I was turned on by Everitt's thesis by the discussion in the Balanciaga topic. If you have not read this thesis, you can get it for free from academia.edu and the full title is The Cactus and the Beast: Investigating the role of peyote in the Magick of Aleister Crowley.
Everitt argues that the reception of AL could have involved peyote. But he writes, "Unsurprisingly, however, Crowley never mentioned sex magick in connection with 1904."
That seems proof positive that Everitt didn't have access to (or know about) the ritual of Horus. What is the name of the Liber that details the Cairo Working? It's not a readily available work.
Everitt argues that the reception of AL could have involved peyote.
I never argued that point ... but I made it. Twice.
But he writes, "Unsurprisingly, however, Crowley never mentioned sex magick in connection with 1904."
Huh? "The ritual is of sex," is a major key line writ in the Cairo reception. Due to the nature of that ritual, he never wrote more about it in order to avoid jail.
What is the name of the Liber that details the Cairo Working?
The Equinox of the Gods. 1936. Readily available for free download from multiple sites.
The Equinox of the Gods. 1936. Readily available for free download from multiple sites.
No, it's a very small book that gives some parts of the diary, notes on the invocation, and other details (including the sex part).
Are you thinking of the book Invocation of Hoor by Marcus Katz, that apparently republished Crowley's diaries in 1904 with discussion of those items...something that Richard T. Cole refers to in his Liber L vel Bogus. And where apparently the book was censured in some way by the OTO?
Are you thinking of the book Invocation of Hoor by Marcus Katz, that apparently republished Crowley's diaries in 1904 with discussion of those items...something that Richard T. Cole refers to in his Liber L vel Bogus. And where apparently the book was censured in some way by the OTO?
Yes! Thank you. I could not, for the life of me, remember the title or if it was an official Liber or not.
The point being that, in the diary excerpt printed therein, the procedure is very blatantly sexual.
There is also a note about the "incense" that suggests it be taken orally.
Of course the OTO wants it censured. Just like the 1914-20 diaries.
If you have not read this thesis, you can get it for free from academia.edu and the full title is The Cactus and the Beast: Investigating the role of peyote in the Magick of Aleister Crowley.
I thought it was interesting when I read it years ago.
Everitt argues that the reception of AL could have involved peyote.
Peyote only grows in the southern border states of the U.S. and Mexico; Crowley could have gotten some in 1900 while in Texas or Mexico, but he would have had to keep it for four years and carry it with him, which seems unlikely.
"Unsurprisingly, however, Crowley never mentioned sex magick in connection with 1904."
Crowley states that his honeymoon consisted of non-stop sexual debauchery, and resulted in the reception of the Book of the Law: if that's not sex magick, what is?
Crowley states that his honeymoon consisted of non-stop sexual debauchery, and resulted in the reception of the Book of the Law: if that's not sex magick, what is?
Non-stop sexual debauchery sounds distinctively NOT like sex magick, especially by Crowley's definition. This point aside, the ritual was specifically and unequivocally, sex magick.
[H]e would have had to keep it for four years and carry it with him, which seems unlikely.
Peyote and perhaps mescaline were available in Europe. Their effects were little-known, they were certainly not common, but they were there.
No psychedelic dug was even regulated, let alone prohibited, anywhere in the world until the mid-1960s. The most restrictive drug law in the UK before 1920 required that sellers of bulk amounts of opiates and cocaine had to put their name and address on the packaging.
No psychedelic dug was even regulated, let alone prohibited, anywhere in the world until the mid-1960s.
This was because Timothy Leary spoke out loud about the benefits of LSD ... and the gov was listening. They, the gov, deduced that LSD was at the root of the then-current, counter-cultural, non-violent revolution. So they banned the LSD, and put Leary in jail.
I was there. It was terrible. The bottom line of this story is that non-violent revolutions don't work.
Peyote and perhaps mescaline were available in Europe. Their effects were little-known, they were certainly not common, but they were there.
Okay, so Mescaline was discovered in 1897, and not synthesized until 1919, so its unlikely Crowley had access to mescaline in 1904, however, and to my surprise, peyote was available in London during that period, and at least one GD member, W.B.Yeats, was involved in using it; who knows, maybe he introduced Crowley to it.
Mescaline was discovered in 1897, and not synthesized until 1919, so its unlikely Crowley had access to mescaline in 1904
Obviously he would not have had access to synthetic mescaline prior to the first synthesis being done in 1919, but may well have had access to mescaline derived from natural sources, since that had existed since 1897.
And he certainly had access to peyote, as you note.
