To know, to will, to dare, to keep silent

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

How dumb can one be?

Just got a job [last month] in a 'metaphysical bookstore'
that offers up the usual magickal goodies, with a 
particularly strong line in crystals and minerals. The owner
was in Tuscon last week, there's an annual rock & gem show:
http://www.colored-stone.com/tsg/show_index.cfm

So, a big part of my ongoing education at the 'Unicorn' has to
do with the properties of various hunks 'o' rock. As it turns out, 
my wife has been collecting crystals since she was seven years
old. Her finest specimens happen to be the most potently
magical. There's two large quartz crystals on the mantlepiece 
over the fireplace, lit up by these little LED color organs. The 
differences in refraction from the crystal formations results
in beautiful and not always predictable shifts in color. There 
is a large [about six inches in radius, 12 inches high] cylinder
of calcite and two scrying balls, one of extraordinarly clear 
quartz, the other highly polished jet:

http://www.rainbowcrystal.com/crystal/gems/jet.html

Gail's got big hunks of amethyst spirit quartz, polished spheres 
of amber and many other crystals and stones known for their
healing characteristics. And of course, the novel currently 
discussed develops many plot tangents derived from the 
polarizing attributes of these crystals.

So, in Against the Day, the central metaphor is the angle
of light and the Angels of light---too clever by half, perhaps, 
but precisly the variety of bad, low pun our beloved author 
deploys to illuminate a concept. "Against the Day" must 
necessarly be pushing back, against the sun: 

          "Why fum'th in fight the Gentiles spite, 
          in fury raging stout?

          Why tak'th in hand the people fond, 
          vain things to bring about?

          The Kings arise, the Lords devise, 
          in counsels met thereto,

          against the Lord with false accord, 
          against His Christ they go"
          Thomas Tallis

http://www.salagram.net/jesus-christ-kristos-page.htm
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=c&p=31

Christ & Crystal.

That message turns out to be deeply encrypted in 
Against the Day, pages 896/897.

I know OBA's intro to Stone Junction, was reading my
favorite "How To" book on Wicca, and couldn't help but notice 
the following [this, by the way, is casting the circle, feel
free to consider this a demonstration 'for entertainment
only', though hopefully you find this educational as well]:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0062516329/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-5007720-5327935#

East, direction of the Dawn, is the direction of KNOWING [the link 
goes to page 81 from "The Sprial Dance", pgs 87/90 get into 
the particular qualities of the four directions utilized in 
western ceremonial magic traditions ], south---fire--is WILL, the 
waters of the west DARE, the earth of the north grounds, KEEPS 
SILENT, gives birth out of the darkness. So, in invoking these
four basic intellectual powers, Pynchon cast a circle to open 
up "Stone Junction".

There are many passages in Against the Day that could have 
just as easily been called "Stone Junction." I'll finally get around 
to reading that just as soon as I finish re-reading Starhawk's 
"The Spiral Dance".