The Temple of Set II

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The Temple of Set II Page 51

by Michael A Aquino


  in a number of contemporary cults, religions, and magical societies around the world - the Wiccan ‘great rite’, the

  auto/hetero/homosexual magic of the O.T.O. VIII°/IX°/XI°, etc. A good update to #13A and #13B. The data dealing

  with the Church of Satan are so fragmentary and misleading, however, that the author’s care in researching other

  environments must be doubted as well. Use more as a starting point for further research than as a definitive source.”

  13D. The Compleat Witch by Anton Szandor LaVey. NY: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1970. Reissued as The

  Satanic Witch with an Introduction by Zeena Schreck, Feral House, Los Angeles, 1989. (COS-1) (TOS-3) MA:

  “Although the more earthy passages in this book put off many readers who were expecting ‘more of the Satanic

  Bible’, LaVey often maintained that it was the best of his three books because it contained the most Lesser Magic. [It

  could just as well be included in category 23.] Tucked away amidst the pages are some very incisive comments

  concerning human traits and motivations and how both may be recognized and manipulated in day-to-day contexts.

  By no means ‘just a sex book’, though a background in Church of Satan history is necessary to understand the

  author’s point of perspective. Chapter 8 of #6N reviews #13D in detail.”

  13E. Odoratus Sexualis by Iwan Block. North Hollywood: Brandon House, 1967. (COS-3) AL: “The use of

  odors in magic.”

  13F. Magica Sexualis by Emile Laurent and Paul Nagour. North Hollywood: Brandon House, 1966. (COS-3)

  AL: “Contains some little-known lore.”

  13G. How to Make a Man Fall in Love With You by Tracy Cabot. NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1984. (TOS-3) Hether

  Payne III°: “Despite the tacky title, this book contains excellent LBM lessons for both men and women. It is a good

  crash-course in basic psychology that teaches you how to make people feel truly understood, to build trust, and to

  persuade through various techniques such as ‘mirroring’, ‘anchoring’, ‘casting a spell’, etc. I have found it very

  potent information and accordingly would warn Setians to be careful how they use it - or they may not be able to rid

  themselves of the object of their magic. This book is somewhat the opposite of Anton LaVey’s Compleat Witch in

  principle and in theory, but I feel it to be of equal importance.”

  - 212 -

  13H. Carnal Alchemy by Crystal Dawn and Stephen Flowers. Smithville: Runa-Raven Press, 1995. DW: “The

  Temple of Set neither advocates nor forbids sado-magical activities between consenting adult magicians. If you are

  inclined to explore pleasure and pain, and want to use this practice for self-transformation, then this is the best

  book available - if you can guide your practice by love. If you’re not so inclined, this is an entirely boring book useful

  only for shocking your friends. Hence it has no rating, and is mentioned merely to remind the Setian that no topic is

  taboo as long as its investigation harms not the mind, the body, nor the potential unfolding of the soul.”

  * * *

  F13A. Dracula. 1979. Frank Langella, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence, Kate Nelligan. MA: “This film is

  placed here rather than in Category #8 because Langella’s interpretation is that of the vampire-as-lover, and

  because the impact of that interpretation, particularly upon female audiences who saw this film, proved to be

  remarkably powerful. In contrast to more traditional Draculas (such as Christopher Lee, who merely ‘used women

  for feeding’ while playing his vampire as a power role), one receives the impression that Langella’s Dracula exists

  only for love, having, over the centuries, found all other ambitions to be transitory and shallow. This sensitivity of

  his, in contrast to the mundane romantic infatuations of Mina’s human beau, makes Dracula worth the sacrifice that

  woman understands her historic role in love to be. It is significant that the ‘normal’ humans in this film will stop at

  nothing to destroy the example of Dracula, shaming as it does their own petty sexual power games.”

