Magick in Shakespeare
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I was bored waiting for an acquaintance at a coffee shop this evening, so I flipped open my copy of Shakespeare's plays. The play I opened to was Macbeth, and there's a charming dialogue by Hecate that I think might be of interest.
"Hecate:
Have I not reason, beldams as you are,
Saucy and overbold? How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never call'd to bear my part,
Or show the glory of our art?
And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful, who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you.
But make amends now; get you gone,
And at the pit of Acheron
Meet me i' the morning; thither he
Will come to know his destiny.
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and everything beside.
I am for the air; this night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end;
Great business must be wrought ere noon.
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vaporous drop profound;
I'll catch it ere it come to ground;
And that distill'd by magic sleights
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall drawn him on to his confusion.
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear;
And you all know, security
Is mortals' chieftest enemy."Well, there you have an inside look at the "dark side of the moon," as Shakespeare would have it. Macbeth should have banished more frequently. I found this passage amusing but not particularly helpful from a Magical perspective; however, many of these classic writers wrote passages that obviously denote a high degree of adepthood. There is a scene in Faust, in a witch's hut, with an incantation full of riddles and numbers that I think may tie to the Tree of Life (there is some controversy on the subject.)
I'll post the Faust riddle a little later.
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There is a lot of great stuff in Shakespeare.
MacBeth is one of my favorites.Not only, in that getting the feel and rhythm is good for the performance of ritual...
A great deal of his smacks of the Great Work, in my opinion.Required readings, especially those whom are poetically minded.
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@kasper81 said
"studying more Shakespeare is on my to do list but yeah there's a lot of astrological references in there the most well known being Romeo and Juliette as, "star crossed lovers""
Much more than that, I say!
I often view his sonnets as a poetic work dedicated to the Supernal Triad@kasper81 said
"The Scottish Play is about the perils of ............... well i'm sure you know what it's about and I recommend Polanski's movie version"
I have received numerous recommendations for that version, which I have yet to see.
Might be time to change that !
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I beleive 'The Tempest' was written for the head of the local occult lodge. Probably the Order De Sion.
The Magick Flute was written for the Masonic lodge.
I think the Scottish get accused of the spooks because they had an extra degree in their Masonic tradition. I do beleive Scotland is where the Knights Templar ended up as they where safe there. I think the 'Scotish play' is a reference to that.
The Knights Templar where last seen in the last scene of Braveheart- booting the English out.
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I only know Macbeth from Shakespeare, I would like to know more. Coil have a soundtrack on Shakespeare sonets, "The Angelic conversation", for a faggotry film of Derek Jarman. This song used to gave me chills, stills do it.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Lthi-QhW8
"To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as
you were when first your eye I eyed, Such seems
your beauty still. Three winters cold Have from
the forests shook three summers' pride, Three
beauteous springs to yellow autumn turn'd In
process of the seasons have I seen, Three April
perfumes in three hot Junes burn'd, Since first I
saw you fresh, which yet are green. Ah! yet doth
beauty, like a dial-hand, Steal from his figure
and no pace perceived; So your sweet hue, which
methinks still doth stand, Hath motion and mine
eye may be deceived: For fear of which, hear this,
thou age unbred; Ere you were born was beauty's
summer dead."* -
I appreciate the asperger irony, Kasper, but it was merely a joke or a way of speaking. Don´t you realized after this last month I am active in the forum that I´m bisexual and basically against all kind of bigotry and intolerance? Just that, I guessed you deserve an explanation, after all. I´m sorry anyway, I promise to suck more dicks after this.
Get this, it´s in spanish but well, my way of saying "forgive me": www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ukMQDh8nxkI#! -
@Patthana Gati said
"
It's not homophobic - it's reclamation."But how can it be otherwise, for the complete whore I am? And useful that I have come to my 156 post, to worship the mother of all whores Babalon, and that I just gain enough whore-money for music equipment that I just received already today, I retire myself to my new studio temple, for I have better things to do now than go around in eternal circles in internet forums. It has been a.. pleasure? to been here with all of you.
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@kasper81 said
"By the way no offence but writing a thread entitled, "magick in Shakepeare" is analogous to writing one called " communism in Das Kapital" with Shakespeare being a corner stone of metaphysical though and all."
Thank you for your most informative comments. My aim was, in fact, to do a light survey of various Magical topics alluded to by Poets of Note, specifically Shakespeare and Goethe. I was impressed by Shakespeare's tone, which is noble in the uttermost and quite exemplary in its wording and content: thus, an excellent example of composition in a ritual mindless. However, in light of the de-volution of this thread into useless, muddled banter--more befitting schoolboys than students of High Magick--I call to mind the adage "pearls before swine," and continue with my studies in quite unconcerned isolation.
It is not so much chagrin and frustration, but rather a respect for the sincere and gifted contributors to this forum, that fills me with shame when I see lofty topics denigrated by the feeble chatter of dumb apes, as is all too common of late.