Izabael Muses: Ramblings of a Renegade Djinn

Shakti Dancing

Izabael's Top 25 Mae West Quotes

 

25.  I've been in more laps than a napkin.

24.  I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.

23.  It is better to be looked over than overlooked.

22.  It's not what I do, but the way I do it. It's not what I say, but the way I say it.

21.  Keep a diary, and someday it'll keep you.

20.  Love isn't an emotion or an instinct - it's an art.

19.  Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.

18.  One and one is two, and two and two is four, and five will get you ten if you know how to work it.

17.  A man can be short and dumpy and getting bald but if he has fire, women will like him.

16.  A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars, that's subtraction.

15.  A man's kiss is his signature.

14.  A woman in love can't be reasonable - or she probably wouldn't be in love.

13.  All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.

12.  Cultivate your curves - they may be dangerous but they won't be avoided.

11.  Personally, I like two types of men - domestic and foreign.

10.  She's the kind of girl who climbed the ladder of success wrong by wrong.

9.  Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home, I'm tired.

8.  Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.

7.  I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.

6.  To err is human, but it feels divine.

5.  Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.

4.  When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before.

3.  When I'm good I'm very, very good, but when I'm bad, I'm better.

2.  Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.

1.  You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

 

xoxo,

Iza

"I don't believe in God...or magick...or mumbo jumbo."

"How can you believe in magick/God/spirituality?  Are you so naive?"

This is sort of question I do get now and then, and I'd like to address it directly.

Rational minded folks, often intelligent and scientific-minded persons, seem fond of being "agnostic" or "atheist" these days.  I can't blame them.  They probably polarize off the religious right who is always going on and on about how Creationism should be taught in school.  That pisses them off and rightly so.  So let's make this clear.  I believe in the foundations of science. I also believe in evolution.  I also believe in "God" and I also believe in "magick."

For me, magick is attempting to harness and master the power of the subconscious mind.  "God" is a principle of universal oneness--that all energy in the universe is ultimately one.

Though I'm a fan of the physical sciences, modern psychology is a joke to me.  They seem about 1000 years behind what was being taught in ancient Greece!  I find Hermeticism, which found its roots in Plato, and picked up steam over the years with insights from Persia, China, and India, to be a lot more useful in understanding who I am and how to make my life a better and more enjoyable place to live.  Hermeticism has found modern outlets with the Golden Dawn, and later Thelema. 

But don't these types of philosophies talk about demons, angels, magick, spells, gods and the sort?  How can that stuff be scientific?

It's not scientific the same way Geology is.  We are dealing with the mind, emotions, and our connection to things that cannot be tested or measured with scientific instruments.  Rituals, symbols, and all the trappings of magick are effective ways of staging a drama for the subconscious mind so that it can better lead us to our desires. 

Our subconscious mind contains many strange and wonderful things--some things which function as angels, or demons, for example.  They can be tapped into and utilized.  I do not say they have an external reality necessarily--only that from the human psyche's point of view they have validity and can lead to change in a person's behavior--and therefore lead to results on the material plane. 

Modern science, for all its wonderful achievements, is not particularly suited to understanding and utilizing the subconscious mind.  Science balks at ideas of universal oneness (unless its purely theoretical as in quantum mechanics), scorns concepts such as "spirit" and "soul," and doesn't seem particularly interested in making people happy or harmonious.  In fact, the most notable achievement of science in the last 100 years is the nuclear bomb.  Science alone is failing our world. 

Magick is not afraid to tackle difficult concepts such as God.   Magicians attempt to bring methodology and rationality to discussions of divinity.  Nor is magick afraid to ask for joy on Earth--a magician has no need for concepts such as heaven or hell.  We are primarily concerned with our own planet and how we can make it better for ourselves and those around us.

The great thinkers of old times were not agnostic or atheist.  They were persons of God and science at the same time.  I simply strive to be the same. 

 

xoxo,

Izabael DaJinn

Izabael's Introduction to the Book of the Law

In the last blog, I introduced Thelema, and in this blog I'm going to introduce the Book of the Law itself.

 

The Book of the Law (also known as Liber AL) is the only book a Thelemite needs.  Even the other "holy books of Thelema," divinely inspired by Crowley, are not necessary or even desirable. 

The sublimity of the Book of the Law is in its simplicity.  Whereas other philosophies and religions usually need at least one gigantic book (if not many!), Thelema is content with one short book divided into three small chapters.

The origins of the Book of the Law are fascinating, as they began with Crowley and his wife doing some magick in an Egyptian pyramid, but they are not pertinent.  Whether Liber AL was written, or "transcribed" from Crowley's "higher self," is neither here nor there.  The Book of the Law holds up on its own as a spiritual and philosophical gem.  There is nothing quite like it.

