Hermetic Library Newsletter #93
Thelema, Agape, and a bunch of other more or less secret words!
Welcome to newsletter 93! Thelema, Agape, and a bunch of other more or less secret words! Of course, it’s kinda arbitrary, and whether this is actually newsletter 93 depends on how you count them, but still fun to notice.
Also, I, synchronistically, just passed 93 followers on the library’s Hrmtc I∴O∴ account; and, coincidentally, passed 69 over on the Omnium Gatherum account. It’s definitely been way slower than on other platforms to gain followers in the ‘verse, but even with the library accounts on my little instance I’m at least seeing some people are still able to find me and those few see what I post.
Happy (upcoming) astronomical Samhain, when ☉ at 15° ♏︎ (Sun at 15° Scorpio), which occurs Nov 7 at 10:36 UTC this year. Also, this whole week from observed to astronomical, join me in keeping the real spirit of the season alive!
This week I’m still working mostly on some behind the scenes stuff. I’ve got to migrate the actual library site, and that’s a super big pain to do.
This week’s generative art experiment is text and seal prompts for Marax in Goetia, and text and image hint for The Aeon tarot card as if by Johfra Bosschart. I’ve got with 4-up grids here from MidJourney and DALL-E, and I link to the threads on the library’s social if you want to see them all, being individually posted until done.
Plus almanac, propaganda, a meme, zine, updates, quotes, reviews, and more!
And, as always, I worked on various other things on website, blog, and more … Enjoy!
MidJourney
I generated art based on text description and seal image prompts from Goetia this week for Marax.
(21.) Marax.—The Twenty-first Spirit is Marax. He is a Great Earl and President. He appeareth like a great Bull with a Man’s face. His office is to make Men very knowing in Astronomy, and all other Liberal Sciences; also he can give good Familiars, and wise, knowing the virtues of Herbs and Stones which be precious. He governeth 30 Legions of Spirits, and his Seal is this, which must be made and worn as aforesaid, etc.
I started posting the fully upscaled images on Tuesday and will continue posting until I’ve gotten through them all. Here’s 4up grids with the low-res results from MidJourney on a prompt that combined both text description and seal image.
And here’s a grid of 4 that I created using only the seal image, with no descriptive text.
And here’s a set of 4 that I created in DALL-E using just the text description.
Next up, on Thursday, I started posting fully upscaled results for The Aeon tarot card as if by Johfra Bosschart.
Find out more about the artist Johfra Bosschart and I used the center panel from his Unio Mystica as the visual prompt.
Here’s the grids from MidJourney using a mix of text description with and without the image prompt.
And, a set of 4 previews of what I’ve got from using only the text description in DALL-E.
And, I’ve created entries in Hermeneuticon for Marax and The Aeon.
Almanac
Here’s upcoming calendar and astronomical events, plus the daily Thelemic Tephilah practice for the coming week, November 4–November 11.
Calendar
Follow Calendar on the web, email, rss, and in the ‘verse. And, if you have a current or upcoming event to share, add it to the Hermetic Library Calendar!
- Astronomical Samhain, in the Northern Hemisphere, and Astronomical Beltane, in the Southern Hemisphere; Sun at 15° Scorpio, on Nov 7 at 10:36 UTC this year.
- Greater Feast of Leonard Cohen, died November 7, 2016 at Los Angeles, California
And, check out this upcoming events posted to the Calendar blog.
- William Blake in Songs & Words — Nov 18, 2022, London, UK
Astronomical
- Taurids meteor shower, Nov 4–5
- Daylight saving time ends, Nov 6 (Maybe time to fall back, if you even still do that anymore?!)
- Astronomical Samhain, in the Northern Hemisphere, Sun at 15° Scorpio, on Nov 7 at 10:36 UTC.
- Total lunar eclipse, Nov 7–8 (NASA flyer Total Lunar Eclipse of 2022 Nov 08 PDF)
- Full moon, Nov 8
- Uranus at opposition, Nov 9 (Closest to earth and fully illuminated, visible all night.)
