V.H. Frater B.T.'s Esoterinerd Soapbox

Letter from TDL

2012-01-17T13:51:00.001-08:00

Avete! Here is a letter that TDL has just asked us to forward to all members, so I figured I'd just post it here. 770, BT :)

Avete Fraters and sorors of the Golden Dawn California, Temple of Isis Mighty Mother,

I want to warmly greet all of our Fraters and Sorors to a happy and blessing filled 2012. I want to also extend a reminder that I and all the Adepts at Isis are here to serve God, you and the occult community. We are doing every effort to broaden and expand our grade lessons, classes and workshops so as to make your membership at the Temple of Isis a memorable and magical filled experience.

As of recent, we (Temple of Isis under Golden Dawn California), have made a declaration of separation from the EOGD and its founder PDR who is otherwise known as Robert Zink, for reasons of extreme differences of interests and goals for this Order of Light. We regret to say that there may be some recent posts on the internet that may be attempting to stir up some confusion and cause strife to this new beginning. I want to express our sincere apologies for any arousal of disruption and please note that the governing body of Golden Dawn California Temple of Isis is managed under the positions of the Imperator Frater TDL, Praemonstrator Frater BT, and Cancellarius Soror P. And if there are any posts that are made contrary to our direction of Order administration, you may be being misled by hosts of the EOGD or some other source. We encourage our members to quickly notify us for clarification and to report any disruptions or suspicious posts on the internet, or contact the Cancellarius at cancellarius@goldendawnusa.com. We would only wish light upon all of our members on their magical path to enlightenment. Thank you for your cooperation.

Your brother in Light,
G.H. Frater T.D.L.

Golden Dawn Universum

2012-01-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

Not a new name or anything, just a facebook group :)

This Facebook Group is hosted by the Praemonstrator of the Temple of Isis Mighty Mother, in Baldwin Park California, as a public service: members of all the various Golden Dawn based Orders are welcome here, as well as Solo Practitioners, or anyone curious about the Golden Dawn.

In truth, the Fraters and Sorors in the True and Worldwide Golden Dawn are numerous, and the particular grades they carry in whatever Order it is are irrelevant. We are called to be in the world, not of the world. Grades and politics are of the world.

Please note that membership in this Facebook Group does not constitute initiation into any Golden Dawn Order. If you feel the call to pursue this work in a group setting, there are several Orders out there to choose from. Don't be fooled when you see the name "Golden Dawn" in a group's name, as this does not equal authenticity per se, and there are plenty of groups that provide Golden Dawn initiation that do not have the words "Golden Dawn" in their name.

Anyhow - all I ask is that we keep good vibes on here, and stay more/less on point.

much love to you,
VH Frater BT
Temple of Isis Mighty Mother

If you would like to join in the conversation, click: here

Oh.. Happy.. Day!!!

2011-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

(AKA "TDL's Declaration of Independance" AKA "It's About Friggin' Time!" AKA "Warning: This Post is Entirely about Politics")

Avete, "The Community"!
Fratres, Sororis, and Cousins in Light of all kinds.

For those of you who are just tuning into our shenanigans, allow me to sum up:

Most, if not all, of the bad things you've heard about the EOGD are true.

However, over the past 22 years or so, sincere people have become initiated in the ECL, HOEGD, HOMSI, EOGD - all names for the same organization, three of the founding four of which had left long ago, and the head of which had long since been one Robert Anton (yes that's his middle name) Zink, AKA GH Frater PDR. The longest standing of these sincere seekers to date: GH Frater TDL, my mentor.

So, firstly, I can affirm the accuracy of the vote that took place and which was announced here:

http://eogdpublicannouncement.blogspot.com

From the point of view of the 23 who voted "yes, yes, and yes", they remained right where they were, threw out PDR, called everyone in the Order to tell them what was happening, and then changed their name to avoid being connected with the EOGD and its reputation. I wanted to mention that because the way that TDL's Declaration-letter is worded states that those temples "left us to form the OGD-CSS" which, I know, there will be a few saying "that's not the way it happened!" for the reasons I've just mentioned.

From TDL's point of view, TDL was appointed Imperator of the Temple of Isis back in 1996 I believe it was, if not earlier, and in February/March of 2011 he refused to acknowledge the Expulsion-of-PDR-letter, linked to above. So, basically, TDL was included in the expulsion of PDR, from the point of view of those who "left" / "stayed where they were". So TDL remained the Imperator of the only temple which remained with Robert (EOGD)... UNTIL TODAY!

Temple of Isis Mighty Mother
Declaration of Independence

And just in time for Christmas!!! :)

Anyhow, I’ve been paying as little attention to Robert’s shenanigans as possible, as I’m a bit burnt out on them after all these years, but evidently he’s still got his website esotericgoldendawn.com going, and his blog, and whatever else – is still taking people’s money and telling them they’ll be initiated, is still listing as being his temples all of the temples which have long since (or, in our case, just recently) disconnected themselves from him for a variety of reasons including **but not limited to** all of those listed on the expulsion announcement. He’s still out there doing what he’s doing, but today I am very, very, happy to say - Isis, TDL, and the rest of us, are free.

It seems we're calling ourselves "Golden Dawn California" and "GDCA", though I prefer to think of us as "The Temple of Isis Mighty Mother", since the politics that have been stinking up the community seem to be not between "Temples", but between "Orders". C'est la vie.

As always, we’ll see how things unfold from here. :)

Best wishes to all of you,

and 770,

Ladders, Nothingness, and Side-Paths

2011-12-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Frater BT,

Somewhere along the line I picked up the idea that creation starts in the Abyss and we "evolve" up through the animal states to human state and finally to a divine state of being. In the Gnosticism that I was studying they explained it as follows:

We start off as in innocent little spark of God that was sent out of the vastness to Self-realize and go back to the Absolute a fully awakened and Self realized being. We are sent out into manifestation first in the mineral kingdom, then to the plant kingdom, then to the animal kingdom and finally take incarnation as a humanoid. During this "realization" process, we obtain what they termed "egos" and it is in the humanoid state that we consciously observe and dissolve these ego states with the power of the Divine Mother. These egos are the lower states that we needed in the animal kingdom to survive and learn so that we could evolve into the humanoid states. In the process of dissolving the ego and with other spiritual work that you can only do as a human (which I won't get into), we transmute our energies from human to divine. The egos are defined as ultimately stemming from Lust, but manifest in various forms, namely the 7 deadly sins....Lust, Greed, Vanity, etc. But, Lust is supposedly the root of all evil and it is this that we must ultimately destroy or rather understand completely and request it to be destroyed within us. If you don't voluntarily take on this task of self-sacrifice and continue to live in the human state, then eventually we will run out of incarnations and start to devolve back down into the animal state to the plant kingdom, to the mineral kingdom and finally into the deepest Abyss where these states will be burnt off without our conscious will and we will return to the Absolute the way we came out.....totally innocent without any Self-realization at all. We will be happy, but in total worship of those sparks who self-realized and became fully conscious divine beings.

******

This reminds me of the “Ladder of Life” I learned in Gardenarian Wicca, as well as the “Great Chain of Being” (abstractly) in Christianity. The main thing about it, which may be where the limitation is coming in, is that it is very strictly linear, as far as “this came first, then this, and in the future it will be like this”. I am personally rather fond of Pierre Tielhard de Chardin’s vision of God continually giving birth to and being born from the magnificent organism that is the universe, and that we, all life, are connected through our mother the earth and our father the source of our Being, and our spirit – all of which is happening now in present time, and unfolding continually. As far as the Tree of Life, though, there are many stories and ideas which relate to it and which are told as stories with a linear sequence. It is of assistance, though, to approach the Tree of Life as something that is happening now, and the body, now, is happening – and that is Malkuth, at the bottom. And Keter, the source of all, is happening now – of course – otherwise there wouldn’t be anything at all. All of the various layers of the soul are happening now as well – from Chesed to Yesod, and our Divine Mother and Divine Father, Binah and Chockma, are happening now.

Some approach the Golden Dawn from a strictly Christian perspective, and are challenged to accept various Pagan ideas as possibly containing Truth. Some approach the Golden Dawn from a strictly Pagan perspective, and are challenged to accept various Christian ideas as possibly containing Truth. Some approach the Golden Dawn from a standpoint of reincarnation – others do not – and we do not require one to approach it one way or the other.

I believe that the model you’ve described, of the evolution of the soul from minerals up to humans then dissolving through the Divine Mother (the Abyss, on the way to Binah, perhaps) can harmonize well with the Tree of Life model – but the Tree of Life model does not necessarily imply the evolution of the soul model specifically. There are some parallels in the abstract, though, with the upward progression of the grades of the order. In the grade after neophyte, for example, you work with Malkuth. Then, with Yesod, and so on. The difference is that Yesod, rather than being one step up the latter of life, is actually beyond all time and space and even beyond what we usually term “astral”, where the ladder of life model works only within a reincarnation context of working our way up through the various species, and such.

“Ego” in the context of its modern usage would basically refer to the Ruach, which includes the Nephesch – though the word “ego” usually implies that it is in a corrupted state somehow. In order to experience the Supernals, or Divinity in its fullness, it is necessary to leave this soul, to ego, behind. The true “self”, though, remains – but the illusion of self, or perhaps the temporal “self”, ceases to be. That may correspond with what you describe as: “we consciously observe and dissolve these ego states with the power of the Divine Mother.” I find that this temporal self, though, is useful while we are alive and going to the grocery store and interacting in this world and such.

******

So, with this understanding, I am having a hard time grasping a couple of things:
Why is the red cross sitting above the triangle, if the triangle is representative of the Realized Self and the cross is representative of the middle soul.

******

In the Neophyte initiation, the White Triangle on the altar represents “Light” in ways defined in the ceremony itself. The Red Cross above the white triangle represents the unfolding of Light into Life. There are two contending forces being reconciled, and out of that reconciliation, life unfolds. There are other layers of meaning which will unfold through contemplation. In this context it’s not so much that the triangle is inferior to, or below, or created by the cross – rather, the light is the foundation for the life.

******

I totally don't understand the description of the circumambulation becoming a vortex that attracts the Divine Light, which rises from nothingness. How does something arise from nothing? What is the definition of nothingness?

******

Very good question! Giving it my best shot at the moment: When all of the officers move clockwise three times, we are moving as the sun rising and setting three times – projecting the Light from the East each time we pass by. The idea is that as we are doing this, the vortex is also opening in the “above” or in the spiritual realm. Before we begin the circumambulation, is it not there. After the circumambulation, both vortexes have occurred, touched, and allowed that current of sprit to appear, as if from nowhere, in the temple.

As far as a definition of nothingness, I would define it by taking an eraser and erasing the word nothingness – or by being silent – or some other way, which would be more true that some negation like saying the word “no-thing-ness”.

******

In the Tree of Life, is there something higher than Kether?

******

The three veils of negative existence. We delve into those in theoricus. In short, they are: “No Thing”, “No Limit” and “Endless Light”. Though the actual Hebrew words would translate better as “There is no”, “There is no end” and “there is no end of light”.

******

How is the Triune represented when it is united into one?

******

In various ways. The triangle, for example.

******

Where do the lower realms come in and why are they not represented in the Tree of Life.

******

By lower, do you mean demonic realms and such? If so, they are beneath the Tree of Life. Most humans are an imperfect reflection of the Tree, which can mean that not all of our sephirot or paths are in harmony with one another, and it can also mean that there are some influences from below the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life model that we use is an image of all things in their perfection, and so it is something to aspire to. It can be used as a map through the Divine Realms, but is not a map to those realms below the Tree. The lowest realms represented on the Tree are the body (malkuth) and the astral just above the body, and the path of the moon which can be seen as the subconscious. These paths can include traumatic memories and the shells of the dead, and such, but these are not considered “evil” realms.

******

What is the Middle Path of the straight line from Malkuth, Yesod, Tiphareth and Kether and what are the other paths? Can you fight to take the Middle Path only and still fully Self Realize?

******

In the Golden Dawn we don’t ignore the other paths, but we do work them, get to know them, learn to use them – and learn to recognize when they are exalted and in harmony with the whole tree, and when they are out of harmony. At the same time, we always seek to return to the center. There are times, for instance, when severity is appropriate – and other times mercy is appropriate. When we stand n the center, we can access both, without leaning too far one way or the other.

******

I have not gotten very far in the studies yet. I just wanted to write these things to you as a record for one, so that as I go along I may come across the answers in reading, or in a dream or in an astral experience. If you don't want to answer just yet, that is fine. But, if you see something where I am in error and it will mislead me as I go along, please correct it so that I can move.

******

I hope that my words helped in some way. :)
770!

DNA-Alphabet

2011-10-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

These "letters", or sigils, are based on the permutations of the nucleic acids in the DNA molecule which produce the mRNA instructions for the ribosomes to produce the amino acid chain. So, when you're looking at the mRNA permutations, you'll need to switch them to their opposite. For example, UUU becomes AAA, and AAA becomes TTT (since Thymine is only found in the nucleus, and Uracil takes on its role outside the nucleus). So, here is the Alphabet. Soon, we'll be moving on to the 2-letter Words (the dipeptides).

Lysine

(abbreviated as Lys or K) As an essential amino acid, lysine is not synthesized in animals, hence it must be ingested as lysine or lysine-containing proteins. In plants and bacteria, it is synthesized from aspartic acid (aspartate). Good sources of lysine are foods rich in protein such as soy, as well as meat, cheese, certain fish, and eggs.