  F13B. The Story of O. S.N. Prodis, Paris, 1975. Video: Independent United Distributors. Corinne Clery, Udo

  Kier. Just Jaeckin director. MA: “This is not a film about sadomasochism at all, but about the degrees of mutual

  surrender that love involves. O willingly endures the ordeals of Castle Roissy simply because her lover wishes her to,

  then emerges not as slave but as goddess for the three men - her lover, her taskmaster at the castle, and finally Sir

  Stephen - who are devoted to her. The atmosphere of her new divinity confuses, then obsesses a female friend of

  hers, who ultimately is drawn to Roissy for a similar initiation. Perhaps only the French, who are able to portray

  even the most outré and graphic forms of erotica without the slightest hint of obscenity, could have made a film such

  as this. It is a mirror to its audiences of what sexual and sensual maturity involves - and how remote from that

  maturity most persons of either sex actually are.”

  - 213 -

  Category 14: Fascism, Totalitarianism, and Magic

  Faschimus, Totalitarismus und Magie

  as of February 26, 2003

  This is a very potent, controversial, and dangerous area of magic, whose implications are rarely

  examined, understood, or appreciated by the profane [which is just as well]. Much of the data

  concerning it derives from Nazi Germany, whose character as a state based upon magical rather than

  conventional principles goes a long way towards explaining the “peculiar” fascination which that

  episode continues to exert on students of history and political science. Many of the techniques

  pioneered or perfected by the Nazis continue to be used/ abused - generally in a superficial and ignorant

  fashion - by every country of the world in one guise or another [never avowedly as “Nazism”, of course].

  The Temple of Set emphasizes the potential of human individualism. Metapolitical concepts such

  as Nazism do strengthen the power of humans, but only through a degree of collectivization of the will

  in a political state system. Well-run states can maximize virtue and minimize vice, as in Plato’s ideal

  Republic. Poorly-run states can do just the opposite, suppressing or corrupting virtue, as in Orwell’s

  1984. Most contemporary political systems exist between these extremes. The Initiate/citizen must be

  sensitive to both the positive opportunities his society provides, and the repressive/destructive

  constraints it places on his freedom. Thus he may maximize the benefits of the former and avoid the

  damage of the latter.

  14A. The Mass Psychology of Fascism by Wilhelm Reich. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1970. [Deutschland: Die

  Massenpsychologie des Faschismus, Fischer Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt, 1974] (TOS-3) MA: “The controversial

  Reich examined both the Nazi and the communist elements of Germany, found them wanting, and was roundly

  denounced by them in return. This book exposes their use of mass movements and mob psychology as a sexual

  substitute, and their repression of ‘innocent’ sex as a deliberate political technique [compare #14E]. This

  manipulation of expression and repression is applied to other social phenomena as well - such as certain organized

  religious bodies. A lucid and hard-hitting study. A biographical profile of Reich is presented in #6N, Appendix 75 -

  ‘The Frankenstein Legacy’.”

  14B. The Occult and the Third Reich by Jean-Michel Angebert. NY: Macmillan, 1974. (TOS-3) (TRP-3) MA:

  “This book contains
sections on the Grail (both Christian and pagan), traditions concerning Atlantis and ancient

  initiatory societies, the theories of Nietzsche and Wagner, Nazi mysticism, and the Catharist tradition. Well

  footnoted. The almost fantastic subject material tends to make the author’s objectivity suspect, but on close

  examination his argument is grounded in responsible research. On the other hand Otto Rahn, the young German

  mystic whose theories are advanced in this book did not hold the alleged high rank in the SS, nor commit suicide

  because of politico/mystical reasons. He was an Unterscharführer (sergeant) who killed himself after being expelled

  from the SS because of his sexual preferences.”

  14C. The Grail Legend by Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz. NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1970.

  [Deutschland: Die Gralslegende in psychologischer Sicht, Olten-Verlag, Freiburg, 1987] (TOS-4) (TRP-1) MA:

  “Another book for the C.G. Jung Foundation for Analytical Psychology [see also #19K], this impressive study treats

  all major historical versions of the Grail legend, identifies their common features, and evaluates their significance.

  The definitive work on the Grail. See also #6N, Appendix 36 - ‘In Quest of the Unholy Grail’.”

