la Luz astral

THE ASTRAL LIGHT

June 20, 1996
Newsletter of the Friends of Ophiel
Vol 1 No 3


Welcome to the third issue of The Astral Light. Friends of Ophiel, founded by Janine Chapman and Nikola Kranjovic in June of 1994 is now two years old. We have come a long way in spreading the word of the existence of the group and getting the newsletter off the ground. We have members from New Jersey, California, Michigan, New York, Canada and Mexico. We want to go on from here to attract new members, improve the quality of the newsletter, offer more services to members, and get them more actively involved.

At this point, Mirazel would like to "drop the veil" for one short instant and give some biographical background.

Mirazel was born on the winter solstice in New York City (Manhattan) in 1994 at 431 Riverside Drive in a large apartment facing the Hudson River. She was reared by her mother and her aunt, both of whom have advanced degrees from Columbia University. At about age 3 she acquired two imaginary playmates and an imaginary dog with 10 (imaginary) puppies. She kept these creatures in a large, walk-in closet in her room. Later she posted a skull and crossbones on the door of the closet. She would sometimes go and sit on the "coffin" (cedar chest) inside the closet and meditate. As a child she read Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, Edgar Allan Poe and subscribed to Monsters of Filmland magazine. She began writing at age 5. Hallowe'en has always been her favourite holiday.

Mirazel got her first job at age 14 months modeling baby hats for Montgomery Ward's catalogue. She went on to a successful career as a child model and actress, appearing on early radio and television and in one off Broadway play. She attended Professional Children's School, Corpus Christi School and Julia Richman High School. While in high school, she was a fan of John Zacherley, TV's original Horror Show Host, whom she met on three occasions when she visited the studio in Times Square from which his show was televised.

At age 7 and again at age 11, Mirazel attended French schools in the south of France and traveled extensively with her mother and aunt in France, Italy, Spain, England and Ireland.

In 1961 at age 16, Mirazel left New York to attend Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. She majored in French literature, specializing in the French symbolist poets. It was at FSU that she began her study of the occult through extensive sampling of the Sydney Hamilton Diamond Collection of occult literature at FSU's Strozier Library.

In 1968 Mirazel moved to Boston, Massachussetts, where she taught French, Spanish, Italian and Latin at the elementary and high school levels. In 1970 she completed a correspondence course in astrology. She then became a student of OPHIEL through his Correspondence Course in the Foundations of Occult Knowledge. Upon completion of the course, she began a correspondence with OPHIEL which lasted for several years.

Mirazel met OPHIEL in Boston in 1973. She accompanied him on a visit to the Christian Science Center in Boston and to the Mary Baker Eddy House in Brookline, Mass.

In 1972-3 Mirazel worked with a French theatre group, Le Th'eatre du Ble' Noir which performed a type of stylized, ritual drama infuenced by the medieval mystery plays and the Noh plays of Japan. From 1978-1986 Mirazel was active in the cast of players who performed the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Exeter Street Theater in Boston and at the Harvard Square Theater in Cambridge, Mass.

Simultaneously with her above activities, Mirazel privately followed the series of initiatory Golden Dawn rituals, studied Qabalah, and began the research for her book Quest for Dion Fortune. In January 1974, she travelled to England to meet with W.E Butler, Kenneth Grant and others who knew Dion Fortune.

In 1974 Mirazel received an M.S in Foreign Language Education and in 1983 a Master's degree in Library Science, both from Florida State University. Her book Quest for Dion Fortune was published in August of 1993 by Samuel Weiser, Inc. During this time she also operated Mystic Systems Book Service, an out-of-print occult book search service and taught a class in Qabalah.

From September through December of 1993 Mirazel studied Japanese and in March of 1994 she spent three weeks in Japan. Upon returning to the U.S she spent four months living and working in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Mirazel reads or speaks 7 languages. She is currently working on Fallen Angel, an occult romance set in New Orleans. She lives in Tallahassee, Florida with her teenage son.

Mirazel would like Friends of OPHIEL members to write, telling her their feelings as to how the group should develop. she wants to receive accounts of members' experiences with any of OPHIEL'S systems and any interesting biographical material of members. She also welcomes poetry, short stories, art work, magical diagrams and short articles on relevant topics.

Starting in the September issue of GNOSIS Magazine, Friends of OPHIEL will be running a classified ad which will be continued in future issues. We have much hope that new members will come into the fold and that Friends of OPHIEL will continue with OPHIEL'S proud tradition of active and scholarly work in practical magic.