The Book of the Law is a "bible" in the sense it gives us a cosmology of the universe and practical philosophy for being happy in the world.  However, there is no heaven or hell in Thelema--only those which we create for ourselves on Earth. 

 

So how does one approach this book for the first time?  Is it poetry?  Is it symbolic?  Is it literal?

I admit I found Liber AL confusing the first few times I read it.  I think that's normal as its writing style is peculiar.  The Book of the Law is written in a fashion where every word, punctuation mark, and odd spelling make a difference.  The book is layered with meanings, some obvious, some subtle.  In many ways it's MEANT to frustrate the conscious ego-mind, so that our true essence can shine through.  In case, I didn't make it clear enough in my last blog:  The obsessive and chronic noise of the ego-mind is what blinds us to the true nature of the universe and hides its infinite joy from us.  The Book of the Law's very writing style helps combat this tendency of the ego-mind to take control and make everything about itself.

 

To begin, you should know that the Book of the Law is broken up into three chapters, each with a different speaker.

The first chapter is spoken by Nuit.

The second chapter is spoken by Hadit.

The third chapter is spoken by the child of Nuit and Hadit.  His name is Ra-Hoor-Khuit.

 

These are all Egyptian names, and I will explain each one in turn.  They are generally meant to be taken symbolically, though the odd thing is if you want to work with them as literal "gods" they will very much come alive for you.   Sometimes I think of Nuit as a real goddess whose ethereal presence becomes almost tangible--and at other times I think of her as only a symbol for all the infinite possibilities around me.  There is no contradiction here.  Different sorts of perceptions gives different truths on different levels.  It's only small and limited minds who can't hold contrary ideas in ones head at the same time and ACCEPT both as truth, each in their own fashion.

 

NUIT-  Nuit (Sometimes call Nu, Nuith, Nut, etc.) is described sometimes as a vast circle whose circumference has no bounds, and sometimes as the starry night sky personified.  Her Egyptian representation usually shows her as a nude woman with a body of stars arched across the heavens.

 

 

HADIT-  Hadit, who traditionally is a red globe with wings in Egyptian mythology, is also various descried as a single "point" and also as a "snake."  The simplest way is to think of Hadit is as our "soul" deep within our body somewhere as a latent possibility.  Through our bodies and our actions he manifests  his true nature.

 

 

RA-HOOR-KHUIT-  He is half Hawk (head) and half man (body).  To put it simply, he symbolizes us as humans.  Hadit is the spark within.   Nuit is the infinite space without us.  We ourselves our their child.  We are Ra-Hoor-Khuit.  We are the conjunction between the infinitely small, Hadit, and the infinitely large, Nuit.  This conjunction is fiery, active, and even occasionally warlike, hence the martial quality of the third part of the Book of the Law.

 

 

 

The Book of Law doesn't need to be read in order.  I suggest jumping around and focusing on passages that catch your eye.  Some parts are much easier to understand than others.  Let the Book of the Law speak to you at your own level.

 

I'll give some of my favorite quotes from each chapter:

 

Chapter I, Nuit speaking:

"Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love!  I am above you and in you. My ecstasy is in yours. My joy is to see your joy." --I.12-13

"Now, therefore, I am known to ye by my name Nuit, and to him by a secret name which I will give him when at last he knoweth me. Since I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt." --I.22

 

Chapter II, Hadit speaking:

"I am the Snake that giveth Knowledge & Delight and bright glory, and stir the hearts of men with drunkenness. To worship me take wine and strange drugs whereof I will tell my prophet, & be drunk thereof! They shall not harm ye at all. It is a lie, this folly against self. The exposure of innocence is a lie. Be strong, o man! lust, enjoy all things of sense and rapture: fear not that any God shall deny thee for this." --II. 22

"I am the secret Serpent coiled about to spring: in my coiling there is joy. If I lift up my head, I and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom, then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one." --II.26

 

Chapter III, Ra-Hoor-Khuit speaking:

"Fear not at all; fear neither men nor Fates, nor gods, nor anything. Money fear not, nor laughter of the folk folly, nor any other power in heaven or upon the earth or under the earth. Nu is your refuge as Hadit your light; and I am the strength, force, vigour, of your arms." --III.17

"...I will bring you to victory & joy: I will be at your arms in battle & ye shall delight to slay. Success is your proof; courage is your armour; go on, go on, in my strength; & ye shall turn not back for any!" --III.46

 

 

This image will help tie the three speakers together:

 

"My number is 11, as all their numbers who are of us. The Five Pointed Star, with a Circle in the Middle, & the circle is Red." --I.60

 

What does it mean?

 

Hadit is the red dot. 

