On edit: related thread here: The Doom that Came to Chelsea (Levenda, OTO, Necronomicon) .
[url=http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Names-Dark-History-Necronomicon/dp/006078704X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219303043&sr=1-1]Dead Names
The Dark History of the Necronomicon
by Simon[/url]
It will be two years come September, I first arrived here, at RI, by way of Google Search on Peter Levenda, hitting upon Jeff’s blog, Weird Tales.
Between Jeff’s article and the accompanying comments following the post, I knew I had to talk to you folks about some of this stuff. (First Post). Jeff is a goldmine of knowledge, and he has attracted many others who, not only have much experience in matters of the occult, but have histories going way back into the matrix of online communication.
This venture has turned into much more than I had bargained for, so help me out here guys. After recently finishing Simon’s book, Dead Names, there are some questions I have concerning Levenda and the Necronomicon.
I realize Jeff read this book years ago and gave his take on it HERE. where he states:
Just a brief update to last November's post 1. Weird Tales.
Peter Levenda added a comment, "there will be a book coming out next year concerning the history of the Simon / Avon / Necronomicon that should set much of this argument and controversy to rest. This is not Sinister Forces Book Three, the Manson Secret, but a book by another author and another publisher. When I have more definite information, I will pass it on to your readers."
I haven't heard more, but Saturday afternoon, over the quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore shelved in the "controversial knowledge" section of Bay and Bloor's Indigo Books, I found it. Alongside matching, shiny new editions of "Simon's" Necronomicon and The Necronomicon Spellbook was his Dead Names: The Dark History of the Necronomicon.
Regarding the mystery of his identity, Simon writes nothing here to dispell the contention that he is, himself, Levenda. For one thing, all of the named principals other than Levenda are dead, while Simon himself remains a cypher. And whenever Levenda drifts away from the scene, "Simon" appears. Many of the anecdotes surrounding the book's genesis are Levenda's, and while this might be expected since every other source is deceased, Simon also shares a number of ticks familiar to Levenda's readers, such as "wandering bishops," the Manson clan and other pop and occult signposts.
Now Jeff, you said what you said, but Levenda was telling a different story, admitting working on the Necronomicon but denying he was Simon, and after reading Dead Names only this past month, I would say “Hell ya, that’s Levenda,” except that, right here on the back of the book it states:
“But in 1972, a young man who, for his own protection, must be known simply as “Simon,”...”
So I won’t say that, because in no way would I want to jeopardize the safety of either Simon or Levenda by making such bold accusations.
So for now, let’s say, What if Levenda is Simon. Ok?
I’d imagine fans of the Necronomicon would be tickled pink to find that out, whereas those of us who met Peter through his other works might be taken aback. (to say the least.)
Although I do have an interest in the occult, there are certain practices I have been unwilling to partake in and reject on principle. For example, the crowd Simon describes at the Warlock Shop and Magickal Childe bookstore where he and Levenda hung out, are fun to read about, but in real life these are people I would have avoided like the plague. Not because I would consider it to be a bunch of “hocus pocus” nonsense, but because I’ve been warned about this avenue of exploration, and have read enough and experienced enough to know, this was nothing to play around with.
Consequently, dummy me, I had never even heard of the Necronomicon. (Nope, never got into sci-fi either, so didn’t know about Lovecraft.)
Because of my knee-jerk rejection to all things Crowley-like, I guess that doesn’t make me a very good judge of what Simon and Levenda are putting forth as a solution to overthrow the sinister forces which, I would agree, seem to control our governments.
I’ve copied some bits out of Simon’s book and I’d like your take on it.
Best case scenario ...Peter and Simon are onto something here... What say you?
Worst case scenario ...Peter is launching his very own role-playing game (arg?) that will rival D&D. Shades of Dragon come to mind. (Dragon was a poster here at RI and I’ll find a link to him later for any who are unfamiliar with his cause.)
(Please excuse the rush job on this. I will have to come back later to correct the spelling and grammar. Have more to say but no more time atm)
Dead Names
Chapter 7 The Hidden God
pg. 203-205
The qhadhulu of the pre-Islamic Arabs, however, was a force to be reckoned with, a manifestation of the power of the Jinn: the mysterious ancient race that predated Adam and that was made to bow down before Adam. Satan–or Ibliss, as he is also known to the Arabs–refused to bow down, since he belonged to the earlier race and saw Adam as a newcomer not worthy of worship. To the Arabs, Satan or Ibliss is the king of the Jinn, and more importantly the Jinn are a race of beings and are not fallen angels. According to Islamic law and tradition, the Jinn procreate, eat and drink, and die, and have the power of choice. The angels–again, according to Islamic tradition–do not have a choice or free will. The Jinn, as the first created race on earth do.
