Sunday, August 27, 2006

Things That Have Been Occupying My Mind Lately...

For the past couple of months, I've been thinking a lot about David Icke. David Icke is a man with a lot of really unusual ideas. He was originally an English soccer player, then became a sportscaster, then was a spokesman for the British Green Party. In 1991 the Party dumped him after he revealed to the world that he was the Son of God and a "channel for the Christ spirit" on national television. The consensus around Great Britain was that he'd lost his marbles.

I started watching this series of films taken from a talk he gave about the Illuminati. Mind-bogglingly weird stuff but very entertaining and informative, especially the details about history and occult symbolism. But the aspect about it that really struck me the most was what was talked about at the beginning of this film clip. There is a lot of other stuff on these films that really stretches the bounds of believabilty, such as the reptilian bloodlines story, but the beginning deals in a very interesting way with the issues of fear and control.

The idea of how you can use fear to control people's minds. If there are fewer of "you" than there are of "them", how do you get "them" to conduct themselves the way you want them to? The answer would be: get them to make each other do it!

The whole world seems to be ruled by "that's not the way we do things around here!" and Icke talks very convincingly of the idea of people being ruled by the fear of what other people think.

So I've been thinking about these things, and it seems to go together with some other things that I've been looking at on teh interwebs about how leaders of some groups use fear and control to separate you from yourself in a sense. This woman, if you look at her website, has a rather bizarre tale to tell, almost beyond belief, but if you google the name Kay Griggs, or do a search for it on YouTube, there are some startling parallels (and I also don't have a problem with the idea that an asshole like Reagan could make himself beholden to an American Nazi cell group.)

Now she tells some very far-fetched tales about people being forced to drink urine, but if we think about it, certain organizations sometimes try to get you to "drink the kool-aid", in a manner of speaking, and doing this can be almost as degrading, since it separates you from yourself, in a way.

Things can happen in our lives, either through abuse or trauma of some kind, that can destroy our ability to access our natural compassion, as in the case of Richard Ramirez, who as a child had an older cousin that was a mentor figure, a Vietnam vet, the cousin was also a sexual sadist and showed Richard pictures of how he had raped and murdered a Vietnamese woman. The cousin later murdered his wife in front of Richard, and committed suicide.

One of the things that amazes us about people who commit the type of crimes Richard Ramirez is guilty of, is the fact that they are able to do so without the least bit of feeling for the suffering of their victims. This is because they have been separated from their natural compassion, a process that is sometimes referred to by psychiatric workers as a "cognitave split" or, "switching". Essentially, there is something inside that is being shut down.

Compassion, if you look at Merriam-Webster Online, is defined one way as " the capacity for feeling for another's unhappiness or misfortune -- see HEART."
And heart is a very good word to apply here, because the Heart is the very seat of our compassion.

Some will understand that I speak of the Heart Chakra, that which may be termed, the Lover of Our Soul. It is here that we access our self-love, also, through meditation and other such work I believe it is where we can actually meet our Holy Guardian Angel on our own.

Certain organizations will try to tell you that only they have the means to help one get in touch with their HGA, but in the words of the woman at the Reflections in the Night website, "You are of no use to the cult if you love yourself." It is this bloggers opinion that even far-fetched Xian propaganda-style stories of urine drinking and figurative kool-aid drinking can draw some paralells.

I don't quite know how I got from talking about David Icke to Richard Ramirez, but I think this was just an exploration of the contents of my brain that wanted to get written the way it was written.





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Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Getting back into the swing of things

I just put a brand new 512 MB of RAM into my machine, (with my own two hands!) and I'm raring to go. Been really busy lately, housesitting and stuff, so haven't been posting lately. I really want to try to get more substantive and concentrate on having worthwhile things to say. Things that have to do with my studies and writings.

To that end, then, I offer my opinion on something I came across while surfing on Amazon last night, a recommendation list by a "tarot expert".

