Subj : [12/15] Newsgroups: alt.pagan.magick
To   : All
From : Rachel L. Akers
Date : Thu Feb 22 2001 10:19 pm

>... (cont)
Subject: nagasiva's alt.magick FAQ
Summary: This is a file of biased responses to frequently
         asked questions in the alt.magick newsgroup.
Keywords: FAQ, magic, magick, occult, occultism
Replaces: 500009
Url: http://www.luckymojo.com/namfaq.html
X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.4 (NOV)
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 02:34:31 GMT

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>... (cont)
     next we must ask what benefit the Necronomicon is presumed to
     lend to its finders.

     there are two levels from which to respond to this question:
     (a) from the context of the stories associated with
     Lovecraft's constructions: the character's stated or implied
     motivations in encountering the Necronomicon or its class of
     magical item

     (b) from the context of nonfictional usage of these kinds of
     magical items regardless of their fictional descriptions and
     reputations.

     (a) there is no rational motivation for individuals, knowing
     what the reader knows, to pursue these books, determine their
     reality, or apply them toward nefarious and sociopathological
     ends. usually the characters 'fall under the spell' of the
     nefarious object, their curiosity leads them to an
     understanding of "what humans ought never know", their
     academic standards are abandoned in favor of their gradually
     increasing obsession with possessing and (usually merely
     providing a false veneer for) sheltering others from the
     horrible effects of the Book of Power.

     the premise behind the fictional stories is usually that the
     character begins from a standpoint of radical disbelief, yet
     whose skepticism inspires hir to examine even what could seem
     flaky leads in a survey of whatever subject they happen to
     find compelling (esp. archaeology, anthropology, or similar
     sciences in which the alien might be discovered amongst
     general historical simian remains or cosmological traces).

     the character cannot HELP but become convinced of the aweful
     horror that everything she knew about the world as presented
     from 'the scientific method' is WRONG, and that, lurking just
     beneath a filmy coating of conspiracy or occultism, such
     objects of power exist and would lead to catastrophes in both
     academic as well as existential human realms if the objects of
     power were to "get into the wrong hands".

     (b) where this fits in with the world outside of fiction is of
     course the controversy surrounding the Necronomicon in its
     various versions promoted by post-Lovecraftian authors and
     "discoverers". how much one is willing to accept of the
     outlandish (and classic, for its genre) fiction Lovecraft
     penned determines immediately what one is to make of and to
     what ends one might find use for the book.

     at the most intellectual and academic end of the theoretical
     spectrum, books in and of themselves do not contain power.
     their contents may make certain natural human experiences
     possible for those who choose to perform in the manner that
     may be described therein. the rituals or knowledge which is
     contained in the Necronomicon, being a reflection of the works
     of a fiction author, will never amount to much more than
     amusing entertainment or the basis for a peculiar kind of
     ceremonial magic (on par, possibly, with that which uses the
     medieval grimoires as its basis). at best one might use a
     Necronomicon to further one's spiritual development, at worse
     become lost in a fantasy world absent the discernment between
     fact and fiction, true power and insanity.

     from the perspective of the most liberal-minded rationalist,
     books can contain configurations of information which may have
     transformative effects upon the people and cultures to whom
     they are exposed. fictional works like Neal Stephenson's "Snow
     Crash" contain believable theories (mixed with fiction) about
     how religio-magical texts may function as a kind of
     information-virus that can be instrumental in shaping entire
     societies, perhaps the whole of the human species. the Book of
     Power, from this more imaginative perspective, could catalyze
     personal and sociological changes undreamt by previous
     authors. while it might be a stretch to accept Elder Gods
     transported through time and space vying for the minds and
     souls of a hominid species on a speck of dirt circling a
     medium- sized star (the rationalist evaluation of many a
     science- fiction story), there is no arguing that certain
     texts have become the focus of intense human obsession, and
     may have some innate structural or conceptual content which
     makes possible what would othewise seem outlandish and
     unnatural.

>... (cont)

--- Msged/2 4.00
 * Origin: Elfwhere - The POINTy eared POINT (3:640/531.2379)

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