Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Incomplete)
Two hymns of Earth for rituals of invocation of Gods and Goddesses of Planet
Earth and Her Living Universe of Soil, Ocean, Air, Light, and Sky by Joseph Payne
Brennan and Robert A. Heinlein
Earth – what do we think of, when we hear or see that word? Gentle Gaia, sweet and kind? A
ravished victim of modern technology? – Or do we remember Persephone and Pele, and the awesome
forces locked in the crust, mantle, and core of our Planet? Earth is a true and real Power in the Universe,
though our over-urbanized, high-tech culture often blinds us to that fact. . . . Yet Earth is also our home, our
Mother, the first Mother, the greatest, Who was here before all other Solar-terrestrial Life. We are
perfectly adapted to Her in every way, from the loveliness of Her skies and waters, that makes our hearts
break for joy at the sight of them on the best days, to the vast, remorseless puissance of Her rampaging
volcanoes, Her catastrophic earthquakes and tsunamis, and even the heavy metals, uranium, radium, and
plutonium, that keep Her core molten and active, and the relatively recent use of which by humanity has
inevitably raised the question of the viability of Her creatures. I can think of no better portrait of the
terrible molten power that lies at Earth’s heart, only a little of which is visible even in the most titanic
volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or other tectonic frenzies, than Joseph Payne Brennan’s “Heart of Earth.”
And there is no better acknowledge of the Aeons-deep ties between Her and us, Her most cantankerous,
ingeniously mischievous, terrifyingly inventive, Star-chasing children, whose nature She has patiently
cultured and trained through countless evolutionary changes since the dawn of Life, than the heart-
breakingly beautiful “Green Hills of Earth” by the late Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988), who, perhaps more
than anyone else, was the Man Who Sold the Stars to America.
2. “The Green Hills of Earth,” by Robert A. Heinlein. From Heinlein’s short story, “The Green Hills
of Earth,” copyright 1947 by The Curtis Publishing Company, included in the collection of his
works, The Past Through Tomorrow (New York: Berkley Books, 1967), pp. 363-373.
Part 2: Hymns, Songs, and Readings for Invocations of Luna: The Tides of Life
1. The Invocation of Luna: Adapted from Dion Fortune’s Moon-Magic by Yael Dragwyla
Copyright 1987, 1994 by Yael R. Dragwyla. Adapted from Dion Fortune’s Moon-Magic (New York:
Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1979)
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2. Homecoming – Luna as Crone and Mother: “Requiem,” Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). As
quoted in Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “Requiem” (copyright 1939 by Street and Smith
Publications), which was eventually included in his collection The Man Who Sold the Moon, it is
included in the following passage:
On a high hill in Samoa there is a grave. Inscribed on the marker are these words:
3. Luna as the Lord of the Tides of Life and History: “Dover Beach,” by Matthew Arnold (1822-1888)
4. The Great Mother: “Red Roses,” by A. M. Stephens (taken from A. M. Stephens’ The Rosary of Pan
[Toronto: McLelland & Stewart, Publishers, Ltd., 1923], p. 24)
5. Luna, Lord of the Home: “Bless This House,” traditional American hymn
6. Prayers and Hymns to Djehuti, Lord of the Moon, of Justice, and of Magick; He Who is Known in
Other Lands as Odin, Hanuman, Coyote, Raven, Hermes, Mercury, and the Archangel Raphael, A
Lord of both Mercury and the Moon
All but the last of the following prayers and hymns, Liber Israfel, which was originally published in
this century in Aleister Crowley’s periodical The Equinox, Volume I, are translated from actual prayers
offered by the people of pre-Christian Egypt to the God Djehuti. (These are also suitable for invocations of
Mercury/Hermes.)
a. Prayer to an Image of Djehuti. Offered as a first greeting to the classic image of Him as a
cyanocephalic (“dog-headed”) baboon, upon setting it up in the house.
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d. Liber Israfel
Introductory note: This hymn to Djehuti was originally published in Aleister Crowley’s The Equinox,
Volume I, and reprinted in Gems from the Equinox (Israel Regardie, editor. Phoenix, AZ: Falcon Press,
1982), pp. 307-310. As reproduced here, it was published in Techniques of High Magic: A Manual of Self-
Initiation by Francis King and Stephen Skinner (New York: Destiny Books, 1976), pp. 168-171).
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Endnotes
1
Image of the Moon-disc.
2
Alludes as well to the tale of Djehuti healing Horus’ eye when it was destroyed.
3
Greek Hermopolis in Upper Egypt. Principal seat of the cult.
4
Or Geb (long “e,” i.e., “ay” sound): the Earth.
5
Administrative council similar to Cabinet.
6
Djehuti is the Patron of orphans.
7
The Hathors who bless new born children, and the Goddess of Plenty.
8
Dedicate them as scribes.
9
This is a modified version of an invocation once used as the preliminary invocation before an evocation of
Taphthartharath, the Spirit of the Sphere of Mercury, by members of the Golden Dawn Lodge of the
19th Century. I first found it in Francis King’s and Stephen Skinner’s Techniques of High Magic: A
Manual of Self-Initiation (New York: Destiny Books, 1976), pp. 168-171; the version presented here
is theirs, with slightly different capitalization and, in one or two cases, grammatical arrangement for
the sake of scansion. Their version was taken from that given as Liber Israfel in The Equinox, Volume
I.
7. “The River of No Return,” by Ken Darby and Lionel Newman. From the 1954 movie starring
Marilyn Monroe, of the same title; “One Silver Dollar,” by Ken Darby and L. Newman, from the
1954 movie, The River of No Return. Here is a celebration of Luna as the Progressed Moon,
moving at about the same speed through the Inner Sky of the progressions to a natus as transiting
Saturn does the Outer Sky: “The River of No Return” by Ken Darby and Lionel Newman. From
the 1954 movie starring Marilyn Monroe of the same title
There is a river
Called the river of no return.
Sometimes it’s peaceful,
And sometimes wild and free!
Love is a trav’ler
On the river of no return.
Swept on forever,
To be lost in the stormy sea.
Wail-a-ree
I can hear the river call
(No return, no return).
I lost my love on the river
And forever my heart will yearn,
Gone, gone forever,
Down the river of no return.
Wail-a-ree, wail-a-ree –
She’ll never return to me!
8. “One Silver Dollar,” by Ken Darby and L. Newman, from the 1954 movie, The River of No Return
Astrologically speaking, money is like the Moon: it causes change, it takes on the color of whatever it
touches as long as it touches it, and no longer, then goes on to the next thing. Ken Darby wrote
this lovely song, which was used in the 1954 movie River of No Return, which starred Marilyn
Monroe and Robert Mitchum:
Luna rules the Sign Cancer and the 4th House of the horoscope, which rule the sole, the ground one
stands on, the place of one’s birth, one’s native land, and thus all patriotic songs. None is more fit
than this one, about that Luna-ruled nation, the United States of America.
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the original version in 1893. She wrote the 2nd version in 1904. Her final
version was written in 1913.
"One day some of the other teachers and I decided to go on a trip to 14,000-foot Pikes Peak. We hired
a prairie wagon. Near the top we had to leave the wagon and go the rest of the way on mules. I was
very tired. But when I saw the view, I felt great joy. All the wonder of America seemed displayed there,
with the sea-like expanse."
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1. “Old Hundredth” – traditional hymn – Mercury the God of veterinarians, the web of life
2. “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” – the web of life, the persistence of all living things
5. Tongue-twisters: “Sister Sally sells sea-shells by the sea-shore,” “A big black bug bit a
big brown bear,” etc.
6. “They Call the Wind Maria,” from Paint Your Wagon: A Musical Play (Copyright 1951 by Alan
Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe). Taken from the vocal score from the musical. Book and
lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe. Hermes-Mercurius is Lord of the
world’s winds, which go everywhere; He is also God of travelers and those who journey far
from their homelands. This song is particularly appropriate for both of these functions of His.
7. “The Wayward Wind,” by Herb Newman and Stan Lebowsky. Copyright 1956, 1983 by
Bibo Music Publishers (% The Welk Music Group, Santa Monica, CA 90401)
Chorus:
Chorus:
Nota bene: This song may also be sung from the point of view of the wanderer himself. In that case,
“I” should be substituted for “he”; “a girl,” for “him there” (in “I met him there”); “my” for
“his”; “me” for “him”; “she’s” for “I’m” (in “I’m now alone”). Also, the chorus may be
modified by replacing “the wayward wind” with “the wayward heart.”
8. “The Breeze and I,” adapted from Ernesto Lecuona’s “Andalucia” by T. Camarata; lyrics by Al
Stillman, music by Ernesto Lecuona. Copyright 1927 by Edward Mars Music Corporation.
The breeze and I are saying with a sigh
That you no longer care;
The breeze and I are whispering good-bye,
To dreams we used to share.
9. And last, but not least, “The Battle of the Lake Regillus.” Taken from Lord Macaulay’s Essays and
Lays of Ancient Rome (Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay, editor and translator. New York:
Longmans, Green, and Co., 1896), pp. 841-853. Old (pre-Christian) Rome, like the United States
of America, was ruled by both Mars and Mercury, the latter in His aspect of Lord of the Sign
Gemini. Gemini memorializes Castor and Pollux of Greek myth, but also refers to Romulus and
Remus, the legendary founders of the City of Rome. According to Macaulay (ibid., pp. 842-844),
the following poem, “A lay sung at the feast of Castor and Pollux on the Ides of Quintilis, in the
Year of the City CCCCLI,” came about in the following way:
The popular belief at Rome, from an early period, seems to have been that the
event of the great day of [the Battle of] Regillus was decided by supernatural agency.
Castor and Pollux, it was said, had fought, armed and mounted, at the head of the legions
of the [Roman] commonwealth, and had afterwards carried the news of the victory with
incredible speed to the city. The well in the Forum at which they had alighted was
pointed out. Near the well rose their ancient temple. A great festival was kept to their
honor on the Ides of Quintilis, supposed to be the anniversary of the battle; and on that
day sumptuous sacrifices were offered to them at the public charge. One spot on the
margin of Lake Regillus was regarded during many ages with superstitious awe. A mark,
resembling in shape a horse’s hoof, was discernible in the volcanic rock; and this mark
was believed to have been made by one of the celestial chargers.
How the legend originated cannot now be ascertained: but we may easily
imagine several ways in which it might have originated; nor is it at all necessary to
suppose, with Julius Frontinus, that two young men were dressed up by the Dictator to
personate the sons of Leda. It is probable that Livy is correct when he says that the
Roman general, in the hour of peril, vowed a temple to Castor. If so, nothing could be
more natural than that the multitude should ascribe the victory to the favour of the Twin
Gods. When such was the prevailing sentiment, any man who chose to declare that, in
the midst of the confusion and slaughter, he had seen two godlike forms on white horses
scattering the Latines, would find ready credence. . . . It is . . . conceivable that the
appearance of Castor and Pollux may have become an article of faith before the
generation which had fought at Regillus had passed away. Nor could anything be more
natural than that the poets of the next age should embellish this story, and make the
celestial horsemen bear the tidings of victory to Rome.
Many years after the temple of the Twin Gods had been built in the Forum, an
important addition was made to the ceremonial by which the state annually testified its
gratitude for their protection. Quintus Fabius and Publius Decius were elected Censors at
a momentous crisis. It had become absolutely necessary that the classification of the
citizens should be revised. On that classification depended the distribution of political
power. Party-spirit ran high; and the republic seemed to be in danger of falling under the
dominion either of a narrow oligarchy or of an ignorant and headstrong rabble. Under
such circumstances, the most illustrious patrician and the most illustrious plebian of the
age were entrusted with the office of arbitrating between the angry factions; and they
performed their arduous task to the satisfaction of all honest and reasonable men.
One of their reforms was a remodelling of the equestrian order and, having
effected this reform, they determined to give to their work a sanction derived from
religion. In the chivalrous societies of modern times, societies which have much more
than may at first sight appear in common with the equestrian order of Rome, it has been
usual to invoke the special protection of some Saint, and to observe his day with peculiar
solemnity. Thus the Companions of the Garter wear the image of Saint George
depending from their collars, and meet, on great occasions, in Saint George’s Chapel.
Thus, when Lewis the Fourteenth instituted a new order of chivalry for the rewarding of
military merit, he commended it to the favour of his own glorified ancestor and patron,
and decreed that all the members of the fraternity should meet at the royal palace on the
feast of Saint Lewis, should attend the king to chapel, should hear mass, and should
subsequently hold their great annual assembly. There is a considerable resemblance
between this rule of the order of Saint Lewis and the rule which Fabius and Decius made
respecting the Roman knights. It was ordained that a grand muster and inspection of the
equestrian body should be part of the ceremonial performed, on the anniversary of the
battle of Regillus, in honour of Castor and Pollux, the two equestrian Gods. All the
knights, clad in purple and crowned with olive, were to meet at a temple of Mars in the
suburbs. Thence they were to ride in state to the Forum, where the temple of the Twins
stood. This pageant was, during several centuries, considered as one of the most splendid
sights of Rome. In the time of Dionysius the cavalcade sometimes consisted of five
thousand horsemen, all persons of fair repute and easy fortune.
There can be no doubt that the Censors who instituted this august ceremony
acted in concert with the Pontiffs to whom, by the constitution of Rome, the
superintendence of the public worship belonged; and it is probable that those high
religious functionaries were, as usual, fortunate enough to find in their books or traditions
some warrant for the innovation.
The following poem is supposed to have been made for this great occasion.
Songs, we know, were chanted at the religious festivals of Rome from an early period;
indeed from so early a period, that some of the sacred verses were popularly ascribed to
Numa, and were utterly unintelligible in the age of Augustus. In the Second Punic War a
great feast was held in honour of Juno, and a song was sung in her praise. This was song
was extant when Livy wrote; and, though exceedingly rugged and uncouth, seemed to
him not wholly destitute of merit. A song, as we learn from Horace, was part of the
established ritual at the great Secular Jubilee. It is therefore likely that the Censors and
Pontiffs, when they had resolved to add a grand procession of knights to the other
solemnities annually performed on the Ides of Quintilis, would call in the aid of a poet.
Such a poet would naturally take for his subject the battle of Regillus, the appearance of
the Twin Gods, and the institution of their festival. He would find abundant materials in
the ballads of his predecessors; and he would make free use of the scanty stock of Greek
learning which he had himself acquired. He would probably introduce some wise and
holy Pontiff enjoining the magnificent ceremonial which, after a long interval, had at
length been adopted. If the poem succeeded, many persons would commit it to memory.
Parts of it would be sung to the pipe at banquets. It would be peculiarly interesting to the
great Posthumian House, which numbered among its many images that of the Dictator
Aulus, the hero of Regillus. The orator who, in the following generation, pronounced the
funeral panegyric over the remains of Lucius Posthumius Megellus, thrice Consul, would
borrow largely from the lay; and thus some passages, much disfigured, would probably
find their way into the chronicles which were afterwards in the hands of Dionysius and
Livy.
Antiquaries differ widely as to the situation of the field of battle. The opinion of
those who suppose that the armies met near Cornufelle, between Frascati and the Monte
Porzio, is at least plausible, and has been followed in the poem.
As to the details of the battle, it has not been thought desirable to adhere
minutely to the accounts which have come down to us. Those accounts, indeed, differ
widely from each other, and, in all probability, differ as widely from the ancient poem
from which they were originally derived.
It is unnecessary to point out the obvious imitations of the Iliad, which have
been purposely introduced [the Romans believed that Rome originally was a colony of
ancient Troy, and they borrowed freely from the Homeric literature and traditions of
Greece in their poetry and religious festivals].
The poem itself, translated into English from the original Latin, is as follows:
I.
Ho, trumpets, sound a war-note!
Ho, lictors, clear the way!
The Knights will ride, in all their pride,
Along the streets to-day.
To-day the doors and windows
Are hung with garlands all,
From Castor in the Forum,
To Mars without the wall.
Each Knight is robed in purple,
With olive each is crowned;
A gallant war-horse under each
Paws haughtily the ground.
While flows the Yellow River,
While stands the Sacred Hill,
The proud Ides of Quintilis
Shall have such honour still.
Gay are the Martian Kalends:
December’s Nones are gay:
But the proud Ides, when the squadron rides,
Shall be Rome’s whitest day.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
Aricia, Cora, Norba,
Velitrae, with the might
Of Setia and of Tusculum,
Were marshalled on the right:
The leader was Mamilius,
Prince of the Latine name;
Upon his head a helmet
Of red gold shone like flame:
High on a gallant charger
Of dark-grey hue he rode;
Over his gilded armour
A vest of purple flowed,
Woven in the land of sunrise
By Syria’s dark-browed daughters,
And by the sails of Carthage brought
Far o’er the southern waters.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
’Now hearken, Caius Cossus:
Spring on thy horse’s back;
Ride as the wolves of Apennine
Were all upon thy track;
Haste to our southward battle:
And never draw thy rein
Until thou find Herminius,
And bid him come amain.’
