They invited their counterparts from alt.magick.virtual-adepts to examine the system with them, and, naturally, eventually put out the word that the project would be open to anyone.
Hah! By the time the original deadline was selected, there were 22 persons who had signed on board, and by the time the final deadline was imposed, the count had risen to 30.
The group fairly quickly decided that they wanted a forum other than alt.magick in which to converse, partially to keep the noise level down and partially to permit conversations that would be considered nontopical in alt.magick. An E-Mail list was set up on Onelist called DMK, and the criteria for joining the project became membership on that list. The group later moved to an E-Mail list by the same name at E-Groups (the two later merged into one company, E-Groups, which was then later bought out by Yahoo and is now Yahoo Groups).
The thought of adding a manual bridge to non-Internet-capable FidoNet users was quickly voted down.
The group quickly decided they would all use the same tarot deck, to aid in the coordination of symbological analysis and other factors, and debated a bit on which deck to use. In the end, the high availability of the Rider-Waite tarot deck made it the deck of choice.
The start date was set at July 23rd, 1998 e.v., which was selected because it was a New Moon, and, as it happens, also was the start of the Dog Days of Summer. Tom Schuler, a regular on alt.magick, said this about Dog Days:
July 23 is the beginning of Dog Days, when the Dog Star, Sirius (the brightest star in Canis Major, "the big dog"), rose just before dawn and signified the beginning of the life-giving floods that brought fertile soil to the Nile Delta and fed the Egyptian civilization.And so the project was undertaken. The goals of the project were twofold:Note that this celestial event happens once every 365 days and its regularity is what led to the development of the first known 365-day calendar year way back about 6000 years (as counted at 365.25 days per year) ago.
Sirius is called "the Sun Behind the Sun", which has an interesting qabalistic meaning, especially for the aspiring student of magick, seeing as how Tiphareth, the sephirah associated with the Sun, corresponds in the GD system with the grade of Adeptus Minor, the highest of the Outer Order, or the lowest of the Inner Order, depending on who was looking.
In Tarot symbolism, the Fool, first of the Major Arcana, is accompanied by a dog, too. Arf.
That pretty much sums up what the Year of DMK Project was.
June 1998. The group selects Onelist to host the DMK E-List, to provide occassional progress reports to alt.magick, to use the Rider-Waite tarot deck, to use Modern Magick, 1st Edition, and to include only those who are capable of signing up at Onelist.
It was also agreed that the contents of the list were to be considered private material, unless specified otherwise. Hence, you'll not see the daily digest of messages from the list posted here, merely this freeform summary.
The deadline for joining the project is set at July 1st.
There is some confusion as to the meaning of "one chapter per month", and discussion ensues regarding self-censoring materials. In the end, the group more or less agrees that censoring is undesirable, and messages on material more advanced than the current group location in the course are to be tolerated or ignored.
July 1998. D. M. Kraig is invited to join the E-list, but declines so as to not have undue influence on the participants. He agrees to field questions tallied monthly. Several participants design personal Commitment Rituals or Oaths to augment the start of the project. Several participants decide to undergo ritual fasting prior to the start of the project.
As of the 1st of July, there were exactly 22 persons on the project. For fun, the members started assigning each other tarot trump cards. Some participants reported learning some new things about themselves, and how they are perceived, based on the assignments given them.
The project signup deadline is extended to July 22nd, due to some late entries, partially due to the nature of newsgroup distribution.
Two to three weeks into the project, the group suffers its first casualty;
mere days before the beginning of the next lunar month, attrition takes a
second participant away.
Discussions turn more towards ancilliary subjects as the first month comes
to a close; Thelema, True Will, etc. Some problems with using the list
server come to light, with some people missing hordes of messages, and one
suddenly developing text formatting problems.
Somewhere into the second week of this lunar month, the group suddenly
experiences a rush of synergy and starts uncovering a variety of intuitive
and inspirational insights into some of the tarot cards. Energy in the
project takes a definite turn upward, despite the dwindling quantity in
participation.
