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Bernard Sell, our man in London and my co-author of "Monsters!" (Plug! Plug! Plug! Buy it, already!), sends us this post on THE BEAST OF BODMIN MOOR. What follows is a tale of crytpids, Alistair Crowley, and urinary urgency. If we here at STRANGE HORIZONS can offer you any advice at all, it is this droplet of Holmesian wisdom: do not go out on the moors at night...or in the afternoon in a Hyundai.
All through Cornwall, the great phantom cat, known as the Beast of Bodmin preys on local cattle and local locals. I arrived at around 1 p.m., so I did not expect to see it.
First of all, it's remote. To get there, you have to drive, and driving in Cornwall is more than just adjusting to driving on the left side of the road or navigating roundabouts. No, no. Oftentimes, one of the big hazards in Cornwall is driving down narrow roads, and by narrow, I'm talking about roads barely wide enough for one vehicle, let alone two. You learn to memorize where the pull-offs are when you see them, in case there's a car bounding toward you beyond the next hill.
Proud of myself for getting from Bodmin to Port Isaac to Camelford without killing anyone or nicking any parked vehicles or pedestrians, I drove down what seemed to be the world's longest private alley, unable to see the sun for long stretches due to the overgrowth above my head.
Leaving my hired car, I reached Bodmin Moor. I have never seen a moor in person. They are reputed to be windswept. They are not incorrect. The view opened out on three tors, (which are something something), Showery Tor, Little Rough Tor, and Rough Tor, 'rough' here pronounced as 'row.'
I have had some hiking experience, but it never ceases to amaze me how something that looks quite near is actually quite far, and something that doesn't look that steep is going to kill your quads. Check and check. Also, news flash-I am not as fit or athletic as I was 20 years ago. Did not help.
Once I reached the iconic Showery Tow (check this), I was fit for the cardiac unit. In revenge for my misery, I decided to flout the dangers of the moors and relieve myself on it.
This may not have been the smartest idea. This was the land of the Beast, remember?
Once I did so-I kid you not-the wind off the Celtic Sea picked up, and man! it was cold. It may have been a coincidence, but it didn't subside until I had come off the hills and crossed the heath.
The story doesn't end here. I got into the rental Hyundai and guess what?
It wouldn't start. It had been functioning perfectly until then.
But no big. Irritating, certainly, but a coincidence, right?
I was fortunate enough to mooch a ride into Bodmin from two elderly Samaritans, who were unable to get a signal on their mobile at Rough Tor, as it so happened. On the way, we got to talking, and asked me about what I was doing in England. Researching for supernatural comedies, I said.
The old man asked me if I knew who Alistair Crowley was.
If you know who he is, as I do, then you will understand my reaction of, "Well, of course. It all makes sense then." If you don't, check out some information about him HERE.
Alistair Crowley was known to have gone up into the Tors and performed dark rituals there. Some speculate that the Beast of Bodmin is somehow a product of these malefic rites.
Did old A.C. not appreciate where I drained my lizard? Is he the reason the winds picked up, that my car wouldn't start, that I couldn't get a mobile signal?
By the way, did I mention that I've developed a cold all of a sudden?
Jon's two-cents: I have no doubt that there is a Beast of Bodmin Moor, perhaps several of them, really. They are panthers brought from elsewhere in the world. For a time in the late 19th Century, it was fashionable for the elite and wealthy of the British establishment to own pets from exotic locales. These pets, often big cats such as panthers, inevitably grew larger and became too much for both house and home. The owners then turned them loose into the moors. These big cats are adaptive and have managed to survive in small pockets.
Follow me on Twitter: @Jntweets
How To Learn Magick Online
Information
See the"'s Guide to the "There's a nexus which will
allow you to scout out your own torrent of information overload:
elists with which to pelt your ebox, ftp sites to swim in until you overload your memory-quota, and Usenet groups to overload your
newsreader. The problem is not access to information any more (at
least not once one has oriented and this doesn't take much time), it is sorting that in which we can find value from that in which we
cannot. { http://www.hollyfeld.org/magi }
Authority
A great part of the problem is that what's 'authoritative' is somewhat relative to the individual who is doing the review. There are emotional and imaginative approaches, dry and intellectual affairs, those based on not much experience, those based entirely on it, those who prefer their magick in armchairs, those who prefer it in Hell, in Heaven, in Space, in the Dirt, some with connections to organizations (covens, lodges, grottos, pronaos, churches, temples, etc.), some to traditions (lineages, sects, etc.) and some way out there in weirdsville-whoknowswhere.
Thoughts
The first step in determining 'authoritativeness' is to look INWARD.
What sorts of questions do you find valuable to contemplate? Are they pragmatic (how do I do X?), theoretical (what does X mean?), ethical (when is it bad to do X?), or some combination of these? If YOU were devising a test for aspirants (don't bother that you may be one
yourself), what questions would you put on this test (don't worry if you don't know answers!)? Making up the test will assist you in
beginning a comparison of knowledge-bases with others in the occult community online or off. Continue to look at these questions. Watch how your responses change as you meet people who approach the questions from different places. Add to that list of questions and restructure them as you proceed in your self-education.
Tastes
The second step in determining 'authoritativeness' is to look INWARD.
What are your TASTES with regard to magical and occult subjects and practices? If you don't know, then EXPLORE! Find out what tastes
good. Do angels and bunnies and light just turn you on? How about
Alien Infestations from the Horrid Depths of Space? Strange words
and weird mathematics? Just swimming in cool ponds during autumn?
There are many many different approaches to magick, even religious
ones! (see Islam/Sufism or the spate of repressed forums ostensibly dedicated to a discussion of "Christian Magick"). Explore as many
as suits your taste. Sometimes settling for what comes first is not the best means of attaining any goals you may have.
