The mystic number is 5, union of male (3) with female (2) and final resolution of conflict between Verwirrung Verwirrung and and Zweitracht Zweitracht.
The governing Tarot trump is number 6, the Lovers, in which the woman looks upward at the angel (Eris, the biogram) and the man looks at the woman (the logogram, yang, reaches synthesis with biogram, yin, only through reconciliation with the female). Hence, the upsurge of feminism in such periods, together with a renewed emphasis on clans, tribes, and communes.
Typical Virgos manifesting Grummet Grummet traits are Charlie Parker, Antonin Artaud, Louis Lingg, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Grandma Moses, Lodovico Ariosto, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, and Goethe and Tolstoy (who manifested strong yin values while never quite getting reconciled with the women in their own lives. Tolstoy, however, as the cla.s.sic dropout, is an archetypal Grummet persona and almost completed the Sufi course of "quit this world, quit the next world, quit quitting!"). traits are Charlie Parker, Antonin Artaud, Louis Lingg, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Grandma Moses, Lodovico Ariosto, Greta Garbo, Hedy Lamarr, and Goethe and Tolstoy (who manifested strong yin values while never quite getting reconciled with the women in their own lives. Tolstoy, however, as the cla.s.sic dropout, is an archetypal Grummet persona and almost completed the Sufi course of "quit this world, quit the next world, quit quitting!").
After Grummet Grummet, of course, authority has collapsed entirely, and the biogram stands on equal footing with the logogram. Hodge and Podge being once again in dynamic balance, a new Verwirrung Verwirrung period begins, and the cycle repeats. period begins, and the cycle repeats.
Since Weishaupt dreamed this schema up while he was under the influence of several hallucinogenic drugs, one should regard it with some skepticism. It is certainly not true in every detail, and there is no theoretical or empirical demonstration that each of the five ages must always have 73 permutations. The fact that Grummet-Virgo Grummet-Virgo personalities (and all other of the five personality types) are born in all ages, even if they come to dominance in their appropriate epochs, leaves many mysteries still unsolved. In short, all that a sober scholar can say of the Illuminati theory of history is that it makes at least as much sense as the exoteric Marx-Hegel, Spengler, Toynbee, and Sorokin theories. personalities (and all other of the five personality types) are born in all ages, even if they come to dominance in their appropriate epochs, leaves many mysteries still unsolved. In short, all that a sober scholar can say of the Illuminati theory of history is that it makes at least as much sense as the exoteric Marx-Hegel, Spengler, Toynbee, and Sorokin theories.
The[image] , who regard all Illuminati theories as false projections onto the external world of inner spiritual processes, are particularly skeptical about this one, since it involves several false correlations between the , who regard all Illuminati theories as false projections onto the external world of inner spiritual processes, are particularly skeptical about this one, since it involves several false correlations between the I Ching I Ching and the Tarot, the Zodiac, etc. and the Tarot, the Zodiac, etc.
Finally, it should be noted that of all the people Hagbard employed as resonance for the vibes used against the Saure family in Ingolstadt, only Lady Velkor, Danny Pricefixer, and George Dorn were not Virgos. Hagbard evidently believed that the Illuminati magical links work when Illuminati activities are occurring in a given area-and, hence, virtually all of "his" people at the festival were Virgos and thereby linked with the Grummet/Huan-59/Trump 6 chain of astrological a.s.sociations. On the other hand, the presence of three non-Virgos shows Hagbard"s pragmatic approach and his refusal to be ruled even by so exact a science as astrology Grummet/Huan-59/Trump 6 chain of astrological a.s.sociations. On the other hand, the presence of three non-Virgos shows Hagbard"s pragmatic approach and his refusal to be ruled even by so exact a science as astrology.*
In this connection, when George Dorn and his mother went to Radio City Music Hall to see The Lotus Position The Lotus Position, the last movie made by the American Medical a.s.sociation before their tragic deaths, they happened to meet a tall Italian and a very beautiful black woman whom he introduced as his wife. Mrs. Dorn didn"t catch the Italian"s name, but it was obvious that George had a very great admiration for him. On the bus back to Nutley, she decided to straighten the boy out.
"A man who respects himself and his own race," she began, "would never think of marrying into the colored." the colored."
"Shut up, Ma," George said politely.
"That"s no way to talk to your mother," the fine lady said, going ahead blithely. "Now, your father had some radical ideas, and he tried to get the unions to accept the colored the colored, but he never thought of marrying into them, George. He had too much self-respect. Are you listening, George?"
"How did you like the AMA?" he asked.
"Such wonderful young boys. So clean-cut. And that darling sister of theirs! At least they didn"t think there was anything attractive about long hair on men. Do you know what long hair makes men look like?"
"Like girls, Ma. Is that right?"
"It makes them look worse than girls, George. It makes them look like they"re not really men, if you know what I mean."
"No, I don"t know what you mean, Ma." George was profoundly bored.
"Well, I mean a little little bit on the lavender side." She t.i.ttered. bit on the lavender side." She t.i.ttered.
"Oh," he said, "you mean c.o.c.ksuckers. Some of my best friends are c.o.c.ksuckers, Ma."
