THE PREMISELESS IMPERATIVE: Activities for the Troubled Prisoner

GNOSTIC FOLK STORIES– Reimaginings of selected Gnostic texts

Since then, other ‘blogs’ and websites focusing on forteana have increased exponentially, and people who are now writing on the subject are running circles around us dilettantes and dabblers whose interest is more scholastic and speculative than practical. Those interested in the subject of Gnosticism now have a plethora of places to visit, composed by people far more erudite than I. It is my sincere hope, as such, that the few readers and visitors I’ve had over the past number of years will find valuable and exciting new sites to haunt, as I am officially closing down Summer Harvest.

Unlike the past few transitions from the Frog n’ Blog to Fantastic Planet to Summer Harvest, I will no longer be continuing the creative chain of this site. There will be no more causal nexus of themes or ideas. Although it is possible I may continue elsewhere in a different vein, I feel that this particular cistern is currently dry, and the current is flowing in different directions. I won’t be vanishing for good, but my focus within Gnostic circles needs to be more personal and more real-world than it has been.

This withdrawal extends to my participation in the Palm Tree Garden. The people over there are more than exceptional, and I have total faith that they’ll be able to continue the community without my direct involvement.

Thanks to all of my readers, past and present, and to the fine individuals who contributed throughout the years to the ideas found on this site, including– but not limited to– Tim, Joel, Dave, Jeff, Scott, Thomas, Marsha, Jennifer, John, Donald, Doug and anyone and everyone who has ever commented (except that guy who seems so concerned about the size of my naughty bits).

I’ve been a monstrous, self-promoting crazy person on this site, and it’s time to put the ego in check for a while, or at least to shoot for a bit of humility. If I leave any impression, I hope that it’s that behind all of the self-serving, ego-driven self-promotion of which I’ve always been guilty, I’ve tried to cling, however desperately, to the essential idea that the world would be a much better place if we all tried to be a little kind to one another.

[Edited 11/19: There was a section here that caused too much distress to too many people who I hold in high regard, so it’s been removed with apologies to any offended parties. The gist of it was: Gnostics should all be getting together, ’cause it’s really difficult to determine just what Gnosticism really is, so modern Gnosticism is a new phenomenon and people who cling to tradition *and* people who revile tradition are both wrong and should be figuring out how to work out differences or there’ll be trouble ahead. Again, sorry for bruised egos.]

As for me, I’m dropping out, at least temporarily, of the greater Gnostic movement. I’ll be focusing on the Order of Allogenes, and on personal practice. I realize my words are likely as significant to modern Gnostics as the squeak of a mouse to the nearest sea turtle, but there they are nonetheless. Those to whom they are directed will know upon reading them, and those for whom they have no meaning, likewise.

I remain devoted to the Gnostic Path, and those who wish to contact me can do so through the OA.

Thank you for reading, and for thinking.

– José Guadalupe Posada

I remember my ancestors:

I remember my Father’s Mother, who worked on an assembly line building parts that would later be used for the Apollo space program.

I remember my Father’s Father, who none of us knew.

I remember my Father’s Stepfather, who, thrown onto the beach at Normandy when his transport was hit, fought his way out using weapons scavanged from corpses, yet was one of the gentlest people we ever knew.

I remember my Stepmother’s Mother, who made us pancakes shaped like turtles and didn’t take crap from anybody.

I remember my Stepmother’s Grandmother, whose code word for candy was “cheese.”

I remember my Mother’s Mother, who epitomized all that was good and beautiful about the Cuban people and taught us the joys of frijoles negros con arroz y tostones.

I remember my Mother’s Father, an excellent artist, who saw such horrors while stationed in the Pacific that he refused to tell war stories, and would lash out in anger when he saw us playing with toy weapons.

I remember my Mother, whose love for her children far overwhelmed the many struggles in her too-short life.

I remember all those whose blood flows through mine; whether or not I was acquainted with them, they are a part of me, and I them. There is no distinction between the Dead and the Living; may the Holy Sophia in her aspect of La Santisima, dearest to our hearts, be with them and keep them within the warm and loving embrace of the Pleroma.

GNOSTIC PRAYER TO LA SANTA MUERTE

Holy Santa Muerte, she of the three aspects, who comes to all with Wisdom and brings the peace of the resurrection, shower your love upon your humble servant. Santisima Muerte, I beseech you lovingly inasmuch as the Limitless Light formed you with you great power over all of the imperfection, so that you might place them in the Pleroma, where we may enjoy a glorious day without night for all eternity, and in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Sophia, I pray and I beseech you that you deign to be my protectress and that you grant me your favor that I ask of you, that I may attain the resurrection and the gnosis of the Kingdom until the last day, hour and moment in which your Divine Majesty commands to take me before your presence. AMEN.

