PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR APRIL 10

As we touched upon two days ago, it was on this day in 1904, in Cairo, Egypt, that Aleister Crowley transcribed the third and final chapter of his Liber AL Vel Legis, or The Book of The Law. Here are some more details about this revelation. 

It all began when, during a trip to Egypt, Crowley performed a ritual to invoke the Egyptian deity Thoth. Soon afterwards, his then-wife, Rose Kelly, went into a light trance, repeatedly telling Crowley: "They are waiting for you."  Because Kelly had previously shown little interest in occult matters, Crowley ignored her. But then, one day, the couple paid a visit to Egypt's Buluq Museum, where Kelly was able to find, identify and (most importantly) explain the Stele of Revealing, an ancient Egyptian artifact. This convinced Crowley that Kelly was being truthful, so he began paying attention, at which point his Holy Guardian Angel, a being by the name of Aiwass, dictated the entirety of the Book of the Law through Kelly, whose words were dutifully transcribed by Crowley.

The Stele, by the way, is currently tucked hidden away in a disused corner of the Cairo Museum. As the central artifact in one of the most controversial New Religious Movements of the 20th century, it appears to be a source of embarrassment. Recently, an associate of yer old pal Jerky's hunted down the Stele and shot some footage of it on his camera phone. That video, now...

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On this day in 428, Nestorius becomes Patriarch of Constantinople.

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On this day in 837, Halley's Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).

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On this day in 1606, the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

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On this day in 1710, the Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.

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On this day in 1865, a day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.

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On this day in 1868, at Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.

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On this day in 1919, Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.

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On this day in 1925, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner's Sons.

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On this day in 1970, Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.

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On this day in 2010, Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of other senior officials

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On this day in 1912, the Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England, for her first and only voyage.

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On this day in 1972, 74 nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of biological weapons. Shortly thereafter, HIV and AIDS begin  working their Satanic magic, depopulating the resource-rich African continent. As an added bonus, they also begin to "deal with" America's troublesome homosexual and intravenous drug using communities. By the way, to those debunkers who claim that "conspiracy theories" about AIDS can be proven wrong simply by identifying strains that existed prior to that point in history where the transmission vector becomes so  incredibly suspicious, I say to you, does the fact that a rock might be millions of years old mean that it can't be used to bash in another person's skull?

PARACULTURAL CALENDAR FOR APRIL 8

On this day in 1820, the world famous Venus de Milo statue is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos. One of the most magnificent surviving examples of Ancient artistic genius, it is dated to between 130 and 100 BC. Western European art would not again achieve the level of sophistication on display in the Venus until the Renaissance, roughly fifteen hundred years later.

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During a three-day span beginning on this day in 1904, while visiting Cairo, Egypt, notorious British occultist Aleister Crowley “receives” the first chapter of The Book of the Law, the central sacred text of the religious philosophy that would come to be known as Thelema. Also known as Liber Al Vel Legis, this slim volume – allegedly dictated “from beyond” by Hoor-Paar-Kraat (“Horus the Child”) via a discarnate intermediary called Aiwass (whom Crowley would eventually claim as his own personal Holy Guardian Angel) – is widely regarded as kicking off the Aeon of Horus, which some have connected to both the Age of Aquarius and the New Age. This otherworldly revelation-by-dictation has come to be considered one of the most important mystical documents of the 20th century, and is well worth reading. 

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On this day in 2004, National Security Advisor the Reverend Doctor Condoleezza Rice Junior appears before the independent congressional commission investigating the terror attacks of 9/11 and delivers one of the longest opening statements in the history of opening statements. Whether this was due to the crushing weight of her guilty conscience, or a desire to bore people into changing the channel before the questioning began, only Condi knows for sure. In any case, here's the closing statement from her epic opening statement, to which hindsight has certainly not been kind:

"Today, along with many allies, we are helping the people of Iraq and Afghanistan to build free societies. And we are working with the people of the Middle East to spread the blessings of liberty and democracy as the alternatives to instability, hatred, and terror. … The defeat of terror and the success of freedom in those nations will serve the interests of our Nation and inspire hope and encourage reform throughout the greater Middle East. In the aftermath of September 11, those were the right choices for America to make -- the only choices that can ensure the safety of our Nation in the decades to come."