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
Right glad were all the Romans
Who, in that hour of dread,
Against great odds bare up the war
Around Valerius dead,
When from the south the cheering
Rose with a mighty swell;
’Herminius comes, Herminius,
Who kept the bridge so well!’
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
Sempronius Atratinus
Sate in the Eastern Gate,
Beside him were three Fathers,
Each in his chair of state;
Fabius, whose nine stout grandsons
That day were in the field,
And Manlius, eldest of the Twelve
Who kept the Golden Shield;
And Sergius, the High Pontiff,
For wisdom far renowned;
In all Etruria’s colleges
Was no such Pontiff found.
And all around the portal
And high above the wall,
Stood a great throng of people,
But sad and silent all;
Young lads, and stooping elders
That might not bear the mail,
Matrons with lips that quivered,
And maids with faces pale.
Since the first gleam of daylight,
Sempronius had not ceased
To listen for the rushing
Of horse-hoofs from the east.
The mist of eve was rising,
The sun was hastening down,
When he was aware of a princely pair
Fast pricing towards the town.
So like they were, man never
Saw twins so like before;
Red with gore their armour was,
Their steeds were red with gore.
XXXVIII
XXXIX.
XL.
10. Mercury and Silly Nonsense: This following selection of hymns, poems, readings, and songs to
Mercury is dedicated to Silly Nonsense and the sort of hijinks beloved of all those who, “. . . like
schoolboy / With shining morning face / Creeping like snail / Unwillingly to school . . .” still have
fond memories of youth – and dark ones of the collective Enemy, the dreaded coalition of
Teacher-Parents-Truant Officer. Includes “Jabberwocky,” by Lewis Carroll; “Mine Eyes Have
Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School” (traditional after-school hymn); “From the Hall’s of
School’s Dark Prison” (playground marching-song); “Deck the Halls” (no, not a Christmas carol
– this one is a celebratory hymn by children everywhere on the joys of wish-fulfillment); “The
Ants Go Marching”
The lyrics for “Jabberwocky” are as that eminent composer and jazz-man Lewis Carroll wrote
them:
The tune, appropriately enough, is shared with “Greensleeves.” See Marcia and Jon Pankake, A
Prairie Home Companion Folk Song Book (New York: Viking, 1988), p. 91.
b. “Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School”
“Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School,” ibid., p. 100. The tune is that to “The
Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Author’s comment: “This song was submitted with more
variations than any other sent to the Department of Folk Song.” (In fact, it even has a
complimentary version, that from the other side of the same endless school wars, “Mine Eyes
Have Seen the Horror of the Ending of the Term,” to be sung by those who didn’t quite cut the
academic mustard during the school year and are now facing June Doom in the form of report-
cards or G.P.A. assessments. See ibid., p. 101.)
c. “From the Halls of School’s Dark Prison,” ibid., p. 99. The tune is that to “The Marine’s Hymn,”
or, “From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli,” 1919, based on a theme from
Offenbach’s Genevieve de Brabant, 1868.
d. “Deck the Halls,” ibid., p. 99. Tune is that of the traditional Christmas carol of the same name.
e. “The Ants Go Marching,” sung to the tune of “When Johnny Comes Marching Home” – a
children’s song calculated to drive all adults in the area stark, staring mad when, after about ten
verses, it is evident that the song never does have to end and the little darlings have lungs of steel
and the will to keep on going unto infinity . . . Incidentally, this song was used to good effect in
Steven Spielberg’s lovely movie, Antz.
Oh . . .
The ants go marching one by one,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one,
Hurrah, hurrah!
The ants go marching one by one,
The last one stops to shoot his gun,
Chorus:
Verses may be constructed ad infinitum ad nauseam by varying the number of ants and rhyming what
the last one does accordingly. The actions of that last damned ant may be clean, obscene, or whatever
depending upon the taste (or lack thereof) of the singers.
Part 4: Hymns of Venus: Songs, Poems, and Readings of Love in All Its Aspects – Lovers, Family,
Friends, Neighbors, Comrades, Country, Humanity, World
1. “Greensleeves.” This gorgeous English folk-tune is known the world over. In the lyrics given here,
it invokes Venus in Taurus as Goddess of Profane Love; other lyrics recall the Christ-child and
the Christian Passion, associated with Agape, Venus in Pisces. It is thus perfect for invoking the
Goddess of Love, both Earthly and Heavenly.
Alas! my love,
You do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously,
And I have loved you so long,
Delighting in your company.
4. On the nature and place of sex in the lives of Americans, prose discourse by Thomas P. Lowry,
M.D., in his The Story the Shoulders Wouldn’t Tell (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1994):
Sex, in our society, has always occupied a peculiar place. It produced all of us; it is
the thread that links every generation; it intrudes into the thoughts of most adult men
(and many women); and it is at the same time denounced, hidden, mocked, and
trivialized. It is at once the highest and the lowest, the brightest and the darkest. The
ruler of American sex would be the Prince of Ambivalence. And, indeed, sex contains
within itself both the best and the worst of human possibilities.
If you asked the author’s own views of sexuality in human life, the answer would
parallel that of the legendary Southern senator when asked by a constituent about his
views on whiskey: ’Sir, you have asked my stand on the subject of whiskey. Well, if by
whiskey you mean that degradation of the noble barley, that burning fluid which sears the
throats of the innocent, that vile liquid that sets men to fighting in low saloons, from
whence they go forth to beat their wives and children, that liquor the Devil spawns which
reddens the eye, coarsens the features and ages the body beyond its years, then I am
against it with all my soul. But, sir, if by whiskey you mean that diadem of the distiller’s
art, that nimble golden ambrosia which loosens the tongue of the sky, gladdens the heart
of the lonely, comforts the afflicted, rescues the snake-bitten, warms the frozen, and
brings the joys of conviviality to men during their hard-earned moments of relaxation,
then I am four-square in favor of whiskey. From these opinions I shall not waver.’
The author’s opinions on the matters with which this book is concerned might be
stated in similar fashion: ’If, by sex, you mean that engine that moves the terrible wheels
of lust, that carnal burr under the saddle that hurls men of the Gospel down from their
pulpits, that tickle that causes kings to abandon their thrones for a sniff of some sweet
thing, that demon that turns the heads of captains and generals, so that they whisper
breathless nonsense and military secrets into the ear of some doe-eyed double agent, that
frenzy that leads men of common sense to thrust aside their loyal wives, weeping
children, and vested pension funds to run off with secretaries with half their years and
education, that terrible strength that enables an underweight young man to couple with
twenty different partners between Friday and Monday in a poorly lit Turkish bath, that
dizzying blindness that allows those who brush twice a day and floss every night to risk
heartbreak, herpes, AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and lymphogranuloma
venereum for the sake of a pelvic spasm, that force that causes altar boys to flog
themselves silly in a soapy bathtub, torn between guilt and excitement, if that is what you
mean by sex, then I am irrevocably opposed to it.
’However, if by sex you mean that delectable gift of heaven that showers its
blessings upon the committed souls so that their hearts beat as one, that force that inspires
the long-married to walk holding hands in the cool of the evening, that urge to enjoy the
fruit of such unions and provide the twenty-two years of endurance, orthodontia, and
tuition hikes that such offspring engender, that force that quickens the pulse when the
loved one’s footsteps are heard on the porch, that ever-flowing font of shared memories,
of binding pleasures, or that drive that causes a pair of geese to mate for life, ever-faithful
to their troth, generous, companionate, and true, then I am four-square in favor of sex.’
Clearly, the prince of Ambivalence has not been dethroned. . . .
7. “For Cryin’ Out Loud,” by Meatloaf, Copyright 1977 by Edward B. Marks Music Corp.
8. “You Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth (Hot Summer Nights),” by Meatloaf
Part 5: Hymns, Songs, Poems, and Readings for Invocations of the Sun
Part 6: Hymns, Songs, Poems, and Readings for Invocations of Mars, God of War, the Protector
1. Mars as Home and World: “From ’Along the Grand Canal,’“ by Robert A. Heinlein. From his
“The Green Hills of Earth,” copyright 1947 by The Curtis Publishing Co., included in his The
Past Through Tomorrow (New York: Berkley Books, 1967), p. 366
As Time and Space come bending back to shape this star-specked scene,
The tranquil tears of tragic joy still spread their silver sheen;
Along the Grand Canal still soar the fragile Towers of Truth;
Their fairy grace defends this place of Beauty, calm and couth.
Bone-tired the race that raised the Towers, forgotten are their lores;
Long gone the gods who shed the tears that lap these crystal shores.
Slow beats the time-worn heart of Mars beneath this icy sky;
The thin air whispers voicelessly that all who live must die –
2. Mars as Protector of the Defenseless, Defender of Justice, the Righteous Warrior: “Recessional”
(1897) by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
3. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” lyrics by Julia Ward Howe, circa 1861, tune probably by
William Steffe, circa 1855. William Steffe, a Sunday School hymn composer, is believed to have
written the original melody that was eventually incorporated in “The Battle-Hymn of the
Republic.” In 1856 the melody was slowly gaining in popularity in the North, and after John
Brown’s unsuccessful attempt to incite a slave rebellion, the Webster Regiment adopted the
hymn’s tune in 1861 and set words to it commemorating him, “John Brown’s Body.” Julia Ward
Howe, who saw the Northern troops marching to battle singing “John Brown’s Body,” wrote the
present version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loos’d the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
4. “Dixie,” lyrics by Daniel D. Emmet, 1859. In 1859, Daniel Emmet, a member of the popular troupe
of “Bryant’s Minstrels,” was asked to provide a new song for a change of repertoire. Emmet
arrived at the first rehearsal with “Dixie.” Although written by a native of Ohio, “Dixie” was
picked up in New Orleans a year after its appearance, and from there on it became the favorite of
the Confederacy.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Now here’s health to the next old Missus,
An’ all the gals dat want to kiss us;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
But if you want to drive ’way sorrow,
Come and hear dis song tomorrow.
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
Chorus:
5. “Marching Thro’ Georgia,” words and music by Henry C. Work, was written in 1865 by the
Abolitionist Henry Clay Work, from Connecticut. This song was a reminder of General
Sherman’s famous march from Atlanta to the sea. So universally well-known did it become that
the British Army sang it during the first World War, and even the Japanese are said to have played
it when entering Port Arthur.
Bring the good old bugle, boys, we’ll sing another song.
Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along.
Sing it as we used to sing it, fifty thousand strong,
While we were marching thro’ Georgia.
Chorus:
“Hurrah! Hurrah! we bring the jubilee!
Hurrah! Hurrah! the flag that makes you free!”
So we sang the chorus from Atlanta to the sea,
While we were marching thro’ Georgia.
How the darkeys shouted when they heard the joyful sound!
How the turkeys gobbled which our commissary found!
How the sweet potatoes even started from the ground,
While we were marching thro’ Georgia.
Chorus:
Yes, and there were Union men who wept with joyful tears,
When they saw the honor’d flag they had not seen for years;
Hardly could they be restrained from breaking forth in cheers,
While we were marching thro’ Georgia.
Chorus:
Chorus:
6. “Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching,” words and music by George F. Root, circa 1861:
The enormous losses of the Northern army spurred him to write this prisoner’s lament of the
American Civil War. With varying lyrics, it has been a marching song for American troops in
every campaign and war since the Civil War. No song better expresses the esoteric principle, “At
the heart of Neptune is Mars.”
Chorus:
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the boys are marching,
Cheer up, comrades, they will come,
And beneath the starry flag,
We shall breathe the air again,
Of the freedom in our own beloved home.
In the battle front we stood, when the fiercest charge they made,
And they swept us off a hundred men and more;
But before we reached their lines they were beaten back, dismayed,
And we heard the cry of vict’ry o’er and o’er.
Chorus:
7. At His best, Mars is that valour that gives its all in the service of Life. In a note left by Commander
Robert F. Scott (1868-1912) before he died on his ill-fated 1912 expedition to the South Pole, he
wrote the following, which perfectly expresses the valiant heart of Mars:
I do not regret this journey. We took risks; we knew we took them. Things have
come out against us. Therefore we have no call for complaint.
8. “Courage,” by Amelia Earhart Putnam (1898-1937): As we will see further on, in “Horatius at the
Bridge,” one of the heraldic beasts of Mars is the wolf. But another is the eagle, above all the
American eagle, whose motto is, “Flies highest – sees farthest.” From this most valiant of all
American eagles, the aviatrix nonpareil Amelia Earhart, comes the following poem, which
expresses the very heart of Mars:
– John Paul Jones (1747-1792), aboard the Bonhomme Richard [September 23, 1779]
10. “In the heart of Neptune is Mars.” Neptune rules sacrifice. Sometimes, the warrior is called upon
to risk everything – and, ultimately, to sacrifice it. The courage to accept that risk, and face the
necessity or doom of such sacrifice with grace, are two of the highest of all the attributes of Mars.
In our own nation’s history, there have been many examples of men and women who, incarnating
these greatest of Martial virtues, paid the ultimate sacrifice – soldiers, sailors, firemen, police,
citizens in all walks and ranks of life, with one great thing in common: the courage to sacrifice
oneself – for the greater self that lives on through one’s community and one’s world. One of the
most famous of these was Nathan Hale (1755-1776), a young American patriot who, captured by
the British during the American Revolutionary War, was hanged as a spy on September 22, 1776..
These are his last words:
I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
11. 9 is a number of power and completion, one often associated with Mars. For the 11th and last
entry of this section of readings devoted to Mars, we offer “Horatius: A Lay Made About the
Year of the City CCLX,” by Thomas Babington Lord Macaulay.* This gorgeous oratorical poem
is an old bugbear of schoolboys attending the old-fashioned sort of prep school (the kind where
you really were taught the so-called basic skills, so well that today you seem to be a wizard
compared to the poor wights who had at best only a “modern American education”), one that
pupils had to memorize by heart, all 70 rolling stanzas of it. But it is worth memorizing, and
certainly worth reciting. For, though certainly in large part, at least, apocryphal, it is one of the
most stirring evocations of the essential spirit of Mars that has ever been written in the English
language. Macaulay, who translated it from the original Latin, says of it:
The following ballad is supposed to have been made about a hundred and twenty
years after the war which it celebrates, and just before the taking of [Old, pre-Christian]
Rome by the Gauls. The author seems to have been an honest citizen, proud of the
military glory of his country, sick of the disputes of factions, and much given to pining
after good old times which had never really existed. The allusion, however, to the partial
manner in which the public lands were allotted could proceed only from a plebeian; and
the allusion to the fraudulent sale of spoils marks the date of the poem, and shows that the
poet shared in the general discontent with which the proceedings of Camillus, after the
taking of Veii, were regarded.
The God of the Roman Republic, and later of the Old Roman Empire, was Mars, the
Shepherd-God, defender of the City of Rome and her people.** This poem is a
celebration of the best of the Martial spirit, and most appropriate for this last, ninth entry
of this section of readings devoted to Mars.
*From Lord Macaulay’s Essays and Lays of Ancient Rome (London: Longmans Green and Co., 1896), pp.
833-852.
**Old Rome was also ruled by Gemini, due to its (apocryphal) founding by the brothers Romulus and
Remus. Oddly, the United States of America is, at least in astrological and Magickal terms, very
similar to ancient Rome, for our natal chart has Gemini on the Ascendant – and Mars in the First
House, in Gemini. (In addition, we also have Uranus in the First conjunct both the Ascendant and the
Fixed Star Aldebaran, which is a Martial Star. This strengthens the influence of Mars in our chart,
increasing our esoteric ties to Old Rome.)
I.
Lars Porsena of Clusium
By the Nine Gods he swore
That the great house of Tarquin
Should suffer wrong no more.
By the Nine Gods he swore it,
And named a trysting day,
And bade his messengers ride forth,
East and west and south and north,
To summon his army.
II.
East and west and south and north
The messengers ride fast,
And tower and town and cottage
Have heard the trumpet’s blast.
Shame on the false Etruscan
Who lingers in his home,
When Porsena of Clusium
Is on the march for Rome.
III.
The horsemen and the footmen
Are pouring in amain
From many a stately market-place;
From many a fruitful plain;
From many a lonely hamlet,
Which, hid by beech and pine,
Like an eagle’s nest, hangs on the crest
Of purple Appennine;
IV.
From lordly Volaterrae,
Where scowls the far-famed hold
Pile by the hands of giants
For godlike kings of old;
From seagirt Populonia,
Whose sentinels descry
Sardinia’s snowy mountain-tops
Fringing the southern sky;
V.
From the proud mart of Pisae,
Queen of the western waves,
Where ride Massilia’s triremes
Heavy with fair-haired slaves;
From where sweet Clanis wanders
Through corn and vines and flowers;
From where Cortona lifts to heaven
Her diadem of towers.
VI.
Tall are the oaks whose acorns
Drop in dark Auser’s rill;
Fat are the stags that champ the boughs
Of the Cominian hill;
Beyond all streams Clitumnus
Is to the herdsman dear;
Best of all pools the fowler loves
The great Volsinian mere.
VII.
But now no stroke of woodman
Is heard by Auser’s rill;
No hunter tracks the stag’s green path
Up the Ciminian hill;
Unwatched along Clitumnus
Graces the milk-white steer;
Unharmed the water fowl may dip
In the Volsinian mere.
VIII.
The harvests of Arretium,
This year, old men shall reap,
This year, young boys in Umbro
Shall plunge the struggling sheep;
And in the vats of Luna,
This year, the must shall foam
Round the white feet of laughing girls
Whose sires have marched to Rome.
IX.
There be thirty chosen prophets,
The wisest of the land,
Who always by Lars Porsena
Both morn and even stand:
Evening and morn the Thirty
Have turned the verses o’er,
Traced from the right on linen white
By might seers of yore.
X.
And with one voice the Thirty
Have their glad answer given:
’Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena,
Go forth, beloved of Heaven;
Go, and return in glory
To Clusium’s royal dome;
And hang round Nurscia’s altars
The golden shields of Rome.’
XI.
And now hath every city
Sent up her tale of men;
The foot are fourscore thousand,
The hors are thousands ten.
Before the gates of Sutrium
Is met the great array.
A proud man was Lars Porsena
Upon the trysting day.
XII.
For all the Etruscan armies
Were ranged beneath his eye,
And many a banished Roman,
And many a stout ally;
And with a mighty following
To join the muster came
The Tusculan Mamillius,
Prince of the Latine name.
XIII.
But by the yellow Tiber
Was tumult and affright:
From all the spacious champaign
To Rome men took their flight.
A mile around the city,
The throng stopped up the ways;
A fearful sight it was to see
Through two long nights and days.
XIV.
For aged folks on crutches,
And women great with child,
And mothers sobbing over babes
That clung to them and smiled,
And sick men borne in litters
High on the necks of slaves,
And troops of sun-burned husbandmen
With reaping-hooks and staves,
XV.
And droves of mules and asses
Laden with skins of wine,
And endless flocks of goats and sheep,
And endless herds of kine,
And endless trains of waggons
That creaked beneath the weight
Of corns sacks and of household goods,
Choked every roaring gate.
XVI.
Now, from the rock Tarpeian,
Could the wan burghers spy
The line of blazing villages
Red in the midnight sky.
The Fathers of the City,
They sat all night and day,
For every hour some horseman came
With tidings of dismay.
XVII.
To eastward and to westward
Have spread the Tuscan bands;
Nor house, nor fence, nor dovecote
In Crustumerium stands.
Verbenna down to Ostia
Hath wasted all the plain;
Astur hath stormed Janiculum,
And the stout guards are slain.
XVIII.
I wish, in all the Senate,
There was no heart so bold,
But sore it ached, and fast it beat,
When that ill news was told.
Forthwith up rose the Consul,
Up rose the fathers all;
In haste they girded up their gowns,
And hied them to the wall.
XIX.
They held a council standing
Before the River-Gate;
Short time was there, ye well may guess,
For musing or debate.
Out spake the Consul roundly:
’The bridge must straight go down;
For, since Janiculum is lost,
Nought else can save the town.’
XX.
Just then a scout came flying,
All wild with haste and fear:
’To arms! to arms! Sir Consul:
Lars Porsena is here.’
On the low hills westward
The Consul fixed his eye,
And saw the swarthy storm of dust
Rise fast along the sky.
XXI.
And nearer fast and nearer
Doth the red whirlwind come;
And louder still and still more loud,
From underneath that rolling cloud,
Is heard the trumpet’s war-note proud,
The trampling, and the hum.
And plainly and more plainly
Now through the gloom appears,
Far to left and far to right,
In broken gleams of dark-blue light,
The long array of helmets bright,
The long army of spears.
XXII.
And plainly and more plainly,
Above that glimmering line,
Now might ye see the banners
Of twelve fair cities shine;
But the banner of proud Clusium
Was highest of them all,
The terror of the Umbrian,
The terror of the Gaul.
XXIII.
And plainly and more plainly
Now might the burghers know,
By port and vest, by horse and crest,
Each warlike Lucumo.
There Cilnius of Arretium
On his fleet roan was seen;
And Astur of the four-fold shield
Girt with the brand none else may wield,
Telumnius with the belt of gold,
And dark Verbenna from the hold
By reedy Thrasymene.
XXIV.
Fast by the royal standard,
O’erlooking all the war,
Lars Porsena of Clusium
Sat in his ivory car.
By the right wheel rode Mamilius,
Prince of the Latine name;
And by the left false Sextus,
That wrought the deed of shame.
XXV.
But when the face of Sextus
Was seen among the foes,
A yell that rent the firmament
From all the town arose.
On the house-tops was no woman
But spat towards him and hissed,
No child but screamed out curses,
And shook its little fist.
XXVI.
But the Consul’s brow was sad,
And the Consul’s speech was low,
And darkly looked he at the wall,
And darkly at the foe.
’Their van will be upon us
Before the bridge goes down;
And if they once may win the bridge,
What hope to save the town?’
XXVII
Then out spake brave Horatius,
The Captain of the Gate:
’To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the altars of his Gods,
XXVIII.
‘And for the tender mother
Who dandled him to rest,
And for the wife who nurses
His baby at her breast,
And for the holy maidens
Who feed the eternal flame,
To save them from false Sextus
That wrought the deed of shame?
XXIX.
’Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul,
With all the speed ye may;
I, with two more to help me,
Will hold the foe in play.
In yon strait path a thousand
May well be stopped by three.
Now who will stand on either hand
And keep the bridge with me?’
XXX.
Then out spake Spurius Lartius;
A Ramnian proud was he:
’Lo, I will stand at thy right hand,
And keep the bridge with thee.’
And out spake strong Herminius;
Of Titian blood was he:
’I will abide on thy left side,
And keep the bridge with thee.’
XXXI.
’Horatius,’ quoth the Consul,
’As thou sayest, so let it be.’
And straight against that great array
Forth went the dauntless Three.
For Roman’s in Rome’s quarrel
Spared neither land nor gold,
Nor son nor wife,
Nor limb nor life,
In the brave days of old.
XXXII.
Then none was for a party;
They all were for the state;
Then the great man helped the poor,
And the poor man loved the great:
Then lands were fairly portioned;
Then spoils were fairly sold:
The Romans were like brothers
In the brave days of old.
XXXIII.
Now Roman is to Roman
More hateful than a foe,
And the Tribunes beard the high,
And the Fathers grind the low.
As we wax hot in faction,
In battle we wax cold;
Wherefore men fight not as they fought
In the brave days of old.
XXXIV.
Now while the Three were tightening
Their harness on their backs,
The Consul was the foremost man
To take in hand an axe:
And Fathers mixed with Commons
Seized hatchet, bar, and crow,
And smote upon the planks above,
And loosed the props below.
XXXV.
Meanwhile the Tuscan army,
Right glorious to behold
Came flashing back the noonday light,
Rank behind rank, like surges bright
Of a broad sea of gold.
Four hundred trumpets sounded
A peal of warlike glee,
As that great host, with measured tread,
And spears advanced, and ensigns spread,
Rolled slowly toward the bridge’s head,
Where stood the dauntless Three.
XXXVI.
The Three stood calm and silent,
And looked upon the foes,
And a great shout of laughter
From all the vanguard rose:
And forth three chiefs came spurring
Before that deep array;
To earth they sprang, their swords they drew,
And lifted high their shields, and flew
To win the narrow way;
XXXVII.
Aunus from green Tifernum,
Lord of the Hill of Vines;
And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves
Sicken in Ilva’s mines;
And Picus, long to Clusium
Vassal in peace and war,
Who led to fight his Umbrian powers
From that grey crag where, girt with towers,
The fortress of Nequinum lowers
O’er the pale waves of Nar.
XXXVIII.
Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus
Into the stream beneath:
Herminius struck at Seius,
And clove him to the teeth:
At Picus brave Horatius
Darted one fiery thrust;
And the proud Umbrian’s gilded arms
Clashed in the bloody dust.
XXXIX.
Then Ocnus of Falerii
Rushed on the Roman Three;
And Lausulus of Urgo,
The rover of the sea;
And Aruns of Volsiunium,
Who slew the great wild boar,
The great wild board that had his den
Among the reeds of Cosa’s fen,
And wasted fields, and slaughtered men,
Along Albinia’s shore.
XL.
Herminius smote down Aruns:
Lartius laid Ocnus low:
Right to the heart of Lausulus
Horatius sent a blow.
’Lie there,’ he cried, ’fell pirate!
No more, aghast and pale,
From Ostia’s walls the crowd shall mark
The track of thy destroying bark.
No more Campania’s hinds shall fly
To woods and caverns when they spy
Thy thrice accursed sail.’
XLI.
But now no sound of laughter
Was heard among the foes.
A wild and wrathful clamour
From all the vanguard rose.
Six spears’ length from the entrance
Halted that deep array,
And for a space no man came forth
To win the narrow way.
XLII.
But hark! the cry is Astur:
And lo! the ranks divide;
And the great Lord of Luna
Comes with his stately stride.
Upon his ample shoulders
Clangs loud the four-fold shield,
And in his hand he shakes the brand
Which none but he can wield.
XLIII.
He smiled on those bold Romans
A smile serene and high;
He eyed the flinching Tuscans,
And scorn was in his eye.
Quoth he, ’The she-wolf’s litter*
Stand savagely at bay:
But will ye dare to follow,
If Astur clears the way?’
*I.e., the Romans, in particular Horatio, Spurius Lartius, and Herminius, who defended the “narrow way”
into the city of Rome. Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were supposedly abandoned at
birth and raised by a she-wolf, suckled right alongside her own cubs. The wolf, like the raven, is
traditionally associated with Mars.
XLIV.
Then, whirling up his broadsword
With both hands to the height,
He rushed against Horatius,
And smote with all his might.
With shield and blade Horatius
Right deftly turned the blow.
The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh;
It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh:
The Tuscans raised a fearful cry
To see the red blood flow.
XLV.
He reeled, and on Herminius
He leaned one breathing-space;
Then, like a wild cat mad with wounds,
Sprang right at Astur’s face.
Through teeth, and skull, and helmet
So fierce a thrust he sped,
the good sword stood a hand-breadth out
Behind the Tuscan’s head.
XLVI.
And the great Lord of Luna
Fell at that deadly stroke,
As falls on Mount Alvernus
A thunder-smitten oak.
Far o’er the crashing forest
The giant arms lie spread;
And the pale augurs, muttering low,
Gaze on the blasted head.
XLVII.
On Astur’s throat Horatius
Right firmly pressed his heel,
And thrice and four times tugged amain,
Ere he wrenched out the steel.
’And see,’ he cried, ’the welcome,
Fair guests, that waits you here!
What noble Lucumo comes next
To taste our Roman cheer?’
XLVIII.
But at his haughty challenge
A sullen murmur ran,
Mingled of wrath, and shame, and dread,
Along that glittering van.
There lacked not men of prowess,
Nor men of lordly race;
For all Etruria’s noblest
Were round the fatal place.
XLIX.
But all Etruria’s noblest
Felt their hearts sink to see
On the earth the bloody corpses
In the path the dauntless Three:
And, from the ghastly entrance
Where those bold Romans stood,
All shrank, like boys who unaware,
Ranging the woods to start a hare,
Come to the mouth of the dark lair
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear
Lies amidst bones and blood.
L.
Was none who would be foremost
To lead such dire attack:
But those behind cried ’Forward!’
And those before cried ’Back!’
And backward now and forward
Wavers the deep array;
And on the tossing sea of steel,
To and fro the standards reel;
And the victorious trumpet-peal
Dies fitfully away.
LI.
Yet one man for one moment
Stood out before the crowd;
Well known was he to all the Three,
And they gave him greeting loud.
’Now welcome, welcome, Sextus!
Now welcome to thy home!
Why dost thou stay, and turn away?
Here lies the road to Rome.’
LII.
Thrice looked he at the city;
Thrice looked he at the dead;
And thrice came on in fury,
And thrice turned back in dread:
And, white with fear and hatred,
Scowled at the narrow way
Where, wallowing in a pool of blood,
The bravest Tuscans lay.
LIII.
But meanwhile axe and lever
Have manfully been plied;
And now the bridge hangs tottering
Above the boiling tide.
’Come back, come back, Horatius!’
Loud cried the Fathers all.
’Back, Lartius! back, Herminius!
Back, ere the ruin fall!’
LIV.
Back darted Spurius Lartius;
Herminius darted back:
And, as they passed, beneath their feet
They felt the timbers crack.
But when they turned their faces,
And on the farther shore
Saw brave Horatius stand alone,
They would have crossed once more.
LV.
But with a crash like thunder
Fell every loosened beam,
And, like a dam, the mighty wreck
Lay right athwart the stream:
And a long shout of triumph
Rose from the walls of Rome,
As to the highest turret-tops
Was splashed the yellow foam.
LVI.
And, like a horse unbroken
When first he feels the rein,
The furious river struggled hard,
And tossed his tawny mane,
And burst the curb, and bounded,
Rejoicing to be free,
And whirling down, in fierce career,
Battlement, and plank, and pier,
Rushed headlong to the sea.
LVII.
Alone stood brave Horatius,
But constant still in mind;
Thrice thirty thousand foes before,
And the broad flood behind.
’Down with him!’ cried false Sextus,
With a smile on his pale face.
’Now yield thee,’ cried Lars Porsena,
’Now yield thee to our grace.’
LVIII.
Round turned he, as not deigning
Those craven ranks to see;
Nought spake he to Lars Porsena,
To Sextus nought spake he;
But he saw on Palatinus
The white porch of his home;
And he spake to the noble river
That rolls by the towers of Rome.
LIX.
‘Oh, Tiber! father Tiber!
To whom the Romans pray,
A Roman’s life, a Roman’s arms,
Take thou in charge this day!’
So he spake, and speaking sheathed
The good sword by his side,
And with his harness on his back,
Plunged headlong in the tide.
LX.
No sound of joy or sorrow
Was heard from either bank;
But friends and foes in dumb surprise,
With parted lips and straining eyes,
Stood gazing where he sank;
And when above the surges
They saw his crest appear,
all Rome sent forth a rapturous cry,
And even the ranks of Tuscany
Could scarce forbear to cheer.
LXI.
But fiercely ran the current,
Swollen high by months of rain:
And fast his blood was flowing;
And he was sore in pain,
And heavy with his armour,
And spent with changing blows:
And oft they thought him sinking,
But still again he rose.
LXII.
Never, I ween, did swimmer,
In such an evil case,
Struggle through such a raging flood
Safe to the landing place:
But his limbs were born up bravely
By the brave heart within,
And our good father Tiber
Bore bravely up his chin.
LXIII.
’Curse on him!’ quoth false Sextus;
’Will not the villain drown?
But for this stay, ere close of day
We should have sacked the town!’
’Heaven help him!’ quoth Lars Porsena,
’And bring him safe to shore;
For such a gallant feat of arms
Was never seen before.’
LXIV.
And now he feels the bottom;
Now on dry earth he stands;
Now round him throng the Fathers
To press his gory hands;
And now, with shouts and clapping,
And noise of weeping loud,
He enters through the River-Gate,
Borne by the joyous crowd.
LXV.
They gave him of the corn-land,
That was of public right,
As much as two strong oxen
Could plough from morn till night;
And they made a molten image,
And set it up on high,
And there it stands unto this day
To witness if I lie.
LXVI.
It stands in the Comitium,
Plain for all folk to see;
Horatius in his harness,
Halting upon one knee:
And underneath is written,
In letters all of gold,
How valiantly he kept the bridge
In the brave days of old.
LXVII.
And still his name sounds stirring
Unto the men of Rome,
As the trumpet-blast the cries to them
To charge the Volscian home;
And wives still pray to Juno
For boys with hearts as bold
As his who kept the bridge so well
In the brave days of old.
LXVIII.
And in the nights of winter,
When the cold north winds blow,
And the long howling of the wolves
Is heard amidst the snow;
When round the lowly cottage
Roars loud the tempest’s din,
And the good logs of Algidus
Roar louder yet within;
LXIX.
When the oldest cask is opened,
And the largest lamp is lit;
When the chestnuts glow in the embers,
And the kid turns on the spit;
When young and old in circle
Around the firebrands close;
When the girls are weaving baskets,
And the lads are shaping bows;
LXX.
When the goodman mends his armour,
And trims his helmet’s plume;
When the goodwife’s shuttle merrily
Goes flashing through the loom;
With weeping and with laughter
Still is the story told,
How well Horatius kept the bridge
In the brave days of old.
