Zero Equals Two is a blog on magical news and culture sponsored by U.S. Grand Lodge, O.T.O. A diverse collective of contributors comb the worlds of magick, art, science, history, philosophy, and more every day for articles and events of interest to Thelemites and other modern free-thinkers and explorers, collecting them on this blog for your enjoyment.
Recent posts
- Trans State Video – Georgia van Raalte – The Ghetto Tarot
2018/04/19Here’s yet another thought provoking video from the Trans State Conference, Georgia van Raalte discussing the “The Ghetto Tarot”:
“Belgian photographer Alice Smeets and Haitian art collective Atis Rezistans created the Ghetto Tarot deck in 2015. A photographic interpretation of the Rider-Waite tarot deck, the images were created in the Haitian slums using only material the artists were able to find locally. Smeets chose the name Ghetto Tarot, hoping to stimulate discussion about poverty and privilege. Without trivializing poverty, she argues that it is important to recognise that the ghetto can be a place of happiness, spirituality and creativity. Christian Liberation Theology has begun to recognise this, and it is time the study of esotericism does too, for it is in the social margins that we find the occult still alive and productive. The cards use symbols from the Voodoo religion to embody the meaning of the Rider-Waite deck. Crossing the line between Western and non-Western forms of occultism, the Ghetto Tarot confronts the colonial gaze. Taking the liminal political subject and projecting him to the realm of art, the Ghetto Tarot transforms an object of pity to one of enlightenment. As a performance of the occult, the Ghetto Tarot collapses the boundaries between art and life, between the sign and what is signified. In order to explore the boundary-breaking nature of the Ghetto Tarot I will follow the presentation of my paper on the deck a participatory tarot reading session, focusing on the theme of liminality and the collapse of the boundaries between art and life. An image of each card drawn will be projected for the audience to see, and I will ask audience members to contribute readings of the cards, based both on their prior knowledge and spontaneous intuition. I completed Undergraduate degree in Theological Studies at the University of St Andrews. I studied for my MA degree at the University of Amsterdam, in the Western Esotericism track of their Religious Studies program. My thesis was titled “Tea, Scones and Socially Responsible Sex Magic: the Egalitarian Occultism of Dion Fortune”, and explored how Fortune attempted to balance esoteric practice with normal social life. I have been accepted to begin my PhD studies at the University of Kent, Canterbury, in October. The working title of my thesis is “The Price of Magic: the mechanics of ritual magic and the effects of prolonged magical work.” Focusing on a number of key esoteric practitioners in 20th century Britain, I will be exploring the modern practice of magic. The manipulation of esoteric symbolism and the ritual use of taboo-breaking acts will be particularly important as I consider whether it is possible to be both an occult ‘adept’ and a functioning member of normal society.”
Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGwUXy29z0&list=PL28rCUFqj8pG9htNTWry4Guko0IUA4Gfe&index=24&t=0s.
- Fitness Tracking and Sex
2018/04/19Motiv, manufacturers of a fitness tracker you on your finger, offered Jeremy Glass the chance to test their product during sex, he reports in Men’s Fitness. A Motiv spokesperson noted that the app “is not optimized for sex,” but you can manually add the activity as a form of cardio. According to Glass, his wife “…had no problem with me bringing this inoffensive little ring into the bedroom—probably because the alternative of taping my phone to my chest wasn’t particularly sexy.”
So what did Glass learn? “From 12:20 p.m. to 12:50 p.m., I engaged in a ‘cardio’ activity with ‘maxed out’ effort, which elevated my heart rate to a noticeable peak before dropping to a consistent valley.” He consulted experts to learn more about how many calories burn during sex, concluding, “Compare this to the calories I burn during a full workout—around 400-500 if I’m going hard—and I’d happily have sex four or five times in lieu of going to the gym.” It’s arguable that sex magick is more fun than the gym, but perhaps we should do both.
I Used a Fitness Tracker to Track My Activity Level During Sex
- Weiser Antiquarian Books Posts New Catalogue With a Focus on Alchemy
2018/04/19Weiser Antiquarian Books has posted its latest catalogue and of course it’s chock full of goodies such as:
Aspects de L’Alchimie Traditionnelle. Textes et Symboles Alchimiques Suivi De “La Pierre De Touche” d’Huginus a Barma (1657).
Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1953. First Edition Thus. Softcover. Octavo. 240pp. Original illustrated wrappers, b&w illustrations. FRENCH text. This copy from the library of Gerald Yorke (1901-1983) with his posthumous bookplate loosely inserted. A great occult scholar and bibliophile, Yorke (“Frater Volo Intellegere”) was for a short time Aleister Crowley’s chief disciple. In later life Yorke played a crucial role in preserving Crowley’s literary legacy as well as in the publication of works on the occult and Eastern religions, editing and commissioning works for a number of British publishers from the 1950s through 1970s. Some overall rubbing and browning to covers, pages toned. Still a tight, unmarked, largely unopened better-than-VG copy. Item #59419Aspects de L’Alchimie Traditionnelle. Textes et Symboles Alchimiques Suivi De “La Pierre De Touche” d’Huginus a Barma (1657).
Paris: Editions de Minuit, 1953. First Edition Thus. Softcover. Octavo. 240pp. Original illustrated wrappers, b&w illustrations. FRENCH text. This copy from the library of Gerald Yorke (1901-1983) with his posthumous bookplate loosely inserted. A great occult scholar and bibliophile, Yorke (“Frater Volo Intellegere”) was for a short time Aleister Crowley’s chief disciple. In later life Yorke played a crucial role in preserving Crowley’s literary legacy as well as in the publication of works on the occult and Eastern religions, editing and commissioning works for a number of British publishers from the 1950s through 1970s. Some overall rubbing and browning to covers, pages toned. Still a tight, unmarked, largely unopened better-than-VG copy. Item #59419AND MORE – check out the entire catalogue (AND WEEP!)
