albionspeak: a draught of language (7.2)
SESSION 40: 7TH NIGHT, 8/10/96 (New York)
A very late start. I believe (with the vague memory of months distant) that this day marked our outing to the Hudson River, a glorious day, one I shall cherish forever. We began at Poet’s Walk and followed up this beautiful stroll with a long walk in Hyde Park from the Vanderbilt estate to F.D.R.’s private mansion (and then back). Even the return drive along rural county roads was wonderful. —Then again, I might have my days a little off.
Our invocation this evening was the short “Variations on a Summer Day: No. 10” by Wallace Stevens.
11:30 PM
1. Q: [Dear Guide], are you there?
A: I AM –
HAVE YOU BECOME STILL?
2. Q: We have. Where are we?
A: STILL AT [THE] MEETING OAK –
YOUR TEACHERS WILL SPEAK IN TURN DON [THE]N JOSEF
[This oak was where we'd ended the previous evening.
It's on Jane's port. I note that [our] "teachers" here means Scribe's &
my own personal teachers, Josef and Don respectively. This sets a
different tone from a lesson with our fellow apprentices or with the
whole circle at once. For Scribe & me a night with our two teachers
was a special thrill, where we wanted to be at the top of our game.]
3. Q: We’re listening, Don.
A: OUR THEME – PREDATORS & TRAVELLERS
I TAKE [THE] FORMER, JOSEF [THE] LATTER
I had expected from the previous night that Josef was slated
to take the topic of predators; but, of course, this does seem to more
up Don’s alley.
Don on Predators
4. Q: Please go on.
A: IMAGINE IF YOU WILL A VILLAGE BESIDE A FOREST
5. [THE] VILLAGE IS [THE] REGION TO WHICH YOUR
DREAMS NOW TAKE YOU
IT IS YOUR MINDS BY NIGHT
6. Q: Do you call this a port?
A: I DO – [THE] PORT TO WHICH YOU MOVE BY DEFAULT
While such a default port surely exists, [Scribe]’s recent
progress in lucid dreaming indicated some ability to intend locales.
7. Q ([Scribe]): I have made some progress in intending, though.
A: INDEED – YOU MAY CHOOSE WHICH STREET OR STEPS
YOU COME TO IN [THE] VILLAGE
8. [THE] FOREST IS [THE] VARIOUS WORLD BEYOND
WHITHER ONE MUST CHOOSE TO TRAVEL
Naturally one intends within the village first. And if the
village is an island in the forest, then eventually one “must” travel
there (as with an English seaman’s answer to where the sea can
lead you.)
A Tale Our Ancestors Told
9. Q: Where the tiger lives?
A: OF COURSE –
NOW HEAR A TALE OUR ANCESTORS TOLD ABOUT
[THE] FOREST
Another story. After Vilansit’s narrative precedent,
anything seemed possible.
10. ONCE LONG AGO MEN AND TIGERS LIVED SIDE BY
SIDE IN AMITY /
TIGERS & MEN SPOKE [THE] SAME LANGUAGE
11. TIGERS HUNTED [THE]IR GAME & MEN HUNTED [THE]IRS
ONE DAY [THE] CHIEF TIGER’S SON GREW HUNGRY &
STALKED A PREY HE HAD NEVER SCENTED BEFORE
12. HOW EASY IT WAS TO CATCH & HOW DELICIOUS /
[THE] NEXT DAY [THE] HUMAN CHIEF’S DAUGHTER TOLD
HER FATHER THAT HIS SMALL GRANDSON WAS MISSING
13. IMAGINE [THE] FUROR WHEN [THE] CRIME WAS DISCOVERED /
[THE] PEOPLE WERE ORDERED TO ARM THEMSELVES WITH
NETS & SHARP STICKS
14. DURING [THE] SEASONS THAT FOLLOWED SO MANY
TIGERS & HUMANS WERE KILLED THAT WHEN [THE]
CHIEF TIGER CALLED FOR A PARLEY WITH [THE]
CHIEF MAN, [THE] MAN COULD SCARCE REFUSE
15. IT WAS AGREED THAT MEN SHOULD HAVE [THE]IR FIELDS
& GARDENS WHILE TIGERS SHOULD KEEP TO
[THE] FOREST
16. IF EVER YOU VENTURE INTO [THE] FOREST, BEWARE OF US –
SAID [THE] CHIEF TIGER & DISAPPEARED AMONG
[THE] TREES /
SINCE THAT DAY [THE] TIGERS SPEAK A TONGUE OF
[THE]IR OWN THAT MEN NO LONGER COMPREHEND*
[* is a period]
An interesting & slightly quirky tale. I should not be too
surprised if the arbitrary characters in the story come back in future
years in identifiable form. I wonder, for example, if Josef, our dream
master, who is also foremost in our hierarchy, might not be the chief
human.
