Michael Sternbach

Well, you may have had your tongue in cheek, but on another forum, I seriously suggested to Archie the possibility that some of the correlations he observed between astronomical/astrological events and 'mundane' occurrences may be explainable by the kind of spontaneous synchronicity between 'above' and 'below' which astrologers are studying all the time. Then again, as any astrologer worth their money knows, various celestial indicators can hint at the same kind of 'terrestrial' occurrence, and vice versa: a particular kind of occurrence may have multiple potential indicators. This is due to the fact that astrology is based on an archetypal symbolism that can express itself in different ways in our reality. So the clustering of rather specific coincidences that the OP says he encountered does seem curious and might suggest that some kind of electional astrology was indeed being employed there. But since I haven't personally reviewed any significant number of cases (this being Archie's line of research, not my own), I will pass on the question if his thesis actually holds water or if other explanations are more likely to be correct. One of them being the (perhaps unconscious) selection of events that coincide with a particular astrological condition out of many. Just saying. My sole incentive to getting involved with this thread was the fact that Archie frequently claims to have discovered a 'Hermetic' conspiracy dating back to antiquity (if I am getting him right in this regard), simply because Orion's belt stars and Sirius play a role in the various apparent coincidences that caught his attention. However, that assumption is rather farfetched anyway, in my opinion. Orion constellation and Sirius (both being rather conspicuous in the sky) were important to different civilisations throughout history - including Ancient Egypt, to be sure. And this or that secret society may in fact be applying astrological information (and go around assassinating people) that ultimately stems from a particular civilisation, and/or even consider itself to have originated there. But I currently see little reason to believe that any such organisation in existence today has something like an unbroken lineage dating back that far. But this is not to say that there wouldn't be any value in telling a good story, necessarily...

Hi Archie, And nice to see you here. 🙂 I agree with Nungali: Timing an undertaking with astrological conditions is not the same as astrological magic. It's called electional astrology. This is sometimes being used for the purpose of optimising magical operations, to be sure, as well as for choosing the most favourable times for all kinds of other things. Nungali is also right about there being many other factors involved. Just imagine arranging a fight between a boxing champion and a newbie using electional astrology. Although the event's chart may be in favour of the newbie, in all likelihood he will be beaten to a pulp regardless. Furthermore, bear in mind that the designation 'Hermetic' is not exactly trademarked. Its potential usage by dubious organisations doesn't make the latter representatives of Hermetic philosophy any more than the Aum Shinrikyo folks would have been true proponents of Buddhism. Thus, linking your supposed conspiracies to 'Hermetic' societies may be misleading to the less well informed. By the way, sorry about the error message that you and some others receive when accessing the Skyscript astrological forum. As you correctly stated above, the issue (while annoying) is quite harmless, though, and there is no malware involved; one can safely return to the previous page and have another go. As we (i.e., myself and the other members of the Skyscript administration) are currently upgrading the site to a more modern format, this issue will be resolved soon. 🙂

And yes, there are keyboard warriors out there as well.

But by all means, let Lizard Lady stay! She does look kinda hot... 😉 Now don't be nitpicking please. 🙄 By the way, I can't help thinking that the word 'period' must imply something periodically recurring? Are people actually referring to a theory of cyclic time whenever they use the term? 🤔 If you are the Australian ping-pong champion, then I am... "Warriors we must be." Elvis Presley

