Wednesday Webshares: Birthdays, Arson at an OTO Lodge, Mail-Order Mormons and More

I was informed that at least two version of feedreaders have trouble with my image embedding, so I’m sorry about that focus, but I don’t know how to fix that. I’m going to fiddle with what I can and see if I can’t get my blog looking proper in the feeds.

This week saw the birthday of Lon Milo Duquette, so happy birthday to Lon. The day before I came across this … interesting birthday song to him.

I found out from Thelema Weekly that the Sekhet-Maat Lodge building in Portland was the victim of Arson. Not surprisingly over half of the article is explaining what Sekhet-Maat Lodge and the OTO are, and the comments are filled with someone concerned (but he doesn’t care really) about the OTO worshipping the Antichrist and wanting to kill people. Gets into full on essays, glad to see sympathy for the victims, no? You can donate if so inclined to help the repairs.

There has been a round of discussion on the blogs about ethics and “enlightenment bombing” which was (to simplify) the idea of banishing/binding someone with a blessing that they become a better person. I planned (still might) get in on it from an interesting take from my tradition, but instead I prefer the idea of this “enlightenment bombing.” Yes, I just found out along with books, food, porn, and body parts, you can order Mormons over the internet. My main question is how often is this service used by people actually wishing to learn more, and how often do people do this as a prank?

Computers now aiding in the question to sort out Biblical authorship. So far the computers are performing amazingly and may shed some new light on how the Tanakh was authored. I’m actually really interested in this as one of my side-studies at University involve Biblical scholarship as literature and history.

Edited: I almost forgot to include this. There is a movement “Take Back Yoga” that is trying to return yoga to the actual religious practice and not stretching in your Lululemon pants. I’m in love with it, as that is very often a rant I have.

Lastly an interesting interview with the Venerable Thupten Ngodup, who is the State Oracle of Tibet. I think it is a fascinating look into the side of Tibetan Buddhism and Tibetan culture (in exile) that many people are unaware of.

Wednesday Webshares: Wealth, Rootworker Advice, and More Rules, Laws, and Rights

I’ve been writing recently but haven’t really had a chance to finish much, so time for a webshare in no particular order.

First off, Jason Miller over at Strategic Sorcery is currently selling White Mahakala Wealth Talismans. Now personally I have a silly issue with Mahakala, and I’m not linking this so you buy one, but feel free to. More I was greatly amused by his tongue-in-cheek (in parts) sales pitch for why White Mahakala is better than other Wealth Deities.

Dr. Raven, of Dr. Raven’s Conjure posted an excellent article on Tips for Working with a Rootworker and Reader. It’s a great read for both people looking for magickal help or people considering offering it. I don’t think there is anything there I disagreed with, a lot had matched what I cobbled together for my own work, and he gave me a few more points to think on.

Speaking of more to think on, last week I posted Rob’s Laws, Rules, and Rights of Magick. Since then Ananael Qaa has posted his thoughts on Rob’s Laws, and Rules, and Rights which make an interesting supplement and contrast to Rob’s original posts. And no need to fear, even in three posts Ananael Qaa is far more succinct than Rob was.

Book reviews, rants, and articles to come.

Sex, Angels, Bones, and Books

Easter Monday, time for a Judeo-Christian post I think. This is mainly more links and connecting data, but I have a few relevant articles off on the wings I thought I’d bring together.

Over at Remnant of Giants a post just went live “How Do You Know When You’re Having Sex with a Fallen Angel: Some Handy Hints from a Biblical Scholar“. The site is a mix of funny responses to relevant events and scholarly study related to the Biblical and extra-Biblical giants, and occasionally more generic Biblical/extra-Biblical study. As a fan of the Enochic literature (meaning related to the Book of Enoch, not Enochian in the Dee-Kelly sense) I find it is both an entertaining and informative site.

Of course there are a few mistakes. With number one, the Angels you could sleep with, humanoid ones, didn’t have wings Biblically it was the non-humanoid Angels that had wings. I’m actually writing a personal article on that now which may or may not make it up here in the future. Number two, should have stuck with naming fallen angels, Metatron (either one of them) is an odd choice of name for a fallen angel to assume. Other than that, it is a handy (silly) guide, of course I’d rather use guides not to avoid but to pursue, but to each their own.

The University of Wyoming shared the news that the trial/investigation of the James Ossuary box may finally be wrapping up. It’s only been about a decade. In fact since then the box has dropped off most people’s radar. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it is an ossuary box that is about 2000 years old (that part isn’t questioned) which reads “Ya’akov bar-Yosef akhui diYeshua.” For those without their Aramaic 101, that translates as “Jacob, son of Joseph, brother of Joshua.” Or when rendered out of Aramaic into Biblical English “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” So apparently we have the bone box of James, Jesus’s younger brother. But so far most of the evidence points to it being a fraud. “Ya’akov bar-Yosef” is generally believed to be authentic, but the bit about Jesus looks like it may be a modern addition, the trial is trying to figure out how modern, as some experts say it is more recent than the box, but still from the first millennium.

Speaking of Biblical forgeries it looks like Indiana Jones’s David Elkington’s codices are not standing up will to investigation. Rather than link to any individual story I want to link to this great resource here which is both a collection of relevant links and articles and a pretty solid analysis of the flaws of the codices. Included at the bottom of the article, the very last link is a collection of all the images of the codices that have been released, for those of us who like to take a look for ourselves. Just a sidenote since I brought it up the first time I posted about it, this man actually has degrees, a BA in Near Eastern Studies and a Masters in Jewish studies, and is working on more. Credentials aren’t the end-all be-all, but by Baal they’re useful.

Now in the spirit of Easter Monday, I’m off to buy discount chocolate.

Spare, Plans, and Sagan.

BBC Culture Show included a piece last week on Austin Osman Spare, with Alan Moore and others discussing Spare as a person, artist, and magickian.

Found through lashtal.com

The day after I posted Magick: Means, Ends, and Manifestation there was a good post on RuneSoup about Your One Perfect Day. I’m bringing it up because I thought the timing was good, the last bit of my post was about using your magick toward the small steps along your path, and Gordon’s post discusses this. He gives a good structure to evaluate where you are, figure out your ends and your means, and advises enchanting in small chunks. I figured since there was a connection there, I’d pass people the link for those interested.

To those who celebrate, Happy Carl Sagan Day. It’s held on the Saturday before his birthday, though I prefer to celebrate it actually on the day (which is Tuesday). I mention it because Sagan is an awesome person, and I half-jokingly consider his birthday one of my holy days, as I half-jokingly consider Sagan a “Saint” in my tradition. Hopefully I’ll manage to write more about that later.

The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us — there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation of a distant memory, as if we were falling from a great height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries. (Sagan, Cosmos 4).