At this Simple piece of factual information, the remarkable lady turned red and then purple, and then twisted in her chair to look out the window in angry silence for the rest of the trip. The curious thing is that, before George could get the courage to shut the old battleaxe up that way, he first had to try to shoot a cop and then try to shoot himself and finally take hashish with Hagbard Celine, and yet she was a Virgo and he was a Capricorn.
* Do you believe that? Do you believe that?* This sentence may manifest a lapse into mockery or mystification by otherwise sober authors. This sentence may manifest a lapse into mockery or mystification by otherwise sober authors.
APPENDIX DALETH.
Ha.s.sAN i SABBAH AND ALAMOUT BLACK When the Prophet died in 4632 A.M.,* the true faith was almost immediately shattered by conflict between the Shiite and Sunnite parties. More than a century of religious and civil warfare followed, and by 4760 A.M. the Shiites themselves had split and given birth to a subsect known as the Ismailis, or Ishmaelians. It was out of this group that Ha.s.san i Sabbah formed the Order of the a.s.sa.s.sins in 5090 A.M. the true faith was almost immediately shattered by conflict between the Shiite and Sunnite parties. More than a century of religious and civil warfare followed, and by 4760 A.M. the Shiites themselves had split and given birth to a subsect known as the Ismailis, or Ishmaelians. It was out of this group that Ha.s.san i Sabbah formed the Order of the a.s.sa.s.sins in 5090 A.M.
Ishmaelian religion had already at that date become a nine-level affair in the manner typical of mystical secret societies. Those of the lowest grade, for instance, were merely informed that Al Koran Al Koran contained an allegorical meaning in addition to its surface teachings, and that their salvation lay in following orders. As a neophyte progressed through the various grades, more and more of the allegories would be explained, and a doctrine would gradually emerge which is, in essence, that taught by all the mystics of East and West-Buddhists, Taoists, Vedantists, Rosicrucians, etc. The doctrine is, in important aspects, unspeakable (which is why the trainee required an contained an allegorical meaning in addition to its surface teachings, and that their salvation lay in following orders. As a neophyte progressed through the various grades, more and more of the allegories would be explained, and a doctrine would gradually emerge which is, in essence, that taught by all the mystics of East and West-Buddhists, Taoists, Vedantists, Rosicrucians, etc. The doctrine is, in important aspects, unspeakable (which is why the trainee required an imam imam-the Ishmaelian equivalent of a guru guru-to guide him in the nonverbal aspects); the ninth and highest grade, however, had no parallel except in very strict Theravada Buddhism. In this ninth grade, which Ha.s.san attained shortly before founding the Hashishim, it was taught that even the personal mystical experience of the seeker (his own encounter with the Absolute, or the Void, or the Hodge-Podge, or G.o.d, or G.o.ddess, or whatever one chooses to call it) should be subject to the most merciless a.n.a.lysis and criticism, and that there is no guide superior to reason. The Ishmaelian adept, in short, was one who had achieved supreme mystical awareness but refused to make even that into an idol; he was a total atheist-anarchist subject to no authority but his own independent mind.
"Such men are dangerous," as Caesar observed, and certainly they are dangerous to the Caesars; the Ishmaelians were being persecuted throughout the Moslem world, and strong efforts were being made to exterminate them entirely when Ha.s.san i Sabbah became Imam of the whole movement.
It was Ha.s.san"s cynical judgment (and many Illuminated beings, such as the Lamas of Tibet, have agreed with him) that most people have no aspiration or capacity for much spiritual and intellectual independence. He thereupon reorganized the Ishmaelians in such a way as to allow and encourage those of small mind to remain in the lower grades.
The tools of this enterprise were the famous "Garden of Delights" in his castle at Alamout (a good duplication of the Paradise of Al Koran Al Koran, complete with the beautiful and willing houris the Prophet had promised to the faithful)- and a certain "magick chemical." Those of the lowest grade were brought to Alamout, given the miraculous concoction, and set loose for several hours in the Garden of Delights. They came out convinced that they had truly visited heaven and that Ha.s.san i Sabbah was the most powerful Holy Man in the world. They were a.s.sured, furthermore, that if they obeyed every order, even at the cost of their own lives, they would return to that Paradise after death.
These men became the first "sleeper agents" in the history of international politics. Where the three major contending religions of that time in the Near East (Christianity, Judaism, and orthodox Islam) insisted that it was an unforgivable sin to deny one"s faith, Ha.s.san taught that Allah would forgive such little white lies when they served a worthy purpose. Thus, his agents were able to pa.s.s themselves off as Christians, Jews, or orthodox Moslems and infiltrate any court, holy order, or army at will. Since the other religions had the above-mentioned prohibition against such deception, they were unable to infiltrate the Ishmaelians in turn.
The use of these agents as a.s.sa.s.sins is discussed pa.s.sim pa.s.sim in the novel, and Weishaupt"s opinion that Ha.s.san had discovered "the moral equivalent of war" is an interesting commentary. Ha.s.san never had to send an army into battle, and armies sent against him were soon stopped by the sudden and unexpected deaths of their generals. in the novel, and Weishaupt"s opinion that Ha.s.san had discovered "the moral equivalent of war" is an interesting commentary. Ha.s.san never had to send an army into battle, and armies sent against him were soon stopped by the sudden and unexpected deaths of their generals.
