Iron Pills + Crowley Mass + Bloodletting
Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 10:48 pm
A few things led me to this idea and I'm probably not the first to bring it up, but the iron pills, doctor visit, and shot bandaid made me wonder if Bree is anemic? But after reading about Thelema some it became more evident that they seem to believe blood is a life source which they should consume (to receive spiritual power from?) And that possibly the iron pills and doctors visits are related to this. Anyway, I found this excerpt from a Thelema newsletter that relates the blood to Crowleymass...
(Sidenote: I don't neccesarily believe that Crowleymas is the answer to our riddle- because Crowleymass seems like it's open to everyone (not something that would be hard to attend or that Bree's parents would be excluded from) Also the way she described the ceremony it sound like something that happens rarely- not even once a year maybe)
Taken from :http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:ex ... =clnk&cd=6
******************************************************
Hygiene and the Mass
The Gnostic Mass is the central worship rite of O.T.O, written by Crowley as a celebration of the mysteries and an embodiment of our secrets and traditions. Over the years concerns were been raised by participants and others. Some can't or shouldn't drink alcohol. A health and safety issue regarding the Cakes of Light has been discussed.
Fruit juice may be taken in place of wine by communicants, and in 1983 e.v. a convocation of E.G.C. Bishops made it a rule that disposable cups be available for use during the communication of the sacrament. It is also perfectly appropriate to bring your own cup.
In view of potential health hazards involved with blood, the Bishops in '83 established the following provisions: 1. Cakes of Light should be baked for at least 30 minutes in an oven at a reasonably high temperature; and blood should be added prior to baking, with the Abramelin Oil. 2. Communicants are encouraged to provide their own cakes of light in a wrapper with their name. Such cakes may be reserved on the altar for the exclusive use of those who bring them.
It is important to remember that no drugs or other improper ingredients are allowed in the Cakes of Light, including any Cakes brought to the Mass for personal use. No hash-brownies &c. Also no raisins, nuts, or icing. The proper recipe is just that described below from Liber AL. Abra-Melin oil is now available from a number of occult commercial suppliers; and the recipe for that is given Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice, The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage and the Old Testament of the Bible. Wine leavings are the natural sludge found in the bottom of some wine bottles. You can't get it by evaporating a clear red wine on the stove; that's an entirely different substance. Clear wines are fined to remove sediment, and it's the sediment that's used. Cloudy wines can be cleared by introduction of fresh whisked blood, a fining agent used by European vintners. Shake and invert the bottle so the lees will settle, blood and all, into the neck: two ingredients ready to go. This method can also reduce some of the health hazards (not all!) since the blood is slightly sanitized by the alcohol in the wine. The leavings or lees of unpasteurized wine often contain live yeast and can act as leavening. If something cannot be had, do without in making the Cakes; but don't add anything not in the recipe.
Abra-Melin oil and wine lees are the two ingredients hardest to find. A properly made Cake of Light is a type of cinnamon cookie. Abra-Melin oil is a mild antiseptic composed of essential oils of myrrh, cinnamon and galangal diluted with olive oil until it barely stings when placed on the tongue. Galangal was used in the Middle Ages as a pepper substitute. If potable alcohol were used in place of olive oil, you would end up with a simple astringent mouth-wash! I do not suggest a dash of Listerine as a substitute, but some of the cinnamony red gargles do have interesting labels. There is a tooth paste made with myrrh now, but don't use that in the Cakes either. It is possible to make artificial wine lees by taking a half full bottle of red wine (no preservatives or it won't work!) and adding a little sugar and activated yeast. Don't close the bottle or it will explode! If it foams up, it's working. After the foaming stops in a few hours or a day or so, the wine will be cloudy. Introduce your fining agent (blood, remember) and get your lees. Some types of yeast taste better than others. If your Cake of Light is a jaw-breaker, you didn't get good lees into it.
It is sensible to look into alternatives in providing the blood required to make a Cake of Light. Liber AL states:
"The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what." --- AL III,24:
Without attempting to interpret Liber AL, these observations can be made from experience and literature:
1. Menstrual blood has probably been most popular, but it is not considered a good health risk for a congregation. Menses have a chance of containing the female and other principles. See #3 for the male principle.
2. The actual blood of a child, a human minor, is never used under any circumstances. Metaphorically, this ingredient is taken to be a mixture of natural secretions, which in the normal course of nature might contain the elements of conception. This is dangerous in mixed company; aside from any pun, it can act as a vector of disease. See Crowley's comment to the verse; "...applying the knowledge which reposes in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis of the Ninth Degree of O.T.O. The 'child' is 'BABALON and THE BEAST conjoined, the Secret Saviour', that is, the Being symbolized by the Egg and Serpent hieroglyph of the Phoenician adepts."
