Hakim Bey interviewed in his home, May 2009.

Arthur: Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey) on the intentional community: “the thin edge of the wedge of resistance” to “technopathocracy”

From Hakim Bey’s Black Thorn Manifesto:

We propose to embody this poetic complex in a popular chivalric order, devoted symbolically to the cause of “bringing the snakes back to Ireland” – that is, of uniting all these mystical strands into one patterned weave, which will restore the power of its synergistic or syncretistic power to the hearts of those who respond to the particular “taste” of its mix. We have borrowed this slogan from contemporary neo-pagans in order to symbolize the special mission our order will undertake toward Celtic-Moorish friendship. The BLACK THORN LEAGUE will be open to all, regardless of whether they are MOC members or not, providing only that they support this particular goal.

“Black” in our title signifies not only the black banners of the moors but also the black flag of anarchy. “Blackthorn”, because the tree symbolizes druid Irelands & is used to make cudgels. “League”, in honor of the various Irish rebel groups which have organized as such. Other organizational models include such Masonic-revolutionary groups as the Carbonari, or Proudhon’s anarchist “Holy Vehm”, or Bakunin’s Revolutionary Brotherhood. We also emulate certain anarcho-Taoist Chinese tongs (such as the Chaos Society)~~ & hope to evolve the kind of informal mutual aid webworks they developed.

The League will bestow the Order of the Black Thorn as title & honor, & will hold an annual conclave & banquet on St. Patrick’s Day in memory both of Noble Drew Ali’s vision, & of those rioters of 1741 who conspired in low taverns to overthrow the State.

Full Story: Black Thorn Manifesto

Clay tablets existed in ancient Mesopotamia. Specie, that is coinage, did not. This is an invention of the ancient peoples of Asia Minor and the Greek Islands. Here we see money gaining a more explicit religious and magickal quality. Gold was plentiful in this area, and is also a malleable metal easy to imprint with both words and images. When temple sacrifices of the local bull cults became so popular that not everyone could get a piece of bull, an ingenius method was reached to give every pilgrim a symbol of involvement in the ritual- the temple token. Rather than a piece of bull, pilgrims were given a small piece of gold with a bull impressed on one face. The two sided coin comes later with an image on one side and a caption on the other. Money becomes qualitatively more magickal with this step, uniting the image and the word into a talismatic object which has a value unrelated to its real value as commodity. It is no longer simply a magickal document recording debt and / or wealth. It is a magickal object whose value comes from belief. As Peter points out: All money is fiat money. Gold has no inherent value. It’s shiny, and makes cool jewelry and all that, but it is not what the anarcho-capitalist types will have you believe, a universal medium of exchange. Sure, it holds value over millenia (particlarly with regard to silver), but there is not reason to use gold more than say, diamonds or uranium or coal or any other commodity in limited supply. Quoth Mr. Wilson: “Money is proof that magick works, it is perhaps the only proof.”

Full Story Glack Sun Gazette

If you’re in NYC, don’t miss this. This is an exceedingly rare opportunity.

The Libertarian Book Club/Anarchist Forum presents…

Tuesday, December 16, at 7:00pm

PETER LAMBORN WILSON’s CHAOS DAY of 2008
THE MAGIC OF MONEY AND THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM

“The History of Money since Sumeria to its Apotheosis as Pure Imagination in the 21st Century”

Peter Lamborn Wilson on finance as a form of gnosticism, a long historical view of the current crisis, and the prospects for resistance and revolution in the 21st century.

The event will take place at The Living Theatre, 21 Clinton Street, Manhattan (just south of Houston St) (212-792-8050). Coming from uptown, take the F or V train to “2nd Avenue” (exit front of train on 1st Ave, walk east along Houston and turn right on Clinton) or coming from downtown, take the F, V, M or Z train to “Delancey – Essex” and walk east on Delancey three blocks and turn left on Clinton for 2 and a half blocks.

