The Problem of the Criterion

[Wintruz]

The only way to judge a school is by examining its graduates. So too, the only way to judge claims of spiritual wonders is to look at what is done with them on the material plane. In contrast to the exotic mental gameplaying that is everywhere at the moment, real magic increases the manifestation of the magician's Being.

Does this person share wise insights? Does she/he communicate hard-won authority? Do their claims contradict what is rationally knowable? Can they string a coherent sentence together? Are they virtuous? Only virtue makes humans strong enough to encounter the Gods so, if they're not virtuous, they haven't encountered Them.

I am not suggesting that a person has to comport themselves like a 19th century aristocrat for me to take them seriously but there must be some element of "earthing" their insights, whether that's in mastery of a martial or fine art or just by having something to say that's worth listening to. They could have the wisdom of Pythagoras but if there's no way of getting that wisdom outside of their head it can have no relevance for anyone else anyway. This is why there must be a development of the worldly along with the spiritual.

I'm generally open to accepting the mystical experiences of other students, especially when they're coming from a student that is working hard on themselves. If they tell me that they saw their Future Self in a dream and that seeing that helped them to integrate their consciousness, I would consider it strange to not believe them. If they tell me that symbols connected with particular Gods keep showing up in their lives, I would consider it strange to not believe them. However, if they cannot tell the difference between a symbol and what it symbolises, between an imaginative exercise (or "pathworking") as a teaching device and reality, I would judge them to be at the very early stages of something that may well not go any further.

If someone tells me that the Hoards of Hell are desperate to work with them while writing like an emotionally needy, affection starved teenager, I will dismiss them as the latter and without the kindness I would usually show an emotionally needy, affection starved teenager who doesn't claim the Hoards of Hell to be their besties. In the case of someone like Shaman, and a few others who seem to have been active (and then banned) here recently, to indulge them is a cruelty to any potential that they may have. The dismissal must not spare their feelings. They must be told to scrap everything and start again from the beginning, that there is a high standard that they are not meeting, that they are wasting their energy and time. If they're resistant to that, there is no hope and I have nothing further to say to them.

 

[Elementriloquist]

The wealth example was misleading maybe. I just meant the mage should be able to point to results.

The most easily verifiable result is a demonstration of financial success, because anyone can literally claim any other kind of subjective "result" you can think of.

What else would you consider a result that could be verified?

Some folks do not give a s*** about money.

You and I both know that this is nonsense. I'm honestly really tired of seeing this, apologies for the incoming rant lol. It's nothing but a cop out. It's an excuse for ones lack of ability.

I will agree that some folks don't give a s*** about "luxury" (owning "name brand" products, living in a mansion, etc), but if you are a living breathing human that exists within a society, you do give a s*** about money because your life revolves around it. I don't think I want to live a life without a toilet and toilet paper lol. Those modern conveniences cost money so I do give a s*** about money. Being able to just buy groceries instead of hunting and growing crops is another great modern convenience that makes money matter.

I know you are probably going to say - "well I don't mean to that extreme extent, I meant some folks don't care about "excess" spending".

But who gets to decide what is "excess" or not?

Excess depends on your income and assets. Someone might consider fast food excess and only eat home cooked meals. Most people today don't hold that standard.

On another note, luxury is something that changes based on the era too. A lot of us live like kings these days without having to be one. We get to shower, and eat meat, and enjoy the best of entertainment, etc. The average lifestyle today is the luxury of the far past, but I digress.


The whole "I'm not materialistic" or "I do no give a s*** about money" position is a lie most people tell themselves because it is 100% subjective. Person A who holds that position will make 40K annually, and Person B who holds that position will make 60K annually, yet Person B doesn't save an extra 20K annually, and that's because peoples definition of "materialistic" or "I don't give a s*** about money", ironically changes based on how much money they have and earn.

At that point it becomes a point the finger game of "No True Scotsmans" fallacy, where the person who spends less gets to tell the person who spends more that they are lying. But that person might actually be spending less money percentage wise than the person who spends less money in raw numbers, because they happen to have a higher income.

It's 100% arbitrary. Everything in life that we all own or want is connected to money. we couldn't even speak right now without a paid for internet connection, paid for electrical utility bill, paid for cellphone/computer, etc.

So long as someone is clinging to the modern day conveniences within a society, they definitely care about money, because it's money that allows them access to these conveniences they don't want to live without. Nothing is stopping anyone from going to some forest and living in a log cabin alone for the rest of their life.


