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From: craigh@gladstone.uoregon.edu (Craig Lee Hunt)
Newsgroups: alt.satanism
Subject: ToS Questions
Date: 21 Nov 1994 13:29:10 -0800
Organization: University of Oregon
Lines: 69
Message-ID: <3ar3f6$gua@gladstone.uoregon.edu>
NNTP-Posting-Host: gladstone.uoregon.edu

I tried to return your message through E-mail, but for some reason it was 
not accepted.  I have altered your name to protect your privacy and 
posted it here.  Besides, you ask good questions, maybe someone else 
would be interested.

On Mon, 21 Nov 1994, Mr. Scratch wrote:

> On Mon, 21 Nov 1994, J.J. wrote:
> 
> > Your article in a.s. aroused my intrest. 
> > What do you exctly mean by magick? I know this may sound intrusive but I
> > really would like to know. As an atheist myself I find it difficult to
> > believe in magick of any kind. 
> 
> It has been my experience that magic is largely a matter of perception.
> Magic (to paraphrase Crowley) is to enact ones Will upon the universe.  
> There are as many different forms as there are ways of doing this.  I 
> have often had people point out that driving to the store is an act of 
> imposing ones will upon the universe, and indeed, I find an element of 
> magic in even something this "mundane"!  As we in the Temple believe that 
> intelligence has a supra-natural root, the devices we build (such as 
> cars, stores, monetary systems used in them, language systems used to 
> communicate needs, etc.) are what we would call "`Lesser Magic"  (using 
> obscure natural or behavioral laws to enact a desired change).  When you 
> strip away the concept of "Mundane Technology", one can even see magic in 
> what we are doing right now.  We have shaped our natural resources to 
> enable us to do something nature would never allow us to do in its normal 
> state: communicate almost instantly, even though we are on opposite sides 
> of the planet.  As for Greater Black Magic--this is a (somewhat) 
> different category, that allows one to create a change in ones 
> "subjective universe" and to transfer that change to the greater 
> "objective universe" by a sheer act of willpower.  For me, it first began 
> by recognizing the patterns my subconscious Will worked around me.  Then 
> it was a matter of becoming aware of my subconscious impulses, and shaping 
> them (when possible) to conform to my conscious Self.  This allows me 
> some control over the way these patterns develop.  As Anton LeVey once 
> said, "magic can be having a parking space open up when you need it."  It 
> sounds deceptively simple, but I can assure you, it is not.  Can one be an 
> atheist and a magician?  I believe it is possible to varying degrees.  
> Atheism is just another religion--one centered around disbelief.  There 
> are benefits (a healthy dose of skepticism should be present in any 
> accomplished magician) and there are disadvantages (one refuses to see 
> the magnificence of the human spirit).  It all depends on what kind of 
> balance the subject strikes.  Personally, I am something of an agnostic.  
> I believe it when I see (or experience) it.
> 
> > Does it concern herbs, drugs and the like used to have *real fun* or is it
> > supernatural in essence? 
> 
> In my opinion the most powerful kinds of magic do not rely on the 
> alteration of the  magicians brain.  A magician who can enact his Will 
> without the use of  chemicals is indeed an accomplished one.> 
> 
> > Why choose Set?
> 
> As an Atheist, you probably won't understand this, just chalk it up to 
> delusion.  No matter, Ill tell you honestly.  I didn't choose Set: He 
> (it?) chose me.
> 
> 
>  How old is the ToS? > > -JJ
> > 
> The ToS was established in 1975.  We consider the formative years of the 
> CoS to also be a part of Aeon, so we include it in our date: Year 29 of 
> the Aeon of Set.
> >
> 
>