- Monday 1
- Mishlen is working on the effects for the movie, Lucinda's Spell.
Very long hours on and off the set. Work on Black Moon products lists.
- Tuesday 2
- Completed Black Moon products lists. I'm beginning to understand how
complicated a document like this is...first time I've done it.
- Wednesday 3
- Saw the daemon for the movie; it is very well done. I suggested (half
jokingly) leaving it in a half lit, abandoned place for a year and then
seeing what had inhabited the shell. You could also put it in out attic
and take a photo graph of it every 6 months.
- Thursday 4
- To busy for ritual...Hummm.
School work on newspaper peace et al.
- Friday 5
- Sleep and eat. I am so tired.
- Saturday 6
- Looking over this record I realize that the drastic change in our work
times ( Mishlen is working 6 days a week, about 12 hours a day on the
movie) has primed me to be always working on something. Leaves little time
for thought or ritual magick.
There is much magick in working; it is simply not ritual magick. This
ability to see trends very early and make a conscious decision as to their
continuation is a great benefit of keeping a MR.
- Sunday 7
- Black Moon Publication Request forms are complete. Lord, its like putting
a gig saw together. You change one part of the page and everything else
changes.
- Monday 8
- Congo Square manuscript. Good work on Dr. John's story. Dr. John is so
important as a loa of drummers.
- Tuesday 9
- Letter from friend. Firm Thelemic viewpoint. This is important to me.
A
dialogue that opens my self up.
- Wednesday 10
- Had planed to participate in a large Tibetan ritual and forgot.
My life could be more interesting to me if I had more discipline.
Discipline, as far as I have seen, is the ability to coordinate the parts
of one's life according to Will. It is the wand that mixes the elements of
self in the cauldron of being. Each element seeks only to serve itself;
discipline brings the elements into communication with each other.'
- Thursday 11
- RITUAL: New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple
WILL: Honor and Respect to the loa
LOVE: Litany (long form); beautiful song to Shongo by Priestess Miriam.
SUCCESS: Strong
COMMENT: The white walls of the Temple are being repainted. We played and
Miriam sang as the painting was going on. The drums and the songs mixed
with the paint.
- Friday 12
- Reading in the Tibetan and the Western definitions/understandings of
death. The idea that the person somehow "lives" in the brain. If the brain
is transplanted, the person moves into a new body. If a hand is
transplanted, the "person" does not inhabit the donor.
What about a drummers hands? The hands play the drum, any thought is
disruptive.
- Saturday 13
- The bones from T's divination set make a crisp clacking sound when thrown.
Talked to T, he said that the Bones mirror the seasons/weather in their
sound when in use. This is an important connection.
- Sunday 14
- Finding my way again with the MR and E-mail.
- Monday 15
- RITUAL: House Temple
WILL: Expedition for T
LOVE: With large mirror. Creation of second image as T.
SUCCESS: Shadow approached from the left, back side. House of Exu appear
in stomach. Head and face of T are clear, body tended to go invisible.
Words "abide with"
COMMENT: It would be good if T. got a small house (could be box with a
door cut into it for Exu. Place box away from Temple area. Make offerings
of apples and oranges. After a few days, throw them into a field. "Abide"
is from the Germanic " to await trustingly."
- Tuesday 16
- RITUAL: House Temple
WILL: Provide food for the Thelemic loa
LOVE: Mishlen is doing a three foot cock for this movie. I suggested that
she model the movie cock on mine. This suggestion provides a magickal
link. Babalon with two hands while concentrating on charging movie cock.
Those watching this giant cock in the movie will experience a small auric
tear. This tear will allow the Thelemic loa to come and feed on their
abundant excitement.
SUCCESS: Sweet elixir; shaking between worlds
COMMENT: It is important to feed the young.
- Wednesday 17
- Drum Group; prep for performance...I emphasized that playing the signature
rhythm in unison is of greater importance than soloing. Playing in unison
is an expression of community...soloing in a drum group is done because
people in a performance context want variety.
- Thursday 18
- RITUAL: Voodoo Spiritual Temple
WILL: Honor and Respect to the loa.
LOVE: Litany with emphasis on the Barons and Damballah
SUCCESS: Strong
COMMENT: Miriam watched from the side and did not step forward to direct
the ritual. One of the drummers asked, "Will there be a ritual." I replied
that there will be if we create one.
This kind of question is not good. It shows a dependence upon, rather than
an appreciation of, the role of the Priestess.
- Friday 19
- Sweet rest.
- Saturday 20
- RITUAL: Temple Blanc Dan-i
WILL: Honor the Winter Solstice
LOVE: Used Broom to sweep the Temple. Redid alter to blanc dan-i using a
large tree painted white. Barons to one side of the alter and Marassa to
the other.
