/fringe/ - Fringe

>>78503

It is possible that you could enter a "trance" like state while writing, breaking down the barriers in between your hands and your mind. You could even be channeling your writing from a higher place, or your higher self.

>>78505

Sure, it is generally referred to as automatic writing.

One way to train it is to keep a meditation journal. Much in the same way one would train lucid dreaming by keeping a dream journal, you record as much of what your experience during a mediation session as you can remember.

Absolutely. I was actually intending to write an essay on this very subject this morning; the unconscious mind must have stirred you so I'd share it here instead of elsewhere.

Let's look at it logically, first. Studies with split-brain patients have indicated that there is, in essence, a second, muted 'self' functioning beneath the ego, with its own preferences as to color, for instance, and its own abilities for problem solving. Parkinsons patients who hallucinate under the spell of L-Dopa often indicate that they have a 'companion' just off to their right, invisible.

The act of writing itself is an incredibly potent thing. It is something which everyone can do–everyone who can write thinks they can be an author, right?–and with very little practice you can easily get into the habit of getting into the gnostic flow of the work. Even writing a short non-fiction piece such as this may be enough to trigger it.

I wrote a magical book and am writing another one, though neither seem quite so on the surface; neither does David Bowie's ouvre seem to have magical contents on first glance, either. The thing is that I did not mean to write a magical book while I was writing it; I only realized that the effects of it, and the details of its structure, plot and character archetypes, were not only in line with the great work, but that its timeframe of creation (7 years, 7 rewrites) and various other details about it render it a kind of hypersigil. None of this was intentional and despite being a big fan of /x/ since the age of 14 I somehow did not become heavily involved in occult studies in earnest until the completion of the novel, until that time being mostly interested in Eastern philosophy. However, the effects of the book upon my life are thusfar undeniable; it has formed the nigredo of this cycle of my great work, and broken open the gates of change.

The thing is that the act of writing gives us a keen insight into the creation of the world. If you are familiar at all with the alchemical triad of Sulphur-Mercurius-Sal, you will realize with some consideration that the pattern presented fits perfectly with the act of writing. One begins with the four elements–air works upon water to produce Mercury, fire works upon air to produce Sulphur, water works upon the earth to produce Sal. Then, with the assistance of the hermaphroditic Mercurius, Sulphur expresses the masculine principle, which engenders, and Sal expresses the feminine principle, which is impregnated. From the masculine and feminine principles together, then, arise the perfect One. (If you're not entirely understanding this concept, I would strongly recommend reading Jung's collected works, volumes 9.1, 9.2, 13, and 14 in particular–if you can only pick two, pick 9.1 and 14.) Another way to think of Mercurius is as the 'he' in YHVH, married to both the Y and the V.

This exact same concept is applied to writing. The Sulphuric, masculine principle, the author, uses the prima materia, the hermaphroditic principle Mercurius, or language, upon the body of Sal, the paper. This kind of awareness of the process is very powerful for meditation, but far more powerful is the realization that comes with authors who have written enough hours, who are willing to let go of their ego pride and realize that they have little more to do with their work's creation than being diligent and providing an outlet for the unconscious mind. It is the duty of the author to learn as much as possible, from all things and people, that concepts buried in the unconscious may have the energy to rise to the surface and be expressed by our pens.

There are many uncountable mysteries related to writing, not the least of which being related to the simple fact that we are human vessels piloted on a source code of human language. The book 'Wired for Story', a book about writing, is incidentally highly philosophical in a way that lacks total self-awareness, but I would strongly recommend it to anyone in this thread. I also wrote an essay about the act of automatic writing and the power it gives one to connect to the godhead, available here: https://delilahmywoman.com/2016/04/05/a-non-fiction-essay/

Good health, brother. I could talk about magical literature all day; words are the most powerful things in the universe, because they are the only things, and even then, they are mere symbols through which we sort perceptions.

>>78511

I would also hasten to point out, however, before anyone accuses me of putting writing on a pedestal, that there is not an act on this earth which could not be represented by the holy triad. Just the other day I was talking with a friend about a sauce recipe, the contents being milk, mustard and oil, and the manner in which he described it conceptually made me see instantly the symbolism in it. I think for me writing is particularly powerful because I have been writing literally my entire life, from the point I was able to construct sentences, and because learning literary symbolism and literary theory really, really helps a lot in magical studies, both in interpreting magical literature and in interpreting events in the world without and within.

>>78503

I believe that Finnegan's Wake is a good example of magical writing.

>>78511

Loved to read your words brother. It seems you have delved really deep on the magic of words and the alchemical possibilities in writing. I have found that also in writing and music.