Non-stop sexual debauchery sounds distinctively NOT like sex magick, especially by Crowley's definition.
Which is not to say that non-stop sexual debauchery cannot be used as a tool for sex magick, in the broader interpretation of the term "sex magick".
so its unlikely Crowley had access to mescaline in 1904
The premise of this tale is that Peyote is under scrutiny. We all know that Peyote came first (with the Indians) and Mescaline (the pure non-vomiting stuff) came later ... after 1904.
... but may well have had access to mescaline derived from natural sources, since that had existed since 1897.
The first step in getting an active ingredient separated from the inactive, regurgitational other ingredients is to extract the active ingredient from the ggoey mess of crushed and watered Peyote. This method of extraction was used long before the dates mentioned in this discussion.
Suitable extraction solvents might include water, alcokol, ether, sylene, acetone ... you name it. One merely needs to consult an article on mescaline extraction to learn which chemicals to buy and in what order to use them. This would be an illegal procedure in the UK and USA, so I cannot recommend it.
And he certainly had access to peyote, as you note.
And this leads us to the potential conclusion that Perdurabo was hitting the Peyote during his honeymoon. This is not an established fact.
However and butt, other things in the Cairo tale indicate this is so. For example, P.'. tells us that Rose was depressed and he conjured up some salamanders to amuse her. Is this something one causually does in daily life? No, they were high on cactus and evoking the fire started the whole trip down the rabbit hole know as The Cairo reception. That's my hypothesis until proven otherwise. Good luck.
Which is not to say that non-stop sexual debauchery cannot be used as a tool for sex magick, in the broader interpretation of the term "sex magick".
Absolutely.
That's my hypothesis until proven otherwise. Good luck.
Butt...That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence.
This goes double when the "evidence" can be interpreted to mean anything, which also means it can be interpreted to mean nothing.
Circumstantial evidence exists, as posted uphill from here. This is, of course, not enough to convict or proclaim as true.
My belief (oh, no!) is that peyote was involved in The Cairo Reception. I hold this viewpoint due to a recurring list of things that don't add up, as discussed endlessly throughout the threads.
However, when viewed from a place where events describe psychedelic intervention, these things do add up. I have made this observation repeatably - when something doesn't add up ... unless ...
... and evoking the fire started the whole trip down the rabbit hole ...
... and evoking the fire spirits started the whole trip ...
I hold this viewpoint due to a recurring list of things that don't add up
Meaning that they don't add up as the drug is never mentioned in the popular telling of the reception mythos, or the fact that the drug was (could have been) used suggests the story is more fiction than non?
the drug is never mentioned in the popular telling of the reception mythos
the fact that the drug was (could have been) used suggests the story is more fiction than non?
No, nether, neti-neti
A drug in Ciaro '04 is never mentioned anywhere - in all of AC's writings.
I do not subscribe to the notion that more fiction than fact is to be found in the tale, with or without chemical assistance.
I refer to dates that don't add up, or other little oddities that conflict with the scribbled record. The penultimate comment is, "He must have mixed them up." The (my) ultimate comment is often, "This sort of thing happens all the time with libationary indulgence."
This is a hypothesis, not a thesis or a theorem, or a whatchamacallit? Oh, yeah ...
An Axiom
@shiva Speaking of dates that do or do not add up: AC and Rose have been on the road for nearly six months when the Cairo working happened and they were coming from Ceylon. I do not know if there is a "best before date" with peyote or its extract but if he had it he must have brought it with him from Boleskine six months earlier, unless he got it in Cairo. And yes, he was also showing Rose "the sylphs" in November 1903 on their way to Ceylon, so maybe he did exactly that (travelling with it). Or it was - if a drug was involved - a totally different drug, which originated somewhere in the east.
AC and Rose have been on the road for nearly six months when the Cairo working happened and they were coming from Ceylon.
"The Book of Results," written in one of the small Japanese vellum note-books which he used to carry. Unfortunately, it seems to have been abandoned after five days. What happened between March 23rd and April 8th?
THE BOOK OF RESULTS
March 16th Die [mercury] (ie, Wednesday) I invoke IAO. (Fra. P. tells us that this was done by the ritual of the "Bornless One," identical with the "Preliminary In- vocation" (See "Magick" Appendix Liber CXX.) in the "Goetia," merely to amuse his wife by showing her the sylphs. She refused or was unable to see any sylphs, but became "inspired," and kept on saying: "They're waiting for you !")
Yes. This is the first (esoteric) entry in the record of The Cairo Reception.
Note that it was sylphs, not salamanders as I implied.
