Obe, your reference to Dennis Wheatley touches me deeply.
He is one of the authors who are central to who I am.
I will soon post an essay mentioning him as one of the sources of my interest in the occult. The essay provides the biographical context to my recent published review of Nevill Drury's Stealing Fire from Heaven : The Rise of Modern Western Magic.
Along with Lobsang Rampa and Marvel Comics, particularly with the Marvel character Dr. Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, English girls comics such as Mandy and comics like Uncanny Tales, Wheatley's novels are among the earliest modern Western depictions of the occult in literature.
I am working towards contributing to giving body to the study of spirituality in literature and art in terms of both scholarship and spiritual practice.
Some of the best insights I have come across on the occult and spirituality are in literature and art.
The imaginative form adopted by the verbal and visual arts enables these insights to emerge with particular depth.
An equivalent to Wheatley in terms of comparative location in the history of Nigerian literature as well as content is Dilibe Onyeama's occult novels, such as Juju and Revenge of the Medicine Man, which I remember as drawing upon South Eastern Nigerian esoteric orders, such as the Leopard Society.
Onyeama may be correlated in terms of literary study and accounts of magical theory and technique with a range of works in Western fictional magical literature which develop related perspectives.
Such correlations could parallel the contemporary correlation among Western magicians of Western magic and ancient Egyptian and African-American spirituality.
Onyeama develops the subject of what is known in Western fictional magical literature as Shapeshifting, that is a human being assuming the form of a non-human creature.If I remember well, he describes a theory and technique of how to proceed with it that seems similar to Western Druidic, witchcraft and shamanistic fictional literature.
The technique described in Onyeama's work may be related to that which is graphically elaborated in the Western fictional magical novels At the Edge of Darkness by Barbara Erskine and Darker than You Think by Jack Williamson.
These novels elaborate on this same idea in a form also evident in Nigerian witchcraft lore and general folklore.
This idea is expressed in two major forms in these cultural streams within and beyond literature.
These are astral shape-shifting , assuming non-human form for action in a plane that is not physical but which accesses the physical.
The second is physical shape-shifting, assuming non-human form in physical terms.
The third is a combination of both.
A variation on the shape-shifting techniques evident in these works is presented in the technique of projecting a Patronus, an imagined animal form that exemplifies one's ideals, in J. K Rowling's Harry Potter novels.
It is possible to work out a complete body of theory and technique of these idea from Onyeama's novels and those of Western writers.
Some of the practical occult techniques in these examples of occult imaginative literature can be profitably experimented with.
Are these techniques workable?
Up to a point certainly.
As magical techniques understood as centred in imagination and restricted to imagination, whatever one might think of the reality of the imagination and its correlates in dream, they are certainly workable, and provide fascinating possibilities for experiment.
Whether or not they may be used to affect events in the physical world or in terms of manifesting in the physical world in terms of an animal, as Nigerian occult lore and some of the fictional works depict, I dont know.
Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series presents a warning of the dangers of the technique when used in terms of actual physical transformation as leading to withdrawal from human mentality if indulged in for too long, an idea also described in Williamson's Darker than You Think.
While the other books I have mentioned, except J.K Rowling, do not address the technique as anything beyond a methodology, Inbali Iserles' The Tygrine Cat and The Tygrine Cat on the Run, though having nothing to do with shapeshifting, to me suggest sublime ideas that may be correlated with the technique.
She develops ideas about a balance between qualities which may be expressed in terms of good or evil, expressing them in terms of cats. Cats being the quintessential idea of a witchcraft familiar in Western folklore and literature and having related associations in Nigerian witchcraft lore,the idea may thus be developed of identifying such an assumption of an animal shape with sublime qualities represented by a particular animal.
The scope of such symbolizations thus opens up wonderfully, as with Mazisi Kunene's wonderful animal characterizations in his account of classical Zulu philosophy and spirituality in his introduction to his Anthem of the Decades, that introduction being perhaps his richest and most accomplished work.
The instinct of a cat may be interpreted in terms of human intuition, the chameleon's adaptation to environment while maintaining its own identity may be seen as a quality a human being may profitably cultivate, an idea adapted from the symbolism of spatial navigation in relation to the Chameleon Gate c in Nigeria's Osun forest by Susan Wenger and her school and related to Ahmadou Hampate Ba's extensive exposition of animal symbolism in his retelling of the Fulani cosmological epic Kaidara and in other sources online,the folds of the snake could suggest the unfolding of cycles of time, as indicated in Kunene's Anthem intrduction, the elevated vision of a bird the ability to scan the plethora of possibilities that constitute the landscape of being and becoming from a exalted vantage point, as indicated in Angulu Owuejeogwu's account of the assistants of the Afa divination deity Agwu in Afa Symbolism and Phenomenology and of bird imagery on an particular opon ifa, the divination tray of the Ifa divination system in an essay in The Yoruba Artist, if I remember well, among many other possibilities of integrating nature and humanity by using nature in exemplifying qualities humans may identify with.
