The Secret History of Lucifer: And the Meaning of the True Da Vinci Code
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86. Although, interestingly, not all and not on all points. There are modern scholars who privately pursue alchemical, Gnostic and magical studies, but who for obvious reasons - mainly academic funding - would never go public.
87. Churton, The Golden Builders, p. 100.
88. www.johndee.org/charlotte/Chapter7/7pl.html.
89. His companion is often erroneously said to have been John Dee himself.
90. Summers, p. 6.
91. Ibid., p. 256.
92. Automatic writing is a common product of dissociation, deliberate or unconscious. One's hand writes apparently by itself, sometimes in another handwriting style, conveying messages that appear to come from another personality, and giving information that the person holding the pen seemingly could not have known.
93. Guy Lyon Playfair, `This Perilous Medium', The Unexplained, pp. 2934-7, c. 198 1.
94. Ibid.
95. Ibid.
96. Roy Stemman, `The Phenomenal Palladino', The Unexplained, pp. 2241-5, c.1981.
97. Ibid.
98. Ibid.
99. Ibid.
100. Ibid.
101. Suffering from intense religious rapture, Saint Joseph (1603-63) was questioned by the Inquisition, but released. Considered to be simple-minded - as a child he was known as `open-mouth' - he lacked the concentration for the most menial of tasks.
102. Personal conversation between myself and Professor Roy in the early 1980s.
103. Steinman.
104. Ibid.
105. Parapsychologists of the 1980s had a term for this phenomenon: `retrocogni- tive dissonance', meaning the further one moves away in time from witnessing even the most spectacular phenomena, the more one is liable to doubt them.
106. Charles Richet, `On the Conditions of Certainty', PSPR p. 14, No. 35,1899.
107. Dr Margaret Mead, quoted in Archie E. Roy in A Sense of Something Strange, Glasgow, 1990, p. 20.
Chapter Six Do What Thou Wilt
1. Colin Wilson, The Occult, London, 1971, p. 372.
2. Ironically, as we have seen, `Salem' is Semitic for `peace' - other variations including `shalom'. `Jeru-salem' means `House of Peace'. Shalem was the Hebrew Evening Star, twin to Shaher, or Lucifer, the Morning Star.
3. For the verbatim petitions of this and other convicted witches awaiting execution at Salem, see www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_ E&P.HTM.
4. Montague Summers, The History of Witchcraft, London, 1926, p. 146.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Typically, a mob would capture a black man accused of raping or abusing a white woman, and then proceed to beat and torture him publicly, setting fire to him, gouging out his eyes and/or cutting off his fingers, toes or genitals. Members of the crowd would be invited to participate in the torture. Eventually the victim would die of his injuries or be hanged or burnt to death. None of this was usually seen as cruel or anti-Christian: indeed, young people were encouraged to watch and even take part, almost as a sort of initiation into adulthood.
8. The Crucible by Arthur Miller was first produced on Broadway in 1953 but was not received well. However, a year later a new production won critical acclaim, setting the seal on the play as a modern classic.
9. Bombers and Mash, by Raynes Minns, London, 1980, p. 66.
10. As Elizabeth had no children, ironically the throne went to James, son of Mary Queen of Scots, whom she had had executed. James was the first king of that name in England, but James VI of Scotland.
11. More properly known as the Palace of Westminster.
12. Henry T.F. Rhodes, The Satanic Mass, London, 1954, p. 44.
13. Ibid.
14. Quoted in Ibid.
15. H.C. Lea, Materials Towards a History of Witchcraft, Philadelphia, 1939, p.101.
16. Of course if one analyses what is believed to happen during the mass in the form of transubstantiation - i.e., the bread and wine become Jesus' actual flesh and blood - all priests are sorcerers. This is high magic: indeed, some commentators have had no hesitation to denounce it as black magic.
17. In the Beauregard.
18. Montague Summers, The History of Witchcraft, London, 1926, p. 89.
19. Ibid., pp. 160-1.
20. Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ, London, 1997, p. 108.
