Merry we meet - Merry we meet - Merry we meet
Welcome to
Controverscial.Com
Merry we meet - Merry we meet - Merry we meet
Welcome to
Controverscial.Com
|
|
Pagan Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956)
Written and compiled by George Knowles Austin
Osman Spare was an artist, philosopher and occult magician.
Like Aleister Crowley with whom he had a brief association, he was a
genius in his own time, unappreciated and vilified by a society that could
little understand him. Austin
Osman Spare was born on the 30th of December 1886.
He was born of humble roots, the middle child and only son of five
children. His father was a policeman who often worked the night shift.
Money was short for the Spare family but when the young Spare began to
show an unusual propensity for drawing and art, they managed to find enough
funds to send him to Art school. At the
age of seven somewhat alienated and oppressed by the females of his family, his
mother and four sisters. Spare was
befriended by a mysterious old women and sorceress by the name of Mrs.
Patterson. Spare would often refer
to her as his second mother, his “witch-mother”.
She taught Spare how to visualize and evoke spirits and elementals to
reify his dream imagery. She also
initiated Spare into witchcraft during a sabbat meeting where he was given the
craft name “Zos”. Mrs.
Patterson greatly influenced the young Spare.
It was said that she could change her appearance from an old women to
that of a young temptress at will, as well as other unusual powers.
A portrait drawing Spare drew of her at the time is reputed to change
before the eyes of those who look upon it.
Spare
left school at the age of 13 to serve an apprenticeship in a Stained Glass
works. During the evenings he
continued his education at the Art College in Lambeth, South London.
This led to a scholarship at the Royal College of Art where he began to
study in earnest.
In
1904 at the age of 17 years, Spare exhibited his first pictures at the Royal
Academy. His pictures caused a
storm and excelled his popularity in the Art world.
He then published his first book in 1905 entitled “Earth Inferno”.
This was a book of drawings depicting human figures in grotesque postures
and some of the semi-human spirit forms he was able to visualize.
It also included commentaries that show his insight into the workings of
the human mind and his spiritual leanings. In
1908 Spare opened an exhibition at the Bruton gallery in London were his
drawings and paintings soon became popular among the London “Smart set”, the
Intellectuals, Art collectors, and Dandy’s of his time.
He also came to the attention of Aleister Crowley who commissioned Spare
to create drawings for his magazine “The Equinox”. This
led Spare into joining Crowley’s “Argentium Astrum”, an occult society
known as the “Order of the Silver Star” in 1910.
His
association with Crowley didn’t last long though, for Spare had begun work on
his best known book “The Book of Pleasure”, and was beginning to form
his own ideas concerning the practice of magic. The Book of Pleasure is considered one of his most important
works, as well as drawings, it includes detailed instructions for his system of
sigilization and the well known “death postures”. He has much to say about human hypocrisy, religion, and the
meanings of true personal freedom and power. Spare joined the army in 1916, and served as an official War Artist during the First World War. He was posted to Egypt were the animal-headed gods and magical religions of Ancient Egypt appealed to his insightful nature as an artist and mystic. During the Second World War while working at home in London, his home was hit and devastated by a “blitz” bomb blast. Spare was injured and left paralyzed down his right side. Many believed he would never draw again, but within six months he had regained the use of his right arm and soon taught himself to draw one more. Many credit the speed of his recovery to his personal elementals and familiars.
The Focus of Life
In
1921 Spare published his “The Focus of Life”, another book of drawing
containing his unique magical commentaries.
Here he mentions the word “Chaos” in relation to the normality of
chaos as the natural order of things and in the self. “The more chaotic – the more complete I am”, he
say’s. He philosophizes and
speaks of existence, sex, ecstasy, and sensation, also about self-love, belief,
and the “chaos of the normal”. By
1924, Spare was at the height of his artistic success, but his success as an
artist began to conflict with the philosopher within.
He became disenchanted with his trendy “Jet Set” friends and
benefactors with whom he had become so popular.
He excommunicated himself by writing another book entitled “The
Anathema of Zos”, and flaunted their hypocrisies in their faces.