SUCCESS: Excellent; a large slug was on the Temple floor. This has never
occurred before (the slime is sacred to Obatala which is the Santeria
counterpart to blanc dan-i.
COMMENT: The white tree limbs were like Clear Light; upholding or acting
as the basis of manifestation (what is hung on the branches).
- Sunday 21
- Working in the library. This room has been almost abandoned with the
resources available through the Free Net. Being amongst the papers and
books gives me a sense of continuity.
Singh and Julia have returned from their trip strong and centered.
- Monday 22
- Priestess Miriam's Mother is very sick. This is so sad...samsara. There is
a need for the Healer to be wounded. That is the source of empathy, of
"being with."
The Spirits are kind, Singh and Julia returned from a 3 or so week trip up
North. This means that Miriam will have someone at the Temple to keep it
running if she goes to Mississippi.
- Tuesday 23
- Last day for shooting of movie. The scene with the 3 foot cock charged to
feed the Thelemic loa was filmed at an ancient fort using a huge Star of
Babalon constructed from sea shells. This is perfect for the charge! The
crew and cast came from all over the world. About 3 weeks of shooting in
New Orleans and now they will all go home. Like a microcosm of peoples.
Again, very good for the charge.
Wrote a Yugoslavian group of occultists about Voodoo. The spread is
interesting.
- Wednesday 24
- First day back for Mishlen after 3 weeks working on the film at about 12
hours a day with one day off a week. A good part of that time I was in the
house (cool out and no car). Good variety.
- Thursday 25
- Christmas Day...Usually we are up North with family. A good 5 factors
converged to make the trip this year not advisable. I miss scenes created
with childhood memories. But there is much of interest to do here in New
Orleans.
- Friday 26
- To the Voodoo Spiritual Temple with a present for Miriam. Perhaps the best
present to her is the recovery of her Mother.
I gave Miriam a small statue of Tara with a monk's or nun's bone in it.
You can shake the statue and hear the bone rattle. I said that she had the
loa and the Orisha with her, now she has a Buddha.
- Saturday 27
- RITUAL: Expedition in House Temple
WILL: To T.
LOVE: Large mirror; generate shared astral body with T. in mirror;
vitalize T's aspect of the mirror image.BR>
SUCCESS: Strong
COMMENT: Large crash when I first generated the shared body; T's portion
of the body was much cleaner and stronger; Spirits said a "breath
practice" would benefit T; cat like figure appeared
Research on Marie Laveau. Trying to find a massive account of her life in
Temple University's collection of unpublished doctoral dissertations.
- Sunday 28
- Looking at a Magickal Record of mine from 25 years ago. I am so lucky I
have kept these records.
There is much in the record that shows inspiration; entries I can learn
from even now. But the background of thoughts/emotions/happenings is so
deeply troubled it is almost painful to read. This is extremely important,
I seem to have learnt a little something from the spiritual practices.
- Monday 29
- Completed record of MIND & LIFE CONFERENCE #4 conducted by western doctors
and scientists with the Dalai Lama. A beginning was made in comparing the
experiences of death, sleep, and dreaming as viewed by the Westerners and
the Tibetans. This record reinforced what I was told by a Translator in
Bloomington, "The Buddha appears in the form with which we are familiar."
After all, the Buddhas are generating the visible bodies for our benefit
not their own. They are attached to no particular form of manifestation.
Odd note, ate five cloves of garlic and went into a blissful rest and
passed out. Must have had something in them that my body needed.
- Tuesday 30
- RITUAL: Dhongak Tharling Dharma Center
WILL: Connection
LOVE: Fire Puja and mantras
SUCCESS: Qualified
COMMENT: The rites are done in Tibetan and Sanskrit. I need practice in
finding the meaning behind the words. The "meaning" gives rise to the mind
I seek to stabilize.
The head of the center told me that a practicing Santero from across the
river took the Dzogchen initiation a few months ago...interesting.
I have been irregularly practicing viewing all sentient beings I meet as
fully awakened; they appear for my benefit. This is an extremely strong
practice and I received insight on the practice during the Puja.
- Wednesday 31
- RITUAL: New Orleans Voodoo Museum
WILL: Welcome the New Year
LOVE: Legba; Charles did a dedication as we in turn voiced our Resolutions
for the New Year; Shongo; Ogun; Damballah
SUCCESS: Strong
COMMENT: I had two resolutions I voiced; (1) To become a better horse to
the Voodoo loa (2) to stabilize my practice in Tibetan Buddhism. Almost
went down as Charles did the dedication on me. This sensitivity is from
the practice of viewing all sentient beings I meet as fully awakened.
Brought in the New Year at a party in the Faubourg Center with Francois,
Jon, and Sasha.