of one-eyed cyclops monsters. Their skulls have one
large central opening for the trunk, and look exactly
like giant one-eyed human skulls.)
On the island of Corfu, the enchantress Circe
changed his crewmen into pigs. But Odysseus, who
was protected by the holy moley herb (mandrake)
given him by Hermes, seduced her, and she helped
him by directing him to the Oracle of
the Dead. There the ghosts of his
mother, the blind seer Tiresias,
and other departed shades
advised him on the remainder
of his journey.
With this knowledge,
Odysseus steered his crew
safely past the Sirens by
stopping the sailors’ ears
with wax and having himself
tied to the mast. Although
losing six men, they also
survived the twin perils of Scylla
(a monster with six heads on long necks;
apparently a giant squid) and Charybdis, a whirlpool
in the straits of Messina (between Italy and Sicily).
Becalmed on the island of the sun-god, Apollo,
the crew disregarded all warnings and ate his cattle,
so Zeus sent a thunderbolt that smashed the ship.
Only Odysseus survived, as he had not participated
in the slaughter and feasting. He was cast ashore on
the island of Ogygia, home of the nymph Calypso,
who made him her lover and refused to let him leave.
Finally, after seven years, Odysseus sailed away on a
raft, only to be shipwrecked by another storm. He swam
ashore on the island of Phaeacia, where he was feasted
and entertained. After telling his story, he was, at long
last, escorted home to Ithaca.
During Odysseus’ 20-year absence, his wife,
Penelope, had remained faithful, but she was under
great pressure to remarry. A host of obnoxious suitors
had moved into her palace. Odysseus arrived
disguised as a ragged beggar, and observed their
insolent behavior and his wife’s fidelity. With the help
of his son, Telemachus, he slaughtered the suitors
and regained his kingdom.Lesson 6. Future Lore
by Ian Lurking Bear AndersonCreating Lore
One of the most important aspects of lore mastery
is mastering the power to create lore for the future.
Through writing, poetry, story telling, song and other
arts we can all add something to the lore of the future.
Take the time to record your visions, develop your
own invocations of the divine, draw pictures, and tell
stories about your spiritual journey or your quest for
magic. Even the humblest notebook can become thesource of great, enduring lore. You are limited only by
your own power to drink in the creative energy that
flows through the universe all around you.Computer Magic
This is a recent field in magical practice that has
flowered tremendously. Computers are useful for
creating illusion on the screen and conveying
information. It is important to remember that
everything that appears on the screen is an
illusion, even if sometimes a useful one.
These illusions can be used to broadcast
dreams and ideas, to keep culture alive and
growing. Just remember that visions of
other worlds on the computer screen are
no substitute for your own inner journeys,
and scenery on the screen is no substitute
for real Nature contact.
Computers are the enemy of secrecy, and
anything that appears on a computer network
can be considered possibly known by unwanted
persons. Never put oathbound or secret material into
email or on the web, even in encrypted form. This lack
of secrecy has its positive side too. Any information
broadcast over the Internet is very hard to destroy as
it spreads from place to place. Knowledge, recipes,
songs, paintings, political rants, alternative news, and
crackpot theories can be transmitted by computers
until there are many duplicates, and that information
cannot be repressed by the authorities.
Thanks to the World Wide Web, we all have
access to something like the old library at Alexandria
that was destroyed by religious fanatics long ago. A
staggering amount of art and literature is available as
well as the inevitable torrent of half-baked dreck. It’ll
be up to you to figure out which is which. This new
library is more changeable and chaotic than the old
one, but it contains a vast wealth of material. If you
find valuable material on the Web, you may want to
keep your own copy. Web pages are discontinued,
storage formats go out of date, empires and
civilizations all crumble someday, and the web itself
will not last forever. Those of you who enjoy using
the web may wish to compile a grimoire of printouts of
material you find especially worthwhile. Pick the good
stuff and don’t waste trees printing second-rate pages!
This great library is kept up by many librarians,
and what keeps it going is that people put good stuff
into it. When you are ready to, contribute to this library.
Put your own creative work into a website, or create a
website about one of your favorite topics, and do your
part to enrich the library. This is your chance to join in
the traditions of those who have written down and
passed on lore and culture even when it involved long
hours of writing by hand. Now that it is so much easier
to transmit information, we would be foolish to pass up
the opportunity. And check out http://www.GreySchool.comCourse Six: Spectrum, Part 2 293
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