The Best of Silence - Part 1

Silence – as deep as forever

You know I feel certain that some people feel that occasionally; when I am perhaps on my way out to the back yard; the house tips up in such a way as to make me fall across the room and crash into the study in such a way as to cause the computer to switch on and a screed get typed out and sent off by my subsequent thrashings. It is like they perhaps feel that: “Ohh just because he put effort into something that doesn’t necessarily imply he means it.” Odd really.

After all, it only makes sense doesn’t it – that I would waste my time thinking, talking, arguing through and then typing out something that I don’t actually think IMPORTANT? Perhaps I am thinking too much. It is probably more along the lines of “Well I don’t agree with that (translate as: have heard he is a poo bum wee head and therefore won’t listen la la la la la!!) and as it is all about me well that is the end of it!”

Personally that being said I will now be honest and say I think actually it is that they CAN’T think AT ALL and the evidence of someone else actually thinking, experimenting and functioning properly terrifies the shit out of them!

Yes I feel that must be the way some people think.

That would certainly explain my uncanny knack for destroying any kind of discussion. It goes like this:

1. Someone brings up a subject
2. I find interest in that issue
3. Someone else says something
4. My interest is further aroused
5. Someone else says something
6. I get enthused
7. I type out what I have observed and some other relevant info
8. There is a lengthy silence
9. On the best of days the conversation continues with everyone studiously avoiding any contact with anything I have said
10. About a week later one of the weaker brained of the ensuing conversation blurts out something they have suddenly come to understand
11. I note it is something I originally said
12. Many flies buzz around making congratulatory noises on how insightful they are
13. I refrain from saying: “What an awesome insight … oh how I wish I had one like that a week ago!”

I suppose it is also partially my fault. I have this lamentable tendency towards telling things like they are; pointing out things that only make sense, relating the accurate and the rational and/or reasonable. I also have a nasty streak in me that makes me tell people when they are talking crap – maybe that is it. It is after all also my fault because you see I have a BRAIN, I have been in the game for quite some time and resist stupidity like it is the creeping pestilence that IT IS! I further don’t kiss ass, gobble knobs or shine spurious medals on other people’s chests. Maybe those are what does it. Hmmm ….

Oh well, for the record here are some things that were roundly ignored by some people because they felt uncomfortable but that are still the way it is – no matter who likes it or not. (Strap yourselves in because this is going back a bit now!!)

The Best bits of Silence Part 1 March 1 to April 9 2005

There will always be secrets. These secrets are not the general knowledge which can be found in so many publications and in fact from most groups.

Even the most benign rites (if done properly) include the manipulation (to whatever degree) of energy fields and currents. Doing such changes the operator. It is very easy for some one who is new to damage themselves subtly in many ways and by so doing make wretched their career. Having rules about who gets what when protects the young so to speak - not just from accidental damage but also from malice. It has been known for some to

Basically put if you are not a member you dont have the right to know these things

Such things are not free - they are earned ... in various ways.

Irritating but neccassary .. even the most well intentioned group requires rules.

It is important to remember that all situations have their own pros and cons.

It is true that groups have secrets that a solitary has little access to but then again, the solitary who is diligent and dedicated will likewise discover some things that are not accessable to covens.

In all truth - everything we need to know and we need to have comes to us as our progress dictates. It is a simple truth but possibly one of the most important in the long run - and the most often forgotten. We are who we are - this is BASED ON but NOT THE SAME AS who we were, who we want to be, what he have or who we are with.

Use what works.

... HOWEVER ... you'll find that my religion (if you'd call it that!) does in NO WAY PRECLUDE my enjoyment of chocolate ... nor of having a good time with good friends ... so make with the merriment!"

My seasonal festivities are totally separate from these and even what most neopagans would recognize ... but THEY DON"T STOP ME ENJOYING OTHER PEOPLE'S PARTIES!"

"Real witches don't SIP!!"