I'm sorry, but if an occultist tells me they can perform reality defying feats, but they've been working at Subway for 3 years and they haven't used their magic to build wealth because "I'm beyond that bro, I'm not materialistic" or "I do no give a s*** about money", I'm calling BS on that. It's because they don't know how to use their magic to become wealthy, or they don't actually have any magic.

If they got a raise their spending habits would increase a tiny bit.
If they got promoted to a manager their spending habits would increase by a lot.
If they won the lottery they'd likely leave their job and retire.
All whilst telling themselves "I do not give a s*** about money"

All this "I'm not materialistic" and "I do not give a s*** about money" rhetoric is just an excuse for peoples lack of ability. If they had the ability to use magic to make themselves wealthy, they'd have done it already.

Or, maybe there's some kind of pact or rule hardwired into the nature of magic itself that somehow prevents occultists from directly using magic to build wealth, but conveniently allows them to sell their knowledge of magic in books on Amazon to build wealth. But I think that sounds a little ridiculous.

It's never - "I used divinitation to buy real estate"
It's always - "Pay me $19.99 and I'll give you a reading. I take paypal and credit card "

Remember during the gold rush, the people who made the most money weren't the ones gathering gold, but rather the people selling the shovels and buckets required to gather gold.

You are not gonna start banning anyone.

I didn't mean "were gonna start banning" as in "me" the individual (I don't want to be a mod, nor do I want the responsibility). I meant it as in the forum collectively accepting and enforcing that rule (average users reporting said offenses, which then leads to a ban).

But who is continuously boasting about exceptional abilities?

The point wasn't that there was anyone specific. The point was that unless there's some enforced punishment after a "failed assessment" the act of assessing them amounts to nothing. There is no end result to the assessment, it was as if they were never assessed to begin with. Obviously it wouldn't make sense to ban someone for posting an extreme claim only once, so it would only make sense to ban someone who made multiple threads specifically about their exceptional abilities/traits. For example, making "I am loved by demons" threads over and over without any explanation or proof.

Actually, Shaman is a perfect example to answer your question, he even recently got banned:

My higher self is a DEMON?!?

I just found this after unlocking clairaudience and asking my succubus and from divination too. It know it sounds a bit nuts, but I think it's possible that some humans are demons in origin. I was oblivious to this my whole life, but it kinda makes sense why nearly demon I evoked called me their...

wizardforums.com

Why are demons kind and nurturing towards me?

I wanted to know why demons treat me so kindly and with love. Anywhere from succubi to the goetia demons, it seems like they all have love to me. I asked some goetia demons what they thought of me (around 13 in total) and they all sent me tarot cards saying something along the line of "I love...

wizardforums.com

I got possessed by vepar

So you remember the demon who really wanted a relationship with me? I got his sigil and wore it. When I wore it, I suddenly felt like I "lost control" and I was feeling disassociative and looking in third person. I felt like a new person. I initially asked Vepar to heal my mind and remove this...

wizardforums.com

All of his threads were all some kind of weird "humble bragging" fantasy novel type stuff. Like they were just fishing for attention. Was probably just a troll but either way they are Exhibit A of what I'm talking about.

Some people are going to be more subtle than he is though, but those are the ones people will just ignore because they aren't much of annoyance, so I guess everything just pans out as it should.

 

[Yazata]

I'm sorry, but if an occultist tells me they can perform reality defying feats

Actually, Shaman is a perfect example to answer your question

Bad example. To say that you have a succubus hardly can be seen as making an extraordinary claim. Lots of occultists, even on here, are into that.

Post after post of yours is your description of an imagined magick poser that you are desperately trying to find somewhere on here to prove something to you. How would Shaman prove that he has a succubus? Should he show you a "hands free video?

If you don't believe in magick or magicians then don't be on a magick forum.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I remember reading one occultist saying that you should treat money as you would any other godform. If you respect it and have a good relationship with it, then it should come to you without trouble to the capacity of your need.

If you resent people with money, then you end up resenting money itself, and you will not be successful.

Like anything else, desperation with money will screw up your magic. It's hard to be detached and 'without lust of result' when you are shy the money for your next meal.

 

[Elementriloquist]

Bad example. To say that you have a succubus hardly can be seen as making an extraordinary claim. Lots of occultists, even on here, are into that.

