Mystics Cave

The number of items of potential interest.

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The remains of a mighty Persian army said to have drowned in the sands of the western Egyptian desert 2,500 years ago might have been finally located, solving one of archaeology's biggest outstanding mysteries, according to Italian researchers.

//www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33791672/ns/technology_and_science-science

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Stellar Magick: a practical guide to the rites of the Moon, Planets, Stars and Constellations"
by Payam Nabarz (Avalonia 2009) review by Mogg Morgan

//www.stellarmagic.co.uk/

This is Payam's first major monograph since the publication of "Mysteries of Mithras". His devotion to the unconquered one here leading him further in his stellar devotions, mainly in the sense of work with the principal constellations known to the ancient Greeks. Unlike postmodern astrology he aims for a two way dialectic. He begins with a useful précis of the cult of Mithras for those not familiar with his earlier book or like most of us welcome a short refresher.

He then creates his own opening rite based around the four stellar markers known in his tradition as the [Persian] Royal stars. Nominally these are given as: In the east Aldebaran (Taurus) ; South, Regulus (Leo) South; West, Antares (Scorpio) and North, Fomalhaut (Aquarius).

The idea now is a process of Hermetic ascent through the planets, zodiac and finally the major constellations. For this purpose Payam provides detailed ritual, much of it based on antique sources such as the Theban Magical Library (PGM); Pyramid texts; Babylonian, Orphic, Roman, Greek and Persian religious traditions. Perhaps it makes for some slightly overlong, intellectual invocations that will not suit all temperaments. Even so its easy to take stuff out . . . much more difficult to put it in . . .

Payam makes some reference to the so-called "Ladder of Horus & Seth", and its undoubted stellar nature, although I suspect this alludes to archaic lunar mysteries. But whatever way one looks at it, it’s a "stairway to heaven".

What caught my eye was the special altar Payam has developed for use during these rites. He has taken a technique developed in the Golden Dawn Occult Society for work with Ursa Major, where the altar is decorated with candles in the shape of the constellation. Payam has really developed this idea - applying it with some gusto to the other constellations. His customised altar has developed to become a moveable planisphere decorated with the fixed components and plenty of room to, in the words of the popular song, "set the controls for the heart of the sun".

Magick in general is just now going through a very creative stage; particularly I'd say important work with the old time stellar magical religion and indeed new lunar secrets. I suppose I like to see a slightly bigger nod to Kenneth Grant, whose name is usually linked with this kind of work - especially in connection with the lunar kalas. But as Rufus commented at the recent Thelemic symposium - whether or not one wants to follow Payam's fascinating trajectory, this is a very handy anthology of astral ritual that most working magi are sure to find useful.
-Mandrake Speaks Newsletter, Monthly info for friends of leading occult publisher and bookseller Mandrake of Oxford.
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Winners of Llewellyn “Your Poem Gives Me the Creeps” Halloween Poetry Contest

//www.llewellyn.com/blog/2009/11/your-poem-gives-me-the-creeps-winners/

One Who is Three by Payam Nabarz

Morrigan
Goddess of War,
bestower and reaper of life
Phantom Queen.

Black-feathered, spear in hand
naked breasts heavy with blood and milk,
standing across the river of life.

Your beloved die in your arms,
your foes die at your feet.
Dark mother, luscious Crone, Goddess of death

as a battle rages,
your are there, graceful Raven
tearing flesh from bone.

As the moon wanes
we become closer, and closer
at the dark moon;
we dance in your cave.
Great Queen, Morrigan.

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KULT OV KAOS issue 3 is out, 109 pages and its available free PDF from the site. It also includes an article by me.

Contents
Nietzschean Nonlinear Economics? By Ben Goertzel
The Walls of Heaven By Richard Stanley
Mog Protocol By Frater Drench
Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the
Birth of ...the Hippie Generation
Part III By Dave McGowan
Interview with KatieJane Garside of Ruby Throat By Saint Natas
i am at lukla airport By KatieJane Garside
Calling Demons into a Glass of Water! By David Rankine
ANARCHISM By Emma Goldman
Go With the Flow – But Be Ready for Surprises on the Way by Jeff Atkins
The Holy Guardian Angel: Exploring the Sacred Magick of Abramelin the Mage
By Aaron Leitch
Interview with Shou Wang and Shenggy of White By Saint Natas
Was Cagliostro A 'Charlatan'? By H. P. Blavatsky
Wasted My Life (A letter from prison) By Joseph R. Gerken I
Stellar Magic By Payam Nabarz

//www.saintnatas.com/kok-publishing.php
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A new Liber Persephone being launched for Samhain (Halloween), makes great Samhain reading. Powerful images and words combine in this lyrical journey into darkness.

Persephone is a shadowy liminal figure, shifting, both in image and in character across time. Was she a victim of the wiles of Hades, or a willing Queen of ...the underworld?

In this lyrical re-working of the classical myth of Persephone and the epic journey to and return from the underworld, her voice is explored as it has never been heard before. Through a rich tapestry of words and images that resonate with both classical and contemporary interpretations of this grand narrative, Katherine Sutherland and Alex Singleton breath new life into the age-old story of descent, ascent and transformation.

//www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/underworld/7714043
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