Regards,

Fr. Gideon Salem

Can anyone recommend a good book on symbolism?

I'm particualrly intrigued by all aspects zodiacal and alchemical attributed to the Scorpio symbol.

e.g.

[Khem Caigan]

Another text from the E.'.O.'.B.'.D.'. Archives :

The Complete Golden Dawn System of Magic
by Israel Regardie, 1984
( 16.14 MB .PDF )

The file is down as of 11/12/2011EV.

If anyone would like a copy, please
feel free to message or email me.

[Kieranfoy]

Hallo, all!

Kieranfoy, pagan-ish researcher of the natural and unnatural, sometime Lovecraftian Magick-practicioner and general student of the occult, present for duty, sah!

As a little side note, I happen to be wearing a pendant with the Elder Sign engraved on it at the moment. Any thoughts of the efficacy of such a symbol in RL occultism?

[Khem Caigan]

As a little side note, I happen to be wearing a pendant with the Elder Sign engraved on it at the moment. Any thoughts of the efficacy of such a symbol in RL occultism?

Welcome, Kieran!

I would say that the one designed by Lovecraft beats
the one designed by me for the Schlangekraft edition
of the Necronomicon, hands down!

I'm a big fan of Moonheart, by-the-way

Welcome to the E.'.O.'.B.'.D.'.!

[Kieranfoy]

Oh, I wouldn't say that. Assuming I know which version you're referring to, it's a fine, fine symbol, very mystical in appearance, and well conceived. My congratulations on it!

I merely chose Lovecrafts 'tree' version due to it's simplicity. It was my first engraving, with unsuitable tools on a fasvorite old pendant of mine, and I didn't want to muck it up.

And thank you for the welcome.

Hey! Don't I get a fancy poem-intiation-thing?

[Khem Caigan]

Let the Mystic Circumambulation take
place in the Path of Darkness, with the
Light of Occult Science to guide the Way!

< circumambulates the temple with
steampumpkin and thurible >

Inheritor of a Dying World, We call Thee
to the Living Beauty.

Wanderer in the Wild Darkness, We call
Thee to the Gentle Light.

Child of Earth, long hast Thou dwelt in
Darkness - quit the Night and seek the
Day!

Welcome, Frater Kieran Foy, to the Order
of the Brazen Dawn.

[neon_suntan]

As a little side note, I happen to be wearing a pendant with the Elder Sign engraved on it at the moment. Any thoughts of the efficacy of such a symbol in RL occultism?

Welcome, Kieran!

I would say that the one designed by Lovecraft beats
the one designed by me for the Schlangekraft edition
of the Necronomicon, hands down!

Ah ha so you're THAT Khem Caigan, I thought you'd just picked the name 'cause of it's Lovecraft connection etc. The whole Necronomicon/Simon story is fascinating, i hope that the The Necronomicon Files by Gonce and Harms was mostly accurate in it's descriptions?

[Khem Caigan]

Ah ha so you're THAT Khem Caigan, I thought you'd just picked the name 'cause of it's Lovecraft connection etc. The whole Necronomicon/Simon story is fascinating, i hope that the The Necronomicon Files by Gonce and Harms was mostly accurate in it's descriptions?

There were several unfortunate factual errors committed
by Harms & Gonce, some of them involving me, and a few
of them were addressed in their online errata at
http://www.necfiles.org/errata , but it appears that
necfiles.org no longer exists.

Peter Levenda <aka "Simon"> exploits some of these
errors in his Dead Names, in order to further muddy
the waters and perpetuate his lie about the origin of the
Simonomicon - he sticks to his bogus tale of the
book being among the texts swiped by Michael Hubak
and Steven Chapo [blithely ignoring the fact that this
would put him in receipt of stolen goods, thereby making
him an accomplice to their crimes].

There is a scan of a copyright registration form that
identifies Peter Levenda as Simon available on Dan Harm's
blog, by-the-way :

http://tinyurl.com/coss8m

Dan Harms has posted some further criticism of Levenda's
Dead Names on his blog, Papers Falling From an Attic
Window, here :

http://tinyurl.com/yaq8ddb

There is also the matter of Jason Colavito's claim that
Harms and Gonce "managed to track down the illustrator
of the Simon Necronomicon, Khem Caigan, whose work
continues to masquerade as genuine ancient mystical
symbols." < in his essay, Inside the Necronomicon,
available here:

http://tinyurl.com/294e9d >

Jason Colavito, the author of the quote above, isn't
especially thorough with regard to checking his assertions
against the facts - he just skimmed the Necronomicon Files
and leapt to his own conclusions without contacting me.

Just to set the record straight here - Harms and Gonce
didn't "track me down".

