It's always funny when something with a long comic history comes into the mainstream and everyone debates it like it's something new that only exists because of other shows that exist in recent pop culture.

The real question is: Why are the Defenders -- who are basically Dr. Strange's "Avengers" -- comprised of the 2000s Marvel Knights minus Moonknight?

Why not Moonknight instead of Iron Fist?

It's not as simple as "punch-em-up" versus the graphic novel, artsy Alias side of Marvel. The Netflix version of The Defenders is weird and I'm just hoping they tie in Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) and the "Matrixesque" side of Marvel with what is the "Lovecraftian" side of Marvel. The Defenders are more this dark horror magick side who fought against the Nameless One and his legions.

thanks man.
that rabbit hole goes much further.with the mention of dee and kelly who are responsible for the enochian (or angelic) alphabet,and also enochian magicks.which leads to crowley and the thoth tarot deck.

there can be some correlation between lovecrafts "old ones" and angels.we are not talking the cherub,fairy godmother type angels of childrens stories,but angels who are messengers of god,where gabriel is mentioned as being the size of a solar system an to gaze upon his actual countenance would render the observer mad.

none of that warm and fuzzy from fairy tales but horrors.

i loved studying those esoteric books but they always creeped me out,probably why i love lovecraft.

The subtext of this video is that music is also overlooked and iconic to film. Please, please, pleeeeease -- I believe it's magick.

Those long balloons will compact into your mouth pretty easily when they aren't blown up to capacity-Otherwise she suppresses her gag reflex and fills her esophagus, easy-peasy-Not hard for anyone with a bit of practice- Whoa, raw vegan and practitioner of chaos magick...What a gal, eh??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Kay

magick

Skyclad
Historically, Witches worked Naked, and there are many references to naked Witches standing on their clothes. In a few illustrations, the Witches are clothed in the clothing of their time, but examination of the drawings indicates that the artist rarely knew a real Witch.
Gardner introduced the term Skyclad into the Craft in the 1950's with the reference to "Witches worship naked which is called in the East (Indonesia), 'Skyclad'" and the term stuck as a poetic way to refer to ritual nudity. Witches worshipped Skyclad in 1950's and today, but in the 70s, the Welsh and American Celtic Witches began to wear robes, which became the standard way to worship for years. By the late '70s, the Feminist Witches began to experiment with Skyclad worship, so by the late 80’s about half of the American and European Witches worship Skyclad.
There are a number of reasons for nudity, the first being that in the Charge, which was written by Doreen Valiente from older sources, The Goddess said,
"And as a sign that ye be truly free, ye shall be naked in your rites."

This Charge is so beautiful that many Witches who reject the Gardnerian Traditions, retain the Charge as one of the few declamations that, if not directly from the Goddess, was unquestionably inspired by Her. Thus, the argument follows that we MUST worship naked because it is the will of the Goddess whom we love.

This argument is countered by a later version of the Charge that says,
"as a sign that ye be really free, ye shall be equal in your rites."
However, this is a later American version not as originally written.
A more convincing counter to the Charge is simply to reject the Charge outright.
Reject all Traditional and Gardnerian ideas, so it is then easy reject nudity as well.

A second reason for ritual nudity is the practical one. Witches all over the world often report that naked is safer.
In rites where I have been robed there have been accidents, incidents where a person stepping on the hem of another’s robe, and causes them to trip. In a nine-foot Circle, if one person goes down, usually all follow.  

Naked people are more aware of their surroundings, so you step more carefully and bang into the Altar and others less than clothed Witches.
You feel the heat of candles, as opposed to not detecting the heat until after your robe is in flames, so it is simply safer to be naked.
At Sabbat where we had three Covens worshipping together in Circle, some were from our Outer Court, so wore robes. During the rite, one woman stood too close to the West candle and set her robe on fire. She did manage to extinguish the flames with little disruption, but I did hear about the accident after the rite ended.

