Pasadena Babalon is a new stage play dealing with the life of rocket pioneer Jack Parsons, co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and the Aerojet General Corporation.

Theater Arts at Caltech (TACIT) director Brian Brophy (Shawshank Redemption, Day Without a Mexican, Star Trek: The Next Generation) will direct the play penned by George Morgan, author of last year’s well-received Rocket Girl.

Babalon takes the audience on a journey through mid-1930s Pasadena up until Jack’s untimely death in 1952. Surrounded by a gallery of characters from Aleister Crowley, L.Ron Hubbard, Theordore Von Karman, and many others, the play examines the nature of genius with its unintended consequences, black magic, military contracts, and the formation of JPL.

TACIT casts feature Caltech undergraduates, graduate students, staff members, and JPL engineers.

Caltech: Pasadena Babalon

Dramatis Personae (PDF)

(via Joseph Matheny)

“Most people experience a similar reaction when they first sit down and actually read Crowley. The name is almost universally known, and somehow most of us have inherited a nasty association along with it; some vague idea of a wacky Satanist and evil-doer. My first thoughts upon delving into Crowley’s 8 Lectures on Yoga were I don’t understand half of what this guy is saying but damn, he is onto something. One is immediately struck but the cutting insight into the previously obscure, the elegant humour, the seductive use of language, and the sheer scale of his knowledge. A few of Crowley’s recurring topics include ceremonial Magick, mathematics, metaphysics, yoga, practical mysticism, Kabalah, Tarot, and one of the first scientific approaches to comparative religion and the attainment of genius, immortalised in the verse:

We place no reliance
On Virgin or Pigeon:
Our method is Science,
Our aim is Religion”

(Download for MWT via Dan Bartlett’s blog)

“The Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an esoteric fraternal order which is perhaps best known for its associations with former leader and primary ritualist/liturgist Aleister Crowley, has recently achieved two major legal victories. The more important of the two regards trademark control over the terms “OTO” and “O.T.O.” in the UK.

“I am happy to report that OTO has prevailed against Starfire Publishing Ltd.’s opposition to our trademarks for “OTO” and “O.T.O.” in the United Kingdom. In her decision of June 8, Anna Carbone, the Appointed Person hearing OTO’s appeal, found in favor of OTO, overturning a previous decision in favor of Starfire. OTO’s registrations of the marks “OTO” and “O.T.O.” are now proceeding normally in the UK, joining our previous registrations of “Ordo Templi Orientis” and the OTO Lamen. Under UK law, there can be no further appeal of a decision by an Appointed Person, in either the Trademark Registry or High Court.”

What does this decision mean? Joined with the international order’s trademark control in the United States (and the rest of the world), it means that a variety of splinter groups using the term “OTO” (or variations thereof) must now cease or risk legal action. The OTO’s official press release specifically names British occultist Kenneth Grant’s “Typhonian” Ordo Templi Orientis in its warning to groups started by expelled or resigned members.”

(via The Wild Hunt Blog)

“Fans of terrible movies shouldn’t miss Chemical Wedding, which contains so many wooden performances it should really have been thinned before release by the forestry commission. Director Julian Doyle shoots the whole thing as though it is a Hammer horror film, and most of the actresses have the Hammer hallmark of being extraordinarily unfit for acting. Most of the cast underact. The one, big – and I do mean big – exception is Simon Callow, who appears to have been taking acting lessons from Brian Blessed and, possibly as a result, gone stark staring bonkers.

Callow is at his exuberant worst as a stuttering Cambridge academic who – because of some incomprehensible scientific experiment that goes wrong – is taken over by the spirit of Aleister Crowley.”

(via The Daily Mail)

(Related: “Aleister Crowley movie, The Chemical Wedding, trailer”)

(via Plutonica)

Paul Green’s audio drama of rocketry, passion and magick, performed by Travesty Theatre in London 2005 and directed by Alison Rockbrand. The play explores the life of Jack Parsons – godfather of the American space programme and acolyte of the magus Aleister Crowley.

Part 1.

Part 2.

More by Paul Green.

His novel, The Qliphoth.

All of Grant’s works were highly influenced by Crowley’s Thelemic tradition. One particular work, which holds considerable interest, is Nightside of Eden in which Grant proceeds to describe what he refers to as the Tunnels of Set.

A close examination of the Tunnels of Set will bring the reader to a realization that Crowley might not have been Kenneth Grant’s only influence for this darker side of occult mysticism. It seems that Grant’s Nightside of Eden is also somewhat rooted in the works of H.P. Lovecraft and his often referred to tome the Necronomicon.

Full Story: Key 64.