It wasn't just stating he had a succubus though. It was stating that he was basically loved by demons, had a succubus, had an incubus son with said succubus wife, that his "higher self" is an incubus, that a specific demon wanted a "relationship" with him lol, etc, etc, etc. It's not about one claim, it's about the endless chronicle of his "persona".

Post after post of yours is your description of an imagined magick poser that you are desperately trying to find somewhere on here to prove something to you.

I don't desperately have to find anything. Anyone else who is honest and reading knows what I'm talking about. In fact a few have pointed out the same thing. Also, it's not really about this specific forum, but occult forums in general.

How would Shaman prove that he has a succubus? Should he show you a "hands free video?

You are being funny but ironically yes, he should post a video if he's going to talk about it that much.

Like I said in Shaman's thread (can't quote it directly because the thread is closed):

In any other community this would be common sense. If you were in a forum for car collectors and hobbyists, you wouldn't be able to claim that you owned some rare limited edition old car that's worth millions without posting proof.

If someone says they have a succubus once or twice when it's relevant to an existing discussion it wouldn't really be noticed. But if they are always talking about said succubus to the point that it's now part of their "known persona" on the forum, at some point I'm gonna wanna see some proof of that succubus lol.

If you don't believe in magick or magicians then don't be on a magick forum.

I never said I don't believe in magick or magicians. I just don't automatically believe the unverifiable claims of every person saying they can do magic. I've never seen someone do 500 push-ups in one sitting before but I believe it's possible. But if someone online just says they can do it, I won't believe them until they show proof that they can. It's that simple.

Ironically the way you are responding right now is exactly why I first responded with only:

Don't assess, there's no point because nothing can be verified.

Then Xenophon responded to that post with:

Really? No evidence to weigh at all? Including your last generalization there?

If a Merle Mage tells me the daemon Mammon has gifted him the ability to transmute lead to gold, I'd say one test is whether Merle wallows in poverty or not. Conclusive test? No, but a test withal. "Assess" need mean nothing more than that tired old saw of the Pragmaticists "warranted assertability," which is to say somewhere in the vast land a reasonable surmise and a good guess.

That response just made me feel like posting all the other things I took out of my initial post, because it brought up a point I also mentioned, which is assessing the financial success of users that claim to successful in the realm of magic.

Like I told him, I erased the bulk of my first response and left only that line because I realized it was futile. I erased it all because I already predicted that I would ironically arrive at a discussion like the one were having right now.

So like I said, there's no point in trying to assess anything, because nobody wants to be assessed and there's really no standardized criteria to use for the assessment. Occult feats can't be verified. Other people can attempt to assess if they want but I see it as an exercise in futility so I won't bother.

Next time I'll just stop at that one line like I had planned on doing lol.

Now I think I'll end the conversation here as there's nothing more for me to say on this topic. I should have stopped at one line to begin with.

 

[Pyrokar]

i have never seen someone be wrong in quite such a way.
you clearly see the 2 + 2 but can't reach the result of 4
like, your info isn't faulty. your reasoning is
it happened now like it did before
having like half the forum try to tell you and stubbornly refuse over and over
more similar to Shaman than you think.

 

[Wintruz]

The most easily verifiable result is a demonstration of financial success, because anyone can literally claim any other kind of subjective "result" you can think of.

I'm not generally given to writing about something which could be uncharitably read as the equivalent of a bodybuilder flexing his muscles in a room of disabled people but I hope that my saying this carries weight with you that some poor kid in Subway doesn't...

I'm not a poor man. I'm not in the "1%" but I'm almost certainly in the 5% and being in the 5% in Western Europe is, by global terms, well-off. I know many people wealthier than me. A couple of them are in the global 1%. These people are not magicians. Many of them are playing a game with the odds in their favour (which increasingly happens once one has crossed a particular financial threshold). But there is no wisdom, no understanding of themselves or the forces behind life and, very often, no idea of how to even cope with the many problems they face in their personal lives. Many of these people also understand that there are other things, harder to gain than money, and they expend vast sums going after qualities that the boy in Subway takes for granted (like youth, for example).

Even from abject poverty, becoming wealthy these days is far easier than it used to be and it's far, far easier than becoming a true Master, which is actually getting much harder. What I do think is difficult for initiates, is becoming financially independent while one's mind is divided with other things. Money is an energy source and it's one that likes undivided attention. Some who suss this out will spend their early years earning so that, later, they can pursue spiritual things. Others have too strong a drive towards initiation to put it on hold for that long. They do the best they can while trying to work on themselves and gain self-mastery and, eventually, wisdom.

