THE |
|
a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
To: alt.magick From: Paul HumeSubject: Re: Gnosticsm vs. Thelema Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 10:42:34 -0400 Mitch - > Crowley repudiated the rest -- > But the Gnostic Mass was patterned after the Greek or Russian > orthodox. Sorry, but I have to question you on this one as well...while Crowley wrote Liber XV while in Moscow (or was at least inspired to write it then, say The Confessions), and I can certainly see him or anyone else being inspired by a fist encounter with the Orthodox order of service (best show in town in the liturgical Christian churches these days), the structure of the Gnostic Mass is almost directly derived from the Tridentine (ie. Roman Latin) Rite. I am told it also resembles some earlier orders of Catholic worship, such as the Sarum Mass, but haven't found a copy of that text other than a massively expensive edition. But reading the Chrysosotom liturgy, I don't see much similarity to Liber XV, whereas its anatomy is real familiar to this ex-Catholic boy. > You are correct in asserting that the eternal only deals > direct, but Crowley created a Priest and Priestesshood. The > implication is that Thelema still relies on intercession... Implication is one thing, but I would point out... - the offices of the Mass (at this Oasis anyway) are filled ad hoc by anyone willing to do the work to learn them. Within the structure of the EGC as an arm of OTO, yes, you have to have be ordained to exercise some of the sacerdotal jobs, but celebrating Mass is NOT among those "restricted" functions. - I am by no means in agreement that the Priest, Priestess, and Deacon are in an intercessory role. One could do Mass that way, certainly, but it seems to me to miss the meaning of the rite. Acting as the spokesman for the space of a ritual for those present, in a unified aspiration towards the Divine in which the officers provide a focus for the Will of each participant towards gnosis, does not strike me as intercessory. I may have a more limited view of that term - again, ex-Catholic, in which the magico-religious efficacy of the Roman Mass is absolutely conditioned by the official status of the priest. Whereas the Gnostic Mass (like the agapemones of the Valentinians) is a communal celebration of a Mystery, in which anyone in the community can fill a given role at a particular meeting. Obviously, everyone who works a given tradition will have different views of how it functions...your experience as Priest is not the same as mine, and vice versa. But I cannot (equally of course) ignore my own perception of the office, as the member of the community who is doing that particular job this time around, providing the visible component of a Mystery drama from which everyone draws sustenance or comfort, or whatever they Will, according to their own gnosis. 93, Paul
The Arcane Archive is copyright by the authors cited.
Send comments to the Arcane Archivist: tyaginator@arcane-archive.org. |
Did you like what you read here? Find it useful?
Then please click on the Paypal Secure Server logo and make a small donation to the site maintainer for the creation and upkeep of this site. |
The ARCANE ARCHIVE is a large domain,
organized into a number of sub-directories, each dealing with a different branch of religion, mysticism, occultism, or esoteric knowledge. Here are the major ARCANE ARCHIVE directories you can visit: |
|
interdisciplinary:
geometry, natural proportion, ratio, archaeoastronomy
mysticism: enlightenment, self-realization, trance, meditation, consciousness occultism: divination, hermeticism, amulets, sigils, magick, witchcraft, spells religion: buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam, judaism, taoism, wicca, voodoo societies and fraternal orders: freemasonry, golden dawn, rosicrucians, etc. |
SEARCH THE ARCANE ARCHIVE
There are thousands of web pages at the ARCANE ARCHIVE. You can use ATOMZ.COM
to search for a single word (like witchcraft, hoodoo, pagan, or magic) or an
exact phrase (like Kwan Yin, golden ratio, or book of shadows):
OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST
Southern
Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo,
including slave narratives & interviews
|