Also, in popular fiction (Jurassic Park), Lysine was supposed to have been the amino acid "denied" to dinosaurs, making them all female.

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Asparagine

(abbreviated as Asn or N; Asx or B represent either asparagine or aspartic acid) A reaction between sparagine and reducing sugars or reactive carbonyls produces acrylamide (acrylic amide) in food when heated to sufficient temperature. These products occur in baked goods such as French fries, potato chips, and roasted coffee. Asparagine is not an essential amino acid, which means that it can be synthesized from central metabolic pathway intermediates in humans and is not required in the diet. The nervous system requires asparagine. It also plays an important role in the synthesis of ammonia.

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Isoleucine

(abbreviated as ile or I) As an essential amino acid, isoleucine is not synthesized in animals, hence it must be ingested, usually as a component of proteins. In plants and microorganisms, it is synthesized via several steps, starting from pyruvic acid and alpha-ketoglutarate. Even though this amino acid is not produced in animals, it is stored in high quantities. Foods that have high amounts of isoleucine include eggs, soy protein, seaweed, turkey, chicken, lamb, cheese, and fish. Biotin, sometimes referred to as Vitamin B7 or Vitamin H, is an absolute requirement for the full catabolism of isoleucine (as well as leucine).

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Methionine

(abbreviated as Met or M) This amino acid is also used by plants for synthesis of ethylene. The process is known as the Yang Cycle or the methionine cycle. As an essential amino acid, methionine is not synthesized de novo in humans, hence we must ingest methionine or methionine-containing proteins. In plants and microorganisms, methionine is synthesized via a pathway that uses both aspartic acid and cysteine. High levels of methionine can be found in sesame seeds, Brazil nuts, fish, meats and some other plant seeds; methionine is also found in cereal grains. Methionine is one of only two amino acids encoded by a single codon in the standard genetic code (tryptophan is the other). The mRNA codon AUG is also the "Start" message for a ribosome that signals the initiation of protein translation. As a consequence, methionine is incorporated into the N-terminal position of all proteins in eukaryotes and archaea during translation, although it is usually removed by post-translational modification.

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Arginine

(abbreviated as Arg or R) In mammals, Arginine is classified as a semiessential or conditionally essential amino acid, depending on the developmental stage and health status of the individual. Preterm infants are unable to synthesize or create arginine internally, making the amino acid nutritionally essential for them. There are some conditions that put an increased demand on the body for the synthesis of L-arginine, including surgical or other trauma, sepsis and burns. In general, most people do not need to take arginine supplements because the body usually produces enough. Arginine plays an important role in cell division, the healing of wounds, removing ammonia from the body, immune function, and the release of hormones.

(Arginine is also taken in combination with proanthocyanidins or yohimbine has also been used as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.)

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Serine

(abbreviated as Ser or S) This compound may be naturally produced when UV light illuminates simple ices such as a combination of water, methanol, hydrogen cyanide, and ammonia, suggesting that it may be easily produced in cold regions of space. It is not essential to the human diet, since it is synthesized in the body from other metabolites, including glycine. It is important in metabolism in that it participates in the biosynthesis of purines and pyrimidines. It is the precursor to several amino acids including glycine and cysteine, and tryptophan in bacteria. It is also the precursor to numerous other metabolites, including sphingolipids and folate, which is the principal donor of one-carbon fragments in biosynthesis.

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Threonine

(abbreviated as Thr or T) Together with serine, threonine is one of two proteinogenic amino acids bearing an alcohol group. As an essential amino acid, threonine is not synthesized in humans, hence we must ingest threonine in the form of threonine-containing proteins. In plants and microorganisms, threonine is synthesized from aspartic acid via α-aspartyl-semialdehyde and homoserine. Foods high in threonine include cottage cheese, poultry, fish, meat, lentils, and sesame seeds.

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STOP

In the genetic code, a stop codon (or termination codon) is a nucleotide triplet within messenger RNA that signals a termination of translation. Stop codons signal the termination of this process by binding release factors, which cause the ribosomal subunits to disassociate, releasing the amino acid chain. Nonsense mutations are changes in DNA sequence that introduce a premature stop codon, causing any resulting protein to be abnormally shortened. This often causes a loss of function in the protein, as critical parts of the amino acid chain are no longer created. Because of this terminology, stop codons have also been referred to as nonsense codons.

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Tyrosine

(abbreviated as Tyr or Y) In dopaminergic cells in the brain, tyrosine is converted to levodopa by the enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme involved in the synthesis of the neurotransmitter dopamine. In addition, in the adrenal medulla, tyrosine is converted into the catecholamine hormones norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine(adrenaline). The thyroid hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine in the colloid of the thyroid also are derived from tyrosine. Tyrosine can be synthesized in the body from phenylalanine, and is is found in many high protein food products such as soy products, chicken, turkey, fish, peanuts, almonds, avocados, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, lima beans, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds. A tyrosine residue also plays an important role in photosynthesis. In chloroplasts, it acts as an electron donor in the reduction of oxidized chlorophyll.

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Leucine

(abbreviated as Leu or L) As an essential amino acid, leucine is unable to be synthesised by animals. Consequently, it must be ingested, usually as a component of proteins. In plants and microorganisms, leucine is synthesised from pyruvic acid by a series of enzymes. It is a major component of the subunits in ferritin, astacin and other 'buffer' proteins. Leucine is utilized in the liver, adipose tissue, and muscle tissue. In adipose and muscle tissue, leucine is used in the formation of sterols, and the combined usage of leucine in these two tissues is seven times greater than its use in the liver.

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Phenylalanine

(abbreviated as Phe or F) Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid found in the breast milk of mammals. It is a precursor for tyrosine, the monoamine signaling molecules dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), and the skin pigment melanin. It is used in the manufacture of food and drink products and sold as a nutritional supplement for its reputed analgesic and antidepressant effects. It is a direct precursor to the neuromodulator phenylethylamine, a commonly used dietary supplement. Phenylalanine is the starting compound used in the flavonoid biosynthesis. Lignan is derived from The genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) is the inability to metabolize phenylalanine and from tyrosine. Phenylalanine is converted to cinnamic acid by the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase.

The genetic disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) is the inability to metabolize phenylalanine - and the reason for the "Warning: contains phenylalanine" on Diet Coke cans.

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Cysteine

(abbreviated as Cys or C) It is a non-essential amino acid, and is biosynthesized in humans if a sufficient quantity of methionine is available. The cysteine thiol group is nucleophilic and easily oxidized. The reactivity is enhanced when the thiol is ionized, and cysteine residues in proteins have pKa values close to neutrality, so are often in their reactive thiolate form in the cell.[9] Because of its high reactivity, the thiol group of cysteine has numerous biological functions. One of the largest applications is the production of flavors. For example, the reaction of cysteine with sugars in a Maillard reaction yields meat flavors. L-cysteine is also used as a processing aid for baking.

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Tryptophan

(abbreviation: Trp or W) Tryptophan is a routine constituent of most protein-based foods or dietary proteins. For many organisms (including humans), tryptophan is an essential amino acid. This means that it cannot be synthesized by the organism and therefore must be part of its diet. It is particularly plentiful in chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry, sesame, chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, corn, spirulina, and peanuts. Tryptamine, Serotonin, Dimethyltryptamine (D.M.T.), Psilocybin (et cetera) and are all derived from Tryptophan. (what a Tryp!)

Despite popular belief that turkey has a particularly high amount of tryptophan, the amount of tryptophan in turkey is typical of most poultry.

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Glutamic Acid

(abbreviated as Glu or E) It is a non-essential amino acid. The carboxylate anions and salts of glutamic acid are known as glutamates. In neuroscience, glutamate is an important neurotransmitter that plays a key role in long-term potentiation and is important for learning and memory. Glutamate is a key molecule in cellular metabolism. In humans, dietary proteins are broken down by digestion into amino acids, which serve as metabolic fuel for other functional roles in the body. Glutamate is the most abundant excitatory neurotransmitter in the vertebrate nervous system. At chemical synapses, glutamate is stored in vesicles. Nerve impulses trigger release of glutamate from the pre-synaptic cell. In the opposing post-synaptic cell, glutamate receptors, such as the NMDA receptor, bind glutamate and are activated.

Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, is derived from Glutamate. According to whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry, there is nothing wrong with MSG, it takes a whole lot of it to kill a rat, and it just got a bad rap because the people who complained about it were drunks, who also ate tons of salt. However, according to a lot of other people, MSG should be avoided since it has several unpleasant effects, like headaches.

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Aspartic Acid

(abbreviated as Asp or D) The carboxylate anion, salt, or ester of aspartic acid is known as Aspartate. Aspartic acid is, together with glutamic acid, classified as an acidic amino acid with a pKa of 4.0. Aspartate is pervasive in biosynthesis. Aspartate is non-essential in mammals, being produced from oxaloacetate by transamination. It can also be made in the Urea Cycle from Ornithine and Citrulline. In plants and microorganisms, aspartate is the precursor to several amino acids, including four that are essential for humans: methionine, threonine, isoleucine, and lysine. Aspartate (the conjugate base of aspartic acid) stimulates NMDA receptors, though not as strongly as the amino acid neurotransmitter glutamate does.

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Valine

(abbreviated as Val or V) Valine is an essential amino acid, hence it must be ingested, usually as a component of proteins. It is synthesized in plants via several steps starting from pyruvic acid. Human dietary sources include cottage cheese, fish, poultry, peanuts, sesame seeds, and lentils.

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Glycine

(abbreviated as Gly or G) Glycine is a colourless, sweet-tasting crystalline solid. It is unique among the proteinogenic amino acids in that it is not chiral. It can fit into hydrophilic or hydrophobic environments, due to its two hydrogen atom side chain. Glycine is not essential to the human diet, as it is biosynthesized in the body from the amino acid serine, which is in turn derived from 3-phosphoglycerate. The principal function of glycine is as a precursor to proteins. It is also a building block to numerous natural products. Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, especially in the spinal cord, brainstem, and retina. Glycine serves as a buffering agent in antacids, analgesics, antiperspirants, cosmetics, and toiletries.

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Alanine

(abbreviated as Ala or A) Alanine is a nonessential amino acid, it can be manufactured in the body from pyruvate and branched chain amino acids such as valine, leucine, and isoleucine. Alanine plays a key role in glucose–alanine cycle between tissues and liver. In muscle and other tissues that degrade amino acids for fuel, amino groups are collected in the form of glutamate by transamination. Glutamate can then transfer its amino group through the action of alanine aminotransferase to pyruvate, a product of muscle glycolysis, forming alanine and α-ketoglutarate. The alanine formed is passed into the blood and transported to the liver. A reverse of the alanine aminotransferase reaction takes place in liver. Pyruvate regenerated forms glucose through gluconeogenesis, which returns to muscle through the circulation system. Glutamate in the liver enters mitochondria and degrades into ammonium ion through the action of glutamate dehydrogenase, which in turn participate in the urea cycle to form urea.

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Glutamine

(abbreviated as Gln or Q) It is not recognized as an essential amino acid but may become conditionally essential in certain situations, including intensive athletic training or certain gastrointestinal disorders. Glutamine is synthesized by the enzyme glutamine synthetase from glutamate and ammonia. The most relevant glutamine-producing tissue is the muscle mass, accounting for about 90% of all glutamine synthesized. Glutamine is also released, in small amounts, by the lung and the brain. Although the liver is capable of relevant glutamine synthesis, its role in glutamine metabolism is more regulatory than producing, since the liver takes up large amounts of glutamine derived from the gut. The most eager consumers of glutamine are the cells of intestines, the kidney cells for the acid base balance, activated immune cells and many cancer cells. In respect to the last point mentioned, different glutamine analogues such as DON, Azaserine or Acivicin are tested as anti-cancer drugs.

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Histidine

(abbreviated as His or H) Histidine is an essential amino acid in humans and other mammals. It was initially thought that it was only essential for infants, but longer-term studies established that it is also essential for adult humans. The imidazole sidechain of histidine is a common coordinating ligand in metalloproteins and is a part of catalytic sites in certain enzymes. In catalytic triads, the basic nitrogen of histidine is used to abstract a proton from serine, threonine, or cysteine to activate it as a neucleophile.

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Proline

(abbreviated as Pro or P) It is not an essential amino acid, which means that the human body can synthesize it. Proline and its derivatives are often used as asymmetric catalysts in organic reactions. The CBS reduction and proline catalysed aldol condensation are prominent examples. L-Proline is an osmoprotectant and therefore is used in many pharmaceutical, biotechnological applications.

Quick Trick Tips

2011-10-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share a few things which may or may not be directly GD related as they've come from personal discovery within the context of working that system with whatever other background influences and all - anyhow, if you get something you do, if not no biggie..

so, here's 3 things you can do when the world is too much with you:

1. Close your eyes, around you is infinite space, the horizon in all directions. Do you like desert? if so its desert if not it's your call but you know that you know that you know that no one but you can exist there, and you have absolute confidence that no one will peak their head over the horizon to come toward you. Now sign of silence, open your eyes, and that desert can be between you and everything else, when you need it, even on a crowded bus, so breathe easy.