Right off the bat I smell an agenda here--you can pretty much tell this was one of those situations where someone was doing a favor for another author/person with something to pimp, with the idea that when the time came, the one having their back scratched would reciprocate. I take a look at this woman's rather charming website, and discover that (sucking in breath) ooooh! She's got several tarot and divination decks slated to be published in the next four years! Coincidence? You be the judge.

Shameless self promotion not really being a problem, I press on. I find it really hard to believe that she, a "tarot professional", is often asked the difference between a pro and an expert. Joseph Martin, one of the professionals she name-checks here, once said the two main things people ask about when getting a reading are "getting laid and getting paid". Unless someone else was interested in becoming a professional reader, I don't see how this would come up, I see this as her way of setting up her argument to assure that she would be perceived as an Authority.

She is very adamant that: "A Tarot Professional is definitely not just anyone who can:
1. Write/publish Tarot books.
2. Create Tarot decks.
3. Take a Tarot class or course.
4. Write Tarot articles.
5. Write reviews of Tarot decks or books.
6. Get their work published in a magazine, ezine, newspaper, etc."

and that: "the truth is anyone can write books and publish them, create decks, take a class or course, write articles, review books or decks, or manage to have their work published without having any prior qualifications."

Anyone can also read cards in the park, or on one of those psychic telephone lines, or put out a shingle in front of a nice office, manage to make enough to live on for a year, and consider themselves a professional. I have nothing against those tarot certifications and degrees that are out there, but the fact is, the coursework that they are based on is comprised of the very things listed by Ms. Fox-Heins.

An author is plugged, who is "recognized as a historical and philosophical Tarot Expert." Recognized by whom? I have been studying the cards off and on for over twenty years, and I've never read any of his books, which all came out in the past five years.

You have to remember, before the occult revival of the turn of the twentieth century, for hundreds of years divination was the domain of little old ladies reading cards and tea leaves in their kitchens. And no, I don't have any documentation to back that up.

Having said that, I have no disrespect whatsoever for folks that actually do read professionally--I'd like to have a turn at it myself someday. What I have an objection to is fundamentalism and overcomplication for its own sake. Again, nothing against the licences and certifications people can get if they feel so led, but there is not now, nor will there ever be, the equivalent of "passing a bar exam" for the tarot.

At least not if people like me have anything to do with it.


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Saturday, August 12, 2006

Cake or Death? Or, You're Lucky I'm a Church of E Pagan!

Therefore the kings of the earth shall be Kings for ever: the slaves shall serve. There is none that shall be cast down or lifted up: all is ever as it was. Yet there are masked ones my servants: it may be that yonder beggar is a King. A King may choose his garment as he will: there is no certain test: but a beggar cannot hide his poverty.

Beware therefore! Love all, lest perchance is a King concealed! Say you so? Fool! If he be a King, thou canst not hurt him.

Therefore strike hard & low, and to hell with them, master!
Now, if you know where that comes from, good for you, you earn a few cool points.

The poet's name will not be mentioned here, nor will certain words or topics be talked about any further in this journal, at least not in the *obvious* ways that such things get talked about.

Not that I no longer value the things I learned about this paradigm, but I feel a sea change coming on.

Things I've been checking out as spiritual options are seeming a lot less attractive to me these days. There will be a change in direction soon. This video hints at that a little bit:

Friday, May 19, 2006

"Principal Firebush"

This was already shaping into a funny short, but in the last five seconds it made the meta-leap into the mind-bogglingly awesome zone.

Fellow Pulp Fiction fans take note.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Confessions of a Former Retail Whore

Just wanted to expand on my thoughts on this article at DIY Planner.


As my Grandma Mary would no doubt have said, "It doesn't cost an extra dime to be courteous."


Having worked at places like Mickey D's, Sears, etc., I know what a few nice words or a pleasant smile can mean. It can sometimes mean the difference between crying yourself to sleep that night and not.


The people who make a point of saying a couple nice words or just being generally pleasant,(like, not returning my smile and nice greeting with a hate-filled glare and the words "Just hurry up and ring me up!") can really make up for the people who behave like complete and utter assholes.