Hi Bums, If you are anything like me, there are all kinds of things that you want to do, have, be. Also, there are frequently plenty of obstacles seemingly just designed to keep most of those things you desire off limits. How are you going to handle that dilemma, once you heard the call? To be brutally honest with you, most people, most of the time, won't handle it at all. They haven't been taught how to do this! What they have been taught is to be content and not to challenge all those boundaries imposed on them pretty much from the moment they were born. The latter take many forms. Some are disguised as 'common sense', meaning what you are "realistically speaking" able to do, given your internal and external circumstances. Others are implied by social rules, with their endless "dos" and "don'ts." And some are the result of apparent expectations by those you care for (and I say "apparent" because those expectations are not always what they seem to be on the surface!). Not to forget, the spiritual tradition you follow may be singing from that same song-sheet of acceptance and humility. And don't get me wrong, getting rid of a particular limitation may not be your best choice in every case. At any rate, it can't always be done right away and without some sacrifice. Now if you look deeper, you will find many of your boundaries to actually be self-imposed. Typically they are based on fear of doing the wrong thing and getting in trouble; on lack of confidence in your aspirations and/or in yourself; on reluctance to move out of your comfort zone. Here you have summed up some of the major reasons why a lot of people content themselves with second best! Yes, accepting the challenge of living your life to its full potential may indeed be daunting at times. It may well involve letting go of your sense of security. However, make no mistake: what seems like a safe way to play the game may turn out not to be so after all. And those unsatisfactory things that you pretend not to acknowledge and therefore leave alone tend to come back at you and hit you right in the face - especially when least expected! By the way, have you seen Matrix Resurrections yet? (Remember, all Matrix movies are required 'viewing' for spiritual seekers! ) Well, if you have, you will know that Neo tells Morpheus that he has "fought enough already" at first. And as a result, he gets whacked around quite a bit! That is, before he finally gets the message, turns the tables on his relentless mentor and blows him right through the dojo wall... As will be seen later, Neo needed that lesson; by the time The Analyst counts on him and his 'twin flame' Trinity to go back to their pods and have themselves reintegrated into the virtual bliss of the Matrix (as no doubt the average person would prefer to do) he's got enough fight back in him to not play along and change things big time - not just for himself, but for everyone around him as well! (Boy, you really gotta love those Matrix movies - and watch them more than once - for all those profound messages they contain! :D) Alright, now let's contemplate Aleister Crowley's central message once again : Liber Al vel legis I:40 Jesus, that one is spiritual dynamite! If you actually implement it, chances are it will change your life for good. Without any guarantees that you will prevail. Without a return ticket at hand. And trust me, there be dragons! However, the gods will help those who dare take a chance. Whose greatest regret would be not having lived their life to the full. Who aspire to be the best they can be - regardless of the consequences. Because they will recognize them as being of their own kind. Thoughts, anyone? Cheers Michael

Studying your horoscope chart could indeed help you find your True Will. The MC (Mid-Heaven), North Node, and Part of Fortune could be relevant in this regard, amongst other indicators.

His True Self! And/or his Guardian Angel.

He was the only one who had something to say!

Seems like Little Johnny ain't the only one happily napping inside a shark.

What does 'an enlightened operator in the local cosmos' do, exactly?

I have nothing to add. 😜🤣😎

Nungali and I both dealt with AC in our own way as part of our occult 'education'. We are kind of regulars in Crowley related threads and try our best to rectify what we perceive as misconceptions about his teachings... Or misconceptions in the questioner's personal philosophical outlook, for that matter! 🤭 Since Nungers already appropriately and eloquently discussed AC's colourful personality, let me just share a few things about my personal approach to Crowley here... Our first contact had everything to do with Crowley's famous Tarot deck. For when I became interested in Tarot some 35 years ago, the Thoth appealed to me the most with its dreamlike symbolism and visionary beauty, and it was the very first deck I acquired. Exploring its symbols led me quite naturally to some of AC's other works and to John Symond's The Great Beast - The Life of Aleister Crowley. Well, the Thoth turned out to be a veritable compendium of AC's vast knowledge and introduced me to (or at least made me take a closer look at) various esoteric systems. There was without a doubt much of value to be found in Crowley's books as well, as he had been intimately familiar with an impressive number of both Western and Eastern traditions. And yet, he had not been sitting in the British Library gathering dust all day like his counterpart in the Golden Dawn, Arthur Edward Waite! Here was a man of profound esoteric knowledge and phenomenal creativity, but also a Cosmopolitan adventurer and most assuredly a fun loving child. I don't hesitate to confess that this specific combination of traits resonated with me more than just a bit back then in my early 20's, and heck, it does to this very day. This is not to deny that Crowley had some personal weaknesses (to put it mildly). But why should this keep people from reading his books? Maybe it's just me, but I found little evil in them. OMG, what a biased, one-sided, propagandistic BS! 😲 That said, I can't help thinking that AC may actually have enjoyed a presentation of this kind. After all, he spared no effort to style himself as the Great Beast. Part of it no doubt was a rebellious counter reaction to his Puritan upbringing, and on top of that, I am pretty sure that he simply enjoyed taking the piss out of his audience by playing up his 'wickedness'.

