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Written by the CEO in conjunction with Jessica Lightfoot-Toye

“Father!” it called piteously; the voice seemed to blend seamlessly with the blue light “I am not yet ready, seal the egg, keep me warm and come back for me in one week’s time.” Aniello blinked. This was quite astonishing, however given that he was quite used to astonishing things, he took it quite in his stride. “Ah my child, with what shall I seal the egg?” “With the tallow of the table candle father; but be quick be quick, for when the blue light is spent, I shall perish.” 

So Aniello lit the candle and carefully dripped the wax over the crack, which, whilst wide was not fragmented at the edge but clean. The tallow cooled and slowly the blue light was prevented from emitting further from the ovum. 

Aniello now considered the problem of warmth. He thought about secreting it somewhere near some kind of warm water device, but he could imagine he would forget and the egg would perish from cold. He thought about having it about his person but then he feared he would forget and crack it. He thought about putting it near the fire, but feared the fire would be made too hot and the egg would be cooked. Lastly, he thought about the most traditional of all methods and considered he would give it to Rachel to sit on to incubate, presuming she would know how to sit gently enough not to destroy it. 

He did not particularly like this idea, and partially hoped she would devise a more cunning method of keeping it warm away from themselves. For, no matter how avian she became Aniello still wanted to indulge his desires for his wife (possibly it occurred to him, the more avian she became the more he desired her (but then repressed this again)). So the thought of her immobile upon this tallow fixed egg for a whole week seemed nearly more that he could imagine. 

On the other hand, one had to think of the children. Parenthood is no light matter and sacrifices must be made. Thus, with dutiful heart he went to his wife and said “My wife, this egg contains our child which I nearly cooked for my breakfast, yet it stilled my hand and told me to wait for a week. The child lives though the egg is cracked, but the egg must be kept warm. What’s to do?” and he looked at her with her an expression of such paltry intelligence that she —with considerable irony- fancied he looked as stupid as a chicken can look (albeit a handsome one). Rachel considered the matter cooly for a second and then with an alacrity that stunned Aniello, she snatched the egg from him with her claw-like hand and flung it out of a nearby open window. 

“There,” she said “that’s what’s to do with it. Let’s see if the lazy wretch can fly shall we!”

The egg, now hurtling through the air at many miles an hour, whistled as its trajectory was directed out of the open window and toward the palace grounds below. Aniello raced to the window, half-throwing himself out of it but alas, his breakfast-child had vanished from his sight. His heart lurched from his chest as he contemplated his loss and anger burnt ferociously within him. Aniello turned, preparing himself to beat his pesky poultry-wife but then he heard a strange noise.

Above him, the egg bobbed frantically. It seemed impossible for it to be doing so but Aniello acknowledged that this was simply the most recent of many impossible things that had occurred during his short life. Brushing this apparently obvious thought aside, he squinted his eyes in an attempt to observe how his egg-child achieved the gravity-defying feat.

From within the greenish shell (the colour of which was not previously noted), a pair of leathery wings emerged through the formerly-tallowed crack, and beat furiously to suspend the bulbous form high up above them. 

Turning rapidly on his heels, Aniello ran back within his palace and searched all 159 rooms for the tool he knew he would imminently require. Rachel, who did not follow him, meanwhile sat on the windowsill throwing small rocks, some of which were diamonds, at the egg child in an attempt to dislodge it from its airy position. Much to her frustration, she was unsuccessful . 

Within ten minutes, Aniello had returned and proudly displayed his much-sought possession.

“Behold, witch! My ergonomic, hydrophobic, rheumatic butterfly-and-occasional-moth-catching net!”. 

Rachel didn’t know what most of those words meant but she remained nonplussed, turling her tawny locks with her forefinger/-claws.

Balancing precariously on the window ledge, Aniello leaned forward on the tips of his toes as he teetered towards the egg which seemed to be just out of reach. With one fell swoop, he captured his prize, or so he had initially thought…

