SUBVERSIVE GROOVES: MUSIC FROM THE DARK SIDE. Music Review of Zeena & Radio Werewolf by Amy Haben1/3/2019 Reposted from Please Kill Me music blog: Amy Haben reviews seven bands and musicians who were also part of notorious religious cults, communes, and porn legends between the 1960s-80s, culminating with the best for last, Zeena & Radio Werewolf. Read the entry for Radio Werewolf below, or go to the full article HERE: https://pleasekillme.com/subversive-grooves/ Radio Werewolf  
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The below article was originally posted in San Francisco newsgroups for Halloween by Jeff Farris, who shares first-hand impressions of Zeena in early life. Farris and Zeena attended the same schools yet have never met. Many thanks to Mr. Farris for allowing us to reprint his article here! An afterword from Zeena follows his article: Lucifer's Daughter in the Richmond District by Jeff Farris In San Francisco on California Street, between 23rd and 24th Avenues in the Richmond District, there once was a house that was painted pure black long before it was fashionable or cool to do so. The home was rumored to have a real live roaring lion as well as human occupants, we were warned, who were devotees to the Prince of Darkness himself. Other than the austere and gloomy color, it was an unassuming little home just a few blocks down the road from where I grew up. A typical San Francisco A-framed, 3 story Victorian, The Black House, as it was known for many years, was the official First Church of Satan and the home of Anton LeVay, aka, The Black Pope and Lucifer’s Great High Priest and author of the Satanic Bible, as well as his family, including 2 young children and his companion, the self professed sorceress and High Priestess, Diane Hegarty. An ex-carnival worker and notable chronic liar, Anton established the Church of Satan in 1966 where it had a run for about 35 years until it was eventually torn down in 2001, only to be replaced, unceremoniously, by a cheap, 4 unit apartment complex commonly known among locals as a Richmond Special. The son of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants who had arrived in the United States sometime near the turn of the 20th Century, Mr. LaVey had finally made a name for himself in the late 1960’s with his audacious ambition to create the first church of Satan ever, anywhere. San Francisco, at the time, was ripe for such a plan and Anton soon found himself at the center of controversy along with much welcomed attention from the ranks of luminaries such as Hollywood elites, avant-garde artists, and rock superstars of the time. One of his first and most celebrated religious ceremonies held at The Black House was the “Baptism” of his youngest daughter, Zeena, in 1967, when she was just 3 years old.   You may have some familiarity with Anton LaVey, but it’s his daughter, Zeena, that I am most curious about today. Anton, who died in 1997, seemed more like an opportunist and a showman than that of a bonafide Satanist, but not Zeena. She was destined for a much more televised profile than her father, becoming the official spokesperson for the Church of Satan in the mid-1980’s during the days of what is now called the “Satanic Panic” wherein born-again, Christian fundamentalists and the U.S. media sensationalized what they said was rampant Satanic Ritual Abuse all across America, especially towards children. In actuality, there was really none happening at all. Some say that it was a modern day witch-hunt fueled by rumors and hearsay, but it was not without serious repercussions when innocent citizens, mostly teachers and staff from 19 daycare centers and pre-schools, were convicted and some even imprisoned based upon the fabricated testimony of toddlers and therapists who said they had uncovered memories of ritual abuse after hypnotizing previous students. Basically, Christians giving false testimony and acting more like Satan, than, well... Satan. Zeena was invaluable during this time, advising police departments throughout the country with a general understanding of Satanic practices which helped quell, at least some, of the satanic ritual abuse allegations. I guess that one could say that the first person to have ever been publicly christened, if I can even use that term, for dedication to Lucifer, could have no other destiny in store for her other than to set the record straight regarding the activities of Beelzebub and his followers. Zeena was one year younger than I, born in 1963, and we went to the same middle school, Presidio Jr. High, on 30th Avenue in between Geary and Clement. I remember her as a very attractive young girl with sensuous lips and an almost ever present furrowed brow. I didn’t know her personally, but being that her father was a somewhat famous, or better yet, infamous San Franciscan, everyone knew who she was, even I. She got pregnant in the 8th grade, at the age of 13, which didn’t help her reputation at all. Vicious rumors went around school stating that it was her father who had impregnated her. Kids can be so mean but, to my knowledge, not one of them had the guts to ever confront Zeena personally. We were all afraid of her clan and no one was brave enough to start trouble with Lucifer’s very own baptized child. Would you?   Anyhow, as the years have transpired, I have kept my eye on the life and times of Zeena LaVey, or Zeena Schreck, which is her current last name. I wouldn’t say that I am a stalker, but I have always felt for her as one would feel towards any misunderstood outsider. I felt bad for her, actually, not that she needs my sympathy and she could probably care less of what I think, for that matter. But I’ve always believed that she was a good soul under extraordinary pressure from circumstances beyond her control. She was a San Francisco kid, caught up in those crazy times, no different than I, but definitely more complicated and dark. As you can imagine, Zeena and her family weren’t very welcome in our working class, multicultural, mostly Catholic, and Asian, and Russian Orthodox neighborhood. In a 2012 interview with Vice Australia, she explains that she had to transcribe for the SFPD death threats left for her on her father’s answering machine wherein she was to be raped and killed. She was 11 years old at the time. She also states that her father may have haphazardly fallen into the role of The Black Pope by sheer accident and that the Church of Satan was created after a local publicist described Anton as a neighborhood eccentric and “the first priest of Satan.” Anton then seized the idea and transformed it into a religion and that it all took off from there. To be clear, Anton’s belief system did not include an actual deity or entity that one would call Satan or Lucifer, the Angel of Light. He believed that there wasn’t a devil at all. It was an ego driven theology. Each person is a God, in essence, and the tenets of the religion are almost all selfishly motivated and self aggrandizing. It’s also important to note that the Church of Satan, for the most part, was ultimately a failed venture leaving Anton destitute by the time he died. He sold his soul for nothing more than a limited and fleeting run at popularity, poor thing. By 1990, Zeena had renounced her father’s church and belief structure, and likewise the Church of Satan vehemently denounced Zeena, commencing a campaign to discredit her name. I don’t think she ever had contact with Anton after that. She claimed that her father was basically a charlatan and a con artist and that he never had the depth of knowledge to be a true Satanist and that it was all for show and celebrity. Whether or not I believe her completely is predicated upon the publication of the Satanic