tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney) (06/08/85)
New Age Digest #6
Moderator: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K.ARPA
(uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim)
Wed Jan 23 00:47:59 EST 1985
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This Incarnation:
Pagan Music Reviews
Selections from the Blue Equinox
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Date: Fri, 18 Jan 85 14:12:37 PST
From: Ellen Perlman <ellen@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA>
Subject: another posting for NewAge Digest
i've been listening to some Pagan music lately, and i thought i would open
up a discussion of suitable music for meditating, rituals, devotion (huh?),
and healing. first, let me say that i am NOT "mellow and laid back" (now,
what's the New Wave equivalent?), so my own collection contains little
soothing music (i relax to the soundtrack from "The Exorcist").
anyway, back on the Old Track... the music i've been listening to lately
is comtemporary for the most part, composed to celebrate seasonal and life-
cycle events, the Lady and the Horned One, and just being Pagan. some is
quite beautiful, some is very moving, and some, if neither of the previous
two, is at least very sincere.
Ruth Barrett & Cyntia Smith
both are dulcimer players and Dianic witches (not lesbians, mind you,
as if that should make any difference). the music they make is a mixture of
traditional folk (mostly of Celtic origin), traditional music with words they
write, or composed by one or both of them. i've known Ruth for years and
she has certainly grown and changed since she first played at the Renaissance
Faire. i bought their most recent album "DEEPENING" after seeing them perform
at a local folk club. it was very moving. they audience was obviously
composed of hard core fans. their records and tapes are generally available
at folk music shops and record shops with a folk section. anyway, their
"discography" is:
AEOLUS
MUSIC OF THE ROLLING WORLD
DEEPENING
Shekhinah Mountainwater
i've only listened to one of her tapes, which contained chants, songs,
and invocations - "SONGS AND CHANTS OF THE GODDESS". she has a couple more
with "spoken theater" pieces which i have not heard. her music is haunting
and unusual. the lyrics are deeply Pagan and Wiccan and Goddess oriented.
musically, her voice varies from pleasant to harsh, and her musicianship
is not extremely sophisticated. i'm getting this tape anyway, because it is
POWERFUL. available from CIRCLE (see below) or directly from the composer:
Shekhinah
Box 2991
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Gwydion Pendderwen
the original Pagan troubadour. his songs never fall into the
magical-fantasy trap that some writers of Pagan music do. the recording
quality of his first tape "GWYDION PENDDERWEN SINGS SONGS FOR THE OLD
RELIGION" leaves something (much!) to be desired. but that
was back in the 1970's when overtly Pagan music did not exist. the songs,
however, are wonderful. the second tape, "FAERIE SHAMAN" has a decent
sound quality. on this one he is accompanied by a number of good musicians,
which adds to the vitality of the songs. his true devotion to the Lord &
Lady is tempered by his great sense of humor. unfortunately for all of us,
he died in a car accident in 1982. his music, including a song book and
a summer ritual theater book, are available from those carrying on his
goals.
Forever Forests
P.O.Box 212
Redwood Valley, CA 95470
their goal is healing the earth. for $5 they will plant a 2 year old pine,
cedar, or redwood in your name; for $15, a fruit, nut, or hardwood tree.
T-shirts with a lovely logo (an aesthetically drawn tree with calligraphy
around it saying: Forever Forests - Heal the Earth) is available for $8.
Laughter and Love
a Pagan pop music group composed of 2 women and a man, is based in
Seattle, Washington. their music is up beat and good humored. perhaps a
bit too "pop" for my tastes, but quite pleasant. some of the songs are
magical-fantasy, some Pagan, and some definitely Goddess-oriented. one is
dedicated to the late Gwydion.
Laughter & Love
P.O.Box 30908
Seattle, WA 98103
Starcrystal
this group which sings songs composed by Cerridwen and Darragh,
plays exquisite, delicate, lyrical music. some are traditional folk songs,
not Pagan, some are magical fantasy, some are definitely Pagan. they also
have some sense of humor, as evinced by their acknowledgement for the
provider of security during their recording: Cosmic Karma Collection Agency.
they also give special thanks to Gwydion.
