Thursday, October 27, 2022

October 27, 2022

 Greetings Everyone!   

Halloween is only a few days away!  H. P. Lovecraft, as much a patron-saint of autumn as Ray Bradbury, writes in his poem “October”:

Mellow-fac’d, with eyes of faery, wistful clad in tinted leaves,

See the brown October tarry by the golden rows of sheaves;

Oak and acorn in his garland, fruit and wineskin in his hands,

Mystic pilgrim from a far land down the road to farther lands.


The “farther lands” referred to in the last line are what Halloween is all about- half-seen sights from the outer distance & half-heard sounds from the outer spheres.

JLS

Thursday, October 20, 2022

October 20, 2022

 
Reverend John Hale of Beverly, in The Crucible, makes the statement: “The Devil is precise; the marks of his Presence are definite as stone.”

But is he, & are they?  I think not. 

The Devil is chaos personified- part & parcel of the Dionysian Great Mother- Female, not Male, Goddess not God –which is why Baphomet has breasts.

What is really precise is to think for yourselves.  To make up your own minds.  To accept yourselves, as deep down, autumn people –thinking autumn thoughts; keeping autumn shrines.

During this Halloween season, some of you will celebrate the Devil, and some will celebrate God.

But God, Goddess, Devil, Demon, come as you are & as only imperfect shadow-puppets.

You, all of you as individuals, are more than the shadow-puppets that you insist on holding in your mind & subjugating yourself to.

So, celebrate that!

JLS

Monday, October 17, 2022

October 17, 2022

 

Greetings Everyone!

The third week of October!

Ray Bradbury describes October in his book The October Country  as: “that country where it is always turning late in the year......where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. 

It is a country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun..... whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts.....”

 
                                                                   
In another book, Bradbury warns us against the autumn people, whom he claims are evil & seek to ensnare human souls.  In his gothic tales, Bradbury’s autumn people are indeed evil. 

But there are autumn people who have souls & are not evil; they love autumn & celebrate the death of the year & the renewal that always follows.

JLS


Wednesday, October 5, 2022

October 5, 2022

 Greetings!

This summer, I sat down for a podcast interview with psychologists Daniel Chadborn and Thomas Brooks, both of whom are professors at New Mexico Highlands University.  Messires Chadborn & Brooks host the Psychosocial Distancing Podcast, a podcast that creates "a space to discuss the implications and applications of psychological principles", as they argue in their mission statement.

I spent a very enjoyable hour with my hosts discussing the psychology of magic & religion.  Naturally, I also talked about my two books H. P. Lovecraft and the Black Magickal Tradition and  Aliens, Robots & Virtual Reality Idols in the Science Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft, Isaac Asimov and William Gibson.

In particular, we focused on the following specific topics:

* The enduring influence of Lovecraft's works on modern day religiosity/occultism

* The meaning of being human

* The belief in secret societies of witches & devil worshippers and how that plays out in popular culture in the 2020's

You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Goggle Podcasts, Overcast, Radio Public & Copy RSS.

JLS

https://anchor.fm/psychosocialdistancing/episodes/Episode-99-Lovecraft-and-the-Occult-A-Conversation-with-John-L--Steadman-e1lhgcn

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

September 21, 2022

It is September 21, 2022- Autumn Equinox!

Halloween is coming up fast and as such, it is appropriate to think a little about Death.

Death can be personified if you like; usually, people personify Death as a figure wearing a long black robe and cowl that conceals the face, sometimes with skeleton hands and arms, or sometimes carrying a scythe.  And if you are the type of person who feels the need to personify, then you should feel free to personify Death as you like.

But seriously, Death is not really a “thing” at all; it is merely a transition from one state of being to another.  In terms of the physical body, it is a stopped clock only, a simple cessation of the human life-force and the breath.  But the subtler parts of the person continue on to their next states of being. 

The secret to a successful Death is to embrace it.  Even if you fear Death, or find it distasteful, embrace it anyway like a lover embracing the person that she loves most of all.  And pretend to love what holds you; pretend that Death is, in fact, the person you love most of all.

And then, unexpectedly, you will believe instead of pretending; you will really believe that Death loves you.  And when that happens, you will easily pass to the next state and then continue on to new levels of creativity and fulfillment.

This is what Halloween is, Dark Friends and Colleagues, the acceptance of Death and the celebration of Life!

JLS  



Saturday, September 3, 2022

September 3, 2022

 

Greetings Everyone!

Autumn is here!  My favorite season.  Now, it all begins.  The air will become more crisp, the shadows longer in the day with slanting beams of sunshine, the skies orange & ash gray at twilight and Halloween just around the corner!

Ray Bradbury, the patron-saint of autumn, writes about Halloween:

 "Night came out from under each tree and spread ...The wind  nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats....Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows Eve.  Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet.  Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades...." (The Halloween Tree)

This is a time for reassessment of our lives, our goals & our relationships.  A time, also, for renewal, for the pursuit of knowledge & perfection!

If you get the chance, check out my two books!  They are for  all seasons-  but especially for autumn- the season that inspires us to reassess & pursue perfection. 

So check them out on Google, Amazon, or any other online or real-time bookstore.

And, of course, they  are essential reading for anyone who is a fan of the great New England horror writer H. P. Lovecraft & for readers who like science fiction, horror & fantasy literature.

Happy Autumn to All!

JLS

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011T57HKU/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JHFJQ8N/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1


Tuesday, August 30, 2022

August 30, 2022

Greetings Everyone!

When it comes to Lovecraft's monsters- his extra-terrestrial, terrestrial, trans-dimensional aliens & his hybrid, degenerative "Others"- they are meant to be interpreted as actually existing, ontological entities- they are not meant to be interpreted as tropes, symbols, or metaphors for something else than what they are.

We must be remember this, when we see critics interpreting these entities as symbols or metaphors, which they often do in order to "extricate" Lovecraft's texts from his own beliefs, views & literary purposes- especially his racist beliefs-so that they can use Lovecraft's texts to further their own pet theories & personal, even political, purposes.

Read all about Lovecraft's monsters- and the likewise ontologically-existent robots & VR idols- in my second book.

JLS

 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=aliens%2C+robots+and+virtual+reality+idols+in+the+science+fiction+of+hp+lovecraft&i=stripbooks&crid=24Q9NYV736YSB&sprefix=aliens%2C+robots+and+virtual+reality+idols+in+the+science+fiction+of+hp+lovecraft%2Cstripbooks%2C91&ref=nb_sb_noss