A Warrior's Life Part 7

When Raul Seixas entered his life, Paulo Coelho was immersed in the hermetic and dangerous universe of satanism. He had begun meeting Marcelo Ramos Motta more frequently and, after devouring weighty volumes on pentacles, mystical movements, magical systems and astrology, he could understand a little of the work of the bald man on The Beatles' LP cover. Born in Leamington Spa, England, on 12 October 1875, Aleister Crowley was twenty-three when he reported that he had encountered in Cairo a being who transmitted to him the Liber AL vel Legis Liber AL vel Legis [ [The Book of the Law], which was his first and most important work on mysticism, the central sacred text of Thelema.

The Law of Thelema proclaimed the beginning of an era in which man would be free to realize all his desires. This was the objective contained in the epigraph 'Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law', which was considered the basic rule of conduct by Crowley's followers. Among the instruments recommended to achieve this state were s.e.xual freedom, the use of drugs and the rediscovery of oriental wisdom. In 1912, Crowley entered the sect known as Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), a Masonic, mystical, magical type of organization of which he soon became the head and the princ.i.p.al theorist. He called himself 'the Beast', and built a temple in Cefalu, in Sicily, but was expelled from Italy by the Mussolini government in 1923, accused of promoting orgies. During the Second World War, Crowley was summoned by the writer Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond and an officer in British Naval Intelligence, to help the British consider how superst.i.tions and mysticism among the n.a.z.i leaders could be put to good use by the Allies. It was also Aleister Crowley who, through Fleming, suggested to Winston Churchill that he should use the V for Victory sign, which was, in fact, a sign of Apophis-Typhon, a G.o.d of destruction capable of overwhelming the energies of the n.a.z.i swastika.

In the world of music it was not only The Beatles who became, in their case only briefly, Thelemites, which was the name given to Crowley's followers. His satanic theories attracted various rock artists and groups such as Black Sabbath, The Clash, Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne (who wrote the cla.s.sic 'Mr Crowley'). The famous Boleskine House, where Crowley lived for several years, later became the property of Jimmy Page, the Led Zeppelin guitarist. But the English Beast's ideas also inspired terrible tragedies: in August 1969, his American disciple Charles Manson headed the ma.s.sacre of four people who were shot, stabbed and clubbed to death in a mansion in Malibu. Among the victims was the actress Sharon Tate, aged twenty-six, who was expecting a baby by her husband, the director Roman Polanski.

Paulo appeared to be so influenced by these readings and supernatural practices that not even the atrocities committed by Manson brought him back down to earth. The murderer of Sharon Tate was described as 'the most evil man on Earth' by the jury that condemned him to death, although this sentence was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. When he read the news, Paulo wrote in his diary: 'The weapons of war nowadays are the strangest you can find. Drugs, religion, fas.h.i.+on...It's something against which it's impossible to fight. When looked at like this, Charles Manson is a crucified martyr.'

Until he met Paulo Coelho, Raul Seixas had never heard of Crowley or of the nomenclature used by those people. He knew nothing about Astrum Argentum, OTO or Liber Oz Liber Oz. He liked reading about flying saucers, but the main object of his interest had always been music, and more precisely rock and roll, a musical genre with which Paulo had only a glancing relations.h.i.+phe liked Elvis Presley, knew the most famous groups and that was it. Seixas's pa.s.sion for rock music had meant he had to repeat his second year at So Bento College in Salvador three times, and at eighteen he had had some success in performances in Bahia as leader of the group Os PanterasThe Panthers. However, at the insistence of his future father-in-law, an American Protestant pastor, he abandoned his promising musical career and returned to his studies. He made up for lost time with a revision course, and when he took his entrance exams for the law faculty, he was among the top entrants. 'I just wanted to prove to people, to my family, how easy it was to study and pa.s.s exams,' he said many years later, 'when for me it wasn't important in the least.' During the first months of his marriage, he supported the family by giving guitar and English lessons. Before he was even three months into his marriage, though, Seixas succ.u.mbed to temptation.

