| Moonchild | |
|---|---|
| File:Moonchild.gif | |
| Author(s) | Aleister Crowley |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Occult Novel |
| Publisher | Mandrake Press (1929) Samuel Weiser, Inc. (1970) |
| Publication date | 1929 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 335 pp |
| ISBN | 0-87728-147-5 |
| OCLC Number | 258100344 |
Moonchild is a novel written by the British occultist Aleister Crowley in 1917. Its plot involves a magical war between a group of white magicians, led by the protagonist Simon Iff, and a group of black magicians over an unborn child. It was first published by Mandrake Press in 1929 and its recent edition is published by Weiser.
In this work, numerous acquaintances of Crowley appear as thinly disguised fictional characters. Crowley portrays MacGregor Mathers as the primary villain, including him as a character named SRMD, using the abbreviation of Mathers' magical name. Arthur Edward Waite appears as a villain named Arthwaite, and the unseen head of the Inner Circle of which SRMD was a member, "A.B." is theosophist Annie Besant. Among Crowley's friends and allies Allen Bennett appears as Mahatera Phang, Isadora Duncan appears as Lavinia King, and Mary D'Este as Lisa la Giuffria. Cyril Grey is Crowley himself, while Simon Iff is either an idealized version of an older and wiser Crowley or his friend Allen Bennett.[1]
Contents |
Plot summary [link]
A year or so before the beginning of World War I, a young woman named Lisa la Giuffria is seduced by a white magician, Cyril Grey, and persuaded into helping him in a magical battle with a black magician and his black lodge. Grey is attempting to raise the level of his force by impregnating the girl with the soul of an ethereal being — the moonchild. To achieve this, she will have to be kept in a secluded environment, and many preparatory magical rituals will be carried out. The black magician Douglas is bent on destroying Grey’s plan. However, Grey's ultimate motives may not be what they appear. The moonchild rituals are carried out in southern Italy, but the occult organizations are based in Paris and England. At the end of the book, the war breaks out, and the white magicians support the Allies, while the black magicians support the Central Powers.
Critical reception [link]
On October 25, 1929, the Aberdeen Press commented on Moonchild:
| “ | We are constantly reminded of the moods of Anatole France and the methods of Rabelais. From extensive dissertations on magic and spiritualism we are suddenly switched into humour that is sometimes normal, sometimes sardonic. From a glimpse into the blackest mysteries of Hecate we are transferred to a wonderful white vision of the poets. From the trivialities of peace we emerge into the horrors of the Great War. Moonchild is not more fantastic than a thorough going "thriller", but it is also a satire and an allegory, full of disorder and genius.[2] | ” |
See also [link]
Notes [link]
- ^ From notes in author's hand from his library copy - Swann Auction Galleries, sale 2140, April 3, 2008, lot 45.
- ^ Aberdeen Press & Journal. 25 October 1929.
External links [link]
- Moonchild (Liber 81-The Butterfly Net) the complete text of the book.
https://wn.com/Moonchild_(novel)
Moonchild (1974 film)
Moonchild is a 1974 American independent horror/new age film directed and produced by Alan Gadney. It was originally shot in 1971 as a student film (a Masters thesis project at the University of Southern California). The film received limited commercial release under the title The Moon Child, but failed to make much of an initial impression on audiences. It has since gained recognition among film enthusiasts who discovered it due to its impressive cast of character actors: John Carradine, Victor Buono, Pat Renella, Janet Landgard and William Challee.
Plot
A young man (The Moon Child) is reincarnated every 25 years, with each life ending in a stay at a mission hotel. There he meets characters from his first life, all of whom are doomed to relive their roles in his life (and death) as well. The cycle will end when his spirit reaches a state of perfection by purging its negative (violent) impulses. Actor John Carradine is The Walker of The World, an otherworldly poet who is there to observe, and record for posterity, the proceedings.
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the seventh studio album by the English heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1988 by EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US (it was re-released by Sanctuary/Columbia Records in the US in 2002).
It is the first Iron Maiden release to feature keyboards. Like The Number of the Beast and, later, Fear of the Dark, The Final Frontier and The Book of Souls, it debuted at No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart. It also marks the first appearance of many progressive rock elements which would be used frequently in later albums, seen in the length and odd time signatures of the title track "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", and by the fact that it is a concept album.
Background
The idea to base the album around the folklore concept of the seventh son of a seventh son came to bassist Steve Harris after he read Orson Scott Card's Seventh Son. Harris states, "It was our seventh studio album and I didn't have a title for it or any ideas at all. Then I read the story of the seventh son, this mystical figure that was supposed to have all these paranormal gifts, like second sight and what have you, and it was more, at first, that it was just a good title for the seventh album, you know? But then I rang [[Bruce Dickinson|Bruce [Dickinson]], vocalist] and started talking about it and the idea just grew."
Major
Major is a military rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces. When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicators, the rank is just senior to that of an army captain and right below the rank of lieutenant colonel. It is considered the most junior of the field officer ranks.
Majors are typically assigned as specialized executive or operations officers for battalion-sized units of 300 to 1,200 soldiers. In some militaries, notably France and Ireland, the rank of major is referred to as commandant, while in others it is known as captain-major. It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures, such as the New York State Police, New Jersey State Police and several others. As a police rank, Major roughly corresponds to the UK rank of Superintendent.
When used in hyphenated or combined fashion, the term can also imply seniority at other levels of rank, including general-major or major general, denoting a mid-level general officer, and sergeant major, denoting the most senior NCO of a military unit. The term Major can also be used with a hyphen to denote the leader of a military band such as in pipe-major or drum-major.
Major (United Kingdom)
Major (Maj) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank is superior to captain, and subordinate to lieutenant colonel. The insignia for a major is a crown. The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander, and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.
History
By the time of the Napoleonic wars, an infantry battalion usually had two majors, designated the "senior major" and the "junior major". The senior major effectively acted as second-in-command and the majors often commanded detachments of two or more companies split from the main body. The second-in-command of a battalion or regiment is still a major.
1856 to 1867 major's collar rank insignia
1856 to 1867 major's collar rank insignia
1867 to 1880 major's collar rank insignia
1867 to 1880 major's collar rank insignia
1881 to 1902 major's shoulder rank insignia
1881 to 1902 major's shoulder rank insignia
During World War I, majors wore the following cuff badges:
Men's major golf championships
The men's major golf championships, commonly known as the Major Championships, and often referred to simply as the majors, are the four most prestigious annual tournaments in professional golf. In order of their playing date, the current majors are:
