Subj : [14/15] Newsgroups: alt.pagan.magick
To   : All
From : Rachel L. Akers
Date : Sat Feb 24 2001 10:02 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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   06.03 yeah, ok, but could and does a Necronomicon *exist*??

     it should be noted that just because a Necronomicon is a hoax
     for having made a false claim of origin, this does NOT mean
     that the book is necessarily a 'fake' in its entirety and its
     contents should ALSO be evaluated from the standpoint of a
     comparison with Lovecraft's criteria. any hoax (originating
     post-Lovecraft while laying claim to more ancient origins) may
     contain elements that a 'real' Necronomicon can be said to
     have, despite its inherently falsified premise of creation.

     I know this last point may not sit well with academics of
     library science, but it constitutes a rational means of
     evaluating a Book of Power mentioned by an author of fiction
     which emerges from human consciousness as a magical text
     (grimoire). historical origins are only ONE facet of a
     Necronomicon assessment, one that has unfortunately obsessed
     both sides of those who engage the debate.

     one might create a book which conformed to all of Lovecraft's
     descriptions without making a claim that the book is
     pre-Lovecraftian or derived from physical historical sources
     (as compared to having been received from the astral plane as
     a text which conforms to the character and content of what
     Lovecraft imagined, having the quality of having been written
     by Alhazred, during that time period, containing references
     and magical content almost believable to the academic and
     definitely believable to the student of Cthulhu mythos).

     Lovecraft obtained at least some of his information about the
     text in DREAMS, so the details are likely to be hazy. we
     should identify which details are consistent and certain,
     which are inconsistent and certain, which are uncertain, and
     which are single-mentions that do not fit in with the rest.
     out of this batch of data we can arrive at a criteria for
     rational assessment of Necronomicons without regard to
     hassling with the academic and mystical soap opera arguments
     about physical origins, extending outward from Lovecraft's
     knowledge-base.

     the smallest possible construction of a Necronomicon would
     contain the quotes from Lovecraft's works on pages numbered
     appropriately, whether or not they pertained to a
     numerological sequence. the book would also conform to
     Lovecraft's general description also, and its content would
     resemble in character the historical influences that Lovecraft
     described in certainty. any ambiguity in HPL's data would
     allow some variation, and the rest would have to conform to
     the minimal standards constructed.

     of those which I am currently aware, here are important
     features (I'll add more as I become aware of them through my
     studies of as I'm informed by those more scholarly than I):

     * physical historical origin -- since we know that Lovecraft
     dreamed up the name and concept of the book, any presentation
     that claims what is offered is the historical referent to
     Lovecraft's ideas should of course be considered a hoax until
     and unless documentation on such an historical existence was
     presented for review (unlikely in the extreme and it would
     reveal that Lovecraft was actually lying about his having
     created the concept).

     * scholarly features in content -- the Latin by Wormius would
     need to contain a prefatory note indicating that the Arabic
     original was lost.

     * ideal presentation -- the best rendering of a complete "Al
     Azif"/"Necronomicon" would be a presentation comparing Arabic
     (the supposed written language of Alhazred), Greek, Latin, and
     the language of sale, side by side for comparison by the
     interested academic.

     additional references:
          news:alt.horror.cthulhu
          news:alt.necronomicon
     ____________________________________________________________

>... (cont)

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

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