In October 1967, the singer Jerry Adriani went to Salvador after being hired for a show at the smart Bahian Tennis Club, where the muse of bossa nova, Nara Leo, was also performing, along with the comedian Chico Anysio. Adriani was, by then, regarded as a national star among the youth music movement, Jovem Guarda, but dismissed by more sophisticated audiences as tacky. On the day of the show, a tennis club employee told the singer that his performance had been cancelled: 'The group you've hired has got several black musicians in it, and no blacks are allowed in the club.'

Although the Afonso Arinos law had been in place since 1951, making racial discrimination a crime, 'Blacks didn't enter the Club even through the kitchen door', in the words of the song 'Tradico', by another famous Bahian, Gilberto Gil. This prejudice was even harsher here, since this was a club in Bahia, a state where more than 70 per cent of the population were black and of mixed race. Instead of calling the police, the show's impresario chose to hire another group. The first he could think of were the defunct Os Panteras, who in the past few months had changed their name to The Panthers. Seixas was thrilled at the idea of reviving the group and went off into the city to look for his old accompanists: the ba.s.sist Mariano Lanat, the guitarist Perinho Albuquerque and the drummer Antonio Carlos Castro, or Carlebaall of them white. The show was a great success, and Os Panteras left the stage to loud applause. At the end of the show, Nara Leo whispered in Jerry Adriani's ear: 'That group are really good. Why don't you ask them to play with you?'

When, that evening, he received an invitation from the singer for the group to go with him on a tour of the north and the northeast, due to start the following week, Seixas was thrilled. An invitation to tour with a nationally famous artist such as Jerry Adriani wasn't one that was likely to come around twice. However, he also knew that accepting the proposal would be the end of his marriage, and that was too high a cost.

He said he was sorry, but he had to refuse: 'It would be an honour to go on tour with you, but if I leave home now, my marriage will be finished.'

Jerry Adriani doubled the stakes: 'If that's the problem, then problem solved: your wife is invited too. Bring her with you.'

As well as giving the couple a rather amusing, unusual honeymoon, the tour was so successful that when it ended, Jerry Adriani convinced Raul and his musicians to move to Rio and turn professional, and at the beginning of 1968 they were all in Copacabana. This adventure did not end happily. Although they managed to record one LP of their own, in the years that followed, the only work that came their way was playing as a backing group to Adriani. There were times when Seixas had to ask his father for a loan to pay the rent on the house where he, Edith and the other members of the group were living. Going back to Bahia because they had run out of money was a very hard thing to do, particularly for Raul, the leader of the group, but there was no other solution. Much against his will, he started giving English lessons again and was beginning to think that his musical career was over when a proposal came from Evandro Ribeiro, the director of CBS, to return to work in Rio, not as a band leader but as a music producer. His name had been suggested to the management of the record company by Jerry Adriani, who was interested in getting his friend back on the RioSo Paulo circuit, which was the centre of Brazilian music production. Wanting to get even with the city that had defeated him, Seixas did not think twice. He asked Edith to organize the move and, a few days later, he was working, in jacket and tie, in the polluted city centre of Rio, where the CBS offices were. Within a few months, he had become music producer to various well-known artists, starting with Adriani.

At the end of May 1972, Raul had walked the seven blocks between the CBS building and the offices of A Pomba A Pomba not merely to praise the non-existent Augusto Figueiredo's writings on extraterrestrials. He had in his briefcase an article that he himself had written on flying saucers and wanted to know if not merely to praise the non-existent Augusto Figueiredo's writings on extraterrestrials. He had in his briefcase an article that he himself had written on flying saucers and wanted to know if A Pomba A Pomba might be interested in publis.h.i.+ng it. Paulo politely accepted it, said that he would indeed be happy to publish the article, and drew him out on the subject of UFOs and life on other planets. He had an ulterior motive for this. The mention of CBS had sparked a rather more materialistic interest: since Raul enjoyed the magazine and was an executive in a multinational, he might well be persuaded to place advertis.e.m.e.nts for CBS in might be interested in publis.h.i.+ng it. Paulo politely accepted it, said that he would indeed be happy to publish the article, and drew him out on the subject of UFOs and life on other planets. He had an ulterior motive for this. The mention of CBS had sparked a rather more materialistic interest: since Raul enjoyed the magazine and was an executive in a multinational, he might well be persuaded to place advertis.e.m.e.nts for CBS in A Pomba A Pomba. The short meeting ended with Raul inviting Paulo to dinner at his house the following night, a Thursday. At the time, Coelho never took any decision without consulting his 'family', Gisa and their flatmate, Stella Paula. Even something as ba.n.a.l as whether or not to go to someone's house was subjected to a vote: 'We had a truly ideological discussion in that tiny hippie group to decide whether or not we should go and have a drink at Raul's house.'