• Dia de los Muertos blog
• A collection of articles on the Day of the Dead
• A page dedicated to La Santa Muerte (en Español)
• A site with some great pictures of Dia de los Muertos celebrations in Mexico.

I didn’t catch any of the names, but the best segment was when Random Ditzy Blonde Guest #3 was programmed to draw a Yin/Yang symbol without realizing she’d been programmed until it was revealed to her step-by-step, from the Yin/Yang table in her dressing room to the verbal cues (”It’s *yin*teresting,” “Don’t be *Yang*gry if it doesn’t work”). She, of course, drew the symbol exactly as ordered without realizing it was what had been (*gasp*) tattooed on the mentalist’s arm three months prior! and everyone was shocked and amazed because they don’t realize that these are the exact same tactics used to make you, you know, buy Coke or choose a presidential candidate or choose what TV show to write about on your blog.

Anyhow, you can watch entire episodes online, and if you’ve never seen NLP in action, I highly recommend it.

This is what the apocalypse looks like.

What does this mean? It means that Atlanta’s poor and middle classes will need to begin water rationing while the wealthy classes can continue wasting water with impunity.

Awesome.

It also contains one of the only spooky accounts that has ever managed to freak me out.

Now, I am notoriously difficult to frighten with ghost stories, fictional or non-. I’m rather unflappable when confronted with the spooktacular, and am genuinely disappointed when I move into a new house or apartment that isn’t haunted. I’ve had numerous experiences that can be called “paranormal,” and though I love love love all things creepy, it’s more due to an aesthetic or philosophical attitude than because they make me shake in my boots. Nonetheless, to this day, I am still given a terrible case of the willies by the story of the Faces of Belmez.

In a Spanish village called Bélmez de la Moraleda, in the house of the Pereira family, mysterious faces began appearing on the floor. These faces would– in typical spook fashion– reappear if scrubbed away. This was far from a simple case of paredolia– the pictures were very distinct, extremely varied, and would slowly appear in front of observers. This was, perhaps, one of the most well-researched paranormal phenomenon in history. It included historical research which revealed that the house was constructed over (of course) a cemetary, and subsequent excavations under the house uncovered human remains. This excavation, however, resulted in even more manifestations:

The excavation of the kitchen floor seemed to intensify the phenomenon. In addition to faces, entire figures began appearing. One remarkable scene was a group of three figures, apparently two adult women and a child. Portrayed from the waist up, the three seem apprehensive about something, as indicated by their tense expressions. Another female appeared totally nude, and the figure of a particularly eerie woman had long, curly hair and empty eye sockets.

Sometimes only part of a face or body would take shape. One such fragment was unmistakably a long, slender left arm that bent at the elbow. The fingers were contorted and disproportionate to each other, and each digit ended in a well-defined point. This appeared to be a claw rather than a hand.

Of course, the standard allegations of hoax and fakery were trotted out by the skeptics, but further tests definitely seem to indicate that this was indeed something that would have been difficult– at best– to hoax:

Madrid-based parapsychologist German de Argumosa and German paranormal expert Hans Bender came to Belmez in early 1972. In an effort to prove that no trickery was involved, de Argumosa photographed each face and sealed up the entire kitchen for a period of three months. In the presence of a crowd that included the town notary and a German television crew, the investigators placed a protective cover over each of the faces in the kitchen. With cameras rolling, the edges of the covers were sealed and the entrance to the kitchen was then closed with wax in full view of the notary. If any fraud was taking place, the investigators and city council were determined to out it.

When the three months were up, the wax seal on the kitchen door was reopened and the protective jackets removed from the faces. Not only were the faces still there, but they had continued to evolve and move about during their three months of isolation. The town authorities finally absolved the Pereira family from blame; it was clear that the phenomenon was not caused by human hands.

Recording equipment picked up terrifying shrieks and threatening voices. Some of the EVP that was recorded can be found archived on this site. The links seem to work, though be warned that since it’s archive.org they could be gone tomorrow.