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  1. The mystic/scholar Peter Kingsley suggests the pre-socratics were more akin to shaman-priests than proto-philosophers. With Parmenides as a paradigmatic example he suggests, the information received is from revelation through incubation (journeying) rather than rational contemplation. Plato is thus a misunderstanding of the situation, believing that Parmenides is engaged in anabasis, when in fact it is a catabasis. 
  1. We can consider (without ascribing superiority to one over the other) that there are (heuristically) vertical and horizontal dimensions to the esoteric realms. Horizontally the interaction is something more akin to magick, whereas vertically it can be considered more like mysticism. That is, the horizontal of these (to use my terminology) works in the pneuminous accretive structures/conceptual overlays themselves and the horizontal seeks to free ourselves from them. 
  1. Even though containing many practical aspects on how to live, Buddhism is concerned almost exclusively with vertical ascent. It eschews all the horizontal manifestations (visions, spirits, powers) as they appear, and insists one simply keep ascending.  
  1. Shamanism can be considered as a partial vertical ascent which then occupies sideshoots. In local situations, it may be that out of regional structures (trees, mountains, animals, lakes etc.), a pneuminous world is formed which then can be accessed as an autonomous ‘other world’ by the shaman. This in no way denigrates this world; it contains the potential to impart powerful magickal effects in the ‘real’ world: healing, injury, information. 
  1. Castaneda’s later suggestions would be that such worlds are real but endless in quantity and that there is a kind of structure/map to them which is accessible by the movement of the assemblage point. CC ultimately supplies a model that suggests high vertical ascent that liberates the organism in a similar way to Buddhism but retains conscious ability to move horizontally. 
  1. All religions, polytheistic or monotheistic, ultimately are still operating in the side shoots. The side shoots can be thought of pneuminous accretions or autonomous spiritual entities –no ontological differentiation between these is currently possible, though it is worth adding that even if they are autonomous beings, they will still end up with concepts projected upon them and thus still have a pneuminous accretive aspect. 
  1. Buddhism and other positions that similarly eschew the horizontal can appear to have a superiority to systems that work from the side shoots. However, this purity of ascent can only really be considered as different. Buddhist enlightenment is definitely something, and a particular thing too. The progression endlessly into the silence may be creating a superior interaction with the ineffable and it may be a superior way of exiting a putative karmic wheel. However, it is also possible (as stated above) that this activity is only moving in a different direction and not a functionally superior one. 
  1. The vertical ascent of Buddhism involves removing the conceptual/accretive as much as is possible with the notion of ‘seeing things as they are’. This is the notion of attempting to stop the world from speaking back to you the concepts that we have given it. Sunyata is one expression of this at a high level. Heidegger clearly is thinking of this when he links phenomenology to eastern practices. 
  1. All the systems practice silencing the mind chatter. As the mind is silenced, so various phenomena manifest. To engage with the other phenomena brings different practical results (horizontal engagement). The horizontal engagement systems can offer the frowned-upon material benefits but also communications with the Gods as to what should be done. 
  1. The issue of communication is difficult. Peter Kingsley intimates that we need to re-establish communication with the other world in order to receive how to move forward/re-establish society. The problem here is that one cannot necessarily trust the instructions that emit from this realm. If the denizens of these realms are simply a mish-mash of mytho-poetic accretive forces, then we cannot particularly trust that they will do more the mete out harsh rules and human sacrifice. On the other hand, if they are autonomous beings then equally, we have no guarantee they will guide us with wisdom (or that they will all guide us with wisdom). 
  1. Furthermore, since the communication with these realms can lead to regional cults, it is problematic as it reinforces human tendencies towards tribalism, which are not to be encouraged. 
  1. Consequently, the realm needs acknowledging but not necessarily utilising as a founding force for society. 
  1. Vertical ascent as a societal driver though, is also questionable insofar as it does seem to entail a certain annulment of humanity. This is reasonable in some sense and insofar as sufficient progress towards mass enlightenment is not possible, such a society might work towards vertical aims. However, if mass enlightenment is not possible then it seems likely that the temptations of the horizontal would re-emerge. If mass enlightenment were possible, this would certainly annul society in a regular sense, as it is not clear how such a set of beings would continue to procreate and would instead simply disappear into liberation.  
  1. Fairy land type phenomena are assuredly horizontal but equally related to a certain conceptual removal. Machen/Blackwood like disclosures of nature become much more apparent when one attempts to remove everyday interpretive layers imposed upon nature. One can easily imagine how deepened silent engagement with these landscapes would reveal occult manifestations. These may only be deep accretive layers, yet they would only be disclosed by certain layers being stripped away. 
  1. This issue bears on the concept of zones. Zones are somehow the Machen/Blackwood perception machine projected onto industrial dereliction. This is only achieved because (as the zonal theory suggests) the regular interpretation of them has been dislodged. The interesting feature of them is that they seem to be able to facilitate this shift almost by themselves. 
  2. The vector field (as described in the CEO) research is what facilitates these systems. Buddhism attempts to see the pure vector field, the side shoots use the silence of the vector field to facilate entry into pneuminous realms.
  3. Possibly Zones appear due to the fact that before they become Zones, they indicate industrial noise/the restless life of capital. When empty, the silence is more profound; this triggers (hypothetically) an automatic mini-silence in the processing of the region. This mini-silence allows the weird-perception (Machen-Machine) to plug in, rendering the perception of it akin to the perception of the twisted hawthorn, not as an example of the rosaceae but rather as a fairy abode.