Activity
The third step in determining 'authoritativeness' is to EXPERIENCE.
Do things. Try out things and above all, FAIL MISERABLY. The failure is as important as is the success. The two are ultimately a product of warped thinking anyway. *Do things*, as the alt.magick.chaos people love to say. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth
living. It may be equally true that the UNEXPERIENCED life is not
worth living. Be imaginative. Fly by the seat of your pants.
Take risks. Do the FORBIDDEN.
Reflection
The fourth step in determining 'authoritativeness' is to REFLECT.
See what people say in their words/actions/expressions which seems to conform to your experience of the world. When you can get a 'fix'
on someone and you LIKE what they are saying, then compare these people with others who may qualify in a similar way. Engage others and draw from THEIR experience and reflection. Develop your own ideas as a
result of critical thought ('Question Authority, dammit!) and your own practice as a result of creative exploration ('Do something, dammit!).
Abstraction
The last step in determining 'authoritativeness' is to PROJECT. Just because someone says something about which you do not agree this does not make them idiots. They may have experience which you do not have and they could be representing a very important and oft-overlooked
reflection. It is for this reason that it is quite difficult to be sure just who is and who is not an asshole without substance. Along the path of wizardry we do not burn our bridges, even while we may place small signs near them which say 'Of Uncertain Value'.
Growth
The most important principle in determining 'authoritativeness' is to develop it within ourselves. Suckling at the teats of masters may be important at certain stages of our growth, yet eventually we must
break away from the nest, we must try out our wings, we must take
risks and become reservoirs of experience and wisdom ourselves. If
nothing else, through such exploits we may become humble.
afternotes in response to request for elaboration:
>Make it up as you go along. Create your own style. This is how the
>current paths appeared. Keep making it up, revising as you learn more
>and more.
get imaginative. Explore the length and breadth of religious
and magical disciplines and techniques. Visualization? It is quite
effective for those who don't have a need or resource for material tools.
Look at all the divination systems available: astrology, qabalah, tarot, runes, etc., etc. Look at the spiritualist supply stores: ouija, rapping tables, esp cards, etc., etc. Look at the ceremonialist's shoppes: wands, swords, incenses, candles, cauldrons, etc., etc. Look at the fetishist supply stores: dildos, floggers, clamps, needles, razors, etc. etc. Look at the primitive and modern religious practices: drums, rattles, bells, lights, chanting, spinning, singing, etc., etc.
Check into the resources on 'natural highs' and 'psychotropics'. Check into the billions of ways to become a sorceror (one who explores the realms of consciousness). Magick may find its way to you.
...
Limits? There is no limit to magick. It can infuse and encompass
your entire life experience. You can click into the Wave of the World and become the Great Fool-Magus that attains to the Great Work and sets the world arights. Refashion the Cosmos to your liking, become God, do the Hokey Pokey!
copyright (c) nagasiva 1998
All rights reserved. Permission to distribute the text is
hereby granted providing that distribution is electronic, no money
is associated, reasonable attempts are made to use the latest version and all credits and this copyright notice are maintained.
tyagI@houskaos.Abyss.coM (I@AM)
tyagi nagasiva
Suggested ebooks:
Aubrey Bell - The Magic Of Spain
Joseph Ennemoser - The History Of Magic Vol 1
WARNING: PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!
YOU WILL BE ASKED TO USE MUCH MORE OF YOUR WILL IN THIS SPELL THAN A WHITE OR GRAY MAGICK SPELL. IN THOSE SPELLS THE SPELLCASTER PUTS FORTH MOST OF THE ENERGY. IN BLACK MAGICK YOU WILL BE SUPPLYING THE ENERGY. BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT AND THAT HALF-WAY THROUGH, YOU DON'T SECOND-GUESS YOURSELF AND LEAVE A BLACK MAGICK SPELL ADRIFT. I CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR HOW YOU CHOOSE TO USE THIS SPELL. I CANNOT HELP YOU IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG. I CANNOT CHANGE THE RESULTS ONCE THE SPELL HAS TAKEN HOLD. IF YOUR REASONS ARE GENUINE FOR THIS KIND OF MAGICK, THEN THINGS WILL PROBABLY WORK OUT JUST FINE. AS WITH ANY NON-WHITE MAGICK, THERE IS ALWAYS A RISK. PLEASE ONLY CONSIDER BLACK MAGICK AS AN ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT. BLACK MAGICK SPELLS TAKE ANYWHERE FROM 1-120 DAYS TO MANIFEST RESULTS.
THIS SPELL IS FOR LOVE AND PASSION BUT BECAUSE IT IS A DARK SPELL, BLACK MAGICK AND USING THE FORCES AVAILABLE ON THIS DARK NIGHT OF MAGICK YOU MUST BE VERY CLEAR IN YOUR INTENTION. THIS SPELL WILL CUT THROUGH THE MOST DIFFICULT ISSUES YOU ARE HAVING LIKE A HOT KNIFE THROUGH BUTTER! WHATEVER YOUR ISSUES ARE, THIS SPELL CAN TRANSFORM YOUR DESIRES INTO AN IDEAL LOVE SITUATION. IT IS NOT A MIRACLE BUT CLOSE!
USE THIS SPELL TO BUILD PASSION IN A RELATIONSHIP WHERE IT IS LACKING, USE IT TO BRING A STRAY LOVE BACK TO YOU WITH PASSION IN MIND, USE THIS SPELL TO IGNITE A SPARK IN UNREQUITED LOVE, USE THIS SPELL TO HELP LOVE GROW AND KICK IT INTO HIGH GEAR IF IT IS MOVING TOO SLOW.
You must be aware that your intention can only be of the most positive true pure nature. If it is other than this I do not recommend this spell for you.
250.00
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