#Liber Oz

[maeviuslynn]

"Liber OZ" or "The Rights of Man" was authored by Aleister Crowley in 1941. It is a valuable peek at central philosophical ideas and values within Thelema. Essentially it is a strong assertion and declaration of individual freedom and liberation whether it be your style of dress, speech, sexuality, etc. This call for freedom within Thelema is a radical departure from the prudishness of the surrounding Victorian Society at the time.

Before Crowley called it "Liber OZ," he called it his "War Aims." This was an expression of Crowley's anti-fascist stance as a response to WWII. It pre-figures the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[rosario-aurelius]

Love Under Will: An Introduction to Thelema and Its Antecedents

When Aleister Crowley coined the term “the aim of religion, the method of science,” he was advancing the tradition of humanism for the reunion of science and religion into what Eliphas Levi called the catholic or universal religion of humanity. The aim of scientific illuminism is the advancement of uniting these seeming opposites into a fabric whose unit, based on scientific analysis and…

[alephskoteinos]

Still need the 1967 Autumnal Equinox version of that as a poster to hang up in my room.

[mysharona1987]

He is the chosen one needed to complete the trifecta:

[bestworstcase]

liking oz but hating ozlem really seems like such an exercise in misery because like first you gotta convince yourself that believing in and supporting your partner (who is lying to you fundamentally about what he wants to do and why bc he knows you would never agree if you knew the truth) is abusive and then you have to watch oz getting consistently framed as the one in the wrong for the next like four volumes (because he lied) which because you hate salem and really want oz to be her victim and vigorously defend this position against the actual text, means you've cornered yourself in a reading where your fave is getting beaten up by the narrative for what that evil bitch did to him like all the time. and you're also rooting against your fave to get what he actually wants (salem). have fun? i guess?

[archaeocommunologist]

It's really insane to me to see anglosphere liberals like Oz still doing this whole "why don't you move to China" song and dance. My sister did just that! She lived there for four and a half years and it was great. I visited her and I loved it. You can go on the internet and see what life is like in China, from the perspective of both natives and foreigners. The idea that it's some Stalinist hellhole is very obviously not true.

But Cold Warriors like Oz are unwilling or unable to update their rhetoric. Here's hoping their pigheadedness helps along the West toward its inevitable downfall!

[etruatcaelum]

On Semblances.

As this post mentions, neither Salem nor Ozma have ‘true’ ancient magic anymore: her immense power derives from the pools of light and darkness, and when Ozma created the maidens, they sacrificed their divine gifts but awakened their aura. Both now wield powers functionally identical to the aura and dust-based magic of modern humans; the sole difference between them and ordinary humans is vastly greater experience and, in Salem’s case, the interaction between her infinite aura and her grimmness.

(That is the subject for another post, but in essence grimm flesh and atrum ‘burn’ aura and this reaction can be controlled and channeled just like dust; Salem, who is grimm, uses this to her advantage to mimic ‘true’ magic.)

And, because their ‘magic’ is really just aura trained to a level beyond what any mortal could achieve in a single lifetime, both of them do have semblances.

Salem’s semblance is less an outward projection of her self than an inward one. It developed through the slow reconstruction of her mind and soul after a long period during which she had no sense of identity and was just kind of mindlessly dreaming all the time; her semblance sparked from the need to become whole and to know herself again. What it does, in essence, is immanentize her thinking.

Think method of loci, but crystallized from the imaginary construct into a real, tangible place—in a sense, the interior of her soul, her semblance, is a realm. Not one anything like as vast or complicated as Remnant or the Ever After, but quite a bit larger and more intricate than the vaults, and accessible only through doors she chooses to open.

It’s how she keeps herself sane and also why her sense of identity and conviction are so unshakable in the present: Salem knows herself extremely well and nearly everything that defines who and what she is, she made a deliberate choice to include as a fundamental part of herself. She is capable of change—and in fact capable of changing herself very rapidly and easily, once she decides to do so—but she cannot be forced or coerced or compelled or worn down or manipulated into it. Because the only way she can change is for her to literally disassemble and reassemble parts of herself and her semblance will not let her do that if she doesn’t truly want it to.

Ozma doesn’t know that they even have a semblance, because their semblance fluctuates from one life to the next; they believe the permutations of their own semblance have all been semblances taken from the lives they steal. What’s actually going on is that their very fragile sense of self gave them a semblance that lacks clear definition because it has yet to be fully-realized. It warps and bends and molds itself into the hollowed-out masks of every host, then loses that shape once those masks crumble again to expose Ozma.