Still, though, the freakiest thing of all, to me, was and is the faces themselves. The obvious anguish, the weird and uncanny eyes, the visible pathos still makes me occasionally watch my step whenever I’m walking over tiles or on a concrete floor. Although apparently hundreds of faces appeared over the course of the event, the following are the ones that still give me the shivers:

Like any great Lovecraftian Old One, this critter was discovered smack dab in the middle of nowhere. More precisely, it was found just north of the teensy tiny volcanic island in the South Atlantic known as Tristan de Cunha:

View Larger Map

Consumption by ententacled teeth surrounded by tentacles is perhaps the most prevalent vision delivered via the ecstatic in “polyptheism,” or squid worship. That certain figures in the upper echelons of Western society practice this worship cannot be questioned. Witness, for instance, the conflation of polyptheistic iconography and illuminist materialism that is the Na Kika oilfield in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil exploration is merely a fringe benefit, an added bonus only peripheral to the real goal of this project, which is to force open a portal between this dimension and the unspeakable realms inhabited by these many tentacled gods. One imagines wealthy oil barons in current positions of power, enrobed and groveling before the amorphic and blasphemous visages of indescribable horrors deep underneath the Pentagon.

Although physically tiny, what we perceive as “the squid” as represented is doubtlessly– and merely– all our tiny human minds are able to perceive of an eldritch horror from the Seventh Dimension which ceaselessly dances in the void to the vile and mindless din of blind daemon pipers.

(apologies to HPL)

totkb to damn data

Then, when you’re done there, spend some time over at the online Talking Board Museum, an excellent collection of talking boards from past and present, including an interactive online version. Fun!

I have had some amazing and fascinating experiences with talking boards. I can categorically state, from experience, that there is “something” to them. There are various camps as to why the ouija works; anyone interested in the subject is likely familiar with the familiar old ’spiritualism versus automatism’ trope that suggests that the ouija pointer (called a “planchette”) moves either due to the influence of spirits or due to unconcious muscular motions on the part of the users.

Based on my experience, I don’t find either answer satisfying. I remember a session in which the board “quoted” multiple passages from multiple books on a bookshelf, listing the page numbers and locations of the passages in question. If it’s nothing more than muscular motion or unconscious control by the persons with their fingers on the planchette, then the connection between the movement of the pointer and the deep memory of the person who had read the books is remarkable in and of itself. Imagine what an amazing tool this method would be in the study of mnemonics. Indeed, if we were to find that 100% of the experiences recorded via the Ouija were categorically based on information dredged up from the deep unconsciouses of the participants, the board loses none of its power as a way by which we can “tap into” the realms that lie between the macro- and microcosms. Consider the similar methods used by John Dee and Edward Kelley to develop Enochian Magic.

Then again, maybe it’s spooks or demons. The problem with the ’spirit’ theory is, of course, that ninety percent of what is produced by your average ouija board is gobbledegook– seemingly random patterns of letters and numbers. One would think any “spirit” powerful enough to move a physical object would at least be able to produce one or two intelligible sentences. The answers to questions are often already known to the participants, which is why the Ouija makes such a great parlour game and is most often used to determine the name of the boy most likely to ask you to the prom, or other such stuff.

Anyone who has used the board also knows the old trope about “never trusting the spirits.” This is certainly valuable advice, as most information gleaned from the board will be of little use. Even if the information seems “good,” or profound, ask yourself why a disembodied spirit would be hanging around delivering information to you specifically. Or, if you hold to the theory that the ouija board taps into your subconscious, ask yourself how the information presented could possibly have come from within you (especially if the information is profane or sexual in nature, as it often is).

For what it’s worth, I have had a great deal of interesting information delivered via the board when I have employed the simple rules of Gematria to the aforementioned long lines of gobbledegook. Again, this isn’t to say that some entity planned out the exact numerical value of a long string of letters and numbers in order to deliver a message. Rather, this method is almost like using the Tarot or other forms of divination; the importance of the results must be determined by the experiencer, and they should almost never be taken literally.

Entire spiritual and philosophical movements have sprung whole-born from the fingers of Ouija users. Most prominent would have to be the “Michael” books by Chelsea Yarbro, based on “messages” delivered via talking board from a “reunited Mid-Causal Plane Entity of more than a thousand individual souls.” The group downplays that the “messages” in question were delivered via the Ouija, and their teachings are the fairly typical mixture of profundity and platitudes familiar to students of everything from “Channeling” to UFO Contactee cults.

All in all, I highly recommend trying out the Ouija. If you’re interested, here are the steps I recommend following for the best results and the least likelyhood of going insane or tapping into something “darker” than you can handle.

1. Procure a board and planchette. Contrary to Parker Brothers’ marketing campaigns, the best board is homemade, preferably by one of the participants of the session. Anything will work; if you’re trying on the cheap, use the shiny side of a piece of posterboard. Write the alphabet, the numbers 0-9, yes, no and maybe, and dust it with flour or baby powder. You can then use a bottlecap or a shotglass as your planchette.