1. “An Die Freude”, or “Ode to Joy,” composed in 1785 by Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805), is one
of the best-known poems in the world, for it comprises the lyrics of the “Chorale” portion of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. One of Jupiter’s archetypal rulerships is joy, which informs the
entirety of the “Chorale” portion of that work, so this is an outstanding ritual tool for invocations
of Jupiter. (The English translation given here is by Norman Macleod, as collected in A Little
Treasury of World Poetry: Translations from the Great Poets of Other Languages 2600 B.C. to
1950 A.D [edited by Hubert Creekmore. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1952], pp. 740-
741.)
Chorus:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brueder – ueberm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Chorus:
Was den grossen Ring bewohnet,
Huldige der Sympathie!
Zu den Sternen leitet sie,
Wo der Unbekannte thronet.
Chorus:
Ihr sturzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schopfer, Welt?
Such ihn uberm Sternenzelt!
Uber Sternen muss er wohnen.
Chorus:
Froh, wie seine Sonnen Fliegen
Durch des Himmels praechtgen Plan,
Wandelt, Bruder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen,
Chorus:
Duldet mutig Millionen!
Duldet fuer die bessre Welt!
Droben ueberm Sternenzelt
Wird ein grosser Gott belohnen.
Chorus:
Unser Schuldbuch sei vernichtet!
Ausgesoehnt die ganze Welt!
Brueder – ueberm Sternenzelt
Richtet Gott, wie wir gerichtet.
Chorus:
Den der Sterne Wirbel loben,
Den des Seraphs Hymne preist,
Dieses Glas dem guten Geist
Uberm sternenzelt dort oben!
Chorus:
Schliesst den heilgen Zirkel dichter,
Schwoert bei diesem goldnen Wein,
Dem Geluebde treu zu sein,
Schwoert es bei dem Sternenrichter!
2. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” by Bob Nolan (copyright 1934 by Williamson Music, Inc.). In 1930,
Bob Noaln joined Tim Spencer and Roy Rogers to form the original Sons of the Pioneers.
“Tumbling Tumbleweeds” was among the first which the group recorded, and became their theme
song. Gene Autry introduced it as the title song in his full-length movie in 1935, and Rogers sang
it in Silver Spurs in 1943.
One of the most exhilarating and inspiring pieces of music ever to come from the cinema was the result
of the happy marriage of the 18th-century English poet and artist William Blake and the 20th-
century Dutch-American composer Vangelis, the 1980s box-office smash Chariots of Fire. The
words to the song “Jerusalem” in that movie were taken straight from Blake’s “The New
Jerusalem.” If there is any piece of music more appropriate for an invocation of Jupiter’s best
qualities, I have yet to find it. The following are the words to Blake’s poem which inspired the
song “Jerusalem”:
Part 8: Hymns, Poems, Songs, and Readings for Invocations of Saturn: Songs of Righteousness, Poverty,
Restriction, Oppression, Constancy, Rectitude, Wisdom, Satire, Horror, and the Cycles of Time
Da’ath resides in the Abyss between Sephirah 4, Chesed, associated with Jupiter, and Sephirah 3, Binah.
In a sense, it represents the energy of the entire system depicted by the Tree of Life, the bound energy
on the right side of the equation “E = mc2.” Da’ath, the child of Binah and Chokmah, Sephirah 2, in
turn gives birth to all the Sephiroth below it on the Tree of Life, from Chesed through Malkuth. All
three of the Supernals, Kether, Chokmah, and Binah, are represented as aspects of Da’ath, just as their
associated Planets, respectively Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus, rule different aspects of Saturn. The six
new, Transcendental Sephiroth, including ℵ0 (Aleph-sub-Null, the Number of All Numbers), ℵ1
(Aleph-sub-One, the Number of All Mathematical Curves), ℵ2 (Aleph-sub-Two, the Number of All
Mathematical Structures), ∅ (Null or Empty Set), 0 (Zero), and √-1 (the Square Root of Minus One),
whose hymns, etc. are given below are in a sense all entailed in Da’ath. The Virtue of Da’ath is
Wisdom, the wisdom that comes with experience and old age; its sin is the Arrogance of Knowledge,
the belief that mere objective knowledge of things and facts is a complete comprehension of reality on
all the planes, and that such knowledge confers upon its possessor both the power and the right to do
whatever he or she wishes to do, however hurtful to others it may be- – sort of like Dr. Quatermass, of
the British TV series.
The Gods of Da’ath include Eris, Goddess of Chaos, Discord, and the Void, one of the primordial
Creatrix Goddesses, above all; Persephone, Our Lady of Comets; the Furies, A.K.A. the Eumenides,
and thus Pallas Athena Medusa, Who tamed them for the city of Athens, so that, rather than forces of
bloody revenge, They became bringers of true justice; the four Great Archangels of the Four Quarters
of the Globe and the Four Elements, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Auriel; Kali-Chandi-Parvati,
Who brings both destruction and creation; and Pele, Lady of Volcanoes, Who, like Kali, both destroys
and creates.
1. “Sunrise, Sunset,” by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock, from the musical Fiddler on the Roof
(copyright 1964 by the New York Times Music Corporation). Saturn rules Time and its rhythms.
In the horoscope, it rules the great cycles of our lives, of maturation from infancy through
childhood and adolescence into maturity and thence into old age. It rules the things that give our
lives structure and meaning and which, when combined with experience over many years, bring
wisdom. It rules community, in the sense of the structure of our human environment that gives
long-term meaning to our interactions with our families and our neighbors, and therefore rules that
aspect of Law that has to do with creation and maintenance of that structure and everything it
entails. Saturn is thus associated in Judaism and the Jewish community both with Torah and
Talmud, the canon of Jewish law, as the glue that binds community together and gives life
meaning, and the cycles and rhythms of Jewish life as defined by Jewish traditions. For all these
reasons, the song “Sunrise, Sunset,” from the all-time hit musical Fiddler on the Roof, which is the
story of the members of a Jewish shtetl in Czarist Russia, is an archetypal hymn of Saturn and
perfect for invoking Him.
Chorus
Chorus:
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days;
Seedlings turn overnight to sun-flow’rs,
Blossoming even as we gaze.
Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly fly the years;
One season following another,
Laden with happiness and tears.
2. “Gimme Dat Ol’ Time Religion!” This filk-song (i.e., a folk-song beloved of science-fiction, has
been a favorite of science-fiction fans for generations – er, well, at least a few computer
generations, maybe. At any rate, it has about ten Godzillion verses to it, with googolzillions more
spawned at every science-fiction convention, fan-club meeting, holiday party, tupperware party,
and any other possible excuse for s-f fans to get together and throw off, for a time, any illusions
that they really are normal denizens of this (or any other) Planet. Most of these verses are not
suitable for publication in a family magazine, however, while the author hasn’t run across too
many others, so only a few are included here (the aspiring student is encouraged to think up as
many new ones as possible – prizes will be awarded, please send all your creations to the author,
who plans to get rich off a party-album with them. But seriously, folks . . .) But clearly, from the
verses and chorus given here, this song is definitely concerned with (a) very old things, matters,
concerns, Gods, people, etc.; (b) critiquing attitudes of various sorts; (c) tickling your funny
bone. As Saturn is concerned with all such matters, this is an excellent song for invocation of
Saturn.
O–
It was good enough for Isis,
Who will help us in a crisis;
And She’s never raised Her prices –
So it’s good enough for me!
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus:
Gimme dat ol’ time religion,
Gimme dat ol’ time religion,
Gimme dat ol’ time religion –
It’s good enough for me!
3. “My Last Duchess,” by Robert Browning (1812-1889) is a poem that induces a gradually growing
horror in the reader and listener as it is made clearer and clearer just what the attitude of the
speaker is to his last duchess . . . and her likely fate. Saturn rules the tyrant, the oppressor, the
man or woman who must have control – or at least its illusion – over everything in his or her life
at any cost . . . including murder. Thus this is an outstanding invocatory poem of Saturn.
4. “Yule Horror,” by Howard Phillips Lovecraft (included in the collection of his poetry Fungi from
Yuggoth [New York: Ballantine Books, 1971], pp. 85-86) conjures up hideous cold, a lowering
oppressiveness, eldritch rituals, people from out of the dim misty dawn of Time,, sickness,
darkness, ending in three superb, short verses. It is one of the best invocatory poems for Saturn I
have ever found.
5. Saturn’s answer to the individual’s despairing cry of “Why me?” and “Why this?” is, very often,
much like the sarcastic reply of Yahweh to Job, as given in the Book of Job 38-41:
“Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth from the womb;
when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it, and set bars and doors,
and said, ’Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
...
“Behold Behemoth,
whom I made as I made you!
He eats grass like an ox –
yet see the strength in his loins
and the power in the muscles of his belly.
His tail is stiff like a sapling;
the sinews in his thighs are like cables.
His bones are tubes of bronze,
his limbs, bars of iron.
6. Sometimes, though, Saturn’s influence is more mellow, even benign, teaching us, as in ninpo and
Taoism and Zen, that their are rhythms that determine the flow of the tides of life, and when we
live in harmony with them, going with their tides rather than opposing them, our lives are at their
best. Saturn is also, via His Lordship of Aquarius, the traditional ruler of astrology, which strives
to learn the times at which those tides turn, when they are at their strongest, when their weakest, so
that we may, by taking advantage of them, come into prosperity and good fortune. For these
reasons, the following well-known verses from the Old Testament, Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8, are superb
for invocations of Saturn.
7. Saturn’s main function is to establish containment structures for the energy of Life, like the
firewalls of the detonation chambers of rockets: without a strong, restraining structure to keep
those raging energies securely contained, allowing them to be released only in directions that suit
the Will of the builders of the rocket, of Life itself, the terrifyingly powerful, fulminating energies
needed to power the rocket or achieve Life’s goals will be dissipated and lost long before it can do
the desired work. When we are in harmony with Saturn’s containing influence, He does His best
work – and the Spirit within us comes into its full power, glory, and joy. Aleister Crowley’s
beautiful “Hymn to Pan” is a testament to this apotheosis of Saturn’s function.
8. “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” was written by Martin Luther, the first of the great successful
Protestant revolutionaries of Christian Europe. This song is a celebration of the protection and strength
given to His faithful by the Christian God, to whom He is ever a shelter and a refuge. Saturn is
associated with Sephirah 3, Binah, with which YeHoWah, the Father God of both Old and New
Testaments, and is also the Great Shield and Shelter. This is therefore a most appropriate ritual tool for
invoking Saturn.
9. “Rock of Ages,” by Thomas Hastings, like “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” invokes Saturn as Protector
and Shield, the powerful Father God Who shelters His faithful from evil and peril.
11. “This Ole House” by Stuart Hamblen (copyright 1954 by Hamblen Music Company), was written
by Hamblen while he was on a hunting trip in the Sierra Nevada in California, where he stumbled
on a remote prospector’s shack. The old miner lay dead inside, but his loyal dog, despite the
severe weather and near starvation, was still guarding the premises. Hamblen said that he wrote
this song as the old prospector’s epitaph.
Chorus:
Ain’t a-gonna need this house no longer,
Ain’t a-gonna need this house no more.
Ain’t got time to fix the shingles,
Ain’t got time to fix the floor,
Ain’t got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend the window-pane,
Ain’t a gonna need this house no longer;
I’m a gettin’ ready to meet the saints.
12. “Stand by Me,” by Ben E. King, Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber (copyright 1961 by Progressive
Music Publishing Co.).
Chorus:
Darling, stand by me.
Won’t you stand by me.
If you’re in need,
Won’t you stand by me.
And if the sky
You look upon
Should crumble and fall,
And the mountains
Should fall to the sea,
No, I won’t be afraid,
No I won’t shed a tear,
Just as long as you stand by me.
Chorus:
13. “A Christmas Carol,” by Tom Lehrer (in his Too Many Songs by Tom Lehrer with Not Enough
Drawings by Ronald Searle [New York: Pantheon Books, 1981], pp. 60-62, 150-151; and on his
record album An Evening Wasted With Tom Lehrer [1959]).
14. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), “The Wild Old Wicked Man” (1938)
15. Chorale from Mozart’s Requiem Mass. This, the great Mass of Death and Judgment, with all its
imagery of Judgment Day, is a perfect chorale hymn of Saturn in His Aspects of the Just Judge of
Libra and the Executioner of Scorpio.
No. 1: Requiem
Chor
Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!
Solo (Bass)
Tuba, mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulcra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.
Solo (Tenor)
Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti, responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Solo (Alto)
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet, apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.
Solo (Soprano)
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum regaturus,
Soli
Cum vix justus sit securus?
No. 5: Recordare
Soli
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae:
Ne me perdas illa die.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Juste judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
Culpa rubet voltus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces mesa non sunt dignae:
Sed te bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.
Omter oves locum praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
No. 6: Confutatis
Chor
Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis:
Voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis:
Gere curam mei finis.
No. 7: Lacrimosa
Chor
Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Demone,
Dona eis requiem, Amen.
Chor
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis inferni
et de profundo iacu: libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadent in sobscurum:
Soli
Sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:
Chor
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
No. 9: Hostias
Chor
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis
offerimis: tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
Quarum hodie memoriam facimus: fac eas,
Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam
olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejua.
Chor
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus, Deus Sabaoth.
Pieni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Soli
Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini.
Chor
Hosanna in excelsis.
Chor
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem semptiternam.
Solo (Soprano) et Chor
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum Sanctis
tuis in aeternum: quia plus es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux
perpetua luceat eis. Cum Sanctis tuis in
aeternum: quita plus es.
18. “Objects in the Rear-View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are,” Meatloaf
20. Hymns, Songs, Readings, and Poems to the Gods and Goddesses of the Asteroid Belt, the Kuyper
Disk, and the Öort Cometary Cloud, all of which are associated with Da’ath and the Void. It must
be remembered that all of these relatively small bodies are potential brickbats which Lord Jupiter
can sling Earthward at any time. In fact, Earth has sustained numerous impacts from such bodies
over the eons, including the gigantic bolus which, crashing into the Gulf of Yucatan 65 million
years ago, put an end to the Cretaceous Era of Earthly life, rendering the magnificent archosaurs
extinct – but, in the process, enabling the birds and the mammals to finally succeed the dinosaurs
as the Lords of the Earth. Without such impacts, neither we nor the life now sharing our world
with us would exist. “The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh away – blessèd is the name of the Lord
“The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” T. S. Eliot – what are hearths, if not to make cats
happy and warm
f. Eros, the Oldest of Gods and yet the Son of Aphrodite, the Disappointed Lover
h. Toro, the Great Bull, the Angel of the Caves of Altamira, the Warrior
l. Icarus, the Arrogant, the Liberator of the Creative and Avant Garde
1. “La Marseillaise,” by Rouget de L’Isle, the marching-song of the French revolution of 1792 and
now the French national anthem, is an archetypal song of liberty and revolution. In 1792 the
Mayor of Strassbourg, during a conversation with some friends, touched upon the importance of
fighting songs which would inspire the people. Captain Rouget de L’Isle, present at the time,
wrote the following song that very night. It was printed in a journal which somehow found its
way to Marseilles. When the Marseilles battalions marched on Paris, this had become their song.
It is of interest in this context that the statue of “Liberty Enlightening the World” that stands today
in New York Harbor was made by a Frenchman and given as a gift to America by the people of
France. Liberty is a Goddess of the French Enlightenment as well as of America. This is one of
Her greatest cradle-songs. (The last verse included here is the original version, in French.)
Ye sons of France, awake to glory!
Hark! Hark! the people bid you rise!
Your children, wives and grandsires hoary
Behold their tears and hear their cries,
Behold their tears and hear their cries,
Shall hateful tyrants mischief breeding,
With hireling hosts, a ruffian band,
Afright and desolate the land
While peace and liberty lie bleeding?
Chorus:
To arms, to arms, ye brave!
Th’avenging sword unsheathe!
March on! march on! all hearts resolved
On liberty or death.
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus:
Aux armes, Citoyens!
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons, marchons,
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons!
2. Yankee Doodle (Cornwallis’ Country Dance), American Revolutionary War Song, author
unknown: This song, one of the most famous of the last three centuries, really needs no
introduction. During the American Revolutionary War, it was sung derisively at the English at the
Yankees who in turn struck up the tune as they marched the defeated British soldiers to prison.
“They even enticed away the British band,” said Marjorie Barstow Greenbie, “hired it themselves,
and had it playing the obnoxious song.” The Minute Men of Concord adopted it as their own;
when Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, it was to the accompaniment of “Yankee Doodle.”
This song, so infused with a spirit of light-hearted liveliness and pure, sheer fun, is archetypally
Uranian, for it is one of the birth-cries of the United States of America, born in liberty, conceived
in good will (whatever sad things may have become of the child since).