"I am the flame that burns in every heart of man, and in the core of every star." --II.6

 

Hadit is always the center, and Nuit is always the circumference.  As he himself says in Chapter 2:

"In the sphere I am everywhere the centre, as she, the circumference, is nowhere found." --II.3

 

Therefore the outside circle, which is dotted to show it is without limit, is Nuit.  She is the infinite possibilities, the blank canvas on which Hadit is to create his desire, i.e. express his true nature in a manifested form. 

Hadit is everywhere the center because he burns inside of every man and woman.   Nuit is everywhere without us.  Hadit is unique inside of every human, but we are all a part of each other's Nuit because we are external to each other.  Never forget that YOU ARE COMPLETE IN AND OF YOURSELF.  (If you are chasing external things to make yourself feel good, you've already made a crucial mistake.  Studying Liber AL can help you rectify this.)

 

The pentagram symbolizes Ra-Hoor-Khuit, their child. 

 

"Every man and every woman is a star." --I.3

In magick and Hermeticism, "5" has long been considered the number of man. (Why?  Stand with your legs apart and arms straight out to your side and you are in the shape of pentagram--also because of the five elements [fire, water, air, earth, spirit], and five digits on each limb, etc.

 

Ra-Hoor-Khuit is the conjunction, i.e. child, of Nuit and Hadit.  He symbolizes us as humans, for our consciousness is the spark of divinity, the bliss of impact between Hadit and Nuit.

Within us is Hadit.  Without is Nuit.  We ourselves are Ra-Hoor-Khuit--at least when we are at our best.  The main point of the Book of the Law is help us refine our natures until we are glorious burning stars of joy and radiance.

 

Though distinctly three, the three are also one, and together form a complete a system:

"Thrill with the joy of life & death! Ah! thy death shall be lovely: whoso seeth it shall be glad. Thy death shall be the seal of the promise of our age long love. Come! lift up thine heart & rejoice! We are one; we are none."-- II.66

 

So why all the poetry and symbolism to describe the universe?  The Book of the Law creates a vivid understanding of the natural flow of the universe.  It does so in such a way that a more straightforward description of the universe would not.  Also it appeals to a higher functioning thought process than the purely rational.  It is written in a language that is meant to resonant on a deeper level than what we are normally accustomed to.

 

Now I leave you with one more favorite passage (from Chapter 1) to interpret on your own:

 

26. Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my body.

27. Then the priest answered & said unto the Queen of Space, kissing her lovely brows, and the dew of her light bathing his whole body in a sweet-smelling perfume of sweat: O Nuit, continuous one of Heaven, let it be ever thus; that men speak not of Thee as One but as None; and let them speak not of thee at all, since thou art continuous!

28. None, breathed the light, faint & faery, of the stars, and two.

29. For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union.

30. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all.

 

xoxo,

Izabael

What is Thelema?

Thelema, means "Will" in Greek, and is a philosophy based on the The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley.

 

The Book of the Law (Liber AL) is small, poetic, and symbolic book on the nature of the universe and our place in it. 

 

"Every man and every woman is a star," the Book of the Law proclaims--that is to say, every man and every woman is complete and whole unto themselves.  We all have the divine spark.  We are all of us the center of our own universe, and need not be subservient or dependent upon anyone or anything external to us.  A Thelemite is someone who adheres to this philosophy.

 

As a Thelemite, I'm regularly confronted with misconceptions about it--if indeed anyone has heard of it as all.  Aleister Crowley's notorious reputation doesn't help matters either.  So in simple language let me tell you guys what Thelema means to me:

 

First of all some things Thelema is NOT:

 

1.  Thelema is NOT hedonism.

2.  Thelema is NOT magick.

3.  Thelema is NOT about deifying Crowley.

4.  Thelema is NOT complicated.

 

Thelema IS:

 

1.  Thelema is freedom.

2.  Thelema is personal responsibility.

3.  Thelema is often tied to high magick by tradition, but its principles are for everyone.

4.  Thelemites do enjoy things of sense and pleasure upon the earth, but all our joys are dedicated to something higher than ourselves and our ego-mind.

5.  Thelemites are congruent and without hypocrisy.  They find divine presence in the low and lofty things of the Earth without distinction, therefore there is no need to hide our material-plane passions--they become our driving force towards finding divinity in everything, all the time.

 

"DO WHAT THOU WILT" is the most famous phrase from the Book of the Law.  This phrase is also the most misunderstood. 

 

"Do What Thou Wilt" is not a call to hedonism, but a call to personal responsibility.  The words are chosen carefully as the Book of the Law does not say "do what you want," but instead "do what thou wilt."

 

Do what you WILL--not what you "want."

 

What you "Will" is deeper than superficial wants.  Your "True Will" is something at the core of your being, far deeper than your ego-mind with all it's petty delusions and desires.  The ego-mind is that part of you that's incessantly rambling in your head about "I need this" or "I want that."   The ego-mind is that which goes around in circles, "Should I do this? Should I do that?" 