2. Feel the universe and all past and future, thought, emotion, and every possible thing or form or idea or label or relative position or anything, everything, as if it were all in a giant ocean that contains all space and time. Now, the top, or surface, of the water is *just* above your head. Recall "the breath/spirit of God moves upon the face of the waters" and allow a tiny whirlpool to form just at the crown of your head where the hair all flows outward from (bowing your head slightly like a Buddha statue, looking toward your third eye such that the line from your Qoph to your Resh is parallel with the ground). Now pull the whirlpool down a bit into your head, allowing the water that was within you to be replaced with the emptiness, and breath and spirit, that is above. Now slowly bring the whirlpool down until it contains you, then let it form an egg shape of emptiness around you between you and that ocean. sign of silence.

3. This one I just discovered last night. when your thoughts are on a project or something that is here now with a deadline and which affects you and your mood and consumes your thoughts and serves to separate you from others and loved ones, here is something you can do - look up toward your third eye, with eyes closed - and now, put your concentration and attention on a point directly in front of you as far as you can imagine. Now that the channels are open, let the pure new spirit you have tapped into fill you through that line and release and clean everything out - direct it and you may find you can instantly heal a cold, if you have one. then, let the world unfold tron-like or matrix-like out from that point in front of you and the whole horizon and everything, the sphere all around. Behold, you have moved from a tiny-box-microcosm to a vast-infinite-space-microcosm.

much love,

You Might Be an Initiate...

2011-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

(inspired by Jeff Foxworthy’s "You Might Be a Redneck...")

If you wear a Star-of-David necklace, but you’re not Jewish, you might be an initiate.

If you have ever used the word "exoteric" in a sentence, you might be an initiate.

If you stay up all night painting something that you have no intention of ever to showing anyone, you might be an initiate.

If you smile knowingly when people talk about the symbolism on the back of the dollar bill, you might be an initiate.

If you've ever looked at the caduceus symbol on a doctor’s office and thought "heh... how appropriate", you might be an initiate.

If you most often respond to the question "how do you know each other" with "oh, you know... mutual friends...", you might be an initiate.

If you have a room at home that’s always locked and you tell people "I just have a lot of personal things in there", you might be an initiate.

If you have a dog named Anubis and a goatee, you might be an initiate.

If you have to ask one of your closest friends to remind you what their "earthly name" is, you might be an initiate.

If you've ever asked someone to please stop calling you "Soror" at work, you might be an initiate.

If you’ve ever accidently called your Priest "brother", you might be an initiate.

If you ask people for permission to "pray for" them, you might be an initiate.

If the main reason you want to go to the British Museum is to see the original Sigilum Dei Aemeth, you might be an initiate.

and finally......

If you are proficient at painting, woodworking, ancient languages, accounting, delegation, management, public speaking, and teaching, yet none of this is reflected on your résumé, you just might be an initiate.

The Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley

2011-08-22T10:53:00.000-07:00

What is the significance of the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the valley?

******

Much poetry is written about these. "Rose of Sharon" comes from a King James mistranslation of "Crocus of Sharon" – Sharon being the region where that flower is found, but it is from in the Songs of Solomon "I am a Rose of Sharon and a Lily of the Valley". The book is a love poem with 3 parties: The Lover (God) the Beloved (the Bride/Malkuth) and the witnesses. It is probably the most Sufi-like of anything in the Bible. So, basically, the reference is a dry British Masonic attempt to capture the same kind of lover/beloved relationship between Keter (God) and Malkut (mankind) which can more easily be found in the works of Rumi and Hafiz. For example:

Mismatched Newlyweds

- by Hafiz

Like

a pair

of mismatched newlyweds,

one of whom still feels very insecure,

I keep turning to God

saying,

"Kiss Me."

******

The tablet of Shewbread is sort of confusing also. I understand most of it's individual parts, but I'm not putting it together as a whole idea. Further, yod, Heh, Vav, Heh is put together in several different permutations. How were the permutations determined and why put next to particular astrological signs?

******

Each of those permutations of YHVH are used as the Divine name of that Zodiacal sign. I’m not sure their origin before the Golden Dawn. The pattern can be found with the following three rules:

1. Every Cardinal sign’s permutation is YHVH in its normal order, beginning with the letter of the element of the cardinal sign, and wrapping around if need be to finish the word.

2. Every Fixed sign’s permutation is the immediately preceding Cardinal sign with the last 2 letters switched

3. Every Mutable sign’s permutation is the immediately preceding Fixed sign with the final letter moved to the 2nd position, bumping the 2nd and 3rd letters into the 3rd and 4th position.

Why? I’m not sure. But this is where the astrological divine names for the S1 ritual are derived, and several other higher level workings. You are not expected to memorize them. In fact, I never have, but I can appear like I have by knowing the 3 rules I’ve just mentioned.

******

In several places in the Zelator initiation it refers to Kerubim.The Great Angel sandalphon says ..."I am the left hand of Kerub of the Ark..." also, the Heirophant draws the sing of the "ox" which is the "kerub" of the North. I thought that the Kerubim were in Yesod, not Malkuth and the Ashim were in Malkuth. I guess I'm getting some types of concepts mixed up.

******

Yeah, it can be confusing. Kerubim is plural for Kerub, "the four Kerubs" are lion man bull and eagle. "The Kerubim of the Arc" are the two golden angels that are on the top of the arc:

Those two angels are Sandalphon and Metatron, who are the Archangels which rule Malkut and Keter, respectively.

In a churchy sense, it’s an order of angels – and, if I’m not mistaken, Satan is from that order of angels, in that context.

And, finally, in a Hallmark™ context, they are very cutesy obnoxious babies ornamenting religious-leaning birthday cards.

******

Page 12 says that the 7 double letters have two sounds. I only know of 4 double letters that have two sounds: B,V; K,Ch; P,F; and Sh,S. What are the 3 other double letters with two sounds?

******

Oddly, since Shin is considered a Mother Letter it is not counted as a Double Letter. Tav, Kaph, Peh, Resh, Daleth, Beth, and Gimel are “the double letters” referenced in the Sephir Yetzirah where it talks about the 12 single letters being the zodiac, the 7 doubles being the planets, and the 3 singles being the mothers. I too have had trouble finding another reference to these being the “double letters” other than the Sephir Yetzirah and the Zelator.

******

Page 17: when the times are ended, He will call the ... and all shall be consumed and become Infinite and Holy. This sounds very Jewish and tends to discredit reincarnation which I strongly believe in. Just a statement of philosophy.

******

Buddha has also pointed out the value in transcending the wheel of life and death. It may help to think “outside of time”. When *time* has ended (or on that level where it never existed) all that has been created is consumed in the Light, and is made infinite and Holy. That might help.

770,

Stained Glassed

2011-08-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Esoterinerd Vocabulary for the Day - "Stained Glassed": (adjective) Can be used to describe the messagings which an individual claims to be channeling from a higher source (such as a god, an angel, or a ghost) when it is evident that the person performing the channeling has already predetermined the jist of what the message will be and/or pre-established a set of talking points which they will then present as if the source of the message was someone or something other than themselves. Sometimes you might feel a real presence, even as it is real sunlight which shines through stained glass, illuminating the picture already created by the artist. (for example: “last night’s channeling was very obviously stained glassed, but I got something out of it anyway.”)

Todd: I think that anyone and everyone who channels is guilty of this to some extent. as long as you have a Ruach (a soul) -the message being filtered through it will to some extent be corrupted. This goes from the highest, most enlightened, on down. The question is- "To what degree?" and "What are the motives behind it?"

P.S.: Larry's Clue Farm called, and thought I should mention, at this point, that having a knee jerk reaction to the above, when no one has mentioned any names, and then word-violently barfing back the definition of the word "hater" is itself evidence (whereas the above isn't) of your own guilt. It's the equivalent of responding to "hi, how are you?" with "what?! I wasn't anywhere near fifth street! besides, what motive would I have had - you've got nothing on me - this is harassment, officer!"

Theoricus Poker...?

2011-07-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

Avete!

So, I haven't tried playing this, but it seems like a fun way to drill correspondences - I suppose it'd be preferable to use a deck other than the one you read with.

So here it goes: the dealer gives everyone 7 cards. The person to their left puts a card in the middle face up - any card they want, then draws a card from the facedown deck that's left over. The next person has to put a card on it that either is of the same planet, element, zodiac, is a sephira connected to the path, or a path connected to the sephira. 2's, then, would go with any zodiacal, or Aleph, Daleth, Heh or Vav - or any wand - 6's with any king (based on the four-world correspondences listed below "for simplicity's sake"), resh (sun), gimel, heh, zayin, nun, samek, or ayin - nun would go with cups or 6's, 7's or 5 for Mars, or peh. If you pass, you still have to draw a card. If someone puts down a card that doesn't correspond, anyone playing can call bullshit and if they're right, the person who put it down has to pick up all the cards that are face up - but if it does correspond, the person who called bullshit has to pick them up. Whoever runs out of cards first wins. Should make for some interesting debates and stretchy correspondances - have fun :)

770,

For simplicity's sake, the Supernal Triangle could correspond with all Kings, the Ethical all Queens, the Astral all Knights, and the 10s all Pages.

, then goes with any King, Sword, Ace or 2 (the sephirot it connects), as well as , , and , and (one could argue) Wand (primal element).

goes with any King, 8 (for mercury), Ace or 3 (the sephirot it connects), or (ruled by mercury), Wand (primal element) or (one might argue) Sword (element of planet (too stretchy?)), and then there's the Shem correspondences to consider... perhaps for a more "Advanced Theoricus Poker", in which case it would also go with , , , , or .

goes with any 9, Ace, or 6, King, or Queen, as well as , , , , and , and (one could argue) Cup, and for the "Advanced" version, , , , , or .

goes with any 7, 2, 3, or King, as well as , , , , , , , and (one could argue) Wand, and for the "Advanced" version, , , , , or .

goes with any 2 (since it connects it *and* 2 goes with all Zodiacals), 6, 5, King, Queen, or Wand, as well as , , and for the "Advanced" version, , , or .

goes with any 2 (for both the same reasons as the Emperor does), 4, 7, King, Queen, or Pentacle, (one could argue) 10, as well as , , and for the "Advanced" version, , , or .

goes with any 2, 3, 4, 8, King, Queen, or Sword, as well as , , and for the "Advanced" version, , , or .

Will add more later.

Oh, and also I discovered that "Neophyte Poker" would be the same, but with no major arcana. Basically like Uno - 4s with 4s, cups with cups - the court cards presenting a slight challenge for newbies.

The Pillars, the Trinity, and the Moon

2011-07-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hi, on page 12 it says that the Hegemon stands between the pillars of Hermes and Solomon. I thought that the pillars are the Pillars of Hermes and the names of the pillars are Seth and Solomon. Also, Is the second pillar spelled/pronounced closer to Yachim or Yoachim?

= “Ya-cheen” (with the ch being not “ch” as in “Charlie” but “ch” as in “Chaunakkah”)

Seth had two pillars, Solomon had two pillars (and named them Yachin and Boaz) and, also, Hermes had two pillars. Thus, the pillars “of Hermes, Seth, and Solomon”.

It says that shaking three times represent Kether, Chokmah and Binah; Love, Truth and Knowledge. What I don't understand is why is it Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Where did the feminine get lost; where is Binah in the last concept?

I would attribute “Father” to Kether or perhaps Chockma, “Son” to Tipharet, and “Holy Spirit” to the Philosophic Mercury which moves through the whole tree. “Son” refers to Adam, who is both male and female.

Of course, in Catholicism “Son” is Jesus, male, and Mary is left out of the Trinity. They call her “Spouse of God” or “Spouse of the Holy Spirit”. Mystically, the Mother would be implied in all 3 aspects of the Trinity – She is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the Mother of the Son, and the Daughter of the Father, in the sense of Binah being created and Chockma being the “masculine” aspect, the creator which comes from Kether, which is neither male nor female. In the Catholic model, Mary is supposed to be us – the faithful handmaiden of God – i.e. the Christian and the Church, praying to the Trinity.

Now, Holy Spirit can't be feminine if the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary. At least I don't think so no matter what one thinks about artificial insemination. Should it not be Father, Mother, child as the trilogies of Eqyptian religion: Osiris, Isis and Horus; Ptah, Sekhmet (Hathor in her more gentle form) and Nefertem. There were several other trilogies in Egypt and huge number in other mythos. (Please don't take offense, I know you are Catholic, but this concept of leaving out the Feminine just doesn't ring true for me. Even mystical Judaism includes the Shekinah). (I know, I know, I know - it's a mystery religion based on faith.) You need not try to answer this question.

I’m certainly not offended by criticism of Catholicism. It’s a different model, a different language, a different lesson teaching a different thing. The S1 and S2 are consistent with it: we seek to become our purest, emptiest, highest potential – and when that happens we are like the Mother, the Grail, and we can receive the Holy Spirit from the Father – and when that happens, our Human and Divine nature become one, and we “give birth” to the Son/Sun of Tipharet.

You said that the GD doesn't do much with the phases of the Moon, however I noticed that there is a class in planetary magic.

By that I mean to say there is generally not a lot of, or any of, “it’s a waxing quarter moon, so let’s do this” or “it’s a harvest moon so let’s do that” and we do our Death work closer to October 31st than we do to the first full moon in Scorpio unless, by coincidence, they’re close to one another. We do keep the waxing and waning moon in mind when doing particular kinds of work to bring in or get rid of something – and, yes, a *great* deal of planetary work in the 2nd Order – but, honestly, the planetary work we do can be done with or without consulting the stars. It gives it an extra punch when we consult the stars, but it is not necessary. That being said, there are times when we’ll do certain kinds of planetary talisman work and will insist on doing it not only on the correct planetary hour and day, but with favorable aspects – which might delay a talisman consecration by several months, but that scenario doesn’t come up very often.