21. Also written 'Rays', `Rayx' or 'Retz'.
22. Joris Karl Huysmans, La Bas, Paris, 1891, is available in English as Down There, trans. Brendan King, London, 2001.
23. Wilson, p. 448.
24. Ibid., p. 449.
25. Ibid.
26. Richard Griffiths, The Reactionary Revolution, London, 1966, pp. 129-35.
27. Picknett and Prince, p. 226, referencing Griffiths, p. 131.
28. Mike Howard, online article for the discussion group Talking Stick South: `The Hellfire Club', //easyweb.easynet.co.uk/-rebis/ts-artic4.htm.
29. Quoted in ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. Quoted in Ibid.
32. The Wall Street Journal Bookshelf, 19 February 1998, p. A20.
33. Chambers' Biographical Dictionary, general editor Magnus Magnusson, Edinburgh, 1990, p. 1077.
34. Wall Street Journal Bookshelf, p. A20.
35. William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, Irish astronomer, born in York.
36. A. Cockren, Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored, New York, 1941, p. 82.
37. F. E. Manuel, The Religion of Isaac Newton, Oxford, 1974, p. 62.
38. Michael White, Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer, Addison Wesley, 1997, p. 49.
39. D. W. Hauck, `Isaac Newton the Alchemist', www.alchemylab.com/isaac- newton.htm, p3.
40. Ibid.
41. Such as B.J.T. Dobbs in The Foundations of Newton's Alchemy Cambridge, 1984.
42. Paul Begg, `The Man Who Created Life', The Unexplained, c.1981, p. 1767.
43. Ibid.
44. Ibid. Actually, the first dry-cell battery was produced by Georges Leclanche in1868.
45. Ibid.
46. Frances Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, London, 1972, Chapter XIII.
47. See Picknett and Prince; Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge, London, 1989, and John J. Robinson, Born in Blood, London, 1990.
48. Lewis Spence, An Encyclopaedia of Occultism, London, 1920, p. 174.
49. Robinson, pp. 55-62, quoted in Picknett and Prince, p. 165.
50. Robert Lomas, The Invisible College, London, 2002, p. 3.
51. Thomas Spratt, A History of the Royal Society, quoted in ibid., p. 79.
52. Ibid.
53. S. Brent Morris, `Albert Pike and Lucifer: The Lie That Will Not Die', short talk Bulletin (Masonic). I am indebted to Robert Lomas for providing the text of this talk.
54. `Do Freemasons worship Satan/Lucifer?', www.geocities.com/endtime deception/worshipprint.htm, citing the alleged `Instructions to the 23 Supreme Councils of the World, July 14, 1889. Recorded by A.C. De La Rive in La Femme de l'Enfant dans la FrancMagonnerie Universelle on page 588'.
55. Jules Bois, Le monde invisible, Paris, 1902, pp 168-170. I am indebted to Clive Prince for finding and translating this for me.
56. See for example, Alec Mellor, `A Hoaxer of Genius - Leo Taxil', (Richmond, Va.,), 1964, pp. 149-55.
57. Morris.
58. H.P. Blavatsky, The Secret Doctrine, London, 1888, pp. 171, 225, 255, 888 (vol. II), quoted on website cited in note 54 above.
59. Helena P. Blavatsky, Isis Unveiled, London, 1876, Vol. II, p. 2.
60. Ibid., p. 292.
61. Ibid., p. 482.
62. Ibid., p. 507.
63. Private email to me from Robert Lomas, 19 November 2004, quoting Masonic ritual.
64. Ibid.
65. Ibid.
66. Ibid.
67. Ibid.
68. Chris Cranmer: he threatened to sue the Royal Navy for religious discrimination if not allowed to worship on board.
69. It
must be stressed that Satanism is by no means synonymous with modern witchcraft, or Wicca - largely the nature-based pre-Christian religion, which honours both a god and a goddess. Unfortunately, Wicca as such lies outside the scope of this book.
70. Such as `The devil and the deep blue sea: Navy gives blessing to sailor Satanist' by Helen Carter in The Guardian, Monday 25 October 2004. I am indebted to the staff at the Meghna Grill NW8 for very kindly providing this article for me.
71. Ann Widdecombe, former Tory Minister and Catholic convert said: `Satanism is wrong. Obviously, the private beliefs of individuals anywhere - including the armed forces - are their own affair, but I hope it doesn't spread ... There should be no question whatsoever of allowing Satanist rituals aboard navy ships. God himself gives free will, but I would like to think if somebody applied to the navy and said they were a Satanist today it would raise its eyebrows somewhat.' Quoted in ibid.