Once again tigers were our theme, but we didn’t quite see
how these predators related to our tiger-swallowing the night before.
We Are Confused
17. Q: If tigers are our own power, then dream tigers are aspects of ourselves?
A: FORGIVE ME FOR CONFUSING YOU –
[THE] TIGER WE SPOKE OF LAST NIGHT IS [THE] NAME
FOR A TASK
No doubt the confusion was deliberate.
18. Q: We thought swallowing the tiger was a dream task.
A: NO – ALTHOUGH LIKE EVERY TASK IN [THE] WORLD
YOU CAN GATHER STRENGTH FOR IT IN DREAMING –
[THE] TIGERS IN OUR OLD STORY ARE…
19. …A FIGURE FOR
PREDATORS WHO ARE IN NO WAY ASPECTS OF
OURSELVES
INDEED [THE]Y ARE MOST ALIEN TO US –
I AM SORRY BUT I REPEATED [THE] TALE AS IT WAS TOLD
While the distinction between dream predators and one’s
latent power -- both of which are called here “tigers” – seems clear
enough to me now, I know I remained a bit confused for the rest of
this session.
20. Q: If we go into the forest while dreaming, we may meet predators.
A: EXACTLY – THAT IS WHY WE TELL YOU NOW
21. Q: Do the predators ever enter the village?
A: [YES] USUALLY IN HUMAN FORM
(Cf. [Scribe]’s dream Enemy Tiger)
Risk
22. Q: What is the risk?
A: SINCE [THE] TRUCE IN [THE] STORY, THERE IS ALMOST
NO RISK AT ALL TO DREAMERS WHO STAY IN
[THE] VILLAGE
PREDATORS MAY OBSERVE BUT [NO]T ATTACK –
SO YOU SEE…
23. …THERE IS NO POINT IN ALARMING [THE]
VILLAGERS
Most people are not at risk apparently, just as most people
have little chance to see directly.
24. Q: What is the risk if one enters the forest?
A: BEING EATEN, NATURALLY
25. Q: What does that mean?
A: IT MEANS ALL YOUR STRENGTH & WILL ARE TAKEN
AWAY & THE SOUL OR SPIRIT DIES BEHIND
[THE] EYES OF [THE] WAKING PERSON
This sounds a bit like the “haunted & resentful” state which
describes one who has been swallowed; yet I suspect a qualitative
difference.
1:47 AM
26. Q: How do we recognize predators?
A: AT YOUR LEVEL THERE IS NO SURE WAY – AS CHILDREN
HAVE NO SURE WAY OF KNOWING WHICH STRANGER
MIGHT BE UNSAFE
27. Q: We give children policies which keep them safe.
A: AS DO WE BUT IT IS A LITTLE COMPLEX
The Predators’ Loophole
28. A PREDATOR IS UNLIKELY TO BREAK [THE] TRUCE
OUTRIGHT BUT MAY MAKE USE OF A LOOPHOLE
29. EVEN IN [THE] FOREST ATTACKS ARE RARE
BUT WHAT A PREDATOR MAY DO IS ASK YOU FOR SOMETHING
30. Q: Example?
A: HE ASKS YOU TO GIVE HIM A PRECIOUS OBJECT OR
TALISMAN YOU ARE CARRYING –
LEND ME THAT CUP, A STRANGER SAYS [CUP]
The drawing of the Cup on our ouija board was signaled;
truly this would be a precious object to hand over. Nevertheless,
given the various dumb things we do in dreams all the time, it seems
we could easily be taken.