Chorus:
Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Another version, called “Cornwallis’ Country Dance,” a satirical swipe at the British defeat in
America, goes like this:
Chorus:
Yankee Doodle keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
3. “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” lyrics by Julia Ward Howe, circa 1861, tune probably by
William Steffe, circa 1855. William Steffe, a Sunday School hymn composer, is believed to have
written the original melody that was eventually incorporated in “The Battle-Hymn of the
Republic.” In 1856 the melody was slowly gaining in popularity in the North, and after John
Brown’s unsuccessful attempt to incite a slave rebellion, the Webster Regiment adopted the
hymn’s tune in 1861 and set words to it commemorating him, “John Brown’s Body.” Julia Ward
Howe, who saw the Northern troops marching to battle singing “John Brown’s Body,” wrote the
present version of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” This song, a celebration of what was in
fact a holy war of Abolitionists versus States’ Rights, Republicans versus Confederates, is perhaps
the most powerful celebration of the cause of Liberty of all time, even above that of “La
Marseillaise.” It also commemorates the preservation of the Union – the United States of America
– in the face of the South’s desperate attempt to break away, and the continuation of that strange
collective, libertarian entity that came to birth on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For
both these reasons, it is a quintessential song of Uranus, a perfect tool for invoking that Lord of
that Planet.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loos’d the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah,
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
Chorus:
Chorus:
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.
Chorus:
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Chorus:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.
4. “Dixie,” lyrics by Daniel D. Emmet, 1859. In 1859, Daniel Emmet, a member of the popular troupe
of “Bryant’s Minstrels,” was asked to provide a new song for a change of repertoire. Emmet
arrived at the first rehearsal with “Dixie.” Although written by a native of Ohio, “Dixie” was
picked up in New Orleans a year after its appearance, and from there on it became the favorite of
the Confederacy. This song, too, is a celebration of Liberty, though today we often forget that.
The tragedy of the American Civil War ultimately rests on the rending of the idea of Liberty in
twain that occurred because of the institution of chattel slavery in the New World. When
Europeans first encountered the New World, many were overwhelmed by its beauty and majesty,
and fell in love with it – but far too many others were overwhelmed by sheer greed when they saw
the apparently limitless wealth to be garnered there, if they could just generate some means of
exploiting it. That means was at first ready-to-hand in the form of the natives of the New World,
who, looked upon by most Europeans either as the basest of heretics and devil-worshippers or as
savages without true culture or civilized ways of life, therefore were seen by the majority of
Europeans as not quite human, perfect for capturing and taming as beasts of burden and hard
labor. But the Indians didn’t take kindly to this. They either fought back with lethal skill and
determination, or fled Westward, or, taken in captivity, lost all will to live and died rather quickly.
So another source of human draft-animals had to be found. This was accomplished rather quickly.
Africa had been a slaver’s paradise for centuries. Raiders from Islamic nations as well as others
had been doing a thriving business in capturing and selling Black Africans as slaves over much of
the Old World for a long time; now, they acquired a brand-new market, with which they happily
provided their special commodity – men and women, for sale as domestic servants, field hands, or
for any other purpose. The American South rapidly built up a thriving plantation economy on the
basis of the labor of Black African slaves, who were hardy, industrious, easy to teach, and who
had several advantages as slave-labor over the natives: they were not prone to quickly pining
away and dying in captivity; they usually did not dare try to flee to the wilderness, because,
unlike the natives, they knew little or nothing of the land there or how to live off it, and because of
their color, they would be marked wherever they might go among whites as escaped slaves, and so
usually wouldn’t try to escape to white settlements and cities. They stayed in place, and they
worked, and they worked, and a whole civilization was built on their labor. That civilization,
which was gracious, learned, and cultured in the extreme, was a gem among nations – save for the
very institution that made it possible, an institution which was one of the ugliest of all time, the
forced servitude of human beings for no fault of their own, just to serve the greed of others. It was
in that civilization’s best interests to preserve its “peculiar institution,” as the institution of slavery
was referred to all over the country, both North and South, and so quite naturally the South, even
more than the North, cherished the idea of States’ Rights, which is preserved in the Bill of Rights
as Article X: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited
by it to the States, are reserved to the States’, respectively, or to the people.” As a matter of fact,
this is one of the most powerful possible bulwarks against the establishment of a tyrannical
centralized government in a nation – that the states, districts, or counties which that nation
comprises retain their dominion in all but those few areas necessary to the establishment and
maintenance of the nation as a whole. This includes, for example, establishment and maintenance
of state militias which together can repel any attempt by central executive power to take away
their sovereign rights and powers. This principle is exactly as important, no more, no less, as that
of individual liberty, as far as discouragement of establishment of a centralized national tyranny
or, indeed, a tyranny of any kind in any part of that nation. By themselves, individuals cannot
hold their own against a powerful government. But if they can band together in mini-governments
– states – they then have the ability to defend themselves against attempted erosion or destruction
of their rights by centralized authority in that nation, or even localized attempts at establishment of
tyrannies. Both these aspects of liberty – states’ rights and individual rights – are necessary to the
preservation of liberty for the individual as well as cities, townships, counties, and states within a
nation.* During the American Civil War, not only was brother set against brother, but one
cornerstone of liberty was arrayed against the other, making foes of those which, by right, should
have remained the staunchest of allies forever. And the result of the war was ambiguous in the
extreme. For while, as a legal institution, chattel slavery was finally outlawed in this nation at the
end of the Civil War, and the principle of individual liberty was upheld as supreme, the principle
of states’ rights, so necessary in the long run to preservation of the liberties of individuals, was, if
not utterly destroyed, then critically damaged, perhaps irreparably. In honor, then, of those men
and women who, like those in the North, fought so long and so valiantly for their land and its
ideals, and who thus were also defenders of Liberty, if only in part, the song “Dixie” is included
here.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
*If the principle of States’ Rights were still in full force, one wonders what would have happened after
April of 1993 and the burning of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas by agents of the
federal government? Texas could have gone to war with the United States over it – and might well
have done so, unless enormous reparations were paid to her by the federal government for its actions.
But since that principle is now honored almost entirely in the breach, the states have no power to
defend themselves against encroachments of federalist oppressions, and any attempts they may make
to do so are largely a joke and will remain so unless and until that right is reclaimed by people and all
the states.
1. Man has the right to live by his own law, to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will;
to play as he will;
to rest as he will;
to die when and how he will.
5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart those rights.
7. “List of Cities That No Longer Are” –an atomic-age nursery-rhyme (repeat three times for
maximum effect):
8. The Declaration of Independence by the United States of America from Great Britain
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve
the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the
powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of
Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they
should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. – That to secure these rights, Governments are
instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. –
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the
Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its
foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that
Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while
evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the
same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it
is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security. – Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the
necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The
history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and
usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over
these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused is Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public
good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance,
unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so
suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people,
unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a
right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and
distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them
into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly
firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected;
whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the People at
large for their exercise; the State remaining in the man time exposed to all the dangers of
invasion from without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose
obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to
encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of
Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to laws for
establishing Judiciary Powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and
the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to
harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of
our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil
Power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our
constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of
pretended Legislation;
For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us;
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, for punishment for any Murders which they
should commit on the Inhabitants of these States;
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world;
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent;
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury;
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences;
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province,
establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to
render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into
these Colonies;
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering
fundamentally the Forms of out Governments;
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power
to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging
War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the
lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the
works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty &
Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy of the Head
of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms
against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall
themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on
the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of
warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most
humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A
Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit
to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned
them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable
jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and
settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have
conjured them by the times of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which
would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf
to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the
necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of
mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General
Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of
our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies,
solemnly publish and declare That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be
Free and Independent States; that they are absolved from all Allegiance to the British
Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is
and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full
Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do
all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. – And for the
support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,
we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
9. The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights (first ten
amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America): These two documents,
above all, are perfect tools for invoking Uranus in general and His avatar of Liberty in
particular, for they provide the foundation of law and government in the United States of
America, that most Uranian of all modern nations. (It is of interest in this regard that
these instruments are also based upon principles of government that came from those
American Indian peoples collectively referred to as the Iroquois Confederacy. Native
American peoples are collectively ruled by Uranus, so these are doubly Uranian in nature
and in their power to invoke Uranus in all His avatars and aspects. –Nota bene:
“Iroquois” is a word originally applied to those native peoples by others because of some
of their less-pleasant attributes. It means “rattlesnake.” Rattlesnakes are exquisitely
Scorpionic creatures, both because they are snakes and because of their venom. They are
also strictly New World creatures, ruled by Uranus – Who is exalted in Scorpio.)
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish
justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general
welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
10. The first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United States:
These, by the way, correspond with the ten Sephiroth of the traditional Tree of Life.
Article I
Article II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of
the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Article III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of
the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Article IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,
against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall
issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath of affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Article V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless
on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or
naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor
shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or
limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness, against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private
property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Article VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public
trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been
committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be
informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses
against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have
the assistance of counsel for his defense.
Article VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars,
the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common
law.
Article VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and
unusual punishment.
Article IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people.
Article X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by
it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.
11. “The Star-Spangled Banner,” by Francis Scott Key and John Stafford Smith, 1775: Born in the
smoke of battle while its author, then imprisoned by the British, watched the bombardment of Fort
Henry by the enemy, “The Star-Spangled Banner: is today the anthem of a free and sovereign
people. There is no better hymn for the invocation of Liberty and Uranus.
12. “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd” – a song of the Underground Railway of the American Civil War
era. Like so many other Black “spirituals,” this song was actually a call to freedom – and a
practical tool for attaining it. In the following song, the Gourd is the Little Dipper (Lesser Bear),
at the tip of the tail of which is the North Star, Polaris, the guide-star of the Northern Hemisphere.
The same constellation aided the moonlight rebels of Ireland, who called it the Plough and the
Stars, and put it on their flag. The “old man” referred to in the song was apparently a real
historical person, a member of the Underground Railway who guided runaway Black slaves on the
first leg of their journey to freedom; he wore the “peg-leg” of the song, and used it to mark the
trail in the ground. But at the same time, the phrase refers to the Mississippi River, across the
banks of which lay the road to freedom. 11 is the Key Number of Aleph, Whose Planet is Uranus;
Uranus rules the 11th Sign, Aquarius, and is exalted in Scorpio, which falls in November, the 11th
month. It is most appropriate that this song, “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd,” should be the 11th item
in this chapter.
When the sun comes back and the first quail calls,
Follow the drinkin’ gourd,
For then the old man is a-waitin’ for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinkin’ gourd.
Chorus:
Follow the drinkin’ gourd –
Follow the drinkin’ gourd!
For the old man is a-waitin’ for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinkin’ gourd.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Where the great big river meets the little river,
Follow the drinkin’ gourd,
The old man is a-waitin’ for to carry you to freedom,
If you follow the drinkin’ gourd.
Chorus:
13. “Slav’ry Chain (Joshua Fit De Battle),” post-bellum freedom song, circa 1870: Nobody knows the
value of freedom more than those who purchased it at an enormous and terrifying price, gaining it
only after great agony and travail, released into it from the worst sort of slavery. Here is another
freedom song, the tune of which has come down to us in “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho (An’ the
Walls Came Tumblin’ Down!),” but the words of which have nearly been lost as the end of the
American Civil War recedes into the dim reaches of time and history. Both versions of the lyrics
to the well-known tune are given here.
Slav’ry Chain
Chorus:
Slav’ry chain done broke at las’, broke at las’, broke at las’,
Slav’ry chain done broke at las’,
Goin’ to praise God ’til I die.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Oh –
Joshua fit de battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho,
Joshua fit de battle of Jericho,
An’ de walls come a-tumblin’ down!
Up to de walls ob Jericho
He marched wit’ spear in han’,
“Go blow dem ram horns!” Joshua cried,
“Kase de battle am in my han’.”
Chorus:
Chorus:
14. Voices of Liberty: The number 13 is of special significance both to Uranus and the United States
of America. When the United States of America was founded, it comprised the 13 original
colonies, which then became the states of the new country. The first official American flag had 6
white stripes and 7 red stripes, 13 in all, and 13 white Stars on a night-sky blue canton. Nor does
it stop there. According to Joseph Goodavage, in Astrology: The Space-Age Science (New York:
Signet Books, 1966):
Above the [head of the Eagle on the face of the Great Seal of the United States] is a
shining cloud encircled by 13 stars. . . .
. . . [T]here is a deep occult power behind [the number 13]. . . . The face of the
America Seal shows 13 stripes on the shield, 13 stars in the circle of glory, 13 branches
and 13 berries in the olive branch in the Eagle’s right talon, 13 arrows in the left talon,
and 13 letters in the legend, E Pluribus Unum.
. . . It was decreed by law that there must be a repetition of the number 13 in the
seal’s composition. Thus the date (at the pyramid’s base) was ordered to be engraved in
Roman numerals (a total of nine) rather than Arabic. “Saeclorum” was made “Seclorum”
on the scroll beneath the unfinished pyramid. This motto consisted of 17 letters.
Altogether there are 39 letters and numerals on the reverse of the Great Seal. This also
has numerological significance, inasmuch as 3 + 9 = 12, and 1 + 2 = 3. Thus, 39 is
merely three times 13.*
*It is much more than that. 13 is the reflection of 31, the value of AL, the God-Name of the New Aeon
associated with The Book of the Law; 3 is the number of Binah, associated with Uranus; 3 x 13 = 39,
the reflection of 93, the number of the New Aeon, according to The Book of the Law, a quintessentially
Uranian document.
Also, on the reverse side you will find 13 layers of stone in the unfinished pyramid.
The legend, “Annuit Coeptis,” contains 13 letters, corresponding to the 13 stripes in the
American flag. . . . Thirteen also refers to Christ and His 12 disciples; to Buddha and his
12 apostles, and to Quetzlcoatl, god-king of the Aztecs and his 12 followers. Each of
these Teachers, when numbered with their followers, totaled 13 in all.
During our Civil War, even though the Confederacy had only 11 states, their flag had
13 stars. General George Washington and 12 of his generals were Freemasons, and thus
numbered 13. During the First World War, the first convoy to France was composed of
13 ships that sailed in June 13 (1917) and took 13 days to cross the Atlantic. Even
President Woodrow Wilson’s name had 13 letters.
At the exact time the Declaration of Independence was signed, the Sun was 13ø in
the Sign of Cancer.
Thirteen is the Key Number of Gimel, whose value is 3, and is associated with the Moon. The United
States of America, whose natus has the Sun in Cancer, thus is a Luna-ruled nation – especially so,
since in that natus Luna is also in the 10th House, the highest Planet in the chart. In that chart,
Gemini, ruled by Mercury, is rising, so that Mercury rules the chart; Mars is the Gemini in the
First House; Mercury is in Cancer, disposited by Luna; Luna is in Aquarius, disposited by
Uranus; Uranus is rising, in the First House, in Gemini, disposited by Mercury – and in close
conjunction with both the Ascendant and the Martial Star Aldebaran. The colors of the flag of the
United States of America are representative of this chart: red for Mars, Who co-rules this nation
because of His placement in its First House; white for Luna; night-sky blue for the Nemyss of
Djehuti, Who is Mercury. Uranus, also co-ruling the chart because of His placement in the First
House, rules Aquarius as well as the Tenth House, the placements of Luna, and thus is extremely
prominent in the affairs of this nation – as well as being a dispositor of Luna, who not only
disposits the U.S. Sun, but is also the generic co-ruler of all charts, of all kinds. Uranus is exalted
in Scorpio, of which Mars is the ruler. So the United States is strongly associated both with
Scorpio and Luna, and thus with 13, Luna’s Key Number.
For all these reasons, it is most fitting that the 13th and last entry of this chapter be devoted to some of
the world’s most important writings and thoughts on liberty. Therefore what follows are Voices of Liberty:
***
Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides
over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The
battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides,
sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire
from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are
forged. Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable –
and let it come!! I repeat it, sir, let it come!!!
It is vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace; but there is
no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring
to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why
stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so
dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it,
Almighty God – I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty,
or give me death!
O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant,
stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been
hunted round the globe. Asia, and Africa, have long expelled her – Europe regards her
like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! Receive the fugitive,
and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.*
*How ironic these brave words from one of America’s greatest and least appreciated patriots – for the
situation now, in 1994 era vulgaris (90 Ano Novo) is very nearly the reverse. The whole world has
taken a lesson from the America of Tom Paine – it is time for the America of today to take a lesson
from her neighbors.
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine
patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it
NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily
conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more
glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. ’Tis dearness
only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its
goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not
be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a
right (not only to TAX) but “to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER,” and if being
bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth.
Even the expression is impious, for so unlimited a power can belong only to GOD.
In the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire
you would remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your
ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember
all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the
ladies we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any
laws in which we have no voice, or representation.
– Abigail Adams (1744-1818), letter to John Adams (her husband) [March 31, 1776]
I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the
political world as storms in the physical.
What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? . . . The
tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure.