Therefore, I assume that you guys do magic according to the correspondence of the hours, days, etc of the planets. For instance, Monday is Moon day so the first hour as the Sun reaches the horizon is Moon, the second hour is Saturn, third is Jupiter, fourth is Mars, etc. Do you guys follow this pattern?

Yes, though honestly I personally put very little value in it. I have much experience invoking whatever planet I need to invoke without taking those things in mind. To me, it leans a little bit away from magic and toward superstition, if there is a difference, but I’m familiar with it and we do use it in the Order.

I've had some positive results when I put my heart and soul into it.

That’s the key.

770,

C.R.C. in Damascus

2011-06-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

Our 5=6 Initiation, as well as the Fama Fraternitatis from which some of the 5=6 Initiation is derived, raises many questions. Among them:

Is this to be taken literally or figuratively?

How much of it is figurative and how much is literal?

Is this the partially remembered and partially embellished, and perhaps
intentionally obscured, account of actual events?

I have no intention of answering any of these questions. What I want to present to you in this post is one possible answer to some aspects of these questions.

For one thing, circumstantial evidence points to a strong possibility that Brother Christian Rosenkreutz was allegorically the famous historic Johannas Trithemius, known to some as “The Benedictine Abbot” and to others as “The Father of the Western Mystery Tradition”. Now of course Johannas was born in 1462, not 1378, but both were poor German nobility who learned Greek and Latin and became monks and practiced the Magic of Light, Angelic Magic, and had students in secret and so on. Regardless of whether they are the same person or not, there is another possible answer to another question raised by the Fama, in the statement:

While yet a youth, he accompanied a certain Brother P.A.L. on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but the latter, dying at Cyprus, he himself went to Damascus. There was then in Arabia a Temple of the Order which was called in the Hebrew tongue 'Damkar,' that is, the Blood of the Lamb. There he was duly initiated, and took the mystic title Christian Rosenkreutz, or Christian of the Rosy Cross.

The question is:

What and where was this “Temple of the Order”?

What would C.R.C. have learned there?

Briefly, I’ll explain why I believe the “Temple of the Order” where CRC took his name to have been connected to a certain individual: 'أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن محمد بن عربي or, for brevity’s sake: Ibn Arabi. Then, I will get to what I intend to be the focus of this post, one possible answer to that second question, “what would CRC have learned there?”: The Teachings of Ibn Arabi.

Ibn Arabi was born in Al Aldalus (later, Spain) on July 28, 1165. His father was widely known in Arabia as al-Shaykh al-Akbar "The Greatest Sheykh", and was also known in medieval Europe as "Doctorus Maximus". Al Andalus at that time had recently (about a hundred years earlier) had what could accurately be referred to as “a Neo-Platonic Revival” – great philosophers of Ancient Greece, such as Plato, were being widely published in Arabic, and discussed there by a diverse population of Christians, Jews, and Moslems, sharing hukkas in coffeehouses, for instance.

Ibn Arabi’s family were Sufis, and the title "The Greatest Sheykh" meant that his father was known as the greatest of those authorized to teach, initiate and guide aspiring dervishes. Islamic tradition focuses on the importance of chains and legitimization. In Sufism, shaykhs are connected by a continuous spiritual chain that links every previous Sufi shaykh, and eventually can be traced back to the Successors, and to the Prophet himself. In other words, there is a parallel concept to our Christian Mysticism - the idea that the true, mystic, inner teachings of Christ were for the few initiated aspirants, tracing their lineage, spiritually if not apostolically, to Saint John. Sufism has a similar concept of its own teachings as far as a deeper understanding of Islam.

These eccentric ideas were a great deal more common the further west you traveled in the Arabian Empire, and more frowned upon in the increasingly dogmatic Eastern areas closer to Mecca. Ibn Arabi brought these teachings from Spain to Damascus, and spent the last 17 years of his life in Damascus.

He had friends in high places in Damascus, and was greeted there as a spiritual master and a spacious house was provided to him by the Grand Qadi of the town Ibn Zakī. In Damascus, he devoted himself to writing and teaching to fulfil the commandment of his Lord: “Counsel My servants.” The first thing he did was to collect and disseminate the works which had already been written, copies were made and reading sessions took place in his house. At the same time, he devoted his attention to complete the lengthy Futūḥāt.

During this period of his life, he imparted direct instructions to many of his disciples including Ṣadruddīn al-Qūnawī. He was brought up alongside Ibn ‘Arabī own family in Malatya and after the death of his real father Qūnawī joined Shaykh al-Akbar in Damascus. He accompanied and served Kirmānī on his travels in Egypt, Hijaz and Iran. In his private collection Ṣadruddīn wrote that he had studied 10 works of Ibn ‘Arabī under him and later Ibn ‘Arabī gave him a certificate to freely relate them on his authority. He studied and discussed with Ibn ‘Arabī no less than 40 works, including the whole text of Futūḥāt, or “Meccan Revelations”, in 20 volumes.

Ibn Arabi died in Damascus on November 10, 1240, but teachings, his House of Learning, and the commandment to "Counsel My (God's) Servants" was continued by his students.

Then, 138 years later:

"In 1378 was born the Chief and originator of our Fraternity in Europe.”

Who, while yet a youth, traveled to Damascus, was initiated into “A Temple of the Order” and took on his name, “Christian of the Rosy Cross”. So, one possible answer to these questions is that the “spacious house” provided to Ibn Arabi by the Grand Qadi of the town Ibn Zakī is the very same “Temple of the Order” where C.R.C. was first initiated, and where he took on his name.

The Teachings of Ibn Arabi

The following are assorted quotes from Ibn Arabi from his master work which he completed in Damascus toward the end of his life, the Futûhât al-Makkiyya, or “Meccan Revelations” which can be found in the library at the Temple of Isis, as well as quotes from his other literary works.

God and the cosmos demand one another and are inconceivable apart from one another.

God is the Light of the heavens and earth.

Light it is any divine inrush which dispels engendered existence from the heart.

The opposite of 'engendered existence' is the Divine Being.

Light indeed is identical with the Divine Reality; to perceive it is to perceive God.

The kingdom exists in water, or water is the root of the manifestation of the kingdom's entity.

Within it become manifest the forms of the cosmos, which is the kingdom of God.

The cosmos is restricted to entities and relationships.

The entities are existential, while the relationships are intelligible and non-existent.

So life belongs to the entities, and death to the relationships.

The spirit's manifestation to the body is the life of that body, just as the sun becomes manifest in order to illuminate those bodies to which it becomes manifest.

The spirit's absence from the body is the disappearance of life from it, Hence coming together is life and separation death.

Coming together and separation are intelligible relationships with manifest properties, even though they have no existence in entity.

You should know that all the faculties in man and every living thing, like the faculties of sensation, imagination, memory, form-giving, and all the other faculties attributed to all bodies, high and low, belong only to the spirit.

They come to be when the spirit exists and bestows life upon the body. When one of the faculties ceases to be, this is because the spirit turns away from the body in the respect in which that specific faculty has come to be.

So understand! When the spirit turns away from the body entirely, all the faculties and life disappear along with the spirit's disappearance. This is called 'death'. It is like night through the absence of the sun.

As for sleep, it is not a complete turning away. Rather, it is vaporous veils which come between the faculties and the sensory objects of their perception, while life remains in the sleeper.

This is like the sun when clouds come between it and a specific location on the earth.

The brightness - like life [in the sleeper] - continues to exist, but the sun cannot be perceived.

The name Manifest - if you verify it - is the cosmos, since the cosmos is to the Real as the body is to the governing spirit.

And the name Non-manifest belongs to everything that is hidden from the existent things in the relationship of life to themselves.

The human being exists through the whole, since he is defined as a 'rational animal'.

His animality is his manifest form, since 'animality' denotes the same thing as 'a feeding and sensate body', though more briefly.

The word 'animal' was preferred in the realm of verbal expression because of its abbreviated form, since it is equivalent in denotation.

Man is 'rational' in respect of his supra-sensory reality, and this reality is nothing other than what we mentioned. Hence in our view the whole cosmos, which consists of everything other than God, is a 'rational animal', though its bodies, its feeding, and its sensations are diverse.

It is manifest through its animal form and nonmanifest through its intrinsic life which comes to exist through the divine self-disclosure, which exists continuously.

Hence there is nothing save God, His names, and His acts.

He is the First in respect to the name Manifest, and He is the Last in respect to the name Non-manifest.

So understand! If this were not the case, the creatures alone would perform acts, and the divine power would not pervade all the possible things, or rather, the possibilities would vanish from the divine power.

So glory be to the Manifest who is not hidden, and glory be to the Hidden who is not manifest!

Through Him the creatures are veiled from knowing Him, and He made them blind through the intensity of His self-manifestation.

Hence they are deniers, acknowledgers, waverers, bewildered, correct, mistaken. And praise belongs to God, who favored us with such!

******

Our eyes fall only upon Him, and we support ourselves only through Him. 'There is no god but He, the Inaccessible, the Wise’.

...Consider the images and forms on the screen of the shadow play. In the eyes of the small children far from the veil of the screen set up between them and the person who manipulates the figures and speaks through them, who speaks within these forms?

The situation is similar with the forms of the cosmos. The majority of people are these small children whom we have supposed, and you know from whence things come to them.

The children in the gathering are happy and delighted. The heedless take it for a sport and diversion. The men of knowledge take heed and know that God has set this up only as a likeness.

That is why, at the beginning, a figure comes out known as the narrator. He delivers an address in which he magnifies and praises God. Then he talks about each kind of form which will come out after him from behind the screen. The gathering comes to know that God has set this up as a likeness for His servants, in order that they might take heed and come to know that the cosmos is related to God just as these forms are related to their mover and that the screen is the veil of the mystery of destiny...

Then the narrator goes away. He is like the first person existent among us, Adam. When he went away, he went away from us to his Lord, behind the screen of the Unseen. 'And God speaks the truth, and He guides on the way’.

******

Perfect man has two visions of the Real, which is why He appointed for him two eyes.

With one eye he looks upon Him in respect to the fact that He is Independent of the worlds. So he sees Him neither in anything nor in himself.

Through the other eye he looks upon Him in respect of His name All-merciful, which seeks the cosmos and is sought by the cosmos. He sees His Being permeating all things. Through the vision of this eye he is poor toward everything in respect to the fact that the things are the names of God, not in respect of their own entities. Hence, none is poorer toward the cosmos than perfect man, since he witnesses it subjected to himself.

He knows that if he did not need the cosmos, those things that are subjected to him would not have been subjected to him.

He knows in himself that he is more in need of the cosmos than the cosmos is in need of him.

His all-inclusive poverty stands in the station of the all-inclusive divine Independence.

In respect of poverty, he takes up a position in the cosmos like the position of the Real in respect to the divine names, which demand the displaying of effects in the cosmos.

He only becomes manifest in his poverty by the manifestation of the names of the Real.

Perfect man is the Real in his independence from the cosmos, since the cosmos has been subjected for his sake by the divine names that display their effects within it.

Nothing is subjected to him except that which possesses the display of effects, without respect to the entity of the cosmos.

So he is poor only toward God.

******

The knower of God thanks God in order to create the form of thanksgiving constantly; thereby he makes the glorifiers of God, those who perform His worship, more numerous.

When God knows this from him, He increases him in outward and inward blessings, so that he may possess the attribute of creating thanksgiving without cease. This situation belongs to him constantly in this world and the next.

The greatest plane through which thanksgiving becomes manifest within existence is the plane of thanksgiving for the blessing of the Form of Perfection and the plane of thanksgiving for the blessing of subjection.

When through his thanksgiving the thanksgiver seeks increase because of what God has promised, God gives him nothing of the blessing of increase except in the measure and form of his seeking, i.e. whether it is mixed or flawless. His increase will be a forgiveness, a pardon, and a passing over, nothing else.

******

Know that the objects of Knowledge are Four:

(Atziluth) God, who is described by non delimited being, for He is neither the effect nor the cause of anything.

Knowledge of Him consists of knowledge that He exists and His existence is not other than His essence, though His essence remains unknown.

Rather, the attributes that are attributed to Him are known: the attributes of meanings, which are the attributes of Perfection.

As for knowledge of the essence of reality, that is prohibited.

It cannot be known through logical proof or rational demonstration, nor can definition grasp it, for He, glory be to Him, is not similar to anything, nor is anything similar to Him.

So how should he who is similar to things know him to whom nothing is similar, and who is similar to nothing?

So, your knowledge of Him is only that nothing is like Him.

(Briah) The Second Object of Knowledge is the Universal Reality that belongs to God and the world, and is qualified neither by existence nor non-existence, temporal origin nor eternity.

This reality is eternal when Eternal is described by it, but this reality does not exist until those things described by it exist.

If something exists without a precedent non-existence, as for example the being of God and His attributes one says about His reality, because God is qualified by it, one says that this reality is an eternal existent.

But if something exists after non-existence as for example the existence of everything other than God, and existent through something other than itself, then it is said to be temporally originated. In each existent it accords with its own reality since it does not accept division, since it has neither whole nor part, it cannot be known disengaged from form through logical proof or demonstration.

In short this reality has come into existence by means of God from this Reality but it is not existent, such that God might have brought us into existence from an eternal existence that we should be established as eternal.

The origin of creation is the dust, the first existent within it is the Universal reality pertaining to the all-merciful. A reality which is not restricted by position, since it is not specially confined.