Starcrystal
Star Rider Records
P.O.Box 4841
Albequerque, NM 87196
Moon Hooves in the Sand
this is a tape of music by Kenny Klein & Tziporah Katz. this is
straight forwardly Wiccan music, with a, how shall i say it, Mediterranean
flavor. (funny, you don't look Bluish). the instrumentation includes guitar
and violin. less sophisticated in sound than, say, Starcrystal, but much
more useful for circles, rituals, etc. they are professional folk singers
(very folky) based in Brooklyn. available from CIRCLE
Cindee Grace
i mention her here so as not to slight her. i borrowed the
cassette from a friend, and now have no reference to its title or source.
she has great sensitivity - the pieces are Goddess oriented and feminist,
but she also has a terrific sense of humor. the music runs the gamut from
folk, contemporary, to mellow jazz. the musicians, of high caliber, are
all women. i don't have the address, which i can find, eventually, but
she's located in Boulder, Colorado. may be available in feminist book stores.
Circle
this couple, Selena Fox and Jim Alan, are a solid and long time
dedicated source for Pagan music, books, etc. Circle has a farm in Wisconsin
which is the site of Pagan and Wiccan celebrations and rituals. their coven
conducts healing rituals every new moon (you can send in a request, and two
healers will concentrate on you alone, as well as the group focussing its
energy on your problem). they publish "CIRCLE NETWORK NEWS" a broad
ranging pagan newsletter, published quarterly. they sponsor "PAGAN SPIRIT
ALLIANCE" a source for pagan networking (Pagan pen-pals !?!). they sell
tapes of pagan music, books, and some ritual items by mail ($1 for catalog)
they have appeared on the ?Tom? Donohue show (the day "liberal" tv talk show)
and generally do what they can to help Pagans of every flavor keep in touch
with each other, and to help others understand Paganism as a true spiritual
path, and not just a bunch of nuts eating babies and sacrificing chickens.
their music is quite sincere. Selena's chants are simple, effective and
easy to use (sorry, i don't mean to sound so flippant). however, she has
a very hard and unmusical voice. jim writes magical-fantasy songs of a
romantic nature (romantic meaning an unrealistic view of the past). so,
i can't recommend their tapes. their songbook ($4, postpaid), however
(contains over 2 dozen songs and chants, some VERY short, and some VERY long)
is a valuable part of a Pagan library (buy the book! read the music! sing
it yourself!). and the quarterly ($9 per year) is worthwhile.
CIRCLE
P.O.Box 219
Mt. Horeb, WI 53572
Earth Wisdom Music
this is a source for New Age/Multi-cultural/cross cultural
meditational/healing/spirit feeding musics. their catalog is FREE!
28 pages plus a 16 page up-date. good descriptions of the various
records and tapes they offer. not quite so much Pagan music, but they
are expanding in that area. lots of Steve Halpern, Kay Gardner, and
so many more!
Earth Wisdom Music
P.O.Box 7845
Ann Arbor, MI 48107
///|\\\ Merry Meet,
/// \\\
//{o} {o}\\ Merry Part,
ll " ll
'll ~ ll` and Merry Meet Again!
lll lll
''' ```
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Date: Mon, 21 Jan 85 05:21:32 pst
From: joshua!josh@UCB-VAX
Subject: A tidbit from the Blue Equinox
Here is an interesting item from the "Blue" Equinox, published (as Tim
mentioned in NAD #something) by the Ordo Templi Orientis in 1929, and
republished by Weiser most recently in 1974. For those of you unfamiliar
with the context, the Master Therion is Aleister Crowley. Incidentally,
this is officially an A:.A:. document, not an O.T.O. document, which
should serve to confuse the issue further...This material is (c) Ordo
Templi Orientis.
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Liber II
THE MESSAGE OF THE MASTER THERION
[The quotations in this Message are from Liber Legis -- The Book
of the Law.-- Ed]
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
"There is no Law beyond Do what thou wilt."
"The word of the law is (Thelema)". (in Greek)
(Thelema)--Thelema--means Will.
The key to this Message is this word--Will. The first obvious meaning
of this Law is confirmed by antithesis: "The word of Sin is Restriction."