Everybody is welcome and invited to come and to have their say.

There is no set fee for the presentation, but a contribution to aid the LBC is suggested.

If you have questions, contact the Libertarian Book Club/Anarchist Forum, 212-475-7180 or e-mail: roberterler (at) erols.com

Peter Lamborn Wilson is an American political writer, essayist, and poet, known for first proposing the concept of the Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ), based on a historical review of pirate utopias. He sometimes writes under the name Hakim Bey.

Via Arthur

Rudy Rucker: Early Days of Cyberpunk, an except of his memoir:

Gibson was an impressive guy from the start. He was tall, with an unusually thin and somewhat flexible-looking head. When I met him at one of the con parties, he said he was high on some SF-sounding substance I’d never heard of. Perfect. He was bright, funny, intense, and with a comfortable Virginia accent.

Plus: Ballardian examines the roles of Hakim Bey and J.G. Ballard in the history of Cyberpunk

Peter Lamborn Wilson’s (Hakim Bey) half-serious proposal for a political movement to uphold and propagate the ideals of Green Hermeticism:

“At least half the year belongs to Endarkenment. Enlightenment is only a special case of Endarkenment-and it has nights of its own.

**

During the day democracy waxes, indiscriminately illuminating all and sundry. But shadowless noon belongs to Pan. And night imposes a ‘radical aristocracy’ in which things shine solely by their own luminescence, or not at all.

**

Obfuscatory, reactionary and superstitious, Endarkenment offers jobs for trolls and sylphs, witches and warlocks. Perhaps only superstition can re-enchant Nature. People who fear and desire nymphs and fauns will think twice before polluting streams or clear-cutting forests.

**

Electricity banished shadows-but shadows are ’shades,’ souls, the souls of light itself. Even divine light, when it loses its organic and secret darkness, becomes a form of pollution. In prison cells electric lights are never doused; light becomes oppression and source of disease.

**

Superstitions may be untrue but based on deeper truth-that earth is a living being. Science may be true, i.e. effective, while based on a deeper untruth-that matter is dead.”

(via Arthur Magazine)

(Excerpt from “Green Hermeticism” and “Endarkment Manifesto” via Arthur pdf: pt 1-pg 11)

For all we knew, Robert Anton Wilson and I were related. On an intuitive basis-i.e., after several rounds of Jameson’s and Guinness-we decided we were cousins. Subsequently we came to believe ourselves connected to the Wilsons who play so murky a role in the ‘Montauk Mysteries’ (Aleister Crowley, UFOs and Nazis in Long Island, time travel experiments gone awry, etc.). Our plan to co-edit a family anthology (including Colin, S. Clay, and Anthony Burgess, whose real name was Wilson) never materialized-although we did collaborate in editing Semiotext(e) SF, together with Rudy Rucker.

There’s no doubt Bob was some sort of anarchist. His earliest interests and experiences (the School of Living, for example) involved connections with old-time American Philosophical or Individualist Anarchism of the Spooner/Tucker variety, and, in fact, this shared background firmed the basis of our friendship.

Full Story: Arthur Magazine.

On MindliftTV.

(Thanks Popjellyfish).

Texts by Noble Drew Ali, Hakim Bey, and other Black or anarchist writings.

Moorish Science Reading Room.

(Thanks Trevor!)

OVO, a zine that’s been published by my friend Trevor Blake since 1987 (home to Hakim Bey’s first published works and later became part of The Temporary Autonomous Zone), now has a blog. If the annual OVO issues and Trevor’s regular contributions on American Samizdat don’t quench your needs for hatred of religion, obscure counter culture gems, DIY projects, and, well, other stuff, then check it out.

OVO: Atheist Blog.

Torrent.

Direct Download.

From the New Introduction:

Join the Party

This is the record of the AAAZ, the Antarctic Astral Autonomous Zone, that occurred on the night of August 31st – September 1st, 1987.