72. Ibid.
73. Ibid.
74. Anton Szandor LaVey, The Satanic Bible, New York, 1969, Introduction.
75. Ibid.
76. Ibid.
77. Ibid., p. 50.
78. Ibid., p. 34.
79. Ibid., p. 155.
80. Ibid., p. 103.
81. Francis X. King, (ed.), Crowley on Christ, London, 1974, Introduction.
82. Ibid.
83. Quoted in Tobias Churton, The Gnostic Philosophy, Lichfield, 2003, p. 302.
84. Taken from Crowley's Commentary on the Book of the Law, written at the Hotel du Djerid at Nefta in Tunisia, September 1923. Quoted in Churton, p. 310.
85. Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth: (Egyptian Tarot), York Beach, Maine, 1944, p. 96.
86. Ibid.
87. Ed. John Symonds and Kenneth Grant, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, London,1978.
88. Churton, p. 319.
89. Ibid.
90. Symonds and Grant.
91. Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law, quoted in Churton, p. 318.
92. By a coincidence I have met two people whose relatives were cursed by Crowley. My agent, Jeffrey Simmons, told me that his father received a curse from the Great Beast, which fortunately had no effect except to disgust everyone who heard about it. Another cursee was Fortean Times' co-editor Paul Sieveking, whose father Lance was cursed by Crowley. Again, it failed.
93. Churton, p. 304.
94. Ibid., p. 315.
95. Crowley on Christ, p. 106.
96. It is said that when he refused, Crowley cursed him to die within two days of his own (imminent) death. The doctor duly gave up the ghost on schedule.
97. LaVey, p. 76.
98. Wilson, p. 27.
Epilogue The Lucifer Key
1. December 2004. It is estimated that there are about 15,000 Mandaeans left in Iraq, but they are officially classed as 'a people in danger' by the United Nations. They were largely left alone under Sadam's regime: it was only after the Invasion that their troubles really began.
2. Howard Blum, The Lucifer Principle, New York, 1995, p. 330.
3. `Mr Bean defends the right to laugh', the Daily Mail, Tuesday, 7 December 2004. The proposal would ban anyone from using language that might offend someone on the grounds of their religion. Those found guilty would face up to seven years in jail.
4. Marco Bischof, Biophotons - The Light in Our Cells (1995), quoted on www.transpersonal.de/mbischof/englisch/webbookeng.htm.
5. Surely the only truly bad science is that which is pursued by a closed mind with preconceptions and a secret agenda.
6. Colin Wilson, `Devil and the deep blue sea', Daily Mail, Tuesday, 26 October 2004.
7. For what became his book Powers of Darkness, Powers of Light.
8. Wilson/Mail.
9. Francis X. King, `The Word Made Flesh', The Unexplained, c. 1981, p. 1693.
10. `Obsessed with drugs and death, a descent into evil', by Peter Allen and Grace McLean, The Daily Mail, 22 January 2005.
11. Lucy Hughes-Hallett, `Be very afraid', The Sunday Times Culture, March 6, 2005, p. 51.
12. Ibid.
13. Erica Jong, Witches, (London) 1981, p. 172.
Acknowledgements
As usual, a great many kind, supportive and especially tolerant friends and colleagues have contributed, directly or indirectly, to the gestation and writing of this book. The following in particular have in one way or another succeeded in keeping up the authorial spirits and getting the show on the road.
Special thanks to:
Clive Prince, my friend and colleague par excellence, for his unwavering support and comfort, readiness to point out when anxieties are needless and the efficacy of Thai curries for most ills, not to mention his generous discovery and translation of various French passages and provision of elusive references. It's been the best decade ever!
Debbie Benstead, for inspiring me to write this book in the first place with her enthusiasm for the real Lucifer, and for her rightly fabled generosity as a hostess. I don't think we're there yet, though ...
Sheila and Eric Taylor, whose enduring kindness and northern hospitality know no bounds, and whose comfort in times of stress or distress puts a very different face on the world. Such true life-enhancers are few and far between.
Craig Oakley, an old and very understanding friend, who knows all about the years that led inevitably to this book.
Jeffrey Simmons, my agent and friend, for his support.