The Mysteries, like all good jokes are things you can laugh or cry about - depending on your frame of mind.

I think .. for a start (a) there are plenty of gods that never got picked up cause they weren't what the modern wanted (in the 70's not sexy enough, in the 80's not marketable enough, in the 90's not uncaring or environmentally bio-degradable enough and recently it seems in the 00's not old or "crone-y" enough!).

Some that were picked up were then held at a specific angle so that they looked like what was wanted. Some again as you say were all of the above which then changed as the people focusing changed their desires. As much as things change they stay the same it seems.

Truly the Gods do attend Tafe and have many weird letters after their names.

Very few people after all don't have a barrow to push of one sort or another (and yup for some out there who started muttering here - that means me too!) The modern movements are certainly not any more guilty of that than the myriads that came before. Indeed from everything I have seen, discovered and been told of, the modern movement is positively weak in this area when compared to the actions and omissions of lines that go back peer or pre-Gardner. When you think along those lines and the old adage: "He who wins writes the histories" is it any wonder that many in the modern era find that what they may discover to be a truth varies so strongly with established fact? (And here I do tend to state that there is definitely a strong case of this in the varying factions of the modern movements. There is not a "Canon" of writing in our collective faiths - but rather several
and the individual who contradicts the "Gardners", or the "Valientes" or the "Star Hawks" in public is faced with an ex-communication that makes the Roman Catholics look forgiving!)

I do what I do and I believe what I believe. There are some elements of it that I have had it proven to me beyond any reasonable doubt are survivals in one form or another of pre-christian beliefs and practices. I have also been flatly told and had it PROVEN that some of the bits I thought WERE such were NOT. I assume that I would not have accepted that information as calmly as I did had it come from an outside source that I had no reason to trust – or from a source I could not investigate and trial. In this much at least I EMpathise with some of the knee-jerkers.

To have deeply held beliefs is important - whether or not it is good is another question altogether to my mind. When you encounter that which you can not (not MAY not - I tend to agree with your wording quite strongly there) condone you must stand for what you believe in and do all you must. Sometimes this means everyone hates you - that is a cost of living the life the individual feels they must. Do what you must and remember always to be thankful (no matter how much it goes against the grain!) that not everything goes the way you want it to. I do so and though it is hard I find it better in the long run than the alternatives.

Some people asked why I was reluctant to speak about it all - I said that I was silent for the same reason I spoke about the other part - because I had to. I was even at one point blamed for this persons actions. The people who said so went silent when they looked in my eyes. I explained as well as I was able under the circumstances that I had told all I could, had been silent about what I had to. All things considered it is perhaps surprising that it took so long for me to be able to say that what I HAD said was what my and their beliefs demanded of me at the time and that what I remained silent about was due to what they wanted me to keep silent about - which amounted to the same thing.

These days I sometimes allow myself the luxury of railing against things without looking at the issues. It is like boxing the invisible man. I allow myself real ignorance so I can enjoy the frothy rantyness that I have known in the past. It is like eating fast food - do it too often and it makes you sick.

Other times I run my finger (so to speak) along the great big scar of those rather devastating revelations and remind myself to DO what I MUST and be THANKFUL that I DON'T always get MY WAY. No matter how much not getting my way may sometimes hurt - it is for the best. When I get my way someone else may be losing out and I shudder when I think about inflicting a scar that may wind up that size on someone else purely to salve my bloody mindedness. It goes without saying that sometimes in the darkest hour of night I can barely even breathe for remembering how I have done so in the past without thought.

As rightly pointed out, this world of Maya still exerts it's effects on the organism (the function of life is the lesson and the lesson must be lived not learnt & etc.) so we are often in the (un)enviable position of having to choose between attachment and the (perhaps more - depending on the moment) appropriate Agape. If we consider this quandry as perhaps a manifestation of humane action we do have to consider it carefully.