Bible, which is still the definitive go to resource for anything Satanic. It is clear that he gave that book some thought. Nonetheless, Zeena then applied her spiritual endeavors towards the Temple of Set, which could best be described as a pre-christian, Egyptian mystery religion, but highly influenced by other ex-members of the Church of Satan and the writings of Aleister Crowley. But even here, Zeena failed to find an environment that was to her liking and she resigned from her post as High Priestess in 2002. She then formed the Sethian Liberation Movement, donned with a title that could only be conjured up by an ex-San Francisco kid who survived the citywide pandemonium that the Symbionese Liberation Army caused when they kidnapped Patty Hearst in the early 70’s. Currently, Zeena is a self avowed Tibetan Tantric Buddhist and she offers counseling services and specifically ministers to victims of extreme circumstances, the socially stigmatized, outcasts, and those otherwise subject to prejudice. By use of yogic, meditative and shamanic exercises, she offers short-range treatment, she says, without having to become an initiate of any particular spiritual path. Like the Phoenix, she claims that she can help you rise from the ashes of difficult experiences, find your own inner mystical resources, and have a spiritual awakening towards a foundation of inner strength. Personally, I believe in her and I want her to succeed. If anyone has experience of overcoming difficulties, Zeena is among those who have. It seems poetic to me that a young girl from San Francisco, without any act of her own volition, was baptized at the tender age of 3 into the milieu of post-modern sensationalized Satanism, only to come out the other side finding peace and stability from the teachings of someone as self effacing and modest as the Buddha. I sincerely hope that she ultimately finds the peace that surpasses all understanding. As a fellow San Franciscan, I am rooting for her. How about you? – Jeff Farris San Francisco, Halloween 2014 Afterword by Zeena:Thank you Jeff, wherever you are! Though it's true we never met, nor shared any words in those years, I never forget a face and knew it was you, because you still look the same, some 40 years later. You are correct that most people didn't have the guts to speak to me then in school, unless antagonistically. The same character traits usually remain on into adulthood. People who refuse to educate themselves about what they're frightened of, find comfort in remaining ignorant. So thank you for your curiosity to educate yourself, and for your candid recollections.
And, as you alluded to, I have found peace and contentment. When we have peace within ourselves and develop intrinsic happiness and relinquish hope for extrinsic sources of happiness, we have peace and joy wherever, and in whatever, situations we find ourselves. Wishing you [all] a fantastically Happy Halloween. ~Ƶeena Repost from: |
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New Review of The Zaum of Zeena
by Luca Piccolo:
[La versione in lingua italiana di questa recensione si trova sotto il testo in inglese.]
.
The Zaum of Zeena, published by Frank Haines in 2015, is presented as a "collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images" of the artist Zeena Schreck. Interviews closely analyze the most interesting aspects of the life, the thought and the philosophy that always accompanies Zeena. As is written in the first pages of this volume, "her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching"; the best way to understand this is to read this text. In fact, Zeena's art is the main issue covered in the first interview presented in this volume, which happens to be my own interview with Zeena originally published in WSF (online art journal).
This is followed by excerpts from the interview with the author Konstantinos that focuses on exploring spirituality and the magical path of this artist. A theme which is then expanded upon in a different way in the wonderful interview with Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), where certain aspects of Tantra are analyzed and investigated. In this series of questions and answers we see two alternating fronts: the accademic vs. the practical knowledge.
The interview by Maxime Lachaud, drops us completely into the musical dimension of the artist, and investigates mainly the work that Zeena made with recordings for Radio Werewolf. Also relevant to her work during Radio Werewolf is an extract from "Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden" by Daniele Siepe, in which the artist explaines the reason for a particular position/asana she takes in a scene from her Video Werewolf film "Germany: The Theory of Ruins" (1992). Both of these interviews make us reflect on the meticulousness that the artist uses for the realization of every single opera. With this in mind, it spontaneously came to me how the composition of this volume was not at all left to chance.
Also included in this collection are two writings by Zeena originally published in the Beatdom Magazine # 11 (referring to "Liberation under the Snow Moon," the story of a salvific mission to free captive wolves from a fur farm) and Vice Magazine ("A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation ").
All the interviews are linked together through a series of quotes and images, which greatly augment the value of the text and make for a most pleasant and smooth reading experience. Between the lines we also see beauty and clarity: perhaps the two most emotionally engaging effects of this pubblication.
This is a text that gives to the general public the opportunity to open up to the understanding of Zeena Schreck and her art. It is certainly a must read by anyone interested in the spiritual and artistic aspects of Zeena. But also for those who have only a marginal interest in these topics, it is still a treat.
--Luca Piccolo
2015 Naples, Italy
The Zaum of Zeena, editato da Frank Haines nel 2015, si presenta come una “collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images” dell’artista Zeena Schreck. Le interviste analizzano da vicino gli aspetti più interessanti della vita, del pensiero e della filosofia che accompagna Zeena da sempre.
Come appare scritto nelle prime pagine di questo volume “her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching”; il miglior modo per comprenderlo è leggere questo testo. È infatti l’arte di Zeena la tematica principalmente trattata nella prima intervista, quella di Luca Piccolo.
Seguono poi alcuni estratti dall’intervista con l’autore Konstantinos che fa convergere le proprie domande su questioni che indagano la spiritualità e il percorso magico dell’artista. Tematica che poi verrà sviluppata in un altro modo nella stupenda intervista con Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), dove sono invece analizzati e indagati alcuni aspetti del Tantra, in questa serie di domande e risposte vediamo alternarsi due fronti: quello accademico e quello della conoscenza pratica.
L’intervista di Maxime Lachaud, ci cala completamente nella dimensione musicale dell’artista, e indaga principalmente il lavoro che Zeena ha compiuto con le registrazioni di Radio Werewolf; così come nell’estratto da “Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden” di Daniele Siepe, viene spiegata una posizione/asana che l’artista assume in una scena di “Germania: The theory of Ruins” (1992), from Video Werewolf film. Entrambe le interviste ci fanno riflettere sulla meticolosità che l’artista utilizza per la realizzazione di ogni sua singola Opera. Tenendo presente ciò, sorge spontaneo il pensiero che anche la composizione di questo volume non sia affatto stata affidata al caso.