Even though he realized that, apart from an interest in UFOs, the two appeared to have nothing in common, Paulo, with one eye on the possibility of getting some advertising revenue from CBS, decided to accept the invitation. Gisa went with him, while Stella Paula, who was outvoted, felt no obligation to go along as well. On that Thursday evening, on his way to supper, Paulo stopped at a record shop and bought an LP of Bach's Organ Preludes. The bus taking them from Flamengo to Jardim de Alaha small, elegant district between Ipanema and Leblon, in the south of Rio, where Raul livedwas stopped at a police checkpoint. Since the crackdown by the dictators.h.i.+p in December 1968, such checks had become part of life for Brazilians in the large cities. However, when Gisa saw the police get on the bus and start asking the pa.s.sengers to show their papers, she felt it was a bad sign, a warning, and threatened to call off the meeting. Paulo, however, would not be moved, and at eight that evening, as agreed, they rang the bell of Raul's apartment.

The meeting lasted three hours. When he left, the obsessive Paulo stopped at the first bar they came to and scribbled on the cover of his Bach LP every detail of their visit to the man he still referred to as 'the guy'. Every blank s.p.a.ce on the record cover was taken up with tiny, almost illegible writing: We were greeted by his wife, Edith, and a little girl who must have been three at most. It was all very respectable, very proper. They brought in little dishes with canapes...It's years since I've eaten in someone's house where they had little dishes with canapes. Canapes, how ridiculous!So then the guy comes in: 'Would you like a whisky?'Well, of course we wanted a whisky! A rich man's drink. Dinner was hardly over and Gisa and I were desperate to leave.Then Raul said: 'Oh, I wanted to play you some of my music.'Oh, s.h.i.+t, we were going to have to listen to music as well. All I wanted was to get some advertising out of him. We went into the maid's room and he picked up his guitar and played some marvellous music. When he finished, the guy said to me: 'You wrote that stuff on flying saucers, didn't you? Well, I'm planning on going back to being a singer. Would you like to write some lyrics for me?'I thought: Write lyrics? Me write lyrics for this guy who's never touched drugs in his life! Never put a joint in his mouth. Not even an ordinary cigarette. Anyway, we were just leaving and I hadn't yet mentioned the advertis.e.m.e.nt. I plucked up courage and asked: 'Since we're going to publish your article, do you think you could manage to get an advertis.e.m.e.nt for CBS in the magazine?'Imagine my astonishment when he said that he had resigned from CBS that very day: 'I'm moving to Philips because I'm going to follow my dream. I wasn't born to be a manager, I want to be a singer.'At that moment I understood: I'm the conventional one, this guy deserves the greatest respect. A guy who leaves a job that gives him everything, his daughter, his wife, his maid, his family, his canapes! I left feeling really impressed with the guy.