Thelemic Tephilah
Follow Thelemic Tephilah on the web, rss, and in the ‘verse.
- Thelemic Tephilah, November 7, (The Abyss), INTERREGNUM
- Thelemic Tephilah, November 8, (The Abyss), INTERREGNUM
- Thelemic Tephilah, November 9, (The Abyss), INTERREGNUM
- Thelemic Tephilah, November 10, (The Abyss), INTERREGNUM
- Thelemic Tephilah, November 11, Nuit, Liber L., Cap. I, 1-2
Zine
Follow Zine on the web, email, rss, and in the ‘verse. And, if you something you’ve created to share, send it in to the Hermetic Library Zine!
- Untitled by John Griogair Bell
- The Coin by SD Master
- Exorcistic Prayer of the Ašipu by T.A.L. de Sacks
Things to check out at Hermetic Library
- Added entries for Marax and The Aeon to Hermeneuticon.
- Updated the Unicursal SEEK BEAUTY Propaganda page.
And on the blog
- After a year exclusive to Patrons, who generously help make everything I do possible, I have made all curated Omnium Gatherum posts on the blog from October 2021 public. Head to the blog! Remind yourself about all the things I posted that month!
- The meditation on love will overcome in you all hatred and wrath … So very powerful is this method of meditation, that a very short practice will give results — results that you will find working in your life and thoughts, bringing peace and happiness to you, and to all around you. Allan Bennett, The Training of the Mind [Blog]
- The Mystics of Islam—Hermetic Library Fellow T Polyphilus reviews The Mystics of Islam [Amazon, Abebooks, Open Access (PDF), Local Library] by Reynold A Nicholson.
- Omnium Gatherum: 2nov2022—First OG post of the month, open to all Patrons! An irregular hodgepodge of links beyond the library curated together from @OmniumGatherum at Hrmtc I∴O∴ and more. Until this post becomes public in a year, to view this content on the blog, you must be a member of Hermetic Library’s Patreon. However, you can follow the raw feed (drink directly from the firehose!) by heading to @OmniumGatherum at Hrmtc I∴O∴ and participate with likes, boosts, and comments to help curate the best stuff for everyone!
- Pauline cried out; and as she heard her own vain emphasis, added with a little despairing laugh: “How can I tell you? I only want everything to be as it is—for myself, I mean.” “Change,” said the shape. “I don’t change.” Pauline cried out: “And if it changes, it shall change as it must, and I shall want it as it is then.” She laughed again at the useless attempt to explain.—Charles Williams, Descent Into Hell [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] [Blog]
- Horror Films of the 1990s—Hermetic Library Fellow T Polyphilus reviews Horror Films of the 1990s [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by John Kenneth Muir
- At the same time, I sense something like a Gestapo knock, an attempt by the real world to force itself into my carefully maintained happiness, something undeniably capable of smashing my fragile life. The pain which is unaccountable and new, which speaks of its own growth and victory, which speaks of disorder and loss in short bright stabs.—Mary Sativa, Acid Temple Ball [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] [Blog]
- Seven Footprints to Satan—Hermetic Library Fellow T Polyphilus reviews Seven Footprints to Satan [Amazon, Abebooks, Local Library] by Abraham Merritt, cover by Doug Rosa.
- “Imagine if they’d had you in Alexandria.” “Would it have added to the sum of human happiness if the library had survived?” “Apparently most of it did, despite the myth.” “Humans never use the information they’ve got. They seem to value it less the more they have.” “But there’s a romance in what we don’t know or never can.”—Karen Traviss, The Best of Us [Amazon, Bookshop, Local Library] [Blog]
Parents, please be sure to check your kids' Halloween candy! I found some nefarious neighborhood philosopher had already used Occam's razor on my child's idea of a Snickers bar to extract all the important sugary chocolate and left behind only this empty candy bar wrapper trash!
Hermetic Library Newsletter by John Bell the Librarian of Hermetic Library
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Archiving, Engaging and Encouraging the living Esoteric Tradition, Hermeticism, Aleister Crowley's Thelema, & much more. Open Access Occultism for over 25 years.
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