caliban

Gruntlers

2009-11-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

Heathens believe in Truth, Beauty and Freedom. Perhaps, this is why we feel a political affinity with Humanists. In any case, our faith inspired "A Happening With The Gruntlers" at the Poetry Cafe last Monday evening; an event celebrating these essential values.

Sinatra

2009-08-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

If New York is truly a city which never sleeps, then everyone who lives there must have gone insane! Indeed, such deprivations can only imbalance those who come into contact with it's environmental mania.

Reading

2009-03-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Mersoteric will be hosting an evening of poetry on the 30th of March and I will be reading from my new book "The Grammar of Witchcraft".

The Black Magicians of Monsanto

2009-01-06T12:22:00.000-08:00

Far too many British Spiritualists are concerned with topics as trivial as the so-called “Randi Gamble.” Indeed, following the work of Carl Gustav Jung and Roberto Assagioli, it is almost beyond me that our religious ministers waist so much of their valuable time addressing the clod-like assertions of a clearly career based scepticism, when spirits are now openly at war around us. Certainly, some members of the younger generation have sensed that a call-to-arms has been sounded. They seem to perceive dark, destructive forces remaining dangerously unchallenged in our society and quite justifiably are starting to accuse their more mature neighbours of a bewildering spiritual narcolepsy. Many of them even feel that these devious shades are threatening the fecund environment; gathering a hellish, technocratic, momentum, against our Mother the Earth. All of which makes it truly astonishing that - as a movement - we have done so little to support their spiritual concerns. Perhaps especially so, once we recall how few other Churches uphold the sanctity of Life, on every level, as intrinsically worthy of respect.

In fairness, a number of factors hide these mighty battles from general view. Most notably the fact that their outward form is usually disguised by pious political hyperbole and marketing misinformation. Moreover, militant commerce has an uncanny way of silencing spiritual reflection, along with the moral implications of industrial procedures. Yet in this sense, contemporary Youth is again proving far ahead of their strangely disconnected elders, since they remain alert to the observation that nothing is religiously neutral an age where complex agricultural techniques, coupled to ethical complacency, are effectively manufacturing a brand new branch of the Black Arts. Arguably then, from the legendary Dr. Faustus, to the fictional Victor Frankenstein, the same charge against modernity has echoed across the centuries. A warning voiced in Rabelais’ famous saying that “science without a conscience is the ruin of the soul”. This explains why some commentators can’t help feeling the ingenious Pythagorian himself would have been shocked at the depths to which people sink when science becomes a slave to corporate business ventures. Also, this may be why Monsanto’s representations to the media always seem to have a Faustian atmosphere about them. Time and again, the smell of sulphur chokes their official pronouncements. It is, therefore, unwise to ignore these historic meditations as “simply” subjective, while such a company openly wages a campaign to genetically modify our very food with apparently minimal public consent.

Sadly, vulnerable Third World countries appear to be the ecological “No Mans Land” between sustainable progress and almost demonic, global, manipulation; an example being easily discerned when considering Monsanto’s “Terminator” technology. Asking, of course, why any descent minded company would patent the genetic engineering of otherwise healthy plants to produce sterile seeds is unsettling enough. But the projection that this plan, if implemented, would reduce African and Indian farmers to a kind of credit dependency (whereby they are obliged to buy replacement seeds every year, rather than use existing stocks), is undeniably sinister. Clearly, those that unclean spirits would destroy, first they make servile. In addition to this death dealing research, pundits have pointed out that future environmental effects of genetically modified crops are, at present, unknown. Apart from steadily increasing evidence, which demonstrates that processes of cross pollination can actually spread herbicidal tolerance to wild plants in a manner similar to a virus. Long term, this means that instead of reducing the amount of chemicals applied in farming, some producers are becoming locked like junkies into chemical slavery, just to defend their perfectly natural crops. What else can be said, except that the striking hubris underlying these commercial decisions is staggering; a sin the spirits are ominously threatening to punish in this life.

Partly, the problem is caused by a global free-for-all to maximise profits for irresponsible shareholders, at the expense of Fertility and Freedom.. These transparently wicked designs are further linked to a weakening of our British borders as obvious defences against corporate insanity. Perhaps surprisingly, nationalist politics have proved to hold more substance than merely old-fashioned xenophobia, despite the calculated slanders mouthed by politicians associated with multinational business executives. Accompanied as these improprieties always are by a crippling lack of religious perspective concerning the environment from their side. In which case we, as practising spiritualists, need to be more mindful of forests and foliage as our ancestors in a way similar to those who have already passed into Spirit. We know, after all, our friends and family are now at one with the vast continuum. Furthermore, it can be said that our loved ones have joined with these archetypal energies in the sacred process of unending creation. Free of charge! Thus,only one question remains; will our Community awake to the challenge of defending Life, or continue to be side tracked by unadulterated trivia?