... he was also showing Rose "the sylphs" in November 1903 on their way to Ceylon
THE BOOK OF RESULTS (quoted above) says it was March 16. I believe they were already in Cairo.
THE BOOK OF RESULTS (quoted above) says it was March 16. I believe they were already in Cairo.
Yes, they were in Cairo again then but it is my understanding (taken from Churton's date-wise excellent AC biography) that he "showed her the sylphs" on Nov. 22, 1903 while in Cairo on the way to Ceylon. I find no mentioning of the sylphs in the book of results reproduced in Markus Katz' booklet.
And I can't find your quote about March 16 in my EOTG. I unfortunately had to sell my 1st edition, but the facsimile edition says: "March16. Tried to shew the Sylphs to Rose (I invoked them by the Air section of Liber Samekh). She was in a dazed state, stupid, possibly drunk; possibly hysterical from pregnancy. She could see nothing, but could hear."
Where does your quote come from?
Yes, they were in Cairo again then but it is my understanding (taken from Churton's date-wise excellent AC biography) that he "showed her the sylphs" on Nov. 22, 1903 while in Cairo on the way to Ceylon.
It was on the night they spent in the Great Pyramid, where Crowley saw a mysterious light bright enough to read by.
The quote by Shiva is found in Chapter 6 of EOTG.
Ah, yes, I had Chapter VII in mind, thatis wherer "my" quote comes from. Anyway, anything about the "best before date" of Peyote?
It is recommended that dried peyote buttons be used in the first 5700 years after harvest:
...
the "best before date" of Peyote?
It is an herb. It can be saved as dried "buttons" (slices of the head - the above ground part), or as ground-up buttons (powder).
Here is the general rule: Store in a sealed container (a screw-on cap glass jar is good). Place in a cool, dry, DARK place. The sun changes the chemistry of everything.
Here is my observation: I have several herbs in glass jars, sitting in a dark cabinet. They have been there for 35 years (same cabinet, several different locations). They are still potent.
Personally, I have never taken peyote (except for 4 capsules of a brown powder that did nothing), and I've not taken mescaline. I once held a peyote cactus in my hands - it was about 2.5 inches in diameter and about a foot long. The root was huge, comprising 90% of the plant (the root is not used - the mescaline is up in the head). A botanica (herb store) in Ensenada, Baja Caliphornia (Mexico) had a cardboard box under the counter filled with several peyotes. They were $10 each.
We did not buy any. We had other (non-vomiting) libations, so why bother to get sick?
So I am not a specialist in this stuff. I am, however, specialized in retaining other medicinal herbs. I have never lost any herbs to spoilage. If you see bugs crawling around inside your jars, just put them in the microwave for 30 seconds - bug pandemics are common, but easily extinguished.
There is no "best before" date on herbs. Heat, sunlight, dampness are the things to avoid. They last for decades, or more.
5700 years
You (anyone) may try this experiment (5700) at home, but only with non-psychedelic cacti - possession of peyote is a big neti-neti.
It is an herb.
It is actually a cactus, not an herb. And we see that you actually know this is the next sentence i quote:
You (anyone) may try this experiment (5700) at home, but only with non-psychedelic cacti - possession of peyote is a big neti-neti.
Unless you are a member of the Native America Church, in which case it is 100% legal under US Federal law:
Note that being a "native American"/American Indian is not necessary to qualify for this exemption, see here.
In the UK and several other countries, peyote is apparently legal for all:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_psychoactive_cactus_by_country
Nothing herein is legal advice; as always, i advise taking legal advice from a qualified professional, before doing, or failing to do, anything whatever.
Peyote, which is slow growing, not propagated, and is a sacred plant, whose domain in nature is threatened by demand for its mescaline, does have a cousin, San Pedro, which is magnificent, fast growing and propagable, with an important shamanic history called Huachuma, having very healing properties that are very heart centered it is said.
As a house plant, its phallic shape growing in the sun green radiates a star pattern of spines, with planter as yonI, is its own temple and guarded!
Of course "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." is legal advice...
Peyote, which is slow growing, not propagated
It is indeed very slow to grow to maturity, but can in fact be propagated by growing from seed, or by rooting cuttings. A quick google will identify many sources of seeds, for those where cultivation is legal. No personal experience here, but i have know folks who did so.
The real problem with peyote (aside from being illegal in some places) is the vomiting, which will also be the case with other mescaline-bearing cacti such as San Pedro. A fair amount of personal experience here with vomiting from San Pedro. We did also get libated, but i would urge seeking out less-puky substances.
It is actually a cactus, not an herb.