  14D. The Spear of Destiny by Trevor Ravenscroft. NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1973. [Deutschland: Der Kelch des

  Schicksals, Sphinx Verlag, CH-Basel, 1987] (TOS-3) (TRP-3) MA: “The chief merit of this book lies in its profile of

  the metaphysical and occult-society concepts and movements that influenced pre-Nazi and Nazi Germany. Read

  critically but thoughtfully. Since it is heavily footnoted to Theosophical Society (Blavatsky) and Anthrosophical

  Society (Steiner) sources, this book cannot be considered factually reliable. [See also #14Y.]”

  14E. 1984 by George Orwell. NY: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1949. [Deutschland: Ullstein Taschenbuchverlag,

  Frankfurt, 1981] (TOS-3) MA: “Orwell’s classic portrait of a ‘negative utopia’, with many features adapted from Nazi

  Germany and Stalinist Russia - but also a satire of socialist trends in postwar Britain. Many features of Orwell’s

  imaginary society may be increasingly applied to actual ones today. The shape of things to come?”

  14F. Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943. [Deutschland: Verlag Franz Eher

  Nachf., München, um 1935] (TOS-5) (TRP-3) MA: “Everyone knows that this is ‘the most evil book ever written’*,

  but few have taken the time to actually read it, hence cannot really explain why. Further complicating the situation

  is Hitler’s interspersion of political philosophy (interesting) with emotional tirades (not so interesting). Look for the

  discussions concerning the selection of leaders, control of the masses, and the justification for human social

  organization. You may be surprised at what you discover. Keep in mind that this book was written not as a historical

  memoir, but rather as a propaganda device to lend an image of philosophical substance and coherence to the still-

  - 214 -

  fledgling and somewhat [due to Hitler’s incarceration in prison at the time of MK’s writing] disorganized Nazi Party.

  A far more revealing ‘Hitler Memoir’ is #14K. [* During the antiSatanism hysteria of the 1980s, the entire Temple of

  Set reading list was denounced by one major newspaper thus: ‘a reading list which includes MK’ (evidently to the

  unimportance of any other book on the entire list)!]”

  14G. Hitler: Legend, Myth, & Reality by Werner Maser. NY: Harper & Row, 1971. [Deutschland: Adolf Hitler:

  Legende, Mythos, Wirklichkeit, Bechtle-Verlag, München, 1982] (TOS-3) MA: “As time passes, biographical profiles

  of Hitler become increasingly more objective. This is probably the most useful one currently in print, which Colin

  Wilson calls ‘the most important document on Hitler so far published’. It is noteworthy for its focus on the man

  rather than on the political official [for the political official see #14H]. If you are going to take a look at Hitler’s own

  writings and statements (#14F/K/L), read this first for perspective.”

  14H. The War Path (NY: Viking, 1978) and Hitler’s War (2 volumes) (NY: Viking, 1977) by David Irving.

  (TOS-4) MA: “1933-39 ( WP) and 1939-45 ( HW) through Hitler’s eyes. An impressive work of research that will

  show you peacetime Nazi Germany and World War II as you’ve never seen them before. Sound scholarship,

  objective evaluation.”

  14I. The Bormann Brotherhood by William Stevenson. NY: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973. (TOS-3) MA:

  “Around VI-VII the pursuit of underground Nazi-survivalist organizations was all the rage, and there was a flurry of

  Bormannism, ODESSA films/novels, etc. This little book was sort of overwhelmed in the general stampede, but it

  didn’t deserve to be. A cold, clear, fact-packed study of the post-World War II survival of the original Nazi

  hierarchy.”

  14J. Three Faces of Fascism by Ernst Nolte. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963. [Deutschland:

  Faschimus: von Mussolini zu Hitler, Verlag Kurt Desch GmbH, München, 1968] (TOS-4) MA: “This is a political

  science text analyzing 20th-century fascist movements in France, Germany, and Italy. The observations concerning

  the metapolitical implications of the philosophy are among the most profound yet voiced. The analysis of the failure

  of the French movement is as instructive as that of the successes of the German and Italian movements. It is

  interesting to contrast Nolte’s assessment of fascism with Hitler’s [as set forth in #14F].”

