Black Michael's Search for a True God

By Michael Oscar McKee

This is my first book. I went into great detail about my search for God. I related some of the motivations in my life and suggested the influence my parent’s lives might have had on my search for God, instead of accepting what was handed to me through my church and school. Instead of relying on my memory, I quoted from corroborating texts, and noting where I differed with the presented material.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Apr 16, 2020
• ISBN: 9781532097454

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Copyright © 2020 Michael Oscar McKee.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-9744-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-9745-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020904687

iUniverse rev. date: 04/15/2020

CONTENTS

Foreword

Black Michael’s Search for a True God by Michael Oscar McKee

Introduction

Chapter 1     My Family – Background

Chapter 2     A Noetic Experience

Chapter 3     Scripture vs the Archaeological Record

Chapter 4     Monotheism

Chapter 5     Other Voices

Chapter 6     Health & Healing

Chapter 7     Cycles of Life

Chapter 8     Astrology & Tarot

Chapter 9     The Enochian Tarot

Chapter 10   Magick

Chapter 11   A Statement of Belief

FOREWORD

This is my first book. I went into great detail about my search for God. I related some of the motivations in my life and suggested the influence my parent’s lives might have had on my search for God, instead of accepting what was handed to me through my church and school. Instead of relying on my memory, I quoted from corroborating texts, and noting where I differed with the presented material.

After many, many rewrites, condensations, additions, deletions, format changes, and distributions of the resulting texts, and receiving no response from those I trusted, I finally arrived at the point where I was ready to submit the work to a publisher, I lost the only complete copy, due to a computer malfunction. Such is life. Fortuitously, after a long couple of weeks, the work was recovered, in part. The final chapters I was working on had not been saved, and were not recovered. Soldiering on, I went through the parts I had, and attempted to reassemble the work, and decided upon another course of action. Instead of going through the whole thing again, I would present my findings, and state what differences it made in my life, after the fact.

The first question that comes to mind is Why? My friends, obviously, didn’t care one way or another. They remember that I was a royal pain in the behind to be around, and they didn’t want any of the crazy ideas I was going on about. They had formed their own opinions about me and it was a closed book. They had their own lives to live. And, all that is true. I was a loner most of my life. I failed as a husband, and a business owner. And, why should I care about them. If I wanted to spend my life looking for the true God, that is my business. If they don’t like it, fuk’em. But the fly in the ointment is that, after searching for, and finding, the true God, I couldn’t just brush them off that easily. They are all a part of me. They are not just friends, classmates, team members. They are a part of my thought processes, my anecdotes, aggravations, blessings … I can’t cut them out.

The true God, the Father, Creator, Allah, the One, is unmanifest. He is unmanifest, because He is everywhere, there is no place, state, or condition where God is not present. To be manifest here or there, is to be made smaller, differentiated from everywhere else. God is One, Whole, Entire, Infinite and Eternal. God is Great. Therefore, God did not create everything from Nothing. God is All. Everything is composed of the Spirit of God. All the Energy that was present before the Big Bounce, is present now. The method of Science has shown that Energy can neither be created, or destroyed. It can only be transformed from one form into another. All is Energy, there is no matter, it is an illusion. There is no place where God does not exist. There is no place where some form of known, or unknown energy does not exist. Therefore, God is All, All is Energy, God is Energy. We are One.

Spirit is a rate of vibration. Look at something for a minute or two. You will notice that the spot where you are looking is composed of minute flashes of light. Next, draw back, and focus on the space in the air, midpoint between you and the spot you were looking at. You will see those same particles of light. Every where you look, you will see those lights. Now, close your eyes, you will still see those lights. Cover your eyes with your hands, the lights are still present. Your whole body is composed of energy; those lights are evidence of that energy. Once you have seen those flashes of light, you will always see them.

The Trinity is God’s Family: The Father is the Creator, the Spirit Mother is the Substance of Creation. Both are unmanifest. The Father and Mother are made manifest through the Creation. The Son is the whole of Creation, of which we are a part. All are One. Like electricity and magnetism.

We are co-creators of the world in which we live. Anything that is wrong with this world, is wrong because it is a result of a selfish action or activity. This is our world, not just yours, or hers, or his, or theirs, but all of us together. Whatever is wrong, it is our responsibility to try to fix it as best as we can. Working together as one, we can create miracles. The Father will help us, if we ask. If we don’t ask, we don’t get. It is not God’s responsibility to fix things without our input. If we undertake to effect a solution, God will not interfere without being asked. If we get rid of our differences, and behave as a family, the world will be the better for all. If we continue to manufacture divisions and conflict, and destroy ourselves or our environment, God is not going to come in and fix it for us. Free will means that we are on our own. Choose to succeed.

Prayer is a personal conversation with Our Father. Formalized prayers are for public display, not in a personal, one to one conversation, no one else needs to know it is happening. The Father is everywhere, and in a conversation, we open ourselves to his presence. He is aware of our thoughts, and will assist us when we are troubled, and are uncertain why. If you have a problem, just state what the problem is, and a response will occur. It may come as a thought in your own mind, or something someone nearby may say, or as something you see in the immediate environment, and when it occurs, you will know. Nothing needs to be spoken aloud. You may be at a function, and the speaker on the platform may say the answer, unaware that your question was even asked.

The outer world is the product of our thoughts and desires. If we are distressed in our understanding, the world will follow suit. If we are united in harmony, we will create a paradise. All we need to do is decide what kind of world we want to live in. This is a serious decision, and whatever we choose has to involve all of us, not just a few. To do nothing, and expect others to do our part for us, is a formula for failure. If you don’t care, don’t complain about what your portion ends up to be, because that was your choice.

