About 23

About 23
Originally uploaded by Beltaine.

The truth behind the use of 23 by Secret Societies
When you said that you thought that the 23 phenomenon had its roots in the ability of people to pass on information then you had your finger right on the heart of what makes the number 23 so important. 23 is a living breathing example of a so-called "secret" that has spiraled out of the control of the organisations, who knew the full significance of the number, into the minds of the general public. In these untutored minds the real significance is lost and all that comes across is the vague fumblings towards a mystical meaning. The only real part of the message that is preserved is the emphasis on the importance of the number itself.

The importance of course stems from rituals, both ancients and adapted. These rituals have been used through the modern age by groups of all types of political and philosophical viewpoints. As most scientist will realise the greatest obstacles in making a breakthrough of any kind are your own preconceptions. The truly great discoverers and luminaries were people that cast off the mind-forg'd manacles, that William Blake wrote about, and saw things without the Consensus Reality that most of us have. This is why most visionaries are all washed out by the time they are 25 as they start to get bogged down in other people's maps and views of Reality and lose their own clarity.

So what did these ancient and modern societies do to break the spell of our conditioning. Magic: Rituals designed to freak the shit out of us and previous conceptions of what can and can't be. Rites to tap the as yet unexplored potential of the human mind. If you don't want to call it magic, then call it counter conditioning. It all amounts to the same thing. It worked for the Bavarian Illuminati of the 18th century. They recruited from the highest level of masons [33 degree], who knew something of these techniques. They elevated this to a new level, and when they were set upon by the Bavarian government. They weren't wiped out but remained underground, as do most practitioners of these deprogramming rituals, due to the fact that such activity gets labeled witchcraft and results in persecution.

However if you are approached by anyone claiming to be part of the Illuminati or to join any secret society of such a mysterious nature, then you should be aware of the dangers. Magic of this kind, also called Magick by Aleister Crowley to distinguish it from stage magic, is an attractive prize and people can be seduced by it into letting themselves be manipulated as part of the various power games that you get.

A much more earnest and more focused group are the O.'.C.'.A.'., who pretty much follow the example of Aleister Crowley in trying to tap into this magick/counter-conditioning. One of Aleister's thoughts was that very little had actually been done to test and experiment with the minds' potential. He certainly tried to make up for that in his lifetime.

Crowley has help to spread this ritual use of the number 23 into the mainstream, due to his influence on modern culture. It has been picked up on by people like William Burroughs, Robert Anton Wilson, the band Psychik TV and has spread through them to many other subcultures; most notably thee temple ov psychik youth and Spiral Tribe. Modern Primitives; using basic techniques of magick sometimes with the aid of hallucinogens to gain a different perspective on the modern world.

If this interests you then take a look at some 23 magick from O.'.C.'.A.'. that you can try at home and with other 23rdians.