By studying its underlying Natural Philosophy. Working from First Principles, that is. There's nothing wrong with contemplating both hexagrams and trigrams, but I would do neither too much. A better exercise in the long run might be to contemplate how the hexagrams develop from one another, and how they are interrelated. Statistically, yarrow stalks stack the odds a little differently than coins, i.e., more in line with the I-ching's inner workings. Alas, they're also a bit impractical to use. Personally, I consult the oracle using coins. But if you feel drawn to yarrow stalks, hey, by all means... 🙂

I think it starts with being one with your actions. Letting go of the doubts that often hold us back. To do what you do. Which is another interpretation of "do what thou wilt." 😊

Your True Will could be to live in a different place. But the egotistical personality might hold you back due to fears or not wishing to leave its comfort zone. In this case, Crowley's advice would be to follow your vision regardless. Your Self.

Free will is simply the ability to choose A over B. The concept of True Will is based on the 'assumption' that you have (or are) a Self that exists beyond what most people identify as their personality. So True Will ties in with your True Self, whose purpose goes beyond the aims of the egotistical personality. There are no hard and fast rules. Finding your True Will may take many forms and often presupposes an inner process. It would be no exaggeration to say that finding the True Will is central to Crowley's whole work. Au contraire! The True Will expresses the True Self, which is the very core of your individuality. This is not so. Rather, all those who actually follow their True Will (for it is your free will not to do so!) play their individual role in the Universal Whole to the utmost degree. The Whole needs its agents not only to act in very different areas, but sometimes even in apparent contradiction to one another; for balance and so that all sides of an issue could be worked out.

No. Noone said it was easy. Is it easy to act with freedom? With the True Will - not "whatever Will"! You will find that what the True Will wills constantly has to do with Love in one form or another. Crowley's guide lines refer to general principles, not to the specifics of their application. Not quite sure how this fits into this topic, but it is actually an interesting consideration in its own right! This misconception is not a new one. When - already in his own day - Crowley saw some young Thelemites interpreting those lines from the Book of the Law the way you suggested, he was seriously dissatisfied with their level of understanding.

Act with love.

I agree, you can ask the same or a similar question later to see if there is another aspect to consider yet. I was just stressing that the constant repetition of the same question (even several times a day!) which the OP suggested is not a good idea. I recommend keeping a record of all your readings so you can review them later and see if/how they manifested. You will learn using the I-ching (and other oracles) much faster, taking that kind of systematic approach. And I like to add a few lines of my own interpretation to every received hexagram.

The I-ching and other oracles indeed don't respond very well to overly repeated questions. Not because they feel pissed of, but simply because they tend to reflect the mind of the querent. Therefore, a scattered mind will receive scattered answers. Also, it will be hard for the latter to reach the level of intuitive contemplation required to interpret the answer fully and correctly anyway. Testing the I-ching this way won't give you satisfactory results. Its answers are hard to objectify even under the best of circumstances. Ultimately, they depend on what your (hopefully intuitive) mind sees in them. A more recommendable way of 'testing the I-ching' (as well as your ability to read it! ;)) would be to first thoroughly contemplate the answer received and put it in relation to the event in question. And bear in mind that, every so often, what exactly it meant will get clearer as the situation develops. So instead of asking the same question several times, it's better to read the answer several times!

This is true, essentially, but only works out if those emotions are being transformed in the process.

Indeed. And it's always a two-way-street.

The solutions offered by Zen's "instant enlightenment" and Taoist Alchemy respectively are different though. The former approach negates that the conditions you mentioned are actually problems, whereas the latter aims at avoiding or improving them. "Love" as such should not be seen as a problem anyway, though.

Pocahontas