Mirazel does not consider herself to be OPHIEL'S "successor." That person will appear later when the time is right. Mirazel wishes to utilize her powers to exert a positive influence in the Mysteries, a balance to the forces generated by Aleister Crowley. OPHIEL'S works and teachings are a perfect vehicle for accomplishing this work. Mirazel hopes that OPHIEL'S spirit will live on through Friends of OPHIEL.

M.I.R.A.Z.E.L F.O.U.N.T.A.I.N
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THE ASTRAL LIGHT (PAGE) -2

THE ELEMENTAL FIRES AND THEIR COMPOUNDS
(The following is a summary of information taught by OPHIEL in his Correspondence Course in the Foundations of Occult Knowledge. It reinforces and expands on material given in his books-)

AIR. Elemental Air is the quality of Motion. The ability to move or to "get moving" is the pre-requisite to any work. In any process it is the beginning or seed idea, the "prime mover," the impetus that motivates us. In the Kabbalah system it corresponds to Atziluth, the Archetypal or Mental Plane wherein ideas have their inception. It is the first letter (Yod) of the magical formula YHVH. Yod means "hand of God" that holds all creation latent in its grasp.

These forces do not occur in the physical world in a pure state. In isolating them this way, we are creating an abstracted or purified concept which exists only in our minds. Because of this, these force-concepts do not obey the laws of the Physical Plane, nor can they be described by physical plane words, except symbolically. Man invented symbols in an effort to convey to other men some idea of the nature of these forces. These forces, in combination were personified in the shape of gods and goddesses for the same reason. These symbols or representations must never be taken for the forces themselves which are a great deal more than the symbols can express. One of the conventional ways of representing the four basic forces was as the Four Directions or Quarters of the Earth: East, South, West, North. These Quarters were further personified into the Four Winds: Eurus, Notus, Zephyrus, Boreas by the ancient Greeks. Their equivalent occur in other mythological systems as well.

FIRE. Elemental Fire is the quality of Expansion. It is the creative or gesstation period of an idea when it "grows on you," ie is enlarged upon and developed in detail. It corresponds to Briah or the Astral Plane, the upper part of which is also called the Storehouse of Images because it is here that ideas "take shape" in the form of mental images. This is the realm of the imagination, of wishes and desires, and in the formula YHVH it is the Heh or "window" into your mind through which you visualize the objects/goals of your wishes and desires.

WATER. Elemental Water is the quality of Contraction. It is a formative period when action is undertaken to make the image real. This is Yetzirah or the Etheric Plane, the realm of our feelings, which breathes life into our imaginings, inspiring and arousing us to action. In the formula YHVH, it is the letter Vav meaning "nail" which symbolizes the act of fastening yourself (your emotions) to the image of your desire/goal so that in your mind's eye it is yours already. In the process, the elaborate image shrinks to more normal, realistic proportions, and the project becomes feasible and a plan is made to carry it out.

EARTH. Elemental Earth is the end result of the previous work. It is Assiah, the Physical Plane whose quality is solidity, density, inertia. It is the fulfillment of desire, the fruits of labor, no longer the view from an inner door (Heh), but a real live scene (Heh final). The North Quarter is said to be the source from which all things start and to which all things return. In Earth or "the real world" are the materials we need to create new matter or matters. Each embodied life whether animal, mineral or vegetable is an example of this process.

To Be Continued.
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(Page 3)

WHAT IS THE KABBALAH?
by Mirazel.

The student of magic invariably comes upon the word "Kabbalah" or "Qabalah" or "Cabala" at some point in his or her researches. Then, s/he soon becomes aware of its reputation as a great source or holy book. As in every quest of the occult variety, the way is laid with traps and pifalls of all kinds. Dense fog alternates with dazzling mirages and, if the student is without a map, s/he may have to resort to trial and error methods to find what s/he wants. In this situation, a good book is like a luminous sign on a dark and windy back road and a good teacher like a friendly stranger who gives you a flashlight and points the way.

The word "Kabbalah" comes from a Hebrew word root meaning "receive" and so means "reception" or "tradition". The knowledge which the Kabbalah contains was believed to have been received by word of mouth from one generation of Jews to another. Of the many writings which can be included under the word "Kabbalah," the Sepher Yetzirah (Book of Formation) and the Sepher Ha Zohar (Book of Splendor) are considered the chief texts.