I believe that when an idea comes to us through revelation, it is our duty as artists/magicians to provide the conditions for it to grow, much like planting a seed and caring for it until it fully grows and achieves its autonomy and independence. Any piece of art ultimately has a life of its own. But indeed, it seems that the artist is the one who creates it, or rather, shapes it into a physical manifestation. He becomes the vehicle for the manifestation of that idea. So, as you said, the artist then should put his ego pride aside and let the idea flow within and without him to the world, so that it may fulfill its function. It never is about the artist, it's always about the idea.

Out of curiosity, what do you do when your ego seems to get in the way of your creative work?

>>79539

I will answer the question of the poster before this one in depth tomorrow when I am at a terminal, but in the meantime I can suggest to you Francine Prose's 'Reading Like A Writer' which is despite its gimmicky title an extremely useful book for a writer or young magician learning to read a book at a level deeper than the surface. It encourages one to read closely, to break down the tools with which authors work as a painter would study his masters. Also 'Beginning Theory' by Peter Barry and Calinescu's '5 Faces of Modernity', but if I can be perfectly level with you here, brother, the only and truest way to learn how to read critically is to think critically, which everyone on this board is capable of, more or less. What I think really helps is picking a master and re-typing his work as Hunter S Thompson did The Great Gatsby, for instance. It really brings you in close contact with the language, and the flow of the creation.

Also be prepared, once you begin analyzing stories in depth you will do it to all stories, everything, ever, and will ruin parties. I watched Barbarella with my SO the other day and almost swallowed my tongue to keep from discussing all the very heavy alchemical/Jungian themes.

>>79505

>Out of curiosity, what do you do when your ego seems to get in the way of your creative work?

I find this is happening less and less than it used to because I am so thoroughly captive to my creativity, though I would be the biggest fool in the board were I to say my ego never interferes with the quality or purity of my work. I am now to the point where most of my ego-blocks do not consist of questions like, "Is this really what I should be doing with my life" or "Am I a good writer"; now my ego-blocks consist primarily in second-guessing that material which is given to me from my higher source. If you could bear with me, because this is a surprisingly detailed question/answer.

I will confess to you this; although I have written between 5,000 and 10,000 words a day nearly every day for the past year as the result of 9+ years of very serious and dedicated writing practice, I feel as if I have written less this year than ever, and that is because I have given control of my work to my unconscious. I have done this in the past few months in particular in a more deliberate and knowing fashion and as a result have become very intimate with certain spirits, and these spirits, archetypes, if you will, help me actively in my work, always have, and are indeed the muses of antiquity which brought to blind Homer the sweeping journey of Odysseus.

If one considers that it is the triad, Sulphur-Mercurius-Sal, which births the feminine and masculine principles, and the act of writing mimics those so perfectly, then it becomes a question of how the masculine and feminine principles likewise express themselves from that act of writing, and what their combination means. Jung is of mind that such a combination represents a union of conscious and unconscious elements wherein the unconscious quality is assimilated into consciousness, thus producing a new unit, which is really just the first unit revised. Based on this we may investigate how the writer may use his work to explore his own unconscious mind and assimilate its various qualities. Whenever we, as writers, meet a character, we have the option of leaving them to be a mostly-surface, two-dimensional character, which will not necessarily do more than represent an ideal; or, we can make them into a three-dimensional character, who represents not a concept, but rather a conflict, and use that three-dimensional character as a vessel by means of which we explore both the literal world which they inhabit, and the symbolic world of our unconscious which that world represents. Remember: the material world we inhabit is a model of a more real world, just as the literary world our characters inhabit is a model of the more real world of imagination, which is a model of the more real material world, which is itself a model of imaginary concepts. There is nothing, nothing at all in this world more important for the writer to consider than the fact that God is called 'I am'. I would also like to briefly copy and paste something from the Wikipedia article for Indra's net, which I stumbled upon the other day and was delighted to discover is a perfect description for what I have experienced in the moment that the realization of 'I Am' clicked.

>The Sāṃkhya hermeneutics, associated with Yoga practices, teach that cognition is a vertical "protam" (the thread that runs vertically through a loom, the "warp"), and that phenomenal (i.e., spatial) nature is the dynamic, visible, horizontal "woof" or "weft" that shuttles back and forth across the loom, in three "colors", of white/yellow/gold, red/brown, and blue/black. These three colors correspond to the triguṇa theory, composed of sattva (goodness/quiescence/existence), rajas (passion/activity), and tamas (darkness/morbidity).

