HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: locklin@titan.ucc.umass.edu (SCOTT C LOCKLIN)
Subject: Shrew Stone
Organization: Campus Crusade for Cthulhu
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 04:24:24 GMT
X-Posted-From: titan.ucc.umass.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

I've been experimenting with a little gadget that may be of interest to the
crowd here. In my reasearch into the various "crystal power" books marketed
these days, I managed to cook up a rather effective shrewstone.


Mine consists of a rather clear-tipped hexagonal crystal, four disk-shaped 
magnets, some clay, a copper hemisphere (hardest to come by; I would imagine
that any non-ferrous bowl-like structure would work well, but I like the
cabbalah of copper) and a small neon lamp (available at your local radio-shack)

My crystal is only 2.5" in length, but it is of high quality, which makes up 
for its size. I placed the magnets with poles set so they attract each other
at opposite ends of the bowl in a "compass" arrangement. The lamp I placed
underneath the xtal. I insulated the leads using wax & attatched some rubber
wire leads to lead out of the clay. These may not be necessary depending on
your method of powering the lamp. 

Fill the bowl with clay to cover the magnets & imbed the xtal/lamp/(wires)
into the clay. I put mine slightly off-center for aesthetic purposes.

Decorate the clay according to your ingenium. Sigils, pentacles, stones & 
etc can be embossed into the clay. I put a piece of galena (a shiny mineral)
into the clay next to the xtal. 

Libations to charge the object are appropriate depending on its intended use
(lamp/pentacle/cup). There should be no problems with shorting if you seal
the leads with wax & use rubber insulated wire.

Power ca be a problem. These little neon lamps require high voltages. This was
no problem for me; I have a collexion of homemade "Tesla-Coils". If you have
something as high-voltage as this, just place the shrew-stone near the high
voltage terminal.

If not, you will have to build a small power supply of ~70 volts; something
not everyone can (or should try to) do. Seek expert advice here; I do not
want people frying their physical bodies while skrying in the spirit world.

An alternative would be the use of "normal" light-bulbs & leads which are also
available from radio-shack (if one has no acess to high voltage devices).
This should physically work well, but the neon bulbs _are_ more robust (they 
use thicker glass & have no filament to burn out) and, more imporantly, the
little neon bulbs produce a spectroscopically different kind of light.
The light from the neon bulb is rather yellow/orange (psychologically
better IMHO for skrying) and divided into a fairly discrete spectrum, much like
natural flame is (though to a greater extent in the neon). Regular lights
have a gaussian (smooth rather than discreet) disribution of frequencies.

IMHO, the thing works best with high voltage for various reasons, physical,
neurological & psychological. 

More in next post.

-Scott
 


Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
Subject: Re: Keeping Silence, and Science
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 08:38:28 GMT

cranmer@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes:

>is forcing anybody else to 'keep silence' about anything.  Why rebel
>with such vehemence against something that each person decides for
>themselves?  Kill your own Sphinx, if you want, but the concept is
>still useful for others.

The reaction was due to my inference that the author was saying that his
"Sphinx" was valid for all types of magic, for all schools.  I'm just
a bit tired of the thought that if you don't have any secrets, then it's
not real magic.

>We're getting into the question:  "Is Magic a Science?"

The answer to which depends on the definitions of both magic and science.
I see it as a null question that needs to be phrased more clearly.

>I'm no expert on either psychology or magic, but at the present, there are
>many schools of thought in both fields that have very *fundamental* conflicts.
>How am I to choose which ones will produce these reproducible results?

Huh?  Choose the one that works, of course.  (Yes, you say, but pragmatism is
another school of thought...But of course, I reply.)

>Okay, "no concern" was a bit far.  But one should certainly judge where
>the 'case studies' are coming from - a prolific author who backs up his/her
>ideas, or someone offering a few dozen lines of borderline-unintelligible
>stuff on the net.

Granted.  This is often important.

>Okay again, but, as Peggy said, these types of results are very personal
>matters.  'Keeping silence' seems a natural thing to do for many people,
>whether with their loved ones or on the net.

Also granted.  I'm not saying that we should 'out' closest magicians, by any
means! <g>  I just sense an unnecessary (in some cases) ban on talking about
what you do.

>Just that there are many things that are best worked out by each person
>individually.  Asking for help on the net, whether one gets responses or
>not, just aint gonna help, in some matters.

Yes, the net is not a cure-all for ANY problem.

>I'll read them with interest.  But I still doubt their effectiveness for
>helping others achieve similar (or even identical) goals.

I tend to disagree with you here.  I am of the opinion that exactly duplicated
efforts get exactly duplicated results.  In magic, nothing is ever "exactly"
duplicated.  If we can isolate and identify the factors that lead to
success, then we can increase the chances of success over a long-term
period.  We do not usually do this by deciding what the factors are a priori
before even looking at the results.

