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Aleister Crowley Diary Entry Friday, 27 July 1923
Die Venus
Hail unto Kheph-Ra!
12.25 a.m. Notes on XI. The Magus is [IH] providing the Energy & the Substance of the Pantacle.
The Virgin is [HV] receiving & interpreting & also expressing it intellectually & impressing that idea upon the Coin.
Aiwass is of course [Sh] harmonizing all four, & inspiring the whole conception & execution.
Notes (thought out yesterday) on CCXX, III, 4.
How about Zembra for an Island? We build an Abbey of a very severe monastic type to begin with, arrange for water, fire, & food to last two years at a pinch, keep goats, pigs, & poultry. Access by motor-launch or sea-plane. Our link with the world is the house of M. Dubourdieu at Hamman-Lif, where is our regular residence-library, temple, clerk-house, &c. Only those qualified by 3 months on Zembra hard training may enter. Cash for this colony collected by persuading capitalists of coming smash—or at least that we can persuade enough people who either believe it is at hand or at least are sick of ‘civilization’ restrictive laws & moral conventions, etc. etc. to join us, so that our output ensures a good return on their investment.
We accept Thelemites only; & these must have capital of their own (See Liber XC) either in exceptional energy & creative force [I]; beauty, intelligence, love [H]; business capacity, all-round-adaptability, [V]; or wealth, physical strength (agriculture etc.) [H final] or rare magical gifts [Sh]. The government will be autocratic (666 & 156) through the R.R. et A.C. as at Cefalu, or on O.T.O. lines with Baphomet as O.H.O. But He will be as inaccessible as possible; &, if practicable, the fact of his headship will be unknown to all but his intimate officers.
1 a.m. Report on Hamman-Lif.
Bertrand charming, but very much a mediocrity. Douglas hemiplegic; Mrs D. translates French books into English. (Get D. of a D-f [Diary of a Drug Fiend] back, & lend it, Arrange for O.P.V. [Norman Mudd] & 666 to meet them Monday 2.49 train.) Allan not ‘respectable’: has a mistress & drinks visibly. O.P.V. to call on him as a fellow-Englishman with a message from the Gods. Allan (note ALLA & N = Scorpio) rather bored by the bourgeois: so will probably welcome us & 93! H[ammam]-L[if] a glorious place—hills, trees, sea, better than Cefalu. Abbey ready built! & for sale! Owner ex-Director General of Finances-might come in with us, why not?
2.37 a.m. People always whine that they cannot understand my work. It’s all due to their wrong point of view. They must first understand that I am to be studied. Later. Dhyana of [Sol] due to conquering ‘thoughts’: in favour of sleep. Result, deeper: idea short story The Philos of La disturbed, decides to shoot intruder discovers disturbance subjective, so (logically) shoots himself.
9.25 a.m. I have seemed to regain the power of sleeping & waking at will. By the way, are I H V Energy, Elasticity, & Intelligence, forming H final Matter?
2.25 p.m. Not I to publish some of my Mussolini poems, etc. in order to be known as having a hand in his downfall which is now clearly imminent. See today’s paper: the Fascisti have decided to retain their organization of banditti. Evidently they do not trust the army or the police. Again, Labour is forming a party—Mouse’s attempt to bell the Cat having apparently failed. Last night I had an idea for a poem-an old man lamenting that he had given his life to studying Crowley & was neglected by the public.
3 p.m. Ask O.P.V. how to combat the ‘rational’ criticism of ‘B = Magick & Light, e.g., Buddha, Bo, Baal, Babalon, etc’; ‘Box, Boot, Bug, etc’.
6 p.m. O.P.V. & I have had our conference, & settled everything nicely.
11 p.m. I have at last succeeded in getting normally decently honestly drunk. 2 mandarins & half Champagne. Keep it up—tomorrow night’s the night!
On the release from anxiety & the sheer physical comfort of these last 3 days! I am quite a man once more. I feel the need—& the Power-to create, surging in me, volcanic, Titanic. Keep it up, O.P.V.!
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