Ignore Africa This Christmas

2008-12-21T08:45:00.000-08:00

I respect the peoples of the dark continent and my heart grieves when famine, warfare, as well as pestilence, are reported from those mighty nations. At the end of the day, however, they are not my people and until we North Europeans put our own houses in order, none of our concern.

Is Anybody There?

2008-11-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

British spiritualists often perceive themselves as custodians to strange and terrible truths. We have, rather unsettlingly, both seen and heard the intrusions of Spirit into our churches and prayer circles. We have communicated with the Glorious Dead. At times, we have even touched the mysterious realms of Higher Consciousness, as it unfolds in our hearts with the living light of knowledge and the vital sounds of salvation. It should therefore, come as a surprise that our assemblies are usually half-empty, while our credibility as witnesses to the Marvellous seems to shrink with each passing year.

Perhaps this is why it is time to stop blaming opponents for our problems and to start examining ourselves. Certainly, in my recent visits to various congregations across London, I have been greeted with demonstrations of personal arrogance by church leaders, a complete lack of humility (let alone sensitivity) on the part of mediums, and rather uncomfortable atmospheres coloured by gossipy infighting, when the service was concluded. It goes without saying, that these are not the outward signs associated with unfolding soul gifts and also partly explains why The Atheist of Oxford doesn’t need to look far to find a “cultural” shambles in some sections of our Movement. Indeed, getting the living into our places of worship appears to be more of an issue than opening our doors to the departed.

Yet there’s the rub. What do we spiritualists revere as Sacred? Clearly, some claim to represent true Christian Tradition; a noble and thought provoking assertion. On the other hand, there are those who argue that they adhere to the universal principles behind every Great Faith. This, in itself, is a highly abstract and demanding contention, stretching back through Victorian Theosophy into the medieval profundities of Neo-Platonism. Additionally, there are those in psychical societies who actively appear to be flirting with a type of experimental activity our forebears would have called necromancy: a repugnant pursuit still retaining its unpleasantness. All of which indicates, however, our Movements manifold search to find an appropriate position within the family of ancestral spirits; a tribal genealogy extending from Great, Great, Grandparents to forest flowers, lake land hills, and the Nature Spirits themselves. Even so, the vast majority of the aforementioned ideologues don’t seem to have journeyed far enough into Self to achieve a meaningful dialogue with Transcendent Being.

Having said that, allies and guides sometimes emerge from unexpected quarters and indirect support may be encountered from the so-called New-Age-Counter-Culture in all of its manifestations. Notably, the self-confessed pagan writer, Professor Camille Paglia describes (in a strikingly lucid essay entitled “No Law In The Arena”), her view of God as a disembodied Creative Force powerfully at work within the Cosmos. She does this, moreover, in a manner that any contemporary Spiritualist would instantly recognise, since we have presented this luminous gospel to the general public for over a century. Possibly, I should further point to followers of Radical Traditionalism as our kith. Through practising the ancient rites of our Britannic kinsmen, they have made it apparent that the recovery of received ethical values, not to mention our unique participation in the modalities of Northern-European-Becoming, can only be recovered by a renewed respect for rural, albeit occasionally abstract, customs.
In which case, disciplines such as silent meditation and hearth ritual become obvious vehicles for spiritualist witness. Clearly, in the house church I am privileged to lead, we have found that these forms of worship quickly lead to a discovery of inner-light as well as the cultivation of creative states of consciousness. Observably, our methods are extremely similar to those of Shinto in Japan, because they focus on the Immanence of Spirit. Householders, for example, tend to establish a reflective peace through husbanding their native surroundings, while healers magnify their abilities by exploring vital organic processes in their own bodies. Significantly, such gentle ceremonies need few theoretical commitments on the part of a practitioner, because a mind open to their efficacy is the only stipulation. On top of that, an atmosphere of ceremonial order transforms the lives of those who strive for a genuine sense of enlightened resolve. Similarly, our aims are nationalistic and our service is, primarily, to our own people. At the end of the day, all of our churches should be full to the British brim with those truly seeking Spirit. Remembering our sense of witness is the key. But to realise this goal a few home truths need to be faced along the way, like recalling that our Movement does indeed have a universalist appeal, although on a local level it always celebrates uniqueness. We also need to take pride in our labours as bridge-builders between different states of consciousness. These are the twin reasons I am personally looking forward to our renewed prophetic status within society. After all, those who have passed over, as well as the Nature Spirits, are pleading with us to focus on pictures bigger than community leadership or personal tattle, and we alone are correctly positioned to hear their messages.

Heathen Values

2008-09-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Honour, not success, is the principle virtue in the life of a man: a European ethical value dangerously lacking in our Post-Christian society and the cause of so many moral, as well as financial problems.