2. The nonsense about how doing it alone is dangerous is just that: nonsense. The fact is, it doesn’t usually work if you’re alone, and it’s easy to freak yourself out. It’s recommended that at least two people are present, though it’s especially nice if a non-participant is available to observe, because…

3. Everything should be recorded in a notebook, and it’s helpful if someone without fingers on the planchette can do so. This is especially important if you’re going to use the Gematria method of discerning meanings, but it’s also useful for catching impish spooks at tricks and double-blinds when they try to lie to you.

4. Atmosphere is important! It can certainly be done anywhere, but it’s best in a dark room with candle light. Yes, you will be augmenting the psychological affects, but that’s okay.

5. When you’ve decided who will be using the planchette, have the users lightly place one or two fingers on the pointer. Move it back and forth a few times on purpose, as this will help you distinguish the difference between the voluntary and involuntary movement of the planchette.

6. When you’re ready to begin, ask, vocally, “Is anyone there?” Wait a few moments. If nothing happens, ask again. Ask three times, and if nothing has happened by the third time, it means you should wait an hour or so before trying again.

7. Most likely, the planchette will begin to move after the first or second try. It will likely move erratically at first, perhaps in a circle or spiral or figure-8. Eventually, it will point to yes or no, or spell something. The session can now begin in earnest.

8. Ask the “entity” its name before anything else. It may well lie, but it’s helpful to have a frame of reference.

9. When dealing with proper names delivered by the “entity,” or with long strings of letters and numbers, try calculating the numerical value of the name via Gematria. A reference book like 777 and Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley may prove invaluable as a tool for determining whether an entity is sinister or benign.

10. Don’t take guff from spooks. If you get the wrong kind of “energy,” you mighht end up getting sworn at, threatened, lied to and cajoled. Regardless of whether you think this is a physical entity or something subconcious being dredged out of a participant, the proper response to this silliness is to give as good as you get. If something says “fuck off, I will kill you all” (something I’ve actually seen), just say “no you won’t, you’re just some air that can talk” (or something similar, anyhow), and cut off contact with the energy that’s being a jerk. Remember that energies that contact you via the talking board are so weak and pathetic that they need to use parlour tricks to communicate.

11. *Do not stop using the board without dismissing the entity.* Using a talking board is like performing a little spirit-summoning ritual. By asking “is anyone there,” you have invited something in. If you cut off contact with that thing before you’ve asked it to leave, it will stick around….

Most of all, have fun, don’t take it too seriously, and enjoy!

1997: In 1997, I was still living in St. Augustine, Florida. I had graduated from Flagler college in June with a degree in Liberal Arts (Major: Philosophy/Religion, Minor: Undeclared, but a focus on Writing and Mayan Civilization). This degree was proving extremely valuable pretty much worthless in the field in which I was employed, as the assistant manager of a local Music Store. The job was fantastic; my boss was (and is, though we’re out of touch) a great guy and an excellent friend. On the side, I had a weekly radio show featuring alternative music and spoof news, and a regular gig as a Swing/Lounge DJ at a local nightspot on Sundays. I also had a fantastic group of pals. Every Sunday my roommate Brett and I would host a massive barbecue at our place, each of which featured a theme (the winner was the Mother’s Day barbecue, at which we transformed our living room into a womb, complete with heartbeat, strange fluids and red, glowing walls). Spiritually and intellectually I was very much devoted to Gnostic studies, though I had different views on the subject at the time. This was also the year I really got into painting, and incessantly devoured Latin American literature. Just over a year later, I’d move to Seattle.

1987: This was the summer between Grades Six and Seven. My family had recently (within the previous two years) sold our small citrus farm and moved to a modest house in a suburb. I was just discovering that my favorite thing in the universe was music, though at the time my taste in music was… questionable at best. Yes, I was into hair metal. Poison, Def Leppard, Ratt, the whole nine yards. I was also about to begin my first year in marching band, and this was the summer we purchased my first saxophone. It was a thing of beauty: an old, tarnished, beat-up Elkhart alto that needed new pins and pads. I still have it, and it still sounds fantastic. My friends and I got into Dungeons and Dragons around this time, and were hardcore collectors of Transformers and G.I. Joes.

1977: I was two. My parents and I lived in a house on River Road. We had a big, friendly Doberman Pincer named Max. I watched some Sesame Street, and was allergic to parmesan cheese. My daily agenda: wake up, eat breakfast, play, eat lunch, take a nap, play some more, eat dinner, go to bed. There was also undoubtedly some pooping involved. Ah, for the good old days.

I don’t tend to “tag” people with these, but if anybody wants to pick up the thread, by all means do so!