Mandrake

Monday, June 11, 2007

Ludlow Esoteric and Bookfayre 2007




Here are Charlotte's photos of the Boneroom and Mandrake stall
- review to follow shortly:

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Mandrake book site

Direct sales and information on our range of Leftfield titles - all aspects of magick & witchcraft plus crime, poetry, fiction and more.

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Sunday, June 03, 2007

Elizabeth St George (1937 - 2007)


The witch Elizabeth St George died on the full moon 1st June 2007.
She was the author in 1972 of The Devil's Prayerbook,
recented reissued by Ignotus Press as Rites of Shadow.
Please do leave a comment and recollection, so i can update this page with more information about her life than is currently available online.

A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF

E.A. St. George

Held at Mortlake Crematorium 12th June 2007

8 November 1937 – 1 June 2007

Adept, Wife and Mother

Produced and published by:

Spook Enterprises, 38 Woodfield Avenue, London W5 1PA


© A.M.D. and P.A. West 2007


WELCOME

Friends and colleagues, I would like to start by saying a heartfelt thank you for coming here today. I know that some of you have come a long way - and it means a lot to us.


Sadly, it is my duty to notify you formally that my Mother passed away on the first day of summer, June 1st. 2007.

Let us remember, that we come here not just to mourn the passing of my Mother, but also to celebrate and give thanks for her life…. It is in the very nature of dualism that where there is darkness – there is also a light.


A FEW WORDS ABOUT MY MOTHER…

I think my mother was a wonderful person, and we will miss her very much. She was kind, generous (both in her support of charities and with her time), and (generally) patient.

I am proud to have been her son….


Mother was born in London, spent the early part of her life in the Bahamas and then moved back to England, to attend Roedean School for girls in Brighton. Leaving school, she worked at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington and then spent a year in the WRAF. From there she went on to work for the well-known esoteric bookshop, Atlantis Books in London WC1 – where she started to write for publication and became known as Elizabeth St George. She studied with the late WG Grey (amongst others), and cultivated a life-long interest in other religions and philosophies. Professionally, she then went on to work in politics at a national level.


So much could (and perhaps should), be remembered about my mother. It really is impossible to do her justice in the time that we have available this afternoon. Changing the tone a little to reflect the person of those times, she read (and wrote) Science Fiction long before it became mass market reading material, becoming a member of a relatively select club in the 1950s. People are now rediscovering the existence of this club, researching and recording details for historical purposes. Members included several great authors of that time, (some of whom are still active, making valid contributions to the field today). Her vision was a long and broad one - and an active interest in Astronomy, Astrology and other arts naturally enough continued to develop.


She met my father, Peter, in 1958 at a science fiction convention and married him in 1964, blossoming into the wonderful person we came to know and love. She really will be very sadly missed. My mother was one of those people that could ‘light up the room’ by her presence in it. I like to think that her spirit is not so far away now as perhaps some might think.


During the 70s, she ran a series of companies designed to enable her to achieve her self-imposed objectives - though that was still unusual for the time – and she continued with her own research, occasionally being consulted and asked for her comment or opinion.


As the millennium approached, requests for advice and help multiplied. What used to be known as ‘unorthodox’ became – if not the norm – certainly more widely tolerated, and thus accorded long overdue respect. Once again she had been there at the right time and had applied herself to making the best use of it.


Unfortunately - several years back, she slipped while coming down the stairs at home, broke a leg in the process, and became incapacitated for some length of time. This led to problems with her getting around. Although she still undertook public speaking engagements and other work, long spells on her feet slowly began to tire her. It was around this time that symptoms of Type 2 diabetes began to manifest themselves.



While there are those that would consider aspects of my Mother’s beliefs unusual, I feel that far fewer would describe her as not devout or question her level of faith. It is in this way that we both reconcile and recognise what my mother meant to the people gathered here today. I would like to say a few words from a reading. Its provenance is unknown but it is entitled and accredited as simply – ‘A Reading



A Reading


Let us be contented with what has happened to us and thankful for all we have been spared. Let us accept the natural order in which we move. Let us reconcile ourselves to the mysterious rhythm of our destinies, such as they must be in the world of space and time. Let us treasure our joys but not bewail our sorrows.


Life as a whole, and good and ill must be accepted together. The journey has been an enjoyable one - and well worth making.



I’d like to pass you over now to my father, Peter. Afterwards there will be a short prayer that we would request you to recite with us, and another will perhaps try to describe, and give credit to, the great lady whom it was my pleasure to call my Mother, Sandra West and Elizabeth St. George.



Blessed Be.



A LOVING HUSBAND’S TRIBUTE


I have loved Sandra for 45 years and was married to her for forty-two and a half. They were the happiest days of my life. It’s really hard to sum up the sharing of the best part of a lifetime. All who knew her realized that Sandra/Elizabeth was an exceptional person in so many ways. As her godson said to me: “She must be one of a few people who held a pilot’s but not a driver’s licence!”


She was not only a prolific author of monographs and books on esoteric subjects, but also a respected teacher, specialising in Qabalah, ancient Egypt, A.D.I.C. and other related disciplines.


She always resented that she was prevented from attending a university. So late in life, she undertook a course of opera studies at Rose Bruford College and successfully graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was very proud of that!


Her love of animals, especially cats – big and small – was legendary. Nor was she averse to reptiles – at one time she kept a monitor lizard in her back room. When “Lisystrata” grew to 6 feet long, she was re-homed at London Zoo.


