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Post by Admin on Feb 24, 2022 16:21:21 GMT
Magic Naturalized? Negotiating Science and Occult Experience in Aleister Crowley's Scientific Illuminism / La Magie “naturalisée”? De la négociation entre science et expérience occulte dans l'illuminisme scientifique d'Aleister Crowley www.academia.edu/232271/Magic_Naturalized_Negotiating_Science_and_Occult_Experience_in_Aleister_Crowleys_Scientific_Illuminism_La_Magie_naturalis%C3%A9e_De_la_n%C3%A9gociation_entre_science_et_exp%C3%A9rience_occulte_dans_lilluminisme_scientifique_dAleister_Crowley"One of the central questions in the study of modern Western Esotericism concerns the continued appeal of magic; how did magic survive “the disenchantment of the world”? An appealing explanation has been that the emergence of “occultist magic”, based on the writings of Eliphas Lévi (1810–1875) and the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (est. 1888) in particular, resulted in a “psychologisation” of magic. By interpreting magical practices as psychological techniques, and the trafficking with esoteric entities as manipulation of internal, psychological states rather than externally real spiritual beings it has become possible for well-educated, upper middle class moderners to retain both their belief in magic and their rational integrity. By presenting a case study of one of the most influential modern occultists, Aleister Crowley (1875– 1947), this article seeks to demonstrate that “the psychologisation thesis” is not entirely tenable. Special notice will be given to Crowley’s magical system, presented as “Scientific Illuminism”, and the role and appeal of science in that system. Contrary to the psychologisation thesis, which it will be argued represents a sort of “psychological escapism”, Crowley did not seek to insulate his magical beliefs from his rational beliefs by withdrawing them to the realm of psychology and internal states; instead, influenced by the ideals of scientific naturalism, he sought to devise a naturalistic method by which magical practice could be rationally criticised, tested and refined. In short, it will be argued that Crowley’s system represent a move towards the naturalisation rather than the psychologisation of magic. In addition to presenting a close reading of some of Crowley’s ideas on the relation between science and magic, a historical contextualisation will be provided, in which special notice will be given to Crowley’s relation to prominent intellectual currents with interest in this issue, including the Society for Psychical Research, Sir James Frazer, and naturalist philosophers and psychologists, from T. H. Huxley to Henry Maudsley. "
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Post by Admin on Feb 28, 2022 15:47:37 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2022 15:39:32 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 2, 2022 22:54:31 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 4, 2022 15:40:35 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 5, 2022 21:11:56 GMT
GARY LACHMAN – ESOTERIC HISTORY, OCCULT POLITICS AND HOLY RUSSIA legalise-freedom.com/shows/gary-lachman-esoteric-history-occult-politics-and-holy-russia/Gary Lachman discusses his book The Return of Holy Russia – Apocalyptic History, Mystical Awakening, and the Struggle for the Soul of the World. (Stream / download audio at bottom of page) Lachman’s latest work explores how mystical and spiritual influences have shaped Russia’s identity and politics, and what it means for our future. At the turn of the 20th century, Russia was undergoing a powerful spiritual and cultural rebirth. It was a time of magic and mysticism that saw a resurgence of interest in the occult and a creative intensity not seen in the West since the Renaissance. This was the time of the God-Seekers, pilgrims of the soul and explorers of the spirit who sought the salvation of the world through art and ideas. These sages and their visions of Holy Russia are returning to prominence now through Russian president Vladimir Putin, who, inspired by their ideas, envisions a new ‘Eurasian’ civilization with Russia as its leader.
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2022 15:57:10 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2022 18:02:17 GMT
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Post by Admin on Mar 20, 2022 17:44:26 GMT
The Role of Religious Experience in the Magical Philosophy of Aleister Crowley www.academia.edu/13121945/The_Role_of_Religious_Experience_in_the_Magical_Philosophy_of_Aleister_CrowleyYoga, Thelema, Occultism, Religious Experience, Western Esotericism, Aleister Crowley, Magick A short paper which examines the role and importance of the concept of 'religious experience' in the magical and philosophical system of Aleister Crowley. Written for the 'Religious Experience' module of the Research Masters in Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam 2014-2015. [Note: requires further editing.]
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Post by Admin on Mar 24, 2022 17:07:15 GMT
A Hall of Mirrors: Cabala, Spiegel Der Kunst Und Natur, In Alchymia (1615) publicdomainreview.org/collection/cabala-spiegelFeaturing four alchemical engravings by Raphael Custos — much reproduced since Carl Jung included the third as “The Mountain of the Adepts” in Psychology and Alchemy (1968) — Cabala’s leading symbol is the looking glass, which the author offers as a tool for penetrating the mysteries of alchemy and divinity. The century spanning from 1550 to 1650 saw the publication of hundreds of books with “Speculum”, “Spiegel”, and “Mirror” in their titles, a testament to the technology’s immense power over the European imagination. As Urszula Szulakowska describes, a belief emerged during this period that “pictures drawn according to the single-point perspective system could become a type of magical mirror”. To help its readers commune with God, the “celestial looking glass”, Cabala offers three graphical “mirrors” in the form of perspectival images rich with hermetic symbolism — a “Beginning” of “sapphire”, a “Middle” of “pure steel”, and an “End”, “sprung out of these two [preceding images] perfectly”. Prefacing this sequence, we find an engraving divided into three panels, titled “Mirror of Art and Nature”, offering a glimpse of the alchemical journey that is to follow.