Nigel Foster, without whose kindness The Secret History of Lucifer would literally never have been produced.
Robert Lomas, for his generous contribution to the section on Freemasonry - and all at a moment's notice!
Graham Philips, for his good advice. And just for being himself.
Yvan Cartwright, for his good-natured hospitality, humour and nagging about a web site. There will be one, one day ...
At Constable, Krystyna Green, Gary Chapman and Sarah Moore. Thanks for your patience and good humour - not to mention an unusual willingness to stretch deadlines.
Charles and Annette Fowkes, old friends whose hospitality and encouragement is much appreciated.
My York friends: David Bell, Moira Hardcastle and Richard Hardcastle for always being interested and supportive, plus silly giggling and mulled wine experiences and much, much more over more years than any of us care to remember.
All the talented and congenial `NoNamers', in appreciation of many excellent discussions and lots of laughs, especially Andy and Suzie Collins, Ian Lawton and Caroline Wise.
Lou Tate - lovely to be back in touch after all this time!
Thanks too, to Jayne Burns; Christy Fearn; Carina Fearnley; `Giovanni'; John Glasscock; Hannah R. Johnson; Octavia Kenny; Jane Lyle; and John and Joy Millar.
The staffs of the British Library and St John's Wood Library.
AND FOR DECADES OF INSPIRATION - WHO ELSE BUT COLIN WILSON?
Select Bibliography
There are hundreds of books on Lucifer, the Devil/Satan, evil and allied subjects, but these are just a sample of the more invaluable texts.
(Where possible, the paperback editions are given. Other titles can be found in the Notes and References.)
Ahmed, Rollo, The Black Art, Arrow Books Ltd, London, 1966. First published in 1936.
Baigent, Michael, and Richard Leigh, The Inquisition, Penguin, London, 2000.
Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Jonathan Cape, London, 1982; revised edition; Arrow, London, 1996.
Birks, Walter and R. A. Gilbert, The Treasure of Montsegur, The Aquarian Press, London,1990.
Blavatsky, H. P., Isis Unveiled, Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, CA., 1988, originally published 1876.
-The Secret Doctrine, Theosophical University Press, Pasadena, 1888.
Blum, Howard, The Lucifer Principle: A Scientific Expedition into the Forces of History, Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 1995.
Bramly, Serge, Leonardo: The Artist and the Man, Michael Joseph, London, 1992; first publ
ished as Leonard de Vinci, Editions Jean-Claude Lattes, Paris, 1988.
Campbell, Joseph, The Mask of God: Creative Mythology, Penguin, New York, 1959.
Churton, Tobias, The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians and the First Free Masons, Signal Publishing, Lichfield, 2002.
-The Gnostic Philosophy, Signal Publishing, Lichfield, 2003.
Collins, Andrew, Twenty-first Century Grail: The Quest for a Legend, Virgin, London,2004.
Crowley, Aleister, The Book of Thoth, Samuel Weiser, Inc., York Beach, Maine, 1944.
De Troyes, Chretien, trans. Burton Raffel, Perceval: The Story of the Grail, Yale University Press, New Haven, USA, 1999. Originally published in the 12th century.
De Voragine, Jacobus, The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints, trans. William Grayer Ryan, 2 Volumes, Princeton University Press, 1993.
Drower, E. S., The Mandaeans of Iraq and Iran: Their Cults, Customs, Magic, Legends and Folklore, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1937.
Frazer, Sir James G., The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Macmillan, London, 1922.
Freke, Timothy and Peter Gandy, Jesus and the Goddess, Thorsons, London, 2002.
Godwin, Malcom, The Holy Grail: Its Origins, Secrets and Meaning Revealed, Bloomsbury, London, 1994.
Harpur, Patrick, Daimonic Reality: Understanding Otherworld Encounters, Penguin Arkana, London, 1995.
Haskins, Susan, Mary Magdalen, HarperCollins, London, 1993.
Huysmans, J. K., trans. Terry Hale, The Damned, Penguin Classics, London, 2001. First published in Paris as Ld Bas (Down There), 1891.
Institoris, Henricus, The Malleus Maleficarum of Heinrich Kramer and Jakob Sprenger, Dover Publications, New York, 1971.
James I and Paul Tice, Demonology, Book Tree, New York, 2002. First published in London, 1597.