Darkly Splendid Abodes

‘The Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw’ is Crowley’s exhaustive response to Bernard Shaw’s preface to his play, Androcles and the Lion. Both pieces analyze the Jesus of the Gospels, with Crowley’s diving into the parallels with the life of the Mystic as well as the Dying God mythos, with abundant quotations from J.G. Frazer’s ‘The Golden Bough.’

Plenty of emphasis gets placed on the importance of Banishing Rituals, especially as part of a greater overall Magical Ceremony. But not as much is said about Purification and Consecration, in spite of being integral elements of Ceremonial Magick. Edward Mason and I will take a look at these Magical applications of Water & Fire.

Liber Cordis Cincti Serpente, or The Book of the Heart Girt with a Serpent, is an inspired text written by Aleister Crowley that recounts the experience of union with his Holy Guardian Angel. Michael and I will delve into Chapter Five, along with Crowley’s Commentary on the text to help us elucidate its mysteries.

Jeremy Crow is a longtime proponent and practitioner of Luciferianism, and his Novus Ordo Luciferi and Flambeau Noir initiatives have helped promote the Lightbearer ethos internationally. We’ll chat about Jeremy’s ‘Promethean’ efforts, find out what Liciferianism actually is, as well as discuss the overlap between Luciferianism and Thelema.

When tales tap into the subconscious, their themes can transcend the arbitrary boundaries set by the rational mind. Michael and I will delve into the lore of Twin Peaks, and see if we can read a Thelemic fable into the film, Fire Walk With Me, and the first season and a half of the television series, as we inaugurate our spinnof series, ‘Spinning Stories.’

Liber Resh vel Helios is a Thelemic ritual adoration of the Sun. Performed at the four stations of dawn, midday, sunset and midnight, it is used as a regular Invocation of God-forms and as a mindfulness practice, by Thelemites the world over. Edward Mason and I will chat about this staple Thelemic practice.

Crowley considered Friedrich Nietzsche a prophet and forerunner of Thelema, and Nietzsche looms large at a critical point of transition for Western philosophy. We’ll dive into a chapter from his book Beyond Good & Evil that lays out the evolution of Western philosophy up to his day, and beyond.

Is Crowley’s approach to Yoga still relevant? And who was Crowley’s Yoga teacher? Did famed comedy film director Preston Sturges’ mother dictate Book 4 to Crowley at the behest of an entity called Abuldiz? And what can we learn from the record of their communication with Abuldiz? Stay tuned for the answers in the Season 4 Finale, ‘Frothy Sexy Summer Reading List.’

The Magical & Mystical System developed by Aleister Crowley and George Cecil Jones, commonly denoted as the A∴A∴, consists of Eleven Grades or Degrees; these in turn compose Three Orders. Edward Mason and I will take a look at these Three Orders, and how they apply to the Path of the Initiate.

The Magical Formula of I.A.O. first occurs in the Adeptus Minor Initiation of the Golden Dawn, during the Analysis of the Keyword. This evolving Formula is the subject of a chapter from Crowley’s Magick in Theory and Practice, and hints at the blueprint for a Ritual of Initiation.