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Post by Admin on Mar 27, 2022 16:01:33 GMT
Doyle White, E., 2016. "Lucifer Over Luxor: Archaeology, Egyptology, and Occultism in Kenneth Anger's Magick Lantern Cycle." Present Pasts 7.1 Ethan Doyle White www.academia.edu/22922062/Doyle_White_E_2016_Lucifer_Over_Luxor_Archaeology_Egyptology_and_Occultism_in_Kenneth_Angers_Magick_Lantern_Cycle_Present_Pasts_7_1Archaeology, Egyptology, Paganism, Western Esotericism (History), Thelema, Occultism, History of Egyptology, Neo-Paganism and Western Esotericism, Experimental Cinema, Egyptomania, Alternative Archaeologies, Kenneth Anger, Pseudo-Archaeology In 2019, I completed my PhD in Medieval History and Archaeology at University College London (UCL). My thesis, "Popular Religiosity and Watery Places in Early Medieval England: An Interdisciplinary Examination", provides the basis for a forthcoming monograph. I also hold both a BA Hons. (first class, 2012) and an MA (distinction, 2013) from that same institution. My background is primarily in archaeology and history, although I have also employed other methodologies to explore how contemporary communities understand and utilise the past. Interdisciplinarity is therefore very much part of my approach as a scholar. Although my scholarly interests are eclectic and wide-ranging, thus far I have focused my attentions on two primary research interests. The first is the religious beliefs and practices of early medieval England, both in its pre-Christian and early Christian forms. The second is the study of modern Pagan and occult new religious movements, including the way in which these contemporary groups interpret, appropriate, and utilise archaeological, historical, and folkloric material in a modern context. Intersecting with these two specialisations have been my thematic interests in folkloristics, medievalism, ritual and material religion, and religious intersections with politics, sexuality, and popular culture. Essentially, I'm interested in 'religion' as it impacts everyday life and society, rather than as a purely theological or intellectual exercise. Furthering my interest in these subjects, I run the Albion Calling blog (http://ethandoylewhite.blogspot.co.uk/), through which I have interviewed various academics - whether archaeologists, historians, folklorists, anthropologists, or religious studies scholars - who are involved in those fields that fascinate me.
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Post by Admin on Mar 27, 2022 18:44:44 GMT
There exists a force in nature which is far more powerful than steam, by means of which a single man, who can master it and knows how to direct it, might throw the world into confusion and transform its face. It is diffused throughout infinity; it is the substance of heaven and earth; for it is either fixed or volatile according to its degrees of polarization. When it produces radiance it is called light. It is that substance which was created by God before all else when He said: Let there be light. It is substance and motion at one and the same time; it is a fluid and a perpetual vibration. The inherent force by which it is put into activity is called magnetism. In infinite space it is ether, or etherized light; it becomes astral light in the stars which it magnetizes, while in organized beings it becomes the magnetic light or fluid. In man it forms the astral body or plastic mediator. The will of intelligent beings acts directly on this light, and, by means thereof, upon all nature, which is made subject to the modifications of intelligence. "This agent is precisely what the medieval adepts called the first matter of the Great Work. This Universal Agent, this vital and luminous caloric, this electro- magnetic ether, is represented on ancient monuments by the girdle of Isis, which twines in a love-knot round two poles, by the bull-headed serpent, by the serpent with the head of a goat or a dog, and by the serpent devouring its own tail. It is the winged dragon of Medea, the double serpent of the caduceous, and the tempter of Genesis; but it is also the brazen snake of Moses, encircling the Tau; it is the Hyle of the Gnostics; and lastly, it is the devil of exoteric dogmatism, and is really the blind force which souls must conquer, in order to detach themselves from the chains of earth." --Eliphas Levi, Mysteries of Magic. #Alchemy #Greatwork #magnumopus #transmutation #gnosticserpent
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Post by Admin on Mar 30, 2022 15:40:59 GMT
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Post by Admin on Apr 2, 2022 18:36:31 GMT
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Post by Admin on Apr 9, 2022 10:00:41 GMT
Tully, C. J. In press. Lifting the Veil of Isis: Egyptian Reception and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In Alternative Egyptology: Papers in Honour of Willem van Haarlem, edited by Ben van den Bercken. Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam. www.academia.edu/75889171/Tully_C_J_In_press_Lifting_the_Veil_of_Isis_Egyptian_Reception_and_the_Hermetic_Order_of_the_Golden_Dawn_In_Alternative_Egyptology_Papers_in_Honour_of_Willem_van_Haarlem_edited_by_Ben_van_den_Bercken_Allard_Pierson_Museum_AmsterdamFounded in London in 1888, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a secret society which taught its members ritual magic and conducted elaborate initiations that revealed hidden knowledge. Originating in a background of Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, the Golden Dawn inherited the belief that Egypt was the repository of ancient wisdom. While utilising the long-accessible Classical literature about Egypt, as well as the latest research from academic Egyptology in order to design their rituals and cosmology, the Golden Dawn interpreted both types of material through a pseudo-Egyptological lens. Golden Dawn rituals were constructed using Pharaonic Egyptian sources such as The Book of Coming Forth by Day (or Book of the Dead), the 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony, the myth of kingly succession, Egyptian statues, painting, costume, mummies, and funerary stelae, as well as later material such as Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride, the Hellenised Isiac initiation in Apuleius' Metamorphoses, and the Greek Magical Papyri. In combination with the reception of the goddess Isis within the Hermetic tradition, Golden Dawn rituals were consequently syncretistic constructions that included the Egypt filtered by the Greeks and Romans, the 'AEgypt' of Hermeticism, and scholarly Egyptology. This paper will focus on the engagement with Egyptian antiquities in museums by four prominent members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn: Samuel Mathers, Moina Mathers, Florence Farr, and Aleister Crowley, and will argue that Egypt was utilised by these figures as a source of legitimation and power within an agonistic spiritual milieu.
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