A COUPLE jailed for nine months for contempt of court for refusing to withdraw claims an occult group was killing children were freed yesterday after spending seven weeks in jail.

Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine were jailed for failing to remove allegations that the secretive international society Ordo Templi Orientis was a pedophile ring.

Other claims included members of the group tortured and killed children, drank the children’s blood and ate their organs and used naked children as waiters at functions.

OTO told the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal the couple had breached the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act.

The couple ignored a July VCAT order to remove the comments. Judge Marilyn Harbison said the claims were still on the website in November when police were forced to bring the couple to the tribunal to face contempt charges. Judge Harbison gave the couple overnight to think about the consequences of their actions.

But instead of returning the next morning they fled to their NSW home until their arrest and jailing for contempt last month.

The couple’s lawyer Simon Moglia told the tribunal yesterday the couple had been financially ruined and had fled the tribunal in November because they had realised they had made a mistake by not complying with its order.

From: news.com.au.

(Thanks Danny).

See also: Anti-OTO Website Lands Two In Jail.

“Two Tucabia residents have been jailed for contempt of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and sentenced to nine months jail in Victoria after refusing to remove offensive material from their protest website. A warrant for the arrest of Vivienne Legg and Dyson Devine was issued on November 28, 2007 after a lengthy court battle was launched by Brent Gray and David Bottrill, members of a religion called Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), in the State’s anti-discrimination court. The court found Legg and Devine guilty under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act anti-discrimination legislation pertaining to racial and religious vilification after they published information on their website, gaiaguys.net.”

(via The Daily Examiner. Hat Tip: Abrahadabra)

“[...] Looking at what we see as ‘occultism’ today is not same way in the past. Historically speaking, the subjects that are included in occultism, such as astrology, magic, alchemy, qabalah, and the like, were not excluded or pushed to the periphery of society and not distrusted like they are today. In fact, they were integral parts of how society investigated the world around them and were technologies used to discern the hidden aspects of the universe. Occultism, per se, is a modern concept-it arose in the later 19th century. In the past the occult was seen as integral part of the world. After all, the word occult means ‘hidden.’ When astrologers investigated the charts, they were attempting to see the hidden or occult influences and determining causes deriving from the celestial sphere; when alchemists experimented with matter, they were attempting to determine the hidden or occult properties of matter; when qabalists, Christian, Arabic, or Jewish alike, explored the qabalah, they were seeking to understand the hidden influences of the divine and how they manifested in our world. In essence, they were all seeking to understand the hidden aspects of reality; the things people did not see operating on a day-to-day basis.

Today, because of the influence of science and other societal structures, many of the early ways of investigating the hidden world have been determined as invalid and excluded. These formerly accepted practices, such as astrology, have been determined to be worthless, or at most, for occasional amusement and not anything to be taken seriously. Those still searching for the occult side of things do not always agree and still give validity to such techniques. Other times the technique or practice transforms, such as alchemy. It evolved into modern chemistry on one hand, and symbolic alchemy on another; the latter being employed by magicians mapping certain processes and Jungian psychologists. Regardless of the technique, the salient point remains, there are hidden forces at work in the world around us and in us and occultism is the process by which these processes are investigated and exposed.”

(via The Treasure House of Pearls)

s the lead singer from Iron Maiden the new Rob Zombie? Bruce Dickinson, the old school hard rock band’s lead singer, penned the screenplay for Chemical Wedding, an occult thriller which, according to Variety, “stars Simon Callow as the reincarnated Aleister Crowley, an occult scholar who was once labeled as the most evil man in Britain.” Crowley wasn’t just “an occult scholar.” His very existence struck fear into the hearts of the U.K. residents throughout his lifetime.

Full Story: Monster Fest.

(Thanks Danny Chaoflux).

“The latest Fortean Times is a special issue looking at various aspects of Crowley to mark the 60th anniversary of his death, on the 1st. I’ve had my copy for a day or two and had time to read through a number of articles and they are all excellent but the one that stands out is the one by Alan Chapman looking at the LAM hypothesis.”

(via Cabinet Of Wonders)

(see also The LAM Hypothesis)

ARG Net has an update about lonelygirl15 (Previously on Technoccult).

The letter from “the creators” is incredibly lame. To quote New York Times blogger Virginia Heffernan :

I don’t know what to add, except UGH at the “it’s not lies or a coherent mystery; it’s all a fascinating artistic jeu d’esprit” idea. I think Jayson Blair might even have tried that one.

