2009/12/21 - Solstice

[aons]

Merry Yule and Happy Solstice!

In this newsletter:
1) AONS Website Updated
2) AONS Forum Launched
3) AONS Solstice Rite

AONS WEBSITE UPDATED

This is to let you know that the AONS website has been updated. http://www.blacksunorder.com

On the Main Menu you will see a link “Arcane Origins”.

You are invited to read the new content and refer any interested parties to our web page.

More pages will be posted at a quicker pace in the coming few weeks.

AONS FORUM LAUNCHED

We have just launched a forum, it will remain in an experimental phase to investigate interest and participation. You are welcome to register
and post topics of interest under the applicable forum topics. http://forum.blacksunorder.com

The first newsletter will also be posted on the forum for questions and commentary.

AONS SOLSTICE RITE: A Contemplation of Nocturnal Rebirth

Those interested in attuning themselves to our channel of the aeonic current are invited to hold a winter vigil throughout the night of, or following, tonight's Winter Solstice, according to the ancient practice of seeking the vision of the "sun at midnight." It is recommended to use a black mirror, crystal, or some other dark scrying device. A dark bowl of water or dark wine will certainly suffice. In celebrating the re-birth, and hopeful growth, of our Order on this Winter Solstice, various astrological and sinister rites have been performed at intervals throughout the threshold. Some of these operations inform these briefer suggestions for simpler and personally relevant sorceries.

Before beginning the vigil, which can be of any length but of course is more effective the longer it is held, and should be focused around midnight, the scrying device should be sigilized on its back or bottom, either with a personal sigil signifying aeonic rebirth or illumination, personal rebirth or illumination, or -- ideally -- an understanding of the relationship of these two extremes of individual/personal and collective/social. If you want to use a bind-rune that has been used in AONS rites, a left-facing Wolfsangle is recommended.

Once the sigil has been inscribed (and empowered through some preferred personal means, blood or bodily fluids rendered in an ecstatic state are ideal), a conjuration should be extemporized and repeated until exhaustion or vacuity begin to ensue. Call on the powers ruling over the Yuletide and the winter season to crystallize vague inspirations, ideas, and insights into a shining angular cohesion. This "form" will be used to capture the light of the "midnight sun" shining through visions beheld in the process of scrying, which begins as the vigil commences.

You should aim to remain awake, conscious, and alert. This is not an exercise in vague trance-working. It may be that you will fall asleep or into a deep trance anyway, but you will have already suggested to yourself to remain totally lucid, hopefully even within any dreams that are revealed to you.

Your goal is the vision of the "midnight sun." Once you see it, it is important to attempt to retain its consciousness in the "form" previously conjured. You may, and probably should, manifest this form artistically, ritually, or practically. If you have further time to work during the vigil past the perception of the Nocturnal Light, you might want to scry further in an endeavor to perceive something of the nature of the "spirit of the age."

Once your vigil is completed (preferably with the sunrise), raise your arms in salutation and declare, "The Black Light revealed is concealed in Bright Darkness. The Black Flame is enkindled in the white ice of winter. The longest Night is dying, but eternal Light is reborn." Then, if you have been scrying in water or wine, drink it. Otherwise, cover the scrying device and put it underneath your bed while you sleep. Be sure to record your dreams when you awaken.

Anyone interested in sharing the results of their experiments is invited and encouraged to do so, either in pursuit of contribution to our project, or of dialogue concerning aeonic working.


We wish you a joyous and illuminating week, and a happy season.

[Astaroth]

I guess this can be seen as the proverbial ice-breaker.

Regarding my solstice:

My solstice was quite the eventful occasion, I thought I would share some interesting synchonicities.

I was awoken at 3:33 am by the weirdest thunder storm I have ever encountered. It was an electrical storm and when the bright light of the lightning would illuminate the sky the crack would follow in a rumbling fashion, rumbling towards me.

I went to a friend's house to play a card game that is played with three decks, I think that equals 156 cards, now the object of the game is to deal 13 cards to each player (there were 6 at the table including myself) and I was asked to cut the deck -- if you pick up the exact amount of cards that should be dealt to all the players you score extra points. So I cut it, and cut it correctly (at some level I knew it would happen).

I also did a divination via tarot at the exact moment of the solstice which had impressive results.

I also did various other small personal rituals that are not worth mentioning.

Regarding the website

I liked the new content created by Brennus, specifically the references of exoteric and esoteric! I am trying to be patient waiting for the upcoming pages, especially the Induction and Illumination pages.

[Prometheus]

Actually I'd be interested to know about the personal rituals "not worth mentioning." I've become curious lately about the role and function of personal rituals in the development of individual magical practice, particularly how they might relate to the boundary between "personal religion" and the magical paradigm. I suppose that may be especially relevant on "holidays," considering that most people I know (including magicians) are doing "personal rituals" around this time anyway. To what extent can we use these things for magic?

I've made a Yuletide wish list every year for "Santa" since I was old enough to know of the figure. Now that I know who the Wish-father really is, I write it in runes and chant them out letter by letter on the solstice and either leave it under the tree, "mail" it, or leave it somewhere near a Santa's Grotto before 25 December. This year I've already gotten most of what I asked for and it hasn't even made it out of the house yet!

[Samael]

I have translated the results from a brief scrying (performed on the winter solstice) into a form that will hopefully prove intelligible to others. The following is an excerpt of a scrying that touches upon broad insights regarding the aeon and our interaction with it.

The circumstances and conditions which apply to aeonic development on micro, meso and macrocosmic scales will guide its growth, degradation and aesthetic. Purposeful shaping of the aeon (as it is expressed both within the individual, societies and globally) is necessary in order for the desired aeonic transformations made clear by AONS. Temporary solutions will continually prove to bare temporary results and distract from the underlying psycho-social offences; and much like a festering wound will only grow worse if degradation is not restrained and halted. The aeon, much like the magician, must be putrefied (as though it were undergoing "aeonic nigredo") in order for more novel developments to occur.

[Samael]

ADDENDUM:

One of the greatest obstacles aspiring magicians and magicians alike will face and face is the tendency to become lost in the preparations to do; it's a vicious cycle which will ultimately snuff out ambitions of illumination and magical proficiency. In short, "Learn to soar through the trees before you become lost and entangled by the forest."


I neglected to include this last element of the scrying in my previous post. Take it for what it's worth.

[Astaroth]

Actually I'd be interested to know about the personal rituals "not worth mentioning." I've become curious lately about the role and function of personal rituals in the development of individual magical practice, particularly how they might relate to the boundary between "personal religion" and the magical paradigm. I suppose that may be especially relevant on "holidays," considering that most people I know (including magicians) are doing "personal rituals" around this time anyway. To what extent can we use these things for magic?

Well the personal rituals I have been doing were along these lines:

I shaved my beard completely off which I haven't done in more than a year. I did this on the solstice as a way to mark this solstice almost as a magical new year or rebirth for myself magically, and I will now let the beard grow back.