Because I remember (and hope I never forget) what it was like, I look at it as my job to be a sort of professional nice person, being kind to waitstaff and clerks, even unto the lowliest trainee. I also make a mental note of anyone I might be with, and whether or not they do the same. Anyone that puts an effort into being nasty to these folks is definately off the list of people I call friends.


And yes, there are people that actually go out of their way to be nasty to serviceworkers--and this is often a red flag that the person has a hostility problem, or some kind of control/manipulation issues. I had a friend that once used to brag to me about how she and her boyfriend (may they both burn in hell) used to start crap with everyone in a restaurant, completely oblivious to the fact that since my current job was as a table busser, I was extremely unimpressed.


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Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Me and the JWs in the Morning, Pt. 2

I'm waiting for the bus, and the lady comes by with her pamphlets again. There were a lot of young people around, so she had hit pay dirt, they all took one.

I was combing my hair in the window, and then my eyes caught sight of a damp old Watchtower in the plants. In a stroke of genius, I turned around and handed it to her, saying, "Here, why don't you take this one back? It's all messed up." This was classic.

Of course, she didn't quite know how to react to this, so she stiffly took it back and said, "Thank you, I'll dispose of this properly."

Wallow, wallow in your shame, polluters of the earth!!! Thou hast promulgated thy unclean religion in the wrong place.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Kevin Smith, Thelemite???

Snoochie Boochies, I think Lunchbox knows something!

Go here, and then scroll down to the pic that says, "because she's my star."

Friday, April 07, 2006

Everyone's doing it...

That Wikipedia meme (get your minds out of the gutter!)

Go to Wikipedia.com and enter your date of birth (excluding the year). Post 3 events, 3 births, and 1 death.

Events: Births:
Death:

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

In which I make a rather controversial assertion:

This video is evidence of the fact that the early seventies group, Uriah Heep practically invented the use of stepped harmonies in rock music. Before they came along, there was no one else doing it (neither Yes nor Queen was around when they started, the only other bands that came remotely close vocally were the Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield.)

And for those of us interested in Aleister Crowley, an awesome piece from Media Underground (if you can get past the Colin Wilson innacuracies):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

This is mainly in honor of the celebration of the three days of the writing of the Book of the Law, but also proof that I've been spending too much time on the 'puter. ;o)

When do the rats leave?

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/national/national.php?story=177338

Does anyone remember when the only thing holding the Republicans back from going for Clinton's jugular was Larry Flynt and what he dug up on them? One shudders at what he found on all of them.

And in the Maybe if We Stop Thinking About Them, They Will Go Away Department: YouTube has tons of Jethro Tull videos. I was going to put a direct link to them, but the computer went all floopy.

Monday, March 27, 2006

This is just scary

And I know I said that tv sucks, but what I really meant (of course) was that most tv sucks with the exception of Project Runway, or anywhere they are doing sewing or any kind of needlework.

Jay Mccarroll, are you out there in the blogosphere? The world needs your sunny smile to counteract the darkness that is Santino.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Up One Pair of Stairs, or, HermWorld needs a new castle ...

...at least a remodeling!

The other day an LJ friend linked to an article about Alan Moore which took the reader on a tour of the writer's home. I suspect it's quite a place, it has carved snakes on the door and colorfully painted walls (and, I understand, quite a lot of books all over everywhere--the man knows how to live!) Unfortunately, said article has reverted back to the pay to play version that some online newspapers think are wonderful, or I'd link back to it here.

Anywho, amongst the beautiful and lavish furnishings was included "...wooden panels on the wall detailing the alphabet of the angels, as transcribed by Elizabeth I's personal astrologer."

As I observed to Qadriya, most folks wouldn't find anything of interest in that descriptive element, they'd read it, and roll right along to the stuff about V for Vendetta (which I am also jonesing to see, btw.) Many of us know that this is a reference to the Enochian alphabet of John Dee.