-- 
Love and Laughter,             | NOTE: Private mail must go explicitly
Xeper and Remanifest,          | to drake@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu
                       DRAKE   | or it'll bounce back to you...
Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: locklin@titan.ucc.umass.edu (SCOTT C LOCKLIN)
Subject: Re: Wicca, luck
Organization: Campus Crusade for Cthulhu
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 23:49:35 GMT
X-Posted-From: titan.ucc.umass.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: sol.ctr.columbia.edu

In article <1993Jan4.080339.17431@riscsm.scripps.edu> mcohan@scripps.edu (Max Cohan) writes:
>
>I hopped into a store a couple of days ago that proclaimed itself to be a magick store... etc (it was interesting, but ridiculously high priced) what they did have, which was interesting was some (free) beans of some sort 
>they look like plain ol' black beans... 
>the sign on the basket said 'take two and carry them with you for good luck'
>
>so what is the basis for this?  will some magickally clued person explain :)

Hmmm. There is a south american tribe that gives a certain kind of bean as a
"lucky" gift to travellers, newlyweds & etc.
This bean is also psychoactive (and fairly toxic).
I doubt you got any of this type of bean, as it is rather rare & a bit odd 
looking (saucer shaped)

-Scott
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: Keeping Silence (was: testin' this stupid editor)
From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 02:58:20 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon

cranmer@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes:

>tonya@csa2.lbl.gov (TONYA PUONCEY / T. Conlon?) writes...
>
>> Anyway, I was wondering how many people can honestly say that they have 
>> had success with invocations, evocations, divinations, etc.

To Tonya: I didn't catch this the first time.  I can.

>I think one reason that this isn't seen often on alt.magick is something
>called the '4th power of the Sphinx:' keeping silence.  

Kill the Sphinx.

To know...to will...to dare...and TO SPEAK.

>Another reason
>could be a mundane one (at least for me):  I don't really CARE if your
>evocation of the dread Dormammu, or whatever, succeeded or failed.  What
>I would be curious about are the *generalities*:  *how* was your ritual
>constructed?  What religo-mystico-philosophical system are you using? etc.

And that, boys and girls, is the reason why most magic is in the sorry shape
it's in today.  Cf: "I don't really CARE if your program RUNS.  What interests
me are the *generalities*: what language did you write it in?  how many
modules did you use?  what sorts of loops did you use?"

>Some of us may happen to like the 'philosophical maundering' found on
>alt.magick.  It's the reason I read it, not to hear about the success or
>failure of someone's personal magical operations.

Yes.  But when someone asks if it works or not, I'm *NOT* going to go
running behind some 'fifth feather of the albatross' or try to redirect
the conversation to what I *think* should work.



-- 
Love and Laughter,             | NOTE: Private mail must go explicitly
Xeper and Remanifest,          | to drake@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu
                       DRAKE   | or it'll bounce back to you...
From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
Subject: Keeping Silence, or "I Know Something You Don't Know"
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 19:56:02 GMT

cranmer@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes:

>>>I think one reason that this isn't seen often on alt.magick is something
>>>called the '4th power of the Sphinx:' keeping silence.  
>>
>>Kill the Sphinx.
>>To know...to will...to dare...and TO SPEAK.
>
>I think we may have different ideas of what the Sphinx is.

Obviously.

>How is magic in sorry shape?

It has not advanced beyond the stage of using leeches to cure disease,
comparitively speaking.  If any of the other fields of endeavor humanity
is engaged were treated like most people treat magic, then we would
still be in the stone age.

>Sorry, but I think this business is so subjective, that what works for
>you has no guarantee that it will work for me.

What works to cure one schizophrenic has no guarantee that it will work to
cure another schizophrenic, either.  Yet the field of psychology does not
labour under the "well, let's just talk about theory and ignore case
studies" idea that you propose.

No, magic is not a 'hard' science.  It has more relation to psychology
than to physics.  But that is NO REASON to dismiss the work of other
people as "of no concern."

>That's why the "generalities" interest me more than whether you
>accurately divined the future, or achieved gnosis, in a specific case.

They both interest me.

>Look, if someone is looking to others for justification about their OWN
>Great Work (or whatever you call it), then IMHO they are trodding down 
>the wrong path to begin with.  

I have no idea what you mean by this.

>Again, "what I think should work" only applies to me.  Telling someone:
>"The Star Ruby never worked for me, so it is worthless", or even "The
>Star Ruby is great!  Try it today!!"  doesn't really give them any
>useful information.

Yes, both extremes are silly.  However, a statement like "I tried this
ritual, with these variations, under these conditions, and I got these
results" will, IMAO, prove more useful than "I think that if you do
this, it should work; it never has for me though."  (Even the last is
not useless; it may provide a basis for someone else to take his ideas
and use them effectively.  Maybe.)