I think your comment could be read as unproductively cruel to those who are striving in that way and your decision to equate magical power with money speaks to your own absences more than it does truth.

 

[Xenophon]

It wasn't just stating he had a succubus though. It was stating that he was basically loved by demons, had a succubus, had an incubus son with said succubus wife, that his "higher self" is an incubus, that a specific demon wanted a "relationship" with him lol, etc, etc, etc. It's not about one claim, it's about the endless chronicle of his "persona".


I don't desperately have to find anything. Anyone else who is honest and reading knows what I'm talking about. In fact a few have pointed out the same thing. Also, it's not really about this specific forum, but occult forums in general.


You are being funny but ironically yes, he should post a video if he's going to talk about it that much.

Like I said in Shaman's thread (can't quote it directly because the thread is closed):


If someone says they have a succubus once or twice when it's relevant to an existing discussion it wouldn't really be noticed. But if they are always talking about said succubus to the point that it's now part of their "known persona" on the forum, at some point I'm gonna wanna see some proof of that succubus lol.


I never said I don't believe in magick or magicians. I just don't automatically believe the unverifiable claims of every person saying they can do magic. I've never seen someone do 500 push-ups in one sitting before but I believe it's possible. But if someone online just says they can do it, I won't believe them until they show proof that they can. It's that simple.

Ironically the way you are responding right now is exactly why I first responded with only:

Then Xenophon responded to that post with:

That response just made me feel like posting all the other things I took out of my initial post, because it brought up a point I also mentioned, which is assessing the financial success of users that claim to successful in the realm of magic.

Like I told him, I erased the bulk of my first response and left only that line because I realized it was futile. I erased it all because I already predicted that I would ironically arrive at a discussion like the one were having right now.

So like I said, there's no point in trying to assess anything, because nobody wants to be assessed and there's really no standardized criteria to use for the assessment. Occult feats can't be verified. Other people can attempt to assess if they want but I see it as an exercise in futility so I won't bother.

Next time I'll just stop at that one line like I had planned on doing lol.

Now I think I'll end the conversation here as there's nothing more for me to say on this topic. I should have stopped at one line to begin with.

ok

Post automatically merged: Mar 26, 2024

Richard Rorty once opined the way to tell if a debate were "philosophical" was whether or not it proved "interminable and inconclusive." By that measure, I seem to have re-founded Plato's Academy here.

 

[Robert Ramsay]

I know it's mean, but I'm on the side of Christof Koch, a famous neuroscientist.

"But as a scientist I can say the following: I can go back to Plato, or to Descartes, and for the past 2,300 years we’ve not made any progress on the philosophical aspects of consciousness. Philosophers have been profoundly wrong in almost every question under the sun over the last 2000 years. You should never listen to the answers of philosophers, but you should listen to their questions. Philosophers pose interesting questions, but their answers usually are not very useful or meaningful."

 

[Xenophon]

I know it's mean, but I'm on the side of Christof Koch, a famous neuroscientist.

"But as a scientist I can say the following: I can go back to Plato, or to Descartes, and for the past 2,300 years we’ve not made any progress on the philosophical aspects of consciousness. Philosophers have been profoundly wrong in almost every question under the sun over the last 2000 years. You should never listen to the answers of philosophers, but you should listen to their questions. Philosophers pose interesting questions, but their answers usually are not very useful or meaningful."

Wittgenstein said philosophical problems vanish for the one posing them; they aren't "solved." I taught philosophy a bit. When I read anything I write from those years my main reaction is, "Why was this even important to me then?"

 

[Robert Ramsay]

One of the things I've noticed about philosophy is that it suffers from one of the same problems as 'fake news'. Some philosopher comes up with a totally bullshit thought experiment and then all the other philosophers have to waste a bunch of time rigorously refuting that bullshit.

 

[Aeternus]

Honestly, even though I had not-so long joined the forums, looking at Shaman's threads is honestly just BS anyone would see from JoS or other circles.

The JoS and Shaman have one thing in common, when it comes to LHP Demonic current and also the claims they do. None of them can ever be proven to be successful.

Shaman says that the Demons are nurturing to him, while the JoS call Satan as their astral father. It is both exaggerated and dangerous to say the least.

