Talismans and Spells For Law Students

[hiddenjewel]

[CoxlessPair]

Was it the 1L make you crazy or were you always doing sh*t like this?

[bazar]

This is Baphomet. It is widely used in Satanism.

Baphomet is an idol or image of a being typically described as demonic. The name first came to public consciousness as a part of the suppression of the Knights Templar. During the judicial proceedings and inquisitions of the Knights Templar, assertions were made that the knights engaged in pagan idolatry. The Templar idol has been variously described as having a human skull for a head, as having two faces, as a cat-like creature or alternately as a bearded head. The idol was said to be worshipped by the Knights Templar in their latter days as the source of fertility and wealth. During the suppression of the Knights Templar it was claimed by the Inquisition that the knights used a Baphomet as part of their initiation ceremonies. This, among other assertions, was used to portray their Order as heretical.

Allegations of demonic activity on the Knights' part arose when Philip IV (who it is believed owed a substantial sum of money to members of the Knights) plotted along with Pope Clement V to destroy the order. On October 13th 1307, Philip IV had Grand Master Jacques de Molay and 140 other knights arrested in the Paris Temple. More arrests followed throughout France. The Templars were subjected to torture en masse. The Roman Catholic Church with its inquisitors, accused them of Devil worship, blasphemy, sodomy, and idolatry. There was secrecy surrounding their meetings and wild rumors spread concerning bizarre initiation rituals that did much to promote public suspicion of the order. Under torture, members of the order admitted to renouncing the Nazarene; spitting on, trampling and urinating on the crucifix; engaging in intercourse with demons; indulging in "sexual perversity" (homosexual sex); and to worshipping the idol of Baphomet. Many of the Templars were burned at the stake and murdered by the inquisition, the most noted being Grand Master Jacques de Molay, who after being imprisoned and tortured for 7 years was burnt alive at the stake.


Baphomet, by Eliphas Lévi. The arms bear the Latin words SOLVE (dissolve) and COAGULA (congeal).

The goat on the frontispiece carries the sign of the pentagram on the forehead, with one point at the top, a symbol of light, his two hands forming the sign of hermetism, the one pointing up to the white moon of Chesed, the other pointing down to the black one of Geburah. This sign expresses the perfect harmony of mercy with justice. His one arm is female, the other male like the ones of the androgyn of Khunrath, the attributes of which we had to unite with those of our goat because he is one and the same symbol. The flame of intelligence shining between his horns is the magic light of the universal balance, the image of the soul elevated above matter, as the flame, whilst being tied to matter, shines above it. The ugly beast's head expresses the horror of the sinner, whose materially acting, solely reponsible part has to bear the punishment exclusively; because the soul is insensitive according to its nature and can only suffer when it materializes. The rod standing instead of genitals symbolizes eternal life, the body covered with scales the water, the semi- circle above it the atmosphere, the feathers following above the volatile. Humanity is represented by the two breasts and the androgyn arms of this sphinx of the occult sciences.

Levi called his image "the Baphomet of Mendes." Levi combined the images of the Tarot Devil card and the he-goat worshipped in the city of Mendes in Ancient Egypt. It is unclear whether the Ancient Egyptian women had intercourse with the goat during religious rites for fertility, but the Catholic Church claimed this and it is possible that this is where the notion that the Devil had intercourse with his witches came from. The goat (sometimes a ram was used) was the master of fertility and was celebrated as "copulator in Anep and inseminator in the district of Mendes," where women were blessed with children. During rituals, women danced naked before the image. The Order of Nine Angles claims another perspective to Baphomet.

Critics argue that Levi and other writers, such as Albert Pike, were attempting to to use the false accusations against the Templars to fabricate from the name Baphomet a veritable Deity of Hedonism and Rebellion against a Christian establishment. Levi's now-familiar image shown here as a "Sabbatic Goat" may have partially derived from the 18th-19th century Spanish artist Francisco Goya, who painted a "Witch's Sabbath" in 1800 in which a group of seated women were offering their dead infant children to a seated goat. Critics also say that Levi incorrectly identified Baphomet with the Goat of Mendes, an ancient Egyptian god whose name should more properly be translated as "Harpocrates, the Ram of Mendes," a sheep-god who was the Creator and tutelary deity of his region (the city of Mendes). Harpocrates was a granter of fertility, but he was not associated with debauch or lust -- and, most important from the standpoint of this investigation into mythography, in animal-form, he was a ram, not a buck goat.

Baphomet, as Lévi's illustration suggests, has occasionally been portrayed as a synonym of Satan or a demon, a member of the hierarchy of Hell. Baphomet appears in that guise as a character in James Blish's The Day After Judgment. Jack Chick claims that he is a demon worshipped by Freemasons, a claim that apparently originated with the Taxil hoax. The head of Lévi's Baphomet was inscribed with a pentagram which is a symbol occasionally adopted by Wiccans and other students of the Occult. A goat head inscribed within an inverted pentagram, the upper points filled by the horns, the side points by the ears, and the bottom by the bearded chin, is a symbol occasionally adopted by Satanists and other followers of a Left-Hand Path. The head, horns and torch together take the form of a Fleur-de-lis.

