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Archive for May, 2009

New Austin Osman Spare catalogue at Weiser Antiquarian

By Psyche | May 23, 2009

You've probably already subscribed to our RSS feed, followed us on Twitter, and joined our Facebook page. (You're so Web 2.0!)
But have you checked out our new Esoteric Book Club? First pick is Robert Anton Wilson's Quantum Psychology. Participate here!

Austin Osman Spare Portrait Weiser Antiquarian’s fifty eighth catalogue titled “Austin Osman Spare. Books and Ephemera.” features works by and about Spare.

Here you’ll find first editions of Spare’s work, as well as (more affordable) reprints, biographies and rare catalogues from art exhibitions.

I just bought a copy of Evolution, Volume One, by Stephen Pochin and two catalogues, Borough Satyr and Austin Osman Spare: Artist – Occultist – Sensualist which I’m very excited about.

It’s also fascinating to see how much the prices have climbed for some of the works I already own. Geeze. If you’re interested in Spare, and can afford to, buy while still can.

And hey, as an added bonus, it looks like Weiser Anitquarian now hosts a variety of RSS feeds so you can be notified of any new books that come in under your favourite categories. Neat.

Weird video, alchemists, Pagan cemeteries and good magicians

By Psyche | May 9, 2009

Saturday Signal on Plutonica.net Hey, kids! Remember this?

Saturday Signal is Plutonica.net’s weekly round up of neat stuff found on the occult Internet. Though as it’s been on hiatus for a bit, I’ve decided to highlight a few nifty things you may’ve missed in that time.

As it was in the past, so shall it remain: if you find something weird, cool or otherwise noteworthy, please e-mail me about it. If you’re pro-promotion, include your name and website for extra credit. Thanks!

So, let’s see what we’ve got this week… Continue reading »

An Interview with Austin Osman Spare

By Psyche | May 6, 2009

Austin Osman Spare May 15th will mark the 53rd anniversary of Austin Osman Spare’s death. A short video depicting a posthumous “interview” with Spare has been produced by Jamie Gregory & Neil Dineen in commemoration.

The video is comprised of photographic stills and images of Spare’s paintings and sketches are interspersed throughout. Philip Glass‘ ‘Spaceship’ provides the soundtrack.

The “interview” is conducted via oracle, with a dice, playing cards, Beck’s and Zos Speaks!, and related through scrolling text on the screen. Questions are posed in places Spare had a connection with: the Royal Academy in Piccadilly where two paintings were exhibited in Spare’s youth, the British Museum which inspired Spare’s imagery, and the Goat Tavern he frequented with Kenneth and Steffi Grant.

For all that, the responses calculated to the questions are interesting, though this may be attributed more to Spare’s enigmatic style. Repeat answers, however, dull some some of the potency of this method for the spectator.

Amusingly, the oracle declined to answer the question “What really happened between you and Aleister Crowley?”

Following the “interview” two “new” automatic images are produced “via the menstruum of undines”, and a thankful toast of Budweiser is offered at Spare’s grave.

The twelve-minute video can be downloaded from LaShTAL.com at “An Interview with Austin Osman Spare – a commemorative video“.

Original Falcon, New Falcon

By Psyche | May 4, 2009

Alan Miller, better known to occultists as Dr. Christopher S. Hyatt, the author of Undoing Yourself With Energized Meditation and Other Devices, The Psychopath’s Bible and numerous other works published by his company New Falcon Press, and founder of the Extreme Individual Institute died on February 9th, 2008.

Falcon Press was started in 1981 by Hyatt with Israel Regardie. The name was changed to New Falcon Publications due to confusion with a prior claim to the name by another publisher. After Hyatt’s death in 2008, ownership changed to Michael Miller.

Original Falcon Press was launched shortly thereafter by Nick Tharcher and Linda Miller, selling many of the same titles as New Falcon Publications. Nick Tharcher has been granting interviews recently to clear up some of this confusion.

Joseph Mathey interviews Nick Tharcher and Linda Miller, widow of Alan Miller (Christopher Hyatt) about Original Falcon Press and the separation from New Falcon Publications for Alterati’s podcast, GSpot in “Falcon, Falcon, Burning Bright?” (Thanks to James Curcio for bringing the podcast to my attention.)

Mona Magick interviewed Nick for the Mystic Journey Radio Show on February 13th in “Occult on the Press with The Original Falcon Press“.

For more info, also see “How Mike Miller came to be CEO of New Falcon Publications” at the old New Falcon Publications Blog, written by Nick Tharcher, and, for comparison, “A Statement by Michael Miller on New Falcon Publications“.

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