James Wasserman > Quotes

“Ultimately, the greatest mystery cannot be seen or spoken, it is beyond the grasp of the intellect and all symbolic representation.”
― James Wasserman

“Pot saved me from Scientology.”
― James Wasserman, In the Center of the Fire: A Memoir of the Occult 1966-1989

“Don't worry; work!”
― James Wasserman, Aleister Crowley And the Practice of the Magical Diary

“O coffee! By the mighty Name of Power do I invoke thee, consecrating thee to the Service of the Magic of Light. Let the pulsations of my heart be strong and regular and slow! Let my brain be wakeful and active in its supreme task of self-control! That my desired end may be effected through Thy strength, Adonai, unto Whom be the Glory for ever! Amen without lie, and Amen, and Amen of Amen.”
― James Wasserman, Aleister Crowley And the Practice of the Magical Diary

“Therefore we set out diligently to explore and map these untrodden regions of the mind.”
― James Wasserman, Aleister Crowley And the Practice of the Magical Diary

“The Masonic philosophy embodied the political movement under way in America to promote individual liberty and establish a broad-based national identity that encouraged fraternity and equality. Masonic ideals helped the young nation to move beyond the familiar model of a hereditary monarchy and stratified aristocracy exemplified by England. It advocated a meritocracy, in which all people were regarded as equal in the eyes of God and under the law, and they were free to develop themselves to the highest degree to which they aspired, and for which they were willing to work.”
― James Wasserman, The Secrets of Masonic Washington: A Guidebook to Signs, Symbols, and Ceremonies at the Origin of America's Capital

“The high principles of Masonry were particularly welcome in the uncertain times leading up to the Revolution. American society was struggling with conflicting political loyalties, denominational conflicts among competing sects, cultural and language issues resulting from increased non-English-speaking immigration, and the problems of balancing self-government with being an English Colonial province. Masonry offered itself as a cultivated and ordered society of far-thinking individuals who could help mediate differences.”
― James Wasserman, The Secrets of Masonic Washington: A Guidebook to Signs, Symbols, and Ceremonies at the Origin of America's Capital

“even in religion, when we are dealing with our own souls, we try to cheat.”
― James Wasserman, Aleister Crowley And the Practice of the Magical Diary

“O coffee! By the mighty Name of Power do I invoke thee, consecrating thee to the Service of the Magic of Light. Let the pulsations of my heart be strong and regular and slow! Let my brain be wakeful and active in its supreme task of self-control!”
― James Wasserman, Aleister Crowley And the Practice of the Magical Diary

“In 1738, the Pope issued an encyclical banning all participation in Masonry under threat of excommunication.”
― James Wasserman, The Secrets of Masonic Washington: A Guidebook to Signs, Symbols, and Ceremonies at the Origin of America's Capital

“The infinite seeks manifestation. It projects itself as the point, defined by its position, one coordinate. Further seeking fulfillment, the point extends outward to become the line, now adding the concept of reference to another, creating length, reaching to infinity. But by manifesting a third point, and forming the triangle, the point has defined itself in relation to two others, and it has become a self-contained unit, the plane, fully independent in two dimensions, at rest in perfect harmony.”
― James Wasserman, The Secrets of Masonic Washington: A Guidebook to Signs, Symbols, and Ceremonies at the Origin of America's Capital

“Two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for lunch may be an example of democracy, but it hardly serves as an enduring model of liberty.”
― James Wasserman, The Secrets of Masonic Washington: A Guidebook to Signs, Symbols, and Ceremonies at the Origin of America's Capital

“Gold is the root-essence of lead. It is considered an implicit component of all metals in greater or lesser degree, based on their density, much as the illuminated spiritual reality is considered implicit in the soul of each incarnate human, no matter how overlaid with vice and ignorance.”
― James Wasserman