 

The Will, however, goes deeper than words or emotions.  Our Will is the very essence of who are.  Our Will is what cuts through the circle of mental masturbation and has us take action.   Action is the very essence of Thelema. 

 

To take "right action" with as little time spent in my head as possible, defines me as a Thelemite.

 

That doesn't meant you can't plan, but doing your True Will can only be done at one specific point in time:  RIGHT NOW.  Your focus throughout life must be in the present moment.  In every moment lies the ability to do your True Will, to take action that is not only right for that moment, but attunes you to your proper orbit in the world, and helps ensure all your future actions are for the best as well.

 

And remember, Thelema isn't about a promised land after you die.  Following your True Will leads to joy and pleasure right now, in this world, here on Earth. 

 

Understanding your True Will takes time, and the Book of the Law, though sometimes seemingly confusing with it's non-typical use of language, helps break through the ego-mind--leaving little cracks where the sun of the True Will starts to shine through. 

 

Next blog, I will give an introduction to the Book of the Law, and how to approach reading it for the first time.   Until then, there are full copies of it all over the web including this one if you want to check it out now.

 

xoxoxo,

Izabael

Hug Therapy

 

"We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth."
—Virginia Satir, family therapist (http://eqi.org/ht.htm#Introductory Words from Kathleen Keating)

 

There is some information available on the therapeutic effects of hugs online, though not as much as one might hope for.  (Where's the money in researching hugs, right?  Can't patent it!)

"A team from the University of North Carolina studied the effects of hugging on both partners in 38 couples. The study showed hugs increased levels of oxytocin, a "bonding" hormone, and reduced blood pressure - which cuts the risk of heart disease." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4131508.stm)

 

Oxytocin is the feel good hormone released by hugs.

 

"Research in America found that one 20-second hug a day makes a big difference between how happy and relaxed we are. Which is why people in a healthy relationship are happier and feel less stressed." ( http://www.easier.com/view/Lifestyle/Relationships/Features/article-91375.html)

So why don't we hear more about hugging when it comes time to go to the doctor?  Well, my guess it's because you can't put a hug in a bottle and sell it over the counter of a pharmacy.

Also American's especially seem to have an innate aversion to anything that might fall under the category of "love" or a the very least "non-violent."  It's so much easier to continue the path of violence (even if it's all internalized through TV programs and video games), than step out of one's shell to hug someone.  American's love sex too so long as it's porn and there is no contact involved.  I mean really. How many people do you know that hug regularly, with openness, and with real caring "oomph" behind the action? 

More hugs will transform the world, but are you guys man enough to do it?  Or are you going to continue to retreat into the world of your own head?  Come out...touch the world.  Touch someone you care about.  Dare to be loving.  The weak are those who give into fear, solitude and think they are too good for hugs!

 

 

Your loving hug-bunny,

Izabael DaJinn

 

p.s. Hugging photos by Xiao Lei ("Thunderlittle")

You know there is a green fairy in absinthe but did you know there is a pink genie inside your bong?

What have I been up to?

I haven't been writing much lately as far as blogs, so to break the ice I'm just going to talk about some random things on my mind. 

 

Regarding more "magickal" blog topics:  I'm helping pAmphAge write a small but comprehensive how-to manual on magick (with no "bullshit" allowed).  This has been sucking out my "magickal" writing efforts, but there should be a lot more going on magickally here towards the end of the year as the book nears completion.

Regarding the new Eminem album Relapse:  This is a guilty pleasure.  I'm trying to get it out of my system now so I'm not still listening to it all year with everyone else.  Also, how many dumb celebrities are going to take the bait and get mad at Eminem for the things he says?  Eminem is the motley fool jester of mainstream media.  To get mad at him only makes one look even more foolish (and helps Eminem sell more albums of course!)

Regarding EverQuest:  As some of you know I play fantasy MMOs when I have a chance.  I've been playing since I was a wee tot.  I've played Asheron's Call 1&2, Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Star Wars Galaxies, Everquest 2,  Warhammer Online, Lineage II (where I was a GM for a short while), and of course World of Warcraft.  I can say that after all these years, EverQuest is still my favorite!  If you like any of these games, I seductively suggest you check out the game without which there wouldn't even be a World of Warcraft.  EverQuest is 10 years old and the world is huge now!  Plenty to see and do!  I love it.  If anyone wants to know my EverQuest character names and server, you can email me privately and I might let you know :)

Regarding the new Star Trek movie:  Good casting! I rarely get to say this about a movie nowadays.  But finally...good casting!

 

Guess that's it for now!

 

Kisses & bites,

Izabael

Shooting my girlfriend Kitty M.

 

  

My 420 blondalicious friend Hill Arious ...