Gisa's premonitions were not entirely unfounded. She had mistaken the year, but not the date. While it marked Paulo's first step in the direction of one of his dreamsfame25 May was, by coincidence, going to be a crucial date, a watershed in his life: the day chosen by destiny, some years later, for his first appointment with the Devil, a ceremony he was preparing for when he met Raul Seixas. Under Marcelo Ramos Motta's guidance he felt he was a disciple of the Beast's battalions. He was determined to immerse himself in the malignant forces that had seduced Lennon and Charles Manson, and began the process by being accepted into the OTO as a 'probationer', the lowest rank in the sect's hierarchy. He was fortunate that his guide was not Motta but another militant in the organization, a graduate employee of Petrobras, Euclydes Lacerda de Almeida, whose magical name was Frater Zaratustra, or Frater Z, and who lived in Paraiba do Sul, 150 kilometres from Rio. 'I received a letter, rude as ever, from Marcelo,' Paulo wrote to Frater Z when he heard the news. 'I'm forbidden from contacting him except through you.' It was a relief to have a well-educated man like Euclydes as his instructor rather than the uncouth Marcelo Motta, who treated all his subordinates appallingly. Extracts from letters sent to militants of the OTO by Parzival XI (as Motta self-importantly called himself) show that Paulo was being quite restrained when describing the leader of the followers of the Devil as 'rude': I'd prefer you not to write to me any more. If you do, send a stamped, addressed envelope for the replyor you won't get a reply.[...] Be aware of just where you are on the vertebrate scale, monkey![...] If you're incapable of getting up on your own two legs and looking for the Way through your own efforts then stay on all fours and howl like the dog you are![...] You're no more than a drop of s.h.i.+t on the end of the monkey's c.o.c.k.[...] If suddenly your favourite son, or you, were to fall ill with a fatal disease that required an expensive operation and you could only use OTO money, then rather let your son die, or die yourself, than touch the money.[...] You haven't seen anything yet. Wait until your name is known as a member of the OTO. The Army's secret service, the CIA, s.h.i.+n-Beth [Israeli military intelligence], the Russians, the Chinese and innumerable Roman priests disguised as members of the sect will try to get in contact with you.

On at least two occasions Paulo's name appears in correspondence from Parzival XI to Euclydes. In the first, one gets the impression that Paulo will be working on the publication by Editora Tres, in So Paulo, of the book The Equinox of the G.o.ds The Equinox of the G.o.ds, by Crowley and translated into Portuguese by Motta: 'I got in touch with Editora Tres through their representative in Rio, and we shall soon see whether or not they're going to publish Equinox of the G.o.ds Equinox of the G.o.ds. Paulo Coelho is young, enthusiastic and imaginative, but it's too early for us to a.s.sume that they really will publish the book.' In the second, Euclydes is castigated for having told Paulo too much and too soon about Parzival XI's power: 'Paulo Coelho said that you told him I destroyed the Masons in Brazil. You talk too much. Even if it were true, Paulo Coelho doesn't have the magical maturity to understand how these things are done, which is why he's confused.'

At the time, Paulo had had his own experiences of being in contact with the Devil. Some months before getting to know Motta and the OTO, during one of his regular anxiety crises, he was full of complaints. The reasons were many, but behind them lay the usual fact: he was nearly twenty-five and still just a n.o.body, without the remotest chance of becoming a famous writer. The situation seemed hopeless and the pain this time was such that, instead of asking for help from the Virgin Mary or St Joseph as he usually did, he decided to make a pact with the Prince of Darkness. If the Devil gave him the power to realize all his dreams, Paulo would give him his soul in exchange. 'As an educated man who knows the philosophical principles that govern the world, humanity and the Cosmos,' Paulo wrote in his diary, 'I know perfectly well that the Devil does not signify Evil, but just one of the poles in the equilibrium of humanity.' Using a fountain pen with red ink ('the colour of this supernatural being'), he began to write out his pact in the form of a letter to the Devil. In the first line he made it clear that he was setting out the conditions and was not willing to deal with intermediaries: You have wanted this for a long time. I felt that You were beginning to close the circle around me and I know that You are stronger than I am. You are more interested in buying my soul than I am in selling it. Whatever the case, I need to have an idea of the price that You are going to pay me. For this reason, from today, 11 November 1971, until 18 November, I'm going to do an experiment. I will speak directly to You, the King of the Other Pole.

In order to confirm this agreement he took a flower out of a vase and crushed it, at the same time proposing to Satan a kind of spectral test: 'I'm going to crush this flower and eat it. From now on, for the next seven days, I'm going to do everything I want and I'm going to get what I want, because You will be helping me. If I'm satisfied with the results, I will give You my soul. If a ritual is necessary, I take it upon myself to carry it out.'

As a proof of good faith, Paulo promised the Devil that, during this experimental period, he would reciprocate by not praying to or saying the names of those considered sacred by the Catholic Church. But he did make it clear that this was a test, not a lifelong contract. 'I retain the right to go back,' he went on, still in red, 'and I want to add that I'm only doing this because I find myself in such a state of complete despair.'