31. Q: That seems innocuous enough; we might even be pleased to comply.
A: I DOUBT IF ONE REQUEST IN ITSELF IS DANGEROUS
BUT IT IS A MEANS OF GAINING TRUST & AMITY
32. Q: Leading to?
A: AN AGREEMENT TO BE IN LEAGUE WITH YOUR FRIEND
WHO HAS SO MANY WONDROUS THINGS TO SHOW
YOU – RECOGNIZE [THE] OLD STORY?
“In league with” can only mean the devil. We thought of
Faust, which significantly is mentioned in Castaneda as the one
fable in Western literature which holds occult truth. ([Scribe] &
I, however, certainly believe many others do also.)
It is also noteworthy that predators can communicate with
humans, since according to the tale neither should now be able to
understand the other’s language.
33. Q: Faust, for one.
A: EXACTLY – WITH A SMALL DIFFERENCE
34. PREDATORS TEND TO BEGIN BY ASKING YOU FOR
SOMETHING – BY APPEARING TO TRUST YOU
35. Q: But within the village, they can’t harm us – whether they perform
this maneuver or not?
A: AT MOST [THE]Y COULD GET YOU INTO [THE] HABIT
OF COMPLYING EASILY
If it is dangerous for us to visit the forest, then isn’t it
dangerous for tigers to visit the village?
36. Q: Could we kill tigers in the village?
A: NO – BECAUSE THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER LEFT [THE]
VILLAGE LACK [THE] MEANS TO DO SO
Breaking the Truce
37. Q: We meant: is it permitted to people who have the means?
A: NO - [THE] TRUCE FORBIDS IT & [THE]RE IS A PENALTY
FOR BREAKING [THE] TRUCE
38. Q: What is the penalty?
A: CONSIDER [THE] OFFENSE - EXTENDING [THE] SELF AT
[THE] EXPENSE OF OTHERS
NOW TELL ME [THE] PENALTY
39. Q: Either expulsion from the net or the abyss.
A: [YES] BUT WE DO NOT ENFORCE [THE] PENALTY
IT IS SELF-ENFORCING
Clearly we don’t understand the terms of the truce. We are
not to kill tigers anywhere, but we risk ourselves if we enter their
domain. Either the agreement is unequal, or there is much we have
not heard.
40. Q: Further instructions for us on encountering a dream predator?
A: AVOID TAKING [THE] ENCOUNTER FURTHER -
SAY TO YOURSELF THIS STRANGER MAY BE UNSAFE -
AND GO ON
Sound advice, but lucidity is not perfect in dreams.
[Scribe] & I will need to condition ourselves into safe default responses.
A short break, then we turned to the second half of our lesson.
1:29 AM
Josef on Travellers
41. Q: Don, thank you for your instruction.
Josef, we greet you.
A: I JOSEF WELCOME YOU MY SONS
MY ACCOUNT WILL BE BRIEF
42. Q: Tell us of travellers.
A: AS YOU WOULD EXPECT [NO]T EVERYONE YOU MEET
IN [THE] WIDE WORLD IS A THIEF OF POWER
43. A TRAVELLER IS WHAT WE CALL ANY FOREIGNER WHO
POSES NO THREAT – WHEN YOU GO OUTSIDE THE
VILLAGE, YOU BECOME A TRAVELLER YOURSELF
44. Q: Can meeting travellers be a boon?
A: (missed response)
45. A: IT CAN BE A BOON & A BLESSING
46. Q: Please tell us more.
A: AFTER YOU LEARN TO SUMMON AN OBJECT OF INTENT
YOU ARE RIPE FOR TRAVEL
This was the proper time for [Scribe] to have his dream
task success confirmed. See Appendix 1 for this remarkable
dream culmination.