For Oswald Spengler

2008-09-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

Neither Christian mildew, nor manic Imams or a tax deductible Zionism can redeem our social spheres from perdition. Only schools, armed with Heathen Insights into natural glories can raise the Earth to Spiritual Wisdom.

I, Odinist ?

2008-02-03T08:19:00.000-08:00

It remains a mystery to me, in the classic sense, that so few of my readers have uncovered the thread of Eddic mysticism running (as prominently as it does), through all my work. In which case, I openly confess to my gradual conversion, and embrace Odinism as the obvious next step in British Spiritualism.

Signs of Spirit

2007-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

There is a transcendent principle both in nature and above nature. It is encountered within every work of art, most music, literature, and all the great religions. On occasion, it even surfaces in the sciences when visionary theories pierce the structure of creation, allowing our human intellects to delve more deeply into the world’s material processes. This spiritual consciousness, however, primarily takes ecological shapes and environmental forms: it sings in the symphonies of the dawn chorus; it enlightens its own splendour in the glories of a golden sunset. If therefore, as some saints have said, these are the lavish signs of a Divine Soul crucified on the cross of materiality, then we must assume that such an immense sacrifice is leading to a shared, cosmic, perfection. Only this would explain the endless moments of uplifting regeneration in a belittlingly beautiful universe.

This also partly explains why indigenous British customs often appear analogous to a spiritual habitat rather than a mere political mechanism. In a sense, they comprise a synthetic genius, raising us to previously unexpected heights. Certainly, our inherited and temperate values can neither be cropped or culled, nor can they be cleared away like unwanted bracken. After all, British folk-feelings have emerged from lush native soils, laboured over by our stubborn ancestors, who cultivated these lands for centuries untold; ancestors who themselves pollinated fertile traditions with good humour, while husbanding our inherited, verdant, resources. Yet it was the poets among them who defiantly channelled the disembodied moods of this “folk-spirit” into the verbal icons and passionate chants illuminating national sentiment.

The social necessity of this sacred service was of course, always a matter of turbulent political dispute. Among early Anglo-Saxon settlers for example, controversy surrounded the fact that there were few sacrosanct master poets, but a plenitude of roving minstrels - despite the enduring inspiration of the Eddas and Old Norse scholarship. As they acclimatised, English poetic lore became heavily embellished at third hand by Welsh, Irish and Gallic Bards, through the Norman Romances - cultural events helping to contextualise the fact that there has never been an intuitive respect for the title of poet in England. Adding further insult to injury, English poets as a body (since that time), have tended to feel apologetic regarding their vocation and more usually than not have described their calling as “writer” or “teacher” instead of wordsmith. Nevertheless, great poets did arise out of humble English stock. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400), William Shakespeare (1564-1610), and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), are second to none in world literature, possibly because the mediumistic origins of English poetry were never entirely forgotten.

Having said that, with so few master poets the demands of our tribal psyche became increasingly obscure, even though a collective sense of its activities continued to haunt society. Hardly anyone, including the “official” clergy, spoke authoritatively on these elevated matters or attempted to guide general debate; a silence which almost deafened English cultural life. Moreover, on those occasions when the transcendent principle did blaze through our affairs, these epiphanic moments seemed akin to pagan outbursts instead of perennial signs within a tradition already exhibiting an uncanny continuity. Somewhat predictably, religious puritans became increasingly wary of the English festal calendar, causing a paralysing religious dichotomy in our seasonal customs. As such, this seizure proved to be a period of poetic opportunity for the extraordinary William Blake (1757-1832), who, as a poet-medium, spent his life trying to use this schism to restore the ancestral practises of his profession.

Born and bred an inspired Londoner, Blake grew up the second son of a reasonably prosperous hosier. As a child of the upper working classes he was largely self-educated; an achievement at which only the uneducated continue to scoff. Yet from his earliest years he had a voracious appetite for learning and like the ancient balladeers studied philosophy as well as the arts. Among his many gifts can be counted painting, engraving and according to local Lambeth legend the composition of melodies. This may be why some critics have claimed that for want of a colleague, Blake was forced to become an entire Bardic college on his own. Clearly these pundits are correct in that his astounding textual range extended from the Lyric, to the Dramatic, Epic and Prophetic. Indeed, his avowed intention was to remind readers in every possible way that they were actually in a state of deep psychic somnambulance; a condition related to mental slavery. This contention became apparent in his poetic essay All Religions Are One, in which Blake roars that only a poet is capable of discerning Eternal Truths: “that the poet genius is the true man and that the body or outward form of man is derived from Poet Genius”. As a medium Blake hoped to unsettle his readers into wakefulness.