3. "Blood" dropping from the host of heaven has a special meaning, suggested by Crowley as being the male secretion --- also not appropriate for general congregational use. Crowley's comment again; "The second kind is also a form of BAPHOMET, but differs from the 'child' in that it is the Lion-Serpent in its original form."
4. Blood of enemies might be appropriate for a soldier in the heat of battle, but seems unsuited to a friendly gathering.
5. Blood of the priest or the worshippers is the suggestion of the Bishops in 1983 e.v. Bring your own, neatly baked.
6. Blood of any beast is appropriate for cakes in general communion. It should not be obtained by sacrifice or deliberate bloodletting, but from your friendly local butcher shop. This is a common food commodity, without which it would be impossible to make an impressive line of sausages and dainties available in any well-stocked delicatessen. Sacrifice of animals only makes sense when slaughter for food is a common part of a culture. It is no big thing to say a prayer of thanks over your pot chicken before you swing, bop, chop or snick it. If you live on a farm, why not. Just don't go killing anything for O.T.O., thank you. Hunters generally don't get the time to be fancy. For more on sacrifice, see "From the Out Basket" in this issue.
I suppose someone might be minded to bring their own blood for adding to incomplete Cakes of Light, or possibly a lancet for bloodletting. In the humble opinion of this writer; "Yecht!" Certain things do not belong at an open attendance occasion. It ill behooves us to invite opprobrium all over our nice clean rituals and stuff.
The use of blood in the Cakes of Light, either literal blood or a metaphor of blood, is a necessity in a properly done Gnostic Mass.
"For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood." --- AL III,23:
"This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it be laid before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become full of beetles as it were and creeping things sacred unto me." --- AL III,25:
Just be thankful it isn't the beetles!
It is unnecessary to use anything which may adversely effect or endanger the health of any person before, during or after the Mass. All those who attend the Mass should communicate, except on those occasions, including marriage, where a special order of service is provided. Private Masses and Masses of the Holy Spirit between two celebrants may make very appropriate use of the highest forms noted above. For a general congregational Mass, options 5 and 6 are the way to go. Certifying the priestess pure and without spot every moon would be expensive and impractical however much we might like to think of the the lady as choice or prime. Besides, it would be distracting to have that big purple stamp on the lady's ... ahem!
--- the Hermit Bishop of Marin.
(Sidenote: I don't neccesarily believe that Crowleymas is the answer to our riddle- because Crowleymass seems like it's open to everyone (not something that would be hard to attend or that Bree's parents would be excluded from) Also the way she described the ceremony it sound like something that happens rarely- not even once a year maybe)
Taken from :http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:ex ... =clnk&cd=6
******************************************************
Hygiene and the Mass
The Gnostic Mass is the central worship rite of O.T.O, written by Crowley as a celebration of the mysteries and an embodiment of our secrets and traditions. Over the years concerns were been raised by participants and others. Some can't or shouldn't drink alcohol. A health and safety issue regarding the Cakes of Light has been discussed.
Fruit juice may be taken in place of wine by communicants, and in 1983 e.v. a convocation of E.G.C. Bishops made it a rule that disposable cups be available for use during the communication of the sacrament. It is also perfectly appropriate to bring your own cup.
In view of potential health hazards involved with blood, the Bishops in '83 established the following provisions: 1. Cakes of Light should be baked for at least 30 minutes in an oven at a reasonably high temperature; and blood should be added prior to baking, with the Abramelin Oil. 2. Communicants are encouraged to provide their own cakes of light in a wrapper with their name. Such cakes may be reserved on the altar for the exclusive use of those who bring them.
It is important to remember that no drugs or other improper ingredients are allowed in the Cakes of Light, including any Cakes brought to the Mass for personal use. No hash-brownies &c. Also no raisins, nuts, or icing. The proper recipe is just that described below from Liber AL. Abra-Melin oil is now available from a number of occult commercial suppliers; and the recipe for that is given Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice, The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage and the Old Testament of the Bible. Wine leavings are the natural sludge found in the bottom of some wine bottles. You can't get it by evaporating a clear red wine on the stove; that's an entirely different substance. Clear wines are fined to remove sediment, and it's the sediment that's used. Cloudy wines can be cleared by introduction of fresh whisked blood, a fining agent used by European vintners. Shake and invert the bottle so the lees will settle, blood and all, into the neck: two ingredients ready to go. This method can also reduce some of the health hazards (not all!) since the blood is slightly sanitized by the alcohol in the wine. The leavings or lees of unpasteurized wine often contain live yeast and can act as leavening. If something cannot be had, do without in making the Cakes; but don't add anything not in the recipe.