The magickal reason for nudity is that anything worn upon the body will interfere with and change the energy given off by the body. This includes clothes, make-up, perfumes, jewelry, glasses, contact lenses and so on.
This argument is quite logically countered by stating, “energy that can pass through a wall, cover miles of distance, and influence another person would not be stopped by a layer of cloth. “ Consider the greater awareness of your surroundings, being closer emotionally and physicality to the others in the circle. Being able to raise energy without the distraction of avoiding stepping on robes or pulling your sleeve up to keep in out of the candle flame.
Think of the Coven body, mind, and spirit that must generate a tremendous amount of power to send that spell over that distance. Once the Cone of Power is sent the spell won’t be deflected, but it can be deflected at the source by a relatively little. In other words, wearing clothing or non-craft jewelry or non-consecrated materials can easily deflect or alter the power that leaves the Circle. The spell, when it reaches its target, may be different or it may even reach a different target.
Nudity is rarely sexual, after ten minutes the naked Witch becomes bored with seeing bare breasts and genitals and is then free to work. A woman wearing a robe that cuts low in the front and is slit up the side to her hips will introduce into the Coven an attitude of sexual desire to the men as they try to see a nipple or thigh that, by being hidden, is desirable but when revealed by nudity is simply another body part. The men, in this situation, may have difficulty concentrating on the work in an effort to see what is barely hidden. Similar things occur in the female mind when the situation is reversed, though women are often trained to deny these thoughts to others and even to themselves.
There are Psychological factors to Nudity are that the people must accept themselves as they are or change themselves. It is difficult to put on a facade when you are denied a girdle, bra, wig, make-up, deodorant, aftershave, codpiece or other enhancements to your image. Once naked, the individual with their sags, and bulges shines and, becomes themselves and not a mask. 
When working magik, it is vital to know yourself and accept your own good and ill, for to attempt the path with false illusions will cause trouble when your subconscious rebels and forces your work to conform to a hidden truth.
To be naked indicates freedom from conventional mundane thought. When clothed in a suit or dress, you conform to societies expectations and become what they wish you to become. Your style of dress and hairstyle are a reflection, not of your own desires, but of what your peers wish you to be.
Equality between class and gender is assured when naked, as the rich no longer have jewels to show their class worth, and Women must face men as equals, both showing their inadequacies and realizing that the other sex is just as physically imperfect as you are. With this barrier down, men and women can accept each other as equals.
Once naked, you are free to place your mind into a sphere of magickal thought. A place between the worlds where the God and Goddess are not symbols hanging on a wall but REAL DIVINITIES, where all is possible.
It is necessary to be clothed at times; in public or when outdoors in winter it may be necessary to be clothed to allow the mind to concentrate on the goal and not to be thinking that the body is slowly freezing to death.
When this is necessary to wear a robe, it should be one that interferes with magik and mind as little as possible. It is best to wear a plain robe that is exactly the same as all others. To make a personal robe will introduce ego and class or sexual differences into the rite.
There are some uses to wearing robes. The simple act of putting on a robe that is reserved only for Ritual use causes the inner mind to awaken and to develop the attitude that "Now the mundane world is behind me, it is time for the magickal world to appear." This can be very effective to your working and will counter some of the physical drawbacks of wearing robes. If all are wearing identical robes, the attitude of equality within, 'the group' is enhanced, for there is nothing different between the people or sexes.
The robe must also be of a natural material such as cotton or wool since synthetics cause a great deal of interference with the power. A simple list of materials which will interfere with magickal power when worn from the least to the greatest effect is as follows: cotton, wool, conductive metals from silver, gold, copper, iron, synthetic materials such as nylon, or rayon, and Silk though a natural material is a strong magickal insulator.
In today’s world, you will find Witches who work Skyclad, robed, in costumes and even in their street clothes. Street clothes however; bring into the Circle all the influences that have become attached to those clothes over the day. These influences will affect your workings as well as your mind because the subconscious will see no difference between the mundane and the magickal, and as we spend most of our time in the mundane world, it is easy to see which will win.


"Nudity establishes a closeness and honesty among conveners and 'is a sign that a witches loyalty is to the truth before any ideology or any comforting illusions.” Starhawk.

Likely not. Anything hitting hard enough to make THAT hole would have annihilated the church unless some kind of magic was involved. [/nerd]

He probably was magicked off to Hell or something, and once again gets demoted back to "Quest Item" in the game itself.

>> ^hpqp:

Aww crap, I should've read all the comments before downvoting yours (damn me and my lack of pop culture!).
That being said, now the raptor-jesus reference is all the funnier.
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
>> ^ponceleon:
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
Your playing with powers you can't possibly understand, life finds a way.

Yeah, raptor-riding jesus does not approve of this evil magicks!

I take it you didn't get the Jurassic Park reference, because that is the Ian Malcolm actor's voice.



It's ok, on second viewing, I don't think it is him anyway. I <3 magnates
All hail the superconductor raptor.

Aww crap, I should've read all the comments before downvoting yours (damn me and my lack of pop culture!).

That being said, now the raptor-jesus reference is all the funnier.

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:

>> ^ponceleon:
>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
Your playing with powers you can't possibly understand, life finds a way.