Sometimes it is said that man cannot be trusted with the government of himself. Can
he, then, be trusted with the government of others? Or have we found angels in the forms
of kings to govern him? Let history answer this question.
I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that
to have interfered as I have done . . . in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but
right. Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of
the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children, and with
the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel,
and unjust enactments, I submit: so let it be done!
This is a beautiful country.
We first crush people to the earth, and then claim the right of trampling on them
forever, because they are prostrate. . . . They [the slaves] have stabbed themselves for
freedom – jumped into the waves for freedom – starved for freedom – fought like very
tigers for freedom! But they have been hung, and burned, and shot – and their tyrants
have been their historians!
– Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880), An Appeal on Behalf of That Class of Americans Called
Africans [1833]
The men and women of the North are slaveholders, those of the South slaveowners.
The guilt rests on the North equally with the South.
We were told that they [federal troops] wished merely to pass through our
country . . . to see for gold in the far west . . . Yet before the ashes of the council fire are
cold, the Great Father is building his forts among us. You have heard the sound of the
white soldier’s axe upon the Little Piney. His presence here is . . . an insult to the spirits
of our ancestors. Are we then to give up their sacred graves to be plowed for corn?
Dakotas, I am for war.
When I found I had crossed that line [on her first escape from slavery], I looked at
my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything.
*A. K. A. General Moses, a former Black slave woman who, born into slavery, made her way to freedom
alone as a young woman, then became the most famous of all the conductors on the Underground
Railway. She made 19 dangerous trips back and forth, often disguised, always carrying a pistol,
telling the fugitives, “You’ll be free or die.” She was enabled to do this in part by gifts of vision and
prophecy imparted to her apparently from an epileptic condition that came about as the result of an
injury to her head by an overseer when she was fifteen. As she expressed her philosophy: “There was
one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for
no man should take me alive.”
Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect
herself.
– Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), The Book of the Law, Chapter 3, verse 71 [April 10, 1904]
We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we
shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing
strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on
the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we
shall never surrender.
We only want that which is given naturally to all peoples of the world, to be masters
of our own fate, only of our fate, not of others, and in cooperation and friendship with
others.
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and
the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of
brotherhood. . . . I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their
character.
– Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968), Speech at Civil Rights March on Washington,
[August 28, 1963]
16. A poem by Emma Lazarus is graven on a tablet within the pedestal on which the Statue of Liberty
Enlightening the World stands in New York Harbor:
18. Readings from Lewis Carroll – deviate; the unexpected thrown up from the Collective
Unconscious
19. “From the Boundless Deep,” Part 1 of James Michener’s Hawaii – Hawaiians are ruled by Uranus,
as “native” peoples; the Hawaiian Islands were thrown up in Uranian fashion from the domain of
Neptune by Uranian and Plutonian processes (volcanoes), like things emerging from the
unconscious; the night-side of Time, ruled by Uranus rather than Saturn because it has taken
modern science to come to understand just how these islands formed, and how long it took for
them to do so.
20. “Stand by Me,” by Ben E. King, Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber (copyright 1961 by Progressive
Music Publishing Co.).
Chorus:
Darling, stand by me.
Won’t you stand by me.
If you’re in need,
Won’t you stand by me.
23. Mars, the God of War, rules Scorpio, the House of War. Aquarius, the 4 th Sign from Scorpio,
rules the outcome of all matters ruled by Scorpio, including the inevitable fallout of all wars, the
hellish damage done to those who, whether by choice or not, participate in war or become victims
of it. The following poem, “Mental Cases,” by Wilfred Owen, is quoted by Harry Turtledove in
Volume 2, The Great War: Walk in Hell (New York: Del Rey books, 1999), of his epic alternate-
history series, The Great War. The novels in that series, which begins with The Great War:
American Front (1998), drive home the reality of war and what it does to everyone it touches in a
way unmatched by almost anything else I’ve ever found (short of actually being steam-rollered by
a war on one’s own doorstep, the way people in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda, and other countries
have over the last decade. This poem perfectly encapsulates the reality which Turtledove’s novels
address in all the glorious shining colors of a mad, shell-shocked opal.
Part 10. Hymns, Songs, Readings, Poems, and Chants for Invocation of the Neptune-Poseidon and the
Lords of the Ocean Sea: Lullabies, Songs of the Sea, Songs of Loss, Redemption, Sacrifice, Vision,
Damnation and Reconciliation, Dream and Nightmare, Murder, Betrayal, Valor, Bondage, Slavery,
Exile and Homecoming, Release, the Mystic Union of Brotherhood, Neighborhood and Community,
and Eternity
1. Polynesian prayers to Ta’aroa, Lord of the Underworld and the Deep Sea. Taken from Book II,
“From the Sun-Swept Lagoon,” of James A. Michener’s Hawaii (New York: Fawcett Crest,
1959)
c. Wait for the West Wind (A Directional Sea-Chant Serving as a Map of the Heavens to Guide
the First Settlers of Modern Hawaii from Tahiti)
Wait for the West Wind, wait for the West Wind!
Then sail to Nuku Hiva of the Dark Bays
To find the Constant Star.3
Hold to it, hold to it,
Though the eyes grow dim with heat.
Hold to it, hold to it,
Until wild Ta’aroa sends the winds!
Then speed to the clouds where Pere4 waits!
Watch for Her Fires, the Fires of Pere,
Until Great Tane reveals the Land,
Reveals Havaiki-of-the-North,
Sleeping beneath the Little Eyes.5
1
Ta’aroa, the God of the Oceanic Abysses of the Pacific, Lord of the Tahitian Hell and its demons. His
Hawaiian analogue is Kanaloa (the main difference between the Tahitian and Polynesian languages,
which separated only relatively recently, is a slight shift in the way consonants are pronounced, e.g.,
the Tahitian “T” became the Hawaiian “K” – or at least so the ears of the first White settlers of those
islands found it).
2
Tane, the Lord of the Heavens and the Skies.
3
“The Constant Star” = Polaris, the North Star, which is not visible from Tahiti.
4
Pere, Tahitian Goddess of Volcanoes, wife of Ta’aroa (Her Hawaiian analogue is Pele).
5
“The Little Eyes” or “the Seven Little Eyes” are that cluster of seven Stars in Taurus slightly East of Algol
and about 15ø West of the Constellation Orion. Alcyone, their brightest member, is a third-magnitude,
greenish-yellow Star situated on the shoulder of Taurus, the Bull.
2. “Sweet and Low,” Alfred Tennyson (arranged by Joseph Barnby). Both because it is a lullaby
(Neptune rules sleep and dream) and due to its content, which concerns the sea, this lovely song is
perfect for reinforcing invocations of Poseidon. (The student should look up one of the musical
arrangements, such as Barnaby’s, which have been composed for this lullaby; the text below
doesn’t show the rhythm of the song, without which much of its power is lost.)
3. “Aloha Oe.” This, once the national and now the state anthem of our 50th state, Hawaii, was
written by Hawaii’s last queen, Queen Liliuokalani. In 1895, Queen Liliuokalani, need Mrs.
Lydia Dominis, was arrested and imprisoned for supposedly inciting revolution against the
American colonial government in Hawaii, under circumstances engineered by various haole
(white North American mainlander) factions in the Islands, for their own benefit, as well as to
attempt to force the annexation of Hawaii by the United States. In his novel Hawaii (New York:
Fawcett Crest Books, 1959), James Michener says of this event:
The powerful, headstrong woman was incarcerated in an upper room of the palace,
and while her imprisonment was rigorously policed, it was never physically unpleasant,
and before long her adherents were circulating the greatest state paper ever produced by a
sovereign of the islands. It was a song transcribed by Liliuokalani while in prison, and
though she had composed it some years before, it had gained little notice; now its lament
swept the island and the world, ’Aloha Oe’: ’Gently sweeps the rain cloud e’er the cliff,
borne swiftly by the western gale.’ One of the missionary men said of this song: ’While
she was free Queen Liliuokalani never did a thing for her people, but when she was in jail
she expressed their soul.’ . . .
This incomparable anthem expresses the bitter loss of their land of the native people of Hawaii to
white invaders, their grief and sorrow, as nothing else ever has, as well as the heart-breaking
beauty of their island world. It is also a song of the sea, for theirs was and, such as it is, still
remains a maritime culture, one with the oceans as European-derived cultures are one with the
land. Finally, it is a love song. Neptune is exalted in the Sign of Cancer, ruler of the home; He is
the higher octave of Venus, Goddess of Love and Mundane Beauty; and is Lord of loss, grief,
martyrdom, Vision, racial memory, Divine Beauty, and the oceans. For all these reasons, this
song above all is perfect for the invocation of Poseidon. It is also superb for the invocation of
Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife and co-ruler of the seas and all their bounty, especially because of the
enormous wealth of native Hawaii. The verses of this song are given here in both Hawaiian and
English, each verse in native Hawaiian followed by its English translation. It was found in
Charles Edward King’s King’s Book of Hawaiian Melodies (Honolulu, Hawaii: Charles E. King,
1948), pp. 130-131. The serious student will want to get a copy of the score for it, also included in
that and numerous other collections, as well, since, even more than the lyrics, the music of this
anthem is an example of the influence of Neptune at His greatest, best, and most powerful.
Haaheo e ka ua i na pali
Ke nihi ae la i kanahele
E uhai an paha i ka liko
Pua ahihi lehua o uka.
(Chorus)
Aloha oe aloha oe
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo
One fond embrace a hoi ae au
Until we meet again.
4. Written by Pat Boone and arranged by Ernest Gold, “The Exodus Song” (copyright 1960 and 1961
by Carlyle-Alpina, S. A.), is widely known because of its use as the theme music for the movie
Exodus, which presented the story of the founding of the modern nation-state of Israel in
cinematic form. This is especially suitable for invocations of Poseidon for several reasons: First,
the modern state Israel, founded on May 14, 1948, at 4 p.m., Tel Aviv Summer Time, has Neptune
rising in its natal chart, and is ruled by Neptune in the same way that the United States of America
is ruled by Uranus (which is rising in the traditional natus of the latter). Second, while Neptune
rules loss, it also rules redemption, and homecoming after long exile, which the experience of the
Jewish people throughout their long history since the beginning of the Christian era until now
perfectly exemplifies. Third, the modern state of Israel came to exist because of the vision of a
land of their own, free and sovereign, by the Jews of all nations from the beginning of the
destruction of the Second Temple in the Second Century e.v. onward through the middle of the
20th Century, a nation where they would not be subject to the tyrannical whims, the bigotry and
hatred, from which they had suffered nearly everywhere else for so long. Neptune is the ruler of
Vision in the mystical sense, of the Great Dream – and it was out of such a Dream that modern
Israel came to be. For all these reasons, “The Exodus Song” is a profoundly Neptunian piece,
perfect for invoking Poseidon.
So take my hand
And walk this land with me,
And walk this lovely {golden} land with me.
Though I am just a man,
When you are by my side,
With the help of God I know I can be strong.
So strong
To make this land our home,
If I must fight,
I’ll fight to make this land our own.
Until I die
This land is mine!
Summer time
An’ the livin’ is easy,
Fish are jumpin’,
An’ the cotton is high.
Oh yo’ daddy’s rich,
An yo’ ma is good lookin’,
So hush, little baby,
Don’ you cry.
7. “Ol’ Man River,” by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, from Showboat (copyright 1927 by
T. B. Harms Co.) is one of the most profoundly moving hymns to the Spirits of the Mighty Waters
– in this case, the Father of Waters, the awesome Mississippi River – that has ever been. Written
for the musical Showboat, a wonderfully bittersweet story of America’s antebellum Deep South, it
is a song of vision, dream, longing for peace, rest, ending of sorrows, and a testimony to the
stupidity and injustice of slavery and bigotry that strikes to the heart. No better hymn to Poseidon,
in all His power and beneficence, exists anywhere.
I git weary
An’ sick of tryin’,
I’m tired of livin’
An’ skeered of dyin’;
But ol’ man river,
He jes’ keeps rollin’ along!
I git weary
An sick’ of tryin’,
I’m tired of livin’
An’ skeered of dyin’;
But ol’ man river
He jes’ keeps rollin’ along!
8. “Danny Deever,” by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). Neptune, Whose Tarot Trump is XII, The
Hanged Man, rules betrayal and murder. This poem, by one of the greatest modern poets of the
English-speaking peoples, evokes all three and is perfect for invocations of Poseidon.
9. “The United States Marine Corps Hymn” (copyright 1921 by the United States Marines), the verses
of which were written by Col. H. C. Davis, USMC, at Camp Meyer in 1911, is the official song of
the United States Marine Corps. The first two lines refer to the U. S. war with Mexico (1846-
1848) and their expedition against the Barbary Pirates. Beyond that, said Col. Davis, “I have
never been able to trace the original song beyond the words of the first two lines . . . which were
inscribed on the corps colors many years ago. The two following verses I wrote at Camp Meyer in
1911 when on an expedition.” Their motto, “Semper fidelis,” and their record in war says it all:
“No greater sacrifice, no greater devotion.” According to Aleister Crowley, “The heart of
Neptune is Mars.” The United States Marines are a living testimony of that truth. It is therefore
entirely appropriate that their Hymn be used in invocations of Poseidon. (To give the Qlippoth of
Neptune their due, Neptune also rules certain classes of psychoses; as one friend of mine, a rather
thoroughgoingly ex-Marine, once said to me, “Anybody who signs up for that outfit has got to be
crazy!”)
10. “Goin’ Home.” From the Largo of the symphony “From the New World,” Op. 95 (Copyright
1922 by Oliver Ditson Company), by Anton Dvorak (1841-1904). Neptune in Sagittarius is
longing for return from exile in a far-away land. The following expresses that longing exquisitely.
As William Arms Fisher, one of Dvorak’s pupils, who gave this song its words, writes (1922):
In 1893, longing to hear his native tongue and with something akin to homesickness,
he [Dvorak] spent the summer in Spillville, Iowa, a small community of Bohemians.
Here, as the outcome of his enthusiastic study of the folk music of the American negro,
he wrote the symphony From the New World, Op. 95, his string-quartet, Op. 96, and
string-quintet, Op. 97. In these significant works he did not incorporate negro themes but
invented his own after the negro manner. He told me after his return that he had been
reading Longfellow’s Hiawatha, and that the wide-stretching prairies of the midwest had
greatly impressed him.
As a pupil of Dvorak’s I saw much of him at this time, and he was frankly annoyed
at some of the statements made in the daily press regarding his “theories,” for he had
none. He was ever seeking fresh musical material and in the Negro spiritual he rejoiced
to find something that from the old-world point of view was unhackneyed and moreover
indigenous. He saturated himself in it and then simply and naturally gave rich expression
to his “discovery” in the three works mentioned. . . .
The work [Dvorak’s symphony, “From the New World,” Opus 95] had been much
written up in advance and at the first public performance, Friday afternoon, December 15,
1893, Carnegie Hall was crowded. At the close of the Largo, so moving was the
performance, so touched to the heart was the great audience, that in the boxes filled with
women of fashion and all about the all people sat with the tears rolling down their cheeks.
Neither before nor since have I seen a great audience so profoundly moved by absolute
music. At the close of the movement and again at the end of the symphony, the modest,
simple-hearted peasant composer was persuaded with difficulty to rise and acknowledge
the ovation given him.
The Largo, with its haunting English horn solo, is the outpouring of Dvorak’s own
home-longing, with something of the loneliness of far-off prairie horizons, the faint
memory of the red-man’s bygone days, and a sense of the tragedy of the black-man as it
sings in his ’spirituals.’ Deeper still it is a moving expression of that nostalgia of the soul
all human beings feel. That the lyric opening theme of the Largo should spontaneously
suggest the words “Goin’ home, goin’ home” is natural enough, and that the lines that
follow the melody should take the form of a negro spiritual accords with the genesis of
the symphony.
Home, home,
I’m goin’ home!