One of Ha.s.san"s successors was Sinan, who moved the headquarters of the cult from Alamout to Messiac and may (or may not) have written the letter about Richard the Lion-Hearted which George recalls in the Third Trip. Sinan, contemporaries claimed, performed miracles of healing, conversed with invisible beings, and was never seen to eat, drink, or perform the functions of urination and excretion. He was also credited with telepathy and with the ability to kill animals by looking at them. It was he (and not Ha.s.san I Sabbah, as many popular books state) who ordered two of the lower members of the Order to commit suicide in order to impress a visiting amba.s.sador with his power over his followers. (The two obeyed, leaping from the castle wall into the abyss below.) Sinan also made attempts to form an alliance with the Knights Templar, to drive both orthodox Christians and orthodox Moslems out of the arena, but this evidently fell through.
The Hashishim were finally crushed, despite their powerful espionage and a.s.sa.s.sination network, when the whole Middle East was overrun by hordes of Mongols, who came from so far away that they had not been infiltrated. It took several centuries for the Hashishim to make a comeback as the nonviolent Ishmaelian movement of today, under the leadership of the Aga Khan.
Finally, it was at Ha.s.san i Sabbah"s death that he allegedly uttered the aphorism for which he is best known, and which is quoted several times in the novel: "Nothing is true. All is permissible." The orthodox Moslem historian Juvaini-who may have invented this whole episode-adds that as soon as these blasphemous words pa.s.sed his lips, "Ha.s.san"s soul plunged to the depths of h.e.l.l."
Ever since Marco Polo recorded the story of the Garden of Delights, Western commentators have identified Ha.s.san"s "magick chemical" as pure hashish. Recent scholarship, however, has thrown this into doubt, and it is clear that hashish, and other marijuana preparations were well known in the Near East for thousands of years before Ha.s.san ever lived; for instance, the plant has been found in grave mounds of late Neolithic Man in the area, dated around 5000 B.c., as Hagbard mentions in the novel. It is implausible, then, that the ingenious Sabbah would have tried to pa.s.s this drug off as something new and magical.
Some have suggested that Ha.s.san, who was known to have traveled much in his youth, might have brought opium back from the East and mixed it with hashish. The scholarly Dr. Joel Fort goes further and argues, in The Pleasure Seekers The Pleasure Seekers, that Ha.s.san"s supercharger was wine-and-opium, with no marijuana products at all. Dr. John Allegro, in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, argues that both Ha.s.san and the first Christians actually achieved the paradisical vision with the aid of amanita muscaria amanita muscaria, the "fly agaric" mushroom, which is poisonous in high doses but psychedelic (or at least deleriant) in small quant.i.ties.
The present book"s suggestion-Alamout black, an almost pure hashish with a few pinches of belladonna and stramonium-is based on: (1) the strong etymological evidence that the Hashishim were somehow somehow involved with hashish; involved with hashish; (2) the unlikelihood that wine, opium, mushrooms, or any combination thereof could account for the etymological and historical a.s.sociation of Ha.s.san with hashish; (3) the reasons previously given for doubting that hashish alone alone is the answer; is the answer; (4) the capacity of stramonium and belladonna (in small doses) to create intensely brilliant visual imagery, beyond that of even the best grades of hashish; (5) the fact that these latter drugs were used in both the Elusinian Mysteries and in the European witch cult contemporary with Ha.s.san (see R.E.L. Masters, Eros and Evil) Eros and Evil).
Since it is not the intent of this book to confuse fact with fancy, it should be pointed out that these arguments are strong but not compelling. Many other alternatives can be suggested, such as hashish-belladonna-mandragora, hashish-stramonium-opium, hashish-opium-belladonna, hashish-opium-bufotinin,* etc., etc. All that can be said with certainty is that Hagbard Celine insists the correct formula is hashish-belladonna-stramonium (in ratio 20:1:1), and we believe Hagbard-most of the time. etc., etc. All that can be said with certainty is that Hagbard Celine insists the correct formula is hashish-belladonna-stramonium (in ratio 20:1:1), and we believe Hagbard-most of the time.
The exact link between the a.s.sa.s.sins and the European Illuminati remains unclear. We have seen (but no longer own) a John Birch Society publication arguing that the alliance between the Hashishim and the Knights Templar was consummated and that European masonry has been more or less under Hashishim influence ever since. More likely is the theory of Daraul (op. cit.) (op. cit.) that after the Hashishim regrouped as the nonviolent Ishmaelian sect of today, the Roshinaya (Illuminated Ones) copied their old tactics and were in turn copied by the Allumbrados of Spain and, finally, by the Bavarian Illuminati. that after the Hashishim regrouped as the nonviolent Ishmaelian sect of today, the Roshinaya (Illuminated Ones) copied their old tactics and were in turn copied by the Allumbrados of Spain and, finally, by the Bavarian Illuminati.
