Sex, Drugs & Magick: The Four Forewords
Howdy, friends and foes! It's time to paw into Sex, Drugs & Magick a little further than quotes and my personal reminiscences- instead, you'll get my tiresome opinions on the forewords that have been newly included in the Hilaritas Press edition. And there was much rejoicing...
I have to ask myself, am I allowed to be dismissive here? Will I drive my few readers away if I bristle? I don't want to be unpleasant, but I have searched and searched for something to say about Morrison's foreword but it seems phoned-in and uninspired in the light of prefacing such an integral text. Their original writing for this edition seems like Moore- or Wilson-lite (that's reaching) and, overall, the short matter seems awfully trite. However, I'm not a famous author, don't know what other demands were upon them at the time and can't criticize too much. I don't think there is much to say about what they have to say about the book at hand. Perhaps I am being pedantic, but I appreciated their foreword to Ishtar Rising much more.
Damien Echols also doesn't talk much about Sex, Drugs & Magick in the particular, but that is understandable. Echols discusses, with an underplayed sensibility that is still haunting, the unconscionable circumstances of his introduction to magic; and in the cell walls which shadow his prose- Echols finds something strong and eternal. The feat of Will carried out by Echols cannot be overstated, when he had every reason to "curse god and die," he walked through the walls. His foreword is more of an Ode to Wilson, and one of the most moving I have read. We all owe a lot to the Grand Old Man, and many of us have bared our heart/hypothetical-souls to express How Much, yet Echols' story is unique, honest and profound. His reflections on the living nature of art and the continuing conversation between ages of humanity and human achievement, enabled by Hermes, Friendliest of Gods to Man, are succinct and worth rereading. I wish him health, wealth, strength and length of days.
I really enjoy Phil Farber's books. I've found ATEM and Brain Magick to be a couple of the most useful grimoires I've ever read- my copy of FutureRitual is scarred and mangled from its in-the-moment use during rituals and ritual-practice. It is predictable that I would enjoy his foreword as well; from his charming story about cheering Wilson in a Chinese restaurant to his substantiated optimism about the state of the War On Some Drugs, Farber exudes the authenticity I have always appreciated in his writing. Furthermore, he includes this very important statement: "And through all his books, Bob did more to raise awareness of magick as a form of brain-change than anyone since Aleister Crowley himself." To which I say- "Hear! Hear!" (Farber's High Magick, I read it through this summer and it still remains on my bookshelf to revisit as occasioned, is another typically efficient grimoire and I might incorporate some its exercises into our reading group for those who are game, in their way.)
I know little of the last author aside from his glowing reputation amongst the modern Discordian milieu, which isn't an insult, but a compelling praise. The cunning-man's foreword is our lengthiest, multi-faceted and apropos. He also convinced me I need to watch Dark City as soon as possible. Can't believe I missed out on that one. Vincent also updates Wilson's writing a little bit- by pointing out, in spite of some cynical remarks, that the contrivances and twists of expression should be welcome to any neophile-leaning person. A good dose of Wilson's anti-xtian rhetoric is always refreshing and the snapshots of London circa-Cosmic Trigger on stage has all the charm of nostalgia and cultural history. The spiral motif of the subheadings even works out with Wilson's ring and the Hilaritas symbol! If that isn't synchronistic synergy, I don't know what is. I share Vincent's prayer that these tools will help us navigate the age that is to come.
Other nets, that's typically how I view the words of magicians. We are all of use trying to encompass all like Indra whilst also crudely fingering fibers into the barest of sensory and survival mechanisms, still numb-tingling-awakening to Athena's art. We are not weavers, nor are we, to duly avoid Christian associations, fishermen. We are, if anything, the people who enjoy casting our nets and catching a glimpse of what wriggles through. Forgive me for what I missed and enlighten me to your perspective! Next week we dive into the (R)aw meat of the matter.
