Limitations of the Common Synchronicity Condensers
The I Ching
The I Ching is probably the best all-around condenser available to
most of us, but like any other structural abstraction, it suffers from
certain limitations. To play along with the myth of history, there is
good reason to believe that the I Ching has its origins in some lost
civilization which existed prior to a cataclysm which had a
universally numbing effect on mankind's faculty for a-causal logic,
and is on that account remarkably free of gross error, but it is still
Confucian in general character and has both the virtues and faults of
Confucianism. To this must be added the peculiarities of the
translator. Wilhelm is profound, of course, but not without his
foibles. Absolute despotism is taken for granted in the political
sphere, whether benevolent or malign…. Naturally, no recognition
is given to the wide variety of options available to modern man in
politically adverse circumstances. Romance is given short shrift and
the peculiarities of the ancient Chinese domestic arrangements must be
tortured unmercifully to fit modern conditions. To indicate a
situation of some danger, analogies involving loss of life or limb
must be resorted to because no less desperate images are
available. Aesthetic values also seem to carry little weight with the
Ching, which is resolutely social in its orientation except when
advocating a sort of grim withdrawal from human affairs. It doesn't
matter how wise you are—if your vocabulary is limited there will
always be some thoughts you can only express badly and others you
can't represent at all.
Astrology
The trouble with astrology is that the planet Saturn is, temporarily,
part of the solar system. Once we annihilate that gigantic snot-ball,
one may hope that even astrologers will relax a little and stop trying
to blame everything bad that happens on human perversity and assign
credit for everything nice to the planets. What it comes down to is
planet worship, a rather primitive religion, to put it mildly. Fuck
the planets. Fuck the germ plasm, for that matter. What did the
planets or the germ plasm ever do for us? Let's get some space ships
and blow this slum. (I speak as a double Aries in the decanate of
Jupiter with almost all my planets in the first or twelfth houses, of
course…which gives me great leadership qualities. Fine. Let's
get out of here. It's too crowded. Follow me, men.)
Television
By far the most magical tool in our possession, TV is most naturally
shunned and denounced by imbeciles everywhere, those who refuse to
look at what is right in front of their noses and instead go mooning
and slavering after weird and alien gods and doctrines. For incredible
subtlety and psychological depth, metaphysical scope, and practical,
down-to-earth advice, you can't beat that little box with the moving
pictures in it. Just imagine how delighted Merlin the Magician would
have been to have one. Always consult the box before making a crucial
decision, to find out what your unconscious mind is up to. If you
don't like it you can always repress it. The only danger is in
watching unstoned. but if you are the kind of person who would do a
thing like that you shouldn't be reading this book.