Thelema and Possession

Maman Brigitte

I was asked a question last week by an O.T.O. brother about how I reconciled being a Thelemite and doing my own will with allowing possession to occur like I did with Maman Brigitte at Babalon Rising. As a Thelemite we are not supposed to do anything that interferes with our true will and, at first glance, possession looks to be right out. So how do I justify it?  Other than just generally being quite awesome how does possession mesh with my work as a Thelemite?

First of all, I trust the Gods.  Even though I know there are many spirits who have their own questionable agendas I put faith in the Gods, and by extension the Lwa, to be in keeping with Universal Will.  If I am aligning myself to the Gods I am also attuning myself to that Universal Will, which is by extension my own True Will.

"But, Glaux," you ask, "How can a trickster deity like Loki, or Discordia, or Papa Ghede be keeping with Universal Will? Isn't that like inviting in Charonzon?"  Yes and no.  Even Charonzon has a place and a purpose in the multiverse.  By aligning myself with the energy and Will of Chaos, Death, or the Adversary I am bringing their balancing energy into our realm.

Also, and this is an even bigger reason than aligning myself with Universal Will, I 'm a witch.  A Thelemic witch, yes, but firstly a witch.  That is my Great Work.  Those are my blood oaths.  I walk a crooked path.  I talk with Gods, and invite them in.  I bring about change within myself and the world around me by working with spirits of the Gods, the Ancestors, the Mighty Dead, and the Seelie & Unseelie Courts.  Possession is a key technique for a shaman, and that is what witchcraft is, the vestiges of ancient European shamanism.

Maybe you think that witchcraft and Thelema are at odds with each other because of how each system views possession, but I maintain that witchcraft, specifically Gardnerian Wicca is the most prolific expression of Thelema in the New Aeon.  It is no secret that Gardner had a charter from Crowley, or that the original Gardnerian Book of Shadows borrowed (stole?) heavily from the Gnostic Mass and other Thelemic texts.  Nor should it come as a surprise that Wicca has pollinated and disseminated itself through mainstream culture much more effectively than the magical system of Thelema. Wicca is the most popular face of Thelema today, even if most witches have never heard of Crowley or the Book of the Law. So, no, I don't think that witchcraft and Thelema are mutually exclusive paths, rather I believe that, for those who are bound to each system, they compliment each other as magical paths.

On Coming Out

I've found that "coming out" as anything controversial or against what consensus reality would label as "normal" is pretty much the same across the board. (this is coming from a Thelemic Pagan Polyamorous Lesbian, so trust me on this.) There will always be people who get their feathers all ruffled just because someone is doing things differently than they choose to. The thing to remember is ultimately these people don't matter. What matters is that you are being your honest authentic self, the person God/dess created you to be. If you do this you will find that your life opens up, and that you find the people who are your real family.  These are the people who will love you for who you really are.  They are out there waiting. Your life is out there waiting for you to grab it and own it!

Decompression

Another Babalon Rising festival is in the books, and my life is beginning to show signs of what those in consensus reality would call normalcy.  Babalon Rising, for those that haven't heard, is an annual four day occult festival dreamed up by yours truly and some of my closest cohorts.

This was officially my "year off" for the festival. Meaning, instead of running around all day and half of the night like a manic trying to herd Thelemites (much worse than herding cats, I can assure you) I actually was able to attend portions of the festival and even sleep in.

So what did I do with my precious time?  I served as a sounding board for my friends who needed space to vent, I ran the Qabalah Bar (a tradition at Babalon Rising; someone nude is painted as the Tree of Life and shots corresponding with each of the sepheroth are mixed and then imbibed as body shots from the living "tree") and I got ridden hard at a New Orleans voodoo ritual to Manman Brigette.  I don't think I've ever been possessed quite so completely before. I have (nearly) no recollection of what occurred during my time as a horse (save the odd image of a little white boy's bare butt covered in fishnets and bouncing to the beat of the drums -- it's funny what the Gods will let through!)

I got to ride around French Lick, Indiana with the legendary and notorious magicians Lon Milo DuQuette and Donald Michael Kraig. That's one for the bucket list.  By the grace and wisdom of my spiritual sister Magdelyn M. I got to help begin working the New Aeon work of the Cup and the Paten.  I had the stunning realization that, in a small way, I am helping to shape the history of occultism in America, something I love very much and am humbled by.

In this year's Feast of the Beast ritual I invoked Hadit, the master magician. It is a good archetype for me to be working with, as much progress has been made since then on my other blog.  Thus far I have held the FoB roles of: Babalon, Nuit, Baphomet (best costume EVER), a Maenad, a Scarlet Woman, and now Hadit.  Next year is our seventh year and I plan to serve as Babalon once again.