11. From Blow Negative, by Edward Stephens (New York: Doubleday, 1963), pp. 109-120 – Neptune
in Aquarius: the Mystic Union of Fellowship, Philadelphia, the Bond of Neighborhood and
Community. On board ship, the lives of all aboard are absolutely dependent upon the participation
of everyone aboard in a seamless web of never-ending ritual the purpose of which is to keep the
ship afloat, in good trim and repair, and all aboard in good health so that each may function
optimally in his assigned niche and place in the rituals of life onboard ship. Otherwise, the ship
will eventually founder or otherwise come to grief, and all aboard perish with her. This is never
more true than aboard a submarine, particularly the pre-nuclear subs, which had no computers to
accomplish many of the routine tasks vitally necessary to their proper functioning and the well-
being of all aboard them. The old sea-chanties were often also used as means of coordinating the
rhythm and timing of the activities of all aboard ship so that everything needed for the survival of
the ship and her people would be accomplished in the proper order and synchronization with all
other necessary actions. These were incarnated first aboard ship in pre-nuclear modern navies,
then again aboard the first submarines, in the form of the “litany of the watch,” orders, commands,
and confirmations or warnings of problems shouted back and forth – a canticle of Poseidon,
versum et responsum – through the ship or sub’ (always referred to – in polite company – as a
“boat”; you don’t want to know what the inhabitants of those first submarines often called their
combination life-support systems, homes, and work-places at moments of anguish and irritation!)
from senior-grade officer to junior-grade officer or lower-echelon hand, in order to accomplish
necessary tasks in the proper order and rhythm. Below, taken from Blow Negative!, the
fictionalized account of the life and career of Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, father of the modern
nuclear navy and a proponent of ecological sanity as well as of increased quality of standards and
performance in American education, is an example of such a “litany of the watch,” in the context
of the community it serves, the compliment of the men aboard the U.S.S. Starfish, a U. S. Navy
pre-nuclear submarine of the Korean War era. The Mystic Union of Fellowship, Philadelphia, is
the psychospiritual aspect of the formation of a highly-integrated, optimally functioning
community such as the men aboard such a submarine must create among themselves if they and
their “boat” are to survive and do their jobs properly out there in the deeps of Ocean. The psyches
and spirits of the men aboard such a vessel are in some ways, at least during the times when they
are at sea, as closely-knit as those of monks in a monastery, bees in a hive, or, indeed, the living
beings making up any healthy ecosystem. Neptune rules the Collective Unconscious, the Soul, the
Ocean Deeps, intoxication, hangovers and migraines, choreography, life-support systems and
artificial habitats, poetry, and the Mystic Fellowship or Philadelphia – not to mention hair,
entropy, and selfless service. This may therefore be one of the greatest hymns to Neptune ever
written, and perfect for an invocation of Him (or, as the characters in Blow Negative so often
allude, to him).
*****
The men who went to sea in the Starfish were constantly studying their habitat.
When they were not actually on watch or sleeping or eating, they were weaving their way
through the submarine, moving along inside the skin of the submerged ship, flashlight
ready for dark corners, a set of ship’s plans and pad and paper in hand, laboriously
tracing out and sketching some fuel system or the path of a particular hydraulic line
through the ship or the route of the ventilation system through the boat, much as medical
students might trace out nerves, tendons, trachea, and spleen in the dissecting lab. They
were like interns inside a huge breathing patient, studying everything that gave life to that
vast and intricate body, nursing the life carefully, massaging the heart with grease and
supplying fuel intravenously, freeing the lungs by opening the bulkhead flapper valves
and closing them against the foul air from the batteries, administering physics of high-
pressure air to the sanitary tanks a hundred feet down for a vast submerged bowel
movement, constantly taking all manner of measurements and recording them, charting
them, worrying over them, gathering in little clumps before the charts, noting the hour-
by-hour condition of their patient, now and then one of them donning operating costume
of grease-stained overalls (often less grease-stained than their clothing over which they
were donned, as if to keep the grease from their clothes off the machinery). They
performed minor surgery with stillson, crescent, and clamp. Occasionally, more rarely
and because of that with even greater intensity, a group of consulting specialists, brought
in from other compartments with all the quiet excitement and prestige of experts gathered
from neighboring cities, performed major surgery deep within the bowels of engine room
or battery well while a tight straining circle of colleagues looked tensely down through
the neatly unbolted or jagged torch-cut incision, offering engineering advice so explicitly
obscene that a strange would think two robots were mating down there, delivering their
remarks between sharp anxious glances overhead in that peculiar reflex of submariners
who know full well that if water is going to spurt in from anywhere it will probably come
from the part of the boat which is deepest in it, yet who continually glance upward, as if,
being sailors, they can accept the fact of water beneath them and on either side of them
but are continually appalled that now it is on top of them too.
As the transit south to the operating area for Operation Wind was completed and
the actual exercise began, [Captain Sampson H.] Greice was much more in evidence. If
he was not physically more apparent (he still remained invisible behind his green curtain
or in the dim restricted darkness of the conning tower), at least for a change everyone was
aware of what he was thinking about. He was holding regular meetings, and he was
concentrating on the conclusion of Operation Wind. When he concentrated in public it
was an awesome thing.
At almost any hour of the night or day a little group, perhaps just to or three, or
even one, but often four or five of the ship’s officers might be seen clustered before the
door of his stateroom. Sometimes he would actually be addressing them through the
drawn green curtain. Harry would never forget the spectacle of several bright young
officers huddled in the narrow passageway, addressing themselves eloquently to the
opaque curtain, nodding solemnly as the whirring voice drilled back through it, probing
for the soft places in their thinking.
The captain’s hair grew rapidly. Sometimes he would go to the forward torpedo
room and sit on an upended bucket and Concepción would drape him with a white sheet
and trim his hair. The captain would either read during this operation or use the time to
summon his officers for an audience. It made quite a sight: the huge gray head thrust
through the top of the billowing sheet while, surrounding him, Concepción and the
summoned officers stood in an uncomfortable half-stoop, ministering to him.
Harry continued to study toward his Qualification. He went through
compartment after compartment of the Starfish, explaining to Crogan what each valve
was for, and how it would be rigged for normal operation and for a dozen different
emergencies, and what each pipe, wire, and cable was that passed through the
compartment, where it went and where it came from.
Often he groped his way blindfolded, touching valves, lines, and gauges called
out at random by Crogan, the men in the compartment going about their business with
complete unconcern, writing letters, playing acey-deucey, or reading quietly while Harry
made his way blindly among them shouting irritably in response to the endless questions
and corrections barked at him by his examiner. All the men relaxing knew the
compartment so thoroughly that when Crogan shouted (for instance), “Where is the flood
valve for number-three fuel-ballast tank?” the sailor sitting on that valve would
automatically and without interrupting what he was doing raise himself to make room for
Harry’s groping hands, returning to his seat as soon as Harry found the valve and had
gone on, so that if Harry were doing well and going from one valve to another with some
rapidity the men in the compartment looked like parts of some giant steam calliope
moving up and down in rhythm to the cadence of Crogan’s shouted questions.
For the first time in his life Harry found himself totally concerned with
something other than himself. In the privacy of his bunk, he groped in his mind to fit
together various pieces of equipment with their names and their functions and recall
exactly how they looked in the light and felt in the dark and what it looked, felt, and even
smelled like when something had gone wrong. But after a few minutes of such
agonizing, he would fall off to sleep with a sweeping fatigue that stole suddenly through
him and in seconds rendered him unconscious. It was a strange, delightful feeling to go
to sleep that way, almost like being drunk. (The air was normally less than pure,
however, and he got so used to waking up with a headache that he missed it when it was
not there. So if he had his intoxication he had his hang-over too.)
Something seemed to take place in his mind as he slept, the unbelievably
complicated parts of the metal anatomy he was learning began to take permanent form
and meaning, and somewhere during Operation Wind the whole began to emerge. It
seemed to Harry like a sort of magic. Whole pieces of interrelated systems began to pop
into his mind full blown. He began moving through the ship and the ship’s routine with a
new assurance. The days – that is, the time during which he was not sleeping, which he
learned, like everyone else, to think of as daytime, though for each of them it was a
different time – piled themselves one atop the other in a structure of increasing
confidence and strength.
12. “Shenandoah (The Wide Missouri)” was an early land ballad about a trader who wooed the
daughter of an Indian chief and then left her on the shores of the wide Missouri. The song was
taken to sea, perhaps by some of the peripatetic lumberjacks who worked in the woods in the
winter and aboard ship during the summer. Without significant changes made in it, it finally
became one of the most famous and widely sung of American shanties. Its rhythm is slow and
rolling, like a long sea, its melody haunting, filled with the exile’s longing for his belovèd of his
long-lost youth, and thus is a superb accompaniment for invocations of Neptune.
13. John Paul Jones (1747-1792), founder of the United States Navy, was himself a man of enormous
courage and vision. The latter is a traditional virtue of Neptune; the former exemplifies – again –
Crowley’s reminder that “in the heart of Neptune is Mars.” The following quotation is historically
accurate, having been thrown as a challenge to the British by the intrepid Welshman when the
British attempted to board and seize Jones’s own ship, the Bonhomme Richard, of which he was
captain at the time. Jones meant it. he won the battle – and was a good part of why the United
States was able to become and remain a free an independent nation.
– John Paul Jones, aboard the Bonhomme Richard [September 23, 1779]
14. “The ultimate sacrifice.” “The last full measure of their devotion.” How many young heroes have
gone down to the grave rather than abandon or betray their beloved land? Neptune rules sacrifice
– especially the supreme sacrifice, the foremost representation of which was of course the death of
Jesus of Nazareth on the Cross, the sacrifice of self and life in the service of a far greater Self and
Life. Nathan Hale is one of countless superb exemplars of such sacrifice.
I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
– Nathan Hale (1755-1776), last words before being hanged by the British as a spy
[September 22, 1776]
15. “The Peat-Bog Soldiers (Die Moorsoldaten),” author unknown, was written in the Boergermoor
Concentration Camp in Nazi Germany, where Germans who had run afoul of the Nazi regime
were interned and used as slave-labor. The performance of this calm, grim song with its double
meaning was first permitted and even encouraged at the prison, but once it had spread all over
Germany and its real meaning – “Resistance or death!” – was made clear, it was banned at once. –
As history shows, to no avail. This time, “in the heart of Neptune is Mars” translates as: “In the
heart of the meanest prisoner or slave can live inconceivable courage that will endure until the
very end.”
16. “The Valley of Sleep” (from The Zodiac), by Hendrik Marsman (1899-1940). A. J. Barnouw,
translator. In A Little Treasury of World Poetry: Translations from the Great Poets of Other
Languages 2600 B.C. to 1950 A.D. (Hubert Creekmore, editor. New York: Charles Scribner’s
Sons, 1952), pp. 791-792. Neptune rules poetry, vision, transcendent beauty, sleep, hypnosis,
dream – and horror, nightmare, and doom. “The Valley of Sleep” weaves its web of enchantment
out of all these:
******
17. “The Sea Dike,” by M. Vasalis (1908-?). Translated by A. J. Barnouw. In A Little Treasury of
World Poetry: Translations from the Great Poets of Other Languages 2600 B.C. to 1950 A.D.,
op. cit., pp. 792-793. Neptune rules the Ocean Sea, the wild, untamable thing that was Life’s
womb, and ultimately makes a mockery of every would-be attempt at immortality by the
tectonically ambitious land. Though temporarily Neptune can apparently be broken to harness,
bridled, saddled, ridden for pleasure or impressed for work, as the Dutch, among others, have
done, eventually He always breaks out of His paddock, tears out of His harness, kicks over the
loads He is made to pull, and regains His freedom in wild, destructive storms of exultant fury.
The Dutchman M. Vasalis, who, like all his countryman, lived his life in a strange, tense
relationship to the sea, dammed and diked as it has been by the Netherlanders, knew that fact well.
This poem of his subtly hints at the real power of Neptune that lies hidden just beneath the tamed,
diked-in surface over which the bus in which the speaker is travelling moves. Neptune rules
subtlety and concealed power; this poem exemplifies both.
18. “The Bridge,” by Albert Verwey (1865-1937). A. J. Barnouw, translator. In A Little Treasury of
World Poetry: Translations from the Great Poets of Other Languages 2600 B.C. to 1950 A.D.,
op. cit., p. 788. Neptune rules sacrifice, murder, and horror; this poem illustrates all three
perfectly.
19. “Hair,” from the musical Hair, lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt
McDermot; copyright 1967, 1968 by James Rado, Gerome Ragni, Galt MacDermot, Nat Shapiro, United
Artists Music Co., Inc. One of the archetypal traits of Neptune is hairiness. This song from the apex of the
Acid Generation of the 1960s, sings its praises.
20. “Empty Saddles,” by Bill Hill (copyright 1934 by Shapiro, Bernstein, and Co.). In 1936, in the
film Rhythm on the Range, in which he played the part of a cattleman turned rodeo performer,
Bing Crosby introduced this classic Billy Hill song.
22. “Riders in the Sky,” by Stan Jones (copyright 1949 Edward H. Morris & Co.). Written by
Arizona-born actor and screenwriter Stan Jones, this song had deeper country roots than most.
An old cowpuncher went riding out one dark and windy day;
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way,
When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw,
A ploughin’ through the ragged skies
And up the cloudy draw.
Yi-pi-yi-ay,
Yi-pi-yi-o,
The ghost herd in the sky.
Their brands were still on fire, and their hooves wuz made of steel;
Their horns wuz black and shiny, and their hot breath we could feel.
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky,
For he saw the riders comin’ hard,
As he heard their mournful cry.
Yi-pi-yi-ay,
Yi-pi-yi-o,
Ghost riders in the sky.
Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred and shirts all soaked with sweat;
They’re ridin’ hard to catch the herd but they ain’t caught them yet,
’Cause they’ve got to ride forever on that range up in the sky
On horses snortin’;
As they ride on, hear their cry.
Yi-pi-yi-ay,
Yi-pi-yi-o,
Ghost riders in the sky.
23. “Cool Water,” by Bob Nolan (copyright 1936 by American Music, Inc.).
24. “It’s a Long Way from Amphioxus.” In A Prairie Home Companion Folk-Song Book (collected
by John and Marsha Pankake, with introduction by Garrisson Keillor. New York: Viking, 1988),
pp. 68-69. Uranus may rule modern objective science and its corollary, high energy, super-fast
technology, but it is only the wisdom of Neptune that enables us to see all them great
achievements in perspective – the perspective they deserve. “It’s a Long Way from Amphioxus,”
originally presented on the Garrisson Keillor’s radio show, The Prairie Home Companion, goes a
long, long way in that direction . . . :-P
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
Chorus
25. The fruits of the greatest sacrifice – that of self in the service of Life – can redeem whole worlds.
Following is a passage from Robert R. McCammon’s wonderful novel Swan Song (New York:
Pocket Books, 1987). It was became of Sister’s tremendous courage, persistence, patience, and
gritty tenacity that Swan, the LightBringer, was rescued and the death of the whole living world
due to the instigations of the demon “Friend” was prevented. (You just gotta read the novel, that’s
all there is to it!)
Sister smiled. In Swan’s eyes she could see the
colors of the glass crown. Her mouth trembled and
opened again.
’One step,’ she whispered.
And then she took the next.
They stayed around her as the sun warmed their
backs and thawed out their muscles. Josh started to
close Sister’s eyes – but he didn’t, because he knew
how much she loved the light.
Swan stood up. She walked away from them, and
dug her hand into her pocket.
She brought out the silver key, and she climbed up
on a boulder and walked to the edge of Warwick
Mountain.
She stood with her head held high, staring into the
distance. But she was seeing more armies of fighting
and frightened men, more guns and armored cars, more
death and misery that would still be lurking in the minds
of men like a cancer waiting to be reborn.
She gripped the silver key.
Never again, she thought – and she flung the key
as hard and as far as she could.
Sunlight winked off it as it fell through space. It
bounced off the limb of an oak tree, hit the edge of a
boulder, fell fifty more feet into a small green pond
half hidden by underbrush. As it drifted through the
water and into the leaves at the pond’s bottom it stirred
up several tiny eggs that had been hidden there for a
long, long time. Shafts of sunlight stroked the pond
and warmed the eggs, and the hearts of tadpoles began
to beat.
Josh, Swan and Robin found a place to let Sister’s body
rest; it was not sheltered by trees or hidden in shade, but
lay where the sun could reach it. They dug the grave
with their hands and lowered Sister into the earth.
When the grave was filled again, each of them said what-
ever was on his or her mind, and they ended with ’Amen.’
Three figures came down off the mountain.
27. “City of New Orleans,” by Arlo Guthrie – Sagittarius rules the railroads; Neptune, the nocturnal
Lord of Sagittarius, rules their slow dying and the memories of their glory days
29. “Objects in the Rear-View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are,” by Meatloaf
30. “Green Door,” Bob Davie and Marvin Moore, copyright 1956 by Alley Music Corporation and
Trio Music Company, Inc. This popular song of the 1950s celebrates the clandestine, the secret,
the hidden, and the forbidden fruits of drugs, drink, or dames associated with the speakeasy and
the bordello.
Part 11: Hymns to Persephone and Hades from the American heartland and elsewhere. For invocations of
Gods and Goddesses of Death, Buried Wealth, and the rest of Hades’ domain.
1. “Abide With Me,” by Henry F. Lyte (arranged for musical accompaniment by William H. Monk),
circa 1860 (?)
2. “Now the Day is Over,” by the Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould (arranged for musical accompaniment by
Joseph Barnaby), circa 1865
3. From The Lament for Makaris, by William Dunbar (1460-1520?) (a list of the Medieval words or
spellings used here that will probably be unfamiliar to the reader, along with their translations into
contemporary English, is given at the end of the poem)
Glossary: Makaris, poets. Heill, health. Trublit, troubled. Feblit, enfeebled. Timor mortis conturbat me,
the fear of death troubles me. Breckle, brittle. Feynd, fiend. Slee, sly. Mirry, merry. Erd, Earth.