BLACK MICHAEL’S SEARCH FOR A TRUE

GOD BY MICHAEL OSCAR MCKEE

At first glance, some might think that this is another invitation for Jesus to come into a person’ s life. If that is what you are looking for, then stop. I went on a search for God, not religion. All religions are man-made. God does not belong to any religious belief system. I believe in God, I do not believe in churches. Churches are man-made social structures designed to promote crowd control. I present, in this work, the Father as the Unmanifest Creator. The Spirit Mother as the Substance of Creation. The whole of Creation is the Son of God. We are All One.

No man, borne of woman, is a god. Jesus was a man used as a symbol to represent the whole of Creation. The whole of Creation is the manifestation of the Father. The whole of Creation is the Son of God. We are co-creators of the world in which we exist. If something is wrong with this world, it is our responsibility, as the biblical stewards of the garden (earth) to fix it. God is indifferent. No one was created to suffer. If humankind chooses to behave as one family, and cooperates with one another, the world will be wonderfully pleasant. On the other hand, if the world continues to choose strife and ill-content, we will perish. Those are the available choices.

The method of Science informs us that energy can neither be created, nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. All the energy that was present before the Creation, exists now. Therefore, God is All, All is Energy, God is Energy. The only thing constant in the Universe is Change. Nothing stays the same.

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Artist unknown. I was going through a bunch of photos that I liked and had

copied – meaning to file them away in some interests file one day (when I had

the time) – and I came across this one, and it seemed to fit the space I wanted

to fill (on this page), and I believed its written, and spiritual declarations

in with fit the subject matter in the following sections of the book.

INTRODUCTION

What is this? What am I doing? I tell myself that I am writing a book. What’s it about? Is this an autobiography? Well, not intentionally, but of necessity, some biographical material will be included, but, I haven’t had much experience in writing about myself, and I am unsure where to begin. Is it a sermon? In some ways yes, in the sense of relating some of the circumstances connected to a personal spiritual revelation. Really? What happened? Here is where I am havingproblems concerning how, and what to say. On the title page I wrote the basic core of what happened, but that realization didn’t occur until my mid-late 60’s. I suppose I should describe how I came to that position, but where do I begin?

Well, I was conceived on, or about October 14, 1946, and I was delivered on July 24, 1947. I believe that every person reflects some measure of their parents, as they were at the time of their child’sconception, 283 days prior to that child’s delivery. After the child’s birth, it discovers, through experience, familial-customs, mannerisms, speech patterns, and traditions, as they mature. With this in mind, I feel a somewhat brief biography of my parent’s lives might possibly serve to explain some, not all, of the elements, or attitudes expressed in my life, or maybe not, but at least it is a place to start.

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CHAPTER ONE

My Family – Background

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My father, Edgar Thompson McKee was born July 17,1900, (we always knew how old he was, on each birthday, by noticing what year it was) somewhere near Wheeling, WV, but I don’t know exactly where. We were never very close. His father, Oscar was a steward at a pottery, and they lived for some time on Wheeling island. His mother was a school teacher. He went into the Army in 1918, but the war ended before he he could go overseas. He was married to his first wife in the early 1920’s. She died in childbirth, the daughter died a day or two later, in New Orleans. He divorced his second wife for infidelity. His third wife, a Van Dyke, produced a son, Wayne R. McKee, in the 1930’s? She died as the result of being struck by an automobile while Wayne was small. When we spoke, years later, after daddy died in 1960, he said that he had only hearsay memories of her. His fourth wife (girlfriend?) was more of a caretaker for Wayne and was not around for very long. He met his fifth wife, my mother, in 1943, while he was in Chicago, attending an American Legion Convention. She produced a son, Guy Edgar McKee. He died at 10 months. Had he lived, I, most probably would have never been born. She wanted another son, and I was born July 24, 1947, 3300RC. (I could always know what year RC it was by remembering how old I was.) Wayne went into the Army, while I was a toddler, and I did not know that I even had a brother, until I was in fourth grade. His wife and I never got along. We last spoke, over the phone, in 2010, the week before He died. They had been married over 56 years. She produced 2 sons, Patrick Alan was wild and favored his mother in temperament. He is now serving a 30 to life sentence in a maximum security prison in South Carolina. His younger brother, Mark Andrew had a difficult birth in Germany. He was born blue, as the result of the nurses tying his mother’s legs together to delay the birth as the physician was late to the hospital. Andy later became Manic-Depressive, and committed suicide when he felt himself drifting from a manic to a depressed state (A circumstance, I was told, that had occurred at least twice before, and he did not want to experience it again). We were never close. In retrospect, it seems that I was never close to any members of my family, outside of my mother, who defended me from my father. She said that I would, probably, have left home at an early age as well, to get away from him.