From what did creation come into existence? From the known Reality which is described neither by existence nor non-existence.

Within what did it come into existence? Within the dust.

In what likeness did it come into existence? The form known within God’s self.

Why did it come into existence? To make manifest the Divine Realities.

What is its goal? Deliverance from mixture so that each world may know it’s share from the Producer. So, it’s goal is to make manifest its own Realities, the true knowledge of the spheres of the greater world, which is everything other than man (in the technical terminology of the community) and of the smaller worlds, man has to do with the spirit cause and occasion of the world. The world’s spheres are its stations, it’s movements and the differentiation of its strata. Just as man is small by way of his body, so he is paltry by way of his temporal origin.

But the theomorphism is a fact since he is vicergent of God in the world the world is subjected to him and a vassal of God in the same way that man is the vassal of God.

Know that man’s most perfect plane is in the world.

As for the next world the state of each person of the two groups will be one half, though not his knowledge, since each group has knowledge of the opposite state.

For in this world man is nothing if not faithful and infidel at once: felicity and wretchedness, bliss and chastisement, blissful and chastised.

Hence knowledge in this world is more complete, while theophany in the next world is more elevated – so understand and open this lock.

For those who understand I’ve composted an intimation. Though its words are repulsive and loathsome, its meaning is marvelous:

The Spirit of the Great Essence is the Small Existence!

If not for him He would not say “I am the great, the powerful, let not my temporal origin veil you, nor my annihilation and resurrection, for I, if you regard me closely am the all-encompassing, the great, in my essence I belong to the eternal, though I am manifest and newly arisen – God is the solitary, the eternal, afflicted by no incapacity, engendered existence is a new creation imprisoned in his two hands – it follows from this that I am the paltry existence, and that every essence turns round in my existence, for there is no night like my night, no light like my light, he who calls me servant, I am the poor servant, he who says that I am existence, I am the all-aware existence! So call me a king, and find me such. Or the rabble, you will not go wrong. Oh you who are ignorant of my worth, you who are the all-knowing and all-seeing, inform my existence about me, though words are both true and false. Say to your people that I am the all compassionate, the all forgiving, say that my chastisement is the ruinous chastisement, and say that I am weak, incapable, a prisoner.

So how should anyone attain blessing or ruin at my hand?"

******

The Real made me contemplate the light of the veils as the star of strong backing rose, and He said to me, “Do you know how many veils I have veiled you with?”

“No”, I replied.

He said, “With seventy veils. Even if you raise them you will not see Me, and if you do not raise them you will not see Me.”

“If you raise them you will see Me and if you do not raise them you will see Me.”
“Take care of burning yourself!”

“You are My sight, so have faith. You are My Face, so veil yourself.”

O my God, gift me with a heart by which I may be devoted to You in utter poverty, led by yearning and driven by desire, [a heart] whose provision is fear [of You] and whose companion is restlessness, whose aim is [Your] closeness and acceptance! In Your Nearness lies the consummation of those who aim, and the fulﬁlment of the desire of those who search.

O lover – whosoever you are – know that the veils between you and your beloved – whosoever he might be – are nothing save your halt with things, not the things themselves; as said by the one who hasn’t tasted the flavor of realties. You have halted with things because of the shortcoming of your perception; that is, lack of penetration, expressed as the veil; and the veil is nonexistence and nonexistence is nothingness. Thus there is no veil, If the veils were true, then who got veiled from you, you should also have been in veil from him.

O my God, You are Self-Standing by Your own Essence; Encompassing with Your Qualities; Revealed through Your Names; Manifest in Your Acts; and Hidden by virtue of what is only known to You!

You are Alone in Your Majesty, as You are the One, the Unique; and You have singularized Yourself, as You permanently endure in eternity without beginning or end. You, You are God, who by virtue of Oneness is the Only One.

With You there is none other than You; in You there is none but You.

All praise belongs to God, who veiled us by Himself, for the jealousy that anyone may know his core, He appeared as light and then got veiled from sights by His light, He manifested, but got concealed from insights by virtue of His manifestation.

Thus light entered in light, and self-manifestation got concealed in manifestation. So no sight falls but onto Him; no out-comer comes out but from Him, and no goal-seeker eventually ends up but to Him.

So, O people of intellect, where is absence or veil?

******

I invite you to look further into his work, as well as the works of other Sufi masters such as Hafiz and Rumi, keeping in mind that they may be closer in their relationship to us as Rosicrucians than you’d previously suspected.

Your Brother in Light,

The Rainbow Banana Band Sphere

2011-06-05T17:27:00.001-07:00

The purpose of The Rainbow Banana Band Sphere Method is to empower the magician with a greater familiarity with the placement of the planets in the sky, for purposes of talisman placement on an Enochian table or for purposes of more effectively drawing in a planetary ray (i.e. the SIRH) without using a computer.

All you will need is a watch or clock, and one of those pocket-astrologer-calendars, to know about where the planets are.

If you vaguely pay attention to about when the sun rises and sets by looking at a newspaper or website every so often throughout the year, and mentally adjust for daylight savings time, if you have that in your area, then you will be able to tell someone their rising sign, based on their birth date and time, with near one hundred percent accuracy, without need of a computer (or need even of a pocket astrologer calendar).

It starts by facing south.

But firstly, a disclaimer:

Well two disclaimers. First, the planets in the illustration at the top of this post are according to their corresponding Sephora's Queen Scale color - if I were to do that today I'd use the King Scale of the planet itself, like this:

Secondly - with some practice, using this method, you will, knowing only the present date and time, be able to determine, without aid, in which direction a Tropical astrological sign is (or in which direction on a 2 dimensional circle around you on the ground, as in a temple utilizing south as up and north and down, east as east and west as west)

That is exactly what you will be able to do. What I’m getting at is that it very much over simplified. This way, one can *actually* wrap one’s mind around it, with some practice.

In reality, the Earth, with its oscillating oval of an orbit and its wobbling tilted rotation, is much more complex than this method assumes. In order to actually mentally calculate the *exact* point, or location, on the sphere around your particular location, your sphere of sensation, on the surface of this planet, using reason as opposed to some sixth sense or intuition or, perhaps, some finely tuned sense of electromagnetism, there would be many more mental calculations including, but not limited to, where you are on the earth's longitude, how far to the east and west are the edges of your time zone (not to mention the bizarre way that many of them are drawn, being based a good deal more on geography and politics than on mathematics or time) et cetera.

So, in the end, you’ll know for sure what house what sign is in and, if you have the pocket astrologer, what house each planet is in, at any given time. That and, if you go outside on a clear night and look back and forth along the banana band you’re visualizing, you’ll be able to locate any planets that aren’t obscure by clouds, haze, pollution, trees, or the Earth, without any ghost of a notion what stars or constellations you’re looking at.

And it all starts by facing south:

There is a clock in the south. As you face directly to the single point on the horizon which is due south, you are looking directly at the center of the clock.

Which brings up another point… the vast majority of the time, due north is not anywhere on the horizon. It is exactly where Polaris is. In that hypothetical “advanced” banana band sphere method in which you’d be able to pinpoint the exact locations of the planets, you would need to keep that in mind… and true south would be in the exact opposite direction on your personal sphere as Polaris. If you live above the equator, Polaris will usually be above the horizon, day or night, and true south would be below the horizon.

But, don’t worry about that right now. If you can see Polaris, look at the ground directly under it. We’ll say that’s north. That’s what a compass would say, anyway… basically. Now turn around and face the point on the horizon in exactly the opposite direction. Let say, that’s South.

Oh, that’s grid south… rotational south, not magnetic south. That wobbles. Don’t worry about it.

Now: that’s where the clock is. Specifically, that’s where the *very center* of the clock is. Keep facing the clock.

Okay, now lets pretend we’re on the equator at dawn on spring equinox. This is important. In fact, every time you use this method, you’re basically assuming you’re on the equator. And, also, that you’re in the center of your time zone.

Now, as you face due south at dawn on the spring equinox on the equator, know that the whole hour (of the image of the clock in the south) of 8:00, from 8:00 to 8:59, as it would be indicated by an hour hand on this clock, is the sign of Aries. This is because today is the first day of spring, and the sun is rising. The sun is moving from the end of Pisces into the beginning of Aries. If the hour hand were to point to 9:00, is would be pointing *directly* at the sun.

As the day progresses, and the world turns, the sun will rise from 9:00 to 10:00. With it, the whole zodiacal wheel turns. The signs rise one after another, therefore Taurus is in the 7:00 hour of this particular clock you are facing. As the planets and the zodiac turn, the houses stay right where they are. The first house is always where the 8:00 hour is on this clock, the second in the 7:00 hour and so on.

Now, mentally fill in the corresponding colors of these hours (signs):

This may help you to visualize it. (note: this method can also be used using sound, rather than light, using the Golden Dawn correspondences: C=red, C#-red-orange, and so on. The only mental leap need be that the B at the top of the octave transitions upward into the C of the *same octave* and not a higher one.)

Now that you’re visualizing all of that, imagine 12 lines traced from due south, the center of the clock, to each of the 12 numbers, and allow these lines to continue outard tracing the edge of your sphere of sensation…. all the way around until they meet directly behind you (or, if you’re a pro, they meet at Polaris).

If you turn around and face north, you’ll see where the lines come together into a backward clock… 12 and 6 are in the same place, but 9 is where 3 should be and vice versa. Don’t worry about that right now. Now face east.

As you look to the horizon you’ll see that the horizon itself is the 9:00 line. Above that, the 10:00 line arcs across the sky… (or the big rubber ball you’re in that’s exactly twice the height of your eye-level, if you’d like)

Go ahead and fill that banana-shaped band, which meets directly on your right (south) and directly to your left (north) with the color crimson, or red-purple.

The crimson (red-purple) band is there in front of you, above the 10:00 line… (if you forgot where that is, just look to your right at the clock). Above that line is the purple band, which extends from 1/3 of the way up toward zenith to 2/3 of the way: the 11:00 line. Above that, the indigo band, which goes up to the 12:00 band. From there, you should be able to fill in the rest. As the sky turns, these colors rise. So… it’s 8am on spring equinox on the equator. Now, if the colors indicate the signs and not the houses, than that band which, before, was (red-purple) is now red. Okay now it’s 10am: that same band is red-orange. If you need to know where Scorpio is, at 10am on spring equinox, turn around and face west. See? Just below the horizon, stretching from the 3:00 line to the 4:00 line. If you forget where those are, turn to your left (south) and see the clock.

While this may not have sunk in just yet in one reading, with some practice, and perhaps with the aid of having all this presented in a lecture or workshop, you will be able to answer all of the following questions:

1. What is today’s date?

2. What time is it?

3. What sign is rising right now?

4. Where is Taurus? Libra? Capricorn? All of the others?

5. If Saturn is 2 degrees Virgo, Jupiter is 22 degrees Capricorn, Mars is 6 degrees Leo, the Sun is 1 degree Gemini, Venus is 26 degrees Taurus, Mercury is 20 degrees Gemini, and Luna is 24 degrees Sagittarius, than trace 7 lines with your finger in the sky, extending from north to south, knowing with absolute confidence that the 7 planets are, at this very moment, located somewhere on those 7 lines you have just drawn, give or take 7.5 degrees depending how far east or west you are from your neighboring time zones.

Your Brother in Light,

from Schism and History

2011-05-31T10:06:00.000-07:00

From schism and history, do you think the occult knowledge and practice is decreasing?

******

On the contrary – I feel it’s increasing.

Consider – how many priests of old Egypt were familiar with the practice of taking on godforms and providing initiations – and how few people were of the royal family or could afford to learn the magic known by so few and wondered at by so many?

A few hundred years ago there were relatively many initiates passing on secret knowledge in Europe and Arabia, compared to those earlier days.

Then things transformed quite a bit after England threw off the Catholic Church, and the Masons were allowed to practice openly, for example.

Today, regardless of politics, there are far more individual human beings having the “AHA!” moment on various levels and tapping into those truths which mankind has been feebly attempting to pass on in their own corroded mercury kind of way.

All of these words and symbols and Orders are external forms and practices intended to bring the individual, the initiate, into a personal contact with the Greater Truth of which the wise throughout the ages have been able to ascertain glimpses and to teach others about those glimpses in various ways.

It’s not about the glimpses – nor is it about who told someone who told someone else, or who Saint Peter patted on the head to be the next voice of God on earth – all of these worldly forms and metaphors can either help or hinder one from achieving the Great Work.

Also, as far as Orders and Schisms go – there is a great deal of shared knowledge and shared epiphany between individuals and initiates of various kinds through word, art, music, and so on – just as there was centuries ago, and more-so.

One might open up to it all and find brotherhood and community throughout the past, present and future, another might close off to it and pretend everyone in the world is wrong except for their guru.

Just a few thoughts for now. Have a great day, brother.

770,

(p.s. - Happy Birthday R.V.!!!)

Two Months Later

2011-05-10T15:05:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

So, after hearing a great deal of "so... how ya holdin' up?" and such, I asked an old friend a few minutes ago: why do people keep asking me that like I have leprosy? (by the way, I mean no offense to anyone out there who may have leprosy and I hope you'll forgive my usage of the term in this context.)

My friend replied, "well... you still work closely with Zink? That would be why people ask you that way."

So, just to clear that up - it may be the way I wrote some previous posts, I don't know, or it may be assumptions made and bounced around within a closed group, which is a phenomenon I'm quite familiar with actually. So here we go:

Firstly: no, I do not work at all with Zink.