There are, however, some constants:

The base essence of their semblance is remembrance and accretion of time. It’s the grasping for another chance and the tearing pain of almost and the venom of what if and maybe then and it wasn’t supposed to happen this way all rolled into one. It’s the aching possibility on the trailing edge of a mistake. Often, it takes the form of small-scale temporal manipulation: with Ozpin, it became an ability to ‘skip’ a second or two here and an idle moment there and ‘save up’ that time to spend all at once, squeezing several minutes worth of action into a single fraction of a second. (<- Ozma still has this ability and Oscar can tap into it for a while, but after the events of V8 it fades as their self-identification as Ozpin disintegrates.)

As themself—once freed from their curse and restored to live as their own person—their semblance is effectively only half-formed: not quite latent, but not truly manifested either. They will need to find themself and know themself before they’re able to fully bring it out. In its true, unalloyed form, Ozma’s semblance is unbinding: the breaking of chains, the opening of doors, the snipped thread of fate to unleash boundless possibility.

In less poetic terms, they will be able to reach back and bring forward the moments when what is now became inescapable. Nothing can be undone, nothing erased: the past cannot be unwritten, but what they can do is create a second chance to rewrite the future, whether by literally making a new possibility that didn’t exist before or by cutting through whatever beliefs or rationalizations a person clings to to pretend that they have no other choice.

Their fully-realized semblance will turn inward and confront them whether they like it or not; toward other people it is entirely under their control. (<- It is also quite likely the one thing capable of reaching into Salem’s head and shaking the foundations of her self, by drawing out her line of reasoning for committing to those choices and asking her to walk those paths anew, decide again.)

Oscar does not have a semblance and will not have a semblance until he’s separated from Ozma. If the integration were completed he would eventually produce a new permutation of Ozma’s, but it wouldn’t in any meaningful sense belong to Oscar, because Oscar as an individual would, for all intents and purposes, be dead.

But once he’s separated from Ozma, and once he sorts out who he is and who he wants to be outside of the looming existential dread of becoming Ozma, he’ll be able to discover his semblance.

(<- Also his aura, when not subsumed by Ozma’s, will turn out to actually be orange. Like a pumpkin. Because his Ozian allusion isn’t Tip OR Dorothy, it’s Jack Pumpkinhead)

Oscar’s semblance is… essentially, a hyper-specialized form of empathy: he can take the words people say and unfold them to reveal the things they mean, the feelings they’re trying to express but can’t communicate clearly, and then find the words to articulate those things back. He’s an interpreter, not of language but of emotions. He’s able to very quickly talk through to the heart of a problem, and he’s preternaturally good at listening in a way that makes people feel seen and heard. It also has the side effect of making him almost impossible to lie to.

Even with Ozma in his head, there are traces of this latent ability eking through to the surface—his determination to connect with Ironwood throughout V7, his intuitive sense for what to say to Hazel and Emerald to earn their trust, and even earlier, his realization that Ozpin is lying and his ability to break through long enough to spill Jinn’s name: these are all inklings of what could be, if not smothered by Ozma’s curse.

That sort of rising-to-the-surface is very rare among Ozma’s hosts. With Oscar, it’s happening partly because he’s fighting so hard to hold on for as long as he can, partly because his upbringing gave him a pretty strong sense of identity to begin with, and partly because the nature of his semblance itself resists falsehood and obfuscation. Latent though it is, it still gives him a firm place to stand when he pushes back and asserts himself against Ozma’s resignation. This struggle also has the effect of deepening the potential of his semblance—in effect, training it before it even properly manifests—so that once he’s free and it emerges fully he gets in tune with it fast.

[akechi-if-he-slayed]

he is thirsty

[laidentripstore]

[nando161mando]

Liberals hate the fantasy to be ruined.

[alephskoteinos]

In its own way this is still a classic of Thelema, still in many ways relevant to Satanism and the Left Hanf Path in spite of the obvious humanism, and I would still absolutely like a framed copy of the 1967 Autumnal Equinox Liber Oz poster on my wall.

[nottobehornyonthemain]

The Wicked musical, for a 2003 liberal fantasy that wants to deal with racism without actually having to talk about racism in our world today, is actually pretty interesting in the ways in which it functions as a form of gay and racial allegory that very much does not treat those two things as if they’re the same issue, which a lot of “you’ve been different your whole life and everyone has always hated you for it” type stories at the time, and a bunch to this day, are guilty of, so that they don’t actually have to get into anything more specific.