The agreement lasted less than an hour. He closed his notebook, and went out to have a cigarette and walk along the beach. When he returned home, he was deathly pale, terrified at the mad thing he had done. He opened his notebook again and wrote in capital letters that took up the whole page: PACT CANCELLEDI OVERCAME TEMPTATION!.

Paulo felt sure that he had tricked the Devil, but this ruse did not work for long. Although he and the Devil did not meet this time, he continued to invoke the spirit of evil in his articles for A Pomba A Pomba and in a new enterprise in which he had become involved, the storyboards for comic strips. Beings from the Beyond created by him were brought to life in Gisa's drawings and began to ill.u.s.trate the pages of the magazine. The positive reaction to the series and in a new enterprise in which he had become involved, the storyboards for comic strips. Beings from the Beyond created by him were brought to life in Gisa's drawings and began to ill.u.s.trate the pages of the magazine. The positive reaction to the series Os Vampiristas Os Vampiristas, which told of the troubles and adventures of a small, peaceful solitary vampire, convinced Gisa to send her work to King Features, an American agency that distributed comic strips, but she received no reply. The couple did, though, manage to get some of their work into two of the main daily Rio newspapers, O Jornal O Jornal and and Jornal do Brasil Jornal do Brasil, creating a special cartoon about the little vampire for the latter's children's supplement, which came out on Sundays. They also created a highly popular character, Curingo, whose image was used on lottery tickets. From time to time, one of their comic strips even appeared in Pasquim Pasquim, the magazine favoured by the Rio intelligentsia.

A Pomba was managing to survive with almost no advertising revenue and even achieved sales of 20,000, a real achievement in the tiny counterculture market; however, by the middle of 1972, it was heavily in debt, and looked set to take was managing to survive with almost no advertising revenue and even achieved sales of 20,000, a real achievement in the tiny counterculture market; however, by the middle of 1972, it was heavily in debt, and looked set to take 2001 2001 down with it. When the publisher, Eduardo Prado, announced that he was thinking of closing both publications, Paulo and Gisa moved to the newspaper down with it. When the publisher, Eduardo Prado, announced that he was thinking of closing both publications, Paulo and Gisa moved to the newspaper Tribuna da Imprensa Tribuna da Imprensa, where they produced a whole page that was published on Sat.u.r.days and given the name of the magazine that had died after only two issues2001.

This change of medium was another step towards their work emerging from the subworld of flying saucers, elves and sorcerers to reach a wider public. Although in comparison with the other Rio dailies, Tribuna Tribuna didn't publish many copies, it had earned respect as a fighter. It had been founded in 1949 by the journalist Carlos Lacerda in order to combat the ideas, the supporters and the future government of President Getulio Vargas (195154) and now, under the editors.h.i.+p of Helio Fernandes, it was the favourite target for the military dictators.h.i.+p's censors. The arrival of Paulo and Gisa in the old building on Rua do Lavradio, near Lapa, coincided with the most repressive period in the entire history of the dictators.h.i.+p, and this was reflected in the daily life of the paper. For three years, the offices of didn't publish many copies, it had earned respect as a fighter. It had been founded in 1949 by the journalist Carlos Lacerda in order to combat the ideas, the supporters and the future government of President Getulio Vargas (195154) and now, under the editors.h.i.+p of Helio Fernandes, it was the favourite target for the military dictators.h.i.+p's censors. The arrival of Paulo and Gisa in the old building on Rua do Lavradio, near Lapa, coincided with the most repressive period in the entire history of the dictators.h.i.+p, and this was reflected in the daily life of the paper. For three years, the offices of Tribuna Tribuna had been visited every night by army officers, who would read everything and then decide what could and could not be published. According to Helio Fernandes, a fifth of their daily output was thrown in the rubbish bin by the censors. He himself was an example of what happened to those targeted by the regime's violence, for he had been arrested no fewer than twenty-seven times since 1964 and imprisoned twice. However, since the military were not too concerned about alchemy and the supernatural, the page produced by Paulo and Gisa remained untouched. had been visited every night by army officers, who would read everything and then decide what could and could not be published. According to Helio Fernandes, a fifth of their daily output was thrown in the rubbish bin by the censors. He himself was an example of what happened to those targeted by the regime's violence, for he had been arrested no fewer than twenty-seven times since 1964 and imprisoned twice. However, since the military were not too concerned about alchemy and the supernatural, the page produced by Paulo and Gisa remained untouched.