Sono inoltre inclusi in questa raccolta due scritti della stessa Zeena già pubblicati su Beatdom Magazine # 11 (parliamo di “Liberation under the Snow Moon”, racconto di un’azione salvifica per liberare alcuni lupi) e su Vice Magazine (“A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation”).
Le citazioni e le immagini che compongono quest’opera fanno da anello di congiunzione tra tutte le interviste, e aumentano notevolmente il valore del testo, oltre a renderlo ancora più piacevole e scorrevole. Tra le pagine vediamo quindi affiancarsi la bellezza e la chiarezza: forse i due elementi emotivamente più coinvolgenti dell’opera.
È questo un testo che dà al grande pubblico la possibilità di aprirsi alla comprensione di Zeena Schreck e della sua Arte. Va indubbiamente letto da chiunque abbia interesse per il percorso spirituale e artistico di Zeena, ma anche, da chi ha solo un interesse marginale per le tematiche trattate.
by Luca Piccolo:
[La versione in lingua italiana di questa recensione si trova sotto il testo in inglese.]
.
The Zaum of Zeena, published by Frank Haines in 2015, is presented as a "collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images" of the artist Zeena Schreck. Interviews closely analyze the most interesting aspects of the life, the thought and the philosophy that always accompanies Zeena. As is written in the first pages of this volume, "her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching"; the best way to understand this is to read this text. In fact, Zeena's art is the main issue covered in the first interview presented in this volume, which happens to be my own interview with Zeena originally published in WSF (online art journal).
This is followed by excerpts from the interview with the author Konstantinos that focuses on exploring spirituality and the magical path of this artist. A theme which is then expanded upon in a different way in the wonderful interview with Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), where certain aspects of Tantra are analyzed and investigated. In this series of questions and answers we see two alternating fronts: the accademic vs. the practical knowledge.
The interview by Maxime Lachaud, drops us completely into the musical dimension of the artist, and investigates mainly the work that Zeena made with recordings for Radio Werewolf. Also relevant to her work during Radio Werewolf is an extract from "Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden" by Daniele Siepe, in which the artist explaines the reason for a particular position/asana she takes in a scene from her Video Werewolf film "Germany: The Theory of Ruins" (1992). Both of these interviews make us reflect on the meticulousness that the artist uses for the realization of every single opera. With this in mind, it spontaneously came to me how the composition of this volume was not at all left to chance.
Also included in this collection are two writings by Zeena originally published in the Beatdom Magazine # 11 (referring to "Liberation under the Snow Moon," the story of a salvific mission to free captive wolves from a fur farm) and Vice Magazine ("A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation ").
All the interviews are linked together through a series of quotes and images, which greatly augment the value of the text and make for a most pleasant and smooth reading experience. Between the lines we also see beauty and clarity: perhaps the two most emotionally engaging effects of this pubblication.
This is a text that gives to the general public the opportunity to open up to the understanding of Zeena Schreck and her art. It is certainly a must read by anyone interested in the spiritual and artistic aspects of Zeena. But also for those who have only a marginal interest in these topics, it is still a treat.
--Luca Piccolo
2015 Naples, Italy
The Zaum of Zeena, editato da Frank Haines nel 2015, si presenta come una “collection of Interview, Essay, Quotes and Images” dell’artista Zeena Schreck. Le interviste analizzano da vicino gli aspetti più interessanti della vita, del pensiero e della filosofia che accompagna Zeena da sempre.
Come appare scritto nelle prime pagine di questo volume “her art, like her music, is best understood as a non-verbal trans-rational branch of her spiritual teaching”; il miglior modo per comprenderlo è leggere questo testo. È infatti l’arte di Zeena la tematica principalmente trattata nella prima intervista, quella di Luca Piccolo.
Seguono poi alcuni estratti dall’intervista con l’autore Konstantinos che fa convergere le proprie domande su questioni che indagano la spiritualità e il percorso magico dell’artista. Tematica che poi verrà sviluppata in un altro modo nella stupenda intervista con Che Chetty (for the School of Religion, Philosophy and Classics, University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa), dove sono invece analizzati e indagati alcuni aspetti del Tantra, in questa serie di domande e risposte vediamo alternarsi due fronti: quello accademico e quello della conoscenza pratica.
L’intervista di Maxime Lachaud, ci cala completamente nella dimensione musicale dell’artista, e indaga principalmente il lavoro che Zeena ha compiuto con le registrazioni di Radio Werewolf; così come nell’estratto da “Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden” di Daniele Siepe, viene spiegata una posizione/asana che l’artista assume in una scena di “Germania: The theory of Ruins” (1992), from Video Werewolf film. Entrambe le interviste ci fanno riflettere sulla meticolosità che l’artista utilizza per la realizzazione di ogni sua singola Opera. Tenendo presente ciò, sorge spontaneo il pensiero che anche la composizione di questo volume non sia affatto stata affidata al caso.
Sono inoltre inclusi in questa raccolta due scritti della stessa Zeena già pubblicati su Beatdom Magazine # 11 (parliamo di “Liberation under the Snow Moon”, racconto di un’azione salvifica per liberare alcuni lupi) e su Vice Magazine (“A Tale of Two Birds and Tantric Meditation”).
Le citazioni e le immagini che compongono quest’opera fanno da anello di congiunzione tra tutte le interviste, e aumentano notevolmente il valore del testo, oltre a renderlo ancora più piacevole e scorrevole. Tra le pagine vediamo quindi affiancarsi la bellezza e la chiarezza: forse i due elementi emotivamente più coinvolgenti dell’opera.
È questo un testo che dà al grande pubblico la possibilità di aprirsi alla comprensione di Zeena Schreck e della sua Arte. Va indubbiamente letto da chiunque abbia interesse per il percorso spirituale e artistico di Zeena, ma anche, da chi ha solo un interesse marginale per le tematiche trattate.