Abra-Melin oil and wine lees are the two ingredients hardest to find. A properly made Cake of Light is a type of cinnamon cookie. Abra-Melin oil is a mild antiseptic composed of essential oils of myrrh, cinnamon and galangal diluted with olive oil until it barely stings when placed on the tongue. Galangal was used in the Middle Ages as a pepper substitute. If potable alcohol were used in place of olive oil, you would end up with a simple astringent mouth-wash! I do not suggest a dash of Listerine as a substitute, but some of the cinnamony red gargles do have interesting labels. There is a tooth paste made with myrrh now, but don't use that in the Cakes either. It is possible to make artificial wine lees by taking a half full bottle of red wine (no preservatives or it won't work!) and adding a little sugar and activated yeast. Don't close the bottle or it will explode! If it foams up, it's working. After the foaming stops in a few hours or a day or so, the wine will be cloudy. Introduce your fining agent (blood, remember) and get your lees. Some types of yeast taste better than others. If your Cake of Light is a jaw-breaker, you didn't get good lees into it.
It is sensible to look into alternatives in providing the blood required to make a Cake of Light. Liber AL states:
"The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what." --- AL III,24:
Without attempting to interpret Liber AL, these observations can be made from experience and literature:
1. Menstrual blood has probably been most popular, but it is not considered a good health risk for a congregation. Menses have a chance of containing the female and other principles. See #3 for the male principle.
2. The actual blood of a child, a human minor, is never used under any circumstances. Metaphorically, this ingredient is taken to be a mixture of natural secretions, which in the normal course of nature might contain the elements of conception. This is dangerous in mixed company; aside from any pun, it can act as a vector of disease. See Crowley's comment to the verse; "...applying the knowledge which reposes in the Sanctuary of the Gnosis of the Ninth Degree of O.T.O. The 'child' is 'BABALON and THE BEAST conjoined, the Secret Saviour', that is, the Being symbolized by the Egg and Serpent hieroglyph of the Phoenician adepts."
3. "Blood" dropping from the host of heaven has a special meaning, suggested by Crowley as being the male secretion --- also not appropriate for general congregational use. Crowley's comment again; "The second kind is also a form of BAPHOMET, but differs from the 'child' in that it is the Lion-Serpent in its original form."
4. Blood of enemies might be appropriate for a soldier in the heat of battle, but seems unsuited to a friendly gathering.
5. Blood of the priest or the worshippers is the suggestion of the Bishops in 1983 e.v. Bring your own, neatly baked.
6. Blood of any beast is appropriate for cakes in general communion. It should not be obtained by sacrifice or deliberate bloodletting, but from your friendly local butcher shop. This is a common food commodity, without which it would be impossible to make an impressive line of sausages and dainties available in any well-stocked delicatessen. Sacrifice of animals only makes sense when slaughter for food is a common part of a culture. It is no big thing to say a prayer of thanks over your pot chicken before you swing, bop, chop or snick it. If you live on a farm, why not. Just don't go killing anything for O.T.O., thank you. Hunters generally don't get the time to be fancy. For more on sacrifice, see "From the Out Basket" in this issue.
I suppose someone might be minded to bring their own blood for adding to incomplete Cakes of Light, or possibly a lancet for bloodletting. In the humble opinion of this writer; "Yecht!" Certain things do not belong at an open attendance occasion. It ill behooves us to invite opprobrium all over our nice clean rituals and stuff.
The use of blood in the Cakes of Light, either literal blood or a metaphor of blood, is a necessity in a properly done Gnostic Mass.
"For perfume mix meal & honey & thick leavings of red wine: then oil of Abramelin and olive oil, and afterward soften & smooth down with rich fresh blood." --- AL III,23:
"This burn: of this make cakes & eat unto me. This hath also another use; let it be laid before me, and kept thick with perfumes of your orison: it shall become full of beetles as it were and creeping things sacred unto me." --- AL III,25:
Just be thankful it isn't the beetles!
It is unnecessary to use anything which may adversely effect or endanger the health of any person before, during or after the Mass. All those who attend the Mass should communicate, except on those occasions, including marriage, where a special order of service is provided. Private Masses and Masses of the Holy Spirit between two celebrants may make very appropriate use of the highest forms noted above. For a general congregational Mass, options 5 and 6 are the way to go. Certifying the priestess pure and without spot every moon would be expensive and impractical however much we might like to think of the the lady as choice or prime. Besides, it would be distracting to have that big purple stamp on the lady's ... ahem!
--- the Hermit Bishop of Marin.
