The Order of the Vampyre is a function of the Temple of Set. The Order has two Co-Grand Masters, each are Fourth Degree members of the Temple of Set. The Order also has several "Masters", each of whom has acquired and demonstrated an expertise and mastery of the subjects at hand. Order of the Vampyre mambership is only available to members of hte Temple of Set, and only those who have attained the Grade of Adept (Second Degree) or higher.
Vampire lore is thriving. In today's world, as movie after movie is pumped out, as authors who have turned into book machines write about one sultry aspect of the vampire after another, and as Goths--so called--pose and posture their way into [out of?] society, the interest in Things Vampiric was never higher.
When you think about a vampire (or vampyre), are you compelled, or repelled? Are you attracted, or repulsed? Are you drawn in, or would you strike out in fear? Much of how we initially judge and typecast a candidate in life depends upon how their appearance first strikes us. Are they indeed "striking?" In the case of he vampire, is there something in the way they look, something in the tone and timbre of their voice, or something even less tangible, which causes us to react to qualities we believe to be vampiric? You might wish to ask yourself this too: Did you stay long enough to decide whether the image was simply black hair, pale (white) make-up and blood-red lipstick, or more than image...a very real extension of someone's Being? If a vampyre is merely a construct of part clothing, part posing, part wanna-be, well; the Order of the Vampyre would have closed its doors very early on indeed. On the other hand, one can--and many do---make fine use of clothing, posture and bits of reality to enhance a Presence which is already there.
Perhaps the one important lesson to learn about Things [or people] Vampyric is that nothing is as it seems. For example, most people take the term "invisible" at face value. We take it to mean "not seen". As a process, the Metamind is "available" to us all in the sense that it is an initiatory and personal approach to many of the guises which fall under the heading psychic phenomena.
Our New Age society is steeped in notions of positive vibrations and harmonic resonances. From the hard science of the fifties to the hard facts of the nineties, we have seen a resurgence of support for thepowers of the mind. We're now at a stage, almost by accident it seems, where we feel that it is "okay" to believe in something other than blind faith. We have learned enough about self-reliance to know that our education begins and ends in direct proportion to hoe expansive our viewpoints have become. We have taken the physical, pushed it, tried to understand it, and through it, arrived at higher truths about our world, ourselves, our powers. The Metamind--known as the psi-factor, ESP, psychic abilities or by any other name--is that which allows the seasoned "user" to exploit his special abilities.
People feel that paranormal, or psychic powers are the result of a Gift. This may be true for some. [Though a discussion on the Gift giver would prove lively!] For others, acquiring "metamental" powers is just that; skills, truths or energies which are already known are re-acquired. Through this process, they may become "metamental". In some, there is both an inner recognition, and the dynamic process of working with the Gift to re-acquire skills. One does not so much acquire new skills, however, as much as he fine tunes those he already has.
Is it so remarkable to think that a clairvoyant, for example, is someone who has taken the power of sight to new heights? Perhaps those who possess clairvoyant powers are "merely" those who have uncovered the hidden (or neglected) aspects of vision? This is not meant to sound easy. What may be easy to say could evolve into a life-long pursuit; one could stll come up empty. That is the risk all true explorers take. While we may not be born with this aspect of the Gift, neither can everyone develop what they're born with. If someone is able to turn their quite earthly power of sight into clairvoyant sight (still, quite earthly), it may be due to his being able to understand the full implications of this sense. He may have been able to re-focus that which hasn't been used as such for as long as he can remember.
The Metamind is the mind which embraces such lofty possibilities. It is your mind, turned toward common enough problems; but turned at an angle unseen to now. It is a mind that is working as developing a keen sense of hearing (telepathy), a refined touch (psychometry), and many other enhancements to existing powers.
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