[voir dire]

Theosophical Seal

[thee]

hidden, your moniker reminds me a story I read some time ago; here it is:

Each day, for a period of ten years, a beggar ascetic appears in the audience chamber of the king. Silently giving him a simple gift of a piece of fruit, he then withdraws into the crowd. Each time this happens the trifling present is taken away by the king's servants and cast aside. Then, one day, after the beggar has made his offering and left, a rascal monkey who has escaped from the women's quarters in the inner palace jumps into the arms of the king and is playfully handed the piece of fruit given to him that day by the ascetic. When the animal bites into it, a jewel drops out and rolls across the floor.

Curious about the other pieces of fruit, the King investigates and discovers that they have all been carelessly tossed through a window into a locked chamber in his treasury. When he enters the room, he finds amidst a pile of rotten fruit ten years worth of priceless gems. The next day, when the beggar arrives with his offering, the king refuses to accept it until the man stops to talk with him. The visitor requests a private audience, in which he reveals to the king that he needs a hero who can assist him in a magic enterprise of great importance. This person must be a true hero, one with the powers of an exorcist, explains the ascetic, and invites him to come to the funeral ground on the evening of the next full moon.

On the appointed night, the king seeks out the beggar in this uncanny place filled with specters and demons. There he finds the holy man occupied in drawing a magic circle on the ground - a mandala. 'Here I am', says the king. 'What can I do for you?' He is told to fetch a corpse from the other side of the funeral grounds, where it is hanging in a tree. The king cuts down the corpse, which seems to moan when it hits the ground. Thinking the body must be alive, he begins to treat it more carefully. But a shrill voice, coming from the throat of the corpse, laughs at him, and the king realizes that the body is actually possessed by a ghost. 'What are you laughing at?' he demands. But by speaking he causes the corpse to fly back to the tree where it hangs in the same position as before.

Again the king cuts it down, and this time SILENTLY hoisting it over his shoulder, he begins to make his way back to the ascetic. 'Let me shorten your trip with a tale', the ghost offers. The king, apparently wary about speaking, lest he cause the corpse to once more magically fly back to the tree, remains silent. He is treated to a story which ends in a riddle that the ghost poses. 'If you cannot answer it', the ghost threatens, 'your head will explode'.

So the king finds a solution, which he describes in words to the ghost. But this, as might have been expected, causes the corpse to fly from the king's shoulder back to the tree, where it hangs once again. The king returns to the tree, cuts the corpse down, and begins his trek across the cemetery yet another time. But the same thing happens. Another tale, another riddle which the king solves, causing the corpse to fly back to the tree. This occurs a total of 25 times. The last time, however, the king cannot answer the riddle, as hard as he might try. But his head does not burst, at least not literally, and in fact his inability to come up with a solution is what prompts the ghost to quit the corpse, thereby permitting the king to successfully carry it back to the ascetic's magic circle.

But before he arrives at his destination the ghost reveals that the beggar is in fact a sorcerer, a necromancer who is preparing the mandala in order to achieve an evil end. The ascetic intends to bind the ghost to the corpse, place it in the center of the circle, and worship it as a deity. To achieve this goal he will have to sacrifice the king - which he will accomplish by getting him to enter the circle and bow, at which time his head will be chopped off.

The necromancer, having recieved the corpse from the king, washes and decorates it, puts it in the magic circle, and with powerful incantations summons the ghost to enter it. Having been warned of what is about to happen, and also having been given instructions by the ghost about precisely what he must do at this critical juncture if he is to avoid his demise, the king feigns ignorance when the ascetic commands him to enter the circle and worship the dead body with a bow. He asks the beggar to show him how he wishes this to be done. When the beggar enters the circle and bends over, the king cuts his head off, and offers it, along with the man's heart, up to the corpse. Then all of the spirits in the cemetery rejoice, since 'by this deed he had redeemed the supernatural powers from the threat of the necromancer, who had been on the very point of reducing them all to slavery and enchantment'.

'What the necromancer sought', the ghost now informs the king, 'was absolute power over souls and ghouls and over all the spiritual presences of the supernatural domain'. 'That power now shall be yours, O King, and when your life on earth is ended', says the ghost, 'dominion over the whole earth, will be given you'. He also offers the king the fulfillment of one wish. 'I have tormented you; I shall therefore now make atonement. What do you wish? Announce your desire and it shall be yours'. In reply, the king simply asks that the 25 tales and the overall story of this night's adventures become known the whole world over and remain eternally famous.

[zheng]

[racheles05]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was a joke. I mean, the last "talisman" was the seal from $$. I think it's a joke, like, bribe your prof or something.

[DC]

hidden, your moniker reminds me a story I read some time ago

Once upon a time, there was a man who fell into a drunken sleep while far from home with a friend. His friend stayed by him as long as he could, but being compelled to go on, and fearing that his drunken friend might have difficulty finding his way, this man hid a valuable jewel in his drunken friend’s garment.