Secondly: The turmoil I was going through in earlier posts here was not simply turmoil resulting from working with him - I went through a great deal of turmoil from about June of '10 to March of '11 in that I agreed with the position of the many who eventaully left, while I myself always knew that I was going to stay. Hence, I was on the phone with him every day trying to work out a way to hold it all together, and was very angry with him when it became clear that it wasn't worth the effort to him. It's the turmoil of a child watching his parents split up, or more like a man watching his family split up. Now that divorce is final, and visiting rights have been worked out - that turmoil has ended.

My wife and I are actively working with the Temple of Isis, and I'm still maintaining the precedent that a member of our Order need not have anything to do with Robert.

I have to say, It's been much nicer since the times of all the internal strife has ended, and I'm very grateful to have not heard much mention of Robert's name in some time (with the exception of just about every time I talk to someone who left at the Equinox)

I'm hoping that everyone will be able to move on and be happy now that you've claimed what it was you've been asking for all this time (an Order just like the one you were in, only without PDR) and that those who left because they couldn't be in the same group as the man will have a place to go back to, as it were, to practice. I am glad that there are now two Orders in the world which I can personally vouch for are good places to receive training as a Golden Dawn practitioner. These are all good things.

As for me, it's good to work with a group of people I am certain I will still be working with years down the road, since they've shown where their loyalties are by standing fast when everyone else left. It's an excellent group here at Isis, and I enjoy every minute of it, and am very happy to see where it goes.

You all know, and you always knew, that I was never going to leave TDL and Isis behind. I do not need to make you wrong about your decision in order to feel right about my decision, on the contrary - I firmly believe you are all right in your decision - and I am cheering you on, as I said I would. I also am not allowing people here at Isis to throw it all into a light where we're right and your wrong - pointing out that if AA or ICL came to my house I would let them in and make them food, and that if PDR came I would ask him to leave. (that usually shuts 'em up)

Anyhow, that's all. Just wanted you to know that FSM and I are doing very well, and Isis is doing very well, and without all the infighting the vibe hasn't been this good here since before most of your times.

I'm always glad to hear from every one of you, and I hope you all are well, and I'm certain that you are - now please stop mourning for me for God's sake. ;)

Your Brother in Light Always,

gratitude

2011-04-05T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ave,

After quite a bit of meditation on the matter, I’m finding it hard to accept that now we are just “Edward” and “Armand” to each other (i.e., “just” friends). You were my brother and my mentor/proctor for a long time – how do I just stop being someone’s brother? And, as I understand it, “Frater BT” and “Frater XYZ” represent something higher than our ego-selves. If this is true, how can I, “Armand”, declare that that fraternity no longer exists? I get that I may not append the “GH” to the beginning anymore but, if it’s OK with you, I would still like to address you as “Frater BT” when occasion calls for it (and “Edward” when it doesn’t). Is that OK?

Also, I thought you’d like to know that I discovered your blog yesterday and it inspired me to post the following on the (Ptah) Forum:

Although we have moved on, I would like to say that we should remember our brothers and sisters who have remained behind and are trying to protect new Neophytes from Robert's vampirism. I would like to propose, if so guided, that we perform some ritual work for the Neophytes' protection, for the protection of the Adepti who have stayed behind, for the protection of our old Mighty Mother, Temple Isis, and to heal this evil as it appears in Robert, and in us.

With Love.

770
Frater XYZ

******

That is so sweet! Thank you brother!!! :’)

770!

(p.s. - this one's for y'all: the heart of gaia)

(note: the name "Armand" and "Frater XYZ" are both aliases)

answering 2 letters at once

2011-04-04T14:15:00.001-07:00

Greetings brother,

Hope u are doing ok.

******

Not too bad, thanks. :)

******

I have to say this to someone... how can RZ be agreeing to zero contact with the outer order and at the same time promote power week on the public forum?

He also has the gall to post about light and Rosicrucian values without any repenting, without any effort to repay all the members he took money from, without any letters of apology to all the people he has insulted and damaged throughout the years.

******

From what I can gather the answer to both questions has to do with machismo and attention. Directly and indirectly. There was also something about how when you're putting someone into a trance, you're supposed to push and pull at the same time. In other words.... It's hot! it's cold! hot-cold! cold-hot! now your mind belongs to me. See how that works? or doesn't work? or neitherboth?

So, yeah, the "not talking to anyone in the outer" which was "voluntary" (which is the only reason he agreed to it was because he made it up all on his own, which had nothing to do, surely, with the mass exodus of people fed up with him having contact with the outer) was supposed to have one acception: 3 days of classes at Power Week. (originally that was a legitimate typo, but I left it that way since it was accidently clever – an *exception*... we’re all supposed to just *accept* - 4-5-11)

(By the way, any Isis members who want to sign up for powerweek can do so at http://www.golden-dawn-california.com under "members only" or by calling Isis directly at 626-960-6400 - and then you won't have have to have any contact with RZ in the application process, anyway, or with his website esoteric golden dawn dot com - and there's nothing prohibiting you from walking out of the room when RZ's around. I mean, you don't have to walk out *permanantly* but there is that option available to you as well.)

******

Its like he insults everyone's intelligence.

******

Take it as a compliment: he doesn't know that everyone's not actually that stupid!

******

How does he think has the right to return to his position of power after what he has done. I so wish he would realise that people are not stupid. They are not there for him to play games with.

He will never regain anyones trust this way. The only way is by action to repay people and redress the balance again.

******

Hopefully reading you saying so right now will help him to remember to do that. It's bascially the macho thing - the reasoning is "if I humble myself and apologize, then people will think of me as a lame old man apologizing, rather than the great pillar of daddy-strength everyone wants me to be" ("everyone" in this case being: just him).

******

Ok forgiveness is one thing but to give him back the power and opportunity to damage people again is something totally else.

******

I know, huh? That's been my point ever since “Love and Forgiveness” became the buzz-word bullet-points of the day.

There is Forgiveness, and there is being a Shlamazel:

Forgiveness is when you forgive someone and stop holding a grudge.

Being a Shlamazel is allowing the Schlemiel to come into your house knowing that they'll break all your stuff because they're a Schlemiel.

Forgiveness and being a Shlamazel are mutually exclusive.

******

Well, as the Master said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (not by their words and talk).

******

Well, yes, but let's wait till he's passed on from this world to start inventing obscure compliments for him, lol.

******

Since TDL is the imperator what is the role of PDR in the order?

******

“Chief Magus,” if you ask him, but if you ask anyone of us who stayed he’s basically an amoral and sociopathic genius who’s been very very naughty and needs to not be talking to the outer right now, even though he still is, and TDL himself and various concerned adepti and portals and philosophi are trying to talk him out of it, and I’m sure he’s loving all the attention.

******

PDR even tho he said he will change he is still writing in his f*** blocks and attacking other orders... what is his problem?!?! lol not that I like david gr. but its not right...

******

His problem is... well, there’s probably more than one problem... I don’t know, lol. I’m just doin’ what I can on my end.

******

in what way the inner and outer order are separated and who is governing each order? under what name are we finally registered and what name is the guys from ptah?

******

As of now, from what I understand, Isis is going by “The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, Grand Temple of Isis Mighty Mother” and Ptah is going “The Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn, Grand Temple of Ptah” – and PDR and TDL are saying that Chic Cicero says Ptah should change its name, as if that would deter them – I am certain Griffin would be glad to give Ptah formal written permission to use the name as well – and certainly I would show up in court if need be to defend Ptah’s right to call themselves whatever the fuck they want to. (Needless to say, I disagree with PDR and TDL on a few points of politics.) (I've just heard word that the Ptah based Order has already changed their name to: "Order of the Golden Dawn" - 4-6-11)

******

also is pdr planning to get rid of his esoteric golden dawn website since he is not allowed anymore to do stuff...

******

I think it would take a judge and jury to get PDR to do anything he doesn’t want to do. And even that might not work.

******

thank you for ur time frater.

******

You’re welcome :)

770,

(p.s. Happy Birthday FDA!!!)

letters from an old friend

2011-03-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hey Frater,

What is going on the EOGD? TDL sending those letters about 2012 and from the looks of the letter using fear mongering to collect monies. I know that all of the Orders are always at each other throats (not very enlightened) but it sounds like you guys are falling apart at the seams. Can you please explain to me if the chiefs of all these orders claim that they have mastered this system of magic and can commune with the Ascended Masters, how is it possible that there is so much poverty, power struggle, hypocrisy, and strife when connection to the divine only brings abundance, peace, wisdom, and truth?

I originally left the order before everyone else of my time, because of all the ...for lack of a better word BULLSHIT... that I saw everyday occurring at the temple, especially from the guidance and teachings and energy of a currently fallen leader and also because of a temple member that was grading up faster than everyone else because she was having her way with one of the Chiefs of the order, with a bullshit excuse that she was meant for the light, when in truth its because she opened her lotus flower to his wand.

Please note that I send love, peace, and prosperity to both the temple, its people, and its former members wishing them worlds of good things, and that I do not hold a grudge. What I am asking is for truth, because I have one of the most dangerous mouths in existence and will put every single person in check and more. If I am lied or bullshitted and I do not want to bring this energy into anyones round of existence. If you guys are putting out fires, and know there is corruption and/or are falling apart tell me now because you do not want me there.

Again please forgive my brutal honesty and my rough approach to this but I wish to keep the peace and beauty both in the EOGD world and mine.

Many blessings

******

Ave Frater,

Probably not the right time then :) I've said my piece on the subject, and will continue to, at http://fraterfrancesco.blogspot.com/ - after 17 years of varying degrees of saturation in my soul with order bullshit, its not the sort of thing I like thinking about.

I hear you asking me to dissect it all for you. I don't know where to begin. I dont know why to begin. If you have a specific question let me know and ill do my best.

Yours,
BT

******

Thank you, I don't need to know or do I want to know the gossip or details, as I believe those things are petty and lowly. I do appreciate your honestly.

Please note that I don't believe the Order is bullshit but rather the drama created by its people.

I was coming back to the order because I wanted to complete my education but I asked for a sign from god if it was the right thing to do and he has answered.

Please forgive me if I have offended you or anyone else it was not my intention.

******

if you want, I can get you in touch with all those who left to form a PDR-free order. It's still possible to pursue the GD here, but only with a high BS tolerance. Or a twisted transcendental sense of humor like I've got.

Much love

******

Thank You, but I will pass. I do not care about PDR being there or not, I am NOT one of those people that wanted to join back because he is gone. I wanted to complete my alchemy, If he is present or not I don't care. I actually wish him well, that the light of love and peace shines upon him day and night every where he goes. And I hope my prayers are heard that about Isis temple being prosperous. But I have come to the conclusion that I want to stay away from all the orders until they come to reach their supposed divinity. Thanks though.

This sounds like what happened to the Roman Empire.

Such sadness :(

******

It does resemble the great schism of 1000 AD, surely. the same old Caesar vs the Republic struggle. Seems like an unsolvable dilema like why is the sky blue or why are relationships hard. some unsolvable paradox.

they're all still my best of friends. and it's prompted me to reach out to a lot of other people i've missed. there's still a "real" order that the dirty hands of human egos can't touch. it's the one we keep trying to create or immitate, and failing miserably. we're all brothers and sisters in the great empire of light, regardless of what it all looks like down here on earth. that's how i think of it, anyway. it helps, then it's not so sad. that and we're all immortal, have always and will always know each other. this is just, like, play time. pretending time. pretending to be temporal. same old story, what goes around comes around.

Battlestar Esoterica - the saga will continue.

It's important to turn off the show and go outside though.

Often. :)

much love

******

Words of Wisdom :)

Have a good one.

to the artist formerly known as "Alien Munoz"

2011-03-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

Hey bro :)

I was wondering if you could remove - or at least rewrite - your post on that old maat place. Say what you will about Robert, but the others you're attacking there really don't deserve it.

Everyone on both sides have been pretty cordial so far, and your post kind of is making people think that people who are being civilized aren't. Believe me, I understand where you're coming from about PDR, and you know I am into free speech and all, but. Well, that's all. Just asking for that favor is all.

I hope you are well.

Miss you.

BT

"don't give that man your credit card number" (battlestar esoterica, season 146.5 epidode 17, season finale)

2011-03-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

So for those of you who recently rejoined the Temple of Isis because you were overjoyed that PDR is out, you may want to resign from Isis and join Ptah now. They're good people. I've got something I've gotta do here at Isis.

If you want my advice, I'd say to make the choice that will bring you the most happiness.

Wish me luck.

More later.

Yours,
Frater B.T.

please note: contacting the Temple of Isis in Califronia directly through www.golden-dawn-california.com will in no way permit PDR access to your information, name, credit card info, etc. We're still working on securing esotericgoldendawn dot com, will keep you posted on that.

Cat Healing

2011-03-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ave Frater,

I've been reading about some healing work by Regardie, but it seems to be only healing for other people... Can you use GD healing work for a cat?

******

Hi Soror! :)

Okay, let’s see... Basically the first thing is that we can only elevate others up to where we are – and we can only heal others as much as we can heal ourselves (in the context of this method). The cool thing is, though, that the desire to heal another is often a stronger motivation to become healed than the desire to be healed alone.

