Matrix, I think you're having a common reaction to any good mindfuck. You're keen enough to sense where Grant may lead you and you are rightfully wary to begin the journey. If you fear your own sensitivites may be hit too hard, take a step back and examine those fears, strengthen your Self, and perform the appropriate rituals of protection before you begin. Me, I like to dive in headlong and and throw myself at the mercy of the experience, then spin out and process for 6 months.
I originally read the series issue by issue thanks to a close friend with a keen eye for alt comics. Fortunately I already had a pretty strong background in magick and shamanism so the mindfuck wasn't too intense (but Damn! it still blew my mind!). Now reading this thread I'm really anxious to try the marathon and read the whole thing straight through (probably with the help of some lysergic amides...). Now I also have a deeper understanding of what GM was trying to do (I knew nothing about him originally), so it will be interesting to reread the series with his filters (I suspect the effect will be much greater - the sigil may behave more closely to it's original intent).
For those wary of Grant's intent, my impression is that's it's good but with a very Trickster edge. He's offering the wayward stranger a lift but you have no idea where he will take you. His work is intimately autobiographical, an evolving sigil reflecting and informing his experiences over that period, ulitmately driven by a strong shamanic experience he had in, i believe, Tibet. As mentioned in this thread, the universe was revealed to him by outer entities as a larval stage of a higher dimensional organism, pupating/mutating/evolving into it's future form. The Maya and the McKenna brothers both predicted this next evolutionary phase will occur in 2012.
For re-enforcement I suggest reading Robert Anton Wilson's "Cosmic Trigger 1", "Prometheus Rising", and "Illuminatus Trilogy". Also see Terence McKenna's "Archaic Revival" , and "Invisible Landscape". For the truly daring, find some DMT and talk with the higher dimensional entities yourself (Disclaimer: do this at your own risk; and if you do, make sure everything is JUST RIGHT before embarking). And of course, any familiarity with Magick and Chaos Magick will help the reader tackle The Invisibles.
Although I wonder if the sigil works best on those who have little or no background in these systems, or if prior knowledge would lend greater depth to it's working...I suspect the latter, but perhaps it's best to read it once in a fairly open frame of mind, then reread it armed with the knowledge. |