The nine stages of Hashishim training, the thirteen stages in Weishaupt"s Iluminati, the thirty-two degrees of masonry, etc., are, of course, arbitrary. The Theravada Buddhists have a system of forty meditations, each leading to a definite stage of growth. Some schools of Hinduism recognize only two stages: Dhyana Dhyana, conquest of the personal ego, and Samadhi Samadhi, unity with the Whole. One can equally well posit five stages or a hundred and five. The essential that is common to all these systems is that the trainee, at some point or other, is nearly scared to death.*
The difference between these systems is that some aim to liberate every candidate and some, like Sabbah"s and Weishaupt"s, deliberately encourage the majority to remain in ignorance, whereby they may with profit be endlessly exploited by their superiors in the cult. The same general game of an illuminated minority misusing a superst.i.tious majority was characteristic of Tibet until the Chinese Communist invasion broke the power of the high lamas. A sympathetic account of the Tibetan system, which goes far toward justifying it, can be found in Alexandra David-Neel"s The Hidden Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism; The Hidden Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism; an unsympathetic account by a skeptical fellow mystic is available in an unsympathetic account by a skeptical fellow mystic is available in The Confessions of Aleister Crowley The Confessions of Aleister Crowley.
Another word about Alamout black: It is not for the inexperienced psychedelic voyager. For instance, the first time Simon Moon tried it, in early 1968, he had occasion to use the men"s room in the Biograph Theatre (where he had gone to see Yellow Submarine Yellow Submarine while under the influence). After his bowel movement he reached for the toilet paper and saw with consternation that the first sheet hanging down off the roll was neatly stamped while under the influence). After his bowel movement he reached for the toilet paper and saw with consternation that the first sheet hanging down off the roll was neatly stamped OFFICIAL.
BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI.
EWIGE BLUMENKRAFT!.
On ordinary marijuana or hashish, such illusions occur, of course-but they are not true hallucinations. They go away if you look at them hard enough. No matter how hard Simon looked at the toilet paper, it still said OFFICIAL.
BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI.
EWIGE BLUMENKRAFT!.
Simon went back to his seat in the theater badly shaken. For weeks afterward he wondered if the Illuminati had some sinister reason for infiltrating the toilet-paper industry, or if the whole experience were a genuine hallucination and the first sign, as he put it, "that this f.u.c.king dope is ruining my f.u.c.king head." He never solved this mystery, but eventually he stopped worrying about it.
As for Ha.s.san i Sabbah X and the Cult of the Black Mother, the authors have been able to learn precious little about them. Since they are clearly related somehow somehow to the a.s.sa.s.sins and the cult of Kali, Mother of Destruction, one can consider them part of the Illuminati, or Podge, side of the Sacred Chao; since they seem to be businessmen rather than fanatics, and since Kali might be a version of Eris, one can consider them part of the Discordian or Hodge side. Amid such speculation and much mystery, they go their dark way, peddling horse and preaching some pretty funky doctrines about Whitey. Perhaps they intend to betray everybody and run off with the loot at an opportune moment-and, then again, maybe they are the only really dedicated revolutionaries around. "Nothing is too heavy to be knocked on its a.s.s, and everything is cool, baby" is the only summary of his personal philosophy that Ha.s.san i Sabbah X himself would give us. He"s a studly dude, and we didn"t press him. to the a.s.sa.s.sins and the cult of Kali, Mother of Destruction, one can consider them part of the Illuminati, or Podge, side of the Sacred Chao; since they seem to be businessmen rather than fanatics, and since Kali might be a version of Eris, one can consider them part of the Discordian or Hodge side. Amid such speculation and much mystery, they go their dark way, peddling horse and preaching some pretty funky doctrines about Whitey. Perhaps they intend to betray everybody and run off with the loot at an opportune moment-and, then again, maybe they are the only really dedicated revolutionaries around. "Nothing is too heavy to be knocked on its a.s.s, and everything is cool, baby" is the only summary of his personal philosophy that Ha.s.san i Sabbah X himself would give us. He"s a studly dude, and we didn"t press him.
* Known as the year 52 to Moslems, 4392 to Jews and Scotch Rite Masons, 4320 to Confucians, and 632 to Christians. Known as the year 52 to Moslems, 4392 to Jews and Scotch Rite Masons, 4320 to Confucians, and 632 to Christians.* Medieval magicians knew how to obtain bufotinin. They took it, as Shakespeare recorded, from "skin of toad." Medieval magicians knew how to obtain bufotinin. They took it, as Shakespeare recorded, from "skin of toad."* An interesting account of a traditional system used by quite primitive Mexican Indians, yet basically similar to any and all of the above, is provided by anthropologist Carlos Castaneda, who underwent training with a Yaqui shaman, and recounts some of the terrors vividly in An interesting account of a traditional system used by quite primitive Mexican Indians, yet basically similar to any and all of the above, is provided by anthropologist Carlos Castaneda, who underwent training with a Yaqui shaman, and recounts some of the terrors vividly in The Teachings of Don Juan, A Separate Reality, Journey to Ixtlan The Teachings of Don Juan, A Separate Reality, Journey to Ixtlan, and Tales of Power Tales of Power. Don Juan used peyote, stramonium, and a magic mushroom (probably psilocyble Mexicana psilocyble Mexicana, the drug Tim Leary used for his first trip).
