Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Spectral Janitor of Academy 23 (i)

Since the fall I have been finding myself looking over the remains of “Academy 23,” the hypothetical school of magic inclusive of figured such as William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Robert Anton Wilson, and Genesis P-Orridge. It’s now roughly 23 months since P-Orridge’s death*, meaning the collapsed remains of the Academy has had some timeContinue reading “The Spectral Janitor of Academy 23 (i)”

Theoria: The Essentials of the Semiotic Theory of Magic

Acts of Magic, of whatever kind, are acts of Communication. A Basic Model of Communication    One of the most valuable communication models was proposed in 1954 by Charles Osgood and Wilbur Schramm. The most common in interpersonal communication is through language. Communication takes place between Interpreters with a cyclical exchange. In a single actContinue reading “Theoria: The Essentials of the Semiotic Theory of Magic”

Recovering the Hermetica

Byzantine emperor Alexios I faced a seemingly insurmountable challenge in the 11th Century. Despite being the heir to the Roman Empire, Alexios I saw his area of rule diminishing with the expansion of the Seljuq dynasty. The House of Seljuq was a Turkish family who practiced a Sunni variation of Islam that, in time, integratedContinue reading “Recovering the Hermetica”

Aeon and the Apocalypse

The Revelation of John stands out as perhaps the oddest document in the compilation of texts known as the Bible. If you have read that compilation, you realize how odd it is to stand out in that crowd. Of the books of the New Testament, its inclusion was the most controversial, and it was notContinue reading “Aeon and the Apocalypse”

Aeons and the Sethian Gnostics

Another group of Gnostics, the Sethians, would contribute another critical concept to the cluster of ideas around the word “Aeon.” Until fairly recently, what was known about their beliefs came from the writings of Irenaeus, a Second Century Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul. The Sethians’ focus was mainly on the period before the Creation NarrativesContinue reading “Aeons and the Sethian Gnostics”

Tuesday Quote

“You never believed in the meaning of this world, and youtherefore deduced the idea that everything was equivalentand that good and evil could be defined according to one’swishes. You supposed that in the absence of any human ordivine code the only values were those of the animal world –in other words, violence and cunning. HenceContinue reading “Tuesday Quote”

Aeon in Gnosticism

In the Second Century of the Common Era, the notion of “Aeon” underwent a critical transformation within the teachings of a Gnostic Christian heresy called Valentinianism. This movement originated with the Egyptian thinker Valentinus, born in 100 CE and educated in Alexandria. He was involved with the Catholic community in Rome. Though none of hisContinue reading “Aeon in Gnosticism”