My mother Eleanore Josephine Sokoloskis was born in the back seat of a cab, stuck in a snowstorm in Chicago, before the Great Depression on January 21, 1926, delivered by her father Joseph Sokoloskis. During the depression, some children were put into orphanages, just so they would get wholesome nourishment. My mother was put in the Our Lady of Vilna orphanage, in Lisle, Ill. But some of her family would occasionally visit, or write letters. The Order of Nuns that ran the orphanage were Slavic and they catered to Slavic children. My mother’s parents were a mix of Lithuanian and Belorussian, or White Russian. I am not sure which was which but my grandmother’s maiden name was Monstavieus, and my grandfather, a Cossack, was a Sokoloskis. I never heard any of the languages spoken, and was told only that we were Russian. They came over from Russia in 1910, after the fall of the Duma, under Czar Nicholas II. That revelation came about when I had gotten her a small music box, for her birthday, that played Dark Eyes, a Georgian tune, which was the only one that I liked, after I listened to all of the dozen different music boxes. I had never heard the tune before that time, but it remains, to this day, one of my favorites. My mother then told me about her ancestry, only after taking me back to the store and checking the music boxes herself, as I had chosen the only one that played a Russian tune. The nuns were recruiting some of the girls, my mother for one, to become nuns. However, when my mother turned 16, she left the orphanage and went back home to her family in Chicago, and contributed to the family income.

After my father had died in 1960, (when I was 12 years old) she became a Benedictine Oblate – a ‘lay’ nun that did not wear a habit. She worked in a factory, on an assembly line, with her sister Anne. In a different section, of the same factory, some female workers, painted radium on the hands of clocks and watches. She met my father when he was in Chicago for an American Legion Convention. It was 1943, and the war was still going on. They were married in Oakland Md, October 26, 1944. Guy Edgar, was conceived September 16, 1944, and was born on July 3, 1945. It was not an easy delivery, as he had turned, and mother had to be cut, but not as a C- section, to get him out. My mother’s milk, for him, was weak, so he was raised on formula. Guy had a habit of turning on his side before he would fall asleep (I’m the same way), so my mother would have to wait until he did fall asleep, to turn him on his back, where he would stay until he woke up (I assume she did the same thing with me). However, it was assumed, something woke him up, and he, naturally, turned on his side and fell asleep again. When my mother went to pick him up in the morning, on May 2, 1946, he was cold. Had Guy lived, I believe I would not have been born. As, after a couple of months, my mother wanted another son and I was conceived, on October 14, 1946, and I was delivered on the morning of July 24, 1947. That morning, around 6 am, in the hospital, my mother had to pee and the nurse was apparently busy with shift changing, and couldn’t bring a bed pan, so my mother got out of bed and walked to the restroom. However, when she got back, she couldn’t get back into bed, and sat in the chair next to the bed until, first, the nurse and then the doctor came on their morning rounds. The nurse got her into the bed, and when the doctor came in and checked her, he said to immediately send her into the delivery room. I was born in the eighth hour of the morning, 9lb.01oz. They were cleaning up in less than half an hour. I tore my mother in a different place than where she was cut for Guy, and she could no longer carry full term, I had, as it were, broken the mold. It seems that none of my family were very prolific. My father’s sister Elizabeth never married, and my mother’s brother and sister had no children.

I first met her family in the summer of 1954 when she and I went to Chicago to attend a wedding. The next time was after my father had died in 1960, and my mother was considering moving back to Chicago. At that time, we were living in Bridgeport WV. She continued to operate and run the newspaper and print-shop business until a lein was invoked on the business and sold. The last time was when I went on a tour of the country, on a 2-month Ameripass on Greyhound and connecting bus-lines. I first went to Florida, where I visited sound engineer, Ernie Manack and his former girlfriend, singer Peggy Snyder. I originally met them while I was at WVU. I believe that they both were members of B.O.T.A. [Builders of the Adytum] a qabbalistic study group founded by Paul Foster Case. They also owned and operated an occult bookstore, and connected to a Queen copy, rock band. I bought his inventory and opened a (doomed) bookstore in the Sunnyside section of Morgantown. It was burned out by a sand-candle left burning in the shop. It was here, after the fire, that I met my truest close friend D.T.H. The original name of the bookstore was The Philosopher’s Stone; after the fire; I renamed it The Phoenix Bookstore However, because I hadn’t had the $$ for insurance, I never could re-open the store. On that trip, after Florida, I went to El Paso, TX, San Jose, CA, Widby Island, WA, Bellingham, WA, Vancouver, BC, and then to Chicago, IL, and then back to Morgantown, WV.

After the newspaper/print shop was sold, my mother moved to Virginia in1968?, and went to work at the IAD-AMF at Dulles Airport, 4 miles outside of Herndon Va, until she retired, as a Supervisor of Mails in 1985. She remarried that year, and moved to Elloree SC. She died, in her sleep, in hospital, from 2 forms of fast-acting cancer, on December 20, 1985 in Columbia, SC. I stopped celebrating Christmas on that day.

My mother and I were close, like the poles on the same bar magnet. When something happened in one of our lives, a similar occurrence would happen in the other. Our birthdays were 184 days apart. She was born on the cusp of Capricorn & Aquarius, I was born on the cusp of Cancer & Leo. I married a woman whose last name was Black, she married a man whose last name was Schwartz which is German for Black.

I first, knowingly, met my brother and my two nephews, Pat & Andy, when they stopped by, in Terra Alta, WV, on their way to somewhere: Virginia? South Carolina? When they came back from overseas Germany? Japan? He was still in the military, where he met his wife. My mother and my sister-in-law did not care for each other from day one, but each one maintained proper social etiquette. As I got older, I believe that disapproval expanded to include me. However, none of that ever came from my brother, just his wife.