So, that being said, here’s the quickest way I can think of to get to it:

LBRP, BRH, Middle Pillar – but let all the sephirot of the middle pillar be a rose pink, for the king scale of Tipharet, and vibrate each of the divine names 6 times. Circulate the rose pink light out into the egg-shaped aura around you, releasing all fears or bad vibes of any kind – or even expectations about the results of the work – into the ground. Once you feel you’re totally lit up in this rose-pink light, let the lotus of Isis close around your aura. From there you can begin the healing work.

Simply holding or touching the cat, allow your light to extend into his/her aura and body. Let it flow from your Keter, through your Tipharet, and out to the cat through your solar plexus and your palms.

Once you feel the light is surrounding and within the cat, then, with prayer and intension, allow the light to continue to pour into the cat, but from the cat’s own divine source, from his/her own Keter sphere. You can use visualization to key into the idea of the cat’s “true body” as it were, or Briatic self, allowing the light from Keter to flow down through the Briah cat, down into Yetzira becoming the image of the astral cat, down to the physical, allowing the physical to be a more true reflection of the Briah cat. It’s the same way with healing a person. In this method anyway.

Once you’re satisfied with the work you’ve done, just draw a rose cross over the cat and perform the sign of silence, intending for the divine light to continue to heal him/her in the name of Yeheshua.

Then repeat tomorrow. :)

There’s also a ritual, S2, that I’ll dig up for you – it’s good for getting into a state of being able to perform very powerful healing.

Much love,
770,
BT

a brief note for today

2011-03-07T09:28:00.000-08:00

Avete!

Many of the Second have wished to make it known and clear that the original "news" I had heard was not accurate - the so-called "unanimous vote" to expel TDL never happened.

Expulsion was suggested as an option, and a few were gunning for really laying that threat down, but most of those who were present for that call (which I was not) did not wish to consider that option, since they feel the same way about TDL as I do, unless it was a very last resort to keep the Order safe from Robert.

When I heard the inaccurate news Thursday morning, I felt sadness and relief, and I could see in my mind the exodus that would occur if TDL were expelled, which included the dear old friend on the phone telling me the news as he'd heard it.

I called my wife to tell her the news, that the Order was going away, and she cried. This was why I wrote the blog post - a little half cocked - but I'm glad I did because I think it gave a little more dimension and clarity to the situation than most people had before, and perhaps played it's part in bringing things toward a resolution.

Another old friend of mine, who left 2001 when he caught Robert in a big lie, saw my March 3rd post and wrote me after 10 years of silence between us, only to say "it breaks my heart that the second order would move to throw TDL out."

So, I don't want anyone to think badly of them - everyone involved is acting based on their sense of what is right.

Okay, enough politics. My next post will be about Magic, I assure you.

Have a great day.

770,
BT

"a new hope" (battlestar esoterica, season 146.5 episode 3)

2011-03-06T00:24:00.000-08:00

I just had a very good conversation. Come to think of it, it was the very first conversation between TDL, ICL, AA, SI, IC and myself.... ever. And we all felt it went well.

But words are words and actions are actions, and I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, or spoil any surprises (and I'm enough of a nerd to keep you in suspense, it being a "secret order" and all). The inner will find out Wednesday, and as things unfold... well... lets all just wait and see.

Oh, and, students of ICL, no need to be afraid, I just wanted to share a great mental image. Excellent teacher and he's not yelling... he's just really excited. :)

Have a great night, everyone

yours, BT

P.S. Happy Birthday, Dad

Rabid Revolutionaries of the Golden Dawn vs. Entrenched Scumbag Gangters of the Golden Dawn

2011-03-03T14:36:00.000-08:00

Avete!

So I've just heard the news: The mob I love so dearly which consists of one of my best friends and long time mentors, VH Frater ICL on the horse out in front with his flaming sword held high, and the rest of the Second Order riding in behind, have voted and decided: They will throw GH Frater TDL out of the Order, if he won't do as he is told. Specifically, they are demanding that TDL make sure that Robert Zink does not receive any money from the EOGD at all.

The situation is this: Robert Zink still owns the website http://esotericgoldendawn.com , and people still apply for membership into the EOGD there. When they do, Robert Zink calls and collects $149 from them (or however much he decides to collect at the moment) and says "you'll be initiated at the next neophyte at the Temple of Isis" and then proceeds to sell them whatever else he thinks he might be able to sell them. Then, out of a sense of not wanting to appear utterly unprofessional, we've been initiating them here at Isis.

Meanwhile, TDL has been doing everything he can to get PDR to sign the website over to his name, so that we might process the applicants in house at Isis, so that the names and phone numbers and credit card numbers of applicants do not go to PDR. This process has been slow-going, so they're going to throw TDL out.

Robert's website is still there, of course, and people are still applying on it, but I guess now they won't get initiated into Isis and receive mentors in the Order but, instead, their information will be the sole property of PDR. Good move, guys.

You see, back in November of 2002, I believe it was, Robert announced to the Second Order that he would now be the "full time viceroy" of the Order, and would therefore be collecting every cent of dues and fees from all the correspondence members of the Order. Then, when that wasn't enough, he would call one of the Chiefs of the Temple of Isis at the time, and tell them what emergency it was he needed money for, and money would be sent to him from the Temple's funds as well. This went on for years. When it came time to pay the Temple rent, or have the lights turned back on, or whatever, calls would go around, people in the Second would all pitch in, and usually it was GH Frater TDL and VH Frater ICL who would pay the most toward rent, since they made a bit more money than the others from their real-world jobs.

Then came times of uproar. Robert fucked the wrong people, threw the wrong people out of the Order (because they knew about his having fucked those people, because he told them, and they didn't tell his wife, then when it all came out his wife demanded that he throw that individual out of the Order) and various things like this, along with all the other crap with taking money from people and all that.

Anyway, most of the Second Order was pretty pissed off at this time, so at Corpus Christi 2009 Robert appointed 5 "Chiefs of the Second Order", hoping that would help. The Imperators of the Temples (of which there were 3 at the time) were appointed Chiefs, GH Frater TDL was pointed *THE* Chief, and myself and VH Frater ICL were appointed as co-chiefs who's task was to assist GH Frater TDL in his role as Chief of the Second Order. The whole group of 5 were then supposed to be considered "The Chiefs of the Second Order", and Robert declared that he himself would basically retire, go into the background, and act as a "Chief Advisor" to any of the Chiefs who wanted to consult him for advice.

Now, as you might have guessed, this was short-lived. By the following "Power Week" Robert announced that the Third Order (the invisible one that only Robert talks to) had made him "The Chief Magus" which is a new position that is above all the Chief Adepts. Then, later, like December of '09, a conference call and an email outlined the rules for how the whole Chiefs thing would work. It worked like this: Robert has veto power, but the Chiefs call the shots, except what Robert does. And, if Robert, TDL, and one other Chief says "we'll do this" that trumped the other Chiefs. After some resigned and disgruntled mutterings, that proposal was left hanging without any signatures on it.

Anyway, since then there has been all kinds of uproar. I found myself in the unenviable position of being on the phone with Robert every day talking about every little detail of every little thing that was going on, for seven months. My intention was to be like Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar or Joseph with the Pharoah - that is, to be the mercurial figure whispering good ideas to the dictator, hoping that would have some positive impact on the way things were going.

So, eventually it dawned on me.... I'm 32 now, and I'm recently married - very happy with my life. So, why am I miserable? The solution came to me with a great joy, and I texted TDL to tell him I'm sorry, but I just can't deal with Robert anymore. So, I stopped taking his calls, and stopped answering his messages. I felt like I'd spent way too much time and energy dealing with his BS over the past 10 years or so, and I’d like to start living my own life now.

The next day, ICL was moved by a contact with the "Third Order" (clearly not the same as Robert's "Third Order") to call everyone and ask them "do you agree that the accusations are true? do you agree that Robert should be taken out of contact with the Outer? do you agree that he should be thrown out of the Order?" and to post what he posted a couple weeks ago based on what people said.

So, amidst all the celebration, I couldn't quite celebrate, as I was too busy waiting for the other shoe to drop. I was, however, moved to dig up a picture I made about 10 years ago when I was pissed off at Robert for something:

…which is currently being turned into buttons and tee-shirts for everyone in the Order who wants one. The border is straight from the seal Thomas Jefferson sketched to propose as the new "Great Seal" after the revolution. Of course, it was rejected in favor of the Imperial Eagle of Rome, lol. So, I'm hoping it will really catch on, so people can use it against the next Tyrant that comes along.

What's the point, Frater BT? Why are you writing all this?

Here's why. As of last night, it has been decided by the unanimous consent of everyone in the Second Order except for TDL, DN, DN, P and myself, that the Chief Adept, GH Frater TDL (who contributes more money out of pocket to keeping Isis afloat than any of us), should be thrown out of the Order of he does not stop initiating people who applied and paid through PDR's site.

All of this in the middle of TDL's convincing PDR to sign the website over to Isis with the understanding that we will still be sending the initial fee for correspondence members to Robert in the form of a check, since Robert did spend 30 years being the Chief scumbag of the EOGD rather than building up any pension or career or anything, and he's a bit old to start one, but a bit young to collect Social Security. This is why they are throwing out one of my favorite people. The person I would consider my teacher more than anyone else including ICL and PDR. They will throw TDL out if he doesn't bend to the will of the newly voted on democratic way of doing things. Which he won't. And, so, they have decided they'll change the locks, and get a restraining Order on TDL if he doesn't agree. Which he won't.

And I have been doing this for 17 years. Neophytes, I was Kerux for the first time in 1998, and I am Kerux today. I've taught classes once, sometimes three times a week, for years and years and years.

This has been my passion.

But if you assholes throw TDL out, I'm leaving.

And that is the saddest thing I've ever had to say.

Throwing Robert out for being a total scum-bag I understand, that makes sense. Throwing TDL out for his MERCY for God's sake is absurd. What's next?

Seriously - When Kali or Sekhmet had slain all the demons, do you remember what happened? They were so full of self-righteous rage they turned on the human race as well. Call Robert a demon if you want to, I'll shrug and neither agree nor disagree. But not only is TDL a human - he is one of the only truly humble and holy people I've had the privilege of knowing.

He is the reluctant leader. He never wanted to lead, but Robert forced him to. And these past 16 years TDL has been a great Imperator, worthy of the name "Imperator" (look it up). And you're going to throw him out for insisting that Robert gets a paycheck for doing nothing but going away.

If you all succeed, I will miss the Order. I will rest assured that, hopefully, the Order will be better off than it was before.

Yours in Love, Truth, Knowledge (and total transparency)
VH Frater BT
Cancellarius of the Grand Temple of Isis
(2006 to present day)

The Astral Shield

2011-02-17T15:14:00.000-08:00

Ave Frater,

As I completed astral shield, I wondered just what aspects of protection does it impart. Should I understand the ritual literally, or is it more far-reaching than that.

Light and love
770!

******

Good Morning Soror! :)

I would say both. Literally and it's much more far reaching. and, as with everything, you get out of it what you put into it. Invoking Divine Air to protect from evil and unbalanced air is incredibly far reaching, considering Air in its various aspects is the center of the Tree and the center of the Soul. In Hebrew "Ruach" refers to both Spirit and Air, and the whole personality on the Tree of Life. Getting all of that in alignment, and Willing it to protect against unbalanced air will allow you to vibrate on a level where the corrupted forms of thought can't touch you.

As always, the circle can only be broken from within - and vampires can't enter your home unless you invite them. Therefore, you can break down your own wall of protection if you choose to. You'll know, deep down if not right on the surface, when you're doing it - if thoughts become circular, and tend toward the negative. If you're around someone who's thoughts tend toward the "evil and unbalanced" it may help to recall the wall of Air you invoked in the Astral Shield, so that you do not accidently allow that person's thought-cycles to become your own.

A wall of Divine Fire holding back unbalanced Fire - Primal Fire is akin to the Supernals, while Astral Fire is akin to Netzack. Overall, Fire creates and destroys, refines, regenerates, and so on. Fire can be Martian, or Venusian, or Solar. Getting in touch with Divine Fire, in all of its aspects, and Willing a wall of Divine Fire to protect against unbalanced fire will allow you to have the strength, courage, and fortitude to deal with unbalanced fire within and without. The whole thing about vampires and circles breaking from within still applies though.

A wall of Divine Water: The Waters of Binah, the Waters of Briah, the Waters of Higher Emotion - maternal, nurturing, loving - at peace, and tranquil. The presence of this Wall will protect against the murky or polluted waters of the lower emotions, or any emotional backflow from the world. Again with the circles and vampires.

and Earth is Earth is Earth. Primordial Earth is the seed of Earth in Keter, but all-in-all there's only one Earth. Also, Earth is the combination of all the other three. So, Divine Earth is contingent upon the downward flow of pure Light from Keter through the Three Mother Letters, down to Earth. The Wall of Earth, then, is the Body as the True Image of the Soul - So, a wall of a stable home, finances, and bodily health, to protect against unbalanced and corrupted Earth.

Extending the Temple made with these four walls we've invoked to include all those who work and pray and visualize and build from and for peace and love regardless of who or where or what language or religion or lack thereof and all that, well... It's good to open up to who our kindred spirits are. Those who are motivated by lower and corrupt forces we can still love - albeit from a distance. So, we intend with this ritual to protect the good ones from the bad ones. And, once the bad ones wake up and become good ones, they will be welcome in the circle of protection as well.

Really, the Astral Shield is similar to the LBRP, whose influence is also far-reaching. When all of the elements are purified and sanctified in the Microcosm, the effect is that the entire Universe is redeemed, in the Microcosm. And surely, as you may have already noticed, one fully conscious and positive vibrating Soul can raise the vibration of a large roomful of semi-conscious bad-vibing humans. In other words, in a very real sense, the work we do Microcosmically effects the Macrocosm, in ways we can see and in ways we don't see.