KPOPSTARZ Reports:
"Legendary Magic Practitioner Zeena Schreck Returns To European Music Scene For First Time In 24 Years This Saturday, May 23
"Mystic and avant-garde musician Zeena Schreck will make her first appearance on the European music scene for the first time in 24 years this Saturday, May 23, 2015, at 7 p.m. Zeena will perform a unique ritual soundscape in Leipzig's Egyptian Museum.
"Zeena, 51, was a composer, vocalist, musician and graphic designer for the sonic magical music project Radio Werewolf from 1988 to 1993. She is also High Priestess of Seth and leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement, making the sacred, magically charged ancient artifacts housed in Leipzig's Egyptian Museum an ideal venue to present ancient Egyptian aspects of the artist's spiritual practices.
"This is the second in a series of ritual musical installments inaugurated with the 2013 performance-art Performa 13 event "Frank Haines presents Zeena Schreck: Live from the Eye of the Storm," in New York City.
[...]
"As former co-director of the magical resistance circle The Werewolf Order from 1988-1999, Zeena's musical compositions are featured on the Radio Werewolf recordings "The Lightning and the Sun," "Songs for the End of the World," "Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera!," "Love Conquers All, and Witchcraft/Boots: A Tribute to the Sinatras,"
[...]
"Because of limited seating at Zeena's upcoming WGT event, there will be an autograph signing after the concert which will also be open to those who exceeded the seating capacity but who stay for an in-person autograph.
"After the performance, Zeena will sign her own creations, which means she will not "sign any copies of 'The Satanic Bible,' Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'The Book of the Law' or 'The Joy of Cooking.'"
Read more at:
http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/203000/20150519/zeena-schreck-new-music.htm
"Legendary Magic Practitioner Zeena Schreck Returns To European Music Scene For First Time In 24 Years This Saturday, May 23
"Mystic and avant-garde musician Zeena Schreck will make her first appearance on the European music scene for the first time in 24 years this Saturday, May 23, 2015, at 7 p.m. Zeena will perform a unique ritual soundscape in Leipzig's Egyptian Museum.
"Zeena, 51, was a composer, vocalist, musician and graphic designer for the sonic magical music project Radio Werewolf from 1988 to 1993. She is also High Priestess of Seth and leader of the Sethian Liberation Movement, making the sacred, magically charged ancient artifacts housed in Leipzig's Egyptian Museum an ideal venue to present ancient Egyptian aspects of the artist's spiritual practices.
"This is the second in a series of ritual musical installments inaugurated with the 2013 performance-art Performa 13 event "Frank Haines presents Zeena Schreck: Live from the Eye of the Storm," in New York City.
[...]
"As former co-director of the magical resistance circle The Werewolf Order from 1988-1999, Zeena's musical compositions are featured on the Radio Werewolf recordings "The Lightning and the Sun," "Songs for the End of the World," "Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera!," "Love Conquers All, and Witchcraft/Boots: A Tribute to the Sinatras,"
[...]
"Because of limited seating at Zeena's upcoming WGT event, there will be an autograph signing after the concert which will also be open to those who exceeded the seating capacity but who stay for an in-person autograph.
"After the performance, Zeena will sign her own creations, which means she will not "sign any copies of 'The Satanic Bible,' Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,' 'The Book of the Law' or 'The Joy of Cooking.'"
Read more at:
http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/203000/20150519/zeena-schreck-new-music.htm
ZEENA'S Wave-Gotik-Treffen PERFORMANCE LISTED in this WEEKEND'S HIGHLIGHTS
MDR [Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk] Kultur Seiten Reports:
Klang-Ritual und Spiritualität
Im Ägyptischen Museum hat sich die in Berlin lebende Amerikanerin Zeena Schreck angekündigt, deren Klang-Performance "ein akustischer Samen für die spirituelle Befreiung und Erleuchtung des geneigten Publikums" darstellen soll, wie es auf ihrer Facebook-Seite heißt. Die Tochter der Church-of-Satan-Gründer und Ex-Frontfrau der Band "Radio Werewolf" leitet heute eine spirituelle Bewegung, die sich an einer ägyptischen Gottheit orientiert, und gibt Tantra-Kurse.
Saturday, 23rd May 2015 Ägyptisches Museum - Egyptian Museum
07:30 p.m. (admission: 07:00 p.m.)
Concert: Zeena Schreck - „A Typhonian Tantric Ritual Soundscape“
"24 long years her followers had to wait to see her make a public appearance in Germany. This year, the time has come: Zeena Schreck returns with a magic-sound „performance“, a truly historic event and far more than a pure secular music experience - rather a divine blessing incarnate, an acoustic seed for spiritual liberation and enlightenment for the audience, given by one of the most colorful and distinctive personalities of modern magic and mysticism - and not to forget, visually framed by the collection of sacred artifacts of the Egyptian Museum Leipzig."
MDR [Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk] Kultur Seiten Reports:
Klang-Ritual und Spiritualität
Im Ägyptischen Museum hat sich die in Berlin lebende Amerikanerin Zeena Schreck angekündigt, deren Klang-Performance "ein akustischer Samen für die spirituelle Befreiung und Erleuchtung des geneigten Publikums" darstellen soll, wie es auf ihrer Facebook-Seite heißt. Die Tochter der Church-of-Satan-Gründer und Ex-Frontfrau der Band "Radio Werewolf" leitet heute eine spirituelle Bewegung, die sich an einer ägyptischen Gottheit orientiert, und gibt Tantra-Kurse.
Saturday, 23rd May 2015 Ägyptisches Museum - Egyptian Museum
07:30 p.m. (admission: 07:00 p.m.)
