April 23rd: Six Ways

This coming Wednesday, a suggestion from Frater Ex Nihilo: Six Ways by Aidan Wachter. Please read pages 1-57, up to and including the trance induction exercise. They highly recommend trying it; they say it makes the book “worth its weight in gold.”

April 16th: Affirmations of Monstrosity

This week, we place ourselves in the hands of Sorcerix Helios Epicene, with essays on the subhuman, superhuman, or a Secret Third Thing:

Julian Jarboe’s “The Android That Designed Itself”

Susan Stryker’s “My Words to Victor Frankenstein Above the Village of Chamounix”

And it’s ok to give a somewhat less thorough reading to Donna Haraway’s longer essay, “A Cyborg Manifesto.” 

Helios’ word on the selections:

I chose the latter two essays because they have been instrumental in providing me the tools to build/understand my inner Divinity. Certainly, these works, chock-full of highly specialized academic terminology, do not easily give up their treasures for any magician hoping to understand the journey on which I have embarked. For that reason I have omitted the notes sections in both and I suggest my fellow wizards scan the Manifesto lightly and read My Words deeply. To summarize, these works have given me the tools to understand the non-dualism within my gender and identity, the key to interpreting cyberpunk fiction as thaumaturgy, and the first affirmation of my monstrosity that propelled me into greater workings. Susan Striker’s words, especially the poem, have been featured in my own ritual practice both public and private. Enjoy!

April 9th: The Headless Rites

This Wednesday, we continue our discussion of the Headless Rite through time. If you have taken a stab at it, we are eager to hear about the experience.

To furnish the other half of the discussion, please read Israel Regardie’s so-called “cursory analysis” of the Headless Rite. He makes a number of assertions that are controversial but worth discussing.

Optional: If you’d like, take a look at Sorcerix Helios Epicene’s own variant, Song of the Headless Bornless One. They’ll be back this week and able to wade into the swamp with us.