The Jinn are at times visible and invisible, depending on their desire and upon the ability of the faithful to see them. They have supernatural posers and abilities, can travel immediately to any place on earth, and can find lost treasure, etc. Some of the Jinn have even converted to Islam, but others are loyal to Shaitan or Ibliss, the Satan of the Judeo-Christian traditions.
We become aware of the Jinn most powerfully through the phenomenon of demonic possession. As the Jinn are believed to be souls without bodies, they are eager to inhabit a body if at all possible. While the Jinn are said to reside in desert places, in wastelands like the famous Rub al-Khali, or “Empty Quarter” of southern Saudi Arabia (the site of Lovecraft’s Irem, or City of Pillars), they are also known to appear without warning in the cities and towns of Arabia, and to take possession of the hapless individuals much in the way familiar to us through books and movies like The Exorcist. In fact, The Exorcist begins iin the deserts of Iraq, in an archaeological dig in what was once Babylon, and the possessing spirit is the Mesopotamian demon, Pazuzu.
But possession by the Jinn can be both positive and negative. According to Sufi tradition, poets and mystics–as well as madmen–are often thought to be possessed by spirits. The Prophet Mohammed himself was accused of being jinn-possessed before his new religion became official in Arabia. Nasruddin, the famous Sufi sage, behaved in a fashion that could only be considered “mad.” That a book of mysticism and magic should be penned by a “mad Arab” is actually rather appropriate for the culture. As mentioned, Mohammed himself–author of the Quran–was considered a “mad Arab.” The Sufi mystics were “mad.” Madness was practically a job requirement. Madness, and a gift for language.
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Dead Names
pgs 216-218 Chap. 7 The Hidden God
Belief systems that stray from the normal are dangerous engines of enlightenment. Once a belief has been enshrined in the tabernacle of mainstream society, it loses its edge. Occultism is designed to force an individual to think outside “the box,” but in this case we mean the black box of consciousness, of consensus reality. By forcing the brain to acknowledge the other ways of looking at the world, occultism enlightens...but it does so at the peril of the occultist. If psychological safeguards are not in place, the experience of the occult can lead to madness and death. Many noble minds have suffered from too much knowledge, too deep an understanding of the world...and yet, too little knowledge and too shallow an understanding to save them. To survive the occult journey, one must be prepared to abandon one’s ego; unfortunately for most occultists, their ego is the very last thing they are prepared to give up.
Self-initiation is at once the safest and most dangerous method of saving oneself from the chaos and destruction that rages all around us. It is safest, for it avoids obedience to a guru who may or may not have one’s best interests at heart; who may or may not be a genuine enlightened master, but a venal exploiter of human weakness. It is dangerous, because there is no one to provide a reality check or to guide the seeker when the path becomes dark. Occultism is not for the emotionally unstable or unbalanced, for one needs a clear head and a keen mind to negotiate its treacherous waters. It is a science of the heart and the soul as well as of the mind, so a certain degree of emotional sensitivity is required. Balancing sensitivity and stability is the greatest challenge the beginning occultist will face. One tends to shut off one’s sensitivity once instability is suspected, and no amount of intellectual prodding will bring it back. But if one remains too sensitive, too “open” to the occult environment, then instability is almost a given and one begins to rationalize the most outrageous deeds, putting the intellect at the mercy of a deranged heart.
Occultism–particularly of the Necronomicon variety–demands a great degree of self-control, of what Crowley calls “Love under will.” Imagine a convict attempting a prison break. Everything must be perfectly planned. The goal must be kept firmly in mind. The dangers are from people as well as from objects such as alarms, prison bars, concrete walls, barbed wire. It requires not only the understanding of a mechanic and an engineer, but the social sensitivity of a psychologist or a priest. Freedom is the goal, even if that means crawling in a sewer of digging a tunnel with a teaspoon.
In the mystical environment of the Necronomicon, it is just that. The gods have forgotten us. We are trapped in a prison we did not make, sentenced like a Kafkaesque hero for mysterious charges that were never explained to us, the “original sin” of the Catholic Church. Breaking out and breaking free requires a great degree of willpower, of self-control, of technical knowledge, of tremendous daring and courage. There are seven Gates to pass through on our way out of prison and to that ultimate freedom: spiritual liberation. It is the same type of spiritual liberation spoken of by the Hindus and the Buddhists, but the path taken is different and more proactive, as in all ceremonial magic systems. Again, William Burroughs wrote that “the publication of the Necronomicon may well be a landmark in the history of spiritual liberation.”
I would not recommend this path of initiation, but I am not the expert.