In fact, I’d rather that The Creators were more serious–more mysterious–more even, hm, Thelemic about it all. I mean that, whatever their ideology or frame of mind, I wish they showed more heart for the actual stuff of the videos; I don’t quite see, for example, how sloughing off Bree as the “magical faerie spirit in all of us” (or whatever that was) is going to win them any allegiance over here, where Bree–the character AND the live being playing her–were what originally excited us.

In other words, I didn’t set out to see a big art experiment. I set out to get to know Bree. And it’s not fair to make it sound as if that’s an infantile motivation for looking at the vids, or as if higher minds would understand that the lofty call of filmmaking qua filmmaking supersedes the draw of a fictional character.

Dickens was careful not to tell his crazed, besotted fans: “Little Nell’s not important! She’s just everygirl! It’s me! I’m a WRITER! And the novel is a NEW FORM!”

The white-hot spark of a YouTube user named LonelyGirl15 has set the dry timber of the summer Internet community ablaze. Ostensibly the video blog of a teenaged American girl named Bree, the 23 videos posted so far have chronicled a budding romance with a boy named Daniel, but there’s a twist: Bree’s family is very religious, she is home-schooled, and she has pledged a “purity bond” with her father. Even stranger is the fact that Bree’s religion is never named, and in fact on various comments on YouTube she has said that it is not mainstream – “We’re not Christian or Buddhist or Hindu or anything like that.” There’s also a mysterious picture of famous occultist Aleister Crowley on Bree’s bedroom wall, above a candelabra which she’s vehement that Daniel not light. And wait – that Crowley picture is new – it used to be something else (could that possibly bear a resemblance to Baphomet?) A dark twist, indeed.

Full Story: Alternate Reality Gaming Network.

R.U. Sirius: Timothy Archibald of Sex Machines.

NeoFiles: Craig Newmark of Craig’s List.

What We Are At War.

Viking Youth: Greys, Crowely, the UFO phenomenon and the Death of a Species.

Viking Youth: Mounting the Spirit Horse & Laying the Foundations.

I was just reading over that propaganda comic that Benway was kind enough to post, it gave us a good laugh at work here. I don’t know which is funnier, leftist or rightist stuff. Actually no? I do, rightist propaganda is always a bit more funny cuz they have such a peculiar grasp of humour. At least hippies are light-hearted. It’s like putting Julius Evola on-stage with Robert Anton Wilson and asking them to do a joke-off. Perhaps, say, at the Just for Laughs festival in Montr?al.

Anyhow, speaking of funny, as I was perusing this fine site I came across this ad by Gooooogle or whutever it’s called:?

For the first time since the Pharaohs:
“How to Cast Devastatingly Effective Spells and Rituals
With Extraordinary Power
by the End of the Week…

Even if you don’t know the difference between Magic and Magick Yet…”

Subscribe before Saturday, August 6 and also get 3 FREE spells for more Money, Love and Good Luck!

From Bogdan Ravaru & Giancarlo Capuccio…

Thursday, August 4
Dear Seeker,
ave you ever craved to have magic powers? And be able to use them whenever you please, to dramatically improve your life and help the ones you love?

Let’s pretend for a minute that you have the power to transform every thought, every wish and every dream into reality – RIGHT NOW…

What would you do? What would you create? What would you wish for… Money? Love? Happiness? Friends? Health? Protection? Revenge? POWER?
“What if we could show you a way to get ALL these things and more, WITHOUT sacrificing blood or selling your soul?”

We’d tell you everything right here, on this page, but it would be too easy for anybody get to this site and abuse this powerful information… (who knows how long we’ll even keep this page here anyway…)

This is why we kindly ask you to give us your name and email address and we will gladly send you to the page where the secrets are posted…

And, please give us your good email address because we want to send you some really valuable advice via email and 3 free spells for money, love and good luck…

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You’re here to change your life in miraculous ways!”

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Black Magick White Magick

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I don’t know about you guys, but I need devestatingly potent spells to lay havoc and ruin to my enemies. Saskatchewan is to the east of us and I believe they have a eugenics programme underway. See, every girl I’ve met that has moved here (Alberta) from there (Saskatchewan) has been very, very attractive. Not in that Prairie punk sort of subcultural way I’ve been accustomed to here out west, but in a sort of suburban girl-next-door sort of way.

Interestingly, the Alberta Eugenics Board maintained the excellent standard of life we’ve come to expect in this province through the Alberta Sterilization Act, passed in 1928 along with another province and 28 states down yonder.

(Almost 3,000 people were sterilized under Alberta’s Sterilization Act. Many more were not released because they would not consent to sterilization. Even in 1972, the year the Act was finally repealed, 55 people were sterilized for their “danger of transmission to the progeny of mental deficiency” and for being “incapable of intelligent parenthood.”)