The visibility they achieved in the paper encouraged Paulo to go to the advertising department of Petrobras and show them a comic strip he and Gisa had created to be handed out at their petrol stations.

The man they met had approved the idea, but then Paulo, eager to make the project a success, said: 'Just so that there's no risk to Petrobras, we can work for free for the first month.'

The man turned round and said: 'For free? Sorry, but you're clearly a real amateur. Here no one does anything for free. Go and do a bit more work and try again when you're a professional.'

In August, while he was still smarting from this rejection, Paulo received an invitation to go with his mother and maternal grandmother, Lilisa, for a three-week trip to Europe. He was heavily into his journalistic work, and hesitated before agreeing, but then it wasn't every day that one was invited on a trip to Europe with all expenses paid. Added to this, he could leave several cartoons ready, as well as the Tribuna Tribuna page, for Gisa to ill.u.s.trate and design while he was away, since his mother's invitation did not include his girlfriend. During the twenty-one day trip, which started in Nice and ended in Paris, with stops in Rome, Milan, Amsterdam and London, Paulo visited museums, ruins and cathedrals. Apart from two or three occasions in Amsterdam, when he escaped his mother's vigilance in order to smoke a joint, the trip meant that he went almost a month without his daily intake of drugs. page, for Gisa to ill.u.s.trate and design while he was away, since his mother's invitation did not include his girlfriend. During the twenty-one day trip, which started in Nice and ended in Paris, with stops in Rome, Milan, Amsterdam and London, Paulo visited museums, ruins and cathedrals. Apart from two or three occasions in Amsterdam, when he escaped his mother's vigilance in order to smoke a joint, the trip meant that he went almost a month without his daily intake of drugs.

Having been brought up by a methodical, obsessive mother, Paulo was furious with what he found when he arrived home. He wrote: 'The house is a complete tip, which really annoyed me. It hasn't even been swept. The electricity bill hasn't been paid, nor has the rent. The page for Tribuna Tribuna hasn't been handed in, which is utterly irresponsible. I'm so upset by all this that I have nothing else to say.' hasn't been handed in, which is utterly irresponsible. I'm so upset by all this that I have nothing else to say.'

However, not everything was bad. While he was away, a tempting invitation had arrived in the post. Professor Gloria Albues, who worked for the education department in Mato Grosso, had finally organized a project that the two had thought up when they had met up in Rio. The idea was that Paulo would spend three weeks every two months in three cities in Mato GrossoCampo Grande, Tres Lagoas (now in Mato Grosso do Sul, a state that did not exist at the time) and Cuiabateaching a course in theatre and education for teachers and pupils in state schools. The salary was tempting1,500 cruzeiros a month, which was double what he earned on A Pomba A Pomba and and 2001 2001. There was another reason that led Paulo to exchange the delights of Rio for the inhospitable lands of Mato Grosso. When the idea for the course had first come up, he hadn't been involved with the OTO, but now, eager to spread Crowley's ideas, the thought came to him: Why not change the course into a black magic workshop?

CHAPTER 15.

Paulo and Raul.

EITHER ALONE OR WITH GISA, who was following him on his journey to satanism, Paulo began to try out some so-called magical exercises. One he frequently performed consisted in going to a park to pick a leaf of who was following him on his journey to satanism, Paulo began to try out some so-called magical exercises. One he frequently performed consisted in going to a park to pick a leaf of Sansevieria trifasciata Sansevieria trifasciata, a plant with hard, pointed leaves, popularly known in English as mother-in-law's tongue and in Brazil as St George's sword. Performed in public, this exercise was likely to expose the novice to a certain amount of ridicule, since it was then necessary to walk ten steps holding the plant as though it were a real sword, turn towards the setting sun and then bow to the four points of the compa.s.s, pointing the 'sword' at each and shouting at the top of one's voice: 'Strength lies in the West!' Each step to the left was accompanied by a roar, with eyes raised heavenwards: 'Knowledge lies in the South! Protection lies in the East! Victory lies in the North!'