Concert: Zeena Schreck - „A Typhonian Tantric Ritual Soundscape“
"24 long years her followers had to wait to see her make a public appearance in Germany. This year, the time has come: Zeena Schreck returns with a magic-sound „performance“, a truly historic event and far more than a pure secular music experience - rather a divine blessing incarnate, an acoustic seed for spiritual liberation and enlightenment for the audience, given by one of the most colorful and distinctive personalities of modern magic and mysticism - and not to forget, visually framed by the collection of sacred artifacts of the Egyptian Museum Leipzig."
| REVIEW of U.S. TV show Penny Dreadful cites Demons of the Flesh in reference to a character who appears to be based on Maria de Naglowska, the French magician who led The Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow, known by her followers as "the Sophia of Montparnasse" : "Evelyn Poole might be based on Maria de Naglowska. Born in Russia, de Naglowska headed to France to lead The Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow, which worshiped the devil with sex magic. Naglowska had followers too, "adequately trained woman" who called her "the Sophia of Montparnasse." According to the book Demons of the Flesh by Zeena and Nikolas Schreck, De Naglowska’s “female acolytes were also known as Sophiales, presented as the vanguard of a ‘new matriarchy’… As in the traditional Vama Marga (the belief that that the awakening of kundalini is possible through sex), the female is the deified priestess in the Naglowska cult. She sexually communicates a potentially dangerous esoteric power to the male, a power that cannot be confronted and sustained by anything less than a heroic disposition.” |
[BOOK REVIEW by ZEENA]
Today I received a review copy of a new German book I'm featured in: 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden' (The Wewelsburg Myth: Facts and Legends) – sent directly from the Kreismusum Wewelsburg.
The authors, Daniela Siepe and Kirsten John-Stucke provide an excellent historical overview, and leave no stone unturned, in exploring all of the legends and realities surrounding the notorious and mysterious Wewelsburg castle. For German speakers who have an interest in this strange and misunderstood edifice, its history and cultural influence, I highly recommend this volume. Comprehensively researched with detailed notes and historical context, this volume includes so many obscure facts and references that even those well versed in the Wewelsburg legend would be surprised to learn yet more.
Today I received a review copy of a new German book I'm featured in: 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden' (The Wewelsburg Myth: Facts and Legends) – sent directly from the Kreismusum Wewelsburg.
The authors, Daniela Siepe and Kirsten John-Stucke provide an excellent historical overview, and leave no stone unturned, in exploring all of the legends and realities surrounding the notorious and mysterious Wewelsburg castle. For German speakers who have an interest in this strange and misunderstood edifice, its history and cultural influence, I highly recommend this volume. Comprehensively researched with detailed notes and historical context, this volume includes so many obscure facts and references that even those well versed in the Wewelsburg legend would be surprised to learn yet more.
Zeena in 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden' von Kirsten John-Stucke (Autor), Daniela Siepe (Autor)
For those who are not familiar with the Wewelsburg, it is a 9th century German castle that first came to world-wide attention as the “Grail Castle” of the Nazi SS. Purported to be a mystical location chosen personally by Heinrich Himmler (Reichsführer-SS), it was to become an SS leadership school and the headquarters for what Himmler believed would be a German equivalent of the Arthurian 'Nights of the Round Table,' or the stage for a living Parsifal epic.
Following the end of WWII, countless legends arose surrounding this edifice, many having to do with secret cult rites and the structure having a supernatural energy, comparable to Externsteine or Stonehenge. Such legends sparked the imaginations of many authors, filmmakers, musicians, artists, political extremists, UFO fanatics, conspiracy theorists and occultists.
At a time in my life when I was questioning the inconsistencies of the philosophical and religious framework within which I was raised, I began my own ardent spiritual quest. I needed to find the roots of, and truth behind, many of the figures, legends, and nomenclature which my father misappropriated for his newly created pseudo-religion. So, in 1992, I organized a personal pilgrimage throughout Germany to many sacred sites which I'd learned of early in life. I documented my journey along the way in a video-poem entitled Germania: The Theory of Ruins. One of the target sites of my journey was the Wewelsburg, where I conducted a private ceremony and oracular magical Working. The purpose of the rite was to attain insight into the reason this castle was so strongly associated with the Grail Quest, and to learn what a 'Grail Quest,' – or more specifically, what The Grail – truly is. Slipping through the bars of the iron gate to the legendary crypt, I was prepared to take on this heavy philosophical question in a spontaneous meditation.
Author Daniela Siepe summarized our in-person conversation about this private magical ritual in 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden.'. I share with you the email follow-up to our in-person interview; the information in my message was incorporated into the book:
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: Grail Ritual
Dear Daniela~
About the Grail ritual itself: You mentioned some points which I think might have come from things Nikolas talked about during our interview, as well as combining it with your thoughts on our EP "Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera" (Lucifer's Court track). I can clarify some of that.
During our interview, it was Nikolas who mentioned his interest in the legend of the Grail being the Emerald that fell from the crown of Lucifer during the battle with Michael and the angels. That was the connecting thread to Otto Rahn. But this was not my reason or point of interest in wanting to find "What Is the Grail" during my Wewelsburg working.
Our use of the title Lucifer's Court on our recording occurred while we were still representing satanism (I was still the Church of Satan's High Priestess and spokesperson) and using it on that recording reflected where we were at that point in time. But that was three years before my Wewelsburg working.
By the time we broke with the Church of Satan (in 1990) and began exploring more deeply into these references and figures, I realized that I was really more drawn to the same ancient legends which inspired the personalities we were researching while living in Vienna. All my life I've been driven by such things as fairy tales, sagas, mythology, folk legends, etc. Therefore it wasn't the humans involved in these various Teutonic occult orders and societies that interested me. What interested me was the same eternal phenomena which those people also explored.
It wasn't long into our research of these 19th century European occult figures (Rahn, von List, Sebbotendorf, Weistor/Wiligut, von Liebenfels etc.) that I found the same reactionary, misogynistic and fundamentally subjective fantasy role-playing (albeit on a more intellectual level) as was with the occult world of satanism I'd just left. So, metaphorically speaking, if a house of cards is built on a weak foundation of sand, how valid can one regard the entire philosophies of such people?
It was clear that, despite their interest in ancient legends, they were missing a big piece of the puzzle in their mystical portrayals and projections. Only when I made my first pilgrimages to the same mystical locations that were to hold such significance to these men, did I experience first-hand that visceral, intuitive feeling that they were "missing something". But I, myself, didn't yet know exactly what the "Something" was.