APPENDIX TZADDI.
23 SKIDOO.
Linguists and etymologists have had much exercise for their not-inconsiderable imaginations in attempting to account for this expression. Skidoo Skidoo has been traced back to the older has been traced back to the older skedaddle skedaddle, and thence to the Greek skedannumi skedannumi, "to disperse hurriedly." The 23, naturally, has caused even more creative efforts by these gentry, since they are unaware of the secret teachings of Magick. One theorist, noting that Sidney Carton in d.i.c.kens" Tale of Two Cities Tale of Two Cities is the twenty-third man guillotined in the final scene, is the twenty-third man guillotined in the final scene,* guessed that those playgoers who were eager to get out of the theater before the crowd counted off the executions and guessed that those playgoers who were eager to get out of the theater before the crowd counted off the executions and skidoo"d skidoo"d toward the exits numbered 23. Another eminent scholar a.s.sumes that the expression has something to do with men hanging around the old Flatiron Building on Twenty-third Street in New York City-a notoriously windy corner-to watch ladies" skirts raised by the breeze; when a cop came, they would toward the exits numbered 23. Another eminent scholar a.s.sumes that the expression has something to do with men hanging around the old Flatiron Building on Twenty-third Street in New York City-a notoriously windy corner-to watch ladies" skirts raised by the breeze; when a cop came, they would skidoo skidoo. Others have mused inconclusively about the early telegraph operator"s signal of 23 23, which means (roughly) "stop transmitting," "clear the line," or, to be crude, "shut up," but n.o.body claims to know how telegraphers picked 23 to have this meaning.
The mystery"s real origin is a closely guarded secret of the Justified Ancients of Mummu, which Simon had not attained the rank to learn. Dillinger, however, had attained this rank, and uses the formula quite correctly in the bank robbery scene in the Third Trip. It was printed by "Frater Perdurabo" (Aleister Crowley) in The Book of Lies The Book of Lies (privately published, 1915; republished by Samuel Weiser Inc., New York, 1970). The text of the spell makes up the totality of Chapter 23 in that curious little book; and it reads: (privately published, 1915; republished by Samuel Weiser Inc., New York, 1970). The text of the spell makes up the totality of Chapter 23 in that curious little book; and it reads: [image]SKIDOOWhat man is at ease in his Inn?
Get out.
Wide is the world and cold.
Get out.
Thou hast become an in-itiate.
Get out.
But thou canst not get out by the way thou earnest in. The Way out is THE WAY. Get out.
For OUT is Love and Wisdom and Power.
Get OUT.
If thou hast T already, first get UT.
Then get O.
And so at last got got OUT. OUT.
It is not permissible to explain this fully, but it may be stated guardedly that T is the union of s.e.x and death, Tau Tau, the Rosy Crucifixion; UT is Utgita in the Upanishads; and O is the Positive Void.*
* A literary reference which Simon Moon, with his modernistic bias, overlooked.* Fission Chips, like our other characters, was given a chance to peruse this ma.n.u.script before publication and correct any factual errors that may have crept in. Of this appendix, he said, "I think my leg is being pulled again, chaps. I suspect that Crowley wrote that in 1915 as a joke on his readers, and you blokes found it and inserted a reference to a magic formula used by Dillinger in your story just so you could then compose this appendix and "explain" it." Such skepticism, straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel, may be compared to the stance of the Bible Fundamentalist who avers that JHVH made the universe in six days in 4004 B.C. but included fossils and other false leads to make it appear much older. One could equally a.s.sert that the cosmos appeared out of Void one second ago, including us and our false memories of a longer duration here.
APPENDIX VAU.
FLAXSCRIP AND HEMPSCRIP.