And, also the links he posted to his blog (not gonna cite them), just makes me laugh already. What kind of spiritual awakening is this (in case of Shamman)? Lol. Just a lot of delusions, like the ones previously in the Age of Pisces.

Guess some of them (Shamman and the other trolls claiming to have all sorts of entities being nurturing to them, especially Demons), couldn't get past the Flip Side of the Piscean Age.

 

[pixel_fortune]

I just meant the mage should be able to point to results.

Kind of why though?

Like I said in a post today that I build muscle relatively quickly for my sex/stature, which I attribute to successful magic. It's not a wild claim but bear with me.

If you said "well, prove it, post a photo, that should be pretty easy to demonstrate", I... would not do that.

I mean... right? Why would I feel the need to prove my results to you? (just using "you" for the sake of simple grammar, I don't mean YOU)

One reason you'd want to know is if I provided the spell for better muscle growth. You might say "I'm not gonna try it unless I know it works". To which I would say, "I don't really care if you try it out or not. It's there if you want it. Do what you like."

So if I have so little interest in proving my results to others, I can't expect anyone else to want to prove their results to me

(The exception being if I was selling something, but that's not the case on WF)

 

[Xenophon]

I

Kind of why though?

Like I said in a post today that I build muscle relatively quickly for my sex/stature, which I attribute to successful magic. It's not a wild claim but bear with me.

If you said "well, prove it, post a photo, that should be pretty easy to demonstrate", I... would not do that.

I mean... right? Why would I feel the need to prove my results to you? (just using "you" for the sake of simple grammar, I don't mean YOU)

One reason you'd want to know is if I provided the spell for better muscle growth. You might say "I'm not gonna try it unless I know it works". To which I would say, "I don't really care if you try it out or not. It's there if you want it. Do what you like."

So if I have so little interest in proving my results to others, I can't expect anyone else to want to prove their results to me

(The exception being if I was selling something, but that's not the case on WF)

If someone tells me s/he's a mage, "Why should I believe you?" is very much in order. If you tell me you're a Portugese instructor, I'd expect you to toss off a couple phrases, conjugate a verb, dangle a participle tantalizingly. Else why tell me? If you tell me you're a wizard and see a demon sitting on my shoulder who's bringing me down, I might credit your remarks did you give me incantations, talismans whatever to improve my sorry life. Magickal practices that, indeed, coincided with improvement in my life. It's like a dude saying he's a Hapkido master: sooner or later he's gonna hafta show us some moves, preferably in sparring. True, there's an Oriental saying that the true master of martial arts seems to know nothing. By the same token, if you're a hidden mage, that's 100% OK and probably best. But people who talk up a conjuration cyclone are going to have their claims challenged. I mean I wish I had a sawbuck or sex for every time in this forum I've seen someone put down, say, Crowley because "most of his workings failed." If a man gives himself out publicly as a mighty mage, he has to back his play. Else we have naught but the egalitarianism of lunacy where all words are accepted as reality.

 

[stalkinghyena]

Generally, if someone tells me they saw a real ghost, I ask, "What was it wearing?"

This extends to many things.

 

[pixel_fortune]

Else why tell me?

Because this is a magic forum, so magic comes up naturally in conversation. We are sharing our experiences. To use my muscle-building rite example: I didn't share it to brag, I shared it because people had expressed interest in exercise magic.

If I was on a Portuguese language forum and said "Hey so I'm a Portuguese language teacher, what do you reckon is the best way to teach [grammar form]?" and someone said "oh really, you're a teacher? Prove it, show me your certificate" I'd think they were nuts.

It's normal to have a conversation about your work and interests without showing proof. It's only when you're selling something that proof is required.

Else we have naught but the egalitarianism of lunacy where all words are accepted as reality.

False binary! Just because I don't demand proof doesn't mean I accepted what the person said as reality. You just reserve judgement until it becomes necessary to know. You could and should treat everything I say on this forum as being with a silent
"[Assuming what you say is true], my advice would be to do x". If it's not true my advice is useless to them. But I'm not going to demand they give me proof of their situation before I give any advice

(And I know you don't either because you do actually have normal conversations where you don't insist on proof of everything. Surely you, too, have been reserving judgement rather than blindly accepting everything?)

 

[Xenophon]

Because this is a magic forum, so magic comes up naturally in conversation. We are sharing our experiences. To use my muscle-building rite example: I didn't share it to brag, I shared it because people had expressed interest in exercise magic.

