Daughter of Sunset Updates

The USGL OTO sponsored Thelema NOW podcast is always one of my favourites. The most recent update is Part 2 of an interview with J. Daniel Gunther.

Thanks so much to our Brothers and Sisters at USGL OTO for putting this together.

Don’t miss your opportunity to see the Esteemed Mr. Gunther speak in Vancouver. Details available here.

Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley: A Correspondence, edited & with an Introduction by Henrik Bogdan, Foreword by Tony Mathews (York Beach, ME: Teitan Press, 2010) is a fascinating book about a little known episode in the life of Crowley, involving his dealing with a person whose very existence was doubted by some people. Readers of Kenneth Grant’s voluminous opus will be familiar with the character, sometimes referred to as the Alchemist, who supposedly transmitted to him the ‘real’ tantric teachings (of the Kaula system left-hand path). The Alchemist, also known under his magical name of Anu Abthilal, was also the last person whom Crowley initiated into the IX degree of the O.T.O. In his book Remembering Aleister Crowley (London: Skoob, 1991), Grant revealed the identity of this person as David Curwen. Now at last we have a chance to find out more about him, as his correspondence with Crowley is finally published.

Judged by this correspondence, Curwen seemed to have been a hard nut. Already more than fifty years old, he exhibited a stubborn and down-to-earth mercantile mentality. His initial letters were related to the then recently published The Book of Thoth by Crowley, but soon the focus turned to the OTO and its mysteries. Curwen, constantly afraid of being made a fool of and wary of the financial involvement, insisted on definite answers and expected the ultimate secrets of the O.T.O. to be delivered on the spot as if they were a stock of fur in which he was trading. Crowley on his part kept insisting that the secrets were real but that they needed to be practiced in order to be appreciated. There was a good deal of mutual mistrust and communication breakdown between these two strange and opinionated individuals. One thing which is striking, however, is the lucidity of Crowley’s mind, who was at the time in his seventies. This fact stands in sharp contrast against the urban legend of a  broken-down Crowley in his old age.

The book is a well-produced hard-cover volume, in the already well-established tradition of excellence associated with Teitan Press. Curwen’s grandson, Tony Mathews, has supplied an interesting Forward, while Henrik Bogdan penned an excellent  Introduction and provided erudite notes to the text. (Interested readers may also wish to consult Bogdan’s well-received and highly informative Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation [SUNY Press, 2008]). This edition is limited to 777 copies so if you are interested, you should act fast and order your copy soon.

Saturday evening saw the initiates of Daughter of Sunset Oasis discussing the finer points of the theory and practice of the Lesser Ritual of the Hexagram. Both banishing and invoking forms of the ritual were discussed and then performed. Thanks to Frater 671 for putting on a great class.

If you or somebody you know would like to attend classes with us please email us for more information.

Daughter of Sunset Oasis welcomed a visiting Brother at our temple tonight. Mass was beautifully and intimately celebrated by our Priest and Priestess. Those that could not attend were missed.

See you all Saturday night for magic class!

Daughter Of Sunset Oasis will be holding a special two day session with the esteemed Mr. Gunther on December 26th and 27th. Lecture topics, venue and pricing details will be announced soon.

“I want to deliver the biggest THANK YOU to our Brother Troy and Sister Nina for opening their doors and hosting Brother Richard Kaczynski for the second time this year on September 20th and for driving him here from Seattle and back. Their continuous efforts, contribution and service to our Oasis are irreplaceable. It is a special treat to have members with such a great dedication to our cause, Brothers and Sisters.”

Thank you Sr. J for the kind compliments!

“Perdurabo” author and friend of mine Dr. Richard Kaczynski is coming back to Vancouver! He will be doing a book signing at Banyen Books on Monday September 20th.

Also, don’t forget to get to the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle September 18th & 19th.

Daughter of Sunset Oasis Ordo Templi Orientis will be publicly performing Liber XV The Gnostic Mass on Sunday, July 25th, 2010 at 5:30 pm

The Gnostic Mass is the central rite of Ordo Templi Orientis and its ecclesiastical arm, Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. It celebrates the sublimity of the operation of universal forces without introducing disputable metaphysical theories. The rite offers satisfaction of the religious instinct through ceremonial means. It’s a celebration of the divine nature in every human being expressed through the alchemical union of opposites, which are represented by the Priest and the Priestess.

If you wish to attend and/or know more about the Mass and Ordo Templi Orientis please contact us at body_master@daughterofsunset-oto.org or visit our website at daughterofsunset-oto.org.

Thanks to Frater Iskandar:

There is something distinctly apocalyptic about the collection of essays published by Scarlet Imprint under the Roman numeral title of XVI, associated with the 16th card in the Tarot deck, otherwise known as “The Tower,” or “The House of God.” Sixteen authors muse on the meaning of the card, taking it as the point of departure in order to discuss the perceived collapse of our present civilization, the ecological and economic crisis, and magical ways of coping with the end of the ‘age of exuberance,’ the breakdown of authority, and the initiatic experience of the dissolution of one’s own sense of separate identity. The writers and the writing are at the cutting edge of the contemporary magical current, informed inevitably and clearly by Crowley and Thelema. The opinions are diverse and the views often verge on disturbing: there is certainly nothing in the book that would be acceptable to everyone, and that is as it should be. The overall message is however clear: it’s the end of the world as we know it, whether we like it or not. In the words of Peter Grey, one of the two principal editors of the collection, and the co-owner of the Scarlet Imprint, “If there is one piece of alchemical arithmetic you need to take away from this entire book, it is this: for every one calorie of food produced, ten calories of oil are needed to produce it” (“Seeing Through Apocalypse,” 92; emphasis in the original). You do the math.

It would be inaccurate, however, to think that this is a volume of gloom. Quite the opposite, the bulk of the essays urge towards action: magical, political, ecological, erotic, you name it. To quote Peter Grey again, “In opposition to the Tower we raise the image of the maypole. A living symbol on a human scale. An image of resistance ” (“Forwarned,” iii; you can read this text here). In a similar vein, Peter Carroll suggests the following as a vision of an alternative state of affairs: “Imagine a society where neighborhoods had their own magical temples where people could come to learn and practice meditation, visualization, trance, ritual, invocation, enchantment and divination, free from theological dogma, purely as mental techniques” (“”Eschaton,” 250).

On a more technical note, the book is a beautifully produced hard-cover volume graced by a black-and white rendition of “The Tower,” executed by Kyle Fite (whose personal gallery may be viewed on the Lashtal site, where Fite appears under the nom de plume ‘Kidneyhawk’).

Highly recommended. But be forewarned: “By the mere possession of this book, you too are implicated” (Grey, “Forewarned,” iii).

Thanks to Br. M for sending me this link detailing the extensive program to be presented by Mr. J. Daniel Gunther in Australia October 13th & 14th 2010.