Hakim Bey is the author of Temporary Autonomous Zone. It’s a cultural milestone for a wide variety of subversives from anarchists, occultists, vandal artists, and freaky festival people. The main idea of TAZ was to create exactly what it sounds like TAZ is about: creating places that serve as alternative realities to the prevailing system of control. Specific times and spaces designated to let chaos free, and allow psychological and social mechanisms to self regulate and mutate beyond the confines of so-called consensus reality.

The focus is on having individuals find and establish meaning on their own terms. Creating a TAZ requires face to face interaction and dialog, in a sense, creating an art form which is impossible to ever fully record or understand. In the void where stagnancy and boredom once ruled, wild fantasies called real life take root. The elusive genuine article, with no possible televised reenactments.

Before TAZ’s thought virus would reach the anti-capitalists and the rave scene as it did in the 90’s, many of the people who recognized the value of Bey’s work were few and far apart. Mail order culture was the primary mode of communication with the underground for many people in the 80’s. The postal world seen within the pages of High Weirdness by Mail by Ivan Stang has now mostly migrated to cyberspace, where many of these fringe cultures have exploded into bonafide phenomenas. In the meantime, the mutants who were plugged into the paper trail of fresh ideas were yearning for an opportunity to encounter a TAZ. This meant finding a ‘Zone’ which was totally unexpected.

It was decided to meet astrally or in dreams, at a specific sacred space in Antarctica. Bey sent invites out to his network, and arranged for everyone who participated to send him their experiences, which he would then compile and send back out. What you end up with is an compilation of rare works by an all-star cast of individuals who comprised the occulture before there was a word for it. In this instance, the media created here facilitated a syncing up of communal experiences, and was an essential component of the AAAZ, yet not the AAAZ in itself.

The objective reality of astral projection is inconsequential to the AAAZ. What is of importance is the narrative, lives encouraged to be lived mythically, drawing those lives together in the process. Then again, for those who do entertain astral experiences as accepted facets of reality, the AAAZ was most likely one of the earliest documented records of shared lucid dreams and consciousness. It is historically important for occultists, and personally fulfilling for those who got to participate in it.

The AAAZ is a window into the past, where long distance communications were laced with art and magic, and the viability of a tangible occult community was seemingly infinitesimal. This book provided my endeavors with a deeper sense of purpose to what I have been developing with esoZone, and PDXocculture, an open group in Portland, OR for individuals with esoteric interests. It was as if my magic was supplemented by ancient spells spoke at the AAAZ, spells that were finally close to reaching total fruition. “Find the Others”, Leary’s famous phrase, has become irrelevant. More people are networked than ever before, and they are well on their way to having an alternative reality subsume the toxic aeon preceding it.

This is a rare work that has only been previously released to the original participants. It is provided in its first reprinting to the participants of esoZone as a bonus gift, and as a memetic primer. Be sure to look out for works by Coil, Shirley Maclaine, James Koehnline, Ivan Stang, Feral Faun (aka Apio), Reverand Crowbar (aka Susan Poe), Trevor Blake, and of course Hakim Bey. All notables to be sure, but I can think of someone more important.

This is where you come in.
The coincidences you are experiencing as part of esoZone ARE REAL.
All the doorways of the venue have been transmuted into portals.
They lead twenty years into the past from Portland [Land of Portals] to the Antarctican AAAZ.
As you navigate the space of esoZone, you may notice dimensional leakage.
It is no accident and a very special effect. Have fun with it.
Interact with entities and your awareness of the past and present places, slipstreaming into the future.

Tell your friends.

If you are up for it, during the exact 20 year anniversary of the AAAZ, on the night of Aug. 31st, take an astral voyage. Bring your memory back to esoZone, and the experiences you had within it, and use the doorway Portals to the AAAZ of 87. The rest of this book should prep you for the journey.

This time, there will be no zine compiling the experiences. Take advantage of our Aeon. Post about your adventures online wherever you normally post, and if you do not have a space for that, start an account on Irreality.net. Your words will find their proper destination, and be part of a grand chain of events that leads to something currently inconceivable, twenty more years down the line.