The most important thing when it comes to keeping your ego out of your writing is to understand that you do not write any of it. You are responsible for exactly three things: collecting enough information that the works you are meant to manifest form themselves within you, engaging in enough practice that you will reach the quality of writing which the aforementioned works require, and religiously sitting down to actually write them. Your ego will always be in the way at first but then, one day, you will read something you have written and will pale to realize that it is rich with symbolism you never intended.

(1/2)

>>79565

Wise words brother.

That process of union of conscious and unconscious elements where the unconscious is assimilated into consciousness was coined by Jung as the process of individuation. The new center of consciousness seems then like the top of a mountain from where you can see all events happening around you without involvement or identification.

I find my ego-blocks to be related with my own inflation towards my writing, over-identifying myself with a character and trying to manipulate the text to some end. Or maybe just the megalomania of being a writer. But then I humble in the face of synchronicity and revelation and everything just takes its own life again.

I think the best advice that I ever got regarding writing and even music or any kind of art was in your words "you are responsible for exactly three things". Really resonated with my practice and method.

Also, had a strange synchronicity with the Temperance card. It also has sprung into my life this year in myriad ways and it was nice to see it again along with your wise words.

By the way, do you have any writing you would like to share here?

>>79570

I really hate people who over-identify with and over-personify their characters as much as the next person, but I need to be honest here and tell you that a serious and well-written character really and truly does have a will of their own. I would urge you to consider it logically: a well-defined, well-rounded character, if put in a certain situation with a certain context, can only react in a certain way. This is true just as it is with you, who if put in a certain situation, within a certain context, would only react in a certain way. All of the decisions you have ever made in the past are a result of your will, and this is because you are a thoroughly three-dimensional person who, nonetheless, reacts on a simple stimulus-response basis. You can be nothing but what you are; a strong character can be nothing but what he is. This means that with just one strong character, the work will write itself, and the world will build itself, and you will realize how lucky you are, because your character has lifted the yoke of the work from your shoulders and taken it upon themselves. You become more compassionate as a writer and naturally identify more with the character, but you have to have identified strongly with the character in the first place in order to have given the breath of life to them in such a way that they can simply only be what they are, and are thus entirely responsible for the creation of the work, just as you are as responsible for the creation and living of your life as the God who created you is. It is this type of identification, indeed, this roundness of character (recall, friend, Our Stone is round!) which makes the great work possible through literary means, and facilitates the process of individuation.

Something else you will find very interesting with this sort of process is the application of 'as above, so below'. In this novel was a character, not the protagonist, whom I initially detested but who, over subsequent drafts, became my favorite character, and the subject of my own deep identification despite the fact that said character is not a main character. Upon the book's completion and publication, it became responsible for my life altering in a manner almost identical to the early life of that character as I know of it presently. I think that very serious work has very serious resonance in the universe, and I think, too, that when we complete a work of art we are assimilating its lessons in a very substantial way. That is why my work in progress, Albedo, began as a book about a man seeking enlightenment. It has exploded in a magnificent way; suddenly, I find myself with a near-complete alchemical fairy tale, the final third of the book laying before me. I will almost certainly be sharing this book with /fringe/ when it is complete. I think it is very much a kind of psychedelic literature; the process of writing it has certainly been mind-manifesting, continues to be, and will continue to be.

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>>79571

Once again, your wisdom and your words inspires one to go deep and contemplate the inner life and the great work that springs from it. Glad to share knowledge and experience with you, friend.

Indeed, we create a microcosm in our works and breathe the breath of life into it. I find this to be extremely powerful in music, where you can join the narrative and intricate details and descriptions of writing to powerful emotional waves ranging wherever the melody, harmony, rhythm and dynamics lead you. How a chord can resemble a character and manifest itself throughout the song and mark its presence. How a situation can be resolved through tension and liberation, if you will.

Also, music is so abstract that you have enough headroom of imagination as to create any kind of mental imagery and sensation.

Last year, I composed a song with a project called Amaterazu, named by the Shinto Goddess of the Sun. We created a space based on Mt. Fuji and the first chords. Then, the story and the music mutually fueled each other into new characters, new spaces, new situations that often reflected the inner lives of each musician at that time. I was passing through a severe depression at the time and my breakthrough came through the story and song. I saw my fears and bad vibes coming in form of dark riffs which corresponded to terror and demons in the story. Also, my hopes and love came in major harmonies in a calm atmospheric wave, which corresponded to the discovery of light in darkness in the story. And every time the song was played, the whole process turned vivid and alive within myself, and change happened. I often feel the presence of the Goddess of the Sun when the song is played, showing me the peace and compassion possible when one is grounded in one's own inner light and life.

It's very complex to explain here, but I'm writing the story at the time with new energy thanks to the inspiration received here. Hope to share with you soon.