I apologize for my abrupt tone; I'm in a rush right now.  I just tend to
fly off the handle when statements are made about magic not being
subject to the same criteria as other fields of inquiry.  I think it is.
But, then, of course, that's just my own opinion, right? ;-)

-- 
Love and Laughter,             | NOTE: Private mail must go explicitly
Xeper and Remanifest,          | to drake@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu
                       DRAKE   | or it'll bounce back to you...
From: SL500000@brownvm.brown.edu (Robert Mathiesen)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: abortifacients
Date: 10 Jan 93 02:45:16 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island  USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: brownvm.brown.edu
News-Software: BNN via BNN_POST v1.0 beta

In article <1993Jan10.021856.22831@samba.oit.unc.edu>,
Laura.Gowdy@launchpad.unc.edu (Laura Gowdy) said:
>
>        Let's try that again.
>        I keep seeing Net requests for herbal-abortion info.
>        It's reasonable to want your abortion at home, under your control,
>affordably.  It's not reasonable to expect people on the Net to risk
>prosecution for practicing medicine without a license, or as accessories
>to your death or to the death of someone who reads their advice and uses
>or misuses it.
>        Thyagi and Eddie are being very canny, and officially legal, but I
>think even Eddie is pushing the boundary between helpful and, well, not
>helpful.  He can't post dosages.  Most books won't print them.  I suppose
>you could *guess* what form and amount of the herbs he mentions to use;
>doesn't this sound like a bad idea??
>        It's hard to collect this kind of information even if you have
>lots of time and are not desperate.  One problem is that announcing
>publicly that Herb X is a safe, natural, cheap abortifacient, is a good
>way to get Herb X made as illegal as marijuana so fast it'll make our
>heads spin.  Not a favor. Anybody sees a way around all this, please
>explain it.
>                                                -Scorpio
>                                           (un-lurking)

I wonder if we could avoid the legal problems by running a thread on the
history of abortifacants, apart from any contemporary recommendations
for use and without any reference to anyone's contemporary situation.
The ethical problems, of course, are independent of the legal ones.

For example:  There is an early-printed herbal which I have long been
studying, as time and energy allow.  It is anonymous, but its title is
_Hortus sanitatis_ ["Garden of Health" in Latin], and it was printed at
Mainz (Germany) in 1491.  One nice thing about it is that it is
well-indexed; and to judge by the number of entries in the index,
abortion and contraception were the two most important concerns of
whoever collected the lore.  (One thing that is not so nice is that the
lore comes from all kinds of sources, from all times and places, and
much of it is probably NOT at all reliable.)  It even lists one
contraceptive for males, namely Cannabis.  There's not a word in this
book, for the most part, about recommended dosages or even methods of
preparation, so it's not too practical.

Anyway, the previous postings have made me curious whether even a
discussion of these texts on the list would lead to legal problems at
some time in the future, say nine months later, after it would no
longer apply to any case we might have heard about so far.  Does
anybody know for sure?  -- Robert

(Robert Mathiesen, Brown University, SL500000@BROWNVM)
From: jsledd@ssdc.sas.upenn.edu (James Sledd)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: Keeping Silence
Date: 7 Jan 93 16:30:18 GMT
Organization: Social Science Data Center

In article <C0H4y1.4s3.1@cs.cmu.edu> drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake) writes:
>From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
>Subject: Re: Keeping Silence
>Date: 7 Jan 93 08:01:10 GMT


>Tell me, how do your students "solve new and difficult problems in good
>fashion?"  They produce running code.  

Did you miss the point on purpose to?  In order to produce running code 
in new situations one _must_ have an understanding of concepts and theories.

Drones are not ADAPTABLE.
(Not that syntax doesn't matter.  I see your point too)

>So far
>it's been a hit-and-miss operation with every magician either starting from
>scratch or buying the party line as to "the Truth."

Which is a good argument for every magician starting from scratch.  Why do 
you accept what the latest research is in nature of subatomic particles?  
Most people consider this science, but would be _very_ hard pressed to 
follow the math and methods of the experiments at Fermilab.  Correspondingly 
the math and method of Magick is symbol and spirit/conciousness.  Both 
highly personalized subjective relation of the magician to archtypal symbols 
shared by society.  

This would seem to explain why the utility of philosophical maunderings is 
higher than discussion of the particulars of rituals, etc.

That said, I would like to hear a lot more about the rituals others 
perform.  I have not devised any of my own, and would appreciate seeing what 
they are for others.  Specifics, what it means to _YOU_ and why would be 
especially helpfull.



>Love and Laughter,             | NOTE: Private mail must go explicitly
>Xeper and Remanifest,          | to drake@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu
>                       DRAKE   | or it'll bounce back to you...