Flaxscrip was first introduced into Discordian groups by the mysterious Malaclypse the Younger, K.S.C., in 1968. Hempscrip followed the year after, issued by Dr. Mordecai Malignatus, K.N.S. (In the novel, taking one of our few liberties with historical truth, we move these coinages backward in time and attribute hempscrip to the Justified Ancients of Mummu.) The idea idea behind flaxscrip, of course, is as old as history; there was private money long before there was government money. The first revolutionary (or reformist) use of this idea, as a check against galloping usury and high interest rates, was the foundation of "Banks of Piety" by the Dominican order of the Catholic Church in the late middle ages. (See Tawney, behind flaxscrip, of course, is as old as history; there was private money long before there was government money. The first revolutionary (or reformist) use of this idea, as a check against galloping usury and high interest rates, was the foundation of "Banks of Piety" by the Dominican order of the Catholic Church in the late middle ages. (See Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism.) Religion and the Rise of Capitalism.) The Dominicans, having discovered that preaching against usury did not deter the usurer, founded their own banks and provided loans without interest; this "ethical compet.i.tion" (as Josiah Warren later called it) drove the commercial banks out of the areas where the Dominicans practiced it. Similar private currency, loaned at a low rate of interest (but not at no interest), was provided by Scots banks until the British government, acting on behalf of the monopoly of the Bank of England, stopped this exercise of free enterprise. (See Muellen, The Dominicans, having discovered that preaching against usury did not deter the usurer, founded their own banks and provided loans without interest; this "ethical compet.i.tion" (as Josiah Warren later called it) drove the commercial banks out of the areas where the Dominicans practiced it. Similar private currency, loaned at a low rate of interest (but not at no interest), was provided by Scots banks until the British government, acting on behalf of the monopoly of the Bank of England, stopped this exercise of free enterprise. (See Muellen, Free Banking.) Free Banking.) The same idea was tried successfully in the American colonies before the Revolution, and again was suppressed by the British government, which some heretical historians regard as a more direct cause of the American Revolution than the taxes mentioned in most schoolbooks. (See Ezra Pound, The same idea was tried successfully in the American colonies before the Revolution, and again was suppressed by the British government, which some heretical historians regard as a more direct cause of the American Revolution than the taxes mentioned in most schoolbooks. (See Ezra Pound, Impact Impact, and additional sources cited therein.) During the nineteenth century many anarchists and individualists attempted to issue low-interest or no-interest private currencies. Mutual Banking Mutual Banking, by Colonel William Greene, and True Civilization True Civilization, by Josiah Warren, are records of two such attempts, by their instigators. Lysander Spooner, an anarchist who was also a const.i.tutional lawyer, argued at length that Congress had no authority to suppress such private currencies (see his Our Financiers: Their Ignorance, Usurpations and Frauds) Our Financiers: Their Ignorance, Usurpations and Frauds). A general overview of such efforts at free enterprise, soon crushed by the Capitalist State, is given by James M. Martin in his Men Against the State Men Against the State, and by Rudolph Rocker in Pioneers of American Freedom Pioneers of American Freedom (an ironic t.i.tle, since his pioneers all lost their major battles). Lawrence Labadie, of Suffern, N.Y., has collected (but not yet published) records of 1,000 such experiments; one of the present authors, Robert Anton Wilson, unearthed in 1962 the tale of a no-interest currency, privately issued, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, during the 1930s depression. (This was an emergency measure by certain local businessmen, who did not fully appreciate the principle involved, and was abandoned as soon as the "tight-money" squeeze ended and Roosevelt began flooding us all with Federal Reserve notes.) (an ironic t.i.tle, since his pioneers all lost their major battles). Lawrence Labadie, of Suffern, N.Y., has collected (but not yet published) records of 1,000 such experiments; one of the present authors, Robert Anton Wilson, unearthed in 1962 the tale of a no-interest currency, privately issued, in Yellow Springs, Ohio, during the 1930s depression. (This was an emergency measure by certain local businessmen, who did not fully appreciate the principle involved, and was abandoned as soon as the "tight-money" squeeze ended and Roosevelt began flooding us all with Federal Reserve notes.) It is traditional among liberal historians to dismiss such endeavors as "funny-money schemes." They have never explained why government money is any less hilarious. (That used in the U.S. now, for instance, is actually worth 47 percent of its "declared" face value). All money is funny, if you stop to think about it, but no private currency, competing on a free market, could ever be quite so comical (and tragic) as the notes now bearing the magic imprint of Uncle Sam-and backed only by his promise (or threat) that, come h.e.l.l or high water, by G.o.d he"ll make it good by taxing our descendants unto the infinite generation to pay the interest on it. The National Debt, so called, is of course, nothing else but the debt we owe the bankers who "loaned" this money to Uncle after he kindly gave them the credit which enabled them to make this loan. Hempscrip or even acidscrip or peyotescrip could never be quite so clownish as this system, which only the Illuminati (if they really exist) could have dreamed up. The system has but one advantage: It makes bankers richer every year. n.o.body else, from the industrial capitalist or "captain of industry" to the coal-miner, profits from it in any way, and all pay the taxes, which become the interest payments, which make the bankers richer. If the Illuminati did not exist, it would be necessary to invent them-such a system can be explained in no other way, except by those cynics who hold that human stupidity is infinite.
The idea behind hempscrip is more radical than the notion of private-enterprise currency per se. Hempscrip, as employed in the novel, depreciates; it is, thus, not merely a no-interest no-interest currency, but a currency, but a negative-interest negative-interest currency. The lender literally pays the borrower to take it away for a while. It was invented by German business-economist Silvio Gesell, and is described in his currency. The lender literally pays the borrower to take it away for a while. It was invented by German business-economist Silvio Gesell, and is described in his Natural Economic Order Natural Economic Order and in professor Irving Fisher"s and in professor Irving Fisher"s Stamp Script Stamp Script.