My profound thanks and agape go out to everyone who participated in this year's festival.  The energy was astonishing. After performing the opening Star Ruby ritual I was so overcome I could barely walk, and that was just day one.  Thank you sisters and brothers. 93!

Thoughts on a Maxim

Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever observes himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly. ~Andre Gide

Ouch.

"Know thyself" is the most common translation of (arguably) the most famous of the Delphic Maxims. The Delphic Maxims are inscribed at Apollo's Temple in Delphi and are said to have been delivered by Apollo Himself. The Maxims are suggestions for pious living rather than commandments. According to legend, they were written down by The Seven Sages who are usually identified as: Solon of Athens, Chilon of Sparta, Thales of Miletus, Bias of Priene, Cleobulus of Lindos, Pittacus of Mitylene and Periander of Corinth.

Now, I've had trouble reconciling myself to some of the maxims in the past, but this was not one of them. When a friend posted the Gide quote above earlier this week it forced me to question a concept that I had not even realized I had accepted without question.

I will readily admit that choosing to investigate my thoughts on this subject seem to support the very foundations of the maxim "Know Thyself", but I'll leave that paradox aside here for the sake of further exploration.

Would a caterpillar who wanted to know itself never become a butterfly? Does it do harm to the development of my butterfly/psyche to hold it under constant scrutiny? I can understand how that could be perceived as the case. My illness, bipolar disorder, thrives on the constant narration and criticism of my mind about my daily activities. I achieve a certain state of grace when I meditate singularly on my breath and not on the chatter and self-talk of my mind.

Perhaps in chastising "Know Thyself" Gide was recalling that old adage about not staring too long into the abyss lest it stare back into you. We observe ourselves, and observe ourselves observing ourselves. We see flaws that mirror back at us like the abyss, like the demons of the Goetia. We see strengths that we hold ourselves up by. We create an identity based not on who we are being, but on what we are perceiving ourselves to be.

It is important to note that "Know Thyself", although a popular translation, is only that, a translation. The maxim itself is Σαυτον ισθι which can also be translated as "Be Yourself", the advice given to us by our mothers and countless characters on Sesame Street. "Be Yourself" is a much kinder way to live than "Know Thyself". It challenges us to discover our True Will, to ultimately become whatever sort of butterfly we are intended to be.

*gets out Thelemic soapbox (it is composed of two perfect cubes and is exactly at navel height for everyone)*

Therefore, damned for a dog be "Know Thyself". There is no law beyond Do What Thou Wilt. Be Yourself. Love is the Law, Love Under Will.

Back to the Blogging Board

The other day I was reading my boss's blog, and enjoying it thoroughly, when I realized it hadn't been updated since July of 2009. I thought, "I should really encourage her to get back to writing in her blog" when the irony of the fact I haven't been keeping up with my own blog hit me. When I asked her about her abandoned webspace she defended herself with "Oh, I just don't have anything to write about." Which I promise you is not true. Even if the library wasn't going through a complete overhaul of our cataloging and circulation system (which we are) the day-today workings of a public library leave ample room for all manner of interesting anecdotes. I appreciated her sentiment, though. I, too, have not written recently for what I deemed lack of subject matter. I haven't done anything new/groundbreaking/vaguely interesting to anyone with Athena worship in a while, and, with the season of the Witch upon us, I've been poking around in Cochrane's letters and wishing I had the gumption to actually follow the Spiral Castle Tradition full time.

What is the Spiral Castle Tradition, you ask? Gentle reader, allow me to introduce you to a Tradition of Witchcraft in the 1734/Clan of Tubal Cain mold that Laurelei and I created whole hog from immersing ourselves in the Robert Cochrane letters and Graves' seminal The White Goddess. It is a ecstatic mystery tradition with legitimate roots in British Traditional Witchcraft. It is a three-degree initiatory tradition, although we make no claims of succession to anyone, apostolic, or otherwise. Our calendar is based on the eight festival cycle, along side a lunar calendar related to tree-months and totemic animal cycles. The central Deities of the tradition are the Red God: Tubal Cain, and two Goddesses, the White and the Black. Note 7/18/2011: We're blogging about it here.

Is anyone actually a part of this oh-so-nifty tradition? Well, sort of. I mean, if you count myself and Laurelei. I currently practice the tradition when it suits me, along with the Athenian festival calendar (when it pertains directly to Athena) and Thelemic practices including Liber Resh vel Helios and the Star Ruby (because who doesn't love using Greek in ceremonial magick?). So , yeah, my spiritual practices have been very *ahem* eclectic as of late. This is in addition to my loose studies in Goddess/feminist spirituality such as the Women's Goddess Retreat. I just can't seem to focus on one thing, which is probably why, although I am filled with good intentions to mentor to the local occult community, the student have thus far not appeared.