I was a quiet baby in the hospital, my mother said that I cried only twice, both times were at feeding, one time I couldn’t get it started, and the other time, they took me away before I was finished. In my case, my mother’s milk was too rich, and I was also raised on formula. I was first baptized at Andrews Methodist Church, the place where Mother’s Day was first, officially, celebrated in the United States. It was a coincidence that my initials spell the word M.O.M. My father’s mother wanted my first name to be Oscar, her late husband’s name. My mother wanted my first name to be Michael, and ceded Oscar to be my middle name. We were living in an apartment on the high second floor over McCrory’s Five and Dime, acutely diagonal across the street from Andrews Methodist Church. I fell down the stairs one time when the gate was not closed, and there was a landing half way down. The department store had a high ceiling to accommodate a mechanical delivery system for messages and change to the departmental registers. After I had that one fall, my parents went looking for a safer place for me, and Providence came through with a house just down the street from the American Legion Home where daddy used to work evenings. My mother was in the Auxiliary, and I would occasionally (not often) tag along when I was old enough to behave, but it was not unusual to be left alone at home in those days. There was a large, lot-sized yard and I wandered all over it. On reflection, I can still remember now, standing on the front porch, looking at the yard, that that was the first time I became aware of those minute sparks, or flashes of light, that I came to realize, 60 years later, as the Spirit of God.

As I grew, I went exploring around the neighborhood, and later, through the town, and made a few friends, but I was alone most of the time. I was not aware that I even had a brother until we had moved out of Grafton to Terra Alta, and he, his wife and two boys, stopped by for a visit, on their way to Va?, or SC?. The 1st time I attended a non-Catholic school, aside from kindergarten, was in Terra Alta.

The name of the street where I lived in Grafton was Washington, two blocks up from the Main Street and now, I live inside the beltway around Washington D.C.. Our phone number was 422. Another benefit was that Saint Augustine’s Catholic school and church were across the cross street from the American Legion Home. I lived two blocks from the school I was to attend when I turned six years old. I had my first sexual experience with an older woman, in the garage/shed, beside the house, I was 5 and she was 8. Miss Hyson did not attend the same school that I was going into next year and I never saw her again. That experience scarred me for the rest of my life, as I have always had difficulty in my social relationships with women.

The first school I attended was a Kindergarten, which was, probably, a little better than twice the distance from my home than St. Augustine’s. Usually I would walk there, but sometimes my father would drive me there, on his way to somewhere else. Going home was always a walk. I learned to get around by walking. I would sometimes walk out to the park at the foot of the Tygart Lake Dam, or to the National Cemetery where, the school kids would gather after the Memorial Day Parade and go stick small American flags on the graves. We all wore white, the same outfit I wore when I attended my First Holy Communion at St Augustine’s near the end of my second grade year. All the instructors at my school were Dominican nuns, who wore a white habit with a long black veil. The mass was said in Latin. The parish priest, Father Hanon was from Ireland. He had a heavy Irish brogue. One night, I remember seeing my parents leave the house, and walk to the church. I followed, thinking that they were going to the Legion Home. It seems that for me to attend the school, they had to renew their marriage vows in the Catholic faith. I sat way in the back and watched them kneeling at the communion rail, and receiving communion. I left before they were finished and went back home before they returned. It seems that, that was part of the procedure which also included my being re-baptized as a Catholic, I remember the black salt on my tongue and making my first Confession on a Friday, and receiving my First Holy Communion on the following Sunday. A busy weekend, to say the least.

My third grade was my last year at St. Augustine’s. It seems that the Home Bargain News flier that my parents produced, apparently caught the eye of someone, because they were approached by someone in the next county, Preston County, who offered the prospect of publishing a tab-sized newspaper. My parents both went to school in Pittsburgh, PA, to learn how to operate the offset printing press that Gilbert Arnold, the manager? of the bank, in Terra Alta, WV offered, in 1954-55 to loan the money to purchase the press and equipment to produce the tab-sized newspaper.

We moved up to Terra Alta in March, but, so I wouldn’t miss a year of school, I got to commute to Grafton from Terra Alta, during the last months of my third grade year. I was gotten out of bed, early on Monday morning, got dressed, and put in the back seat of the Crosley my father drove, where I usually went back to sleep, and my father drove me down to Grafton. I usually had breakfast there, with daddy, at a restaurant, Steak and eggs, $3, across from the Train Station, and then went to school.

I stayed in the guest room of a good neighbor’s house, Burt and Edna Miller, diagonally across Washington street, from where I had been living. And then on Friday, after school, I would go down to the train station, and get a ticket and rode the train back to Terra Alta, and spend the weekend there. I enjoyed the train ride. I remember singing Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog while I was in Grafton (I believe Elvis sounded better after he got out of the Army).

I spent my fourth grade year in a public school in Terra Alta; Mrs Clem Teets was my instructor. They were still teaching how to print, on those yellow wide-lined sheets of paper that we used in first grade at St. Augustine’s. I remember that we sold some candy or greeting cards or something, and, to the children that sold their quota, that were from Protestant families, received copies of the King James bible, but the Catholics received a picture in a plastic frame of Jesus in Gethsemane. I wanted the book. I have been a life-long bibliophile; something I inherited from my mother. I have always blamed the public school, for my bad study habits. Things were easy, and I got lazy, and never applied myself when I went back to the Catholic schools.

I learned to ride a bicycle in Terra Alta, and I remember that it made me so happy that night, that I rode back and forth in the rain. I also had my first accident there. I hit a truck while on my bike, at, or near, the intersection where the 4 Corners Restaurant was located, and woke up in the ambulance on the way to a hospital in Kingwood, WV. Afterwards, I started listening to Jazz & Classical Music records, over the popular music of the time (Rock ’n’ Roll). No more Elvis.