Gresham"s Law, like most of the "laws" taught in State-supported public schools, is not quite true (at least, not in the form in which it is usually taught). "Bad money drives out good" holds only in authoritarian societies, not in libertarian societies "Bad money drives out good" holds only in authoritarian societies, not in libertarian societies. (Gresham was clear-minded enough to state explicitly that he was only describing authoritarian societies; his his formulation of his own "Law" begins with the words "If the king issueth two moneys...," thereby implying that the State must exist if the "Law" is to operate.) formulation of his own "Law" begins with the words "If the king issueth two moneys...," thereby implying that the State must exist if the "Law" is to operate.) In a libertarian society, good money will drive out the bad In a libertarian society, good money will drive out the bad. This Utopian proposition-which the sane reader will regard with acute skepticism-has been seen to be sound by a rigorously logical demonstration, based on the axioms of economics, in The Cause of Business Depressions The Cause of Business Depressions by Hugo Bilgrim and Edward Levy. by Hugo Bilgrim and Edward Levy.*
* Economists can "prove" all sorts of things from axioms and few of them turn out to be true. Yes. We saved for a footnote the information that at least four empirical demonstrations of the reverse of Gresham"s Law are on record. Three of them, employing small volunteer communities in frontier U.S.A. circa 1830-1860, are recorded in Josiah Warren"s True Civilization True Civilization. The fourth, employing contemporary college students in a psychology laboratory, is the subject of a recent Master"s thesis by a.s.sociate professor Don Werkheiser of Central State College, Wilberforce, Ohio.
APPENDIX ZAIN.
PROPERTY AND PRIVILEGE.
Property is theft.-P. J. PROUDHONProperty is liberty.-P. J. PROUDHONProperty is impossible.--P. J. PROUDHON Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. -RALPH W WALDO E EMERSON Proudhon, by piling up his contradictions this way, was not merely being French; he was trying to indicate that the abstraction "property" covers a variety of phenomena, some pernicious and some beneficial. Let us borrow a device from the semanticists and examine his triad with subscripts attached for maximum clarity.
"Property1 is theft" means that property is theft" means that property1 created by the artificial laws of feudal, capitalist, and other authoritarian societies, is based on aimed robbery. Land t.i.tles, for instance, are clear examples of property created by the artificial laws of feudal, capitalist, and other authoritarian societies, is based on aimed robbery. Land t.i.tles, for instance, are clear examples of property1; swords and shot were the original coins of transaction.
"Property2 is liberty" means that property is liberty" means that property1, that which will be voluntarily honored in a voluntary (anarchist) society, is the foundation of the liberty in that society. The more people"s interests are comingled and confused, as in collectivism, the more they will be stepping on each other"s toes; only when the rules of the game declare clearly "This is mine and this is thine," and the game is voluntarily accepted as worthwhile by all parties to it and the game is voluntarily accepted as worthwhile by all parties to it, can true independence be achieved.
"Property* is impossible" means that property3 (= property (= property1 creates so much conflict of interest that society is in perpetual undeclared civil war and must eventually devour itself (and properties creates so much conflict of interest that society is in perpetual undeclared civil war and must eventually devour itself (and properties1 and and3 as well). In short, Proudhon, in his own way, foresaw the Snafu Principle. He also foresaw that communism would only perpetuate and aggravate the conflicts, and that as well). In short, Proudhon, in his own way, foresaw the Snafu Principle. He also foresaw that communism would only perpetuate and aggravate the conflicts, and that anarchy is the only viable alternative to this chaos anarchy is the only viable alternative to this chaos.
It is not averred, of course, that property2 will come into existence only in a totally voluntary society; many forms of it already exist. The error of most alleged libertarians-especially the followers (!) of the egregious Ayn Rand-is to a.s.sume that all property will come into existence only in a totally voluntary society; many forms of it already exist. The error of most alleged libertarians-especially the followers (!) of the egregious Ayn Rand-is to a.s.sume that all property1 is property is property2. The distinction can be made by any IQ above 70 and is absurdly simple. The test is to ask, of any t.i.tle of ownership you are asked to accept or which you ask others to accept, "Would this be honored in a free society of rationalists, or does it require the armed might of a State to force people to honor it?" If it be the former, it is property2 and represents liberty; if it be the latter, it is property and represents liberty; if it be the latter, it is property1 and represents theft. and represents theft.
APPENDIX CHETH.
HAGBARD"S ABDICATION Readers who do not understand the scene in which Hag-bard abdicates in favor of Miss Portinari should take heart.
Once they do understand it, they will understand most of the mysteries of all schools of mysticism.
APPENDIX LAMED.
THE TACTICS OF MAGICK.
The human brain evidently operates on some variation of the famous principle enunciated in The Hunting of the Snark: The Hunting of the Snark: "What I tell you three times is true." "What I tell you three times is true."
The most important idea in the Book of Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage Book of Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage is the simple-looking formula "Invoke often." is the simple-looking formula "Invoke often."
The most successful form of treatment for so-called mental disorders, the Behavior Therapy of Pavlov, Skinner, Wolpe, et al., could well be summarized in two similar words: "Reinforce often." ("Reinforcement," for all practical purposes, means the same as the layman"s term "reward." The essence of Behavior Therapy is rewarding desired behavior; the behavior "as if by magic" begins to occur more and more often as the rewards continue.) Advertising, as everybody knows, is based on the axiom "Repeat often."
Those who think they are "materialists" and think that "materialism" requires them to deny all facts which do not square with their definition of "matter" are loath to admit the well-doc.u.mented and extensive list of individuals who have been cured of serious maladies by that very vulgar and absurd form of magick known as Christian Science. Nonetheless, the reader who wants to understand this cla.s.sic work of immortal literature will have to a.n.a.lyze its deepest meanings, guided by an awareness that there is no essential difference between magick, Behavior Therapy, advertising, and Christian Science. All of them can be condensed into Abra-Melin"s simple "Invoke often."