All of which is strangely reminiscent of the contemporary English poet Nigel Humphreys. Admittedly, Humphreys does not illuminate his work with ceaselessly shifting allegories, neither does he populate his verses with symbolic figures in order to create a “personal” mythos. Traditional textual strategies that disciples of British symbolism incautiously insist upon when examining deeply spiritual laments. Humphreys artistry is, nevertheless, strikingly similar to Blake’s in Songs of Experience, where regret, injustice, physical impermanence and the alarming intrusions of Spirit are detailed in depth. Another, less obvious, similarity is found in the fact that Humphreys also appears to adopt the role of social commentator and cultural observer, whose medicinal task is to diagnose our ethnic ills; a poetic role possibly embraced with relish despite precautionary caveats surrounding his recent work.

Put unreservedly, Humphreys first collection The Hawks Mewl (Arbor Vitae Press 2007), demands our attention. Within its possessed pages, the cold hands of northern European souls are easily discernable as they weave their bleak designs into our English sensibilities. There is an endless fascination with doom, decay, unexpected nobility and incomplete emotional closure. Humphreys even openly discusses “ectoplasm” and “apparitions”, whether metaphorical or actual, amid the unnerving atmosphere of “virtuous” paganism – a concept echoing Dante’s (1265-1321), personal religious turmoil. In the final analysis though, it is a form of spiritism that informs this text as the poet struggles with his own sense of blunted existence, made manifest in the frustrating imagery of shells and the alliteration suggested by directionless spirals. In place of well-defined themes, tacitly pointing towards an elusive higher consciousness, Humphreys delights in an unlimited literary semiosis conjured by sights and sounds into archetypal scenarios. By this, he fulfils his received vocation in giving voice to British Being, while disturbing complacent existential assumptions. Like Blake in his heyday, Humphreys has sensed a sudden and unexpected opening in the doors of English perception, exceedingly propitious to transcendent visions.
At the end of the day, it is something of a truism that only those countries privileged to enjoy material stability may actually develop a balanced spiritual life, unaccompanied by an ignorant and poisonous “Manichean” hyperbole. It is further pertinent to observe that the Second Great Tradition of English literature still encourages the activities of poet-mediums, even though their contributions to national morality are uncomprehendingly overlooked. What critics must not do, however, is deliberately disregard the beauty and profundity of their verses, because without these qualitative insights we are made vulnerable as an island as well as weakened as a people.

Monadology

2007-08-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

A Divine Monad may take so many forms I need to ask:
Who is the man on the Holy Cross that I have followed since I was a youth?
What is His true northern name?
When did He start to call his people out of hiding?
Where were they scattered?Why did He choose me to minister to this “new” spiritual family?

Islamic Amnesiacs

2007-08-19T09:27:00.000-07:00

Certain modern Islamists seem to have forgotten the existential facts of life in their desperate search for an ideal form of justice that simply cannot belong to this Earth. They have forgotten the numinous ecstasies of Sufi poetry; they have forgotten the negative analyses as well as the cynical wit of the philosophers. They appear to have forgotten (in their unacknowledged agnosticism), that since there is only One True God, there is only One Great Religion – already found in innumerable spiritualities throughout human history and across the entire globe. Maybe, as Spiritualists, we need to remind them not to place their faith in this sphere, but put it firmly in the Greater World beyond.

Kierkegaard's Question

2007-06-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

The father of Christian existentialism, Soren Kierkegaard (1813 - 1855), consciously lived his entire life guided by the Spirit: so much so, that he became obsessed with one specific question - what was the difference between those who teach Divine Law and Christ Jesus. In other words, why would Zodiac (upon seeing Master Jesus in the Temples' Outer Court), feel that all of his questions had been answered ? An issue still requiring clarification in our dialogue as Spiritualists with traditional Judaism and modern Islam.

One of the ways Kierkegaard attempted to define this vital distinction was to contrast the career of the Ancient Greek philosopher Socrates with the ministry of Jesus in Nazareth. After all, Socrates was inspired by mysterious voices, led a virtuous life and had the penetrating vision of a truly gifted thinker. Yet Kierkegaard concluded that even these immense moral and intellectual qualities as a teacher were not enough to set him apart from other earthly sages. As a man, Socrates may indeed be exemplary, but he remained a recognisable figure. This insight further allowed Kierkegaard to grasp the fact that empirical questions require empirical answers, whereas existential questions demanded a living, breathing, solution. In which case, a teacher very different in kind from Socrates would be needed to reveal the Kingdom of Meaning. On this level, nothing less than a Saviour would be sufficient.

To explore these issues Biblically, it is interesting to recall the confrontation recorded in the Gospels between Pontius Pilate and Master Jesus. Certainly, for all his political experience, the Roman Procurator simply didn't comprehend the man in front of him. This, for spiritualists, continues to speak volumes because it demonstrates that the Revelation of saving-truth cannot be just another philosophical argument or point of information. It is the moment at which a human being embraces Essence in order to touch the Eternal. Therefore, even Pilates apparently rhetorical enquiry "What is truth?" merely reinforces the already unbridgeable divide between them.