What I think Saskatchewan has implemented is a hawtness gene. While Americans fight obesity and clone dinosaurs, them quiet socialists next door have gone on to do what we’ve all been hoping for but no one has had the scientific “need” to do: fight ugliness.

The world needs more attractive people. Even if you are a little obese, you can still be hot. I mean, there is a girl here at work who may be a few kilos overweight, but she’s cute.

As for the ad by Gooooogle, perhaps we need to implement some sort of post-natal beatings unto those that are propagating the ridiculous image of such spiritual matters. I know the occult doesn’t like to associate with the Wiccans, but they keep sticking their fingers in our cookie jar.

Perhaps some PR eugenics, some disassociation from the New Agers and the goths. Hmm, back to the occult brand thing.

Though speaking of genes, another Gooooogle ad took me to Ebay where they were selling “soft robes for magical use” and I found this. She must be a witch from Saskatchewan.

It’s still no excuse. Wait, no? she’s from France. I think Saskatchewan and France have something in common though. Perhaps they adopted the hawt eugenics programme that the Czech Republic obviously has in place. There can be no other explanation.

I need some books on occult eugenics. I think Aleister Crowley and Michael Bertiaux have some writings on this?

WTF, Thistle? =)

As a proof of concept on a design, a mad scientist travels back in time to recruit various historical figures to make a bio-pic about the actors who came to be known as The Three Stooges.

Link.

Vortex Egg rounds up some 1947 synchronicities

The Roswell, New Mexico crash occurred on July 2, 1947.

Aleister Crowley died on December 1, 1947

Sandoz Laboratories, the sole producer of LSD began marketing that drug in its country of origin, Swizterland, under the trade name ?Delysid? in 1947 (it was introduced to the United States the following year).

The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered

The sound barrier was broken by Gen. Chuck Yeager (USAF) on October 14, 1947.

The transistor was invented on December 16th, 1947.

Link.

Wikipedia entry for 1947.

Old but previously unpublished interview:

John Dee, for example, was one of the leading scientific lights of his age. Without John Dee, there wouldn’t have been an Isaac Newton. The science of navigation was practically invented by John Dee. He was a classic Renaissance man, and yet he seemed to spend the latter half of his life working upon this incomprehensible series of squiggles that he referred to as being Enochian language, which he seemed to believe literally was a form of language with which you could communicate with angels. Now, you look at this table of tiny squares full of little symbols, numbers, letters, and it looks like complete lunacy – and, indeed, most people have dismissed it as such, but given Dee’s undisputed, original intellect, I found it more difficult to dismiss it.

I also started looking at people like Jack Whiteside Parsons. There’s a crater on the moon named after him – the Parsons Crater. That’s because Jack Parsons invented solid rocket fuel, without which it would have been impossible to reach the moon. He was a distinguished scientist. He was also a member of the Golden Dawn – the Caliphate OTO; the Ordo Templi Orientist (OTO). Crowley had been the head of the order at one point. The more I started to look at it, the more it seemed that . . . most of the leading scientists, artists, musicians – most of the key thinkers in human cultural history, seemed to be blatantly and overtly involved in magical thinking of some sort. I mean nearly every artist that you would care to name … You’d think there’d be nothing more formal and scientific than those sort of divided rectangles and squares of Mondrian’s, but no, that was all based upon theosophy. Even baseball was created by a theosophist.

Link (via New World Disorder)
Read the rest of this entry »

Anton LaVey slams Crowley et al.

Strange, how seldom one hears plaudits for Crowley?s poetry, worthy of inclusion with the likes of James Thompson, Baudelaire, Clark Ashton Smith, and Robert E. Howard. If Crowley was a magician, it was the beauty of his creative art which made him so, not his drug-befuddled callings-up of Choronzon, et al. Unfortunately, his followers today have taken up his worst, while neglecting his best.

Link (via Disinfo).

A short introduction to Aleister Crowley, Jorges Borges, and Umberto Eco.

Recently a friend of mine admonished me with a quote from Allister Crowley (“release yourself from the passion of results”) because of my impatience during a disscussion about a creative project we are working on together. It seemed rather odd to me to hear Crowley quoted in such context. As the infamous magus, scholar, and otherwise, his philosophies were some of the pretexts for movements impatiant with cumbersome morals and social dictates of that era, such as the ‘revival’ of hedonism in the 1890’s and the Neitschesque creed of action ver thought. The friend’s simple sentence has been running in my mind over and over the last few weeks, not so much as a reminder to stay calm but to remind me of how the struggle of the sentient mind over the confines of the reality around him has been going on for quite a long time.

Link.