Yeah, raptor-riding jesus does not approve of this evil magicks!

I take it you didn't get the Jurassic Park reference, because that is the Ian Malcolm actor's voice.

>> ^ponceleon:

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
Your playing with powers you can't possibly understand, life finds a way.

Yeah, raptor-riding jesus does not approve of this evil magicks!


I take it you didn't get the Jurassic Park reference, because that is the Ian Malcolm actor's voice.

Occultist, demon worshipper, and follower of Aliester Crowley..in his own words:

GW) There was always a certain amount of speculation about your occult studies. It may have been subtle, but you weren’t really hiding it.

(Page) I was living it. That’s all there is to it. It was my life - that fusion of magick and music.

(GW) Your use of symbols was very advanced. The sigil [symbols of occult powers] on Led Zeppelin IV and the embroidery on your stage clothes from that time period are good examples on how you left your mark on popular culture. It’s something that major corporations are aggressively pursuing these days: using symbols as a from of branding.

(Page) You mean talismanic magick? Yes, I knew what I was doing. There’s no point in saying much about it, because the more you discuss it, the more eccentric you appear to be. But the fact is - as far as I was concerned - it was working, so I used it. But it’s really no different than people who wear ribbons around their wrists: it’s a talismanic approach to something. Well let me amend that: it’s not exactly the same thing, but it is in the same realm. I’ll leave this subject by saying the four musical elements of Led Zeppelin making a fifth is magick into itself. That’s the alchemical process.

*MAGICK!!!

Heh, this showed up on the Sift just the next day after I started giving serious consideration to joining the O.T.O.

As it happens, it's the only serious initiatory order with a presence within three hundred miles, so far as I can find. And, having bought a copy of Crowley's Thoth Tarot years ago, I've finally begun seriously studying it. Beautiful artwork, profound symbolism.>> ^gwiz665:

Ultimately Crowley was as hypocritical as the religions he disliked though, creating his own based on Magick and weirdness. As usual the small cults are based on hedonism and sex, and while everyone likes that, it doesn't make for intellectual honesty. Magick isn't real.


Crowley repeatedly cautioned against ascribing objective reality to the phenomena experienced in the practice of magic. Which is why he phrased the first goal of magic in such a ridiculous fashion as "the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel." It is absurd, precisely in order to remind seekers that ascribing objective reality to such theories is always absurd. He did all sorts of things like this. He asked followers, for instance, to align their rituals so that "East" in the books always faced his home--indirectly indicating that it was entirely arbitrary what direction one faces.

People who assiduously practice magick really do have visions; experience communication with demons, angels, and gods; experience mystic transport; and realize the integration of the self. The reality of the experience trumps, for Crowley, any "objective" claims.

>> ^enoch:

"do what thou whilt may it harm none" was a traditional pagan saying

Eh, not really. Most pagans prior to the rise of Christianity would have shuddered at the statement, aside from a handful of obscure philosophers. Certainly not Plato, Pythagoras, or any of the other pagan writers so often accorded great spiritual insight.

Though such formulations do begin to make an appearance whenever Paganism arises in post-Christian contexts.

Do what thou wilt has little, read nothing, to do with the naive and simplistic interpretation most often applied resulting in the wastrel excesses all too often attributed to it.

One must first have Will, not will, but Will.

Oh and that bugaboo, Knowledge. Don't forget the Gnostic influence.

The Beast indeed.

Old G. I. was mentioned. Cool.

Oh, and he was brilliant. Insane, a legal term. Crazy, interesting.

Magick not real? On the first page of the book entitled so he defines a magician as one who seeks personal power. I could tell you things.

He created no religion. The practices he employed and taught were older than you can imagine. The Christian Church itself stole Gnostic Masses. He studied and mastered disciplines from the most ancient extant sources. His disdain for the Golden Dawn, the Church, or anyone else was based on his dislike for inefficiency, inefficacy, and ignorance. He refined practices that in the Golden Dawn, for instance, would take five minutes, but his would take a few seconds utilizing his abreviation and would Work.

Try reading a few books, won't do much good. He and Gurdjieff wrote in a very ancient and prescribed manner. G. I. would have his students and fellows read his manuscripts. If they could read and comprehend, he would rewrite. Read Crowley voluminously and repititiously and at a point of critical mass it will all come together and make sense.

Pick up a Buddhist Tantric Sutra. You may understand every word in it but you will not comprehend one sentence without initiation.

Please, I apologize if this seems diatribic, it is not meant so I assure you.

Sex and drugs, whole other long...already ran my mouth too much.