I know that selection of deaths is something that can only be done from the true love and knowledge ... but I am glad it is not a decision I have to make for anyone else.

It is not what WE want that is (or perhaps in this vein should be) the focus ... but what is best for the subject.

We engage in pastimes that involve subtle observations and manipulations of the even more subtle currents that make up reality itself. If you cannot clearly observe you cannot with accuracy appraise the situation extent - much less extrapolate the possible/probable outcomes of specific action.

We are all our base a unique ratio of elements to create our essential nature - our spirit. (It doesn't track well but as I have said I am avoiding the particular religious loading as much as I can so bear with me) This contains our essential coding if you will - that what is really us, what we have been and what we may be. To be sure a sort of position in a form of evolution. As changes occur to the body and mind the spirit also is modified to a degree. It is one thing to refer to the karma of the individual but let us not forget that this refers to the evolution at the end of a cycle being dependant on their actions taken during that life. Our Karma can indeed by affected by actions others take on our behalf and it is most certainly involved not in just how we enter the life we have – but also how we leave it.

It is important to remember that there is a difference between adaptation and delusion - and that both of these have even further Karmic results.

On some level we already know what must be done. We deny ourselves this knowledge to stay sane. What must be done is the correct thing to facilitate our progress. If we cannot communicate this who do we trust to do the correct thing?

It goes without saying that all action is rewarded - one way or another.

If it isn't what you are supposed to do - you'll wear it.

All the best lessons teach the teller.

"If you don't care for the actions of some - you stop them. If they continue then you bind them."

Now this used to be done in many ways - you could bind the spirit, the mentality or the body - and several (dare I even say many?) spells exist to do each. Most common among witches were spells to stop or bind a physical action - to cause impotence (anyone see the newspaper report about the tree of penises?), barrenness, to stop the crops, giving of milk or laying of eggs. There are many other forms naturally but these were among the most popular.

In more recent years due to the new PR facelift witchcraft seems to be being offered ... this has been relegated back to the new form of binding spells. In these of course no malice is wished (even though it is often quite obviously felt - we are after all still human!) but the spell's aim remains the same - to stop an action or attitude that causes an action .... to limit the action etc with the view of elimination to the collective or singular
relief of the practitioner.

Reverting to unenlightened forms of belief that exclude the nature of "what actually IS" and our responsibility thereto remains such a comforting pass time.

As for whether or not it is a good thing - I would argue that it is like taking any action; of any sort from any intent ... one responds to stimulus in accordance with their personal code of ethics and then is responsible for the results of those actions. We label things as good and bad in accordance with what we enjoy or do not enjoy ... if we are lucky it can lead to generally discovering how rare it is that anyone labels the self as bad. This in turn is an excellent point to launch discovery of why our personal codes are just that - personal and not universal.

As I wrote to a student many years ago: "This book has nothing to do with morals. This book is about surviving and winning. I expect you to come up with your OWN moral codes - I don't think you'd like to live by mine."

In terms of spell craft and ritual - you make your bed by your intent and actions. It is then up to you to enjoy the sleep or interpret the nightmares to your advantage. No spell involving another is without connection to the target - and connecting ourselves to what we dislike is rarely fun - but it can be very instructive and you can learn a lot from it. Growth is something that comes in many forms - not all of which are palatable to everyone.

"I have connected to a thing - an energy exchange of some description has occurred by definition and it will therefore affect me and the connected."

All spellwork should be designed to and based on objective real world physical results - or it's not really spell work ... simply fantasy.

"Wear it or duke it"

I know many people that are capable of being bound that are not capable of binding and some for whom vice versa is as good as done

I do not argue that anyone can play with psychosis, delusion or psychosomatic effects - I agree totally (and think in many cases this is precisely what occurs!) BUT further more state that such effects are more trouble than it is worth when compared with an actual binding that simply works. If I was hot and wanted to be cool, I could hypnotise people into believing I have opened a door in the living room and was thereby cooled ... but it would not be as effective as actually doing it. Then I would not have to waste effort on anyone's belief - I take an action and am therefore rewarded with a desired reaction.