[Appendix 1 (summarized & censored): In addition to
the Nine Men Scribe and I also have our whole dream curriculum,
which follows its own steps, where the earliest step assigned to us
by our dream master Josef was to summon a specific object. Mine
was the Cup. Scribe was assigned the [J.]. Scribe at this time,
I believe, was starting in his dreams to reach lucidity with some
regularity and had performed certain experiments within his dreams
(sticking his hands into people, making rooms bigger or warmer,
flying over landscapes). The key to an official dreamtask, however,
is that it be conceived & created during waking hours and then
performed while asleep. That is, the intent is built beforehand and
transferred at the proper time.
[Scribe worked as hard on dreaming as he did on poetry.
And his results were just as steady & remarkable. It took him several
months of work just to remember his task. Then he had to remember
to speak the words aloud to "summon the object." And then, it took
a number of dreams before his summoning had any effect. Then
later, he found himself within dreams wading through piles of false
objects, all with features that might be convincing. I recall in one
he grabbed a [J.] candidate, spoke his prepared words aloud, and
the object abruptly flew into a wall and shattered. An unwise choice.
[But yes, as with all challenges Scribe takes on, success
soon came, toward the end of the year before the next summer's
sessions. In one lengthy three-star dream Scribe went through a
series of obstacles—flying distances & bypassing distractions, while
remaining focused on his task & object, then finally making his true
selection. Taking hold of his object, he spoke the words and got results:
He was whisked away abruptly to new world, a wide open waterscape
(I think in twilight), a place of waiting. All was still.]
47. Q ([Scribe]): Josef, I believe I have done so. Will you confirm?
A: YOU HAVE – THEREFORE YOU KNOW WHAT IS LIKELY
TO HAPPEN ONCE [THE] OBJECT APPEARS
48. Q ([Scribe]): It carries one away to a new place.
A: WELCOME TO [THE] FOREST
Perfect.
Instructions for [Scribe]
49. Q: Isn’t this dangerous?
A: IT IS DANGEROUS -
HENCE OUR CONFERENCE HERE AT [THE] OAK
50. Q: Why would anyone want to go into the forest? [& risk danger]
A: WHY FIND OUT?
BECAUSE [THE] OUTSIDE IS VAST & VARIOUS & IN
PLACES BEAUTIFUL BEYOND WORDS
Again, we knew this already, but overt confirmation is often critical.
[Our Guide] as Guide
51. Q ([Scribe]): Josef, my object was a [J.]. When it appeared, it was lavender.
Lavender is [our guide]’s colour.
A: OUR BUTTERFLY IS TO ACT AS YOUR GUIDE & GUARDIAN
FOR NOW /
HE IS FOR [THE] PRESENT YOUR MEANS OF FLIGHT
52. Q: Is he a traveller?
A: OF COURSE HE IS - OUTSIDE HIS OWN SPHERE
A nice pun. Remember, [our Guide]’s karass is called the Sphere.
53. Q ([Scribe]): Where will he take me?
A: INTO MANY PARTS OF [THE] FOREST -
MUCH WILL DEPEND ON HOW YOU TWO WORK TOGETHER
BUT [THE] PURER YOUR INTENT [THE] MORE HE MAY
SHOW YOU
54. Q ([Scribe]): I am most grateful & deeply excited.
A: ONLY RECALL HE WOULD BE DOING YOU [NO] SERVICE
IF HE DID [NO]T PREPARE YOU TO TRAVEL ALONE
55. Q ([Scribe]): In a dream occurring after the dream of the [J.] I said
“Show me the [J.],” and in its place appeared a transparent ball.
A: YOU SAW [THE] ALIAH OF OUR BUTTERFLY -
DO NOT FEAR - IT IS NOT FORBIDDEN FOR HE SHOWED
IT TO YOU FREELY AS A GIFT
Again, check out Appendix 1. Here [Scribe] wanted
explicit instructions for this next big step in the dream curriculum.
56. Q ([Scribe]): Do I proceed by saying, “Show me the [J.]” each time I
become lucid?