We were list-mates on various newsgroups such as
alt.necronomicon and alt.cthulhu, back in the '90s - that
is where Daniel Harms and I began our correspondence,
which then led to the interview at my apartment in
Manhattan that provided the quoted material <some
of it distorted and then published, without checking
with me first during the editorial process -tsk>.

And my Simonomicon and me webpage clearly displayed
my full name and email address - here's a link to an early
version of that page available from Archive.org <aka
'The Wayback Machine'> : http://tinyurl.com/cthjvp

As for my work 'masquerading' as genuine - I have stated
from the start that Simon's <aka Peter Levenda's>
Necronomicon is a hoax to all comers, and am so cited at
the Simon Necronomicon Wiki :

http://tinyurl.com/yue3hz

( In fact, I am the only person actually involved in the
publication of the Simonomicon who has ever
copped to the fact that the book is a hoax. To the
remnants of the original crew I say : "Shame on you." )

Jason Colavito published his The Cult of Alien Gods:
H.P. Lovecraft and Extraterrestrial Pop Culture a
few years ago, the core thesis being that "Lovecraft
created the first ancient-astronaut story in 1926" :

http://tinyurl.com/796ox64

The book was fairly successful among Lovecraft fans;
unfortunately, the central assertion is false. Back in
1882, John Ballou Newbrough described extraterrestrials
visiting the earth in his Oahspe Bible :

http://tinyurl.com/yeppnce

Furthermore, "(the) Oahspe has been stated as being the
first known reference to the term "starship".

For those of us actually familiar with the history of early
UFO literature, Newbrough's Oahspe Bible is recognized as
a seminal work.

As a self-proclaimed 'skeptic', Colavito rather 'lets his side
down' when it comes to matters of fact.

Notably absent from both Levenda's & Harm's & Gonce's
account of the personnel involved in the production of
the Simonomicon is Jerome Peartree, aka Jerome Birnbaum.

Birnbaum's account of his contributions to the Simonomicon
used to be available here:

http://www.cryptmag.site11.com/Online/16/TheNecronomicoms.html

The site doesn't appear to be available by way of Archive.org.

( If anyone out there has a cache of that page, please let me
know. My email address has always been public, and I
welcome correspondence. )

Folks in the Neopagan community will recognize Jerome, a
veteran of the Korean war, as one of the vets involved in
the legal battle to secure the right of pagan vets to have
a pentagram displayed on their headstones :

http://tinyurl.com/nvvvn

Anyhow, to return to your original question - yes, the
Necronomicon Files is mostly accurate, so far as it goes,
providing you discount the occasional rants contributed
by Gonce, which are wall-to-wall with errors of fact and
rabid polemic.

Oh, and by-the-way - my copy of the Simonomicon
manuscript hasn't faded away at all ( unlike Peter
Levenda's ), and it is on display for all to see at the
Harry Everett Smith Memorial Library in West
Hurley, New York :

http://tinyurl.com/7wu5mtr

And you can actually see the Library itself if you
search "Harry Everett Smith Memorial Library" on
GoogleMaps.

[neon_suntan]

Mr Caigan

Tremendous links and info there and plenty of food for thought.

Still sad to see how seriously people take the Necronomicon even after all these years... I'm hoping all the reviews on Amazon are spoof ones but i suspect some of them are from "the unhinged". The book seems to be out of print and certainly isn't listed on the publishers website as far as I could find.

FWIW I liked the first half of the Nec Files book at the time but the second half dealing with gatekeepers and magick left me feeling a little out of my depth.

Far better to read Lovecraft.

It's a wonder someone hasn't published the "true" edition of Tobin's Spirit Guide 

Thanks again for the links.

[Khem Caigan]

The book seems to be out of print and certainly isn't listed on the publisher's website as far as I could find.

Actually, HarperCollins (the publisher) even goes so
far as to provide a special page where you can browse
the contents of the Simonomicon :

http://tinyurl.com/7gzgalw

The paperback has been through many editions, and
is still available on the shelves of just about any of
the 'big box' bookstores out there on your local
mall strip.

Mundus Vult Decipi

( sigh )

Just to be clear - I have no problem with Sumerian,
Assyrian, Babylonian, or Mesopotamian magical praxis
in general.

And, arguably, the Descent of Inanna provides a key (albeit
still largely unacknowledged) contribution to Gardnerian
Wicca.

Thankfully, there are many more excellent, authentic, and
academic references available today, for those wishing to
try their hand at an informed "shake-n-bake" Sumerian Wicca
(for example), than there were back in the '70s.

Lovecraft remains one of my favourite writers: of all the
writers working today, I'd say that Charlie Stross really
"gets" Lovecraft's notion of Science Fiction framed as
Horror Story. And I'm not just referring to his "Laundry"
series - Lovecraft's influence is in evidence even in
his 'Hard' SF - Accelerando, for example.

[neon_suntan]

Sorry for my poor phrasing there, I was aware that the Simonomicon was still in print, I was referring to "Nec Files" the book by Harms and Gonce.