I used the term herb in its Oriental Medical sense. That is, it is ingested. For example, the secretion of toad skin (super highly poisonous)(not related to @toadstoolwe) in considered an herb (go figure), as well as rhinoceros horn, and sulfur. I mean these things are classified as herbs and licensees are examined in them, as such.
Of course, this is one of those examples where something (anything) goes off and comes back in two, or more, directions bearing a different meaning.
In Mexican Spanish herba means "weed."
being a "native American"/American Indian is not necessary to qualify for this exemption
I kew a doctor who was a member of the Native Amer Church. He described the ceremonies to me. He was Japanese.
slow growing, not propagated
It can be propagated, but the temperature/soil is touchy. It grows in Wales (by seeding or transplant? I do not know).
https://cactuskingdom.ca/product/lophophora-williamsii-cactus-seeds/
San Pedro
I had 5 little San Pedros a few years ago. Two died, three survived - then the freeze hit them. They are legal. The drawback is that the mescaline is wildly variable from good to no-show.
less-puky substances.
If one has a batch of legal puky substances, the active ingredient can be extracted, and it's not too complicated. But then ...
... I said peyote was illegal everwhere. This is incorrect. I mean to write mescaline.
Time Borg Edit-Time Robot cut my late-breaking discovery ... but here it is, in solo ...
"In 2005, researchers used radiocarbon dating and alkaloid analysis to study two specimens of peyote buttons found in archaeological digs from a site called Shumla Cave No. 5 on the Rio Grande in Texas. The results dated the specimens to between 3780 and 3660 BCE. Alkaloid extraction yielded approximately 2% of the alkaloids including mescaline in both samples. This indicates that native North Americans were likely to have used peyote since at least five-and-a-half thousand years ago."
Peyote, which is slow growing, not propagated
The real problem with peyote (aside from being illegal in some places) is the vomiting, which will also be the case with other mescaline-bearing cacti such as San Pedro. A fair amount of personal experience here with vomiting from San Pedro. We did also get libated, but i would urge seeking out less-puky substances.
As @hadgigegenraum mentioned earlier, Mescaline is very heart centred. I can see how much of an influence that it made on AC when he was in South America/Mexico. He indeed did get extracts of it in London from a pharmaceutical distributor.
I have journeyed with the Grandfather, San Pedro, several times and always got huge ancestral lessons from it, all held in a place of love. Almost like a combination of MDMA and Mushrooms. You may experience traumatic issues but always with the feeling of being held throughout. When i was served it, the extract was combined with ginger and lemon to reduce vomiting. Never felt sick on it.
Traditionally the Grandfather (San Pedro) is very nurturing and gentle, whilst Grandmother (Ayahuasca) can be a lot more distant and drops you straight into underlying issues, for you to confront, understand, accept and move on from. Normally I am not sick on Aya either as if you follow the dieta, you are preparing your body for the medicine and bringing it into harmony with mind and spirit. Though I do induce a purge with the use of Rapé (tabacco snuf), as i feel it is necessary to expel negative energy.
Mescaline and the entire "Love is the Law" Maximum takes on an entirely different viewpoint, once you realise how often AC was doing it and then using it to channel and automatic write. I do think another thread in the last year already covered this topic. I will add it below.
https://www.lashtal.com/forums/thelema/wine-and-strange-drugs-which-ones/#post-121481
https://www.lashtal.com/forums/writer/the-cactus-never-existed/#post-7221
https://www.lashtal.com/patrick-everitt-on-crowleys-use-of-peyote/
Does anyone have a citation for AC's use of AL as code for Peyote or Mescaline, and 31 for AL, prior to TBOTL?
I doubt there is any, as "AL" came from the BOTL reception. 31 came with it also. He did call it PB and XPB just prior to the Cairo Working.
"Nevertheless, there is a possible peyotist interpretation of two of these entries: X.P.B.
and P.B. They could mean ‘10 peyote buttons’ and ‘peyote buttons’ respectively."
The channelling of Liber 418 may have "blinds" in his dairies in 1900. Go on down that rabbit hole!
I doubt there is any, as "AL" came from the BOTL reception. 31 came with it also
Not really. L is what came with the title during the reception, and while Crowley was certainly aware of AL = 31 = LA, and that 31 x 3 = 93, before Jones did (The Vision & The Voice), the projection of the concepts into the pages of Liber Legis didn't occur until after Jones produced Liber Thirty-one.
12 years before Jones came up with the name "Liber AL"
It was Crowley who conceived the concept of Liber AL, not Jones. Crowley states he changed the title within a year of reading Jones' work.
