tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659330560006301380.post7784329428897493735..comments2023-11-05T04:28:41.397-08:00Comments on Strategic Sorcery: DuQuette comming around?Jason Miller,http://www.blogger.com/profile/03034226672257024583noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659330560006301380.post-52100701776743468972008-08-06T15:54:00.000-07:002008-08-06T15:54:00.000-07:00Hello Jason:Please pardon the uninvited intrusion ...Hello Jason:<BR/><BR/>Please pardon the uninvited intrusion into your blog, but I wanted to leave a comment.<BR/><BR/>In my humble opinion, this psychologizing of magic(k) (especially as rendered by Crowley in his introduction to the Goetia) was an attempt to crystallize "the method of science; the aim of religion." While being revolutionary for its time, this explanation for occult phenomena has snowballed into a bit of a copout. After all, if we can wink and nod about how the spirits are *really* a part of our mind, then we come across as slightly less crazy. :-) If our societal metanarrative tells us that history is progressing linearly, then we have surely progressed beyond such superstitious notions as spirits with an objective and separate reality. :-) To suggest otherwise scares newbies and seems strange for an enlightened 21st Century person.<BR/><BR/>I have participated in Lon’s Monday night Enochian gatherings and I second the recommendation to meet him. He’s a cool guy and someone that I respect both magically and personally. However, I do heartily disagree with his ‘take’ on the spirits. I also believe that working with appropriate materials is important, but my position is a nuanced one. When one is just starting out in magic(k) or if you are really broke, I have found the spirits to be extremely flexible. However, implicit in this flexibility is the idea that you will eventually procure more suitable tools/material. Perhaps this is related to a symbiotic relationship between the spirit(s) and the operator; a gift for a gift. Regardless, I can’t tell you how many people I know that are *still* using a paper triangle and other cobbled-together crap out of sheer laziness. I mean, I could get away with bear minimums when I was 16, broke and living at home, but now that I am 32 and have the financial means to obtain better tools, it is kind of my responsibility to do so. But, as you point out, the “spirits are a part of your mind” and “any tools/no tools” tend to be two sides of the same coin.Alkhemiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05507306430028508810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659330560006301380.post-77306894974437077252008-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:002008-07-30T18:23:00.000-07:00I would love to meet Lon. I think he is a great wr...I would love to meet Lon. I think he is a great writer, and his personality shines through in it. I love all his books and have benefited from the technical information that he presents so clearly. I just fundamentally disagree with his view on the nature of what is happening. Our experience, and probably our gifts of spirit differ. <BR/><BR/>I also agree with you that Enochian is very material tolerant, and I myself have gotten results with little or no materia. I think most types of magick are materia tolerant, but Lon makes comments that take it to a higher level. <BR/><BR/>Being material tolerant means that through sheer power and symbol you are able to get through. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t get better results with proper material. Maybe I could ride a bicycle to California from NJ, but that doesn’t mean that if I couldn’t do manage to make it on a bike, I wouldn’t make it in a car. <BR/><BR/>By saying that if you can’t make the paper ring work you can’t make the gold ring work, implies that the gold ring is superfluous. The logical extent of the view is that the angels, which according to Lon are just parts of your brain, were passing along useless info. This is the take that the GD and Crowley approached the Grimoires as well. We can just grab the seals and names of the spirits because all the other instructions don’t mean anything important. Its all in the mind. The 72 demons of the Goetia are hardwired in the brain, as Lon and Crowley have both said. <BR/><BR/>This is a pretty common view in 20th century magick. "Its all in the Mind" seems prevalent not only in Ceremonial Magick but in Paganism as well. We don’t really need High John the Conqueror for the Mojo Bag, lets just toss some sticks from the yard in and pretend. Why do we need apostolic succession, says Calvin, it’s about the personal connection… <BR/><BR/>I might be wrong, but I suspect that through working with more of the stuff that is original to the system, Lon is changing his view on the “mind only” approach, but isn’t quite ready to admit it yet.Jason Miller,https://www.blogger.com/profile/03034226672257024583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3659330560006301380.post-19013132512451863282008-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:002008-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:00I've greatly enjoyed "Enochian Vision Magick." I ...I've greatly enjoyed "Enochian Vision Magick." I had the pleasure of having Mr. Duquette out for my ordination as a priest (and he actually took part in the ordination). At one of the sessions we did with him, he did the group Enochian Skrying he talks about in the rear of the book, with him reading the calls, and the rest of us chanting the letters outside of the Holy Table. The skrying was particularly effective, as people in the audience who had no experience with magick in any form were impressed by the experience of the skrying.<BR/><BR/>If you get a chance to meet Lon, I highly recommend it. I found him to be pleasant, engaging, and just a regular guy. I think he's on to something with the fact that the nature of the technology isn't so important as that the form is followed. Certain technologies are very material tolerant (writing, for instance: paper, stone, clay, papyrus, etc) , and I think Enochian magick may be one of them.<BR/><BR/>I cannot argue with effects, and even using a paper sigillum and ring, it worked fine for me.Monsignor Scott Rassbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11685549734111626335noreply@blogger.com