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Dead Names
chapter 8
pgs. 224-225
At the same time, the book is full of dire warnings about opening the Gates and letting in other forces: beings not of the gods but of some other, terrible race. In its original Arabic we would have come across the term jinn in its pages, for according to Arab tradition, this race is older than man and yet is not of the angels, a race whose lord–Azazel–is the god of the Yezidis and king of the evil spirits of Arab and Islamic legend, a legend inherited from the dying priesthood of Sumer.
To assist humanity in its defense against this evil horde of demonic creatures there is the black book of the Necronomicon. The initiatory structure in its pages is designed to create a different type of initiate: a kind of black bodhisattva, a spiritually enlightened and empowered sage whose task it is to defend the race against these creatures before he or she can make their own escape–an occult general, a master of the mystic arts of offense and defense, a human being set apart from the rest who must monitor the Gates and the influx of evil influences that threatens to destroy the planet and enslave its inhabitants.
In order to do this, the candidate must be ritually clean so that the jinn do not attach themselves to the impurities of body and soul and thereby gain entrance to this world and to the inner defenses of the magician. The candidate must put himself through the sevenfold test of the Gates, becoming more and more powerful–and simultaneously more and more sensitive, more aware–with each step in the process.
Even the protector needs a protector, however, and this is where the Watcher comes in.
The Greek original for the word “watcher” is egregore. In the context of the “black book,” the Watcher comes from a race of beings whose only purpose seems to be to function as bodyguards, a species of hired mercenary. As long as the rituals are properly observed and the appropriate sacrifices made, the Watcher will continue to protect the candidate during his lifetime.
and then he goes on talking about sacrifices.
*******
Chapter 9
pg. 247
There are many Internet postings attacking the veracity or usefulness of the Necronomicon, but the team of Daniel Harms and John Wisdom Gonce III turned it into a cottage industry.Their Web site became a kind of a clearinghouse for Necronomicon-related gossip and innuendo as well as criticism of the book based on some shaky scholarship. Gonce, in particular, fancies himself a magician and thus entitled to pronounce judgement on the book from the point of view of a magician. Of course, there is no universal standard for what constitutes a magician, so the claim is an easy one to make. (Even easier than that of the wandering bishops; at least they have documents signed by other wandering bishops!)
All of the usual criticisms of the book were leveled over the course of several years of postings, which even included a brief exchange of e-mails, between Harms and Peter Levenda, which were eventually turned into a book, The Necronomicon Files, first published in 1998, and again in 2003 by Samuel Weiser. While many of the books claims have already been refuted in one way or another during the course of this history, the final chapter will address some of the other issues, since the charges made by Harms and Gonce are serious, if ill-founded and misleading.
and the "witch wars" continue.
Harms and Gonce do come off like a couple of charlatans to me.
Mind you, Levenda might be deserving of a worse title than charlatan.
*******
From Peter Levenda's book The Manson Secret:
Sinister Forces Bk. III
The Manson Secret
pg 412
In all the revivalism of pagan religions, shamanism, Wicca, Buddhism, and Taoism, Hinduism and Tantra that has taken place alongside est, and neurolinguistic programming, and enneagrams, and the self-congratulatory seminars at Esalen, and the new psychologies of Maslow, Perls, Adler, Grof, and others, all that New Age California dreaming, the one medieval subject that has been studiously ignored has been ceremonial magic. Even alchemy has won its pride of place, due to volumes of alchemical analysis by Jung and his followers, gaining credibility and acceptance among the gentle, bearded, silently enraged men of the Pacific Northwest.
But ceremonial magic is the black sheep of this earnestly sincere family of “alternative” beliefs and practices. It is too literal, to “hands on,” for an industry that is more comfortable with ambiguity and theory. It seems to have more demons than angels, and the Latin, Greek and Hebrew prayers and chants are fierce and aggressive and threatening, replete with curses and the waving of swords. Yet the technology hidden among the conjurations and exorcisms of the grimoires goes to the heart of psychology, alchemy and shamanism. The complex doctrine of signatures and correspondences that forms the infrastructure of ceremonial magic is the key to the good-natured, well-intended but confused therapies of the New Age gurus.
And, of course, it is also the key to the foul-natured, evil-intended programs of the military and intelligence organs of America and its allies and its enemies.
*******
Please discuss.
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on edit: the glitch in the system is making this impossible to correct. will try again later. grrrr
on edit: did the glitch start as i was trying to make this post? it was sure a bear trying to get it on here yesterday. O.O spooky
Edit # 7 !!! Most of those were because of the stupid glitch, but damn I misspelled grammar, and will never get all those commas right. (sigh)
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