He returned to South London where he lived in relative obscurity as a
recluse. Little
is known of his activities during this time except that he lived in a small
basement flat caring little for money of fame.
He made a small living drawing portraits of common people in the local
pubs, and selling them for small amounts of money. While he wasn’t publishing during this time, he continued
to write and develop his philosophy, art and magic.
In
1947 Spare met with Kenneth Grant and gradually become more involved with other
occultists of the time. He met
Gerald Gardner in the early 1950’s who engaged him to create sigils, magical
talismans and other ritual aids. At
the same time he began work on a definitive Grimoire called the “Zos Kia
Cultus”, this was to contain the accumulation of his magical secrets. Austin Osman Spare died in May of 1956, his work on the
Grimoire unfinished. In his
later years Spare became obsessed with sex magic and immersed himself in the
worship of Isis and other Egyptian deities.
He then integrated this into his practice of Witchcraft, as reflected in
his artwork of cultural themes. His
obsession with sex magic turned him to many perverse sexual activities that the
society of his time could not understand. He
believed that sexually repulsive acts caused certain chemical changes within the
body, thus transforming the magical consciousness. Little could he have realized the impact his work would have on the future generations of witches and magician’s. His was the inspiration that led to the formation of the “Illuminates of Thanateros” (IOT), in England in the late 1970’s, and the practice of what is now known as “Chaos Magic”. Chaos Magic
In the late 1970's some twenty years after the death of the great “Austin Osman Spare” (1886-1956), a Mr. Carroll and Mr. Sherwin formed the "Illuminates of Thanateros" (IOT), a new tradition that became synonymous with Chaos Magic. Chaos Magic is based primarily on the workings and philosophy of Austin Osman Spare. It would seem to me that Chaos Magic is not exactly Witchcraft. While it incorporates witchcraft, its the cutting edge of "High Magic" and is more into the realm of the Magician than that of the Witch.
To explain Chaos Magic I can do no better than to quote the authors introduction to a book I have recently read, “Understanding Chaos Magic - by Jaq D. Hawkins”. I do so in the interest that shared information helps us all, and have adapted the text slightly for use here:
"Chaos Magic is the newest and fastest growing area of hands-on practical magic available to the modern magician. It is an area of study that disposes of the need for religion, or pre-packaged philosophy and superstition in the use of magic. The Chaos Magician seeks to understand the natural laws behind the workings of magic, and the- reasons behind the use of ritual in the performance of a magical working.
Chaos magic leaves the practitioner free to establish his/her own ideas of method, ethics and the appropriate uses of magic. It is magic for a liberated free thinker who is able to go beyond the teachings of any book to the outermost reaches of imagination in the creation of one's own magical world.
It is magic based on the concept of the primal creative force itself, a realm of infinite probability. Creative Chaos is a subject most useful to experienced magicians who can determine for themselves the risk factor in the release of powerful spells that work.
While the actual practice of this form of magic is recommended only for the experienced magician, the subject is of interest to anyone who can understand the way the mind can effect our environment.
Chaos Magic is based on natural laws, many of which are only just beginning to be understood by the scientific community. Stripped of superstition and religious bigotry, it is a realm where fact meets theory, and results are the objective.
This is a magical philosophy that transcends tradition and dogma. It is a journey toward results rather than hierarchical megalomania. It is as useful and effective to the individual as it is for a group, and infinitely adaptable to the needs of the many or the few. Any and all methods are allowed and encouraged, the only requirement is that it works.
Chaos Magic is the cutting edge of modern magic. It is on the minds and lips of magic users of all descriptions and in many parts of the world. As we learn more and more about the nature of magic and reality, we are beginning to realize that behind all forms of magic, are the natural laws of Chaos".