Reality, as Simon Moon says, is thermoplastic, not thermosetting. It is not quite Silly-Putty, as Mr. Paul Kra.s.sner once claimed, but is much closer to Silly-Putty than we generally realize. If you are told often enough that "Budweiser is the king of beers," Budweiser will eventually taste somewhat better-perhaps a great deal better-than it tasted before this magick spell was cast. If a behavior therapist in the pay of the communists rewards you every time you repeat a communist slogan, you will repeat it more often, and begin to slide imperceptibly toward the same kind of belief that Christian Scientists have for their mantras. And if a Christian Scientist tells himself every day that his ulcer is going away, the ulcer will disappear more rapidly than it would have had he not subjected himself to this homemade advertising campaign. Finally, if a magician invokes the Great G.o.d Pan often enough, the Great G.o.d Pan will appear just as certainly as heteros.e.xual behavior appears in h.o.m.os.e.xuals who are being handled (or manhandled) by Behavior Therapy.
The opposite and reciprocal of "Invoke often" is "Banish often."
The magician wishing for a manifestation of Pan will not only invoke Pan directly and verbally, create Panlike conditions in his temple, reinforce Pan a.s.sociations in every gesture and every article of furniture, use the colors and perfumes a.s.sociated with Pan, etc.; he will also banish other G.o.ds verbally, banish them by removing their a.s.sociated furnitures and colors and perfumes, and banish them in every other way. The Behavior Therapist calls this "negative reinforcement," and in treating a patient who is afraid of elevators he will not only reinforce (reward) every instance in which the patient rides an elevator without terror, but will also negatively reinforce (punish) each indication of terror shown by the patient. The Christian Scientist, of course, uses a mantra or spell which both reinforces health and negatively reinforces (banishes) illness.* Similarly, a commercial not only motivates the listener toward the sponsor"s product but discourages interest in all "false G.o.ds" by subsuming them under the rubric of the despised and contemptible Brand X. Similarly, a commercial not only motivates the listener toward the sponsor"s product but discourages interest in all "false G.o.ds" by subsuming them under the rubric of the despised and contemptible Brand X.
Hypnotism, debate, and countless other games have the same mechanism: Invoke often Invoke often and and Banish often Banish often.
The reader who seeks a deeper understanding of this argument can obtain it by putting these principles to the test. If you are afraid that you might, in this Christian environment, fall into taking the Christian Science mantra too seriously, try instead the following simple experiment. For forty days and forty nights, begin each day by invoking and praising the world in itself as an expression of the Egyptian deities. Recite at dawn: I bless Ra, the fierce sun burning bright I bless Isis-Luna in the night I bless the air, the Horus-hawk I bless the earth on which I walk Repeat at moonrise. Continue for the full forty days and forty nights. We say without any reservations that, at a minimum, you will feel happier and more at home in this part of the galaxy (and will also understand better Uncle John Feather"s att.i.tude toward our planet); at maximum, you may find rewards beyond your expectations, and will be converted to using this mantra for the rest of your life. (If the results are exceptionally good, you just might start believing in ancient Egyptian G.o.ds.) A selection of magick techniques which will offend the reason of no materialist can be found in Laura Archera Huxley"s You Are Not the Target You Are Not the Target (a powerful mantra, the t.i.tle!), in (a powerful mantra, the t.i.tle!), in Gestalt Therapy Gestalt Therapy, by Perls, Heferline, and Goodman, and in Mind Games Mind Games, by Masters and Houston.
All this, of course, is programming your own trip by manipulating appropriate cl.u.s.ters of word, sound, image, and emotional (prajna) (prajna) energy. The aspect of magick which puzzles, perplexes, and provokes the modern mentality is that in which the operator programs somebody else"s trip, energy. The aspect of magick which puzzles, perplexes, and provokes the modern mentality is that in which the operator programs somebody else"s trip, acting at a distance acting at a distance. It is incredible and insulting, to this type of person, if one a.s.serts that our Mr. Nkrumah Fubar could program a headache for the President of the United States. He might grant that such manipulating of energy is possible if the President was told about Mr. Fubar"s spells, but he will not accept that it works just as well when the subject has no conscious knowledge of the curse.
The magical theory that 5 = 6 has no conviction for such a skeptic, and magicians have not yet proposed a better theory. The materialist then a.s.serts that all cases where magic did appear to work under this handicap are illusions, delusions, hallucinations, "coincidences,"* misapprehensions, "luck," accident, or downright hoax. misapprehensions, "luck," accident, or downright hoax.
He does not seem to realize that a.s.serting this is equivalent to a.s.serting that reality is, after all, thermoplastic-for he is admitting that many people live in a different reality than his own. Rather than leave him to grapple as best he can with this self-contradiction, we suggest that he consult Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain, by Ostrander and Schroder-especially Chapter 11, "From Animals to Cybernetics: The Search for a Theory of Psi." He might realize that when "matter" is fully understood, there is nothing a materialist need reject in magick action at a distance action at a distance, which has been well explored by scientists committed to the rigid Marxist form of dialectical materialism.