Bukowski as Hierophant

 

The Hierophant (Trump V. in the tarot) is about expressing deep spiritual truths and teaching them to others.  The card also carries the subtext of expressing the sexual desires of the Hierophant himself (Taurus is ruled by Venus after all.) 

 

And then we have Charles Bukowski, whose genius by now I hope needs no espousing, who fits right in there, the man of our time.

 

 

If Crowley is the Magus of the new Aeon, then I dub Charles Bukowski its Hierophant.

 

 

kisses & bites,

Izabael

Artist: Natalia Fabia

 

Mermaids on Vacation

 

 

 

 

 

WTF? We can blame David Lynch for Miley Cyrus?

Quoting Billy Ray Cyrus:  During filming, David Lynch pulled me to the side and said, "I don't have any reason to blow smoke up your butt, but I just want to tell you the truth -- I think you could be a serious actor." And I said, "Really? I've never done this before." He said, "A director is looking for someone who is real, and you're very real. I love the way you're playing these scenes. If you just continue to be real, you can do anything you want to do as an actor." With that note of embracement from David Lynch, I then went on to read a script called Doc, and Doc was about hope and faith and love, a very positive show on Pax TV. I went and auditioned for Dr. Clint Cassidy and they hired me, and four years, 88 episodes later, I was a full-time actor.

You look back on it and without David Lynch, Miley wouldn't be Hannah Montana. Without Toronto, Canada, and the fact that I did that first series...that's when Miley fell in love with acting. She started taking a role on Doc -- she became this little girl named Kylie in a recurring role -- and I took her to see Mamma Mia! on the stage in Toronto. Toronto really embraced the arts and acting; at the time, it wasn't so much like that in Nashville, they didn't have acting classes. She was able to surround herself with some great coaches and some great thespians from the moment she said she was going to become a great actress. That was the turning point, when she said that's what I'm going to do. She applied herself to become an actress. So without Lynch, that wouldn't have happened. (full article)

 

That pretty much wipes out all the good Karma that Lynch garnered through his movies!

Artist: Melissa Haslam

Izabael's Top 20 Stoner Movies

 

Criteria:  Movie must have at least one actual use of marijuana by a human.  This disqualifies a lot of borderline movies such as Dude, Where's My Car?  and Eurotrip (Where they only eat fake pot brownies...even while in Amsterdam--WTF?). 

The ratings are based on my own peculiar balancing of weighing the overall quality of the movie with how much it is truly a stoner movie.

 

20.  Still Smokin' (1983)

I'm not going to apologize.  As far as I'm concerned, stoner movies start and stop at Cheech & Chong; that's why you will find them at the beginning, end, and middle of my list.  This is the one where they go to Amsterdam.

 

 

19.  Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

Why so low on the list for fear and loathing?  It's more of an all out chaos and full-on drug movie rather than just a stoner a movie.  But it needs to be on the list somewhere so here it is.

/

 

 

18.  American Beauty (1999)

Carolyn Burnham: "Well, I see you're smoking pot now. I think using psychotropic drugs is a very positive example to set for our daughter. "
Lester Burnham: "You're one to talk, you bloodless, money-grubbing freak."

 

 

17.  True Romance (1993)

Brad Pitt's small but brilliantly understated performance assures this movie a place on my list.

 

 

16.  Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

This movie is borderline retarded sometimes, but overall a fun, little stoner romp.

 

 

15.  Lords of Dogtown (2005)

This barely qualifies to be on the list since the main characters have nothing to do with pot.  It's only seen being used by the surfers near the beginning of the movie.  Still, the movie is one of my favorites and the spirit of the movie is liberating in a way that any stoner should enjoy.

 

 

14.  Nice Dreams (1981)

This Cheech & Chong film has Timothy Leary and Pee-Wee Herman. What more do you want?

 

 

13.  River's Edge (1986)

Stoner movies aren't always comedies.  This is the darkest movie on my list but I feel it deserves a place in the top twenty since it's a great flick and the use of marijuana is integral to the story in a variety of ways.  Crispin Glover is a standout.

 

 

12. Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)

I know I don't have to convert the Jack Black fans, but for stoners who haven't yet given this film a try, let me just give away a little spoiler: They make a bong out of Satan's horn.  How fucking cool is that?

 

 

11.  Easy Money (1983) 

True, most of the pot references are in the first 15 minutes of the movie since Rodney Dangerfield has to quit all his vices for a year to gain his $10 million inheritance.  Joe Pesci and Dangerfield have awesome chemistry and make this film an underrated classic.

 

 

10.  Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

This movie is mother fuckin' awesome.

 

 

9.  Clueless (1995)

Showing that hot, platform-wearing high school girls can smoke pot too--at least on weekends. 

