THE
ARCANE
ARCHIVE

a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects.


TOP | RELIGION | THELEMA

Darkness and Religious Law

To: thelema93-l@hollyfeld.org
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (nigris (333))
Subject: Darkness and Religious Law (was Nightside, Lightside)
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 11:28:19 -0700 (PDT)

49990804 IVom

Hail Satan!

# I get annoyed when I hear people say that Thelema, and the 
# writings of Aleister Crowley are "dark", and "occult".

you're right about Crowley. he was weak, a poseur, where Satanism
was concerned, and couldn't stomach the dark side. Thelema is most
precisely extenuated in the dark side of spirituality. since this
aspect is most often condemned and ostracized, it typicaly takes a 
greater capacity and intensity of WILL to engage and successfully 
continue delving into darker areas of oneself and spiritual 
traditions. this varies, of course, based on one's original
character and conditioning, and obsession with any pole is likely
to destabilize an aspirant regardless of hir original orientation.
the most powerful magicians have always been BLACK magicians.
 
# Also, when people think of the occult, and evil things, they 
# will think of Aleister Crowley.

yes, he was one of the Great Martyrdom Cult, drawing attention
to himself through the adoption of Gruesome Clothing in the form
of anti-Christian names and themes (especially those derived
from the last book of the Christian scripture, the revelation
of John of Patmos -- reading it sheds quite a bit of inversion-
comprehensible-light on Crowley's writings).

# But, I see Thelema as something that is holy, and bright.

many people prefer their religion this way, yes.

# Not a lame kind of "light" like fluffy bunny slippers,
# but something that is enlightening, and fullfulling.

yes, you appear to be speaking of 'light/dark' as a kind of
essential valuative in which the 'dark' is that which
obscures, ensnares, traps, and generally harms people.
this is a common paradigm.

# The only thing dark about Thelema may be that it is 
# the road less taken, in regard to conversing with your 
# HGA, and spirits, and demons and such.

that it may include "demons" at all says something about
why it is considered 'dark' by some religious. you have
not mentioned folks like Kenneth Grant, Nema, Bertiaux,
any number of Satanists, and quite a few others who have
a great fondness for dark symbolism, connections with
wrathful deities, demons, forces and powers transcending
the simplistic 'god/deva-titan/asura/demon' dualism which
is favored by fundamentalists of so many persuasions.

# I also get annoyed when christian parents look at a 
# religion like Thelema and call it a "false" religion.

it IS a false religion. it collapses into itself. it will
accept anyone from any other religion into its fold. its
scripture is a smattering of ravings, its prophet is not
at all admirable, and its adherents tend to be misfits
and miscreants. what type of religion is THIS?

# As if it were evil, and wrong.

it IS evil and wrong to make a religion out of the Law.

# I wish people would see it as I see it.

ah the innermost desire of all propagandists!

blessed beast!
______________________________________________________________________
(333) nagasiva@luckymojo.com; http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html
I don't read everything here; cc me if you absolutely want a response.

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):

Search For:
Match:  Any word All words Exact phrase

OTHER ESOTERIC AND OCCULT SITES OF INTEREST

Southern Spirits: 19th and 20th century accounts of hoodoo, including slave narratives & interviews
Hoodoo in Theory and Practice by cat yronwode: an introduction to African-American rootwork
Lucky W Amulet Archive by cat yronwode: an online museum of worldwide talismans and charms
Sacred Sex: essays and articles on tantra yoga, neo-tantra, karezza, sex magic, and sex worship
Sacred Landscape: essays and articles on archaeoastronomy, sacred architecture, and sacred geometry
Lucky Mojo Forum: practitioners answer queries on conjure; sponsored by the Lucky Mojo Curio Co.
Herb Magic: illustrated descriptions of magic herbs with free spells, recipes, and an ordering option
Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers: ethical diviners and hoodoo spell-casters
Freemasonry for Women by cat yronwode: a history of mixed-gender Freemasonic lodges
Missionary Independent Spiritual Church: spirit-led, inter-faith, the Smallest Church in the World
Satan Service Org: an archive presenting the theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists
Gospel of Satan: the story of Jesus and the angels, from the perspective of the God of this World
Lucky Mojo Usenet FAQ Archive: FAQs and REFs for occult and magical usenet newsgroups
Candles and Curios: essays and articles on traditional African American conjure and folk magic
Aleister Crowley Text Archive: a multitude of texts by an early 20th century ceremonial occultist
Spiritual Spells: lessons in folk magic and spell casting from an eclectic Wiccan perspective
The Mystic Tea Room: divination by reading tea-leaves, with a museum of antique fortune telling cups
Yronwode Institution for the Preservation and Popularization of Indigenous Ethnomagicology
Yronwode Home: personal pages of catherine yronwode and nagasiva yronwode, magical archivists
Lucky Mojo Magic Spells Archives: love spells, money spells, luck spells, protection spells, etc.
      Free Love Spell Archive: love spells, attraction spells, sex magick, romance spells, and lust spells
      Free Money Spell Archive: money spells, prosperity spells, and wealth spells for job and business
      Free Protection Spell Archive: protection spells against witchcraft, jinxes, hexes, and the evil eye
      Free Gambling Luck Spell Archive: lucky gambling spells for the lottery, casinos, and races