Elphaba has been scorned and tormented ever since the literal second of her birth for something she cannot change or hide. She’s from a wealthy background, but doesn’t play nice with others. She has an absurd amount of talent, but that only serves to make her more of a target, as she is only seen as someone of worth when she can do something for more powerful people around her. Her otherness is only forgivable when she is being exemplary, because being just as good as everyone else is not good enough when you’re different. Elphaba can’t hide, but she also doesn’t really have to cover up what Glinda was to her. She loses nothing if everyone knows that Glinda was kind to her, or that she was the one to insist Glinda be allowed to learn magic. She has significantly more experience with marginalization, even as the daughter of a prominent government official, than Glinda does, and it changes the way she interacts with the world.

Glinda is rich, blonde, charismatic, and gets her way always. She’s not the most talented, but she’s not uniquely restricted or handicapped in anyway whatsoever. She’s privileged, and the only thing she ever does that’s out of line is care about the wrong person. Glinda can, and does, hide that thing that makes her different. The thing that makes her stand out from the rest of Oz is something that she can ignore in order to make herself look better. Yes, she’ll be alone and unhappy, but she has her job, and her popularity, and she can have everything she’s ever wanted. Because, regardless of whether you think it’s romantic or platonic, Glinda is closeted. Her feelings about Elphaba leave her to mourn alone in a crowd of celebrating people.

[wilderhazard]

It's curious to read liberal Zionist arguments that a single, binational state would be equivalent to a pogrom, and what we need is a "two-state solution." A two-state solution adhering to the 1967 borders would require the expulsion of half a million Israeli settlers from the West Bank, which the same liberal Zionists would also decry as a pogrom if it were actually a concrete possibility. The appeal of the two-state solution is that it will not happen—it has virtually no political constituency in Israel itself outside of a couple marginal Arab parties. A supermajority in the Knesset and in Israeli civil society is in support of annexing all or part of the West Bank, with a substantial minority holding ambitions far beyond this.

I can see two reasons this argument persists. The more charitable reading is a kind of liberal pragmatist fantasy: a "two-state solution," hypothetically, would require no fundamental change to the Israeli state. It could continue to exist as it does with a few modest concessions. This ignores the fact that the Israeli state as it exists is thoroughly committed to expansion. The only debate within Israeli society is how much to expand—will we simply absorb "Area C" of the West Bank? All of the West Bank? The Golan Heights? Sinai? But the liberal Zionist perhaps earnestly wants to believe that Israel as it is can somehow be made content to stay within the Green Line. (This requires either a superhuman optimism, or simple ignorance.)

Alternatively, the liberal Zionist knows that the Amos Oz "fair divorce" fantasy is long dead, and is doing what colonial liberals have always done: providing humanitarian cover for the genocidal project of colonization. "No, we promise, a humane solution is possible within the existing institutions!" If the liberal Zionist in question is writing for a major bourgeois outlet, cynical propaganda is the safe assumption. Anyone who can read a map immediately sees the issue with the proposal of "a Palestinian state, alongside Israel:" where are you going to put it?

[visenyaism]

really what the wizard of oz is about is a plucky young sjw new deal democrat and her pet dog (useless VP nominee) getting even the brainless (reactionary southerners) heartless (yankee political machinists) and cowardly (white collar liberal bourgeois) (new deal coalition) to work together to defeat wizard jennings bryan who is trying to crucify oz on a cross of gold (yellow brick) who commands them to defeat the wicked witch of the west (industrialist union-busters) and her flying monkeys (thats evolution.) Before it is of course ultimately revealed that the Glinda the good witch (wilsonian liberalism) and wizard jennings bryan are of course charlatans with no electoral power beyond populist rhetoric. And what does Dorothy do? Click her ruby (red for the blood of the working man) heels together three times and realize that the power (expansion of executive authority) was in her purview (supply-side economics) all along. and then of course she gets home and reports her father to the proper authorities for planting an extra acre of wheat.

[mariacallous]

I’m not even sure whether I can taste pure Old Bay anymore, because the condiment is infused with so many memories of home. I grew up sprinkling it on everything—blue crabs, sure, but also watermelon, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese—and I can shuffle through decades of pictures from family reunions, county fairs, church picnics, and back porches where the iconic yellow, red, and blue tins keep popping up like someone’s second cousin, not quite front and center yet always in the frame.

If you’re new to Old Bay, get a tin and shake the contents liberally on popcorn or potato chips—a starter dish, from which you can and should expand. You’ll soon find that you can add the condiment to almost anything. One of my favorite dishes that uses Old Bay as an essential ingredient comes via an old family friend. Keith Davis is a Jack-of-all-trades: a fantastic general contractor, but also a church usher, a builder of wheelchair ramps, a Santa Claus when seasonally necessary, and, lately, a food-truck entrepreneur, grilling burgers and deep-frying funnel cakes for every community event and private party in the area. He goes by Mr. Keith; his food truck is known as Fat Boy’s Fixins, named in honor of the man who taught him to grill and whose Santa suit he inherited.