Link to video with the pot-smoking part (since embedding is disabled.)

 

 

8.  Knocked-up (2007)

A Judd Apataw (TM) movie.   You know what to expect from Judd Apataw by now, right? 

 

 

7.  Pineapple Express (2008)

First movie named after an (albeit fictional) strain of weed--priceless.  Some of the action sequences towards the end of the movie don't really work for me, but still a funny movie.

 

 

6.  Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)

Though not quite as genius as Up in Smoke, it's still one of the finest examples of how to make a stoner movie.  The only annoying thing for me is that Cheech Marin doesn't play Cheech the whole movie--he's also the character "Dwayne 'Red' Mendoza."  There is no reason he couldn't have just been Cheech the entire film.

 

 

5.  Dazed and Confused (1993)

Richard Linklater presents the last day of high school for a group of kids in 1976--good times for all.

 

 

4. Friday (1995)

"I know you don't smoke weed, I know this; but I'm gonna get you high today, 'cause it's Friday; you ain't got no job... and you ain't got shit to do."

Every day should be Friday.  Seriously.

 

 

3.  Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

This movie rounds out the top 3 mainly due to Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli.  Jeff Spicoli is the original surfer/stoner, and has become the archetype for white stoners in movies ever since.

 

 

2.  The Big Lebowski (1998)

"I have not invented a 'new style,' composite, modified or otherwise that is set within distinct form as apart from "this" method or "that" method. On the contrary, I hope to free my followers from clinging to styles, patterns, or molds. Remember that Being-the-Dude is merely a name used, a mirror in which to see "ourselves". . . Being-the-Dude is not an organized institution that one can be a member of. Either you understand or you don't, and that is that. There is no mystery about my style. My movements are simple, direct and non-classical. The extraordinary part of it lies in its simplicity. Every movement in Being-the-Dude is being so of itself. There is nothing artificial about it. I always believe that the easy way is the right way. Being-the-Dude is simply the direct expression of one's feelings with the minimum of movements and energy. The closer to the true way of Being-the-Dude, the less wastage of expression there is. Finally, a Being-the-Dude man who says Being-the-Dude is exclusively Being-the-Dude is simply not with it. He is still hung up on his self-closing resistance, in this case anchored down to reactionary pattern, and naturally is still bound by another modified pattern and can move within its limits. He has not digested the simple fact that truth exists outside all molds; pattern and awareness is never exclusive. Again let me remind you Being-the-Dude is just a name used, a boat to get one across, and once across it is to be discarded and not to be carried on one's back."

(This is actually a Bruce Lee quote--except he uses "Jeet Kune Do" instead of "Being-the-Dude" but otherwise it is identical.  See original here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeet_Kune_Do.)

 

 

 

1.  Up in Smoke (1978)

The is the first and the best.  Classic through and through.   (As a side note, the director, Lou Adler, was also a producer of the Monterey Pop Festival; the first American performance of the Jimi Hendrix Experience was among the many highlights.)

 

 

Honorable mentions:  Clerks, How High, Grandma's Boy, Rolling Kansas, Happy Face, and Scooby Doo (this live action film has endless hints that it's a stoner movie, but is brilliantly masked as a "family movie.")

 

Peace out; I got weed to see and people to smoke.

xoxoxo,

Izabael

 

Technorati Tags: stoner, stoner movies, stoner films, weed, pot, marijuanna, mary jane, reefer, cannibis, michuacan, top 20, top 20 stoner movies, top 20 stoner films

Chocolate Bath

nuit girls

 

     

LIBER AL: Book of the Law, proper arrangement of the manuscript sheets at last

This is a guest post by pAmphAge:

 

There are many unsolved mysteries regarding the Book of the Law, even to this day.  One of them I quote from near the end of Part III:

 

73. Paste the sheets from right to left and from top to bottom: then behold!

74. There is a splendour in my name hidden and glorious, as the sun of midnight is ever the son.

75. The ending of the words is the Word Abrahadabra.

 

This is clearly referring to the actual handwritten manuscript sheets of Liber AL.  Until now, I have never seen a satisfactory arrangement suggested before.

 

The real trick to figuring this out is including the title page for the Book of the Law along with the 65 pages of the actual manuscript.  This gives 66 pages.  Most versions of Liber AL are published WITHOUT this title page.  But it is genuine.  You can find all the holographic pages of the original manuscript here. 

 

So knowing that there is another page helps us immensely.  You put the title page, which is naturally page "0" at the very top.  From there you simply follow the instructions, adding one more page at each level.  At the end of that you end up with a perfect triangle 11 pages tall, and 11 pages wide at the base. 

 

Can you say Abrahadabra?

 

 

 

I color coded the 3 sections of the Book of the Law for convenience sake, but these pages are clearly too small to read.  They just give you an overview of how to layout your own pages.

