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John Fitzgerald's avatar

Bracing, hard-hitting, imaginative, bold. Sebastian's most potent piece of short-form writing in my view. It rings true. I've not dwelt much on John Dee before but I never felt drawn to him and always saw him as an architect of some vague kind of evil. I might have to revise my historiography. Up till now I've seen the roots of Britain's fall in three key, infernal events - a triptych of Satanic acts spanning just over 150 years: (1) The Dissolution of the Monasteries, (2) The Regicide of Charles I, and (3) The defenestration of James II. Taken together, these three assaults on the royal and sacred essence of the land let loose those tremendous, titanic energies that consecrated the nation to Mammon and forged the British Empire. But the cost was the country's soul, and now that those energies have run their course there's no spiritual ballast remaining to stop or even slow the collapse. Only a god, as Heidegger said, or only an exorcism, as Sebastian suggests here, can save us now.

Michael Martin's avatar

That was a banger, my brother. I wrote a chapter in my dissertation on Dee--we need to talk.

Soothsayer's avatar

Let’s organise another Gnostalgia recording?

Michael Martin's avatar

I'm in

Richard Rigby's avatar

Prayer said, offered by an Australian who loves England, one day after the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, the same day also being the fourth anniversary of the passing of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth II, may she rest in peace.

glof's avatar

Prayer said. This article is a banger.

turd's avatar

Here in America a ray of hope is circulating . It's called the illumination of conscience . Catholic mystics predict that God Almighty will disperse upon mankind a portion of a day where each person will see themselves as they are through God's eyes in hopes that they will see the error of their ways and repent en masse . I pray this day comes soon . I need it .

Sam Charles Norton's avatar

This is really most intriguing. If there was a practical upshot flowing forwards, I'd be willing and able to support the endeavour.

Thomas's avatar

Excellent piece!

St Joseph of Arimathea Ora Pro Nobis!

Pray for Albion.

Big Mike's avatar

This is a beautifully written examination of the true power of sorcery, which we Americans experienced via the Babalon Working.

Lance Turner's avatar

I enjoyed this, thank you. We all need a romantic realist approach to keep the flame alive. The romantic side is to keep that sense of ourselves, which is very difficult to do without a clear understanding of faith. The realist side is accepting that the accumulation of events is so great that we can hardly recognise we are already amongst the ashes of our civilisation, which is the case I've tried to make across my own essays. 'What the United Kingdom likely needs is an exorcism, removing it from the hex.' That is it, isn't it?"

Jan Blencowe's avatar

I need a whole book that dives into this in detail….recommendations?