Astron Argon

C.F. Russell

The C.F. Russell Catalogue

Cecil Frederick Russell
1897-1987

Russell wrote in 1922:

"Magick is aptly defined as the science and art of doing one's Will – achieving one's purpose, fulfilling the Law of THELEMA. Thus theoretical magick is the art of perfecting mental processes, and practical magick the art of perfecting volitional processes. These definitions are hardly conclusive, but they are scholarly enough for practical purposes, I think. I think that every member should be drilled in ceremonial magick until he subconsciously acquires the attitude of doing the right thing at the right moment with omnipotence at his command and eternity at his disposal. The ideas that dissolve the sin complex, viz that nothing really matters, that it is impossible to make a mistake, etc, cannot be rooted in the organism by any other method."

i) Earliest Works
Book Chameleon, A New Version of the Favourite Book of Confucius, 11th April 1940 small format (6ins x 4ins) card covered booklet 0000, 000, 00, 0 (ie iv) + 66pp Audacious new version of the I Ching. Commences by ascribing alchemical, planetary, elemental and zodiac aspects to the sectioned faces of a cube in an entirely logical manner. The I Ching trigrams, planets, Daath & the sephiroth below Abyss, planets and other attributes are then ascribed to the appropriate corners of the cube. This cube, with its trigram attributions is then used to generate a whole new and original version of the I Ching which in turn should be read with special male and female dice He also ascribes numerical value to the Hebrew Alphabet Order No. CRF02 £15

C.F. Russell, Provenance, Bookhaven Press 1944 1st Ed Ltd. Ed. xiv + 98pp One of 50 copies issued "For experienced bookmen only, not for sale" Bibliography of books in his library. He eschews the homely production values of other productions. Properly typeset and printed, bound in blue rexine, top edge trimmed and coloured. It has the dust wrapper which carries the instruction "The Dust-Jacket is a Collector's Item – save it" It carries an errata list, plus a list of names indicating to whom copies were given. This copy has the additional loose errata slip. A delightful testament to eccentric bibliographical obsession, with useful mention of a couple of Crowley titles Pages uncut. Mint in Fine DW . Order No. CRF03 £185

ii) Mathematical – Esoteric Works
Barbara Cubed, The Manual of Pure Logic, Times-Mirror Press, April 1944, Card Covered booklet 24pp. The reverse of the pre-title page signifies that this work is intended for members of the Practicus grade. It presents an elegant amalgam of logic, Venn diagrams, linguistics and alchemical concepts to generate the Barbara Cubed concept, a subdivided cube with meaningful attributions Order No. CRF04 £30

Tropermic Calculus, Printed for the Author and His Friends by Times-Mirror-Press, April 1944 vi + 42pp Reverse of the pre-title (or bastard title as Russell refers to it) is a dedication to the grade of Adeptus. This work explores the full set of different ways a cube may be placed in front of an observer, which is titled a "Tablock", it then examines the permutations between male and female tablocks Order No. CRF05 £30

Grammar of Changes, Times-Mirror Press 1944 48pp Carrying on from Tropermic Calculus this work explores the further permutations of male and female cubes with alchemical, symbols attributed to various sections of the side. Three dimensional manipulations of these cubes generate multiple permutations of male and female charted here Order No. CRF06 £30

Combinational Arithmetic, Times-Mirror Press 1st November1944 iv + 12pp An original contribution to the theory of numbers. A "polygram" or sequence of numbers can be generated from any number. The polygrams can then be combined, like logarithms, to give easy answers to mathematical problems Order No. CRF07 £30

Manual of Electrocombinational Engineering, Times-Mirror Press, 17th April 1944, Card covered booklet 16pp Gives detailed instructions including wiring diagrams etc for constructing a series of electronic devices:- the Log-in which solves logical deductions; the Trigrammatron to demonstrate the relationship of the components of the I Ching; the Cubatron which demonstrates the relationship between the points of the cube generated in Book Chameleon; The Zo-tron (or Crystomat) explores the relationship of the astrological signs; the Sextron explores a trigrammatic analysis of the cube; the Tertron explores the third degree cube; the Tertron is an electronic incorporation of the "second-degree tetrak" which it notes is a fourth dimensional configuration, the Compatron; the Tetrapermutron etc. Presumably the references to the degrees relate to the Gnostic Brotherhood of God, positive-negative / male-female reference occur frequently Order No. CRF08 £30

Note an order for one copy each of these items:- Barbara Cubed Tropermic Calculus Grammar of Changes Combinational Arithmetic Manual of Electrocombinational Engineering Order No. CRF09 £120 (saving 20%)

iii) Chinese related works and Russell's development of Ming
Abso-Ming-Wen-Lutely Absey-Booke, Reed Litho 30th Sept. 1954 32pp card covered booklet. A free flowing poetry that associates Chinese words with western esoteric, religious and philosophical ideas, with some whimsy and humour. In Znuz is Znees the author states that this poem can be intoned to the phallus in magical ritual Order No. CRF10 £18

Book of Radicals, Shu Pu, Reed Litho 7th October 1954, 8pp booklet. Giving Chinese figures, their sound, a basic English meaning and a numerical value. Order No. CRF11 £18

Rime Store, Yon Fer, Reed Litho 12th Nov. 1954 48pp card covered booklet. As with Abso-Ming-Wen-Lutely Absey-Booke a Chinese name is given then is English equivalent and a further definition which gives Russell the opportunity to express his own meanings n this booklet the Ming words are rhymed. It is a rhyming dictionary of Ming.Order No. CRF12 £18

Rough Cloth, Zao Jing, 24th November 1954 Card covered 48pp Chinese pictograms rendered into English Order No. CRF13 £18

Silver Cradle, Yut Wo, 22 December 1954 Card covered booklet 24pp Further investigation of nature of Chinese pictograms Ming dictionary in order of the count of strokes to make the character. Order No. CRF14 £18

Note an order for one copy each of these items:- Abso-Ming-Wen-Lutely Absey-Booke Book of Radicals, Shu Pu Rime Store, Yon Fer Rough Cloth Silver Cradle Order No. CRF15 £70 (saving 22%)

iv) Ming teachings
The following booklets are written in Russell's Ming Dialect of Chinese employed for its compactness as it permits the exercise diagrams, description of contents and instructions as to how the draw the diagrams to all exist on the same page. Serious study with require the student to learn about three dozen Ming words. Occasionally English translation is given to assist the student.
A translation device for Russell's use of Ming can be found here:- http://icybermind.net/mingdict1.html (complete, with characters) http://icybermind.net/mingdict1.html (faster, without characters)
Dragon Pearls, Maw Ni, 17th January 1955 Card covered booklet 32pp Exploring geometry and Ming words. Translation of the Ming can be found at:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/dragon%20pearls Order No. CRF16 £42

Gentle Rain, Sun Zy, 1st February 1955 Card covered booklet 16pp Further investigation of projective geometry and mystic Ming pictograms. A translation of the paragraph headings forming a table of contents can be found at:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/sun%20zyun Order No. CRF17 £42

Wild Rice, Yieh Mee, 21st February 1955 Card covered booklet 32pp pictograms and sacred geometry. Most pages are headed S.'.S.'.S.'. an enigmatic 19th Century occult order sometimes associated with Emma Harding Brittain but probably here representing Shoon Szu Shoon which it may mean the conjoined embryo and serpent with a monkey on either side, perhaps the new form of the Gnostic Brotherhood of God Subsequent booklet also carry the S.'.S.'.S.'. Table of contents (translated) can be found at:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/wild%20rice Order No. CRF18 £42

Jade Mirror, Yok Kyn, Card covered booklet 32pp Increasingly complex and dense exploration of Ming, maths and geometry. Table of contents in English can be found at:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/jade%20mirror Order No. CRF19 £42

Hill Road, Sang Lo, 16th April 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp Entirely in Ming Table of contents in English can be found here:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/hill%20road Order No. CRF20 £42

Spring Palace, Jun Koong, 14th May 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp Entirely in Ming. Table of contents in English can be found here:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/spring%20palace Order No. CRF21 £42

Water Chestnuts, Chek Sak, 11th June 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp Entirely in Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/water%20chestnuts Order No. CRF22 £42

Open Door, Tek Men, 26th July 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp Entirely in Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/open%20door Order No. CRF23 £42

Gnaw Through, Zhi Gah, 30th August 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp Entirely Ming. Translated table of contents:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/gnaw%20through Order No. CRF24 £42

Horseback, Mar Siang, 11 October 1955, Card covered booklet 32pp In English and Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/horseback Order No. CRF25 £42

Mud Hut, Mao Sha, 15 November 1955, Attractive green and gold card covered booklet 32pp In English and Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/mud%20hut Order No. CRF26 £42

North Well, Bo Dzing, 3rd January 1956, Card covered booklet 32pp Exploration of geometry, maths and Ming. Translated table of contents:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/north%20well Order No. CRF27 £42

Millet Valley, Sah Kuk, 14th February 1956, Card covered booklet 32pp Further exploration of Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/millet%20valley Order No. CRF28 £42

Copper Kettle, Toong Du, 20th March 1956, Card covered booklet 32pp Given the date the card has a surprisingly good beaten copper effect. In Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/copper%20kettle Order No. CRF29 £42
Peppermint, Poh Hoh, 15th June 1956, Card covered booklet 32pp Exploration of projective geometry in Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/peppermint Order No. CRF30 £42

Blooming Umbrella, Hwa Chi, 10th October 1956, Card covered booklet 32pp Investigation utilising Ming, includes analysis of the Tree of Life. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/blooming%20umbrella Order No. CRF30 £42

Phenix Marrow, Fung Swi, 18th April 1957, Card covered booklet 32pp In English and Ming. Table of contents in English:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/phenix%20marrow Order No. CRF31 £42

