To commemorate the closing of 2015, Brother Virgil created a fantastic Working of personal and universal transformation. The members of the Bull of Ombos Pylon performed this Working on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol Building on the night of December 12, 2015.
What follows is an edited version of Brother Virgil’s commentary and the text of the rite. The theme of the Working was “Planting the seeds of Liberty.”
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In brainstorming ideas, I kept finding myself thinking about “the end of the beginning.” That concept was more of a Year XLIX thing initially, but I’ve found it to be especially relevant this year, and it may be there’s a bit of a time overlap thing going on. And that makes me think about the pivot points of long story arcs in our lifetimes (and Initiation for the Initiated), the paths that have led each of us to the present moment. There comes a point when you look back and think about all the ways you’ve grown, the things you’ve put behind you, and the things you’ve meant to get rid of, but for whatever reason, keep hanging around.
Sometimes, like the Serpent, we have to shed our skin so our new form can emerge in its fullness.
What skin do you have to shed? Maybe the change has already taken place and needs to be commemorated; maybe it’s a choice that’s been put off for too long and it’s time to take action. But there is Liberty to be found in freeing ourselves of what was once a hindrance… a habit, a toxic entanglement, a counterproductive belief or mindset. And Adept Black Magicians know the formula and its power. The Liberty we win by overcoming our hindrances is an end in itself. But the lessons we’ve won through our transformations can also serve as a Gift to those not yet aware of the power at their fingertips through the very existence of the Gift of Set.
So where am I going with this? Stay with me a second…
We’ve used the Magic of Place many times at the Texas State Capitol campus. If there is any place in America that needs the Fire of Liberty to break the grip of Restriction, could there be a more fitting place than Texas, a state notorious around the world for its embarrassing theocratic politicians and strongholds of toxic Christian Nationalism? (“Texas” is slang for “crazy” in Norway; did you know that?):
Sure, Austin is a whole other scene, a sanctuary of sorts, and nothing about Texas is as black and white as it seems to outsiders; our Pylon knows this all too well. But the truth of the matter is, beyond the relative sanity and “coolness” of Austin the preachers and churches still hold way too much power over otherwise decent people who have been sorely misguided by the toxic culture they’re soaking in, and don’t yet realize they have other options.
There are those, of course, who grow sick of the toxic elements of this host culture and act out about it.
FLASHBACK: October 2014. An Oklahoma man claims Satan told him to destroy and piss on the monument of the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol:
Take a look at that monument. Look familiar?
Turns out the Oklahoma monument was a replica of the one found in Texas. The Texas monument was donated to the state by the Fraternal Order of Eagles at the encouragement of Cecil B. DeMille (yes, the Ten Commandments movie guy):
Even the most basic research on the origins of the state capitol Ten Commandments monuments comes back with hit after hit of news stories about the controversies generated by these monuments being placed on public government property.
Now, we all know the monument of the Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capitol is highly unlikely to come down during our lifetimes, as much as we might like it to, and as much as an insult it is to secular governance and the separation of church and state. Even if we weren’t the law-abiding citizens we are, the investment-risk-reward ratio of an attempted “black op” against the monument on the State Capitol campus doesn’t even make sense on paper. Even if we “succeeded” somehow in destroying or stealing it we would fail, as publicity surrounding such an act would only feed into the phony “Christian persecution” narrative so beloved by the preachers and churches.
So…
What might happen if the monument of the Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capitol were permanently and irreversibly consecrated to the Powers of Darkness, a monument ablaze with the Black Flame, inspiring consciousness, curiosity, intelligence, and evolution in all who encountered it, a power source spreading the Black Flame like cobwebbing blood vessels in all directions of the map, spreading its influence deep into the surrounding regions, gradually weakening and undoing the strongholds of tribal narcissism and anti-intellectualism once and for all?
All that said, please find my proposal below:
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WORKING
– Gather and decompress at the Capitol monument. Take a good look at this object and observe your emotions. What does the presence of this thing say to you? What does that say about your relationship with your host culture? What would you change about it if you had your way?
– SILENT BELL and INVOCATION: When the time seems right, begin slowly walking in a counterclockwise circular path around the Capitol building. Go at a leisurely pace, individually and by your own path; no rush. “Sound” 9 bell chimes or other fitting markers of the Working’s beginning by the power of your Will alone. Then radiate the Invocation of Set or an Invocation of the Dark Powers as guided by your own genius; again, by your Will alone. Blaze with the Black Flame within you. Feel the vast stores of your yet untapped power coursing through your body as a consequence of the Gift of Set.
– SILENT SUMMONING OF THE ELEMENTS: As you journey around the Capitol in your heightened state of Being, reflect again on all that has led up to this point and the skin you intend to shed (or have shed already). Examine both the past and the future in light of your place here in the present moment. What are the lessons of your transformations? What does the future hold? What next? During this time, you may summon or connect with whatever godforms, daemons, or manifestations of the Dark Powers most resonate with your Work. But summon them silently, again by the power of Will alone.
– SACRIFICE: Complete the counterclockwise circuit around the Capitol, returning at last to the monument of the Ten Commandments. Look upon it for the last time, for from this day forward, this object of stone will be forever transformed, as you yourself will be. Symbolically shed your skin as guided by your own genius, then offer your shed skin at the feet of the monument, that it may serve as “kindling” to set the monument ablaze with the Black Flame.
– TRANSFORMATION: Summon your utmost power and consecrate the monument of the Ten Commandments to the Powers of Darkness, permanently and irreversibly transforming it into an inexhaustible battery engulfed in the Black Flame, spreading the fire of consciousness, curiosity, intelligence, and evolution in all who encounter it, spreading its influence far beyond the city limits into the surrounding regions and beyond. For so long as this monument exists, its existence now empowers the Aeon of Set and corrodes the grip of Restriction and the god of Moses upon the hearts of humanity, in spite of the lies etched upon its surface. The following Statement is recommended to finalize your act:
“Set is mightier than the god of Moses.”
– Reading from the Statement of Azazel:
“But on Earth, where man wandered in mindless bliss, the firmament blazed forth with fiery tongues, and all the land was covered by the Black Flame, which burned not, though it bewildered the eye to see it.
“But on Earth, where man wandered in mindless bliss, the firmament blazed forth with fiery tongues, and all the land was covered by the Black Flame, which burned not, though it bewildered the eye to see it.
“And Raphael and his guardian Angels were dismayed, for nowhere could they see man or the spirit which had come to him. Then did Raphael call upon Michael to strike the Black Flame with the force of God, but even then was the Flame vanishing of its own accord. And at first it seemed that Earth was unchanged, but in the eyes of man did Raphael see the first gleam of thought.”
– Personal Work as required
– CLOSING: “So it is done, and so it begins.”
XeperAustin 