Ad Consummationem Mundi

Book Review: Yi King: A Beastly Book of Changes

Fr. Αληθέυω — Wed, 6 May 2009 19:11:00 -0700

A few years ago, I published a collection of capsule reviews of a number of translations of the venerable Chinese oracle, the I Ching. At that time, I knew of, but had never actually seen, this book; I also did not review (though I had owned it for more than 20 years) Marcelo Motta’s edition of the same material, which he published in his Equinox V:3 (1980). More recently, I came across a copy of A Beastly Book of Changes for sale in impeccable condition. Such is the level of demand for this already-rare book (only 156 copies were printed) that the asking price was in excess of $200. I paid that price without a second thought. Having studied and used the book for several months since then, I can say with confidence that I do not regret the expense.

Book Review: Initiation in the Aeon of the Child

Fr. Αληθέυω — Mon, 4 May 2009 09:36:00 -0700

For some years now, J. Daniel Gunther has been a mystery man of the Thelemic community. A student of the late Marcelo Ramos Motta in the 1970s, he met the usual fate of those unwise enough to accept Motta as a teacher; that is to say, he was accused of high crimes and summarily expelled.

Conservative Journalism

Fr. Αληθέυω — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:26:00 -0700

This depiction of conservative journalists as lazy and shallow people who don’t really want to do any serious work, but only want to participate in an ineffectual culture of uncritical mutual adoration with other morons on the basis of a common advocacy of principles that are continually belied by that very culture and everyone participating in it, is interesting. If you look at it the right way, McCain could be writing about the O.T.O. under its current leadership.

Ominous Signs From Down Under

Fr. Αληθέυω — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:51:00 -0800

Almost a year ago, I wrote a brief article on the Australian O.T.O.’s use of the state of Victoria’s Racial and Religious Tolerance Act (RRTA) in a counter-attack against some conspiracy theorists who had falsely accused the Order of being a conspiracy of Satanic pedophiles and murderers. My basic position on this was that the RRTA, being essentially a “hate speech” law, was not only an offense against the principles of liberty, but also extremely ill-advised strategy for an organization dedicated to sacred texts that include statements such as the “crapulous creeds” passage in Chapter III of The Book of the Law.

Agapé, vol. X, no. 2/3

Fr. Αληθέυω — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:11:00 -0800

A new issue of the newsletter of O.T.O.’s U.S. Grand Lodge, Agapé, is upon us once again. It feels as though it has been a long time since the last issue, and in fact, it has been; this new issue is the first since last May’s, which I reviewed previously.

Review: The Wand (Winter 2008)

Fr. Αληθέυω — Sun, 4 Jan 2009 14:39:00 -0800

Over the vulgar New Year’s Day weekend, I received the latest issue of The Wand, the official publication of Coph Nia Oasis O.T.O., and at once I sat down to read it. I have to say that this is the finest O.T.O. local body publication I have ever seen. U.S. Grand Lodge’s own newsletter, Agapé, pales in comparison.

Book Review: A Concordance to the Holy Books of Thelema

Fr. Αληθέυω — Tue, 4 Nov 2008 15:11:00 -0800

I first heard about this project back in April 2007 e.v., when Colin Campbell wrote to me to request permission to use the digital texts of the Thelemic Holy Books that I created for the USGL Web Library as input to his concordance-generating software. Naturally, I gave him that permission and wished him well with his work.

Yesterday, I received the fruit of his labors, this book. As we have come to expect of Teitan Press, it is a lovely production, well-designed, printed on acid-free paper, and beautifully bound, with a tasteful purple dust jacket.

The Wisdom of Acknowledging Errors

Fr. Αληθέυω — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:33:00 -0700

In the course of his testimony before the House Oversight Committee last week, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said that the evidence does not support his long-held belief that banks would be prudent in their lending practices in order to protect their stockholders. He said he had made a “mistake” in believing that banks, in essence, would operate in their own self-interest, and that this new realization revealed “a flaw in the model... that defines how the world works.”

Bad Report, Inactivity, and Sabbaticals

Fr. Αληθέυω — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0700

Sabazius X° has posted a series of brief notes on his LiveJournal to clarify various states of uninvolvement and ex-membership that are presently defined in the O.T.O. On the one hand, it is nice to see these things laid out and defined so that the differences between them can be understood by all. On the other hand, the definitions themselves, and more importantly the basic thoughts underlying the nomenclature, seem rather problematic.

Agapé, vol. X, no. 1

Fr. Αληθέυω — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 09:06:00 -0700

The new issue of Agapé is out— only about nine weeks late this time, roughly two-thirds of their publication cycle.

Update on the Episcopalian Property War

Fr. Αληθέυω — Fri, 4 Apr 2008 20:23:00 -0700

Time has an update today on the legal battles between the Episcopal Church and several congregations that have decided to secede from the Church. I <& PARENT:link, url => "http://aletheuo.ath.cx/essays/secession.html", text => "wrote" &> last December about how the issues raised by the Episcopalians’ conflict might apply to the O.T.O., and the latest developments are of great interest in that regard.