It was a very intriguing one: a VENUS RITUAL by a group that practices Thelema (more about that later). First I'll give you the description, then tell you why I didn't go.
Their main altar room (via website):
The description of the Venus Ritual was so tempting and the above picture made it seem like I'd be part of a play or something:
"Arouse your senses as we work with the energies of Venus in various forms --- see colorful flowers, smell fragrant scents, hear the serenades of troubadours, taste sweet wine, feel a silken touch. This ritual sensually raises energy while incorporating high ceremonial magick evocation techniques with the goal of manifesting a specific intent. Please wear pink or green, or something that make you feel romantic, sexy or otherwise Venereal. Arrive with an intention for this ritual. Some possible intentions: bring close, warm friendships into your life; be open to accepting love; create harmonious relationships at work; develop beautiful surroundings; manifest your nurturing qualities; strengthen your motherly qualities; attract a romantic relationship; abundance and prosperity; find a home; free yourself from resentment; free yourself from a cynical outlook."
Hmm...did you say venereal?
They also do a Gnostic Mass every month and some cultural dinners (a Moroccan one recently), but this sounded so unusual. And since Valentine's Day was coming up....
So why didn't I go?
Ever seen The Wire?
The building was in that type of neighborhood. Actually it was one of the neighborhoods. Southwest Baltimore is a low income part of the city that suffers from the highest crime rates, dropout rates, and drug abuse rates in Maryland. Shootings there are commonplace, including shootings of police officers. So there is is. I live in Baltimore.
Pretty much what the area around the group's building looks like:
Now I live in a city neighborhood that has drug dealers on the corner, I'm sorry to say. (Most do, unless it's a rich section. I'm in more of a working class section, but nothing boarded up.) They live with their grandmother--who has no clue what's going on and they politely say 'Good morning' or 'Good evening' to me when I pass them--but they're still out there most nights. There were gunshots once in the alley right next to my house, a drug dealer was also shot dead a block down one sunny afternoon in summer, and once a S.W.A.T. team raided the house across the street.
In the four years I've lived there, that's about it. Anything happening is too much, but when you live in Baltimore City, that's pretty good.
So I'm not that sheltered. But I wasn't too happy to follow the directions and find myself in the thick of SW Baltimore, even at three o'clock in the afternoon. I parked outside the building - a huge warehouse-like structure with bars on all the window on a block of mostly boarded up row homes, near empty lots with trash blowing around. And I asked myself: Do I even want to get out of this car?
The answer was NO WAY. Even if I did, the event ended after five, when it would be starting to get dark.
Part of this project, I'm learning, is to find my spiritual home. As mentioned, I'm an ex-Catholic from way back, and I would like to connect with something larger than myself, spiritual in nature. So I'm open. I've gone to the Ethical Society, I've checked out a pagan group. This group was to be more focused on magick, the occult, and ritual practices (some Egyptian in nature based on the pictures), but not dangerous, so I was willing to check it out. It's a big world out there, full of odd people, places, and things. It can't hurt to get a look at some of the ones in my own backyard.
From their website: "This group is for people interested in Thelema, initiation, ceremonial magick, fraternity, and other esoteric and occult pursuits, including the works of Aleister Crowley....A branch of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.). O.T.O. is eclectic, drawing on both Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. We provide education with classes and rituals on subjects such as alchemy, astrology, ceremonial magick, Enochian, god forms, herbalism, hermetic science, initiation symbolism, meditation, occultism, kabbalah, ritual practices, sacred sexuality, Tarot, yoga, and others."
WHO IS ALEISTER CROWLEY? Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), also known as The Great Beast, and "the wickedest man in the world" is an interesting character. A famous mystic, astrologer, ceremonial magician and occultist (named the 73rd most famous Briton of all time) he started the movement known as Thelema.
While in Egypt in 1904, he "received" a text he called The Book of Law from a messenger of the Egyptian god Horus (a voice in his head), the beginning of a series of books. There is a long and crazy history of his escapades here. He lived one hell of a wild life.
Basically, another bisexual from that crazy period when everyone was drinking a lot, having sex with everyone else, doing drugs, writing books, and practicing the occult. Whatev.