Many people tend to view many magical actions as simply functions of the perceptive capability of the mind ... this is generally in my view because most of the more popular books on the subject are written by people with limited actual magical experience and or are limited in variou other ways from reporting as they wish or should. The experience of many authors in the common era supports this: "Unless it is a book of spells for 16 year old girls ... they just won't sell and therefore aren't saught after".

Secrets are only so until you get busted!

For the record I have found many interesting things are possible with self hypnosis and suggestion - again I have avoided some hairy scrapes in the past this way. BUT I wouldn't advise it as a course of action without the proper training .. like "wot I DIDN'T have" at the time! - Which just goes to show that luck has also been a good friend to me!

Healthy faith has benefitted enormously from scientifc method ... or are you saying that you do not have faith in what you believe?

You should try reading what I actually said and taking it as such as opposed to fairly obviously responding to what you THINK I am saying based on some sore spots you have. If in doubt feel free to ask me and I will clarify.

That the Catholic Church (amongst others) poses a threat to the free practices all of the "liberal arts" (shall we say) is beyond doubt to many ... BUT do we think it would in fact be possible to actually BENEFIT from a more harsh climate? To be precise, could we (huge generalisation) actually benefit from a new (for example) Pope who was totally hardline on the subject of witchcraft etc?

Urban Shamanism. I considered the roads to be rivers, light poles to be trees and power lines to be the feeders of the ley lines. The lay out and orientation of the city is important too - as are where it's most important manifestations are (malls, police stations and etc). While it is all man made, if we look hard we note that man does with astonishing clarity only often re-create nature. Cities if viewed just right are not much more than man re-creating wilderness.

Of course many "in the wilds" type shamans will not like the city ... it is after all populated with spirits of totemic sort and etc they do not know - it isn't their place. I used to use various man made spots in the city for rites of various sorts. There is an incredible liberation to be had from doing bone readings on a street corner or from taking a seat on the ground in the mall or on a train - and the revelations one can get from sleeping alone in the city can be truly enlightening. These were as a point of fact exercises I gave all my students a while back to shake up their social programming. I made use of the movements of business men as like the movements of wild animals for omens. The homeless crazies (of which every city as several) often used to answer questions by their appearance, actions and etc.

For those who might find such an interesting path, consider the following examples. Some of my animal totems were the cockroach (communication, survival, instinct) and another the rodent (obfuscation, protection) and as for spirits of place, I always got on will with the "Lord Mechanus" who controls machines and especially communications and several direct place lords such as the shambler of the valley mall. It is worth noting here that some of the spirits of cities have evolved to become inimical to the human organism ... but the same could be said for the wilderness. I personally do not feel that the spirits of the city are that much more inherently dangerous than the more traditionally used forms.

Many people believe they know all sorts of things about me - it is a source of amusement that like a soap opera grows tiresome when watched too frequently.

I have given my opinion on this subject which I cannot help but feel you either did not really comprehend or willfully ignored. I have attempted to correct this misunderstanding subtly, to redirect it back onto the subject, I have even been embarrassed to have to do so less than subtly. I have corrected your understanding of what I said in my post in response to the words you had for Carfax and now I find myself appallingly embarrassed

I can only again suggest you reread what I have said. If you disagree that is fine but it is worth pointing out that were disturbed not by what I had said but by what you THOUGHT I MEANT. Now let this be an end to it – I have no desire to further be bludgeoned with your insistence on ignoring what I have said in this area. I will speak no more on it and would hope you extend me the courtesy of the doing the same.

"Hypothesis by definition must have bias of one kind or another." it should be understood that I mean: "Hypothesis (A tentative explanation for an observation, phenomenon, or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation) by definition must have bias (A preference or an inclination, especially one that inhibits impartial judgment) of one kind or another."

