XPost: alt.magick   
   From: glass@panix.com   
      
   In article ,   
   Absorbed   wrote:   
      
   >I've noticed that some have worked long and hard for these children of   
   >the future. After 2000 years (if that) language will have evolved such   
   >that the archives will probably only be decipherable to long-studied   
   >experts in archaic languages. And then the chances of them stumbling   
   >upon our posts, given the gazillions of posts that have been made, make   
   >it seem like a foolish endeavour to me. That said...   
      
   I was actually hoping for a pole shift and ice age before that point.   
   Language is surprisingly durable though. Some of us still talk Latin, for   
   example, let alone Shakespearean nonesuch.   
      
   >Dear Child Of The Future,   
   >   
   >Stop reading Usenet archives. The history of occult culture is a waste   
   >of your time.   
   >   
   >Your Humble Friend And Advisor,   
   >Absorbed   
      
   Sound advice. I'd add a little something from the literature:   
      
   Crimson dragonfly!   
   Rip out the wings,   
   a pimento!   
   But also...   
   A pimento!   
   Add two wings,   
   crimson dragonfly!   
      
   The question, dear reader, is where those wings come and go.   
      
   >With so many posts, and so little utility to be had, I sincerely doubt   
   >that anyone will consider posts like yours (or mine, for that matter)   
   >deeply enough to extract some hard-earned utility.   
      
   Now for us back here in the now, utility's in the eye of the beholder.   
   That's magick too. You don't get any return on your investment, I respect   
   your frustration.   
      
   Man finds his friend on the sidewalk crawling around, asks what's going   
   on. Friend says "I lost my wallet." Man helps him look. Nothing. Man   
   finally asks, "You're sure you lost it here, right?"   
      
   Friend says "Actually I lost it down the street, but the light's better   
   here."   
      
   Maybe alt.magick is not where your wallet is. But hey, the debating's   
   soft, right?   
      
   >I suspect the people from the future who search the alt.magick archive   
   >will be searching to clarify particular issues rather than randomly   
   >browsing. Who invented so-and-so ritual, who used such-and-such word   
   >first, but was Crowley linked to Hubbard though do you think, and loads   
   >of other trivial, bullshit questions.   
      
   Now that's interesting. You really think they'll care about that kind of   
   thing?   
      
   When was the last time so-and-so ritual and such-and-such word came up   
   around here?   
      
   Because me, I think the trivial bullshit dies first and buries whatever's   
   left. I'm told it's where fossil records come from.   
      
   If anything, this is a good layer of mulch for simmering the really   
   good stuff in. Same as it always was, really.   
      
   [alchemical references to "scoria" and manure temperatures omitted as too   
   technical for this newsgroup]   
      
   >I'm sure you could make time to explore your beliefs and motives, if you   
   >wanted to.   
      
   Probably. But I already know what my navel looks like.   
      
   In your opinion, what is alt.magick "about?" What, if any, is the value of   
   truly occult practice -- not just stilling the chatter but sparking new   
   conversations?   
      
   Debate is good. It's a start. But the best debates are about some thing.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)