Lantern Riddles, Ten Mi, 3rd May 1957, Card covered booklet 32pp In English and Ming. Translated table of contents:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/lantern%20riddles Order No. CRF32 £42
Note an order for one copy each of these items:- Dragon Pearls Gentle Rain Wild Rice Jade Mirror Hill Road Spring Palace Water Chestnuts Open Door Gnaw Through Horseback Mud Hut North Well Millet Valley Copper Kettle Peppermint Blooming Umbrella Phenix Marrow Lantern Riddles Order No. CRF33 £550 (saving 27.25%)

v) A summary of teachings
Book Chameleon, A New Version in Verse of the Yi King, 2nd Ed. June 1967 Paperback xx + 164pp This work has a new 8pp introduction in which Russell speaks with lucidity and clarity about his magical system and its place in religious and occult beliefs and practices. Two paintings by Russell are reproduced as is Rough Cloth plus an excerpt from Silver Cradle. There is a supplement in Ming by Waw (presumably an identity or contact of Russell's. As Genesthai he translates this into English, it is 4pp piece on sex magick with a reference to LSD. This work presents Russell's understanding of sex magick in greater clarity than anywhere else. The cover has a deliberately phallic design and Russell apparently used sex magic in the production of the poetic versification of this classic of changes. More information can be found at:-http://fastblogit.com/permalink/?item=3222 Order No. CRF34 £110

vi) The autobiography
Russell's autobiography, Znuz is Znees, The tables of contents of all 4 volumes can be found at:- http://fastblogit.com/tags/znuz%20is%20znees

Znuz is Znees (Vol.I), Published by the Author 1969, Large format hardback 11ins x 9ins vi + 77pp Diagrams. Rather than presenting a chronological description of the author's life each chapter describes a category of life experience. After the prologue the author shares his distrust of doctors, gives a detailed bibliography of his publications, provides scatological anecdote and gives some account of his education. Another describes sexual experience. He also describes his first encounters with Crowley and how he was initiated into the IIIrd degree OTO. Much of the book is given over to geometrical exploration utilising the authors unique system of symbolism with the intent that traditional Euclidian geometry is transformed to manifest Infinity upon the page. Very sight and unobtrusive marks to paper covering the boards, generally Fine Order No. CRF35 £245

Znuz is Znees (Vol.I), Memoirs of a Magician, Revised and Enlarged 2nd Ed. Published by the Author 1970 Large format hardback Illustrations and diagrams. 11ins x 9ins 0000 (ie 4pp of preliminaries in author's original form of pagination) + iv Prologue + 161pp. This edition has very substantial additional sections including:- a chapter of anecdotes and opinion concerning food and drink and also ether used as a drug; an exploration of letter sounds and poetry; his very varied work career; encounters with prostitutes etc. He also describes his ex-pupil Louis T. Culling and recommends his publication the Complete Magick Curriculum of the G.'.B.'.G.'. then makes corrections and comments which make it clear that Culling never had the complete system. He gives indications as to important sex magick teachings in his published works. He also describes some additions to his library since the publication of Provenance Near Mint Order No. CRF36 £150

Znuz is Znees, Memoirs of a Magician Volume II, Published by the Author 1970 (v) + (99pp) – actual pagination continues on from 2nd Ed. of Vol.I Continues the exploration of transcendent geometry. Describes his experiences at Cefalu including details of his sex magick workings with Crowley and gives his magickal diary for his famous eight day magical retirement in a hut atop a rock. Also describes Frank Bennett and other members of the group. The author explores the nature of male and female through mathematical permutations. He describes the Tree of Life to which he applies geometric permutations; the Log-in his electronic device for exploring logic. The chapters titled "Block Working" and "Frame Working" are important as they relate to the first G.'.B.'.G.'. teachings relating to cubes, the first reproduces photographs of Russell's own physical constructions, very reminiscent of Enochian tablets. A method for combining the forces of two I Ching hexagrams is examined as are the principles of Yoga. A number of photographs of the author are reproduced. Unobtrusive crayon mark on back cover otherwise Fine Order No. CRF37 £150

Znuz is Znees, Memoirs of a Magician Volume III, Published by the Author 1972 (vii) + (354pp) actual pagination following on from Vol.II Illustrated In this work Russell gives excerpts from the G.'.B.'.G.'. texts Tai Shu and Thun Tsiu where Chinese and other mythologies are explored in word and image, the artwork is vibrant and naïve. It would appear he was endeavouring to develop a new language with which to communicate the Mysteries. The Chinese related concepts are then harnessed to mathematical and geometric permutations and a glossary of terms is generated. Various photographs also reproduced. Fine Order No. CRF34 £330

Znuz is Znees, Memoirs of a Magician Volume IV, Published by the Author 1972 (vi) + (42pp) actual pagination following on from Vol.II. Here Russell uses projective geometry to explore the proof of Fermat's last theorem, a mathematical problem first set forth in the 17th Century. Fine Order No. CRF34 £68