2,000 Greater & Lesser Mysteries/2,000 Greater and Lesser Mysteries.iso/set/mys01928.txt

Text File | 1994-06-10 | 7.3 KB | 123 lines

"Temple of Set Reading List:
Category 21 - The Future" (8/1/89CE)
Reprinted from: _The Crystal Tablet of Set_
(c) Temple of Set 1989 CE
Weirdbase file version by TS permission

by Michael A. Aquino, Ipsissimus VI* Temple of Set
Electronic mail: MCI-Mail 278-4041

An effective magician must be able to move within and influence the fourth
dimension as well as the first three. Such skill involves understanding and
applying the principles which define and govern past periods of focus within
the time-continuum, together with both passive analysis and active
manipulation of the future. Time-Magic as employed by the Temple of Set may
involve either Greater Black Magic techniques [referred to as Erotic
Crystallization Inertia (ECI) techniques by Anton LaVey; see _Runes_ #II-6]
or Lesser Black Magic technology. The following selections include some of
the more sophisticated futurological thinking in conventional society - as
well as a few experiments-gone-wrong from _The Outer Limits_ ["There is
nothing wrong with your television set ..."]

21A. _The Future_ by Gerald Leinwand (Ed.). NY: Pocket Books #671-80316-6-
195, 1976. (TS-2) MA: "An anthology of selected readings concerning the
future, selected by the Dean of the School of Education, City University of
New York. Included are articles and extracts by such futurologists as
Asimov, Orwell, Huxley, Clarke, Kahn, Reischauer, Toffler, and Skinner. Most
of the contributions discuss developments of the near future which can be
interpolated more or less reliably, but there are some long-range
speculative essays as well. A good introductory work."

21B. _The Last Days_ by Anthony Hunter. London: Anthony Blond Ltd, 1958.
(CS-3) AL: "A fairly scarce work from England which explains the workings of
the prophets of doom who prey upon their followers' fears that the world
will end, tidal waves, earthquakes, etc."

21C. _Mankind at the Turning-Point_ by Mihajlo Mesarovic and Eduard Pestel.
NY: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1974. (TS-3) MA: "This is the second major book
sponsored by the Club of Rome [the first being Meadows' _The Limits to
Growth_]. It expands upon and updates the data in Limits and responds to
critics. Far more sophisticated than the sensationalist 'doomsday' books
that sprang up following the appearance of Limits (which Raghavan Iyer,
author of #16F and a member of the Club of Rome himself, told me was
deliberately sensationalized in order to 'shock' the public - which of
course it did)."

21D. _War in 2080: The Future of Military Technology_ by David Langford. NY:
William Morrow & Co., 1974. (TS-3) MA: "Langford is a physicist and science-
fiction devotee [#7D], and he applies his skills in both areas in this
excellent work. Topics treated include fission & fusion bombs, concepts of
nuclear warfare, death rays (lasers, grasers [gamma-ray lasers], antimatter
projectors, particle beams), orbital battlegrounds, geological warfare,
ecological warfare, and human & non-human warfare in space. A good
theoretical background study for #22N. For a specialized discussion of space
warfare probabilities and possibilities, see also _Space Weapons/Space War_
by John W. Macvey (NY: Stein & Day, 1979."

21E. _The Next Ten Thousand Years_ by Adrian Berry. NY: Mentor Books, 1974.
(TS-3) MA: "This is definitely long-range! An optimistic challenge to the
'doomsday' books that followed _Limits to Growth_, and a scientific scenario
for survival within the Solar System with technological aid. Well-argued,
with consideration given to the many influential factors. Nevertheless Berry
seems excessively confident in the ability of the masses of humanity to
cooperate in egalitarian 'master plans'."

21F. _Foundation/Foundation and Empire/Second Foundation_ by Isaac Asimov.
NY: Avon Books, 1951. (TS-4) MA: "Brilliant trilogy of the future, based
upon Asimov's concept of 'psychohistory'. This concept and others introduced
in the text inspired certain aspects in the original design of the Temple of
Set. In late XVII Asimov published a sequel to the original trilogy -
_Foundation's Edge_ - which I reviewed in _Scroll of Set_ #IX-3, which in
turn was commented upon by Asimov. The series was merged with Asimov's robot
series [cf. #15D] in _Foundation and Earth_ (NY: Doubleday, 1986), in which
the ultimate justification for mankind's galactic unification is considered
to be the eventual invasion of the Milky Way Galaxy by denizens from other
galaxies. [Too late, Isaac - see #22N.]"

21G. _Metropolis_ by Thea von Harbou. NY: Ace Books #441-52831-125, 1927.
(TS-5) MA: "An Expressionistic portrait of a negative utopia in which humans
are controlled by machines - save for one Black Magician (Rotwang). The
novel from which Fritz Lang's classic UFA film was made, and the basis for
many electronic/audio-visual ritual techniques employed by the Church of
Satan and further developed by the Temple of Set. A _King in Yellow_ of
science-fiction, preserved today through the personal efforts of Forrest J
Ackerman. To understand Metropolis in the context of German Expressionist
cinema, see _The Haunted Screen_ by Lotte E. Eisner (Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1973)."

21H. _Political Science and the Study of the Future_ by Albert Somit.
Hinsdale, Illinois: Dryden Press, 1974. (TS-3) MA: "This is a theoretical
text with accompanying case studies, and it is primarily valuable for its
explanation and illustration of various social forecasting techniques,
including: social physics (ideological theories, logistics curves,
Kondratieff cycles), economic forecasting, demographic extrapolation,
technological change, structural certainties, operational codes, operational
systems, structural requisites, overriding problems, prime movers,
sequential development, accounting schemes, scenarios, and decision theory.
Another good introductory work without social science emphasis is Edward
Cornish's _The Study of the Future_ (Washington, D.C.: World Future Society,
1977)."

21I. _Your Next Fifty Years_ by Robert W. Prehoda. NY: Ace Books, 1980. (TS-
2) MA: "Prehoda is playing his cards a bit closer to his chest than the
author of #21E. This book now has fewer than 50 years to go, which ought to
count for a discount on the price if you find it, but probably won't. It is
a 'projected history' book oriented towards individual perspective, i.e.
what you as an individual are likely to see and/or experience in the midst
of society. A highly optimistic, highly readable, non-technical work.
Reassuring - perhaps too much so - after reading #14E."

21J. _A Quick & Dirty Guide to War_ by James F. Dunnigan & Austin Bay. NY:
William Morrow, 1985. (TS-3) MA: "This heavy-duty paperback is subtitled
'Briefings on Present and Potential Wars', and that pretty well sums it up.
As depressing as it is to admit, the world continues to move away from
international peace and cooperation and closer to a kind of 'tolerable/
continuous state of war', and - by geographic area - this book provides
'intelligence briefings' to tell you what is most likely to hit the fan
where [if it isn't already doing so]. Regularly updated, so look for the
latest edition. This project is an attempt by the authors to overcome the
short-sightedness of most press coverage, and to tell you about things
before they happen. Jammed with facts and data: political forecasting of the
most substantive kind."