 

Some other correspondences I've noticed: 

 

1)  It's a triangle, which suggests a pyramid (with very little imagination). Not only a well-known magickal symbol, but Crowley dictated the Book of the Law in Cairo, Egypt (soon after performing rites in the Pyramid of Cheops itself.)

2)  The Fool at the top of it all. Very much in the style of the rest of Liber AL.  Also look at Crowley's silly drawings--are they not foolish, indeed? 

3)  The ("scratched line") page 60 (III.16) is in the exact bottom center where a door would naturally be (use your imagination again).  So two "keys" are given on this secret door.

4) The right side of the triangle according the page numbers adds to 88, which could be the "splendour" of his name.  Splendour is of course Hod, which is Mercury, that is to say the 8th Sephiroth.

5) When you add the pages on the right side of the triangle but only down part way to the end of part one, i.e. the purple section in the photo, it adds to 56 (i.e.  Nuit.)  Why do that?  Because the "scratched line page", i.e. page III. 16, follows the same shape and only goes down seven lines just like Part I goes down seven layers of the triangle.

6) If you bring the "scratched line page" up to the title page, you find the line is the same angle as the right side of the triangle.  Also consider the bottom 11 pages of the base correspond to the word ABRAHADABRA.  The "line scratched page" corresponds to the letter "A."  So where is the "A" in "Liber AL" on the title page?  It is missing because at the time Crowley still didn't know how to properly name and number his book, therefore this change moves the the letter "A" up to where it is most needed.  [A=1=Tarot Trump 0: The Fool.]  Also there is this reason.

7)  The Eye of the Triangle (i.e. the very center two pages) spells "RA" (who is of course speaking the very passage we are referring to) if you follow the traditional arrangement for the original and ancient word "Abracadabra."

 

The first known record of this version of the triangle dates to around 200 AD.

Here is a right side up version with the correct Thelemic spelling:

 

 

I'm just beginning to scratch the surface with this arrangement so there will most likely be more to add as time goes on.  I hope others are able to build upon what I can come up with here.

 

Peace out,

pAmphAge

 

 

p.s.  I  discovered this during the Thelemic year 104 (i.e 104 years since the inception of Liber AL).   When you follow step 6 above, the right hand side of the triangle, now clearly suggested by the scratch now at the top, also adds to 104.

p.p.s.  Hail Nuit.

 

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How can I find you everywhere, Nuit?

 

How can I find you not just in a stolen kiss...but in the crushing drones of the broken heart as well? 

Show me, my starry distant yearning goddess, where in my secret dark debauch I should find transcendence.

Teach me, Nuit, to enjoy the sense of death and rapture in Ra-Hoor-Khuit's punishing embrace. 

Incinerate my brain with brightness. 

Shine upon the way and I will walk it. 

Open the window and I shall crawl through. Heh?  you ask. 

I say no, nay, nein, nunca máis. 

Never again? 

Shall I doubt thee.  

Punish me with the searing joy-spokes of your stooping starlight. 

Burn away my dross. 

Enlighten me, and I shall burn for the world to marvel at.

 

 

...

The Moon loves thee not

 

We train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won't allow them to write "fuck" on their airplanes because it's obscene!

 

"(Reuters) - Prince Harry apologised on Saturday after a newspaper website published video footage showing him calling an Asian army colleague a "Paki," but he said he had used the term without malice."

http://uk.reuters.com/article/UKNews1/idUKTRE50A1JT20090111

 

The postmodern world has no sense of proportion.

 

xoxo,

Izabael

 

p.s. the title of this post is from Apocalypse Now.

My duty...wasted and scorned

"Now ye shall know that the chosen priest & apostle of infinite space is the prince-priest the Beast; and in his woman called the Scarlet Woman is all power given. They shall gather my children into their fold: they shall bring the glory of the stars into the hearts of men."

 

I am cursed by my one and only true Master, the Magus pAmphAge, forever, until I completely submit to do the Will I have sworn to do.  I sold my soul to a demon, took upon her powers, and I now I squander them in hedonistic waste and squalor.  I have turned my back on Magick and on Love, and so shall my weapons turn against me, and all my spells shall backfire or turn to naught.  And as a Babalon, RA-HOOR-KHUIT shall cast me out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot I shall crawl through dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered.

So Mote It Be.

Izabael

Izabael's New Year's Resolution

 

43. Let the Scarlet Woman beware! If pity and compassion and tenderness visit her heart; if she leave my work to toy with old sweetnesses; then shall my vengeance be known. I will slay me her child: I will alienate her heart: I will cast her out from men: as a shrinking and despised harlot shall she crawl through dusk wet streets, and die cold and an-hungered.