If I was on a Portuguese language forum and said "Hey so I'm a Portuguese language teacher, what do you reckon is the best way to teach [grammar form]?" and someone said "oh really, you're a teacher? Prove it, show me your certificate" I'd think they were nuts.

It's normal to have a conversation about your work and interests without showing proof. It's only when you're selling something that proof is required.


False binary! Just because I don't demand proof doesn't mean I accepted what the person said as reality. You just reserve judgement until it becomes necessary to know. You could and should treat everything I say on this forum as being with a silent
"[Assuming what you say is true], my advice would be to do x". If it's not true my advice is useless to them. But I'm not going to demand they give me proof of their situation before I give any advice

(And I know you don't either because you do actually have normal conversations where you don't insist on proof of everything. Surely you, too, have been reserving judgement rather than blindly accepting everything?)

My original point stands: if someone claims he is ANYTHING out of the ordinary---mage, NFL-grade linebacker, competent urologist, asking for evidence is the next logical step in the conversation. If you have a problem with what you keep calling "proof," fine. Please keep your neuroses away from my posts.

Post automatically merged: Mar 30, 2024

Generally, if someone tells me they saw a real ghost, I ask, "What was it wearing?"

This extends to many things.

And how is sartorial sense on the Other Side?

 

[Tiana Silvermoon]

I kinda tend to agree with both points you guys make

I mean, in usual conversation here (or anywhere else) I don't need a proof when someone says that they're a mage/artist/lawyer/whatever. In this particular place self-indification as a mage is common and expected, so it doesn't need proof (yet in some other place I might at least ask "why do you think so?"). What is uncommon here - claims to be The Great And Powerful Trixie and conjure at finger snap what's believed to be very dangerous beings whose summoning should require a lot of practice and effort, and said beings acting as loving kitties just because they like you. It kinda doesn't work that way or at least widely believed not to work that way and therefore raises questions.

Same way when someone says they're an artist in chat for artists, it's no big deal since it's expected, but when they claim to make thousands of dollars from one piece they paint, people usually want to see their works and sells.

 

[Xenophon]

I kinda tend to agree with both points you guys make

I mean, in usual conversation here (or anywhere else) I don't need a proof when someone says that they're a mage/artist/lawyer/whatever. In this particular place self-indification as a mage is common and expected, so it doesn't need proof (yet in some other place I might at least ask "why do you think so?"). What is uncommon here - claims to be The Great And Powerful Trixie and conjure at finger snap what's believed to be very dangerous beings whose summoning should require a lot of practice and effort, and said beings acting as loving kitties just because they like you. It kinda doesn't work that way or at least widely believed not to work that way and therefore raises questions.

Same way when someone says they're an artist in chat for artists, it's no big deal since it's expected, but when they claim to make thousands of dollars from one piece they paint, people usually want to see their works and sells.

Well said. Magick is a lot like bar talk. If a guy says, "The M-16 is a P.O.S.; the AK is primo," it's very much in order to ask whether he has used either and under what conditions.

 

[pixel_fortune]

I kinda tend to agree with both points you guys make

I mean, in usual conversation here (or anywhere else) I don't need a proof when someone says that they're a mage/artist/lawyer/whatever. In this particular place self-indification as a mage is common and expected, so it doesn't need proof (yet in some other place I might at least ask "why do you think so?"). What is uncommon here - claims to be The Great And Powerful Trixie and conjure at finger snap what's believed to be very dangerous beings whose summoning should require a lot of practice and effort, and said beings acting as loving kitties just because they like you. It kinda doesn't work that way or at least widely believed not to work that way and therefore raises questions.

Same way when someone says they're an artist in chat for artists, it's no big deal since it's expected, but when they claim to make thousands of dollars from one piece they paint, people usually want to see their works and sells.

Yeah I think you've basically nailed it (and explained it more clearly than I did)

The only place I'd go further is... idk, I'm not a cop or an auditor, if you want to brag wildly on forums, I'll make a little mental note not to take anything you say seriously, but I'm not going to the effort of "unmasking" you or investigating you.

Indulge in your weird lonely hobby of pretending to be the reincarnation of Crowley if you want; I'm not getting involved. I feel like even going to the trouble of disproving it is a waste of attention

But that's a discussion of tactics/ how I like to spend my time, not a moral one