Danny Chaoflux
New Alamut, Portal Palace
July 2007

Portland, OR. August 10-12, 2007.

Paul Laffoley. Foolish People. Viking Youth. Freeman. Many more.

esoZone tickets are now available! The sooner you buy your ticket, the less expensive it will be. So act now!

The web site has been updated with more information about the event.

As a special bonus for anyone who buys a weekend pass, we will include an exclusive reprint of the Akashic Record of the Astral Convention zine edited by Hakim Bey. In 1987 Hakim Bey invited several friends and allies to astrally project to Antarctica for a convention. Afterwords, visitors sent their accounts to Bey and he compiled them into this zine. This collection was originally sent only to the contributors and has never before been reprinted. It features lost works by:

Ticket Prices:
3/15 – 4/15

Friday – $14.95
Saturday – $24.95
Sunday – $24.95

Weekend Package – $49.95

4/16 – 6/15

Friday – $14.95
Saturday – $34.95
Sunday- $34.95

Weekend Package – $74.95

6/16/ – 7/31

Friday – $14.95
Saturday – $59.95
Sunday – $59.95

Weekend Package – $124.95

At the door:

Friday – $15
Saturday – $70
Sunday – $70

Weekend Package – $150

I found this interesting, especially since I just rediscovered my copy of T.A.Z., by Hakim Bey. I think we often neglect to remember that it only takes a wee bit of energy to make a significant change in the so-called Black Iron Prison around us. Is it really that hard?

Sometimes, a hug is all what we need. Free hugs is a real life controversial story of Juan Mann, A man whos sole mission was to reach out and hug a stranger to brighten up their lives.

In this age of social disconnectivity and lack of human contact, the effects of the Free Hugs campaign became phenomenal.

As this symbol of human hope spread accross the city, police and officials ordered the Free Hugs campaign BANNED. What we then witness is the true spirit of humanity come together in what can only be described as awe inspiring.

Razorsmile posts word of a new Hakim Bey text:

It seems that Hakim Bey may be producing a new text very soon…so this is just a little to help in spreading the buzz for that. For those who don’t know Bey’s fascinating work, get yourself a copy of Immediatism – an existentialist-Nietzschean magical path that is both inspiring and intellectually interesting. Bey’s relationship to Islamic traditions is also critically subversive in this current context of a new crusade and moreover is part of his work that is not simply a response to the political-cultural developments of the last 15 years but something that seems to have developed more naturally as part of his specific path. We’ll keep an eye and ear out and if you hear anything do let us know more…

From: Razorsmile.

Wes’ Corporate Magick expose and anti-copyright advocacy reminds me a lot of Hakim Bey and his many works. One of which – Temporary Autonomous Zone – Klint links to.

Speaking of magick, Mindwarp, lets his brief thoughts on Hellboy turn into a nice rant on Gary Lachman’s Turn Off Your Mind – a book which examines many aspects of occult culture and apparently lists Aleister Crowley as merely a “moral lesson.”

The Incunabula crew have put online a 1993 radio show featuring Hakim Bey, Robert Anton Wilson, Nick Herbert, Rob Brezsny and Joseph Matheny.
Link.

I’m sitting in front of a sound stage in the middle of a horse pasture watching robotic kids shift and rotate to electronic music. A computer thumps out crunchy, mechanical melodies over the funky beats oozing from turntables. Neon drawings float under the black light from the plywood dance floor. Off to the side of the stage, a guy sits cross-legged and meditates. I’ve been up since 6:30 in the morning, it’s 2:30 at night now, I’m freezing, and have no plans of going to bed. Fatigue has given way to fascination. I feel great.
Read the rest of this entry »

To provide some balance for the Crowley piece we ran a little while ago, here are Hakim Bey’s arguments against legalization.
Link (via New World Disorder).