She supported dozens of charities regularly. Those wishing to make a contribution to her memory may like to make a donation to one or more of the charities listed at the back of this booklet.


Many years ago she developed an esoteric belief system called A.D.I.C. which is briefly described on the next page. It is fitting that we finish off this celebration of her life with extracts from The Book of A.D.I.C. and The A.D.I.C. Prayer Book.


PREFACE TO THE BOOK OF A.D.I.C


The Book of A.D.I.C. presents an ethical teaching valid for today and tomorrow, applicable to other races and other planets beside our own.


The teachings are true today and will be true tomorrow when we are no longer confined to this solar system.


While truly non-sectarian, the book shares universal truths with major schools of worship and study, both orthodox and occult.


A.D.I.C. is an abbreviation of


Absolute Deity in Infinite Continuums


and its basic philosophy can be summarised as the evolution of all entities in the universe towards Godhead.



EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF A.D.I.C.


Time is a varying force, moving and changing and carrying all things within its waves. Little can I leave to you, O Companion. Few indeed are the gifts that will help to guide you upon the starry path.


My Book of Visions will be of little aid and it may be that your poetry is better than that which I have wrought. But the A.D.I.C. teachings are for you and for all other beings.


To she who is Guardian have I left my sword which is called "Moonfire" - the sword which is made only for my hand. I have dishonoured it in no way, yet I have built into that sword the dreams that are longer than iron and brighter than steel.


Unto the Guardian have I left my spear which was forged to point my Will unto the future, and which became a burning spear of light where none had gone before.


Unto the Guardian do I leave the chalice with which I have wrought the Cosmic Mass.


Unto the Guardian do I leave my ring which I have worn since the day I took my vows upon the world that bore me. And she will also guard my new ring whose stone I have brought from the altars of Heaven. These last shall be kept for my use for surely I shall return to reclaim them from the void of time.


Unto the Guardian have I left my banner of A.D.I.C. beneath which I have acted, for whatever the immediate results within my own life, one day the A.D.I.C. sign shall be the banner of the dawn.


Unto the Guardian do I leave the Tariel, knowing that none shall make its equal. In this day both its makers will have passed and one will not walk this earth again, for my colleague is gone forever and never will return through all eternity, though I will return.


Yet not to the Guardian, O Companion, but to you will I leave this book comprising such wisdom as I have gained. Nor is this book the end of wisdom, for it is bounded by my own time and vision.


This book alone, O Companion, shall be my gift unto you. Nor shall you allow my thoughts to limit your boundless future.


Only one thing will I promise - that I shall return, though many years go past from this, the time of my death.


Unto that time let blessing be, the blessing of Absolute Deity in Infinite Continuums.




THE FAREWELL SERVICE


(We would like to invite the congregation to recite with us the lines printed in italics.)


Companions, we have come together at this time of sorrow. It is the custom of our people to mourn for the dead and to ask Deity to bless the departed one. In this time of grief, we turn our thoughts to the A.D.I.C. teaching. We know that sorrow is a part of life, but let us learn the lessons of our grief.


We know that those who are taken from us are those that we shall meet again in the future.


We remember that time will bring fulfilment and banish the fear of death.


We remember that time will bring new hope and not the crushing sorrow of today.


We remember that death will bring us to new life until we are one within A.D.I.C.


Absolute Deity of the Infinite Continuums, grant blessing to the newly dead. Take our friend. Give to her blessing and in time to come, let her be reunited with us.


All: That we who are lonely now shall be lonely no longer.


It is written that the soul voyages from savagery to the stars. Slowly it evolves, life after life in its quest for learning and evolution. It is written that the soul progresses through many lives to come in the end to Absolute Deity.


All: We are taught that love and friendship endure past the time of death and that the companions of one life are reunited in their lives to come.


We are taught that hatred and love are binding forces and that the dear ones of one life shall be with us in other times. It is written that the soul is immortal, ever evolving into Light.


All: It is written that darkness is less than a shadow before Deity.


We will remember that the secret of Death is also the secret of Life, for each is a part of the other. All men fear death and the way of its coming, though they know that this is but one stage within their journey through evolution. We remember that death is the speed of the wind and the brightness of fire, the depth of the water and the ash of the earth. We ask that matter shall be richer for the passing of life. We ask that the spirit shall be wiser at its going. We ask Deity to bless the continuing freedom to evolve into Godhead that all is one within A.D.I.C.


Let blessing be.


All: We remember our companion. We remember her name. We remember the joys and the sorrows that we shared. We remember her voice and her laughter. We remember her touch and her friendship.


We remember our companion. As we consign her body to destruction, we remember that we shall meet again.


All: Let the blessing be spoken.


The blessing is given within the sign of Absolute Deity.


Let blessing be extended from the Northern throne of heaven.


Let blessing be granted from the Southern throne of heaven.


Let blessing be given from the Eastern throne of heaven.


Let blessing be answered from the Western throne of heaven.


Let blessing be evolved through all the heights of the heavens to meet at one point.


Before A.D.I.C. let blessing be.





FAVOURITE CHARITIES


If you’d like to make a contribution in her memory, we suggest one of the following would be most suitable:


The People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES)

15 Cloister’s House

8 Battersea Park Road

London SW8 4YY


Sumatran Tigers Trust

c/o South Lake Wild Animal Park

Broughton Road

Dalton in Furness

Cumbria

LA15 8JR

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