After about a year and a half we relocated to Bridgeport, WV, and I spent grades 5 – 8 at All Saints School in Bridgeport, WV, where I was Confirmed, by Bishop Hodges. We lived outside of town, about a mile from the school, and I walked every day. I had a narrow tire bike, but didn’t take it to school. I had another accident, I was in seventh grade, and I hit another truck. Only this time, I woke up a week later in a hospital in Clarksburg. A doctor Weaver, told my mother that I would have trouble with time, which later, would become an obsession, off and on, for the rest of my life. Ancient history, and early religious beliefs were my favorite topics of inquiry. And I began to seriously dislike Country Music on the radio, I didn’t like what I called the nasal twang, or accent, and listened to Instrumental Jazz and Classical music more frequently. My father died in Pittsburgh, in February of 1960, after which, my mother was considering moving back to Chicago.

My father died during my 7th grade year at All Saints School. We moved from the Corpening building beside the cemetery at the end of town, to a house across the street. There was a shed behind the house that I fixed up, and entertained friends in a sort-of clubhouse. A year or so later, we were informed that the house was going to be demolished because the state was going to put a highway through our living room. They used my shed for an office. Mother decided that we should move the business to the recently vacated building across the street from the old post office. It was formerly a tire store that sold new and retread tires. It was also smaller, and we had to live separately from the business, but it allowed for more walk-in business downtown Bridgeport W. Va. Mother and I moved into a small apartment over a dry-cleaners, across the street from the funeral home that took care of my father’s burial outside of Grafton. In 1960, my father’s funeral cost $600. In 1972, my wife’s funeral cost $7,000. I fixed up a room over the shop and would sometimes sleep there while mother ran the press at night.

I got my first deck of Tarot cards from a variety store a short block from the business. I was surprised at the accuracy of the reading drawn from the meanings printed on the cards. I laid the cards out in the wheel, A spread similar to the Celtic Spread, mentioned in the Tarot section of this book. Read the meanings, and then put them away. The surprise came after a couple of months when the reading was realized. I did a reading for the friend that asked me ‘How do they know that the stories in the bible actually happened the way they say they did happen?’. I do not know if he had the same results, as we had a falling apart when he entered the Navy, and I went to WVU. I never saw him afterwards.

While I was considering entering the priesthood, I discussed my intentions with some of my friends and associates, with mixed responses. Some thought it was a good idea and others were ambivalent. One in particular played Devil’s Advocate, and we discussed the matter during the one retreat we had at Notre Dame High School, and the adjacent Immaculate Conception church in Clarksburg. One evening, he asked, How do they know that what they relate in scripture and sermons is true. How do they know that it actually happened that way?. And my immediate and confident response was to begin with We are told, … and I stopped. It occurred to me, in that moment, that we are told what to believe. And how did they know? They are told.

In ancient history, when ancient peoples went to war, their gods would also go to war. What the truth was, was left to the victors to decide. The losing gods either merged with similar gods or became demons, or devils. Truth was relative, depending on who you were, or what side you were on. The Bible is not a book of History, it is a book of stories and fables in history, without facts to support the declarations. It is all hearsay.

The Church declared the Gospels to be facts beyond question, Faith was all the proof you needed to enter the Kingdom of God in Heaven. All those who did not perform the rites in Faith were condemned to the Pits of Hellfire and damnation for eternity. The greatest pain was the loss of the presence of Almighty God. The Devil, or Satan was the ruler in Hell. The thing that got me was Why? Satan was condemned to the pit because of his sin of vanity. This is an obvious lie, because the Angels do not have Free Will which would allow the rebellion of sin against the sovereignty of the Father. And then the Father sends His Only begotten Son as the Redeemer for mankind, the inheritors of the disobedience of God in the Garden of Eden. Again, lies upon lies. The Bible is a Book of Lies. Not one letter of the Bible was ever written by the Father, or the persons to whom they are attributed, nor in the times contemporary to the events they relate. It is all hearsay, borrowed goods, and tradition, not Truth.

As a result of this understanding, I began my search through history, and ancient scriptures. In high school, in my World History class, brief mention was made of the Aryan Invasion in India, and the middle east. Zoroaster’s, or Zeratusht’s, eventual birthplace, hundred’s of years later. During the time I was ‘not in school’ (both before and after my short-lived marriage), at the University, I went to the synagogue, and spoke with several grad-school students from the middle east, but they didn’t know much about that time period, 1500-600 BCE. But I did come across material in the book stores. One in particular, the Desatir (ISBN 0-913510-33-5. ©1975, a photographic reprint of the 1888 edition, which discussed an earlier, 1818 limited edition copy), which covered prayers, and teachings of the 15 or so, prophets before Muhammad. From the Preface: "The Desatir professes to be a collection of the writings of the different Persian Prophets, who flourished from the time of Mahabad, to the time of the fifth Sasan, being fifteen in number; of whom Zerdusht, or Zoroaster was the thirteenth, and the fifth Sasan the last. The fifth Sasan was a contemporary with the Emperor Heracli(t)us, and died only nine years before the destruction of the ancient Persian monarchy. The primeval religion of Iran, the oldest religion, was a firm belief that one supreme God made the world by his power, and continually governed by his providence – a pious fear, love and adoration of him; a due reverence for parents and aged persons; a fraternal affection for the whole human species, and a compassionate tenderness for the brute creation. A system of devotion of not long duration.