A: YOU MAY OR YOU MAY CALL ON YOUR GUIDE DIRECTLY
BUT YOU MUST MAKE A DIRECT REQUEST FOR
HIM OR [THE] [J.] - SPEAK IT ALOUD
57. Q ([Scribe]): Will you tell me now the wording I should use to call on
[our guide] directly?
A: SAY -
COME TO ME MY GUIDE
I INTEND TO FOLLOW YOU -
LEARN THIS BY HEART
This could not be clearer. Undoubtedly, however, there
will be a challenge.
Not for the first time is speaking something aloud emphasized
over just wishing silently. Of course, the perfect illustration of
this is how our planchette does not begin to move until I’ve fully
finished our question aloud, even though the question has been
written & discussed.
Now it was my turn. After a year of utter failure, I needed
information, but I didn’t want simply to whine or cry in my beer.
2:26 AM
Advice to [Albion]
58. Q ([Albion]): I’m a little frustrated, since you gave me a dream task and
I have not even had a single dream which furthered this task.
A: DEAR SON -
THIS IS LEARNING TO WALK -
I CANNOT WALK FOR YOU -
I CAN ONLY ENCOURAGE YOU IN YOUR BELIEF IN
MA’AT & IN YOUR ABILITY TO MASTER WHAT IS
DIFFICULT
No magic bullet, but a little faith does help. I was actually
more pleased to have my belief in ma’at so confirmed.
Although I would not ask more on this subject, I did want
to check in on my Letters project. I’d written most of my letter
to Josef; in fact, I thought I’d really hit a vital thread, but I’d
gotten stuck.
59. Q ([Albion]): Any advice on how to overcome the wall in my “Josef” letter?
A: I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO YOU -
BECOME AS STILL AS YOU WOULD FOR [THE]
BEGINNING OF A SESSION -
WHAT YOU NEED WILL APPEAR JUST AS IT DID FOR
BLAKE IN LIKE MOMENTS
A well-documented conversation between William &
Catherine Blake (paraphrased):
William: “What do we do when [we lack inspiration], Mrs. Blake?”
Catherine: “We get down on our knees and pray, Mr. Blake.”
The previous night I’d had a couple of dreams, none of
which seemed important in substance. However, one haunted me
a little, and given its arrival during our sessions, it seemed
appropriate to ask after its meaning.
60. Q ([Albion]): Josef, if it’s not too trivial, would you read Trenta Brujos?[1]
A: IT IS A DREAM OF AN INTRUSION FROM OUTSIDE
[THE] VILLAGE
IT MEANS TO ME THAT YOUR SENSE OF OUTSIDE IS KEENER
I, too, have made progress, even if I don’t consciously see it.
[By this I meant I had grown enough to attract hostile attention, one
measure of growth.]
62. Q: Poem -- or parting words?
A: I JOSEF SPEAK
ENDURE [THE] LEANNESS
EXPECT [THE] GREEN WORLD
IT IS AN OLD SAYING WITH US DEAR SONS
GOOD NIGHT
2:54 AM
Actually a very short evening, but exceptionally productive.
I guess our teachers just know how to teach.
The Table of Contents below is too long to display fully. If you click to the right of these Lessons, you'll see the primary source documents displayed under each. These original sessions are a world treasure.
[1] In this dream I was on an Andean mountain being stalked stealthily by Indian brujos. I moved to get away but found myself at a cliff-edge.
Though much in Carlos Castaneda's occult universe differs from our karass's paradigm, dreaming seems remarkably consistent. The clearest parallel is the role of the ally in Castaneda, which is identical to our daimon. Indeed much of our dream vocabulary we lift straight from Castaneda, as we really know of no other source of useful knowledge.
5c Session 40
Images & Attributions (in order of appearance)
1. Banner: Rhiannon C. 2016
a) Jewel Mandala (2): D.C. Albion 1994
b) Jewel Ouija Board (2): D.C. Albion 1994
2. Book Cover to Carlos Castaneda's The Art of Dreaming: 951b70cd69ebfe60bf2436196cbb96ac_800x.jpg