Hence, my ritual at Wewelsburg and the documentation of many of the other places I and Nikolas made spiritual pilgrimages to in Germany and Austria in our quest for deeper answers. So when I performed the ritual at Wewelsburg, for me, it had nothing to do with the Emerald from Lucifer's Crown.
You asked, "So, during your Grail ritual you were standing in the middle of the Crypt with your arms raised high. – Was this a symbolic gesture – such as the sign of the Ka? Or just a gesture which enabled you to take a deep breath?"
The position was mostly for the following two reasons:
1. To become the grail, from which I was summoning answers, I needed to take the form of the grail as we know it, in a chalice-like shape (i.e., sympathetic magic, for example if you wish to know the mystery of the Sphinx, it helps to take the position of and embody that energy).
2. The body in this position/asana becomes like a musical tuning fork and is more sensitive to a wider range of subtle to greater vibrations. I had been practicing tantra for two years by that time. So I was sensitive to how the body should be held to promote energy flow for certain purposes. When you begin in this position you raise your head upwards and slowly bring it down to find the proper alignment with the spine. This enables the best, unblocked flow of energy rising upwards through all the chakras, through the central channel and out the top of the head. It also promotes even, smooth breath flow. In order to open yourself up for the answers you seek, it's very important to clear everything out of your head and have even energy flow throughout your body.
You asked, "Is it correct to say that you made a humming sound (German: Summen)? And then you sensed the vibrations of the sound in your chest – while you focused (sich konzentrieren auf, meditieren) on the question “What is the grail?” "
That's correct. The sound must be with the mouth open (not closed as in a hum). The particular syllable sound I made helps to clear the chakras but must be done with the mouth open. There is only one part at the end where the mouth closes to finish the mantra.
The sensations, or vibrations, felt were throughout the body, not only the chest. The feeling began in the heart area and gradually spread ever outwards throughout the whole body. A very open, wide and expansive feeling.
Secondly, while I'm opening myself up as I'm standing in that central spot, it's important to not think anything. The purpose for the working, "What is the Grail", is well established in focused attention directly before beginning the ritual. Once in the ritual, that thought must be dropped and no thought can enter but rather one should be very aware of what is experienced, without expectations.
Using this method, the mind will be best prepared to receive signs and answers. The innate wisdom of the mind must not be forced, steered, clouded or manipulated into any predictable, or accidental, direction by the subjective wishes, interests or preferences of the individual's personality.
You asked, "In this moment you realized that the grail is no tangible object, but a part of a human being himself. You cannot look for the Grail on the outside, you have to become the grail yourself (meaning you have to feel your own strength?, rely on your spiritual side which has access to a primordial wisdom??)"
Yes, this is all correct as it happened (in a brief description).
To make the wording more precise, I'd say it like this:
"In this moment you realized that the grail is no tangible object, but a part of a human being himself. You cannot look for the Grail on the outside, you have to become the grail yourself (meaning you have to awaken to your spiritual side which has access to your primordial wisdom."
We all have this potential, but don't always know how to use it or access it. This is why the legend of the Grail is always a quest, whether interpreted or experienced as the spiritual inner quest or written about and described in stories and legends as an outer physical quest.
They are two levels of understanding, one esoteric (feminine-based and directly receiving the wisdom, i.e., left-hand path in practice), the other exoteric (male-based and documenting the wisdom, i.e., right-hand path in practice). When I use these terms left-hand path and right-hand path it should be clarified that it is in the authentic tantric meaning - not the Western occult definition.
I hope this helps to give a little more detail to that experience. I'd be happy to talk with you by phone or Skype if there's anything else you'd like to ask or clarify.
Wishing you the best of Life, Strength, Health and Happiness!
Zeena
[END]
More information on Wewelsburg or 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden'
Following the end of WWII, countless legends arose surrounding this edifice, many having to do with secret cult rites and the structure having a supernatural energy, comparable to Externsteine or Stonehenge. Such legends sparked the imaginations of many authors, filmmakers, musicians, artists, political extremists, UFO fanatics, conspiracy theorists and occultists.
At a time in my life when I was questioning the inconsistencies of the philosophical and religious framework within which I was raised, I began my own ardent spiritual quest. I needed to find the roots of, and truth behind, many of the figures, legends, and nomenclature which my father misappropriated for his newly created pseudo-religion. So, in 1992, I organized a personal pilgrimage throughout Germany to many sacred sites which I'd learned of early in life. I documented my journey along the way in a video-poem entitled Germania: The Theory of Ruins. One of the target sites of my journey was the Wewelsburg, where I conducted a private ceremony and oracular magical Working. The purpose of the rite was to attain insight into the reason this castle was so strongly associated with the Grail Quest, and to learn what a 'Grail Quest,' – or more specifically, what The Grail – truly is. Slipping through the bars of the iron gate to the legendary crypt, I was prepared to take on this heavy philosophical question in a spontaneous meditation.
Author Daniela Siepe summarized our in-person conversation about this private magical ritual in 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden.'. I share with you the email follow-up to our in-person interview; the information in my message was incorporated into the book:
Sent: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: Grail Ritual
Dear Daniela~
About the Grail ritual itself: You mentioned some points which I think might have come from things Nikolas talked about during our interview, as well as combining it with your thoughts on our EP "Bring Me the Head of Geraldo Rivera" (Lucifer's Court track). I can clarify some of that.
During our interview, it was Nikolas who mentioned his interest in the legend of the Grail being the Emerald that fell from the crown of Lucifer during the battle with Michael and the angels. That was the connecting thread to Otto Rahn. But this was not my reason or point of interest in wanting to find "What Is the Grail" during my Wewelsburg working.
Our use of the title Lucifer's Court on our recording occurred while we were still representing satanism (I was still the Church of Satan's High Priestess and spokesperson) and using it on that recording reflected where we were at that point in time. But that was three years before my Wewelsburg working.
By the time we broke with the Church of Satan (in 1990) and began exploring more deeply into these references and figures, I realized that I was really more drawn to the same ancient legends which inspired the personalities we were researching while living in Vienna. All my life I've been driven by such things as fairy tales, sagas, mythology, folk legends, etc. Therefore it wasn't the humans involved in these various Teutonic occult orders and societies that interested me. What interested me was the same eternal phenomena which those people also explored.