The governor was deaf to anything Jesus had to say, but more significantly, blind to who Jesus was: God as man; the vehicle of Christ-consciousness responding to the human condition; a vanquished hero taking fear and frustration as His Cross. In this tragic encounter, worldly Roman wiles defeat themselves.

Ironically, Kierkegaard's question has been answered by the Spiritualist community more effectively than by the mainstream churches. Like him, we courageously contrast calculation to Scripture, and witness the works of Spirit on a weekly basis in our small, vibrant, assemblies. Perhaps this is why in the battle between ideas we stand firm on Zodiac's messages as a veritable testimony to the Way, and the Life Everlasting.

Channelling Tomorrow

2007-04-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

All arguments are provisional. Perhaps that is why there has never really been a scientific theory, which has stood the test of time. It may also partly explain the often bewildering personal ambiguities surrounding those figures representing each school of thought. In “modern” Spiritualism, for example, the Fox sisters are usually cited as the ancestors of our tradition (1842), even though some commentators vigorously claim it was actually Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), who fathered the movement. Yet a cursory glance at the beliefs as well as the practices of Spiritualism – as a coherent ideology – quickly revels a religious system of global proportions as old as the human race itself. Therefore, it is a striking, albeit unsettling fact, that temporary frames of reference tend to determine our rules of judgement.

This is equally true of those opinions said to oppose Spiritualisms theological position. Indeed, until recently existentialism was held up by series of secularised scholars as a bulwark against any notion entailing higher states of Being. By stating they were following the (surprisingly reductive) assertions of Nietzsche, these writers created an impression that theirs was the only possible way to discuss human spirituality – thereby deliberately ignoring the equally important religious existentialism of Kierkegaard. Indeed, as a member of The Greater World Christian Spiritualist Association, it usually saddens me to reflect that we have not fully engaged with the sophisticated and rich theological resources available to us. Certainly, as a Christian family we have a surprising number of prominent friends, as it is far from uncommon to find authors such as Saint Augustine as well as Pascal listed as existentialist thinkers who described profound transcendent experiences.

Existentialism is then, best understood as a certain type of intellectual exploration, tending to focus on the human situation itself. Moreover, most writers inspired by this vantage point have gone on to contend that western thinking has become deeply defective due to it’s increasing insistence that knowledge must be based on physical objects alone. For a true existentialist, this approach will never be able to grasp the unique spiritual nature of human beings and remains blinded to the immense differences between human and non-human Being; a view which gave birth to a twentieth century academic rebellion in Italy (curiously, also known as Christian Existentialism), that sought to examine people as much more than the sum of their parts,

Presumably, channelling is a case in point. Everyone seems to Channel. Suddenly thinking of an old friend before “accidentally” meeting her on a street corner, or spontaneously singing a memorable song only to hear it played on the radio moments later, are all examples of this very human aptitude. Yet the difference between these suggestive daily events and those exhibiting spiritual qualities is ultimately one of degree. For a busy English housewife this ability may be a question of mild intuitive feedback, whereas for a Sufi poet this disturbing process allows prophetic spirits to expose inconvenient truths. On top of this, inherited customs with no direct moral significance such as New Years Eve, may allow entire societies to channell glimpses of their own future and foretell the probable consequences of actions still to be undertaken. Such predictions are of course, both subjective and falsifiable, consequently raising higher metaphysical issues in their wake. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why some channellers have opened themselves enough to touch the glittering continuum itself, subsequently writing that they discovered a changing, dynamic and ever-living universe with an inherent forward thrust towards the full actualisation of the every potential from which it is composed. They almost seem to be describing dazzling creative acts in terms of a continuous birth process by powers and principalities above all human interference.

Now it is always wise to be cautious concerning the euphoric details accompanying these depictions. After all, outward expressions of such purely receptive insights are bound to use special figurative and symbolic terms, which no doubt imply far more than appears to be said at first hearing, but are still, nonetheless, semantically problematic. This is due to the fact that ordinary words are made for mundane occasions and cannot convey the extraordinary facts of Spiritualism. What is more these symbols refer to levels of consciousness that are more complex than the everyday empirical world, going far beyond the physical limits of recognisable, material, conditions.