The technique of imaginal shapeshifting, if I may so name it, as I distilled so far from these novels works in terms of the following stages:
1. Select an animal whose behavior and perhaps appearance represent qualities you identify deeply with.
2. Meditate at length on this animal. Study it as much as possible in different contexts. If you can study it in its habitat, even better.
3. In a contemplative state, at chosen times when you will not be disturbed, imagine you are the animal, imagine you assume its form and move and act as the animal.
You could use sequential deep breathing to help place yourself in this contemplative state, you could use music, you could use a picture of the animal , you could use ritual, or all these and more at once. Anything that relaxes you and perhaps stimulates your imagination.
The most precise description of this technique in the works I have mentioned is in Williamson's Darker than You Think and the Harry Potter novels. The most careful description of the various ways of applying the technique among these works is in Erskine's At the Edge of Darkness , which is centred in a fascinating fictional exploration of the idea of parallel time streams and how to explore them.
Erskine adds the idea of exploring magical techniques by boosting one's abilities using centres of spiritual power in nature, such centres being central to philosophies of nature in various cultures, including Western esoteric thought.
I have used this visualization technique to imagine myself as a bird flying far above the ground and perched on a tree, watching my fellow humans in the minutiae of their existence on the ground far below, thereby evoking a perspective on the scale of human experience in terms of the breadth of space.
Is it possible to go further and experience yourself as somewhere else in that animal form, perhaps somewhere that has a physical structure but is not located in conventionally accessible physical reality, while your body is at rest at your point of departure?
Is it possible to rendezvous with other people at such a location and communicate with them, all these being activities attributed to witches in Nigerian witchcraft lore?
Perhaps. I state so because I have experienced this inadvertently while in reverie on a natural centre of spiritual power, a specific forest, which could have aided the projection of consciousness,as the Rosicrucian school of AMORC describes such presence beyond one's body, although my experience was conducted in terms of the image of my human form.
This summation is not meant to have any relationship to the topic of this thread. Its something I was moved to put down quickly because I have been thinking of it for some time.
Thanks for the stimulation, Obe.
thanks
toyin
On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 11:45 AM, Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com> wrote:
As youngsters, my sister and I used to read to each other the novels of Dennis Wheatley. (I guess we read them with the kind of doublethink that Chinua Achebe describes before he realised that he was the savage on the banks of the river in those Joseph Conrad novels.) But the occult-themed ones took a lot from Indian or Hindu beliefs about the meaning of skin colour as regards one's progress on the spiritual journey through many reincarnations, where the darker the skin, the longer the journey ahead of you, while the lighter the skin, the closer one was to whatever it is that the end of the journey of the human soul was on - Nirvana? Their caste system is based partly on the idea that a Brahmin has lighter skin than the lowest castes. So I believe there may be other roots to the lighter skin = better human being idea besides colonialism and slavery. (Mind you, to the colonisers, the Indians were all "blacks").In this part of the world however, the skin colour issue is at least as much an aesthetic one, and if I compare it to the obsession of other races with blonde hair, it is because where most are dark, what is light stands out. The converse ought to be true, but it is the same races who have fetishised their light skin (by way of providing themselves with a justification for slavery & colonialism) who would be the ones amongst whom dark skin would stand out.It is true that if one works in the open as a peasant or manual labourer, one is likely to be darker, and thus skin that was not sunburned or suntanned may have been the mark of the leisured classes whose ladies could delicately shield themselves from the sun. Conversely, when the industrial revolution took workers out of the fields and into factories where the working classes saw little sun, and became stunted, sickly and pale because of the long factory hours the idea of a suntan as a mark of leisure and status may have taken hold. I don't know. But I don't find convincing the equivalence sought to be drawn between oyinbo liking for tanned skin and some supposed acceptance of black as beautiful, or more importantly, as equal. In societies where skin colour defined social status, lighter skin could mean wanting to be white, but a Nigerian woman who bleaches her skin is not 'trying to be white' as a declaration of racial self-hatred. She's just 'going blonde'. Nor do I find the liking of African or black women in Nigeria for straightened hair, weaves or attachments to be evidence of 'wanting to be white' per se. People just like to do stuff with their hair.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijamaCulture marks difference but it more importantly imbibes values and resultantly informs thought and attitude, both of which help to shape perception of and behavior toward others. Power and wealth may be important but it is not all the time that they advance social status. In Great Britain for example, breeding thumps wealth as a proximate determinant of social status. A "poor" aristocrat has higher society standing than a wealthy commoner. Old money is more prestigious than new money. Poor white people in the deep south of the U.S. believe themselves to be superior to more affluent minorities. In many cases, the system continues to encourage them to continue to so believe.