September 14th, 1998. In response to growing complaints about
problems with lost E-mail from Onelist's listserver, one participant takes
the initiative and creates a parallel E-list on EGroups.com, and puts all
the remaining participants from Onelist's E-list onto the one at E-Groups.
The insights into the Tarot cards continues unabated, and the group seems
to have a knack for the Tree of Life symbology at the very least, along
with some insights into other areas.
Despite some difficulties with E-Groups, most notably in the area of
delivery time, the group continues to migrate away from Onelist and towards
E-Groups. A formal vote is taken; oddly, the voting mechanism at E-Groups
failed to register several votes, but discussion on the list made it clear
that the move to E-groups was acceptable, and for the most part, done.
Some discussion begins on the Earth meditations, naturally, as this is the
primary subject of Lesson Three. Also, discussions take place regarding
expansions to the Middle Pillar Ritual and expansion of function for the
LBRP.
One of the participants begins classes in Latin, and offers to translate
English Mottos to Latin; several participants take him up on the offer.
The preliminary Motto choices being investigated are varied and
interesting.
Though the group does not halt having its discussion continue into Lesson
Four, participants are now scattered all over from Lesson Two to Five.
Discussions occassionally rise on the subjects of Enochian, fear in
progress, protection in and out of Ritual, Will, Thelema and mottos. The
issue of the privacy of the group's E-List posts is revisited and
reinforced. Inconsistencies in Kraig's writings, either when compared to
other parts of Kraig's writings or with other Golden Dawn sources, are
noted and discussed.
Several people begin to indicate some irregularities in the consistency of
their Ritual work. Few are overly concerned with the ramifications
thereof, and accept that pressing on with the Work is the important part.
There is, however, increased discussion about tool manufacture as many of
the active participants are finally reaching the point where they are
getting the resources necessary for the creation of the Pentacle and
Dagger. More discussion of Enochian takes place. There is some talk about
the SIRP. There is also some enhanced discussion about 'little nasties'.
The Goetia comes up in a little more detail. Discussions about the
mechanics of ritual makes it clear that most participants are doing at
least part of their ritual work astrally at this point, some more
intentionally than others.
Oddly, many of the participants report a faltering in the daily work at
this point, yet none find themselves having quit, merely that the daily
routine has become disrupted.
Some discussion about orders and groups versus individual work takes place.
January 13th, 1999. The question is raised about holding back the
group "bookmark" one lunar month, to which there are no negative replies.
January 17th, 1999. The New Moon marks the first lunar month where
the group has not proceeded to discussion of the next Lesson.
Discussion picks up a little during this time, on a variety of subjects.
Grinding through the elemental lessons is clearly a bogging-down point on
the project. A few people are starting to show signs of interests which
are divergent from Kraig's outline. There seems to be a sense of
anticipation regarding getting to the "Grey Magick" part of the book,
though not everyone's anticipation is based on an excitedness to begin it,
but, rather, some seem to be anticipating it strictly for its change of
pace.
Several members are modifying rituals to match their models; one is adding
components involving God, Goddess and Great Rite, from a Wiccan
perspective, and others have pulled in resources from outside the project.
One of the project founders starts another DMK-related project in person,
with heavy emphasis on sex magick. There is some discussion of the effects
consistent ritual has had upon different members of the project, and in one
case, the effect inconsistency has had. Some more discussion of the MPR
and correspondences takes place. One of the participants attends seminars
which feature Lon Milo Duquette, Poke Runyon, and plans to attend one by
none other than Donald Michael Kraig himself. Some research into Kraig and
his occult and tantric involvements ensues. Another participant attends a
lecture by Kraig and reports its substance.
Another piece of software called The
Brain gets the attention of many of the remaining project
participants as being a great way to store information.
It is becoming clear that the group will not be progressing as a group into
the new chapters any time soon. Participants are still scattered
all over the book, and interests are starting to fan out. However, a
rekindled discussion of tarot cards pops up, mostly regarding frequency of
particular cards being drawn.