It wasn't long into our research of these 19th century European occult figures (Rahn, von List, Sebbotendorf, Weistor/Wiligut, von Liebenfels etc.) that I found the same reactionary, misogynistic and fundamentally subjective fantasy role-playing (albeit on a more intellectual level) as was with the occult world of satanism I'd just left. So, metaphorically speaking, if a house of cards is built on a weak foundation of sand, how valid can one regard the entire philosophies of such people?
It was clear that, despite their interest in ancient legends, they were missing a big piece of the puzzle in their mystical portrayals and projections. Only when I made my first pilgrimages to the same mystical locations that were to hold such significance to these men, did I experience first-hand that visceral, intuitive feeling that they were "missing something". But I, myself, didn't yet know exactly what the "Something" was.
Hence, my ritual at Wewelsburg and the documentation of many of the other places I and Nikolas made spiritual pilgrimages to in Germany and Austria in our quest for deeper answers. So when I performed the ritual at Wewelsburg, for me, it had nothing to do with the Emerald from Lucifer's Crown.
You asked, "So, during your Grail ritual you were standing in the middle of the Crypt with your arms raised high. – Was this a symbolic gesture – such as the sign of the Ka? Or just a gesture which enabled you to take a deep breath?"
The position was mostly for the following two reasons:
1. To become the grail, from which I was summoning answers, I needed to take the form of the grail as we know it, in a chalice-like shape (i.e., sympathetic magic, for example if you wish to know the mystery of the Sphinx, it helps to take the position of and embody that energy).
2. The body in this position/asana becomes like a musical tuning fork and is more sensitive to a wider range of subtle to greater vibrations. I had been practicing tantra for two years by that time. So I was sensitive to how the body should be held to promote energy flow for certain purposes. When you begin in this position you raise your head upwards and slowly bring it down to find the proper alignment with the spine. This enables the best, unblocked flow of energy rising upwards through all the chakras, through the central channel and out the top of the head. It also promotes even, smooth breath flow. In order to open yourself up for the answers you seek, it's very important to clear everything out of your head and have even energy flow throughout your body.
You asked, "Is it correct to say that you made a humming sound (German: Summen)? And then you sensed the vibrations of the sound in your chest – while you focused (sich konzentrieren auf, meditieren) on the question “What is the grail?” "
That's correct. The sound must be with the mouth open (not closed as in a hum). The particular syllable sound I made helps to clear the chakras but must be done with the mouth open. There is only one part at the end where the mouth closes to finish the mantra.
The sensations, or vibrations, felt were throughout the body, not only the chest. The feeling began in the heart area and gradually spread ever outwards throughout the whole body. A very open, wide and expansive feeling.
Secondly, while I'm opening myself up as I'm standing in that central spot, it's important to not think anything. The purpose for the working, "What is the Grail", is well established in focused attention directly before beginning the ritual. Once in the ritual, that thought must be dropped and no thought can enter but rather one should be very aware of what is experienced, without expectations.
Using this method, the mind will be best prepared to receive signs and answers. The innate wisdom of the mind must not be forced, steered, clouded or manipulated into any predictable, or accidental, direction by the subjective wishes, interests or preferences of the individual's personality.
You asked, "In this moment you realized that the grail is no tangible object, but a part of a human being himself. You cannot look for the Grail on the outside, you have to become the grail yourself (meaning you have to feel your own strength?, rely on your spiritual side which has access to a primordial wisdom??)"
Yes, this is all correct as it happened (in a brief description).
To make the wording more precise, I'd say it like this:
"In this moment you realized that the grail is no tangible object, but a part of a human being himself. You cannot look for the Grail on the outside, you have to become the grail yourself (meaning you have to awaken to your spiritual side which has access to your primordial wisdom."
We all have this potential, but don't always know how to use it or access it. This is why the legend of the Grail is always a quest, whether interpreted or experienced as the spiritual inner quest or written about and described in stories and legends as an outer physical quest.
They are two levels of understanding, one esoteric (feminine-based and directly receiving the wisdom, i.e., left-hand path in practice), the other exoteric (male-based and documenting the wisdom, i.e., right-hand path in practice). When I use these terms left-hand path and right-hand path it should be clarified that it is in the authentic tantric meaning - not the Western occult definition.
I hope this helps to give a little more detail to that experience. I'd be happy to talk with you by phone or Skype if there's anything else you'd like to ask or clarify.
Wishing you the best of Life, Strength, Health and Happiness!
Zeena
[END]
More information on Wewelsburg or 'Mythos Wewelsburg: Fakten und Legenden'
Read the full Heathen Harvest article at: http://heathenharvest.org/2015/04/18/zeena-schreck-performs-a-typhonian-tantric-ritual-soundscape-at-the-egyptian-museum-leipzig/
Review of Zeena's New Art Blog in Korean Pop Starz [ KpopStarz ] International Online Magazine
30/4/2015
"The Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist, who goes by the single name Zeena, is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist yogini in the Drikung, Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. She practiced and taught magic and meditation for over 30 years. Zeena is the Hemet-neter Tepi Seth of the Sethian Liberation Movement. Biographical info about Zeena can be found at Daily Offbeat."
Read the whole review here: http://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/183814/20150315/zeena-schreck.htm
Khajuraho Temple, India
Journalist Tony Sokol asks Zeena about the role of cunnilingus in magical alchemy and Eastern tantric practices for his review of the popular US TV show Salem: Book of Shadows
Below, we share with you the complete, unedited quotes she gave him, from her book Demons of the Flesh.
[Note: The phrase Feminine Daemonic was first coined by Zeena and Nikolas Schreck in Demons of the Flesh. "Daemonic" in this context does not mean “like a demon” but rather uses the classical greek spelling and definition to mean “spirit,” hence the 'feminine principle' or 'feminine spirit.']
Below, we share with you the complete, unedited quotes she gave him, from her book Demons of the Flesh.
[Note: The phrase Feminine Daemonic was first coined by Zeena and Nikolas Schreck in Demons of the Flesh. "Daemonic" in this context does not mean “like a demon” but rather uses the classical greek spelling and definition to mean “spirit,” hence the 'feminine principle' or 'feminine spirit.']