The first monarch of Iran was Mahabad, who divided the people into four orders: the Religious, the Military, the Commercial, and the Servile. And promulgated, from the Creator, a sacred book in a heavenly language, to which the Muslim translator gave the Arabic title of Desatir, or Regulations. And that fourteen Mahabads, would appear in human shapes, for the government of this world. The Hindus believe in fourteen Menus, or Celestial Personages, with similar functions, the first of whom left a book of regulations, or divine ordinances, which they hold equal to the Vedas. The first corruption of the oldest religion, prevalent in those territories, where the book of Mahabad, or Menu, was the standard of all religious and moral duties, was the system of Indian theology invented by the Brahmans.

From another text?, the Dabistan, we learn that the popular worship of the Iranians, under Hushang, was purely Sabian; a word from Saba, a host, particularly, the host of heaven, or the celestial bodies. The planetary worship in Persia seems only a part of a far more complicated religion. In the opinion of the best informed Persians, who professed the faith of Hushang, distinguished from that of Zeratusht.

The accession of Cayumers to the throne of Persia, in the eighth or ninth century before Christ, was accompanied by a considerable revolution in both government and religion. He was, most probably, of a different race from the Mahabadians who preceded him. And, perhaps, began the new system of national faith, which Hushang, whose name it bears, completed. But the reformation was partial, for, while they rejected the complex polytheism of their predecessors, they retained the laws of Mahabad, with a veneration for the sun, the planets, and fire. This was continued by Zeratusht, who reformed the old religion by the addition of Genii, or angels, presiding over months and days, of new ceremonies in the veneration shown to fire, of a new work, which he pretended to have received from heaven, and above all, by establishing the actual adoration of one supreme Being. He was born in the district of Rai, and he traveled into India, that he might receive information from the Brahmans in theology and ethics. He was in truth, a pure theist (as am I), and strongly disclaimed any adoration of the fire, or other elements. He denied that the doctrine of two coeval principles, supremely good and supremely bad, formed any part of his faith. The reformed religion of Persia continued in force until that country was subdued by Islam.

Sometime during my 10th grade, a seminary opened nearby in Vienna WV, and I was seriously thinking about joining the priesthood. I had been shown an excellent example through my parish priest, Father Charles Carroll. I remember talking about it with one of the lay instructors, Miss Pettito, and she told me that my grades were not good enough to transfer to there. I needed at least a high B and I was a low C, high D student. That gave me a goal, I applied myself more intently through the remainder of the 10th grade and in my 11th & 12th grades. I went ahead of the class and finished the material in some of the classes. The result was that I was exempt from half of my finals in both 11th & 12th grades, because I had unintentionally completed the material that was on the final, and had more time to apply to the science, math and religion courses. However, by the time I was to graduate, as a B student, I was no longer interested in the priesthood, as I could no longer accept the Christian Mythology that was taught in both church and school.

I didn’t date much, I kept to myself a lot, and started drinking alcohol. My sexual experiences were with prostitutes or easy women. I started teaching witchcraft and magic to see naked women. This is when the Black Michael part of my life got started. I read tarot cards, calculated star charts, played poker, smoked, dropped, and drank, until I met my wife. While I was married, that part of my life was set aside, for the most part. We smoked, but I mostly worked in Virginia, and she went to school, in West Virginia. I was a terrible husband, and was oblivious of her affairs. I spent much of my free time in DC’s T- bars, or visited gay friends, from Morgantown that drank or smoked, and lived on Thomas Circle. There were people around, but I was alone. I did keep building my library, but when she died, I stopped practicing Magick. I mentioned earlier that I taught Witchcraft and Magick to see naked women. However, it was not just sex, Witchcraft is also a religion – the Old Religion – it predates Christianity, and, personally, I believe its adherents follow a better, more wholesome lifestyle than the modern day Christians.

Below, you will find excerpts, taken from a limited edition copy (#73 of 100, 2nd edition) of the Book of the Holy Strega, presented by Raven, under the direction of the Council of the 3rd Clan of Aradia. (A Nemi Enterprises Publication from The Shadow’s Edge – A Journal of Witchcraft). The words of Aradia, represent the teachings, which were placed, by her, into the Nine Sacred Scrolls. These scrolls were seized by the Church as heretical writings, and were sent to the Pope in Avignon, in France. The followers of Aradia restored much of what she had spoken, and portions of the scrolls themselves, and from these, have these Words of Aradia been produced. The material which you are about to read is a paraphrased translation of the original writing. The book concerns itself with **Aradia, the Holy Strega, who brought about the revival of the Old Religion in 14th century Italy. ** Aradia, as she appears, in this work, is not to be confused with Charles Leland’s, highly Christianized book: Aradia Gospel of the Witches.**

The Holy Strega establishes herself as the opponent of the Christian Church, and uses many references to Christian Scriptures throughout the writings. However, the Gospel of Aradia is not to be taken in the same manner as the Christians regard their scriptures. The Book of the Holy Strega was originally written during the late 14th century, in the city of Benevento. Since that time, it has been passed down through the family. Our Aradia gospel represents the High Ideals which we find worthy of attainment – We accept the possibility of changes and alterations, which we feel does not take away from the Truth of the Gospel.

And within God was the essence to Create, and the source for Creation. Now, perceiving this to be, they conceived to Create the Light into beings in the image of Themselves, which was God. So, as essence (Male) and source (Female), they created them that were to live upon all the worlds. And the worlds were alive with the Spirit of God, which was now Consciousness with form. God beheld the Creation, and was fulfilled. For now, there was Reason, Purpose, and Existence.

A Modern Revelation

In the time, which was before Time, there was the Void. And within all of this endlessness dwelt the Source of all that was to be. Dark, drawn within itself, the Source existed in its non-existence… And seeking its existence, the Source then expanded out upon the Void. And from this expansion, there went forth the purpose. And the purpose was Creation.