The possibility of a very early civilization having some form of interaction with  extraterrestrials of unimaginable power and cruelty is one that refuses to lay down and die.

There was a quote in "Nec... Files" can't remember who from but it was something along the lines of

"If there really *was* a Necronomicon, it would've been published by Doubleday paperback years ago."

But to drag this more on topic Mr Caigan, what are your opinions on Sigil based magick?

[Frater Salem]

The possibility of a very early civilization having some form of interaction with  extraterrestrials of unimaginable power and cruelty is one that refuses to lay down and die.

I'll offer apologies now, but I really couldn't resist:

[Khem Caigan]

The possibility of a very early civilization having some form of interaction with  extraterrestrials of unimaginable power and cruelty is one that refuses to lay down and die.

Lovecraft exploited the scenario described in the Book
of Enoch to good advantage - and he discusses that text
in his essay, Supernatural Horror in Literature.
[/quote]

But to drag this more on topic Mr Caigan, what are your opinions on Sigil based magick?

Daniel Pickering Walker's Spiritual and Demonic Magic from
Ficino to Campanella (essential reading for the budding
magus) discusses the subject of magical semiotics at length
- and it is available by way of GoogleBooks preview, with a
link available in the brief bibliography I provide below (that
used to be hosted at the Esoteric Archives during my
tenure there as librarian and moderator) :


"Following ancient tradition, Dante, in his "Convivio", compares
the Seven Liberal Arts to the Seven Planets, Grammar
corresponding to the Moon, Logic to Mercury, Rhetoric to Venus,
Arithmetic to the sun, Music to Mars, Geometry to Jupiter, and
Astronomy to Saturn."

~ from:

The Seven Liberal Arts and the West Door of Chartres Cathedral
by Titus Burckhardt (.PDF)
@StudiesinComparativeReligion.com
http://tinyurl.com/288rjg6

Trivium
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/5kuweq

The Craft of Thought:
Meditation, Rhetoric, and the Making of Images, 400-1200
by Mary Carruthers
(Free Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/28tj3jw

The Medieval Craft of Memory:
An Anthology of Texts and Pictures
by Mary Carruthers
(Free Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/39wukoq

The Book of Memory:
A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture
by Mary Carruthers
(Free Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/32ano2g

Scholastic Magic:
Ritual and Revelation in Early Jewish Mysticism
by Michael D. Swartz
http://tinyurl.com/38wvrcv

The Classical/Stoic and Mediaeval Model of the Human Mind
<as found in Agrippa, Ficino, et al> is essentially "Daemonic"
- we literally 'think with Daemons'.

And this same Model came back into currency during the '50s
- see:

The Society of Mind
by Marvin Minsky,
page 274 : Demons
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/2ezdp26

Pandemonium Architecture
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/ycm766h

Pandemonium
by Dr. C. George Boeree
http://tinyurl.com/25bjdhd

How Minds Work: Pandemonium Theory
by Stan Franklin ( .PDF )
http://tinyurl.com/2dqawwt

Pandemonium: A Paradigm for Learning
by Oliver Selfridge
1958 ( .PDF )
http://tinyurl.com/27yzxd7

Panini
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/29lduap

Backus-Naur Form
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/2bfngml

Zuse's Thesis: Universe as Computer
http://tinyurl.com/37g7oq

African Fractals:
Modern Computing and Indigenous Design
by Ron Eglash
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/284u3t6

Tree of Porphyry
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/25dz48s

Tree of Life
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/293k8aq

Proclus and the Sefer Yetzirah
by Leo Baeck
http://tinyurl.com/26zzjye

Grammar
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/m5pmm

Hello Worlds
(or: Why Humanities Students Should Learn to Program)
by Matthew G. Kirschenbaum
http://tinyurl.com/27nd7qq

Magic and/as Rhetoric:
Outlines of a History of Phantasy
by William A. Covino
http://tinyurl.com/d6nd6jo

Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition
by Glenn Alexander Magee
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/2abgr7d

Spiritual and Demonic Magic from Ficino to Campanella
by Daniel Pickering Walker
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/2dh78hq

The Chaldean Oracles:
Text, Translation, and Commentary
by Julianus (the Theurgist) & Ruth Dorothy Majercik
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/2eer35x

Mysticism, Magic, and Kabbalah in Ashkenazi Judaism
Edited by Karl-Erich Grozinger & Joseph Dan
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/38ygrtd

Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought
by Lenn Evan Goodman
(Preview @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/35gqe2k

"If signs (rather than molecules) are taken as fundamental
units for the study of life, biology becomes a semiotic discipline."
~ Jesper Hoffmeyer

"We are not stuff that abides, but patterns that perpetuate
themselves." ~ Norbert Weiner