Legend claimed that the Sepher Yetzirah was received from God by the patriarch Abraham who then told it to his sons, who transmitted it to their sons, and so on until it was at last written down by certain wise men. The true author's name is unknown. According to the late Gershom Scholem, foremost authority on Kabbalah, it was written "by a Jewish Neo-Pythagorean some time between the third and sixth century." (On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, p. 167.) The Sepher Yetzirah was published at Mantua in 1952 but a Latin translation by the monk William Postel had already appeared in 1582. It was translated into German in 1830 and into French by Meyer Lambert in 1887.

The Sepher Yetzirah is divided into six chapters. The first presents God, the Great Architect of the Universe, and the ten Sephiroth, the messengers or Spirits of God, who create the world at his command. The last five chapters deal with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet which are said to be "Instruments of Creation," and therefore sacred and powerful.

The Sepher Ha Zohar is a miscellaneous collection of writings: interpretations of Scripture, sayings, oracles, revelations. The first two parts were written around 1280 by a Spanish rabbi named Moses de Leon. The third part had another author whose name is not known and was composed around 1300.

The two parts which are attributed to Moses de Leon belong to a class of mystical literature called "pseudepigrapha" in which the person writing gives the impression that someone else is the author. De Leon hid behind the mask of Rabbi Simeon ben Yohai, a religious teacher of the period of the Emperor Antoninus in the second century A.D. A story is told in the Talmud that Rabbi Simeon once spoke publicly against Rome. The Emperor, hearing of this, ordered that he be put to death, whereupon the rabbi took refuge with his son in a cave, dwelling there for twelve years praying and studying until the death of the Emperor. The Zohar purports to be the fruit of this experience.

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+o divine and precious is The Soul, be confident
+at, by its power, you can attain to divinity.
+art your ascent. You will not need to search long.
+w are the steps that seperate you from your goal."
--Plotinus
The Three Primal Hypostases, #3

(Note: The above "poem" has part of the words faded on the original copy. As much as possible was presented above).
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THE ASTRAL LIGHT - (Page) 4.

The main Zoharic doctrines are:

1) Macrocosm-Microcosm. Man is a small-scale model of the universe which is not only mirrored in him but somehow contained in him.

2) Male-Female or God and His Shekinah. God is at once potentiality (male) and actuality (female). In his masculine aspect, God is beyond the grasp of understanding; in his feminine aspect (Shekinah), He is understandable and perceptible, even obvious.

3) Inner-Outer. Everything in the material world has a counterpart in the spiritual world. The letter of Scripture is a veil for an inner, spiritual truth.

The source which inspired the authors of the Zohar was a philosophical and mystical literature called "Kabbalah" which consisted of ancient commentaries on Scripture as well as mystical writings by Jewish scholars. This literature developed among the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (64-70 A.D). From this time on the Jews maintained a continuity with their past heritage by their devotion to the study of their religious literature (the Torah, or Law) and during the recurrent persecution of Jews in Europe in the Middle Ages, an increasing number of Jews were drawn into the mysteries of the Kabbalah which hinted at a coming redemption.

The Jews were not always immune to outside currents of thought. According to one theory, they were heavily influenced in the sixth century B.C by the Persian teacher Zoraster. Gnostic ideas crept in in the first and second centuries A.D. In the twelth century in Moslem Spain, Jewish thought was receptive to the concepts of the Greek-Arabic philosophy of the Islamic culture, in particular of Sufism, a mystical sect of Mohammedanism.

Since the Zohar was written in Aramaic, it was inaccessible to most scholars until it was translated into French by Jean de Pauly in the early 1900's. In the seventeenth century a German noble, Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, wrote a book on Jewish theosophy entitled Kabbala Denudata, a highly inaccurate work which regarded a little treatise called the "Book of Concealment" as the chief text of the Zohar wheras it was really only a small part. The Kabbala Denudata did, however, include a Latin translation of three texts. Unfortunately, this was the only translation available to students before the twentieth century and many people accepted Rosenroth's opinion that the Book of Concealment was the Zohar itself. The value of the French translation has been questioned by Jewish critics but two good translations in English are now available.