As it happens, I am currently reading "The Queen's Conjurer" by Benjamin Woolley. Consider this a "taste" of that book, for someone I know that has this book on his Amazon Wishlist (I'd send ya the copy when I was done, but unfortunately it's a library book.): One of the things talked about is the Areopagus society, a literary group that included Dee, Sir Philip Sidney, and Edmund Spenser, whose work "The Faerie Queene" might have been describing Dee in this passage:

...whose walls
Were painted faire with memorable guests,
Of famous Wizards, and with picturals
Of Magistrates, of courts, of tribunals,
Of commonwealths, of states, of policy,
Of laws, of judgements, and of decretals;
All arts, all science, all Philosophy,
And all that in the world was aye thought wittily.
Of those that room was full, and them among
There sat a man of ripe and perfect age,
Who did them meditate all his life long,
That through continual practise and usage,
He now was grown right wise, and wondrous sage.
Great pleasure had those stranger knights, to see
His goodly reason, and grave personage,
That his disciples both desir'd to be.

What this put me in mind of was something I heard attributed to Elphias Levi, that if someone was in prison, with no access to books, one could utilize the tarot, if one had a deck and knew how to read the cards, to learn everything there was to learn about everything, or something to that effect. Now, what I'm talking about with this entry doesn't necessarily have anything to do with tarot, it's more of an examination of how, when a few ideas get juxtaposed in my head, things start cookin'.

Another idea that fell into the pot was that I had read snippets of "The Faerie Queen" before, and it had had a profound affect on me. Another (seemingly) unimportant detail was that the segments of this work were found in a children's anthology called My Book House, which is shown here if you scroll down a ways--I am a proud owner of the Rainbow edition of this set, which is pictured in the top right of that grouping. I tried to take a pic of it, but my digital camera skills are still quite abysmal. Anyway, the titles of these books are quite evocative: Up One Pair of Stairs, Through Fairy Halls, From the Tower Window, etc.

So all of these ideas are swirling in my head this afternoon, houses, books, wisdom, scrying, etc. and something hits me: HermWorld needs a new castle! As some of you that have been playing the homegame know, HermWorld is a real place inside my head. Those of you that have been reading this far (you have my sympathy) will no doubt want to kill me when I tell you that since it's almost twelve and I gotta go to school, I gotta cut it short rather than expand on the ideas that are developing.

I know it has something to do with getting ahold of and reading a complete copy of The Faerie Queene, my Spirit Guide, and the Akashic Record, or something like that.

I <3 YouTube

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Jg_9vSWKx3I


Stroking YouTubes hair, looking into YouTube's eyes...

Oh Peter!

Might even offer YouTube her cleavage, if YouTube stays being nice...

"Feel your body melt;
Mum to mud to mad to dad..."

Oh Peter!!!



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Sunday, March 19, 2006

GTD in My Den

I was cleanin' like a madwoman today. As a result I have an amazingly clean desk, with room for my new scanner, which I have not hooked up yet, but there may be interesting things along that frontier soon.

I evicted some of my Mom's leftover stuff from where it was taking up space in the drawers, and cleared out lots of room for my accounting textbooks and paper and a few books I am reading, so now the desk area in the den is going to be a really efficient place to Get Things Done, and a little plug for the David Allen book there, I put that in the drawer too--I still have to get going on that.

What I had going for sound during this was first NPR, and my usual sunday thing of Prarie Home Companion, and then City Arts and Lectures, where they had Fran Lebowitz, who I have decided is awesome--she actually spends eight hours a day reading! Then I listened to some podcasts, and I got caught up on all the ones at TCTC, so I am feeling mighty accomplished.

I also cleaned off the easy chair, and when I removed the cushion to vacuum underneath, I found enough cookie/cracker crumbs to season a plate of rice. I don't know why I went there, but I thought you guys would enjoy that mental image.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

"Based upon your actions, you have forfeited your right to live among us in society."

Yes! Yes! Yes!

