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Aquarian Arrow Magazine Zach had always had an ambition to run his own magazine and in 1977 he realised this ambition with the publication of the first issue of Aquarian Arrow. He was actively supported by a number of enthusiastic friends and talented writers. It ran to 34 issues over fifteen years. |
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Aquarian Arrow was libertarian, controversial, satirical, philosophical, witty, passionate and courageous. It included closely reasoned articles on modern thought, hilarious and irreverent comment, some in verse, and achingly beautiful mythical, mystical imaginings and poetry. Notable features were Zach’s editorials, a provocative letters section, thoughtful (and sometimes acidic) book reviews, The Satanist’s Diary, and Juxtapositions. Major contributors included J.K. Ebbutt (aka Kleombrotos), Hugo l’Estrange, Ramsey Dukes, Vivienne Jones (O’Regan), Fred Lamond, Jean Williams (aka Nimrodel) and Zach himself. Aquarian Arrow is full of real gems that time has not dimmed. Unfortunately some issues are now out-of-print. Treadwell’s Bookshop has stocks of those that are still available:
The Gnostic Mass by Aleister Crowley Zach and Jean celebrated the centenary of the birth of Aleister Crowley in 1975 with a performance of Crowley’s Gnostic Mass with an invited congregation. Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) was a famous – many would say infamous – magician. But he was much more than this: Crowley was an athlete, a visionary mystic, a writer and poet, and also a charismatic and controversial personality with devoted followers and equally devoted enemies. He wrote the Gnostic Mass in 1913 in Moscow and it contains elements common to the Christian Mass but transfigured by Crowley’s poetic genius and the addition of elements from his earlier visionary experiences in Egypt. It is a most beautiful and uplifting ceremony. It is part of the liturgy of the Gnostic Catholic Church and is also performed by members of the O.T.O. (Ordo Templi Orientis). Our first performance of the Mass was intended as a simple tribute to Crowley, but its impact on those who participated was overwhelming. We were in a state of exaltation for three days. It is undeniably a ritual of power, even done by those who are not members of the O.T.O. and who have not studied its inner symbolism. At that time, the O.T.O. was rather quiescent in Britain so we decided to perform it twice a year, in October, around Crowley’s birthday, and in April, near the anniversary of the writing of the Book of the Law. After the formation of the Companions of the Rainbow Bridge in 1977, we increased performances to four times a year. Our last Gnostic Mass was performed in 2004 when the infirmities of age reduced our ability to mediate such a powerful rite. There is an explanation in The Confessions of Aleister Crowley of his purpose in writing the Gnostic Mass and his views on the function of ritual. It exactly expresses our own views:
“While dealing with this subject I may as well outline its scope completely. Human nature demands (in the case of most people) the satisfaction of the religious instinct, and, to very many, this may best be done by ceremonial means. I wished therefore to construct a ritual through which people might enter into ecstasy as they have always done under the influence of appropriate ritual. In recent years, there has been an increasing failure to attain this object, because the established cults shock their intellectual convictions and outrage their common sense. Thus their minds criticize their enthusiasm; they are unable to consummate the union of their individual souls with the universal soul as a bridegroom would be to consummate his marriage if his love were constantly reminded that its assumptions were intellectually absurd. ”I resolved that my Ritual should celebrate the sublimity of the operation of universal forces without introducing disputable metaphysical theories. I would neither make nor imply any statement about nature which would not be endorsed by the most materialistic man of science. On the surface this may sound difficult; but in practice I found it perfectly simple to combine the most rigidly rational conceptions of phenomena with the most exalted and enthusiastic celebration of their sublimity.” (The confessions of Aleister Crowley, an autobiography, 1989, Arkana.)
The Companions of the Rainbow Bridge Founded in 1977, the Companions of the Rainbow Bridge was an ambitious and challenging project for all concerned. It was not an esoteric order; there were no oaths of secrecy, training courses or programmes of meditation. It was simply described as a ritual drama training group. Yet it demanded as much discipline, commitment, dedication, and inter-personal responsibility and co-operation as any esoteric group. In the Rite of Acceptance of a “Traveller” aspiring to join the Companionship, the Magian (senior officer in the rite) speaks thus: “Welcome, Traveller: this Companionship is not an esoteric order, and no oaths of secrecy will be imposed on you. We counsel and advise you, nonetheless, that it is better not to discuss or describe the ritual forms of the Bridge, for that speech is a shadow of fact, and the concept distorts the reality. In particular, to discuss the Rite of Acceptance with another Traveller who has not yet entered this Company, but who may do so, is a grave disservice to such a one, for preconception blunts the force of any ritual form. Sometimes to revel a thing is to destroy it.” The aspiration of the Companions of the Rainbow Bridge was to evoke the spirit of the Aquarian Age and bring it to manifestation. Its ethos was Apollonian: there was an emphasis on form, preparation, rehearsal, but also on beauty of language, music and movement. Whenever companions were wearing their formal robes, they were expected to assume their ritual persona, to speak only to other robed companions, addressing them by their adopted Rainbow Bridge name, with formal courtesy. Although this may sound quaint and even silly, many companions found the Rainbow Bridge immensely rewarding, providing them with a unique and stimulating creative opportunity. The first recension of the Companionship lasted only two years, coming to a rather dramatic end due to interpersonal stresses. Yet such was its appeal that after three years there was a deputation of several of the members asking whether we would start it up again. It then ran from the early 1980s until 1995. This time it seemed that the Companionship had just run out of steam, in part due to the death of one of the most creative talents. The energy that had maintained it for more than ten years, dissipated. The legacy of the Companions of the Rainbow Bridge is an impressive set of temple furniture, including a beautifully designed floor cloth, and, more importantly, an archive of over forty rituals, many of them outstandingly original and creative works. The time has come to release some of these rituals so that they may live on and find new expression, and inspire a new generation of Aquarian ritualists.
Bridges and Boundaries Conferences It was in the early 1970s that the pagan/occult revival really got under way with the publication of Stewart Farrar’s “What Witches Do” and the launching of a large number of magazines, both in the UK and in the USA. These included several still very much alive, such as The Cauldron, The Wiccan (now Pagan Dawn), and Quest. But the only regular forum where people of like interests could get together was the annual Quest conference held each spring. Inspired by the “buzz” generated by the 1976 Quest conference, Jean and Zach decided to put on an autumn conference. Thus Bridges and Boundaries was born. We ran three of these conferences: in October 1976, October 1977 and July 1979. The stated aims of these conferences were to explore the interaction between the various pagan and occult sub-groups and their interface with the wider society. Talks were short and introductory, leading to chaired discussions, small groups and workshops. Use was made of humanistic psychology group dynamic techniques to encourage participants to make new contacts. There was a friendly lively atmosphere. Numbers were relatively small (60-80) and there was real opportunity to make new friends and to discover common ground with each other. The second and third conferences included an evening session of poetry, music and song, called “The Hall of Elrond” after the elven hall in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”. By the time of the third conference, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki had started autumn conferences for the students of her Order, The Servants of the Light, and others interested in The Western Mysteries approach, and we gratefully retired from the hard work of conference organising. |
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