Love is the answer...    The Beatles

James Sledd       jsledd@ssc.sas.upenn.edu
Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: drake+@cs.cmu.edu (Drake)
Subject: Re: Bricklaying Techniques
Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 05:32:06 GMT

shaman@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Shaman) writes:

>The few times I have used the actual materials, I did notice a difference.  I
>was less tired afterward because I expended less personal energy in the
>ritual. I also noticed that the effects were more random.  In cases where I
>expended personal energy, I maintained greater control of the manifestations,
>due to the more intimate connection with the talisman.

Hmm.  Thank you for your results; I will experiment with this concept as the
opportunity presents itself.

-- 
Love and Laughter,             | NOTE: Private mail must go explicitly
Xeper and Remanifest,          | to drake@seismo.soar.cs.cmu.edu
                       DRAKE   | or it'll bounce back to you...
From: Marshall.Hoegfeldt@f31.n282.z1.tdkt.kksys.com (Marshall Hoegfeldt)
Sender: FredGate@tdkt.kksys.com
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Programmable staff (?)
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 05:02:54 -0600

BEWARE   Pre-programmed stuff can be dangerous to your health.  A friend of mine
once accused me of being in cahoots with a fellow who gave her a pre-programmed
ring just because I introduce him to her.  She was very mad, extremly angry
because she had a near-death experiance!!!  So, be forwarned.
And also be warned of spending big bucks on bogus materials.  The art people out
there who will sell dross as gold.  (Actually, come to think of it, it would be
healthier for you to buy dross than malevolent stuff).

Newsgroups: alt.magick
From: tucker@mitre.org (William Tucker)
Subject: Re: herbs and such
Keywords: Re: herbs and such
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA, USA
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 21:58:36 GMT



You harveytj@kirk.aston.ac.uk (Tamsyn) wrote:

  Has anyone got any info on herbs / uses.....particularly mugwort? 

  I have recently got a copy of "Culpepers compleat herbal", any ideas / 
  advice / info would be greatly appreciated..... Foe example: dosages,
  uses - both as remedies and in general - uses in cooking or makind herbal 
  infusions to drink.....

  References for books on the subject would also be very helpfull.

  The thing that is holding me back the most is dosages and contra-
  indications (if any).....I am - naturally - unsure about using them without 
  knowing how much is enough / too much........



My (Wm T.) tucker@maesto.mitre.org respond :

One of the best texts that I've found is a paperback put out by Bantam
press written by John Lust, son of Dr. Benedict Lust, the title of the
book is "The Herb Book."  It is available in the US for $6.95. It has
common names/medicinal name cross referencing, medicinal properties, 
dosage, contraindications for use, and class of action associated with
the herb, as well as a picture. Following is an example:


296 Mugwort (Picture deleted)

Common Names: 
 Common Mugwort, felon herb, sailor's tobacco.

Medicinal Parts:
 Rootstock, herb.

Description:
 Mugwort is a perennial plant that can be found in waste
 places, ditches, bushy areas, and alongside of roads in Europe,
 Asia, and North and South America. [much more deleted]

Properties and Uses:
 Appetizer, digestive, cholagogue, purgative. Mugwort promotes the 
 appetite and proper digestion by it's beneficial effect on bile
 production, and acts as a mild pugative. A decoction is sometimes
 used to regulate menstruation.....CAUTION: Excessive doses can
 lead to symptoms of poisoning, however nothing is to be feared
 from nomal use.

Preparation and Dosage:
 Collect the herb when in flower, the rootstock in the fall.

 Infusion: Steep one tbsp of dried herb in 1/2 cup of water,
 take during the day a mouthful at a time.

 Powder: Take 1/2 tsp of powdered rootstock with water 2 times
 a day.


It also explains within the book what steeping amounts to, what
an infusion is, what a decoction is, what a purgative is, etc.
very extensive and cheap. Hope you find it useful, I have used it
for about 15 years with good result.

p.s. Dr. Benedict Lust was the founder of Naturopathy 
     according to the introduction in the book.

Wm T.

.standard disclaimer
From: mimir@hardy.u.washington.edu (Al Billings)
Newsgroups: alt.magick
Subject: Re: Bi/Pan Sexuality and the New Aeon fr
Date: 5 Jan 93 20:43:05 GMT
Organization: The Friends of Loki Society
NNTP-Posting-Host: hardy.u.washington.edu

In article <Leo_Sacher.03eg@kumear.apana.org.au> Leo_Sacher@kumear.apana.org.au (Leo Sacher) writes:
>
>No the purpose of my message was not to seek approval but was a genuine
>query into any work done on sex magick as it relates to S/M. I'm asking if
>anyone besides the IoT has members that use the pleasure/pain duality in
>ritual.

 Read one of my recent postings on the topic from a file I got off the
network my BBS is on.

Wassail,
Grendel Grettisson