Of all the things Davis serves up, he might be best known for his crab soup, which he makes in ten-gallon batches and lets the local Ruritan Club sell by the pint every fall at the Waterfowl Festival, when somewhere between fourteen thousand and twenty thousand people descend on the Eastern Shore to see the work of hundreds of decoy carvers and local artists, listen to waterfowl-calling contests, and watch demonstrations of dock dogs, raptors, and fly-fishing. Davis is there every year, gossiping with his fellow-volunteers, talking with out-of-towners, and tossing hunks of crab meat into stew pots. Normally you’d have to shell out eight dollars for even just a cup, but here, exclusively for newsletter readers, free of charge, is the best crab soup you’ll ever taste, a shockingly easy, practically pre-made recipe for trying out America’s greatest condiment: Old Bay.

Mr. Keith’s Crab Soup

1 lb. crab meat (claw meat best) 64-Oz. bottle of Spicy V8 14.5 Oz. chicken broth 32 Oz. water 1 lb. mixed vegetables 1 Tbsp. Montreal Steak seasoning 1 Tbsp. Old Bay

Mix the V8, chicken broth, and water in a pot. Start heating the mixture, then add the vegetables, then the crab meat, and finally the spices. Cook on medium heat until the vegetables start to soften, stirring occasionally “so it doesn’t stick and burn on the bottom of the pot.”

[aquitainequeen]

I've been reading some excellent posts about the character development of Elphaba, Glinda and Fiyero and how this dictates who ends up together and who ends up alone at the end of the story, and I thought deeply upon the fact that:

all three of them are on a journey to gain a brain, a heart, and courage.

Elphaba starts the story already deeply intelligent, but while she's very loving toward her sister, she's emotionally closed off and afraid of losing control of her power and hurting people. She grows close to Dr. Dillamond, opens up to and befriends Glinda, develops a crush on Fiyero, and is eventually motivated by her empathy towards the plight of the Animals of Oz. By the end of Act One she gains the courage to take the Grimmerie for herself to boost her power, to defy Morrible and the Wizard and to bear the hatred of all of Oz for years afterwards.

Fiyero starts the story jaded and apathetic, pretending to be unintelligent, self-absorbed and shallow as he finds it's the easiest way to get through life. He even gets a whole song about how life is ultimately meaningless and it's far better never to try and achieve anything. Then it emerges that he's actually quick-witted and empathetic when he helps rescue the Lion Cub and starts to seriously think about the state of Oz. He falls hard for Elphaba to the point that he spends years trying to find her, but while he originally began to date Glinda because they were 'perfect together', he stays with her because he does genuinely care and doesn't want to hurt her. Roughly half way through Act Two and reunited with Elphaba, Fiyero finds his courage; he gives up everything to join her in defying the Wizard and Morrible's regime, saves her life very nearly at the cost of his own, endures brutal torture and a horrific transformation, and immediately sets out to help her once more. And he's potentially the one who comes up with a trick that not only allows them both to be free, safe and together but which eventually liberates Oz.

Glinda starts the story apparently genuinely self-absorbed and shallow, and while intelligent she's also spoiled and sheltered, finding methods to get her own way and move through life without much thought or effort. She wonders why Dr. Dillamond keeps going on about the past and is enrolled in Morrible's sorcery class purely because Elphaba wanted to repay her; while she repents of the way she initially treated Elphaba and comes to consider her a dear friend, she's far less empathetic to the fate of Dillamond and her renaming herself in solidarity with him is mostly to curry favour with Fiyero; she refuses to join Elphaba in her rebellion against the Wizard because she doesn't think it's a fight that can be won and she doesn't want to give up the position she has or the power she could achieve. Throughout Act Two Glinda goes along with the Wizard and Morrible because she doesn't dare risk losing what she's gained, she doesn't think of how she could use her influence to help those whom the regime is targeting and, while she loves Elphaba and Fiyero, she's very quick to turn around and lash out at her friend when Fiyero 'chooses' her and breaks Glinda's heart. It isn't until the eleventh hour that Glinda truly starts thinking about the methods of Morrible and realises she deliberately killed Nessarose, tries to stop the witch-hunt and rushes to save Elphaba from doing something irredeemable by hurting/killing Dorothy. Glinda's cunning in taking advantage of what she's learned about Elphaba's parentage, her courage in manipulating the Wizard into leaving and imprisoning Morrible, finishes what Elphaba started and Fiyero aided. By the end of the musical Glinda is wise, compassionate and courageous-

-but it's too late, because Elphaba and Fiyero are gone.