Slavery and colonization have taken a heavy toll on the darker skinned people of the world. Together they helped to infuse cultural arrogance, superiority, and entitlement in minds of enslavers and colonialists. Skin color became synonymous with racial difference, consequent superiority or inferiority, and collateral advantage or disadvantage. History has not been kind enough to darker skinned people. It was said in 2007/8 for example that the U.S. was not ready for a black president. While one may only imagine what was meant by that statement, we now know that the statement was a ruse and untrue.
Times indeed are changing but not quickly enough to undo the many damages that dark skinned people of the world have endured and in many cases continue to endure.
oa
-----Original Message-----
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kenneth harrow
Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 10:07 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - RE: white smoke, white pope
it isn't the color that is the issue: obviously this has changed over time, like tan as the marker for beauty and whiteness with the rise of the bourgeoisie in the 18th century, and will continue to change. it is the association between black people and their status. the link to slavery and race, both in the arab world and the west, make black a synonym for race, even when it wasn't really the color. so, as black status changes in a community, so too does this color marker of status.
but it makes little sense to limit this issue of markers of high status and low only to race or racial markers. class functions there as well, and the markers of class, in speech and dress and education, also create superior and inferior capitol. it is easy enough to see this within our lifetimes as the status of blacks in america has changed and attitudes conveying that status have changed enormously. not that the prejudice is gone, but it is enormously different from what it was say 60 years ago.
i don't see culture then as the determinant of status; culture marks difference, and with difference values of superior or inferior can be created. but the status linked to power and wealth seems to me more relevant.
ken
On 3/13/13 9:13 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:'was there ever a time when one group did not think it was superior to
another?'
I am assuming that this is a real question and not a diversionarytactic -
so let me give it a shot.A theoretical distinction should be made between sentiments ofsuperioritybased on culture and those based on race, whiteness and the absenceof melanin. On the average, over time and space, the crucialdeterminantfor many groups seemed to have been culture.
A shift to 'tanner' is not a sign of progress. It is an insult topeople of ebony/ dark skin tones. The implication is that they have
to 'lighten up' to'catch up' with the "brown latinos". If this is not pigmentational
eugenics,what is?
Professor Gloria EmeagwaliProf. of History & African StudiesHistory Department
Central Connecticut State UniversityNew BritainCT 06050africahistory.netvimeo.com/user5946750/videos
Documentaries on Africa and the African Diaspora________________________________________From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com[usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of kenneth harrow
[harrow@msu.edu]Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 7:36 PMTo: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comSubject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - RE: white smoke, white pope
was there ever a time when one group did not think it was superior toanother?
as for whiteness, and female beauty, hasn't there been a shift in thedirection of tanner, closer to darker? don't you think that trend will
continue as the u.s. gets more hispanic/latino? as the global northyields more to the global south?kenOn 3/13/13 6:56 PM, Emeagwali, Gloria (History) wrote:..."it seems axiomatic since 1800 that the lighter the skin color,regardless of region and heritage, the more acceptable and
comfortable ....."KissiIt's all about white supremacist megalomania and pigmentational eugenics-
mental disorders and symptoms of the psychologically depraved.But why 1800?I would go back to 1492.Gloria-----Original Message-----From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
[mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Kissi,
EdwardSent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 4:39 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comSubject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - RE: white smoke, white pope
I would add, Gloria, that it seems axiomatic since 1800 that the lighter the skin color, regardless of region and heritage, the more acceptable and comfortable; the darker the skin hue, however, the more visually unpleasant and internally uncomfortable.... Even this is true to men of faith. Behold, the verities of Blackness! We will be back to this discussion again, the next time a Pope is needed. Until then, Adieu!!
Edward Kissi-----Original Message-----From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com[mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Emeagwali,
Gloria (History)Sent: Wednesday, March 13, 2013 3:16 PM
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.comSubject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - white smoke, white popewhite smoke, white popeblack smoke, no deal.Welcome to the new pope:Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina
Professor Gloria EmeagwaliProf. of History & African Studies
History DepartmentCentral Connecticut State University
New BritainCT 06050www.africahistory.net<http://www.africahistory.net/>
www.vimeo.com/user5946750/videos<http://www.vimeo.com/user5946750/vid
eos> Documentaries on Africa and the African Diaspora--kenneth w. harrowfaculty excellence advocate
distinguished professor of englishmichigan state universitydepartment of english
619 red cedar roadroom C-614 wells halleast lansing, mi 48824
ph. 517 803 8839harrow@msu.edu
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