What I was hoping for two years ago, has finally come to pass.

I even payed the .99 cent fee to watch the bastard plead for his life--and it was worth it! Whining like a little baby--"Drugs were all over when I was growing up!" Yeah, it was that way for a lot of people growing up, but the funny thing about that, you can choose not to take them!

I guess the reason that this whole thing burned my onions so much was that I saw the footage of him grabbing her near the car wash, in the middle of the afternoon. Conducting himself like he had every right in the world to do what he was doing. I hope he drops the soap in the shower and gets broomhandle-fucked and made to head up a fucktrain of big-dicked men.

(Edit on 6/4/06: This was originally a LiveJournal post that started an interesting discussion. In the interest of giving opposing opinions equal air time, I will recreate the discussion here.)

Hravan:
theres a candidate for a hollow point bullet and a man sized paper bag if ever I saw one

no point wasting collective resources keeping *that* alive...

Hermgirl: Plus, there is that whole aspect of his whining about his childhood in New York or whatever the problem was (like NY is a huge problem, I'd love living there.)

Ya know, some people have crappy childhoods, and when they get older, they leave it all behind! When you become a grownup, it's amazing what you can do when you leave the crap in the past where it belongs.

Uncleernie50: For someone i dont really know but only know online... I was still shocked to read this post. It should not surprise you that with my affinity for Phil Ochs i am adamantly anti-death penalty. (i.e. Paul Crump and Iron Lady) I too find myself concerned with the ideas of will, intention and motivation.. but i also attempt very hard to live in a world of no moral absolute. Every action from the first person perspective is justified to yourself. No matter how heinous it is to others.. A government has a right to prevent you from committing those acts.. but the moral judgement is the providence of individuals surrounding the action to have for themselves. Institutionalized morality leads to all sorts of dark paths.
Vengeance is not justice...

that being said... i'm sorry for proselytizing in your journal...

Hermgirl: No, that's ok. I can see how you would be surprised and shocked, seeing as I am politically lefty (I'm very pro-labor, for instance, anti-Bush, etc,) in the main.

However, I believe that morality is an individual thing, it cannot be legislated or compartmentalized. We may have laws, but I'm not sure there is such a thing as "institutionalized morality". Look at our president, I wouldn't call him a terribly moral individual, and I don't think he would ever become one, just by virtue of his being president.

As a Thelemite, I live by the words, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will." I believe in tempering my actions using my will and walking in love with all people.

Aleister Crowley wrote some very interesting things about the subject of will and morality, you might be interested in a little work called
Liber Oz
, to find out what some Thelemites, including myself, believe.

My personal interpretation of those things, is that everyone has a choice about how they're going to conduct themselves in this world. If you rape an eleven year old girl and take about five minutes to squeeze the life out of her body (That's a long time, five minutes. Long enough to really think about what you're doing and maybe even change your mind), don't come whining to the rest of us about how we should spare your life for the sake of your daughters.

I also believe that just because a person has one thing they believe, it doesn't necessarily mean they have to walk in lock-step with something a person, or a group of people believe. I believe the war in Iraq is wrong, and that Bush and his cronies are war criminals, but that doesn't make me a pacifist (even though I like Phil Ochs too, btw). I don't want to see Roe v Wade overturned, but that doesn't mean I don't consider myself a pro-lifer. Heck, while I'm on the subject of Crowley, someone I consider a metaphysical genius, he was a guy that got enough poon to start his own poon store, but myself I'm as celibate as the day is long.

For me, it is all about choices. Every man and woman is a star. The choices we make are what send us into our respective orbits, into the galaxies of our making.

Uncleernie50: Im finding this really wierd... i agree with your philosophy 100% yet i still cant see how it aligns at all with a pro death penalty stance. If everyone conducts their lifes based on concious choice than isnt every choice justified from the first person perspective? To me the idea of choking the life out of someone is abhorant and something i would never do. To this person it wasnt abhorant and was something that he wanted to do. And while we have a right to feel personal disgust on the action... and we also have a right to prevent that action from being repeated by incarcerating him. Do we have the right to cast life and death judgements on an action he felt justified in doing?