Again: "Thou hast no right but to do they will. Do that and no
other shall say nay. For pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from
the lust of result, is in every way perfect."
Take this carefully; it seems to imply a theory that if every man
and every woman did his and her will--the true will--there would be no
clashing. "Every man and every woman is a star", and each star moves in
an appointed path without interference. There is plenty of room for all;
it is only disorder that creates confusion.
From these considerations it should be clear that "Do what thou
wilt" does not mean "Do what you like." It is the apotheosis of Freedom;
but it is also the strictist possible bond.
Do what thou wilt--then do nothing else. Let nothing deflect thee
from that austere and holy task. Liberty is absolute to do thy will; but
seek to do any other thing whatever, and instantly obstacles must arise.
Every act that is not in definate course of that one orbit is erratic,
an hindrance. Will must not be two, but one.
Note further that this will is not only to be pure, that is, single,
as explained above, but also "unassauged of purpose." This strange phrase
must give us pause. It may mean that any purpose in that will would damp
it; clearly the "lust of result" is a thing from which it must be delivered.
But this phrase may also be interpreted as if it read "with purpose
unassuaged"--i.e., with tireless energy. The conception is, therefore,
of an eternal motion, infinite and unalterable. It is Nirvana, only dynamic
instead of static--and this comes to the same thing in the end.
The obvious practical task of the magician is then to discover
what his will really is, so that he may do it in this manner, and he can
best accomplish this by the methods of Liber Thisharb (see Equinox I. VII.
105) or by such others as may from one time to another be appointed.
It should now be perfectly simple for everybody to understand the
Message of the Master Therion.
Thou must (1) Find out what is thy Will. (2) Do that will with
(a) one-pointedness, (b) detachment, (c) peace.
Then, and then only, art thou in harmony with the Movement of Things,
thy will part of, and therefore equal to, the Will of God. And since the
will is but the dynamic aspect of the self, and since two different selves
could not posess identical wills; then, if thy will be God's will, Thou
art That.
There is but one other word to explain. Elsewhere it is written--
surely for our great comfort--"Love is the law, love under will."
This is to be taken as meaning that while Will is the Law, the
nature of that Will is Love. But this Love is as it were a by-product of
that Will; it does not contradict or supercede that Will; and if apparent
contradiction should arise in any crisis, it is the Will that will guide
us aright. Lo, while in the Book of the Law is much of Love, there is no
word of Sentimentality. Hate itself is almost like Love! Fighting most
certainly is Love! "As brothers fight ye!" All the manly races of the world
understand this. The love of Liber Legis is always bold, virile, even
orgiastic. There is delicacy, but it is the delicacy of strength. Mighty
and terrible and glorious as it is, however, it is but the pennon upon
the sacred lance of Will, the damascened inscription upon the swords of
the Knight-monks of Thelema.
Love is the law, love under will.
93 93/93 93
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd,fortune,zehntel}!dual!joshua!josh
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Date: Mon, 21 Jan 85 05:22:14 pst
From: joshua!josh@UCB-VAX
Subject: Another piece of Blue EQ...
For publication, if you wish; I think it is a nice devotional...
A PSALM
The Lord hath filled my mouth with thanksgiving; the
Righteousness of the Lord hath made my throat his
habitation.
The pavilion of the Lord is the roof of my mouth; the gate-
way of the Lord is of ivory.
My tongue is the handmaiden of the Lord; the Lord hath
delighted in the palace of porphyry.
My lips shall rejoice in the righteousness of the Lord; my
belly shall give thank, for the Lord filleth it with
benediction.
I am the vessel of the Lord; the Lord delighteth in me; the
Lord hat brought me to fulfilment.
Give praise unto the Lord, all ye that love the Lord; rejoice in
Him, ye sons and daughters of enlightenment.
Behold, the Lord is exalted in righteousness; His uprightness
filleth the earth with praise.
For the Lord filleth my mouth with silence; and the blessing of
the Lord is my satisfaction.
With secret song do I magnify the Lord; and His utterance is
Light.
--Aleister Crowley, published Spring 1929
93 93/93 93
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,decwrl,amd,fortune,zehntel}!dual!joshua!josh
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End of New Age Digest #6
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-=-
Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking
ARPA: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim
CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!"