In stretching so high, yet simultaneously embracing the dislocation of human beings here below, our movement (considered as an entirety), is unique. This is because spiritualist churches meet existential questions head-on. They are Sacred arenas of raw human need, where the bereaved, the marginalized, the misfortunate and the uneducated can congregate, freely express themselves and openly enquire into the meaning of their lives without fear of censure or social disapproval. Unlike more culturally established religious assemblies, where every member has a perceived - and tacitly understood - place in the social pecking order, spiritualists are drawn together by their pain and curiosity. We have an innate religious bond built on unadulterated spiritual experiences and honest vulnerability.
At the end of the day, spiritualism claims there is a higher order of Being, and by so arguing states that our lives may be understood in two distinct ways: either as a scientific problem requiring a solution, or as a mystery within which we choose to participate. In other words, human rules of judgement are based on a materialistic, apparently clear but radically impoverished view of existence … or on a transcendent, less explicable - although fundamentally meaningful - interaction with all of creation. Surely there is no better way to state our theological position than this, and equally no more courageous way to face the future.

Listening to Ismail Kadare

2006-12-07T13:16:00.001-08:00

The almost unbearable significance of contemporary spiritualism often finds relief in twenty first century literature. Indeed, during the last couple of years the best poetry and prose have consciously touched the supernal in order to gift otherwise oppressive political regimes with a healing contextual balm. It was therefore a delight when the Albanian author Ismail Kadare recently spoke so openly concerning these complex textual uncertainties. Rather like Erasmus arguing in praise of human folly, Kadare's November interview at the French Institute allowed him to attack militant literary reductionism as a marketing deception. No doubt, Kadare conceded, it was possible to lie concerning his inscrutable inspiration, but this would simply waist everyone's time. After all, poets themselves didn't really understand the process; they just needed to sing. Kadare's disarming candour may, however, offer us an insight into his mystery. It may even partly reveal the symbols as well as the injuries moulding his personal laments.

Let me elaborate this comment. As a master of international letters, Kadare continues to weave historic events around disenfranchised characters. He seems obsessed by the dialectical position occupied by allegedly liberated men. The obvious vacuity of rekindled vendettas, the alarming distortion of social freedoms along with the tragic strategy adopted by Albanian youth in retreating from transcendent possibilities- are all set against a guarded optimism borne of ethnic survival. This indirectly suggests that Kadare (the novelist), senses a sterility within imposed literary customs which sooner or later become their own antithesis. For him, culture appears analogous to a natural habitat wherein human beings are both nurtured and restricted, yet outside of which they wither. By extension, a foreign literary habitat cannot develop conditions necessary for a previously established group to truly thrive. Kadare's confession to suffering from this problem has always risked ridicule, or a dangerous vulnerability. Moreover, to challenge his countrymen to wrestle with these issues demands a sensativity on their part that can either inadvertently offend or invoke national rejection. What else can be said, Kadare may reside in France, but I heard the voice of an Albanian soul singing with pride that evening.

Ancestral Graves

2006-08-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Spiritualism is part of my being, like air and laughter. I suspect, however, its practice and perfection is only found in the context of worship. Indeed, without the necessary checks and balances offered by a "church" family, the work of ever a gifted Medium or resourceful Healer falls into mere entertainment or prurient paranoia. In a sense, it becomes one more medicinal ideology listed on the sterile agenda of a dull, depressing finitude. Once conceded of contemporary Spiritualism, it becomes clear that this was also the experience of early Christians; a curious fact almost mentioned in passing by the author Robert Graves.
Anyone reading the historical reconstructions of our Spiritualist ancestors in his novel King Jesus, must be immediately struck by their immense contribution to the Faith. From its very inception, it seems the "Jesus Movement" included seers and sensitives as prominent community members. This is hardly surprising when we recall Christians in the First Century A.D. witnessed unprecedented spiritual gifts. The dead rose, tongues were spoken and thousands converts to the higher Law of Love by a single sermon. In which case, the Apostle Paul was certainly speaking to women as well as men when explaining the ontological differences between a natural body (Soma Pseukikon) and the spiritual body (Soma Pneumatikon) as a way to keep consciousness above material issues. As Pagan commentators often pointed out, previous perceptions of "God's People" straining to survive under cruel and tyrannous political regimes were suddenly challenged. This was accompanied by an uprush of hope as converts were reborn with a moral determination to weather the humanitarian storms raging around them. Moreover, the enlightened awareness Christians discovered became a luminous shield, allowing them to live compassionate lives in violent and oppressive times.
Individual "Jesus people" further caught public attention by courageously grasping the key they had been given to the mysteries of the Pleroma. After all, they knew their community extended beyond the limits of this world into the Starry Heavens. This was one of the reasons why Christians openly experimented with radical social notions and alternative life-styles. Inherited religious customs as well as personal honour (based on power, wealth and position) were loudly criticised, as the blind recovered their sight and the lame walked again. In addition, perceived differences between ethnic groups faded, as people were encouraged to free themselves from archaic cultural restraints. Authority was therefore shared by all, as each encouraged the other to act prayerfully in what became diverse Spiritualist families pursuing God's Kingdom.
To participate in an act of worship in either ancient or modern times is to approach the realities of the Monad. This is the case in any epoch or dispensation, irrespective of age, race or gender. The origins of Christian Spiritualist worship, however, remains particularly fascinating due to deliberately suppressed origins and forgotten facts. This is why the poetic insight and historical methodology of an author such as Robert Graves continue to disturb readers. In many ways he may be an unlikely inspiration, but the evidential bones he unearthed speak volumes.

