Liber DCCCLX – John St. John and Me

Aleister Crowley

Take this as a very short post, and an explanation to the rather odd post from earlier this month.

I bought a copy of James Wasserman’s book ‘Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary’, which included diary excerpts collected together by the prophet himself in a volume entitled ‘John St. John’. Also included were written pieces from Frater Achad’s collection ‘Liber CLXV Master of the Temple’. As part of my solitary foundation process, I felt as though this book found its way into my basket at the right time. I haven’t read the whole book yet, so no in depth reviews, and no spoilers.

Though not a detailed summary of his daily workings, John St. John is a wonderful example of how one should keep track of their progress and experiments. Most writers in general have a journal, diary or notebook of some kind, wherein they write their innermost thoughts and random quotations they conjure up. I definitely do, for many reasons. For the sake of my attainment I have kept a working journal, but only recently I have started to write much more personal ideas and feelings. Whenever I feel off about something I used to just ignore it, or write a quick note in my normal journal without any thought that perhaps it’s a vital lesson I must learn from. These days I find I write tiny entries on the cards I’ve pulled that day for my main magical diary – only to write a full report in my Book of Thoth. It’s become a rather welcome habit. The main outcome for these disciplined practices would centre on my discovery of various methods, themes and ideals I can test. My old journals have been covered in words and symbols since I started working magick, so this whole concept is not new for me; what is new, is Crowley’s set up or structure for his works. Like most writers or journalists, small notes are important, but for me I’ve never been a keen one for taking short cuts as my memory is awful and my anxiety does not allow me to “come back later” – I need to do whatever task it is right away, especially if it concerns writing and creativity.

The last post was an excerpt from my main magical journal, which is actually part of a small experiment I am trying for a month – the continuous and rigorous practice of meditation and adorations everyday for a week, then off just to note the differences in performance, energy and such alike. All I can say for now, is a I attempted a smaller operation last month spanning a fortnight and I found quite a shocking (and psychological and physiological) change. I hope to explore my experiment more, and share what little information I am willing to share on here. For now, my solitary foundation process (as I am now calling it) is still in its early stages, and I am currently working on diet changes, fitness and more writing. Building a regimen is incredibly important for me, otherwise I will lose focus and fall by the wayside – focus.

For those of you who are new to performing Liber Resh or the Four Adorations, try and start reading chapter one on the essays of yoga that Crowley wrote (here) and start John St. John (here – pretend we are reading together!)

93 Peaches!