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On this day in 1946, after a series of disastrous failures and bungled opportunities, the League of Nations - which had risen from the ashes of World War One - assembles for last time before ultimately disbanding 4 days later, on April 12, leaving behind little more than an official emblem featuring one of the most eyebrow-raising and paranoia-inducing designs ever created. I mean, just look at it! Two pentagrams inside a pentagon? Come on!

UPDATE! H'WOOD PARTY KIDS PLAY PRETEND BLACK MAGICK!

And the whole thing was caught on camera! Here it is, in all its tacky glory...

Here's a detailed report about the event that goes into all the minutia and even some behind the scenes gossip that might be of interest to any Thelemites and Crowleyans out there reading this.

THIS DAY IN PARAPOLITICAL HISTORY - APRIL 10

On April 10 in the year 1606, the Charter of the Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by King James I of England. In December of that same year, 144 men and boys set out on a ship from Blackwall, London, to establish the colony. The voyage takes 144 days -- far longer than usual -- and 40 passengers die along the way. After that, things really go South...

On this day in 1710, the Statute of Anne enters into force in Great Britain. It is the first ever law to regulate copyright. Contrary to popular assumption, copyright law originally had little or nothing to do with protecting the rights of authors as regards securing access to potential revenue that their work might generate. Rather, it represented a government effort to regulate and control the potentially subversive output of that new-fangled contraption known as the printing press.

On this day in 1904, in Cairo, Egypt, British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the third and final chapter of his Liber AL Vel Legis, also known as The Book of The Law. It all began when, during a trip to Egypt, Crowley performed a ritual to invoke the Egyptian deity Thoth. Soon afterwards, his then-wife, Rose Kelly, went into a light trance, repeatedly telling Crowley: "They are waiting for you."  Because Kelly had previously shown little interest in occult matters, Crowley ignored her. But then, one day, the couple paid a visit to Egypt's Buluq Museum, where Kelly was able to find, identify and (most importantly) explain the Stele of Revealing, an ancient Egyptian artifact. This convinced Crowley that Kelly was being truthful, so he began paying attention, at which point his Holy Guardian Angel, a being by the name of Aiwass, dictated the entirety of the Book of the Law through Kelly, whose words were dutifully transcribed by Crowley. The Stele, by the way, is currently tucked hidden away in a disused corner of the Cairo Museum. As the central artifact in one of the most controversial New Religious Movements of the 20th century, it appears to be a source of embarrassment. Recently, an associate of yer old pal Jerky's hunted down the Stele and shot some footage of it on his camera phone. That video, now...

On this day in 1912, the Titanic leaves port in Southampton, England, for her first and only voyage.

On this day in 1919, Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.

On this day in 1972, 74 nations sign the Biological Weapons Convention, the first multilateral disarmament treaty banning the production of biological weapons. Shortly thereafter, HIV and AIDS begin  working their Satanic magic, depopulating the resource-rich African continent. As an added bonus, they also begin to "deal with" America's troublesome homosexual and intravenous drug using communities. By the way, to those debunkers who claim that "conspiracy theories" about AIDS can be proven wrong simply by identifying strains that existed prior to that point in history where the transmission vector becomes so incredibly suspicious, I say to you, does the fact that a rock might be millions of years old mean that it can't be used to bash in another person's skull?

One year ago today, on this day in 2010, Polish Air Force Tu-154M -- carrying a Polish delegation en route to Katyn to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Katyn Massacre in which the Soviets killed about 22,000 Polish military officers -- crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 passengers. Among those killed were President Lech Kaczyński and dozens of senior Polish officials, including former President-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, Poland's top military brass, lawmakers, heads of the Polish National Bank and other central institutions, presidential aides, bishops and priests of various denominations, relatives of those killed in the Katyn massacre, as well as officers of the presidential security detail and crew members. Here is the text of the speech that President Kaczyński was supposed to deliver that day.