- David Tibet Announces Release of New Current 93 Album, and ANOTHER Nears Completion
2018/04/18Current 93 primum mobile David Tibet, a member of the O.T.O. cabinet has announced the release of a new Current 93 album and that ANOTHER Current 93 album is also nearing completion, upcoming gigs and all sortsa stuff!
“We are in the process of completing the new C93 album, which will be released at our London Channelling in October. Also released at the London Channelling will be Mirror Emperor, the debut album by Zu93, as well the long-awaited reissue of C93’s Soft Black Stars, and also a 2LP retrospective—including previously unreleased material—of the “dual-solo” works created by myself and Steven Stapleton; the version available at the show will also include a one-sided 10” record with another unreleased Stapleton-Tibet track on it. There will also be a CD box-set which will contain everything Steven and I released, along with much unreleased material; the CD box-set will not include the music from the one-sided 10”, which is exclusive to the 2LP vinyl edition mentioned in the previous sentence.
“As well as working (still) on the (still) elusive Her Ghost Sings Spheres album by C93, I am also making final corrections to my anthology of writings by Count Stenbock, Of Kings And Things, which will go to press very soon, as well as making the final selection for There Is A GraveYard That Dwells In Man, a second volume bringing together more of my favourite supernatural and hallucinatory tales, which is the sister to The Moons At Your Door. All these books are published by the wonderful Strange Attractor Press.
“Regarding Her Ghost Sings Spheres, I wish again to reiterate that this album will be released when I have done with her; however, if anyone wants a refund, please let us know and we will refund you immediately.
“A new lateral C93 album, The Stars On Their Horsies, containing just one track, is now finished and is released this month. The LP version of The Stars On Their Horsies is different to the CD version. The Stars On Their Horsies will first be available at the Stockholm Channelling, both as a CD and also as a white-label 12” TP, with labels hand-written by me, in a full-colour screenprinted sleeve, in an edition of 93 signed and numbered copies. Remaining copies of the CD and LP will then be added to the shop after we return from Stockholm. The Stars On Their Horsies may be reissued again for the London Channelling in October, in a standard vinyl edition, but with a different sleeve to the TP edition. Textually based around two NightMares I nightmared recently, of which I recorded accounts of as soon as I woke from them in the Middle of the Night Road, The Stars On Their Horsies may be seen as a SideShowPeek, or perhaps a GasStationCarnival, and a slide into October’s new C93 album.
“The above-mentioned Mirror Emperor album by Zu93 will soon be available for pre-order, in two different vinyl editions, from House Of Mythology. The album will not be available from us in any form whatsoever, ever.
“We will also shortly be announcing details of a December 2018 Channelling by C93 at a beautiful and iconic venue in Berlin.
“Once I return from the (now sold-out) C93 Channelling in Stockholm, I will then start hand-finishing the sleeves for the 2LP lathe edition of Nature Unveiled, which are currently being screenprinted. We hope to start mailing these out by the beginning of May, along with the tote-bags and t-shirts that have been available for pre-order; the pre-order for these totes and t-shirts finishes on April 30.
“As you can see below, the black-vinyl reissue of Thunder Perfect Mind is now in stock. If it is ordered with other pre-order items, it will only be sent with those pre-order items when the pre-order items are in stock; all items will be sent in the same package. Please also note that we are now opening the shrink-wrap on any albums that we receive in shrink-wrap—such as Thunder Perfect Mind—to remove the records from the sleeve, in order to prevent the records splitting the sleeve in transit.
- Celebrate Spring with a Vegetable Bowl
2018/04/18“There are rituals of the elements and feasts of the times.” — AL II:38
Today is April 18, National Lineman Appreciation Day, Adult Autism Awareness Day, International Amateur Radio Day, National Animal Crackers Day, National Stress Awareness Day, Newspaper Columnists Day, World Heritage Day, National Velocipraptor Awareness Day, and Pet Owners Independence Day. In the US, the date is indicated as 418, the number of Abrahadabra. Seasonally inappropriate snow has been falling in some parts of the world. According to Twitter, the world will end today, too!
Given all these factors, you might be in the mood for a quick, easy, and delicious meal. Here’s a recipe that you might enjoy.
Vegetable Bowls with Yogurt-Lime Dressing
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp fresh oregano, snipped, or ½ tsp dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp olive oil
1 pound sweet potatoes (2 to 3 medium), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 medium avocado, halved, seeded, peeled, and chopped
8 large savoy cabbage leaves
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
Lime wedges (optional)
Toasted baguette slices (optional)- Prepare Spiced Yogurt-Lime Dressing; set aside.
- In small bowl stir together soy sauce, lime juice, chili powder, oregano, and olive oil; set aside. Place sweet potatoes in medium microwave-safe bowl. Place beans in small microwave-safe bowl. Evenly spoon half the soy sauce mixture on potatoes, and half on beans; toss to coat. Cover bowls with vented plastic wrap. Microcook sweet potatoes on 100 percent power (high) 9 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally; set aside. Microcook beans on 100 percent power (high) 1 to 2 minutes or until heated through, stirring once.
- Divide potatoes, beans, tomatoes, and avocado among cabbage leaves. Sprinkle with green onions. Pass Yogurt-Lime Dressing and lime wedges. Serve with toasted baguette slices. Makes 4 servings.
Yogurt-Lime Dressing
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tbs lime juice
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs chili powder
1 clove minced garlic
¼ cup olive oilIn small bowl combine yogurt, lime juice, soy sauce, chili powder, and garlic. Whisk in ¼ cup olive oil until well combined.