I have grand plans for all of these irons in the fire. I've started three different books, but none of them are anywhere near completion. The first, Under Her Aegis, is my attempt at a guide to the modern worship of Athena. The next is an untitled book on Thelemic Witchcraft. I can hear you laughing, but really, Gardnerian Wicca owes a huge debt to Crowley, and the promulgation of Thelema in the New Aeon has found its most vital medium in NeoPaganism. The systems compliment each other very well. The third work is a monstrosity I fear I will never finish. It is my attempt to distill my collected knowledge of Witchcraft into a single book. I see it as my Great Work, and, because of that, I wonder if it is even meant to be completed. It is more than a simple Book of Shadows. On my best days I see it as a greatly expanded volume in the spirit of Huson's classic Mastering Witchcraft.

All of this, and I still intend to go back to library school. I have always had lofty aspirations -- a good trait in an occultist.

Life is not all coven-planning and writing the next great treatise on Witchcraft. I fret over seeing my family for Thanksgiving later this week. I worry about our Yuletide gift-giving budget. I go to work happily and hope that the forthcoming new catalog and circulation system will run well and smoothly.

And, hopefully, I continue to blog. :)

Thelemic Woes

Spent last night visiting Anita for class night. We discussed Thelemic dieties/godforms. I've been thinking about Thelema alot as I prepare for Minerval, assist in building the Babalon Rising festival, and help to start a local camp body. I've noticed that I've got alot of animosity towards two aspects of Thelema.

Primarily, I have come to perceive my "belief system" (for lack of a better term) to be composed of three distinct parts: a "religious" system, a "magical" system, and a "philosophical" system.

Religiously I'm a Pagan. I talk to Gods, Gods talk to me. I try not to ask too many question of how this happened, and would rather dance naked with wild abandon around a bonfire than chat over coffee about Gods as archetypes, egregores, thoughtforms, or whatever. I can be snippy and defensive when it comes to the subject of my patron, and other occultists my find my beliefs to resemble schizophrenia. Oh well.

Magically I'm a Witch. I like rustic tools, herbal elixirs, black cats, strange chants, and ritual by candlelight. I think Strega is cool. I think Robert Cochrane was a genius. I love my ratty old walking staff. I am a whore for good ritual. Other occultists think I'm a little daffy, and I recognize that I'll often overlook good scholarship in favor of magical value.

Philosopically, I'm a Thelemite. I may not understand your path, but if it's working for you, good. Keep your opinions out of my way and I'll try not to step on yours. The sandbox is big enough for both of us. You're divine and so am I. Do what thou Wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Yup. Works for me.

So, I get my panties in a wad when I start to feel like because I'm playing in one paradigm means that I should automatically be playing in another. Life might be easier if I was a sheeple-Wiccan who bowed to the authority of every self-proclaimed Queen dripping in amber and jet. It's certainly assumed that because I'm religiously Pagan-identified and magically Witchcraft-identified that I must be philosophically Wiccan-identified. But I ain't.

And when chatting with (some) Thelemites over religion, my internal compass screams "Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. Over!" as Crowley tells me from beyond the grave that these are not gods, but concepts: Nuit = Infinity, Nox = nothingness, Chaos = chaos, Pan = All-things, Babalon = the unknowable as anima... it's enough to make a Pagan's head spin. Sheesh. I've spoken with Nyx and Pan, and they think all of this conceptual stuff is hilarious. As for magic, well, Thelemites give good ritual. I'm looking forward to Minerval like a kid looks forward to Christmas, so I don't mind working the system.

A Thelemite will tell you that the Gods are what you make of them. Crowlianity says that the gods are what Crowley says they are at whatever stage of his life you may be reading from. So I guess it's the Crowleyites that I have the big grumble with. Geeze I wish these people had another prophet. Anyway.

Gripe #2: Crowley doesn't know shit about the mysteries of the cup and the paten. He at least recognizes this, and there is hope that eventually a lady with a firm grasp of ritual will come along and clean some things up. Primarily the nauseating amount of phallus worship involved in the magical system, and the recognition that women magicians, no matter how much we rock, are not automatically "beyond the veil" with ultimate understanding of the supernal triad. Crowley didn't understand women. He didn't understand them to such a ridiculous degree that he thought women would make a great magical symbol for that which is unknowable. Excuse me while I climb off of this pedestal before I fall and break my unknowable little neck.

Reposted from LiveJournal Jan. 28th, 2006