And so there were worlds within the Void, and the Source of all that was – was spread out upon all of Creation; and where it had been, was now Consciousness. And this Consciousness was God. And God beheld that Creation was like God, for the worlds revolved around their Suns, as all of Creation revolved around God…

And God beheld that the worlds were without consciousness, existing in non-existence. And God perceived the worlds were given unto God by the Source, so that they too might share consciousness, and through them, the Source alike. And God sent forth the Light and Life, which was God, unto all of Creation… and the Light diminished in this expansion, and within this there were four realms of depth in Light… Now the spirit of Life was upon the worlds, and throughout all of Creation. And with the Light of Life that went forth unto the worlds, went forth also the Consciousness, which was God. And God conceived the Light as Consciousness, dwelling in form, just as the Source had conceived, and so created God. And as Light diminished within the four realms, so too did the concept of Creation.

And within God was the essence to Create and the source for Creation. Now, perceiving this to be, they conceived to Create the Light into beings in the image of Themselves, which was God. So, as essence (male) and Source (female) they created them that were to live upon all the worlds…So too were all Living things made upon the worlds. And the worlds were alive with the Spirit of God, which was now Consciousness with form. God beheld the Creation, and was fulfilled. For now there was Reason, Purpose and Existence.

A Myth of Creation:

In the days of the world before the people roamed the land, there dwelt, upon the Earth, those spirits of the Elements, and with them were the spirits of the Trees and Meadows, the streams, stones, and the mountains. Yet, before all this had come to be, there was nothing but the Darkness and the Stars. Then the Goddess (the Source for Creation) moved through the night, and her scent aroused the Passion of the God (Desire for Creation). And He put forth his hand and drew the Goddess to Himself – They Loved and were One, beneath the stars. And from their Union, a mist appeared, bearing Life to the Four Winds. Then together did they fashion the Earth and the Sun and the Moon.

Concerning Life:

We live upon the Earth because we are not prepared to live in the ways of the Spirit. We are not physical beings, and this is why physical life is often difficult. It is not our way to disregard the physical, for we dwell within it – So it is best to live in harmony with the world – But, for us to become involved in the physical so as to disregard the Spirit, is likewise harmful – this binds us to rebirth and unhappiness. A Witch respects Life, and all living things. Life must not be taken without necessity. The purpose of physical life is to learn the Higher Ways of Spirit, through knowledge of the Lower – And to prepare our Spirit for the existence for which it was created.

Concerning Death:

Every beginning is also the ending of that which came before it. Likewise, every ending is likewise a beginning of that which is to follow. Coming and going are simply the two sides of the one journey. Death is merely a change of awareness and of form. The realm of Death is like the Dream Worlds to which we journey in our sleep, and just as brief. The Spirit always moves to a higher state, and always towards the Light – The Shadows of Death cannot keep us. Upon dying, we are purified by the Elements as we rise into the Ethyr – From Life we go to dwell within the Astral realms of the Moon and then await our return. - In Luna we are given vitality and made strong again. As the Great Ones, who created all things, then shall we go forth, to be forged by the Sun, and taken to dwell among the Stars, in our new divine form.

Concerning Love & Marriage:

Love is the gift of the Spirits blessings. - It is the emanation of spirit within. Love is the Great Attainment. Receive Love when it is offered, and offer Love regardless. Do not allow the duality of Love to cause you despair, for Love can lift up your heart, and it can likewise drag it down. Accept Love in the manner in which it comes to you – Do not possess it, or attempt to control it, or shape it. For Love is free, and shall come or go in its manner.

When a man and a woman join their lives together through ritual, and the Love which they share, then they are linked to each other in another life to come. Yet, being together, know that each of you must be alone; even though you are bound together, let this not be as captives. There shall always be others with who each of you may desire to share a closeness, either physical or spiritual. Let your Love, desire the fullness of Life for each other, and also pleasure for each other. Honor each other with openness and honesty. Because you have joined your lives together, you are a sanctuary and comfort for each other. You shall stand together in all things, for you are true friends. You are together because of your Love, and you remain for this reason – Yet, if this reason for coming together is forgotten, or fades, then it is well to part, if needs be such. You do not honor each other, or the Joining, by remaining without Love.

Concerning Sexuality:

The sexual power of a man or woman, is the strongest power that may be raised from the body. Do not be confused by the duality of sex, for it can be physical alone, or it can be spiritual alone and it can be both together. Share your sexuality with whoever you may, in whatever manner you may, for all acts of Love and Pleasure are rituals to the Goddess and to the God. It has been written that you shall be Free, and so shall you be free in body, mind, and spirit. Everything is masculine and feminine in essence, and all bear the divine spark of the God and Goddess within them. A Witch must live with inner and outer Harmony. No one may rightly dictate the will of another – Do not confuse Love with sex, nor sex with Love. - Pleasure belongs to everyone, therefore, harm no one through your own Will – Nor place your Will above others.

Concerning Nature:

Nature is the Great Teacher, in her are all things revealed. Nature reflects the higher Ways of Spirit… Observe the ways of Nature around you, both great and small. Everything has purpose and reason. Be not confused by its seeming cruelty, for there is a duality in all things. Respect Nature in all ways – Take only that which you must, from Her, and remember nothing can be taken, except that something be given – this is Law for all Witches. Know that the Wind speaks of the knowledge of the Earth, and the kindred Spirit of all living things emanates from everywhere. Nature teaches all living things all that must be known. She teaches Life. For Witches, there can be no other way than Nature. A Witch must live in Harmony with the Forces of Nature.