Regarding Grant Morrison, since the Alan Moore quote came from this docu about him, I find it only fair to mention that there also exist a documentary about Grant called Talking With Gods. A recent F23 podcast has Grant as guest: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1047874/10098728-f23-podcast-e38-feat-grant-morrison%C2%A0
ReplyDeleteDamien Echols has a YT channel with videos covering a great many aspects of magick. He was also featured in a Midnight Gospel episode. This series I highly recommend, by the way.
I don’t know much about Phil Farber but am pretty curious about both High Magick and Brain Magick. I like your idea of bringing up exercizes from his books in our future discussions here Apuleius.
I note that both Phil and Cat mention MAPS. I am these days watching the TV series Nine Perfect Strangers, starring Nicole Kidman. It can be seen as how far we’ve gone, with presenting psychedelics to a mainstream audience.
I thought the Cat Vincent foreword was the most interesting, but of course it also is the lengthiest.
I have not seen Dark City in many years and now want to watch it again.
He says that he was 23 in 1987, so that would mean that he was 13 when reading Illuminatus! in 1977. And by then he had already “devoured Crowley alongside Colin Wilson”? Quite a precocious magician for sure.
I find his acknowledgment of some aspects of SD&M feeling dated in light of modern views on sexuality both necessarily honest, and echoing Grant Morrison’s foreword to Ishtar Rising (as well as RAW ‘87 introduction to it).
I am very happy to have Cat Vincent answering my question from last week about a proper Discordian attitude amidst serious chaos. We’re supposed to become Wonderists!
And since we’re on ‘synchronistic synergies’, I’ll link again to the Jill Purce documentary The Mystic Spiral, which I mentioned last week in the PR group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUr10sz_hes
Turn, turn, turn indeed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVOJla2vYx8
I enjoy the parallel universes of the four introductions and feel they go a long way to expand and clarify the context of the book.
ReplyDeleteCat Vincent mentions getting folded into the new introduction of Cosmic Trigger I, also conspiring to do magick with the spirit/evanescent image of Carl Jung under a statue of Jung in Liverpool. Jung, the doctor of Archetypes, maintained that a person's name resonates with them, they take after their name.
Schrodinger's Catbegin's with two quotes, the second one being:
"For the Cherub Cat is a term in the Angel Tiger"
— CHRISTOPHER SMART, Jubilate Agno
Jubilate Agno translates as "Shout with Joy" which recalls the attitude of the Wonderists Vincent mentions. That suggests Alice in Wonderland and one of the Guides, the Cheshire who sometimes disappears entirely except for her smile.
The first quote in Schrodinger's Cat:
"Not until the male becomes female and the female becomes male shall ye enter the Kingdom of Heaven."
- Jesus, in The Gospel of Thomas.
This reminds me of the gender issues subject. Apuleius noted last week that Sex, Drugs and Magick presented RAW's writing in the first flush of magick, he seemed relatively new to it. Schrodinger's Cat appears more like writings of a master in magick.
As I don't feel confident I know much about magick, I wanted to comment on a couple of quotes.
ReplyDeleteDamien Echols:"The reason the decision was made to reprint this edition of his work is because new people continue to stumble across old copies of it daily, and experience a kind of epiphany that causes them to change the entire course of their lives."
Cat Vincent: [About stumbling upon "Illuminatus!"] "I was not prepared for the transformative effect it would have on me."
These quotes capture the effect upon me of reading "Illuminatus!" as a college student. It certainly changed me, and perhaps speaks to Alan Moore's contention that "art" and "magick" are the same thing.
@Spookah I have fond memories of watching The Midnight Gospel during the early nights of the quarantine. I will endeavor to do my best at incorporating the exercises. I highly recommend Farber's work. And that is impressive to have read a lot of Crowley by age 13! I read Moonchild when I was 14 and it was pretty rough.
ReplyDelete@Oz- I appreciate and agree with what you have to say about **Schrodinger's Cat.** It is a sophisticated work that I feel is often overlooked. My favorite volume, The Trick Top Hat, incorporates a lot of material from Wilson's The Sex Magicians, which I adore. Sadly the Dell omnibus excises most of that.
@Tom- I think you understand magic better than you give yourself credit. You certainly serve Hermes in facilitating communication!
ReplyDelete