Vedic left-hand path Tantrikas place great emphasis on the vaginal
secretions of the female, ingesting them as the pure distillation of feminine
energy in rites venerating the shakti's vulva. This fluid, called amrita, or "elixir
of immortality" is sometimes believed to be vitalized with magical properties
transformative of human consciousness, an agent quickening the process of
Kundalini, the awakening of the Feminine Daemonic in the male. The female
amrita consumed in left-hand path sexual rites is considered most powerful in
shakti at the time of menstruation, a fact which has sometimes been compared
to the elusive "ruby elixir" referred to in Western alchemical texts as a
medicine for the soul. Erotic statuary in India's celebrated Khajuraho Temple
depicts scenes of ritual cunnilingus that indicate a strong left-hand path
influence. In the Chinese sex-magical tradition, the orgasmic flow of the
female partner's Bartholin's gland fluid was also thought to be a substance rich
with yin, the feminine life-force potable in a physical libation granting
immortality.
In both the Taoist and Tantric traditions, great emphasis is placed on
the necessity of absorbing the sexual secretion only from consorts
demonstrating obvious physical health and vitality. Illness is said to nullify or
even poison the effects of the amrita upon the adept.
Even within the sometimes austere constrictions of the Islamic world,
home to an ancient magical heritage, decidedly left-hand path sex-magical
traditions continue to be practiced by Muslim magicians. Often these involve
the use of sexual secretions and menstrual blood as sorcerous agents, as in the
societally disreputable but fairly common utilization of sihr sufli, which has
sometimes been described as a form of Arabic black magic. Such rites require
that the sorcerer performs a prolonged act of copulation with a female – as is
often the case in the Tantric Vama Marga, the sorcerer's consort must not be
married to him. It is also considered preferable if the woman is menstruating, a
condition every bit as much of a taboo within Islam as it is in Hindu culture.
At the completion of the act, the mingled semen, feminine secretions, and
blood are carefully permeated into an absorbent piece of fabric. The erotically
charged fabric is then ritually burnt, whilst the sorcerer calls upon one of the
djinn – the demons of Arabic sorcery – to act in his stead in the daemonic
realm. This rite, which draws on the veiled, repressed power of the Feminine
Daemonic surging beneath the outwardly male-oriented surface of Arab life,
is of course considered a defilement by orthodox Islam. As with all left-hand
path procedures, it is the taboo-breaking nature of the activity that endows
this kind of sexual sorcery with its force.
The Aghori's preferred initiatrix in sexual congress is a menstruating
woman of the "untouchable" lower caste, whose menstrual blood mingled
with his own semen is sometimes consumed at the conclusion of the rite.
This Aghori practice has a secular analogue in a modern Western "sect"
dedicated to taboo-transgression; a well-known rite of initiation for the Hell's
Angels motorcycle club decrees that the Angel must "earn his wings" by
performing cunnilingus on a menstruating woman.
A heartfelt thanks goes out today to my dear artist friend Frank Haines, who sent me his latest book, aptly titled, Frank Exchanges.
Frank organized the 2013 New York performance, “Zeena Schreck, Live from the Eye of the Storm.” Over the course of our lifetimes, Frank and I have worked, lived and loved in many of the same cities - San Francisco, Vienna and Berlin - but it wasn't until 2012 when our paths finally crossed and we began plans to collaborate on various art projects.
Frank Exchanges is a labor of love spotlighting twenty-six artists who have traveled through Frank's life at various times. I had the privilege of meeting many of these talented and hard-working artists as a result of my collaboration with Frank for our New York performance. So it's wonderful to learn more about this community of creators and creatrixes in this volume.
Frank is inspired by and works with artists who understand and embody the integration of spirituality, magic and the creative process. He also has an appreciation and understanding of the feminine energy central to creativity. This could be because he's been nurtured and mentored by many female artists, including his two sisters and his life's partner, Jackie Klempay. It could also be because he really digs feminine mystical artists. Conversations with Frank are often peppered with references to female artists who inspire him. So it's not surprising that the introduction to his book explains the genesis of Frank Exchanges, as related to two female artists and how the “direct interview form, where the content reflects a conversation” shaped his desire to publish his exchanges with artists he knows:
Frank is inspired by and works with artists who understand and embody the integration of spirituality, magic and the creative process. He also has an appreciation and understanding of the feminine energy central to creativity. This could be because he's been nurtured and mentored by many female artists, including his two sisters and his life's partner, Jackie Klempay. It could also be because he really digs feminine mystical artists. Conversations with Frank are often peppered with references to female artists who inspire him. So it's not surprising that the introduction to his book explains the genesis of Frank Exchanges, as related to two female artists and how the “direct interview form, where the content reflects a conversation” shaped his desire to publish his exchanges with artists he knows:
When I look at a Loise Nevelson sculpture I think about the way she described eating raisins. She would not eat raisins by the bunch but singly and selectively. 'When I put a raisin in my mouth I know what I'm doing'. This single statement expresses a mindfulness about living in the world that I see reflected in her work.
These thoughts about Nevelson were brought about by reading an interview with her.
[...]
“Eliza Swann interviewed me for Arthur magazine in 2011. I loved the conversation that resulted from the meeting of our minds. Inspired by these results, I wanted to document many of the ideas that have been shaped through conversations with close friends of mine.”
Anders Hermund, Frank Haines and Hisham Akira Bharoocha at sound & light check for Performa-13 biennial. Photo by Zeena
From that launching point, Frank manifests Frank Exchanges. A collection of essay-interviews that reveal complex philosophical and religio-magical perspectives from artists who have experienced struggle, love, pain, poverty, doubt, loss, euphoria and all of the usual challenges artists face in a society which devalues visionary thought. It offers a glimpse into the minds of ambassadors from another state of consciousness. In a strictly materialistic culture, both art and spirituality are often viewed by society as worthless, when they don't contribute to economic and industrial productivity. So it's refreshing to see artists intelligently interviewed by one of their own, rather than being asked inane questions by someone who can't relate to the creative spirit!
~Zeena
~Zeena