Adapted from the introduction of a book by: Jaq D. Hawkins – “Understanding Chaos Magic”, 1996. Sources
Understanding
Chaos Magic
- By Jaq D. Hawkins Encyclopedia
of Wicca & Witchcraft - By Raven Grimassi The
Encyclopedia of Witches &Witchcraft
- by Rosemary Ellen Guiley. First published on the 04th May 2001,
21:24:52 © George Knowles
Sources
Understanding Chaos Magic - By Jaq D. Hawkins Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft
- By Raven Grimassi
Fulgur Limited is a small publisher specialising in Austin Spare and Kenneth Grant. They have published most of the major works on Spare over the last 12 years, including the bulk of his late occult writings in Grant's - 'Zos Speaks!' Their website contains many articles about Spare and features much of his artwork. They also have a chat-room dedicated to the great man. "Well worth a visit".
First published on the 04th May 2001, 21:24:52 © George Knowles
Best wishes and Blessed Be
|
|
Site Contents - Links to all Pages
A Universal Message:
Let there be peace in the world - Where have all the flowers gone?
About me: My Personal Page / My Place in England / My Family Tree (Ancestry)
Wicca & Witchcraft
Wicca/Witchcraft / What is Wicca / What is Magick
Traditional Writings:
The Wiccan Rede / Charge of the Goddess / Charge of the God / The Three-Fold Law (includes The Law of Power and The Four Powers of the Magus) / The Witches Chant / The Witches Creed / Descent of the Goddess / Drawing Down the Moon / The Great Rite Invocation / Invocation of the Horned God / The 13 Principles of Wiccan Belief / The Witches Rede of Chivalry / A Pledge to Pagan Spirituality
Correspondence Tables:
Incense / Candles / Colours / Magickal Days / Stones and Gems / Elements and Elementals
Traditions:
Traditions Part 1 - Alexandrian Wicca / Aquarian Tabernacle Church (ATC) / Ár Ndraíocht Féin (ADF) / Blue Star Wicca / British Traditional (Druidic Witchcraft) / Celtic Wicca / Ceremonial Magic / Chaos Magic / Church and School of Wicca / Circle Sanctuary / Covenant of the Goddess (COG) / Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) / Cyber Wicca / Dianic Wicca / Eclectic Wicca / Feri Wicca /
Traditions Part 2 - Gardnerian Wicca / Georgian Tradition / Henge of Keltria / Hereditary Witchcraft / Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (H.O.G.D.) / Kitchen Witch (Hedge Witch) / Minoan Brotherhood and Minoan Sisterhood Tradition / Nordic Paganism / Pagan Federation / Pectic-Wita / Seax-Wica / Shamanism / Solitary / Strega / Sylvan Tradition / Vodoun or Voodoo / Witches League of Public Awareness (WLPA) /
Other things of interest:
Gods and Goddesses (Greek
Mythology) / Esbats &
Full Moons / Links
to Personal Friends & Resources / Wicca/Witchcraft
Resources / What's a spell? /
Circle Casting and
Sacred Space / Pentagram
- Pentacle / Marks
of a Witch / The Witches
Power / The Witches Hat
/ An
esoteric guide to visiting London / Satanism
/ Pow-wow
/ The
Unitarian Universalist Association / Numerology: Part 1
/ Part 2 / Part
3 / A
history of the Malleus Maleficarum: includes: Pope
Innocent VIII /
The
papal Bull /
The
Malleus Maleficarum /
An extract from the Malleus Maleficarum
/ The letter of approbation
/ Johann
Nider’s Formicarius /
Jacob
Sprenger /
Heinrich Kramer /
Stefano Infessura
/ Montague Summers /
The Waldenses
/ The Albigenses
/
The Hussites / The
Native American Sun Dance
/ Shielding (Occult
and Psychic Protection) /
Sabbats and Festivals:
The Sabbats in History and Mythology / Samhain (October 31st) / Yule (December 21st) / Imbolc (February 2nd) / Ostara (March 21st) / Beltane (April 30th) / Litha (June 21st) / Lammas/Lughnasadh (August 1st) / Mabon (September 21st)
Rituals contributed by Crone:
Samhain / Yule / Imbolc / Ostara / Beltane / Litha / Lammas / Mabon
Tools:
Tools of a Witch / The Besom (Broom) / Poppets and Dolls / Pendulums / Cauldron Magick / Mirror Gazing