Your Brother in Light,
Frater BT

on Dealing with Stress

2011-01-24T14:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Frater BT,

How do you deal with stress?

Sometimes, after some good ritual work and meditation, I feel at peace. But sooner or later, and usually sooner, my mind seems to get the better of me, and I am swept up in other peoples issues, and I have other people arguing in my mind and in my memory.

Stress that often isn’t even really there starts to encroach upon me in my stomach and gut, and before I even get to the point of having something to deal with in my day, I am already irritable and resentful that I’m being put through all this.

Then, I remember that I am very lucky that my life isn’t as difficult as it is for many others in the world, and such, and I feel like there’s something out of whack. And those are the good days. When a lot of things start happening at once, it gets so bad I could scream, and I sometimes break down at work, and can’t hide my tears or my frustration.

Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Frater BT

******

Greetings, Frater!

How do you deal with stress?

Basically Yoga, deep breathing, and making a point to put my energy where it is beneficial. There are also some good visualizations and techniques that can be done astrally, when I’m not in a place where I can get to a temple space or handicap restroom stall to do the work physically.

Sometimes, after some good ritual work and meditation, I feel at peace. But sooner or later, and usually sooner, my mind seems to get the better of me, and I am swept up in other peoples issues, and I have other people arguing in my mind and in my memory... sometimes break down at work, and can’t hide my tears or my frustration.

It sounds pretty serious. I’d say a three pronged approach would be appropriate…. Though at the moment I’m thinking of two things… but it’s always good to have a three pronged approach :)

First of all, there is a piece of wisdom from Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" in which he asks the reader to draw a diagram… for brevity’s sake, I’ll draw it for you:

As you can see, there are two columns and two rows. The first row is the place to mentally, or on paper, write in things in our lives that are important, and the second row is for those things that are not important. But within each of these two categories there are two columns: urgent and not urgent. And, so, we have Four Quadrants.

Now, this applies to everything: Job, Home, Relationships, Friendships, and anything beyond, as far as what we do with our time and energy.

Now if you're anything like most people, and based on your question, I'd say you spend more time than you'd like to dealing with Quadrant One. This is the quadrant of the urgent and important. For example: The engine just blew up, so something has to be done about it, because we're on the freeway. This is stressful, and it is Urgent and Important.

Less stressful, though, is this same problem two weeks earlier, when you noticed it had been more than a few months since your last oil change. That was when the problem was still residing in Quadrant Two: Important, but not Urgent.

Meanwhile, you may have people shouting at you to hurry up and get to where everybody is having a beer, or playing video games, things which can most often fall into Quadrant Three: Urgent.... but Not Important.

Then cut to the image of a man sitting staring at the TV, or doodling on a napkin - probably Quadrant Four: Not Urgent, Not Important.

Now there are exceptions to these examples of course, the quadrants are for you to decide for yourself. Hurrying up and going to the movies may be Quadrant Two in disguise, if it's been a long time since you've seen the people you're meeting there, and you want to do something fun before you really start losing touch. Or, doodling on a napkin if you're an artist or an architect, or if it's therapeutic, could be very constructive - and starring at a TV all day could be productive if, say, you work for Nielsen.

But basically, there's that. And the key point here is that the more time and energy you invest in Quadrant Two, the less you will have to invest in Quadrant One later.

Quadrant Two: take your wife out to dinner, because it's been a while, rather than wait till it's a Quadrant One issue, and your wife is leaving you because you never seem to care or spend any time together.

Quadrant Two: check on the tires and the fluids in your car every now and then, rather than wait till it's a Quadrant One issue, and there's some high stress emergency on the road.

Those Quadrant Two issues that are neglected for too long will become Quadrant One issues. If you take care of them before this happens, you'll greatly reduce the amount of stress in your life. This first "prong" of advice has to do with the actual things in your life themselves, and how big and ferocious they are, or can be.

The Second part has more to do with your own relationship with the things in your life - how you approach it, process it, and what have you. I know that, for me, sometimes I will be stressed about something that seems very trivial, once a bigger problem comes along. So, the Four Quadrants will help sort through some of it, but that may be only half, or less than half, of the issue - especially based on your description.

So, first of all: Cut down on the caffeine. Drink more water. Get enough sleep. Exercise a bit. Those are the main things.

Also, there is another applicable diagram from Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People":

There you are in the center of your Circle of Influence. Those things which you can help, do, or influence are there with you, and the most effective way to influence things for the better is to start with yourself, how you are, how you talk to people, the example you show.

Now, your Circle of Influence is part of, and inside of, another circle: the Circle of Concern. This circle contains everything in the world that you might be concerned or worried about, but over which you have no real influence. This can include things going on on the other side of the world - and it can even include the things that are close by. If you're concerned that your son wants to be an artist instead of a doctor, there comes a point where you have to admit that you've done everything you could to assert your position on the matter, but ultimately it is his life and, while you may be concerned, you are no longer able to influence.

Someone else in your life may be insisting upon a particular course of action which you can see, as plain as day, will lead to great sorrow for many. You can advise, you can illustrate, you can plead, you can make your position as clear as day on the matter. But, there comes a time when you have to let go, and to admit that it is outside of your ability to change. Like the old serenity prayer goes.

The key with this one is that the more energy you put in that space outside your circle of influence, the more energy and time you are draining and basically wasting on something you can't help. Meanwhile, those things you can help, because they're within your circle of influence, are going without - and are neglected.

So, these are some things which may help. You, being at the center of your circle of influence, aren't going to be able to help anyone very much if your overloaded, stressed out, and crying at your desk at work. Clearly.

So let go of a few things. Let go of a few Quadrant Three things, and take some of the time you normally spend on Quadrant Four and spend it on Quadrant Two instead. And take some of your Soul's energy out of that area outside of your Circle of Influence, and bring it to the center.

In this context, you are not being selfish by focusing on yourself. Imagine if you were at peace, humble, and effectively dealing with things as they came up, and had plenty of time and energy left over for celebration - even if you were at work or commuting at the time. The life force you would pass on to others would be something they would enjoy and benefit from.

So hopefully that will give you something to go on for now, please let me know how you are doing with it in a week or so.

Your Brother in Light,
Frater BT

(just FYI, after 1-31 I felt a lot better - 4-13-11)

Astral Banishings and The Perfect L.B.R.P.

2011-01-10T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hello Frater,

Can the LBRP be effective when done mentally? Sometimes I can’t get away to perform this ritual when I feel I need to. Also, is there a technique that you use to always draw a perfect pentagram? Sometimes when I perform the LBRP I feel that my pentagrams are not symmetrically perfect, so I end up performing this ritual 3 to 4 times. When I perform this ritual I often sweat and I feel kind of different. It is a good feeling. Sometimes I have a problem visualizing a bright light when performing the Qabbalistic Cross so I found that looking at a bright light before the ritual helps. I have not yet performed the Middle Pillar because I feel that I need to master the LBRP first. So what signs indicate that the LBRP is done perfectly? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

******

Greetings!

Can the LBRP be effective when done mentally?

Yes, after a great deal of practice performing it physically.

That being said, it is important to note that it should be done physically whenever possible.

Also, is there a technique that you use to always draw a perfect pentagram?

If you’d like, I’ve known a few people who geometrically created a perfect pentagram on a wall the size they would be drawing it, then practiced tracing it slowly until it was second nature. Otherwise, *knowing* that the pentagram is perfect, though the hand may have moved slightly off, will take care of it.

What signs indicate that the LBRP is done perfectly?

When you are left with a sense of reverence and peace, and you feel the presence of the authority of the Archangels guarding you as they face outward, and you feel like you are standing in the center of the center of the center, and ready to handle whatever the day may throw at you, you have done it perfectly.

That being said, it sounds like you’re a perfectionist (so am I) – I would suggest allowing yourself to be 98% sure you’re doing it right, rather than 100%.

Also, through humility and prayer (however that translates for you – through humbly connecting with the Divine) you can ask that, while the ritual you performed may be imperfect, since we are human and flawed and asymmetrical and all that, our Higher Self can perfect what was imperfect.

So, then, it is a matter of trusting in that connection with the Higher, and *knowing* that the pentagrams are perfect, because you gave it your best shot, and the Divine Light can make perfect what is slightly imperfect.

Hope that helps,

Your Brother in Light,
Frater BT

Karma and The Devil

2011-01-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

Greetings Frater,

I have two questions that have been occupying my thoughts a lot lately.

The first is in regards to karma. What does hermetic philosophy say about it? Are there events or conditions that we are fatalistically doomed to live through or can they be overcome without conflicting with divine law and planning?

The second concern I have is about the Tarot contemplation ritual. Although it has not yet come up in the shuffle there is one card that gives me an acute sense of trepidation. The 15th Card of the Major Arcana, The Devil. In its symbols I see meanings that represent the opposite of all that I desire to achieve. The inverted pentagram, as I understand it, represents the spirit having been overthrown and subverted by the lower elements. The human slaves chained to the devil's pedestal, to me, would represent the ways that human beings can become enslaved by the lower natures, such as the often burdensome and unreasonable demands placed on us by a materialistic world, also the unrelenting wants of the nephesh. To put it plainly, I don't see how any benefit could come from the contemplation of this card.

I would be grateful for any incite you could share.

******

Ave Frater!

First question:

Well…. I’m not sure that I entirely understand the concept of Karma in its own egrigore, let alone someone else’s – here in the West, many assume it is a bank account of good deeds and bad deeds and that we reap what we sew and have good karma and bad karma and it makes us into fish in our next life and such, but I’m pretty sure this is an oversimplification if not just way of the mark of it …looking at Wikipedia here it says: In Indian beliefs, the karmic effects of all deeds are viewed as actively shaping past, present, and future experiences. The results or 'fruits' of actions are called karma-phala. It seems like karma-phala is the thing people usually mean when they say “karma” where “karma” itself would translate directly into Hebrew as “Assiah” or action (as in Olam Assiah, the world of action: Malkuth) which is the noun form of Oseh, the verb “to make” or “to do” or “to act” – deeds. The consequences of actions, then, can be seen perhaps in our Emerald Tablet: The things which are below are a reflection of the things which are above – particularly in the context of the Kybalion’s 6th Hermetic Principal: The Law of Cause and Effect.

That being said, there are certain Wisdoms brought down for us by men like the Buddha and the Christ – that you don’t have to go round and round in circles – that you don’t have to take on the burdens of the karma of your ancestors. But what does it take to get out of it? Well, one says “take up your cross and follow me” (speaking allegorically, one would hope) and the other says to transcend the wheel of suffering you must transcend your own desire. Good advice, I think, and perhaps it was the same advice – albeit custom wrapped for the Hebrews and the Hindus, respectively.

Gurdjieff talks about it too, basically we’re all programmed, and we’re all on autopilot – the fatalistic karma-circus of the natural man (my words, not his) – and that it takes a great deal of work to come into freedom and real control, to be at cause over your life rather than at the effect of it. Many paths and many disciplines there are for fine-tuning, awakening, or “mastering” the elements, or parts of the self, in order to truly be free. The Golden Dawn is a good one.

Second question:

The Devil is not Satan. At least, not in the context of true Golden Dawn Book T Tarot symbolism. It’s more like Pan and the zodiacal sign of Capricorn.

Consider: it is the path which connects Tipharet with Hod. Hod is Reason, Tipharet is the realization of Kether within the Heart and Soul of Man. What separates the human mind, then, when it is imprisoned in an isolated microcosm of rational analysis? Better yet – what separates the brain from the sun? the eye… the sun is the one place we cannot look – the eye, which in the tarot is called “lord of the gates of matter”: Ayin, meaning “Eye”, the Hebrew Letter of Capricorn, and the Devil Card.

The key word of Capricorn is “to utilize” – the man and woman in the devil card are not bound to the chain, they have picked up and are holding the chain, even as when a soul says “I will become human, and be born, and open my eyes”. To transcend that card, one need only to put down the chain and let go of it. How does one do this? Simple: Close your eyes. Jesus said the blind man is without sin – without the eye, things do not appear to be far away, or behind obstacles, or out of reach – one does not covet. Covet being the word for afflicted Desire, which was Buddha’s answer to your question about Karma, so these two questions are tied together.

Yet, we have chosen to be human, for now – and the 6-rayed star points upward as well as downward. To be free of the material inclination is holy, and good, and “desirable”, if you will. Yet we must open our eyes and pick up that chain in order to live and work and “survive” in the world, and reproduce, and whatever else we do under the sun. The nephesch is the one with eyes, the mental-astral world is the one with form and “things” in it, and that which is temporal. In advanced Golden Dawn workings, we say the Immortal Self has “sight in the feet” – sight in Malkuth, not eyes up at the top of the soul, where the “head” of our truer “Self” would be.

Further, there is a right-side-up pentagram above the devil’s head – the downward-tending force of Capricorn, lead, and night-house Saturn do tend downward, but they are created and guided by Yeshuah: the pentagram. This, of course, is when the devil card is in its balanced state, in harmony with the rest of the Tree of Life. Afflicted, the devil card can be as hairy as, say, afflicted Magician, or afflicted High Priestess. But in harmony with the others, Capricorn is one of the 12 stars in the Crown of the Shekinah, in the vision of John, and in Ritual S1.

Hope that helps,

Your Brother in Light,
Frater BT