Due to the extremely obscure nature of the subject matter, as well as to the lack of adequate translation and commentary, Kabbalistic ideas suffered much misinterpretation and degredation. It was believed by many, for example, that the Kabbalah taught the art of evoking spirits. Neither the Zohar nor the Sepher Yetzirah contain this type of information but both were used by Jews and non-Jews for magical purposes. The Sepher Yetzirah includes the doctrine of the sacred and divine nature of the Hebrew alphabet and claims a power inherent in certain Divine and Angelic Names. The symbolic nature of this doctrine was misunderstood by many persons who attempted to apply it in a literal sense. The Zohar discusses evil spirits and dream interpretation and contains the doctrine of signatures or correspondences in which the essence of a thing is discovered by remarking its superficial characteristics. These miscellaneous doctrines gave rise in the Middle Ages to ceremonial magic, which included witchcraft, demonology, and sorcery. Writings on these subjects began to appear in fourteenth century Europe, written in Latin, and culminated in the French and Latin Grimoires and Clavicles of Black Magic.
(Page 5).

Another popular misunderstanding regarding the Kabbalah was that it was written in a code, the key to which was known only to "initiates". This idea may have been a misinterpretation of the traditional Hebrew methods of interpreting Scripture. These methods were:

1. Gematria.
Letters of a word are given numerical value and the sum of the word is used to explain its "inner" meaning.

2. Notarikon.
Each letter of a word is taken as the first letter of another word or the first letters of each word in a sentence are combined to form another word.

3. Temura.
Changing the position of letters in a word or sentence.

In the nineteenth century, modern occultism had its birth in the writings of Eliphas Levi. His knowledge of the Kabbalah came from two books: "La Kabbale" by Adolphe Franck, first published in 1843 and Solomon Munk's "Me'lange de Philosophie Juive et Arabe" published in 1859. Although far from perfect, these books are examples of the first intelligent research on the Kabbalah. Levi himself had no knowledge of Hebrew or Aramaic and was unacquainted with either the Sepher Yetzirah or the Zohar. Levi's principle works are his "History of Magic" and "Transcendental Magic".

Levi possessed a tremendous power to inspire others and ten years after his death, two of his followers, Gerard Encause and Stanislas de Guaita, started a school of western occultism the purpose of which was, among other things, to study the Kabbalah. Encausse published a book on the Kabbalah in 1892 under his pseudonym "Papus". It was not as extreme as Levi's books, but it was still only possible scholarship. Nevertheless, the way had been laid and with the appearance of the French version, direct access to the Kabbalah finally became possible. By this time, however, a host of fantastic notions had accumulated around it.

Note: This page has some diagrams..one of which has written next to it "MAGIC WAND of Doctor Faustus from J Scheible's "Das Kloster".

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Special thanks to Gloria Jaramillo for her donation of $96.00 to Friends of OPHIEL. This money will pay for our ad in GNOSIS for 5 issues--over a year's worth of ads.
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The Astral Light - (page) 6

BRAIN CIRCUITS THAT CAUSE HALLUCINATIONS FOUND.

"The discovery could help researchers learn how to suppress schizophrenic hallucinations".
By Malcolm Ritter.
The Associated Press.

Scientists have identified brain circuits that appear to make schizophrenics hear voices and see things that aren't there. The findings may help scientists develop better treatments for hallucinations. Researchers studied six schizophrenic patients: five who heard voices and one who heard voices and saw things. The patients lay in a PET brain-scanning machine and were told to push a button when they heard voices.

Using new techniques to scan the brains and analyze the results, researchers found that during the hallucinations, interconnected areas deep within the brain's core and other areas on the surface were activated.

The core regions normally serve as meeting grounds for thoughts, emotion and perceptions, so that a person's current and past experiences can be compared with each other and associated with emotional reactions. The surface areas on the sides and the back of the brain normally process information from hearing and vision.

When the network of core and surface areas is turned on, "the brain is creating its own reality and believing it", said Dr. David Silbersweig, a neurologist and psychiatrist at the New York Hospital Cornell Medical Center. The work gives clues about where to look for the basic defect that turns on the hallucination circuitry, Silbersweig said. That could help scientists find new ways to suppress hallucinations.

Silbersweig, colleague Dr. Emily Stern and scientists from England reported the results in today's issue of the journal "Nature". The work was done in England. Dr. Michael Flaum, co-director of the Mental Health Clinical Research Center at the University of Iowa, said he found the work "a very credible study" that proposes an attractive hypothesis for how the brain produces schizophrenic hallucinations.

Hearing voices is the most common kind of hallucination in schizophrenia. Derogatory or threatening messages are especially common.

Five of the patients heard voices almost constantly despite taking medication.

"If they would just relax and be quiet, the voices would come to them", Silbersweig said.

