Issue Number 5
Volume I-5
January 1976
Editor: Margaret Wendall IV°
Copyright © 1976 Temple of Set
[The lead/main article of this issue, “The Mythology of Phœnix” by Antoinette Zalewski I°, was later discovered to be plagiarized and is therefore omitted from this reprint.]
= [Reprinted with permission from DEMly #VII-24, 2/15/75. © Dwight E. Mitchell, 1975.]
The Other Men
It is not widely known but no secret that Lewis and Clark let several other chaps go with them on their expedition. This was rather good, as they gave considerable help.
Indians and Pilgrims
The Indians taught the Pilgrims to put a fish in each hill of corn they planted, as fertilizer. This was so they would produce better corn for bait to catch more fish.
George III’s Cargo
George III thought he would punish the stubborn Colonists by sending them a shipload of goods and forcing them to pay for it. This contrary old King told himself he would make them toe the line.
They sneaked out on the ship one night to throw the cargo overboard. When they got the tea dumped in the bay, they found the rest of the cargo was fine liquor.
After a searching analysis of every aspect of the problem, they concluded it was not necessary to dump any more goods. They decided instead to put it in some secure place on land where they all knew where it was.
= - by Michael J. Waters II°
During the transition and purification, also known as the Age of Satan, most of us recognized god for what he really is, i.e. that force which maintains the order of the universe.
Many followers of the Right-Hand Path are fond of the saying “Give the Devil his due”. I think we can do no less for God as we conceive him to be.
In the final analysis God is inescapable. If there were no order in the universe, physical and metaphysical, we, as magicians, could not recognize and control those forces which we do. Magic, as any successful magician knows, is not working against the force of existence but working in conjunction with it. Each physical law or control can be likened to a path which leads to a known or predictable end not once but every time. Magic is simply a map of the known paths.
The White Magician simply follows those paths which are already known. That is all right as far as it goes. However the White Magician’s cowardly mind tells him that he must seek additional illumination along the path from some spiritual source which he has not even bothered to authenticate, lest his own light fail him and he fall into the abyss. Then, if that were not enough, he defeats his own safety precautions by keeping his eyes shut tight in prayer! It might be noted in passing that the Christian does not even bother to walk the paths. He prefers to stagnate while testing his god to walk them for him.
On the other hand (the Left one), the Black Magician, having no such handicap as cowardice, takes magic one step further. By observing cause and effect of the order of the universe he plots new paths to destinations of his choice.
The Setian goes even further. Through the Temple of Set and the Book of Coming Forth by Night, the Setian has been given access to intelligence and knowledge of such magnitude that even the Setian intellect is hard put to conceive of and assimilate but a portion of it. This is the being of Set, through which paths that have been closed for æons are now open for the Elect to travel, at the end of which is the realization of the Word: Xeper! The Setian has walked the paths of the black magician to their end, gaining knowledge and courage along the way. He has become the Elect. Now, through Set, he will come into his rightful being. He has earned it!
But without cause and effect, the invariable law of the universe [i.e. without our concept of God], effect would not have to result from cause, the paths would not be plottable and the magician would be lost.
= - by Marie Zajkowski I°
Take up thy instrument, and prepare thy place in the Majesty of Set.
For I have given thee unlike none other thou hast had.
Divine thy path carefully and without fear, and in doing so thou wilt die the death of falsehood and live thy life enfolded by the truths of Set, always in my Majesty.
The gates of knowledge are now open to thee, and, as thou hast requested, I, Set, am near to thee, to guide thee through all that lies near to thy future.
Create from thyself what thou must, and in doing so closer to knowledge thou wilt be. And avoid all else except that which is.
And beware: Never accept failure even gracefully in weak moments, for as surely as failure is self-inflicted, so is success.
Remember not, except that which is useful of moments past where pain and sadness ensued, except if pleasure be derived thereof, or is constructive for the purpose of now.
Seek always to question that which is vague; seek always to question that which is not.
Thou must know thyself in order to know that which surrounds thyself. All else matters not, except that which is.
Thou must learn of all things and decide which is of importance to the plan. All these things are within thyself, which shall gather knowledge for thee in a short time, and shall prepare thee for the moments ahead.
Thou must control thy compassion for mere mortals. In doing so thou wilt endeavor to separate the very cunning disguise of truth vs. falsehood.
Be not afraid of that which guides thee, for thou art never alone without guidance.