Sicker, sure. Wicker, willow. Wannis, wanes. Mellie (i.e., melee), battle. Sowkand, sucking or
nursing. Campion, champion. Stour, battle. Tour, tower. Piscence, puissance or power. Straike,
stroke or strike. Fra, from. Supplee, save. The lave, the rest or the remaining (i.e., the leaving, that
which is left). Padyanis, pageants. Syne, soon. Sparit, spared. Sen, since. Tane (i.e., ta’en), taken.
Alane, alone. Man, must. Remeid, remedy. Dispone, make ready.
4. “Adieu; Farewell Earth’s Bliss” or “Summer’s Last Will and Testament” (1600) by Thomas Nashe
(1567-1601)
Farewell Angelina
The bells of the crown
Are being stolen by bandits
I must follow the sound
The triangle tingles
And the trumpets play slow
Farewell Angelina
The sky is on fire
And I must go.
6. On the Plutonian Smith-Gods (from J. C. Cooper, Chinese Alchemy: The Taoist Quest for
Immortality (New York: The Sterling Publishing Company, 1990), pp. pp. 73-77):
Two of the artificers most concerned with alchemy and necessary for its work
were the miner and the smith. The miner operates in the early stages, bringing forth the
ores, helping and hastening the process of birth. That he was involved in the sacred
aspect of the work is shown by the fact that the opening of a new mine required a
religious ceremony and elaborate ritual: fasting, prayer or meditation, incantation, ritual
cleanliness and sexual abstinence were necessary as in any other branch of alchemy. To
interfere with the Earth Mother is to tread on dangerous ground, indeed, in some cultures,
such as the Tibetan and Amerindian, it was altogether prohibited by sacred scruples.
Even on the lower folk-level, mountains, mounds and the underworld are treated with
extreme caution as the homes of spirits, fairies, dwarfs, trolls and gnomes. These
underground workers were always mysterious and feared for being in touch with
underworld and dark powers.
There is a vast background of myth which incorporates all transformers; among
these the smith occupies an important but extraordinarily ambivalent position; he can be
venerated as a god or royalty, or despised as an outcast. In some cases he is the First
Ancestor who came down from heaven to found civilization. Like Prometheus, he
brought the secret and use of fire to humanity and had a close association with the sky
and thunder gods. These were the white smiths. Among shamanistic tribes these smiths
were also descendants of a celestial smith who came to earth to teach men the use of fire
and metals. The smiths’ sons married the daughters of earth and all smiths are descended
from them. Smiths held a high position at court, or were treated as royalty, on account of
their divine descent; they were the divine artisans and the smithy was a centre of ritual
and worship. Among Mongols and in Turkistan the smith was also a culture here, ’a free
horseman.’ There is a tradition that Ghengis Khan was a smith before he rose to become
ruler of the Mongols and a world-conqueror. There were also king-smiths in Africa. On
the other hand, also in Africa, among the Massai, the smith was ’an unclean one’ and it
was dangerous to go near his hut, while to sleep with a woman of the smith class could
cause a man to go mad or beget deformed offspring.
It was largely the pastoral, nomadic and hunting tribes, with the exception of the
Mongols, who looked down on the smith and regarded him as an untouchable. But in all
cultures the smith was held in awe and feared as a Master of Fire. He could reduce solid
matter to liquid, something without form, and then could turn the pliable liquid into the
solid again. Like all ’creation’ craftsmen, and like the alchemist, he was a transformer
and a transmuter of matter and dealt with the mysterious and magical; like the potter he
turned the pliable into form; like the carpenter he brought form out of the formless, the
prima materia. In his ambivalent position the smith could be creator or destroyer; he
made both the weapons of death, the sword and the spear, and the tools of life and
growth, the spade and the plough. As the blacksmith he handled iron, an almost
universally disliked and feared metal, though it was sacred in some cases as an
apotropaic. This association with iron was also ambivalent; the metal is everywhere
dreaded by the spirit world, evil spirits, witches or fairies will not go near it or cross an
iron object: ’Iron scares spirits.’ As an evil metal it was not allowed to be used in the
construction of any sacred place, but since it repels evil spirits, the shaman loads himself
and his ritual robes with iron articles and iron is used for this purpose in amulets. The
blacksmith, as a master of fire, is naturally associated with the hearth and this puts him in
touch with the powers of the underworld; the hearth gives access to the forces of the dark
regions and the blacksmith originally learned his craft from an underworld divinity. In
the Hebrew tradition the craft was brought down to earth by the fallen angel Azazel.
With this connection with the powers of the underworld it was natural that smiths were
credited with other magical powers, such as prophecy and healing.
Another reason for the fear of the smith was the practice of blood sacrifice, both
human and animal, in the smelting of metal, although sometimes the sacrifice was
voluntary. Also he was constantly surrounded by evil spirits, menacing him and against
which he had to take every precaution and there had to be absolute silence accompanying
his movements, all of which made him worth avoiding. Then, again, his tools, the
hammer, anvil and bellows have magic powers of transformation, while the stove,
cauldron and furnace all have the function of dissolution and death. Smelting is a work
of fusion, the abolition of individual identity, the return to primordial chaos. The ores,
regarded as male and female, yang and yin, become one in union. This has a sex
symbolism which is further accentuated by the ’heat’ involved; a symbolism also present
in the hammer and anvil, the hammer being the formative, masculine force in nature, with
the anvil as the passive feminine. The hammer is the weapon of the Thunder Gods, the
Divine Smiths, with the anvil as the earth, matter. The striking of the hammer on the
anvil, bringing down fire from heaven, represents divine justice and power, this is why
oaths were taken on the anvil, a practice which continued until recent times when
marriages over the anvil, at such places as Gretna Green, perpetuated the smith’s ancient
religious functions.
*The valence of an atom of a given element is that property which is measured by the number of atoms of
hydrogen (or its equivalent) which one atom of that element can hold in combination if negative, or
can displace in a reaction if it is positive. The valence electrons of that atom are electrons which are
gained, lost, or shared with other atoms in chemical reactions with them.
**Orbital K, the only electronic orbital in hydrogen and helium atoms, contains at most two electrons (2 =
2 x 1). Orbital L, found in all elements heavier than helium (Z=2), can contain a maximum of 8 (2 x 1
+ 2 x 3) electrons. Orbital M, found in all elements heavier than neon (Z=10), can contain up to 18 (1
x 2 + 3 x 2 + 5 x 2) electrons. Orbital N, found in all elements heavier than argon (Z=18), can contain
up to 32 (1 x 2 + 3 x 2 + 5 x 2 + 7 x 2) electrons. And so on. The general formula for the maximum
number of electrons which a given orbital can contain is 2 x {1 + 3 + 5 + . . . + [(n - 2) x 2] + [(n - 1) x
2]}, where n is the number of the orbital outward from the nucleus (i.e., 1 being the innermost or “K”
orbital, containing at most two electrons; 2 being the next one outward, the “L” orbital, containing at
most 8 electrons; and so on). The causes of this very real instance of cosmic numerology is not
completely understood, but can provide tons of excellent shoveling material for your next bull-session
over at the faculty lounge of the physics department of your local university!
8. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), “The Second Coming.” This poem, written in 1921, has even
more relevance for us now, at the very end of the 20th Century e.v, the First Century A.N., than
even when Yeats wrote it. Full of the imagery and spirit of Tarot Trump XX, The Last Judgment,
which is associated with the letter Shin, the Element Fire, and the Planet Pluto, it is a fitting hymn
to the Lord of Last Things, Child of the Great Transformers, Whose domain is the Underworld,
realm of the dead and the Collective Unconscious:
9. Chorale from Mozart’s Requiem Mass. This is the great Mass of the Dead, of Death and Judgment,
with all its terrifying and exalting imagery of Judgement Day – a perfect chorale hymn of Pluto.
No. 1: Requiem
Chor
Dies irae, dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibylla.
Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!
Solo (Bass)
Tuba, mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulcra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.
Solo (Tenor)
Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti, responsura.
Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.
Solo (Alto)
Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet, apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.
Solo (Soprano)
Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum regaturus,
Soli
Cum vix justus sit securus?
Chor
Rex tremendae majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.
No. 5: Recordare
Soli
Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae:
Ne me perdas illa die.
Quaerens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Juste judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.
Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
Culpa rubet voltus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.
Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.
Preces mesa non sunt dignae:
Sed te bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.
Omter oves locum praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.
No. 6: Confutatis
Chor
Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis:
Voca me cum benedictis.
Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis:
Gere curam mei finis.
No. 7: Lacrimosa
Chor
Lacrimosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:
Pie Jesu Demone,
Dona eis requiem, Amen.
Chor
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriae, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de poenis
inferni et de profundo iacu: libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadent
in sobscurum:
Soli
Sed signifer sanctus Michael repraesentet eas in lucem sanctam:
Chor
Quam olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejus.
No. 9: Hostias
Chor
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis
offerimis: tu suscipe pro animabus illis,
Quarum hodie memoriam facimus: fac eas,
Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam
olim Abrahae promisisti et semini ejua.
Chor
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
Dominus, Deus Sabaoth.
Pieni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna in excelsis.
No. 11: Benedictus
Soli
Benedictus, qui venit in nomine Domini.
Chor
Hosanna in excelsis.
Chor
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi:
dona eis requiem semptiternam.
Solo (Soprano) et Chor
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine: Cum Sanctis
tuis in aeternum: quia plus es.
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine; et lux
perpetua luceat eis. Cum Sanctis tuis in
aeternum: quita plus es.
Part 12: Hymns, Songs, Chants, Readings, and Poems for Invocations of Persephone, the Golden Girl Who
Married the Lord of the Underworld, the Dark Lady of Disaster Who is also the Restorer of Life and
Bringer of Justice to those who would otherwise have none, Ruler of the Clay Matrix which gave rise
to the first living cells and of DNA: Persephone, Kali, Parvati, Chandi, Black Isis, the Black Madonna
Persephone, Sephirah is √-1, square Root of Minus One, the Sign of Weird and of the Magickal
Imagination, female analog of Hermes-Mercurius as well as the Transcendental one of Uranus
Part 13: Hymns to the Queen of Heaven: Durga, Juno, Pallas Athena, Hera, Isis, Mary Mother of Christ,
Our Lady of Guadeloupe, Kwan Yin
Hera/Durga, Sephirah ℵ2 (Aleph-sub-Two), Ain Soph Aur, Limitless Light, the Splendor of the Starry
Heavens, the Number of all Possible Mathematical Structures, Transcendental analog of Neptune-
Poseidon
Part 14: Hymns and readings to Lobachevski, a hypothetical trans-Plutonian Planet named after the great
non-Euclidean geometer and mathematician Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevski (1793-1856 e.v.)
Lobachevski, Sephirah is 0 (Zero), Ain Soph, Limitlessness, Lord of Origins, Balances, and Equilibria,
Transcendental analog of Mars: Songs, Hymns, and Poems of Mathematical Ideas and Play
3. Quotation:
Part 15: Hymns and readings to Amphitrite, Poseidon’s Wife, Who is Queen of the Ocean Sea and Ruler of
all its Life, as well as of the Hypersea, Life on Land, sometimes called Bifröst: Amphitrite, Pele,
Bifröst
Amphitrite (Bifröst, Pele), Sephirah ℵ1 (Aleph-sub-One), Number of all Possible Mathematical Curves,
Transcendental analog of Jupiter
Part 16. Hymns to the Emperor Joshua Norton (a hypothetical trans-Plutonian Planet associated with the
new transcendental Sephirah ℵ0 (Aleph-sub-Null), Number of All Numbers, Transcendental analog
of Venus
– Author unknown
2. The United States Marine Corps Hymn. “The United States Marine Corps Hymn” (copyright 1921
by the United States Marines), the verses of which were written by Col. H. C. Davis, USMC, at
Camp Meyer in 1911, is the official song of the United States Marine Corps. The first two lines
refer to the U. S. war with Mexico (1846-1848) and their expedition against the Barbary Pirates.
Beyond that, said Col. Davis, “I have never been able to trace the original song beyond the words
of the first two lines . . . which were inscribed on the corps colors many years ago. The two
following verses I wrote at Camp Meyer in 1911 when on an expedition.” Their motto, “Semper
fidelis,” and their record in war says it all: “No greater sacrifice, no greater devotion.” According
to Aleister Crowley, “The heart of Neptune is Mars.” The United States Marines are a living
testimony of that truth. It is therefore entirely appropriate that their Hymn be used in invocations
of Poseidon. (To give the Qlippoth of Neptune their due, Neptune also rules certain classes of
psychoses; as one friend of mine, a rather thoroughgoingly ex-Marine, once said to me,
“Anybody who signs up for that outfit has got to be crazy!”)
3. “The Impossible Dream,” from Man of La Mancha, lyrics by Joe Darion, music by Mitch Leigh
(copyright 1965 by Andrew Scott, Inc., Helena Music Corp., Sam Fox Publishing Co., Inc.)
4. “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote),” lyric by Doe Darion, music by Mitch Leigh (copyright
1965 by Andrew Scott, Inc., Helena Music Corp., Sam Fox Publishing Co., Inc.)
Part 16. Hymns, Songs, and Readings for Tubman (a hypothetical trans-Plutonian Planet), sometimes
identified with Eris, Goddess of Chaos, the Transcendental analog of Hermes-Mercurius: Harriet
Ross-Tubman, The Spirit of Freedom, the Guardian of the Outer Bounds of the Universe
Tubman (Eris), Sephirah ∅ (Empty or Null Set), Ain, No-Thing, Void, the Beginning
Harriet Ross Tubman, also widely known and remembered as General Moses, a former Black slave
woman who, born into slavery, made her way to freedom alone as a young woman, then became
the most famous conductor on the Underground Railway. She made 19 dangerous cross-country
trips, back and forth, between the South and the North, often disguised, always carrying a pistol,
escorting more than three hundred escap[ed] slaves to freedom, telling the fugitives, “You’ll be
free or die.” She was enabled to do this in part by gifts of vision and prophecy apparently given to
her by an epileptic condition that came about as the result of an injury to her head inflicted on her
by an overseer when she was fifteen. Her philosophy of life finally came down to one thing,
liberty. She put it thus:
“There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have
one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”
During the Civil War, leading black and white Union troops, she raided Southern plantations, and in
one expedition she helped free 750 slaves.
The Planet named after this inconceivably courageous and visionary woman is the Way-Shower, the
beacon that goes before those who seek escape from oppression to show them the way to Liberty, Whose
Planet is Uranus.
When I found I had crossed that line [on her first escape from slavery], I looked at
my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything.
– Amelia Earhart Putnam (1898-1937), American aviatrix, presumed lost at sea during her
last known flight in 1937; from her poem “Courage”
3.
Woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself.
5. “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd” – a song of the Underground Railway of the American Civil War era.
Like so many other Black “spirituals,” this song was actually a call to freedom – and a practical
tool for attaining it. In the following song, the Gourd is the Little Dipper (Lesser Bear), at the tip
of the tail of which is the North Star, Polaris, the guide-star of the Northern Hemisphere. The
same constellation aided the moonlight rebels of Ireland, who called it the Plough and the Stars,
and put it on their flag. The “old man” referred to in the song was apparently a real historical
person, a member of the Underground Railway who guided runaway Black slaves on the first leg
of their journey to freedom; he wore the “peg-leg” of the song, and used it to mark the trail in the
ground. But at the same time, the phrase refers to the Mississippi River, across the banks of which
lay the road to freedom. 11 is the Key Number of Aleph, Whose Planet is Uranus; Uranus rules
the 11th Sign, Aquarius, and is exalted in Scorpio, which falls in November, the 11th month. It is
most appropriate that this song, “Follow the Drinkin’ Gourd,” should be the 11th item in this
chapter.
When the sun comes back and the first quail calls,
Follow the drinkin’ gourd,
For then the old man is a-waitin’ for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinkin’ gourd.
Chorus:
Follow the drinkin’ gourd –
Follow the drinkin’ gourd!
For the old man is a-waitin’ for to carry you to freedom
If you follow the drinkin’ gourd.
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
Chorus:
1. Man has the right to live by his own law, to live in the way that he wills to do:
to work as he will;
to play as he will;
to rest as he will;
to die when and how he will.
5. Man has the right to kill those who would thwart those rights.
Love is the law, love under Will.
See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the
commandments of JHVH, your God, that I enjoin on you today, if you love JHVH, your
God, and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will
live and increase, and JHVH, your God, will bless you in the land which you are entering
to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you let yourself be drawn into worshiping
other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not
live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and
earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse.
Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of JHVH, your
God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this
depends your long stay in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob he would give them.
8. Timely graffito:
God made man and woman. Samuel Colt made them equal.
– Anonymous