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'What is 93?'

To: thelema93-l@nosferatu.cas.usf.edu
From: tyagi mordred nagasiva 
Subject: Re: 'What is 93?' (9407.thelema.tn)
Date: 49940711

Quoting: |"Marianne Sarkis (ANT)"  (among others)

The Revolution Begins Here and Now!
Do what thou wilt!

|>|>Today it may be fruitfully argued that those who use these numbers as
|>|>conventional greetings are only helping to further the reverse of the
|>|>Law of Thelema by putting us all to sleep and grinding out the current
|>|>by silly gematric equivalents which have almost no meaning to the
|>|>average individual.
|
|I am assuming that Tim is the person who brought this up. 

Someone asked about '93' in alt.magick.  I posted in response, and Tim and
I thereafter swapped spit.  We have some similarities in our favorite
perspectives, I'd wager.  I wrote the above.


|...it makes 
|things a little bit easier to say that as opposed to saying "love is the 
|Law, love under Will. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."  

Easier to think about yoga than to do it.  Thelemic Greetings are a
discipline to the mage.  They are a social convention to the slave of
the slave-gods.


|I do understand the frustration that some people may have with gamtria 
|since it can be very intimidating.  I know i see that on irc on #Thelema. 

Not only intimidating, but misunderstood, overvalued and stupidly worshipped
over and above scientific principles.  It is not treated as the divination
system which it is.  It is used as some sort of 'mystical proof-system'
even while, like Tree of Life associations, it is best employed as a mirror.


|Whenever someone says 93 to a newcomer, i can see the puzzlment that they 
|may have esp if they are not too familiar with the concept, and thanks to 
|aliases i am able to explain it to them just by typing /93 and the 
|definition is typed out to the channel. 

That's the point.  Saying '93' or equating it with 'DWTW...' or 'LITL...'
is not 'giving unto others the Law of Thelema' as I see it.  It is profaning
the Law and destroying it forever and forever.  Aye, destroying it forever
and forever.


|This has proved very useful since 
|some people are intrigued by the concept and will usually ask for more 
|explanations.  

That is the reason most employ these silly numbers.  They want to appear
'in the know' and use them as indicators of being 'informed'.  Since most
people associate information with wisdom, this has its advantages.


|Gematria is boring to the boring mind, and for those who 
|do not want to invest to energy in thinking or working it out.  A little 
|patience can go a long way.  

Gematria is neither boring nor interesting.  It is just a tool.  Same can
be said about tarot or runes or any other system of divination (another
good and controversial divination-system is astrology).  Patience with
useless tools does not help me.

 
|> [Tim Maroney:]
|> |...What is the O.T.O. supposed to be?  Is it the Abbey of Theleme from 
|> |Rabelais -- a taste of utopia, an attempt to erect a society in which 
|> |that "inner spur to virtue" is the "sole rule and guide of life"?  

|...One of the more "contorversial" ideas that is always 
|brought up is that the OTO is too patriarchal for women.  The way they 
|are treated, etc.  While for people individually that may be different, 
|it really does seem that some of the books and ideas of AC are indeed 
|sexist and patriarchal.  

I don't think this really addresses Tim's question.


|My question is do these ideas and philosophies carry over to the OTO and 
|their teachings/rituals, or do people know any better?

My experience is that OTO compares rather directly with the modern business
world and modern government (US) in its usage of women as objects of
pleasure and disrespect of their authority and creativity.  I figure it
is endemic to the entire culture and so this filters directly into the
Order.


|Haram, can you please reprint the file of AC and women please?

Sure thing.  Following.  As of tonight (and most particularly the Jovian
Pelt) I shall be known throughout Thelema-dom merely as Hsi Wang Mu, or 
just 'Mu'.


|...what a lot of the orders teach is how to be a student of magick, 
|do the readings, do the rituals, get some result, and that is the end.  

Like most schools.


|...If magick is not used in order to better your life, what is it for?  

To impress people.  To secure the next fuck, the next entertainment,
the next prestigious corporate position.  In short, magick is to use
to get POWER.


|Magick is to make one a better member of the universe, not to make one 
|stuck in one's illusions of power.  

I don't agree.  I think magick is for whatever one uses it.  Don't mind
that what you are talking about will lead to real and lasting satisfaction
more quickly than this silly power-grubbing.  Magick is blind, like love.


|...How many people i have spoken to that have told me that the reason 
|that they are studying magick is for the power aspect of it.  

Most, I'd wager.  Lots of people playing the 'power game'.  Hindu meta-
physics are good to understand this kind of thing.  People are all out
there playing their games: social, monetary, sex, whatever.  Most of the
games have short-term goals and lead to fleetings hints of satisfaction.  
Once the satisfaction vanishes, however, the need, the craving, returns.  

Always there is another rainbow to chase, another Lamborgini to purchase, 
no matter whether this will actually fulfil or serve the individual or
society.
 
 
|That is usually when i say that i will not discuss it with them. 

I can respect this.  I have similar feelings about it myself, though
I stay open to people and let them know that my values and goals do
not compare with theirs (if I have any at the moment).


|...Is that kinda of a behavior prevalent among the solitary 
|students or is also in other orders? 

Prevalent in our society.  We are taught that power solves problems
and acquisition of said power allows us to take a hand in it.  To a
certain extent this is true, but only METAPHORICALLY.  I.e. the
power which liberates is not 'power-over' but 'power-of', and relates
to personal empowerment, integrity, self-esteem, etc.  Some call this
latter power 'egotism' and denigrate it soundly.


|> It may take the Sword of Thelema to free those who think themselves
|> liberated yet who are truly enslaved by masters of illusion, content to 
|> pass off folly for wisdom, cowardice for courage.
|
|Sword of Thelema? ouch! can you please elaborate on this one?

Shock the Monkey!  Rationality upon rationality.  Acting how I please
in order to show people that DWTW relates to intentional living.  
Employing my will in demonstration of freedom in ways which may be 
shocking, painful for people to bear.


|M.

Do as you please, for love is the law.

Mu!

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