  14K. Hitler’s Secret Conversations 1941-1944 by H.R. Trevor-Roper (Ed.). NY: Farrar, Straus and Young, 1953

  [simultaneously published in England as Hitler’s Table Talk by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London]. [Deutschland:

  Hitlers Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier, Picker, Goldmann Taschenbuch Nr. 11234, München, 1979

  (Englische Ausgabe Herausgeber Trevor-Roper)] (TOS-5) (TRP-3) MA: “Martin Bormann was sufficiently

  fascinated by Adolf Hitler’s private conversational comments on various topics that he persuaded Hitler to allow

  them to be stenographically recorded. After 1945 the transcriptions were found among Bormann’s private papers

  and were ultimately compiled and published by Professor Trevor-Roper (who also edited and published the final

  entries of Dr. Goebbels’ diaries). Hitler’s conversations cover an astonishingly broad spectrum of topics - organized

  religion, metaphysics, dogmatism, Voltaire, origins of the human race, æsthetics, Egyptian & Greek culture,

  Hoerbiger’s cosmology, genius, philosophy of law, superstition, mental diseases, etc. An impressive look into the

  mind of an individual whom the postwar world has been conditioned to dismiss as a crude, criminal, and

  unintrospective thug. Read, then judge for yourself.”

  14L. The Voice of Destruction by Hermann Rauschning. NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1940. [Deutschland:

  Gespräche mit Hitler, Europaverlag, CH-Zuerich, 1988] (TOS-5) (TRP-3) MA: “Rauschning was a regional party

  leader (Gauleiter) of the early Nazi Party who was a confidant of Hitler’s during 1932-34. At first so impressed with

  the Führer’s private statements that he took extensive and immediate notes, he later took fright and bolted to Paris.

  In 1937-38 he wrote a theoretical condemnation of Nazism entitled The Revolution of Nihilism: Warning to the

  West (NY: Alliance Book Corporation, 1939). It seemed so alarmist that few took it seriously - until World War II

  broke out. Then Rauschning was able to publish these transcripts and analyses of Hitler’s conversations. Topics

&
nbsp; include: Aristocracy, Antichrist, barbarism, ethics of war, a new social order, the Human Solstice, Black & White

  Magic, and the mystical elements in Obersalzburg. Most of the material for Nazi occultism alluded to in #4B came

  from this book. It was regarded as so ‘weird’ as to be spurious until after the war, when the #14K material came to

  light and substantiated it.”

  14M. Hitler’s Secret Sciences by Nigel Pennick. Suffolk: Neville Spearman, 1981. (TOS-4) (TRP-1) MA: “The

  esoteric section of the German Nazi SS was not the Sicherheitsdienst [as alleged in #6L] but the Deutsche

  Ahnenerbe (German Ancestral Heritage Organization). Most histories of the SS concern themselves with the better-

  known organizations and activities of the Black Order, mentioning the Ahnenerbe only in passing. This is one of the

  first books to discuss it in any detail. Again there is a lot of #14B/C/D material, but it is all relevant and coherently

  organized. This is a concise (177 pages), fact-packed book bolstered by a strong bibliography of rare and unusual

  publications and periodicals. If you are seriously interested in the Ahnenerbe, and are fluent in highly-technical

  German, see Kater, Michael H., Das ‘Ahnenerbe’ der SS 1935-1945: ein Betrag zur Kulturpolitik des Dritten Reiches

  - 215 -

  (Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1974). [The complete archæological, magical, and administrative records of the

  Ahnenerbe are contained on microfilm rolls #120-211, Microcopy T-580 (10-135-4) in the National Archives

  Building of the United States, Washington, D.C. These papers have never been sorted, indexed, and annotated in

  detail, but the Order of the Trapezoid has compiled a working index with brief annotations pending a more

  thorough study. Initiates of the Order who may be traveling to Washington and wish to examine that microfilm are

  invited to contact the Temple office for a copy of the index.] [See also #5H.]”

  14N. The Passing of the Great Race by Madison Grant. NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1916. [Deutschland: WU:

  8*-913] (TOS-5) MA: “You can still find #14F in print, because it’s a good whipping-boy for sanctimonous finger-

 

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