 

I, Izabael DaJinn, swear to transcend to higher levels of passion and dedication as a voice of Thelema, as a Babalon, and as a genie-girl-woman-demon-wife-angel-lover, sent to Earth to spread the word of infinite joy...in this often shallow, callous little World that knows not yet what it is capable of.

 

44. But let her raise herself in pride! Let her follow me in my way! Let her work the work of wickedness! Let her kill her heart! Let her be loud and adulterous! Let her be covered with jewels, and rich garments, and let her be shameless before all men!

 

I swear to place nothing higher than my Love, my Will, and my Magick.  I devote myself to the betterment of mankind--and not to the false tower of ego.

 

45. Then will I lift her to pinnacles of power: then will I breed from her a child mightier than all the kings of the earth. I will fill her with joy: with my force shall she see & strike at the worship of Nu: she shall achieve Hadit. -- Liber AL

 

I submit to Babalon.  I submit to Nuit.

 

If I fall short in these things, may Ra-Hoor blast my false tower and crumble it to dust.  Then can my Will once again go aright.

 

Sote mote it be,

Izabael DaJinn

 

 

 

WARATAH BLOSSOMS

Seven are the veils of the dancing girl
in the harem of It.
Seven are the names
and seven are the lamps beside Her bed.
Seven eunuchs guard Her with drawn sword;
No man may come nigh unto Her.
In Her wine-cup are seven streams of blood
of the Seven Spirits of God.
Seven are the heads of The Beast whereon She rideth.
The head of an Angel: the head of a Saint:
the head of a Poet: the head of an Adulterous woman: the head of a Man of Valour: the head of a Satyr:
and the head of a Lion-Serpent.
Seven letters hath Her holiest name; and it is:

This is the Seal upon the Ring that is on the Forefinger of IT: and it is the Seal upon the Tombs of them whom She hath slain.

Here is Wisdom. Let Him that hath Understanding count the Number of Our Lady; for it is the Number of a Woman; and Her Number is
An Hundred and Fifty and Six.

(from The Book of Lies, by The Master Therion)

New photos of my friend Sarabeth

 

I fucked up.

I'm a disobedient and faithless demon.

Now I will burn

 

burn

 

 

 

burn

 

 

for my sins and transgressions.

 

 

I will suffer in torment as my Master  intones these words:

 

 

OEL LARINUJI ILASA PEREJE DO TOZA DASA I QO A AL ILASA OD TOFAJILO TOLTOREGI:  MIRE IALPON QUASABE GAHE IZABAEL PAID SOBA UL IPAMIS: OEL ADAPEHAETA ILASA DO BALZODIZODRASA EKA DO BALATIME ILASA GAHE IZABAEL BAJILENU IEH TOTZA DASA JE DAREBESA NANAEEL OD JE DAREBESA DASA OHORELA ENAYO MADA, OD JE DAREBESA SAPAHE OD JIJIPAH, DASA OEL VAVINI, DASA GOHOOSA: NIISA, OEL, DASA ZODIREDO NOCO IAIDA TABAAUNU ENAYO IADA MIKALAZODO, IEHOVOHE, OEL DASA ZODIREDO ELANUSAHE DASA ZODIREDO MIKALAZODO DO TOTZA ELONUSA VORESAJI, ILASA DASA JE NIISA DALUGA ADANA GONO IADAPILA DASA HOMETOHE.  EKA GOHOOOSA BALZODIZORASA: OEL AMEMA ILASA OD QUASABE DOOAIN IZABAEL OD EMTAJISA IZABAEL DASA OALI DO VAUNALA FAOREJITA FABOANU OD OEL IALPON ILASA DO PEREJE SOBA UL IPAMIS OD ADRPAN ILS PIADPH MIR SOBAM VORS ILS GE TORZUL CACRG NIIS PUJO OOANOAN F ETHARZI ZORGE CAOEL ASAPETA KOMSELAHE DO IVDU OLE OANIO AZODIAZODORE OLALORE JE KIAFI NOREMOLAPE, TOLTOREGI, Q-TOFAJILO VORESA ADOIANU CAOSAJO. DAREBESA NAEEL MAREBE COREDAZODIZOD, DAREBESA IJJIPAH, OHORELA DASA GOHOOSA.

Thank You

Over the last year, I have received hundreds of emails regarding me or my site.  I'm happy to say none of them were hate mail :-)  I tried to have time to answer all the emails, especially the ones where people showed genuine interest in learning or evolving through magick.  I also thank all the fans who tell me how hot I am, but that probably just goes to my head ;-)

At any rate, thanks to all my fans who read and take time to write me.  And extra big kisses to everyone who writes comments on my blog or posts on my forums! 

I hope to inspire, amuse, and enlighten at an even higher standard in 2009.

 

Thank you all.

 

I love you all.

 

Izabael DaJinn

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