Big Brother

2006-05-28T10:42:00.001-07:00

During the halcyon days of Fleet Street, a vociferous minority of old hacks moaned that the printed page was a notoriously inadequate means by which to spread gossip. Sadly, this opinion seems to be confirmed rather than confounded by the modern media. Instead of clarifying human communication, both satellite and cable have become instruments that blunt the average attention span. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why contemporary commentators are noticeably lost for words when confronted with the gladiatorial delights of so-called reality T.V. After all, the contradictory rumours, which surrounded a potentially bewildering array of housemates for this season's multi-ringed Big Brother circus, concretised themselves in yet another predictably outrageous gathering. In the end, depressingly antagonistic personalities such as Sezer and Lea were selected to compete, mirroring their recent celebrity counterparts. We only need to recall that a year or so ago Professor Greer as well as the visibly ageing super model (ominously known as Caprice), were similarly eager to hold court in their more fashionable arena. Their was even talk in the Tabloids that New Age pundit David Icke was due to appear, but radical feminism compounded by global conspiracy theory may have caused even channel fours belligerent producers to physically balk.
Having said that, the circuitous plots of the patriarchy count as poor entertainment compared to the dark machinations schemed by Icke's sinister "Brotherhood". Icke's thesis argues that certain politically influential people are actually the servants of evil; a claim few fair-minded journalists would deny. However, based on the flimsiest of evidence, such as occult slander and hypnotic regression, he then proceeds to name the members of this crimson hierarchy. As if this were not libellous enough, he further testifies to the effect that these individuals are also courting corrupt extra-terrestrials who aim to dominate the Earth. His summation menacingly concludes that this is a significant stratagem in Lucifer's eternal struggle with the Angels themselves. A case in point is detailed in Icke's fascinating book The Greatest Secret. Here we may read about the head keeper's wife at Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire (near to Chequers), who noticed a group of robed figures carrying flaming torches into the woods one terrifying midnight. Unlike the majority of people, this robust British matron didn't hide beneath her quilt, or call the police, but followed them to their sabbathical destination. Eventually, she found herself camouflaged in wintry thickets while these cowled demoniacs chanted Satanic hymns into the darkness. To her astonishment, and indeed to everybody else's, the leader of this forbidden ritual turned out to be the RT. Hon Edward Heath, Conservative Member of Parliament and Prime Minister. Now, the majority of Icke's readers presumably must be struck by several rather obvious reactions to this news. First, it is hard to imagine Mr. Heath getting out of bed for anything less than Port and Stilton so late in the evening. Secondly, if Mr. Heath was personally involved with this world wide sulphurous Brotherhood, it is odd that the American establishment disliked him quite so vigorously. Yet gossip seems to have few limits and urban legends are often much more engaging at dinner than actual social events.
Casual readers shouldn't misinterpret the direction of my comments. I recently heard David Icke speak at the Brixton Academy and was suitably impressed. In many ways he was a man on fire with the Spirit, in a similar way to certain saintly free-thinkers from the recent political past. Instead, my problem is with the commodification of dissent and it's reduction to bitchy repartee in the perennially popular tower of tattle. Perhaps as certain critics have claimed this process is analogous to riding behind a successful Roman generals chariot and reminding him that he is still mortal. On the other hand, perhaps not. Either way, in our increasingly blinkered age even the hungry ghost of Samuel Pepys may soon start to complain that levelling trivia has gone too far.