And why say this? Well obviously, if we had all the facts of an issue and were totally impartial (nope - sorry people are being used here!) then there would be little in the way of testing necessary - because one would KNOW ALREADY - thus making research redundant. As for the stages of various forms of testing and etc .... no slipping back and forward to help argument – the nature of testing itself is being commented on here - not how vocationally specific we can be to extend the issue and debate it.

When I want to let someone know what I was referring to I tell them. That is why I write what I do in the order I do – so that comprehension may occur. To assume you know my mind and argument better than I do is a subject that doesn’t even bear examination.

Don't confuse the pope with the religion he belongs to - the map is not the territory.

Every mystic I have ever met worth their salt makes use of these and other modes of definition, experimentation and explanation in their understanding of reality. The mind is after all the collator of said experiences, the processor of such information and the formulator of understanding.

Let me say here that I would not discuss the specifics of techniques etc of the group I belong to with anyone not of that group - in accordance with the Oaths I took upon acceptance. The identity of the group which I belong to is NOT a secret as far as I understand it – I am a Pickingill initiate and while I have been given my craft authority I still consider myself under the Magistracy in the Companie of Bill Liddell having no desire to run a group of my own.

On the angle of my attempt to avoid a political gaff (and the failure of the same) I will state that as far as I am concerned all groups are necessary - and thereby I feel that all groups give their initiates the effective magical training they require and can handle - for that person at that time etc at the very least. As I have always said: "Everyone got to be somewhere after all."

Obviously this does not conflict with my own personal views of the value of the efficacy of such training extent these days. That I say all are necessary for the great wheel does not mean I personally do not have my OWN ideas of the value of certain individuals and groups – I wouldn’t even bother to say so I would consider an insult to the intelligence of all present.

"Remember always that your power is a gift - it should not be treated as a joke nor suffered to be treated so."

As for the ideal of freedom ... well as far as I can see the only real freedom anyone has is in their head - all else is freedom that we are allowed by (Fill In Blank) or the freedom that we carve out for ourselves.

I wouldn't let my child tinker about with firearms, or power tools – why should "witchcraft" be any different? I am assuming here that this child is experimenting with "Wicca" craft - but even so ... we are talking about practices that involve forces ... and they are forces that can (irrelevant of any one person's individual honour codes) be dangerous in the hands of the inexperienced. It should go without saying here that I include those who are not fully formed mentally and psychologically.

Not only is it not the way I now walk to disallow such activity under my jurisdiction ... I am also speaking as someone who was exposed to the other side of life as a child, (I was down at the cross roads at the age of five) *shakes head* won't be happening to my child. I also speak as someone who has investigated several different forms and traditions, (several of them unsavoury) and I will say now as I said to someone a while back: "NO – I would NOT have a child in the circle - not only is it against what I believe to be the child’s freedom to choose ... I ask you ... would YOU want YOUR child in a ritual with me? Hmm I THOUGHT NOT!"

I simply think that it is important to remember that the book they tend to call "Bible" makes it quite clear that those who follow it should be opposed to the existence of many of us. That some do and some don't is like saying we do and we don't, often blurred by emotion and memory. Racey said it clearly I think: "Some girls need a lotta loving and some girls don't". I simply don't seek friendship - or justice from others (irrelevant of background). If it comes of it's own accord that is a separate issue. Things have been done and there are situations that now simply ARE because of these actions and the reactions of all concerned. This is something that smacks of unalterable fact. While we may not be able to alter the facts - we can alter the way we react in relation to them.

That some will choose one way of action based on their alignment and personal needs while others will disagree is a fact of life that this thread in response to one man's words about someone else has exemplified beautifully in all salient aspects to my mind.

I personally find the hardest part of my day to day is to treat people exactly as their current actions state that they should - and yes my day starts by looking in the mirror. (On a lighter note, having wall mirrors greet you as you wake up shakes many ideas of impending deification!)