Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley is the latest title from Teitan Press which features correspondence between Aleister Crowley and David Curwen.

The book is edited, annotated and introduced by Henrik Bogdan. Tony Matthews, David Curwen’s grandson, also provides a biographical foreword.

From the Teitan Press description:

In September 1944, a fifty-one year old Londoner named David Curwen wrote to Aleister Crowley, initiating a correspondence that would last several years. While Curwen approached Crowley with deference, the relationship that evolved between them was a complex one that defied the accepted parameters of the student-teacher nexus. For David Curwen was no newcomer to the study of the occult, and Crowley soon discovered that the flow of knowledge would not be simply one way. In particular Crowley was tantalized by the deep understanding of the principals of tantra that Curwen had acquired during the course of many years study under a mysterious guru.

At Crowley’s urging Curwen joined the O.T.O., but he remained skeptical of many of “the Beast’s” claims, and the two ultimately parted company on strained terms. However, Curwen retained his interest in the occult, and in later life he devoted himself to the study of alchemy, publishing the results of his researches pseudonymously in the book In Pursuit of Gold, a work that many believe to be the most significant study ever published of practical alchemy.

For the first week copies purchased through Weiser Antiquarian will come with a book-plate signed by Bogdan & Matthews and will be shipped free of charge in America or at reduced rate for international customers. For more information on this offer see Weiser Antiquarian.

The book is limited to 777 copies (of course), and retails for 45$US.

Popularity: 11%

Uncertainty has come to play a huge role in my life as of late. The whole process entered my awareness during the Plutonica book-club reading of Quantum Psychology. Together we explored many of the exercises that Robert Anton Wilson collected to help us think, “Maybe…” My meditations and personal work have revolved around the issue of uncertainty, as well as our personal and collective strategies for dealing with it, ever since. Continue reading »

Popularity: 1%

Saturday Signal: Signal: sifting the signal from the noise of the Internet’s occultural cacophony.

Our Esoteric Book Club officially starts on Monday, but the conversation’s already started, and people have to begun introduce themselves, come join us!

If you missed our earlier announcement, the first pick is Quantum Psychology, by Robert Anton Wilson.

Great stuff.

Now, on with our usual linkage:

• The wonderful blog Gyllene Gryningen has a great post titled “Genie or Genius?” which delves into the history and mythology of the djinn, also discussing possible elemental correspondences. Very nifty.

• Someone’s started a fan page on Facebook for people interested in Buying Crowley Books. They’ve even got a Twitter account (@crowleybooks) now. Via these methods they share info about good places to buy Crowley’s works as so much of it has gone out of print. As of this writing the Facebook page has nearly 700 fans.

• John Griogair Bell points out deficiencies in the Thelemic calendar and recommends some improvements in “Heliocentricity“.

Noise?

• In Letters from Hardscrabble Creek, Chas Clifton wrote a bit about a website he came across which focused on “Having Sex With Ghosts“. Gina “Gnothz” Lanier (what’s a “gnothz”?) is a self-described paranormal investigator who wants to hear about your intimidate relations with the dead. They’re not even funny. One woman complains about obscene phone calls from the dead. It’s just sad. For the voyeuristic with no sense of web design, here’s Real Sex with Ghosts. Oh dear.

Got a cool link? Please share it in the comments, or if you use delicious, tag it “plutonica” and we’ll take a look. Thanks!

Popularity: 3%

Speech in the Silence is a new Thelemic podcast put out by the ARARITA San Diego Thelema Group.

The first episode (Episode 1: Solstice in Capricorn, Year 105) aired on December 21st, 2009.

Their aims are straightforward and their focus seems tight:

The focus of Speech in the Silence podcast is on Thelema, Aleister Crowley, and Ordo Templi Orientis while also touching upon the subjects of magick, yoga, and initiation.

We will include lectures, music, interviews, discussions, and more. Also, we will feature readings of the Holy Books of Thelema and other important texts written by Aleister Crowley.

The first podcast briefly introduces Continue reading »

Popularity: 2%

Teitan Press has recently published The Progradior Correspondence, edited by Keith Richmond.

The text is comprised of ninety letters and documents that were exchanged between Aleister Crowley (Frater Progradior), Frank Bennett, and members of Crowley’s inner circle, including Charles Stansfeld Jones (Frater Achad), Leila Waddell, Leah Hirsig among others.

The letters discuss first hand accounts of the development of Thelema and efforts to promote its vehicles, the A.’. A.’. and the OTO.

From Teitan Press:

The correspondence began in 1910 when Bennett wrote to Crowley seeking his advice on the performance of “The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage.” It continued through the years of The Equinox, through Crowley’s residence in the United States during the First World War, and on past the heydays of the Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu in the early 1920s. The exchange finally drew to a close in 1926, by which time Crowley had dropped or otherwise lost contact with most of his associates of the preceding decade and a half.

The book is available in hardcover in a limited edition of 666 copies for $45 US, and is available from Weiser Antiquarian and Amazon.com.

Popularity: 2%