WHAT IS THELEMA? (from Wikipedia:) "Thelema is the mystical cosmology. The diversity of his writings illustrate his difficulty in classifying Thelema from any one vantage. It can be considered a form of magical philosophy, religious traditionalism, humanistic positivism, and/or an elitist meritocracy. The chief precept is the sovereignty of Will: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law." Crowley's idea of will, however, is not simply the individual's desires or wishes, but also incorporates a sense of the person's destiny or greater purpose.
The second precept of Thelema is "Love is the law, love under will"—and Crowley's meaning of "Love" is as complex as that of "Will." It is frequently sexual: Crowley's system, sees the tension between the male and female as fundamental to existence, and sexual "magick" and metaphor form a significant part of Thelemic ritual."
On the website of the group in Baltimore, there's some mention of the Templars that I didn't look into. They also claim that the poet William Blake was a proponent of similar teachings.
IS THIS A SATANIC CULT? Despite how intense and weird this all sounds - they also meet for pizza and have yoga classes. I don't think it's Satanic. Even so, it felt creepy and the area unsafe. It's one thing to be open to these various groups and events and it's another going into scary neighborhoods where people may be practicing scary things.
They are also a 501(c)3. Somehow, much as we all dislike the IRS, I just don't think they'd give nonprofit status to a satanic cult.
That said, some people on the Internet disagree, because in The Book of the Law Crowley says his writings are a puzzle to be solved by the coming Antichrist. He also says some nasty things he'll do to J.C. (as in Son of God). So who knows?
All this information about Crowley and Thelema and the pictures of the "services" or "masses" (again, looking Egyptian in nature with the outfits and everything - looked like Isis was marrying Ra) from the website started swirling around in my head and, due to the power of suggestion, I did start to wonder if the event might be a thinly disguised orgy in the end. I decided probably not (hoped not), but the whole thing no longer seemed fun or lighthearted, it felt like a very strange detour I shouldn't make. One that would take me into a whole other realm way beyond my original intention.
In short: A BAD IDEA. Pardon the pun, but I felt like I dodged a bullet by leaving.
It was bound to happen at some point. In this project, I reserve the right to leave an event at any time if I feel unsafe, or not attend at all for the same reason.
WHERE DOES LED ZEPPELIN FIT IN?
It's said that Jimmy Page was a follower of Aleister Crowley's teachings. For about 20 years he owned the Boleskine house, the former residence of Crowley. And Robert Plant talked about how the songs he wrote seemed to come to him through automatic writing, including the lyrics to "Stairway to Heaven," which reference the May Queen, a figure in a Crowley poem that is supposed to be horrible. I didn't look it up. I'm creeped out enough by all this.
A colleague at work told me that the Zeppelin film The Song Remains the Same has a sequence in it where Page climbs a cliff, on top of which stands a hermit with a lantern who symbolizes enlightenment, but could also stand in for Crowley. I checked that out and found this on Wikipedia:
"Jimmy Page is filmed sitting by a lake next to his 18th century manor at Plumpton, East Sussex. The tune played is called "Autumn Lake" and the scene was filmed in October 1973. Page's fantasy role involved climbing up the face of a snow capped mountain near Boleskine House, Loch Ness during the nights of a full moon on December 10 and 11, 1973.The act was meant to show Page on a quest of self enlightenment, and deep understanding, by seeking out the Hermit, a character featured in many Tarot packs. The mythological Hermit is seen on the summit of the mountain; Staff of Wisdom in one hand, and in the other, the Lantern of Knowledge held out abreast over the world below. Being a Threshold Guardian, he represents an obstacle the seeker must overcome to achieve true enlightenment. At the culmination of Page's quest, he reaches out to touch The Hermit, only to discover paradoxically that the Hermit is himself."
Sections of this sequence were filmed at night on the mountain side directly behind Boleskine House.
Here's the video of that part of the movie if you'd like to watch (it's at the beginning):
So, failed attempt this week, but we all learned something interesting, didn't we? It's never boring!
I checked my Meet Up calendar to see if I could make anything else, but since it was already 3 p.m., the few events being held that day had already taken place or had already started.
I will go to two events this week to make up for the miss. I'm kind of annoyed that my record of perfect attendance (okay, five weeks in a row, but still, that's good) was interrupted. But this isn't about being perfect.
I'm craving something normal like yoga or a cooking class to regain my footing, but next up is a "Soul Collage" class where we collage a deck of 5 x 7 cards, each one being a reflection of an aspect of our personality or soul, including dreams and symbols.
I know you are wondering why I'm so weird. It's a fair question.
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