When the man recovered, not realizing that his friend had hidden a precious jewel in his garment, he wandered in poverty and hunger from place to place trying to find his way home for a long time.

Many years after they parted, the poor man met his friend again. After hearing his many stories of woe, the friend told him about the jewel which had been in his garment all along.

Like the drunken man of the story, so many of us wander about suffering in this life, unconscious of what is hidden away deep inside of us, pure and untarnished — the priceless treasure of divine nature.

[Cindy]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think this was a joke. I mean, the last "talisman" was the seal from $$. I think it's a joke, like, bribe your prof or something.

"The Great Seal was first used on the reverse of the one-dollar Federal Reserve note in 1935. The Department of State is the official keeper of the Seal. They believe that the most accurate explanation of a pyramid on the Great Seal is that it symbolizes strength and durability. The unfinished pyramid means that the United States will always grow, improve and build. In addition, the "All-Seeing Eye" located above the pyramid suggests the importance of divine guidance in favor of the American cause.



The inscription ANNUIT COEPTIS translates as "He (God) has favored our undertakings," and refers to the many instances of Divine Providence during our Government's formation. In addition, the inscription NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM translates as "A new order of the ages," and signifies a new American era."

In the late 18th century, Adam Weishaupt was a professor at the University of Ingolstadt in Bavaria. He believed in the abolition of both government and organized religion, so much so that on May 1, 1776 he started a little social club to that end. The original group began with five members and was called The Order of Perfectibilists. Later it was renamed the Order of the Illuminati, and this enterprise spread throughout central Europe.

From its inception, the first rule of the Illuminati was DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE ILLUMINATI. Because of its controversial aims, the club had to keep its agenda and even its existence a strict secret. In written correspondence, members used a code to refer to dates, locations, and individual members. Weishaupt's codename was "Spartacus."

Professor Weishaupt joined a German strain of Freemasonry in 1777, being initiated in Munich. He immediately began to poach from the ranks of his fellow Masons to fill out his own clandestine group. This recruitment continued unabated until he was finally caught and expelled from the Freemasons. Eventually, somebody spilled the beans about Weishaupt's project and the ideals to which it was dedicated. All of a sudden, he become one of the most hated men in Europe. He had simultaneously managed to rile both church and state. The end result was a crackdown on secret societies across the board. In June 1784, both the Masons and the Illuminati were declared illegal by the King of Bavaria. Weishaupt fled to Gotha, a city in eastern Germany, to escape arrest. There he lived out the rest of his days.

People tend to get uptight when they are forced to look at the back of a dollar bill. And they have good reason to. There it is on the left -- that godd**mned pyramid with the freaky eyeball. And what the f**ck is that at the bottom? NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM. Obviously some kind of incantation. According to the official explanation, the phrase is Latin for "a new order of the ages." The designer of the Great Seal, Charles Thomson, claimed that the "new order" he was referring to was that of the American republic. The year on the pyramid is 1776, which is the date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

All right, fine. But what about that eyeball? That thing is definitely occult. Nothing says "Big Brother" quite like a hovering eyeball.



Thomson explained away that one by claiming the eyeball belonged to God (or "Providence," as he put it), and that the phrase ANNUIT COEPTIS means "it has favored our undertakings." Taken together, they are intended to communicate the idea that God is rooting for America.

[Cindy]

Speaking of America's birth and the like ... here it is the horoscope of the US lol



In the horoscope of the United States, Pluto, as it moves through Sagittarius, is crossing the Ascendant of the chart, reflecting a profound transformation on many levels. This aspect has never occurred before in America's history, and therefore it is of the greatest importance. Most likely to be affected is the country's own image of itself, reflected not only in how America presents itself to other nations, but in the myths, dreams, ideals and social expectations which are expressed at home.

The independent, freedom-loving, expansive, truth-seeking qualities of Sagittarius are evident in the American myth, style, and self-image, and it is this particular image which is likely to be transformed over the time of the Millennium and afterward. There may be some loss of naivety, and some serious questioning of previously held moral and religious assumptions; but at the same time there is also likely to be an increased desire to understand human motivation, and a strong wish to eradicate all those negative internal influences which thwart human rights and dampen hope. This could mean an increase of religious intensity in some quarters. Religious, legal and moral issues are likely to be the source of many conflicts and many creative resolutions over this time.

The long transit of Pluto is likely to be reflected in much soul-searching and moral and religious questioning, some of it perhaps excessive, but all of it underpinned by a profound collective need to build sounder spiritual and ethical foundations. The subtle influence of Neptune moving through Aquarius could help this process to achieve a creative result because it may remind Americans of their unity with other peoples and other nations, not least through shared material and financial resources; and this could help to offset any intolerance set in motion by Pluto's intense quest for truth.

Likewise Uranus in Aquarius and Pisces, passing over the Moon in the American chart, may awaken public consciousness of the wider world, and stimulate a desire for greater tolerance and humanitarian concern as well as inspiring new technological and scientific discoveries.

Liz Greene, 1999