Hermgirl: Liber OZ

"the law of
the strong:
this is our law
and the joy
of the world." AL. II. 2

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." --AL. I. 40

"thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no other shall say nay." --AL. I. 42-3

"Every man and every woman is a star." --AL. I. 3
There is no god but man.

1. Man has the right to live by his own law--
to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will:
to play as he will:
to rest as he will:
to die when and how he will.
2. Man has the right to eat what he will:
to drink what he will:
to dwell where he will:
to move as he will on the face of the earth.
3. Man has the right to think what he will:
to speak what he will:
to write what he will:
to draw, paint, carve, etch, mould, build as he will:
to dress as he will.
4. Man has the right to love as he will:--
"take your fill and will of love as ye will,
when, where, and with whom ye will." --AL. I. 51
5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart these rights.
"the slaves shall serve." --AL. II. 58

"Love is the law, love under will." --AL. I. 57

He was not behaving in accordance with his True Will. Love is the law--how is it loving to kill an eleven year old child? "Do that, and no other shall say nay."

And what about Carlie Brucia, and her right to live her life as she saw fit? Wasn't Smith casting a life & death judgement on her?

I hope you don't think I am trying to change your mind here, or castigate you because you believe differently from me. Just trying to help you understand my beliefs. I just realized what a raging harridan I sound like.

I don't know if I've ever revealed this to anyone here on the internets, but when I was a child, I was molested a few times. Ergo, I sort of take a jaundiced glee in seeing guys that do this sort of thing bite the big one.

Liber Spiritus: my take on this:

Judge: "You have been found guilty."

*guards take him out back and promptly shoot him*

justice served - case closed.

Leswamp: Blow his brains out and charge his fmily for the bullet.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

My morning, on two and a half hours sleep:

So I'm thinkin', no problem, I'll go down the hill to the ATM and stick my $$$ in the bank before I catch the bus to school. Of course, I get down there, and all the regular ATMs are taken, and the clock is ticking on the bus's ETA, so I think, no problem, just go over to the drive up ATM (bad idea.) I then proceed to not read the flashing notice that it is out of order, and try shoving my card in the appropriate, though woefully unresponsive, orifice. Another bad idea.

Then I go over to the bus stop, to wait for the appropriate transportation. One of these ladies with the Watchtower that does their gig at bus stops comes over and starts chatting. I have no energy to resist, so I figure I'll try saying something really bizarre to her, even if she doesn't get it, just for my own shits & giggles.

Sure enough, she sizes me up, and, figuring me for a high school student (it must be the giant backpack) she tries to show me some article about kids who cut , "and once they start doing it, they develop a habit of doing it that is hard to break."

"One might say they're addicted to pain." Biggest bizarro smile I can manage, hoping this is fraught with meaning.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Yes, as a matter of fact, I could see myself being this mean:


hermgirl's lame-ass excuse to break up:

"I just realized that you're ugly"

'What is your lame-ass excuse to break up?' at QuizGalaxy.com



But they would probably have done something really heinous.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Another really important thing, seriously:

Dick Cheney SHOT SOMEBODY! Ok, can we just investigate him, or something? Just, do it really carefully, seriously.

You simply need this in your life:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/bruce_dickinson/

Why? Because when he plays Silver Machine by Hawkwind (which he does, like, every time!) it makes me imagine myself in a silver lame outfit wearing a giant cowboy hat and shaking my boo-tay wildly! In fact it's a good thing that I'm in the room by myself when this happens, because I generally hump things violently when I hear that song, so it might be dangerous for anyone caught in the same room with me.

Man, I drank alcohol this week, (something called a Twisted Plisko, a Peruvian drink, I'm told.) I looked at Hentai porn a little while ago (it's all agent139's fault!) I leave the house tomorrow, so it could be quite dangerous for anyone or anything crossing my path.