>>79615

Sounds fantastic, friend. I wish I had a grasp of music writing in this form of mine, or else I would be writing liberettos, as well as novels. Someday, I think. Are you familiar at all with the music of SWANS? I am convinced Michael Gira is a channel of Mars/the Sulphuric principle. A very good example of a very intense musician. David Bowie is more in line with a Solar/Lunar/Mercurial musician. I would love to hear some of your work.

>>79570

Just chiming in to say that I've been enraptured by your writing, by both your posts and your book. So much so that after I finished Act 1 I purchased a hardcover copy to finish the book properly.

By the way, thanks for everyone's contribution to this thread. Honestly, it's probably the best one we've had in months.

>>79660

>Are you familiar at all with the music of SWANS?

What a coincidence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8fiO3DEMs

>>79664

Ah! That is so kind of you, friend, I am glad you are enjoying(?) it. Would that I were there to leave a note in your copy. And ha-ha, yes, indeed, SWANS and its very violent, almost inarguably magical music is an excellent choice for background music, whether one is writing about a murderer or putting together a trailer. Possibly also for committing war crimes.

>>79789

When you've got the process down, it should feel like gently extracting or expanding something that is organized and reforming it with your own purpose in mind.

Listen to William Shakespeare's "The Tempest". There is a wonderful audiobook version of it. Unless you have a sort of mimicked british style of expressing yourself in English it's going to be majorly difficult to expound upon complex thoughts or to write extended lengths of time.

https://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolts-%E2%80%9Cthought%E2%80%9D-verbs

>>79792

I am 100 precent an advocate of alchemists and magicians reading Shakespeare, and I have meant to study The Tempest in depth for some time, so I shall tomorrow upon seeing this post. Also at some point soon I wish to expound upon the symbolic meaning of contracts with the devil and how this is achieved via writing. I will be sure to share it here when I do.

>>79539

James Joyce's Finnegans Wake pretty much introduced me to fringe.

It's a book that automatically makes your mind fill in the blanks so to speak - so any extra knowledge on esoteric philosophy, history, literature, art, or Theology will help you unlock the meaning of its rich complexity.

If you're interested there's a great talk about it by Terrence McKenna, who even named his son after the novel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QrWfbYFtNk

>>79816

Alchemy and Hermeticism were both great influences to drama in the 16th and 17th Century and are almost inescapable. Ben Jonson's works are littered with references to alchemy, if you want to check out his work (most of them are comedies though).

I'm guessing that you'll be looking at Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Goethe's Faust for your research.

>>79923

Yes, I'm a tremendous fan of Faust and as it happens knee-deep in research about it and The Master and Margartia, its modern updates. I will be certain to check out Ben Johnson.

I just thought the posters of this thread might be interested in my analysis of Return to Oz. I'd not seen it as a child and just watched it with a friend and found it a wealth of alchemical themes. https://delilahmywoman.com/2016/07/16/saturnism-in-the-emerald-city-the-alchemical-symbolism-of-return-to-oz/

>>80117

B U L L S H I T O C C U L T I S T

>>80360

>>80356

What's wrong with what he said?

>>80363

mub da mo bidda te dat tum muhfugen bix nood cof bin dub ho muhfugga

I've written hundreds of poems and every time it felt surreal, like the words weren't really mine and some other force was telling me to write them down.

There were works for which i couldn't believe my own brain created them, after i'd done writing.

Everyone who has experience in writing poetry knows what i'm talking about.

>>80364

What the fuck is this? Verbal diarrhea?

I always see some people criticizing Atkinson but never explaining shit on what part exactly of what he is saying is wrong.

Last night my friends and I realized that part of the reason kek is such a great anti-abrahamic meme in our modern era is because in english kek is close enough to kike to remind your subconscious who kek is fighting.

>>83693

>this is the reason I shouldn't smoke weed and open multiple chan tabs

Anywho, the funny thing is that a lot of new wizards don't understand is that speaking in itself is a ritual. Manipulating the outside world through thoughts and actions, and words can usually pierce our ego barriers enough to really hit home. Mundanes use this magick all the time. Subconciously they know what theyre doing, but they just let their instincts do the work for them while they sit passenger side. We wiz's like to take control of the process and understand for a more efficient experience of life.

So really, go out and socialize, read books that interest you, meditate on your inner structure of language and thoughts, redo your entire vocabulary too. Your words manifest faster than thoughts when spoken, so the type of words you use really make a difference.

Automatic writing is some pretty fun stuff too. Whether invoking an entity, taking lots of drugs, or just letting your inner voice speak for itself on paper, its something everyone should try.

?