"Bodies are, in reality, 'swarms of swarms', huge swarms of
more or less overlapping swarms of very different kinds. And
the minor swarms again are swarm entities, so we get a
hierarchy of swarms. These swarms are engaged at all levels
in distributed problem solving based on an infinitely complicated
web of semetic interaction patterns..." ~ Jesper Hoffmeyer

"The World is a great Volume, and man the Index of that Booke;
Even in the Body of Man, you may turne to the whole world."
~ John Donne

Doctrine of Signatures
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/yofwhl

Biosemiotics
@Wikipedia
http://tinyurl.com/5mzatm

Quantum Semiotics:
A Sign Language for Quantum Mechanics
by Prashant (.PDF)
http://tinyurl.com/5s4cn8

"The individuality of the body is that of a flame,
rather than that of a stone; of a form rather than
a bit of substance." ~ Norbert Weiner

"The essence of the flame is in its burning; so the
essence of God lies in its activity, its energy."
~ Johannes Kepler

Technontologies, Complexity, and Hybrid Interfaces
by Renata T. S. Lemos & Vinicius Medina Kern (.PDF)
http://tinyurl.com/28a5vuv

See also:

The Spell of the Sensuous:
Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
by David Abram
Vintage Books, 1997.

Excerpt @
http://tinyurl.com/5e6atb

Review @
http://tinyurl.com/2vdmc9t

Interview @
http://tinyurl.com/5oy2z9

[Kieranfoy]

@Prof Plinth

So, the technique is 'fake out 'till you make out?'

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Khem Caigan]

Hello, Person-Who-May-Not-Wish-To-Be-Identified!

Thank you for your query.

With no disrespect intended, I am responding back
to you through the group in hopes of encouraging
further on-topic discussions.

I sincerely hope you do not mind, and I pre-emptively
apologize profusely if you do.

I always recommend Agrippa's Three Books of Occult
Philosophy as an excellent place to begin one's
magical studies.

Agrippa's First Book is available here:

http://tinyurl.com/2fekyd3

Read from Chapters 23 & 24 on, for more information
on the affinities of stones and other materia with
the Celestials:

http://tinyurl.com/79ylyls

To elaborate - you can engrave the various pentacles &
telesma upon the semi-precious stones that are Classically
associated with the Planets, just as was done with the
so-called 'gnostic gems'.

Here is an example of what I mean:

http://tinyurl.com/24nt9xs

There are many sites, forums and magazines for folks
that hunt and/or collect semi-precious stones.

For example:

[[[ http://www.semi-precious-stone.com/  ]]]

[ Note : I was just double-checking all of my links to make
sure that they are still "live", and the site above has been
taken over by some sort of aggregator spambot since my
last visit - beware!!! I suggest visiting Lavinsky's site as a
viable alternative and good place to begin looking for raw
materials :

 http://www.mineralauctions.com/ ]

Ebay is another good source for metals and raw minerals
and even semi-precious beads - Good Hunting!

A grinder to remove gangue, and a Dremel to engrave,
and you're in business.

You can polish the stones by tumbling them in a plastic
jar with some polishing compound and water, which is
driven by a small motor.

There are many other sources besides Agrippa that discuss
the correspondence, or sympathy, between the Planets and
various stones.

See, for example:

The Curious Lore of Semi-Precious Stones
by George Kunz, page 367.
(Read/Download @GoogleBooks)
http://tinyurl.com/6jjvazl

Classical Mineral Pigments suitable for use in a reed pen,
or kalamos <see Sepher Raziel> may be obtained from
Kremer Pigments :

http://tinyurl.com/6dg2x9e

There is a fine example of a kalamos, or reed pen, here:
http://tinyurl.com/63jln7d

Historical Use of Shellac Ink
@Kremer Pigments
http://tinyurl.com/4axk7xj

And here is just one source for fine parchment online:

Pergamena
http://tinyurl.com/na6ze3

For more information of use in creating the Book of Art,
see:

Scribal Arts
http://annat.net/ac/scribe.htm
http://tinyurl.com/4zepvxx
http://www.irongallink.org/

Cors in Manu Domine,


- Khem Caigan

"Heat and Moisture are Active to Generation;
Cold and Dryness are Passive, in and to each Thing;
Fire and Air, Active by Elementation;
Water and Earth, Passive to Generation."

Of the Division of Chaos
-Dr. Simon Forman

[Seaton Begg]

@Prof Plinth

So, the technique is 'fake out 'till you make out?'

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Certain forms of Chaos Magick have been exploiting this technique for a while. The 'truth' of any particular 'God-form' etc that you choose to utilise in your practices does not matter at all. A chaos mage can therefore use (and abuse) both real-world historical and fictional 'God-forms' etc in the same ritual.

Classic sigil magick (based on the work of Austin Osman Spare) pares the practice down to the intent of the mage without the need to call upon otherworldly powers.