Concerning Earth:

The Earth is the nurturing power of the Mother. She returns that which we sow. She gives us healing herbs and herbs by which we work our magic. The very Earth gives us life, without which we would perish. There is a heal[ng power in the Earth, and a vital force. We know that a wounded animal will lay against the Earth to heal its wounds. They understand, and we are One with them, through our beliefs. Everything that the world does, it does with a circle. The Earth teaches us the doctrines of cycles. The Sun, the Moon, and the seasons come and go, and return again and again – with the cycles of our own lives. The Earth, naturally, teaches us, just as Nature does, for they are One. Earth is the Body, and Nature is the Spirit. We must live in harmony with the Earth, and with Nature – The forces of the Earth are greater than than any power we can safely master. To strive against these forces is foolish.

Do nothing to the Earth that shall take away from the purpose it serves in Nature, for this is the natural balance – And the Earth shall always move against us to restore itself. Do Not think that we are greater than the Earth, or than Nature; for surely they shall both crumble and dissolve all that we shall enact.

The Etheric Worlds:

Aradia originally taught the concept of four worlds, or realms of existence. They were the Physical, Lunar, Solar & Stellar. The Physical world was the dwelling place of those spirits who were not prepared to dwell within the Higher Realms. The Lunar World was connected to the Physical, and was a temporary dwelling place which served to revitalize the soul who had departed. The Solar World served to also revitalize the soul, but, in addition, it forged a new body for the soul to inhabit. Then the soul could enter Higher Realms and abide there. The Stellar world was considered the final realm where the soul would come to dwell. – According to the teachings, this was the original realm from whence we all came. The current view concerning the Etheric worlds is somewhat different. Today, we conceive of seven realms, having added the Divine Realm and the Ultimate Realm – Unknowable: The Source* – The Seventh is the Realm of Tartaru, which Aradia spoke of as being outside of the Worlds. In the magical view of the Worlds – concerning magic formula – which is the Source of All things. Then the Divine Plane, where the True forms of Deity abide. Next is the Spiritual Plane, where the first Beings were created – Beings of Light – Following this is the Mental Plane where all concepts exist in a pure and consecrated state – next is the Astral Plane, which is the Plane of Formed Thought – The mental concept given visualized form. The Plane of Forces follows this, and is the Plane of action and reaction. It is like a river flowing to and from the Astral Plane, and directs energies between the Astral and Physical. These planes contain the Formula by which the Source created all things, and by which we may create – magically, as well as physically – because of the Divine Spark within us. *(The Source originally dwelt within the Ultimate, or Unknowable Plane. From here, it expanded outward and was divided into its polarities (M +, F -). This is the Divine Plane. The Spiritual Plane then becomes the Realm into which the Polarities expand and perform their own activity. The Mental Plane experiences a repetition of the original action – containing the pure original concept – but now, each Polarity divides into its own inner polarities. It is from this Plane that the Myth of the Goddess, dividing Herself into Light and Dark / Masculine and Feminine originates.)

Concerning the Astral Plane:

The Astral World, through the Plane of Forces receives the thoughts and vibrations of actions from the Physical World – Thoughts and vibrations create etheric objects on the Astral Plane. - What people strongly believe in enough, can be created astrally (This is one method by which ritual magic is performed). Energy is first raised with a specific purpose in mind, then, this is given up to the plane of Forces, where it is drawn and channeled to the Astral World, and so obtains a thought form. The true purpose of the Astral plane is to prepare us for future lives and existences, by burning out (purifying), or exhausting all of our fears, desires and false concepts. - These bind us to the lower worlds – it is our after life experiences in the lower astral worlds which transforms us. The Astral Wold is under the Divine Law of Cause and Effect, action and reaction – the essence of the threefold Law. The Astral Planes contain all of the heavens and hells which the followers of religions believe in. - They will experience that which they believe awaits them.

On the Astral Plane, thoughts are things. And, as you believe, so shall it be. The Astral Plane is seen as a Mediating Realm between the Physical and Divine Worlds. It is here that the concepts of the Physical World are given energy forms – thought forms – Everything that exists in the Physical World was originally in the Astral world first. The Astral World receives Divine energy from the Higher Planes, which can be directed into the energy forms emanating from the Physical. (This is one of the Keys to Magick). This action is closely linked with the Plane of Forces, which is sometimes called the Elemental Plane.

Concerning the Elements:

There is a vaporous, subtle, and invisible quality to each of these things which are called the physical elements. All of Creation was brought into Being when the Spirit drew the four elements unto itself. These elements are called Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and they are controlled by Spirit. Each of these elements possess an etheric double – it is this essence which gives vitality, or fertility, to the physical object. Just as the physical realms of Matter contain their own forms of life, so too do the etheric realms. These entities have been personified as the many spirits and creatures of Myth and Legend – It is their activity which creates and maintains the vital essence within all Matter. Plane of Forces = Elemental Plane. in their own forms of life, so too do the etheric realms. - These entities have been personified as the many spirits and creatures of Myth and Legend. - It is their activity which creates and maintains the vital essence within all Matter. The etheric powers of the elements also give potency to spells and works of magic (None of which have been included in this work. M.O.M). - It is within their realms that magical powers ebb and flow. - Thus are the spirits of the elements summoned to assist us.

Concerning Worship:

Remember to keep, and observe, all the Sacred Gatherings. Observe the time of the Full Moon, and all the