>
> IB puts catholic mass in a similar mould, the wine becoming blood and
> so forth. IB cautions that catholic mass isn't generally as 'powerful'
> as it once was. Both as a result of modernisation and a reduction in
> the ceremony, cut backs in incense costumes etc., and translation
> which muddy the rhythms and so on of the Latin.
The Roman Catholic Church was in a decline around the time Isaac wrote this.
Membership and morale was down. There was a powerful traditionalist
movement shortly thereafter with the election of JP2 and which is being
carried on by the current pope. The hope was to get back some of the old
supernatural excitement. The incense and costumes are back, baby!
That whole traditional pederasty thing has become a bit of a problem,
though.
> After a break, and some boozing, the magic begins.
The intellectual types often need a little lubricating to lower their
inhibitions.
> "Almost every magical-religious ritual known performs the following
> acts: Emotion is aroused, increased built to a peak. A target imagined
> and a goal made clear. The emotional energy is focused, aimed, and
> fired at this goal. Then there is a follow through; this encourages
> any lingering energy to flow away and provides a safe letdown."
What Isaac is saying here is that this is how *he* sees almost every
magical-religious ritual unfolding. Most ot the actual adherents to rituals
in other religions don't describe it this way at all. The worship of God is
not a gun you use to shoot geese. That's Isaac's paranormal thing again.
Everybody thinks the thing they believe is what really happens. Isaac is
demonstrably no exception to this rule.
> The four adorations, are they magick?
They can be, but they often are just for show.
> What about celebrating Sahmin?
It doesn't matter what you celebrate. The celebration itself is the point.
> Do you consider the emotional release given by type of rituals
> described by IB as cathartic?
Not only cathartic but socially bonding. Although the effects are limited
on those who are only marginally able to focus on the experience being
narrated by the ritual.
> Do you consider the terms ritual and spell interchangeable?
Their meanings sometimes overlap but they're not exactly synonyms.