Animals:
Animals in Witchcraft (The Witches Familiar and Totem Animals) / Antelope / Bats / Crow / Fox / Frog and Toads / Goat / Honeybee / Kangaroo / Lion / Owl / Phoenix / Rabbits and Hares / Raven / Robin Redbreast / Sheep / Spider / Squirrel / Swans / Unicorn / Wild Boar / Wolf / Serpent / Pig / Stag / Horse / Mouse / Cat / Rats / Unicorn
Trees:
In Worship of Trees - Myths, Lore and the Celtic Tree Calendar. For descriptions and correspondences of the thirteen sacred trees of Wicca/Witchcraft see the following: Birch / Rowan / Ash / Alder / Willow / Hawthorn / Oak / Holly / Hazel / Vine / Ivy / Reed / Elder
Sacred Sites:
Mystical Sacred Sites - Stonehenge / Glastonbury Tor / Malta - The Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni / Avebury / Cerne Abbas - The Chalk Giant / Ireland - Newgrange /
Rocks and Stones:
Stones - History, Myths and Lore
Articles contributed by Patricia Jean Martin:
Apophyllite / Amber / Amethyst / Aquamarine / Aragonite / Aventurine / Black Tourmaline / Bloodstone / Calcite / Carnelian / Celestite / Citrine / Chrysanthemum Stone / Diamond / Emerald / Fluorite / Garnet / Hematite / Herkimer Diamond / Labradorite / Lapis Lazuli / Malachite / Moonstone / Obsidian / Opal / Pyrite / Quartz (Rock Crystal) / Rose Quartz / Ruby / Selenite / Seraphinite / Silver and Gold / Smoky Quartz / Sodalite / Sunstone / Thunderegg / Tree Agate / Zebra Marble
Wisdom and Inspiration:
Knowledge vs Wisdom by Ardriana Cahill / I Talk to the Trees / Awakening / The Witch in You / A Tale of the Woods / I have a Dream by Martin Luther King /
Articles and Stories about Witchcraft:
Murdered by Witchcraft / The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / A Battleship, U-boat, and a Witch / The Troll-Tear (A story for Children) / Goody Hawkins - The Wise Goodwife / The Story of Jack-O-Lantern / The Murder of the Hammersmith Ghost / Josephine Gray (The Infamous Black Widow) / The Two Brothers - Light and Dark
Old Masters of Academia: (Our Ancestors)
Pliny the Elder / Hesiod / Pythagoras / Paracelsus / Abramelin the Mage / Archimedes / Agrippa / Socrates / Aristotle
Biographies
A "Who's Who" of Witches, Pagans and other associated People (Ancient, Past and Present)
(Departed Pagan Pioneers, Founders, Elders and Others)
Pagan
Pioneers: Founders, Elders, Leaders and Others
Aidan A Kelly / Albertus Magnus - “Albert the Great” / Aleister Crowley - “The Great Beast” / Alex Sanders - “King of the Witches” / Alison Harlow / Allan Bennett - the Ven. Ananda Metteyya / Allan Kardec (Spiritism) / Alphonsus de Spina / Amber K / Ann Moura / Anna Franklin / Anodea Judith / Anton Szandor LaVey / Arnold Crowther / Arthur Edward Waite / Austin Osman Spare / Balthasar Bekker / Biddy Early / Barbara Vickers / Bridget Cleary - The Fairy Witch of Clonmel / Carl " Llewellyn" Weschcke / Cecil Hugh Williamson / Charles Godfrey Leland / Charles Walton / Christopher Penczak / Christina Oakley Harrington / Cornelius Loos / Damh the Bard - "Dave Smith" / Dion Fortune / Dolores Aschroft-Nowicki / Donald Michael Kraig / Doreen Valiente / Dorothy Morrison / Dr. John Dee & Edward Kelly / Dr. Leo Louis Martello / Edain McCoy / Edward Fitch / Eleanor Ray Bone - “Matriarch of British Witchcraft” / Eliphas Levi / Ernest Thompson Seton / Ernest Westlake / Fiona Horne / Frederick McLaren Adams - Feraferia / Friedrich von Spee / Francis Barrett / Gavin and Yvonne Frost and the School and Church of Wicca / Gerald B. Gardner - The father of contemporary Witchcraft / Gwydion Pendderwen / Hans Holzer / Helen Duncan / Herman Slater - Horrible Herman / Heinrich Kramer / Isaac Bonewits / Israel Regardie / Ivo Domínguez Jr. / Jack Whiteside Parsons - Rocket Science and Magick / James "Cunning" Murrell - The Master of Witches / Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone / Jean Bodin / Jessie Wicker Bell - “Lady Sheba” / Johann Weyer / Johannes Junius - "The Burgomaster of Bamberg" / Johann Georg Fuchs von Dornheim - the “Hexenbrenner” (witch burner) / John Belham-Payne / John George Hohman - "Pow-wow" / John Gerard / John Gordon Hargrave and the Kibbo Kith Kindred / John Michael Greer / John Score / Joseph “Bearwalker” Wilson / Joseph John Campbell / Karl von Eckartshausen / Lady Gwen Thompson - and "The Rede of the Wiccae" / Laurie Cabot - "the Official Witch of Salem" / Lewis Spence / Lodovico Maria Sinistrari / Ludwig Lavater / Madeline Montalban and the Order of the Morning Star / Margaret Alice Murray / Margot Adler / Michael Howard and the UK "Cauldron Magazine" / Margaret St. Clair - the “Sign of the Labrys” / Marie Laveau - " the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans" / Marion Weinstein / Martin Antoine Del Rio / Matthew Hopkins - “The Witch-Finder General” / Michael A. Aquino - and The Temple of Set / Monique Wilson / Montague Summers / Nicholas Culpeper / Nicholas Remy / M. R. Sellars / Mrs. Maud Grieve - "A Modern Herbal" / Oberon Zell-Ravenheart and Morning Glory / Old Dorothy Clutterbuck / Old George Pickingill / Olivia Durdin-Robertson - co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis / Paddy Slade / Pamela Colman-Smith / Patricia Crowther / Patricia Monaghan / Patricia “Trish” Telesco / Paul Foster Case and the “Builders of the Adytum” mystery school / Peter Binsfeld / Philip Heselton / Raven Grimassi / Raymond Buckland / Reginald Scot / Richard Baxter / Robert Cochrane / Robert ‘von Ranke’ Graves and the "The White Goddess" / Rosaleen Norton - “The Witch of Kings Cross” / Rossell Hope Robbins / Ross Nichols and the " Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids" (OBOD) / Rudolf Steiner / Sabrina Underwood - "The Ink Witch" / Scott Cunningham / Selena Fox - founder of "Circle Sanctuary" / Silver Ravenwolf / Sir Francis Dashwood / Sir James George Frazer and the " The Golden Bough" / S.L. MacGregor Mathers and the “Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn” / Starhawk / Stewart Farrar / Sybil Leek / Ted Andrews / The Mather Family - (includes: Richard Mather, Increase Mather and Cotton Mather ) / Thomas Ady / T. Thorn Coyle / Vera Chapman / Victor & Cora Anderson and the " Feri Tradition" / Vivianne Crowley / Walter Brown Gibson / Walter Ernest Butler / William Butler Yeats / Zsuzsanna Budapest /
Many of the above biographies are briefs and far from complete. If you know about any of these individuals and can help with additional information, please contact me privately at my email address below. Many thanks for reading :-)
"FAIR USE NOTICE"While I have taken due care and diligence to credit all sources where possible, this website may contain copyrighted material which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. My use of making such material available here is done so in my efforts to advance our understanding of religious discrimination, the environmental and social justice issues etc. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this website for purposes of your own then you must obtain permission from the relevant copyright owner yourself.Any queries please contact me at email - George@controverscial.com
Email_Witches My online email discussion group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Email_Witches
Dove of Peace Help send a message of peace around the world! The Dove of Peace flies from site to site, through as many countries as possible. It does not belong to ANY belief system. Please help make a line around the globe by taking it with you to your site, by giving it to someone for their site, by passing it on to another continent or to the conflict areas of the world. May trouble and strife be vanquished in it's path.
mailto:George@controverscial.com
|