One participant creates a MIDI file with tones timed to the breathing cycle
he uses during the LBRP and shares it with the group, to mixed reviews. He
also ponders the creation of an animation of the LBRP. A discussion comes
up regarding antidepressants, their effects on magick, and alternatives. A
brief discussion on the effects of vibration in ritual takes place. There
is also a brief discussion of Jesus and the potential for his having been
trained in Egypt mystery schools. More books are discussed, with a seeming
bias towards DuQuette's work.
Discrepancies and variations on rituals are being discovered and, to a
limited degree, discussed. Several people discuss the values and
detriments of modifying rituals to suit the magician. The impact of blinds
and of secrecy is discussed. The left-brain and right-brain aspects of
ritual are discussed.
There is more discussion of Karma and the general nature of magick. One
participant indicates a potential readiness for an entirely new functional
paradigm, ready to give up tools made twelve years prior and possibly even
the Motto selected at that time. Discussion takes place regarding some of
the staggering changes in the Lives of some of the participants. There are
some comments about synchronicity again, reminiscent of the opening months
of the project. Some discussion takes place about the value of teaching
others in solidifying one's own knowledge. The subject of joining orders
versus solitary practice comes up again. One person's account became
mysteriously dropped from the E-list, but had a backup account which was
also signed up, so the discrepency was caught.
One member indicates preparations for a 'major evocation' to take place in
the near future, with some details not yet chosen. Another member has
plans for some Goetic evocations with a partner. Some recent practical
magick (Grey Magick, according to Kraig) from several members is discussed
in varying degrees of detail. More discussions arise on the topics of the
nature of 'True Will' and Enochian magick.
As an interesting twist, demonstrating the progress of the participants, the
conversation turns again to the structure of the course's design, but
instead of questioning why things are done the way they are, most who still
hold interest in this style of magick seem to understand the whyfores and
indicate an appreciation of the subtle filtering the process creates.
One of the participants shares some fairly detailed and inspiring research
into what turns out to be source concept material for Liber Resh.
The tone of the messages as this lunar month draws to a close seem to lean
towards preparing for the end of the project, seeming to recognize that the
unity of the group from a magical work perspective is breathing its last.
There is, however, brief discussion of entertaining the prospect of another
yearlong project.
However, discussion of new effects in the Tarot Meditation, Tree of Life
and pathworking is raised, as well as a continued discussion of Thelema,
notably the difference between a 'Crowleyite' and a 'Thelemite'.
Some more strange effects with the E-List service are encountered, with one
person showing as being subscribed but not being permitted to post. These
things are corrected quickly.
As would be expected, more discussion of the rapidly-shrinking end of year
party takes place.
June 17th, 1999. Messages at this point focus solely on people
linking up for the end of project 'party'.
One of the founding members of the project noted, however, that the group
had already hit upon every question in the FAQ by about Lesson Three or so.
It is still my intent to go through the archives of the project's E-List
messages and pull out all the questions that might have been directed to
Kraig, and then send them to him and post the answers here. I do not have
an estimate at this time for when I might have the time for this
undertaking.
Each question and answer will be posted on its own page and linked to from
here, since some people have indicated that they might not want to be
influenced by Kraig's answers on some of the questions that have come up.
By posting each to its own page, these participants can click on the ones
they want to read up on, and ignore the others. Though the project itself
is over, and the participants of the project will not, in all likelihood,
be affected by Kraig's answers, visitors to this page might have similar
sentiments, and so the intended structure of separated questions will be
maintained.
Answers from DMK
In this section I was going to be posting the questions tallied for Kraig,
and the answers he gave to them. Since I'd promised to check against the
FAQ in the 2nd Edition before sending the questions to Don, to eliminate
duplication of effort, I got behind in the effort to tally questions. So,
as it happens, he has been asked no questions and therefore there are no
answers.
Love is the law, love under will.