Pagans

2006-04-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

Hippies are the children of Jean Jacques Rousseau. I have often thought that as a counter-cultural "current", they may be traced back way before the sixties through the early days of the New Thought Movement, to certain anxiety-related Romantic reactions against the excesses of the Enlightenment. They were obsessed with issues surrounding higher states of consciousness, organic food and a free sexuality. Their movement was, therefore, destructive, as it stretched above the "merely" rational before its appointed cultural time. With this in mind, there is a distinct danger that Channel Fours recent documentary series Pagans (written and presented by Richard Rudgley) will be identified as a critique of modern social fashion instead of a potential revolution in contemporary spirituality.
From the opening credits, Rudgley sidesteps accepted notions of received history to show his audience that influences from the ancient pagan world never really diminished. He explains how the endless experimentation of early Alchemists actually did pull mineral swords from stones and explores the Astro-Theology of tribal magicians in their seasonal calculations. In homage to their ecological wisdom, one episode even shows him wearing a mysterious golden hat, which seems to have been worn by one of these wizards as a sign of authority over natural processes.
Any theology that rests on reason rather than revelation is, of course, a form of natural religion. In other words, a type of esoteric astronomy, which searches the stars to find the effects and purposes of an otherwise unknowable first cause. Theologically insightful scholars would probably claim that the foundation of all intellectual religions, ancient as well as modern, have this same source. They are also likely to contend that the symbolic scriptures of sophisticated cultures were inspired by the geometrical movements of these heavenly giants. Arguably, even the Revelation of St. John the Divine confirms this opinion. After all, the strange personages populating his Apocalypse are discernable in any celestial atlas; a position demonstrated by the antipodean Speculative Freemason, Henry Melville, whose fascinating book Veritas (1874), details the entire sarcedotal system of stellar bodies and their suggested alignments with occult "inner constellations" mentioned in Medieval Hermetic manuscripts.
Rudgley contextualises these theories, suggesting that the principles behind this psycho-organic totality were laid down by prehistoric pagan astrologers. He adds that later initiates were rarely given access to their fundamental findings, although every now and again astrological records offered tantalising hints concerning the nature of the cosmos. This is especially curious when we recall that some modern researchers say only specific planets and stars were important to our forefathers, who appear to have regarded the universe as a gigantic living organism; a vast sustaining placenta through which the Divine Self-concept incarnated. It would further imply that human beings are not simply constituent parts of the universe, but rather the final summarising product of evolution.
These are complex concepts, which Rudgley expounds with considerable Saviour Faire. As a born communicator, he sees no necessary divide between scholarship and informed public opinion, provided the expert in question is in command of his or her field. He easily meets this criterion himself, due to an impeccable academic background, coupled with an obvious fascination with the material. Indeed, one of his skills as a presenter is to break down abstract theoretical propositions and then describe the exposed fragments with a consummate professional enthusiasm- a talent not always shared by those he interviewed.
This became increasingly evident when watching the second program in the series. Without much assistance, Rudgley guides his viewers through the legacy of Arthurian legend; a topic which unexpectedly caught my attention due to its exegesis of the relation between poetry and physical violence. As a poet myself fascinated with the perennial truths of destruction, conflict and the grotesque, I found this episode gripping. From the outset, he details the development of folk tales around tribal warriors, who constantly perfected formidable martial skills to defend their kith and kin. Enlarging his theme, Rudgley then maps their world of highly codified chivalry, where young male muscle and bone was energetically tested by each of these "knights" against the other for the sheer joy of it. Fascinatingly, such openly erotised rutting rarely degenerated into a free-for-all, because their personal honour prevented them from sinking into a brutish battery. Differences were, nevertheless, inevitable and had to be settled without repression or lasting scars, which is why their ritualised wrestling was never expressed thoughtlessly just for the sake of temporary cathartic relief, but channeled artfully; an aesthetic blend that flowered into martial Epics as well as military Sagas.
In the final analysis, Rudgley's documentary series is a provocative and extraordinarily rich philosophical assertion. Ironically, however, its very opulence may give rise to a variety of conflicting interpretations. His work could easily be seen as a reflexive academic comment, a personal vision, or even a religious prophecy trapped in the distorting lens of cultural relativism. Rudgley, however, intends these programs to be about the present, not the past. His understated ideological challenge to so-called western religious orthodoxy is found in a tacit defence of humanity's need to participate abstractedly with the environmental realities underlying all metaphysical superstructures, which is why Rudgley seems to feel that "Christian civilisation" is both totalitarian in its ethical imperatives and consciously unreflective about its origins. A challenge demanding considerable reflection.

Caliban's Redemption

2006-03-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

by David Parry

ISBN 186992875X, £9.99 paperback

'The exploration of such states of consciousness is not without its psychological dangers and Parry's poetry traverses inner worlds reminiscent of those of Lautreámont, Bataille and the demonologist Collin de Plancy' - Richard Rudgeley in The London Magazine
In this collection of occult poems Parry’s alter-ego Caliban muses on sexuality, seclusion and Shakespeare. Moreover, by trying to capture the dark dwarf’s metaphysical lyrics moment by moment, the author slowly confronts himself as a willing prisoner on the magical island of violence and desire. After all, Caliban would claim that neither Browning nor Nietzsche had fully grasped the ethics of redemption which can only be found in unadulterated selfhood.

Miranda
I love you holy virgin,
with the soul that you have moulded,
lovely as a rosebud,
to the silver moon unfolded.
I love you holy virgin.

I love you Queen of Heaven,
with the body you have fashioned,
twisted in your service,
by sacred sighs of divine passion.

I love you Queen of Heaven.
I love you aged mother,
with the mind that you have hardened,
deep as dark obsidian,
reflecting black thoughts yet unpardoned.

I love you aged mother.
I love you,
I praise you,
I abase myself before you,
and with golden songs adore you,
my holy whore of heaven.