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Note: There is a picture of "Christ/Jesus" holding out his hands and in his palms are what looks like possible "Yods". "He" is surrounded by four people (Disciples?!) and one is crouched before "Jesus/Christ". The writing beneath says "My Lord and my God!" "Because you have seen Me, Thomas, you have believed; blessed are they that have not seen and believed".
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Thank you to Pamela Victor of Tallahassee, Florida for doing the bulk of the typing for this issue of the Newsletter.
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OPHIEL ON TAPE !

Mirazel is currently making available copies of a taped lecture on occult secrets by OPHIEL. This is Ophiel's real voice speaking about the Inner Planes, the Elemental Quarters, the Treasure Chart, the Cabalistic Cross Ritual and related topics in his characteristic conversational, humorous, personal style. This tape was made by OPHIEL expressly for Mirazel circa 1973 in order to answer questions which she had submitted to him in advance. It is a 60 minute tape in which OPHIEL's voice comes across loud and clear. The cost for a copy is only $9.95. Proceeds will go directly into sustaining and nurturing Friends of OPHIEL as a viable occult organization.
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The Astral Light. (Page) 7.

BOOK REVIEWS.

"Touch of Night" * * *
by Carin Rafferty.
Topaz Books, Dreamspun Line,
c/o Penguin Books USA, Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, NY
10014, 1994, 391 pp., $4.99.

In case any of you have a predjudice against romance novels which you can't back up because you've never read enough of them to form an intelligent opinion, I suggest you take a serious look at the genre. Among the plethora of poor and mediocre books are true gems, real artistic tours de force, fine well-written novels with loveable characters, compelling, believable plots and values worth emulating.

Of special interest are the romances now being published in the Fantasy, Futuristic, Time-Travel and Paranormal sub-genre. None of the authors I have read so far comes from an occult background, but some have done their research and are using their well-honed writing skills to offer terrific stories that will entertain both the occult and general reader.

One of these books is "Touch of Night" by Carin Rafferty. She tells a tale of a young woman named Ariel Dantes who goes in search of her twin brother Armand who is being held prisoner by a group of evil warlocks who belong to an old and reputable coven of white witches which they hope to take over by the use of force and black magic. The hero of the book, Lucien Morgret, a skilled white warlock who (women take note) is a man to die for. Rude and intimidating on the surface, as well as in possession of some awesome extra-sensory powers, in private he is gentle, sensitive and utterly sensual.

Personally, I have never read a literary rendition of magical polarity working that is as skillful and absorbing as Ms Rafferty's scenes in which Lucien and Ariel make love by candlelight within a magic circle drawn on the floor of Lucien's family home. I am not talking here only about the erotic power of these scenes, but also of the exquisite handling of a complicated interchange of trust, caring and respect as the lovers travel the age-old pathway that bonds a man to a woman.

Dion Fortune herself would have envied Ms. Rafferty's writing skills. For as much as all of us love Dion Fortune's novels for the occult elements, we are deceiving ourselves if we deem them anything more than passable fiction. DF's novels also fall down in their prim handling of sex and consequently of sexual polarity -- her central theme. I firmly believe that had Dion Fortune not died prematurely at age 56, she would have gone on to improve and perfect her fiction-writing skills.

You may have to go to a used paperback store to find "Touch of Night" and Ms Rafferty's other novels ("Touch of Magic", 1995 and "Touch of Lightning", 1996) but, trust me, it will be well worth the trip.

Note: This page contains a diagram/picture. It is of two snakes/serpents coiled round three intersecting poles. The writing reads "Voodoo Ve've's from "Voodoo Handbook of Cult Secrets" by Anna Riva and "Famous Voodoo Rituals & Spells" by H.U. Lampe.

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Page 8.

MOON MAGIC


Moonbeams glide into my room,
Weaving the spell of a magic rune,
Capturing the soul of me,
Enrapturing the whole of me.

Gateway to the world of dream,
Clothed in silver all agleam,
Guide me softly with your light,
Through the mystic maze of night.

Mistress of the surging sea,
Creating tides of destiny,
Pulsing through the lives of all,
My deep self rises to your call.

O Queen of Heaven, stars form your crown,
Smile on us when you look down,
O ruler of the wondrous night,
Bless us with your gentle light.

By Alan Pert
Manly, Australia

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Note: The above copy of "The Astral Light" by "Mirazel" contains diagrams/pictures which i have not been able to reproduce here in this version. Some of the diagrams are mentioned in the notes above, but there are others. Hopefully, in time, a copy of the above shall be made available which will include these diagrams.