He would then take the leaf home, where he would cut it into eleven pieces (eleven being the Thelemites' magic number) with a penknife or an ordinary knife that he had previously thrust into the ground, and then heated over a fire and washed in sea water. After this he would arrange the eleven pieces on the kitchen table to form the symbol of Marsa circle topped by a small arrow, which also represents the male s.e.xwhile boiling up some water in a saucepan. He would then mix the pieces up with the torn petals of two yellow roses and add them to the boiling water. The entire ceremony had to be performed so that the thick, viscous liquid thus produced would be ready at precisely eleven at night, which, according to the Liber Oz Liber Oz, is the hour of the Sun. He would then add it to his bath water, in which he would immerse himself until midnight, the hour of Venus. After performing one such ceremony, Paulo dried himself and wrote in his diary, with the house in almost total darkness and his notebook lit just by a single candle: I realize that this ritual might appear naive. It lasted in total almost two hours. But all I can say is that for the greater part of the time I was in touch with a different dimension, where things are interconnected in the Laws (Second Causes). I can feel the mechanism, but I am not yet able to understand it. Nor can I rationalize the mechanism. I feel only that intuition works in close conjunction with rationalization and that these two spheres almost touch each other. Something leads me to believe that the Devil really does exist.

Another ceremony he frequently performed was the so-called Ritual of the Lesser Pentagram, which involved spreading out on the floor a white sheet on which one had to paint a green five-pointed star. The star was surrounded by a length of twine dipped in sulphur, with which Paulo would draw the symbol of Mars. He would turn off all the lights, and then hang a lamp from the ceiling, immediately above the centre of the pentagram, so that it created a column of light. With sword in hand and completely naked, he would turn to the south, step into the middle of the sheet and adopt the 'Dragon pose'a yoga position in which the person crouches on the floor with one leg forward and the other backand then jump up and down like a toad while repeating invocations to the Devil. On one of these occasions, the ceremony ended very strangely, as he recorded in his diary: After half an hour, my personal problems began seriously to interfere with my concentration, thus wasting a great deal of energy. I changed from the Dragon pose to the Ibis pose, finally crouching in the centre of the circle, shaking my body. This made me s.e.xually excited and I ended up masturbating, even though I was only thinking about the column of light over the circle. I e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed into the column of light in several successive spasms. This brought me a feeling of total confirmation. Obviously I felt very guilty while I was masturbating, but this soon pa.s.sed, so profound was my state of ecstasy.

It was during this time that Paulo was preparing for his first stay in Mato Grosso. He left various texts and storyboards ready for Tribuna Tribuna and the other publications he was working for and typed out a programme for the course. Anyone not in the know would have had difficulty identifying any magical or satanic content. 'I used this trick on purpose, so that no one would realize,' he confessed years later, 'because I knew it was an act of supreme irresponsibility to use magical techniques and rituals in order to give cla.s.ses to teachers and adolescents...There I was performing black magic: I was using them without their knowledge, innocently, for my own magical experiments.' Before leaving, Paulo asked permission from Frater Zaratustra to use Hermes Trismegistus' and the other publications he was working for and typed out a programme for the course. Anyone not in the know would have had difficulty identifying any magical or satanic content. 'I used this trick on purpose, so that no one would realize,' he confessed years later, 'because I knew it was an act of supreme irresponsibility to use magical techniques and rituals in order to give cla.s.ses to teachers and adolescents...There I was performing black magic: I was using them without their knowledge, innocently, for my own magical experiments.' Before leaving, Paulo asked permission from Frater Zaratustra to use Hermes Trismegistus' Emerald Tablet Emerald Tablet on the course. This was a text containing such statements as: 'By this means wilt thou partake of the honours of the whole world. And Darkness will fly from thee', and 'With this thou wilt be able to overcome all things and trans.m.u.te all that is fine and all that is coa.r.s.e.' on the course. This was a text containing such statements as: 'By this means wilt thou partake of the honours of the whole world. And Darkness will fly from thee', and 'With this thou wilt be able to overcome all things and trans.m.u.te all that is fine and all that is coa.r.s.e.'

Unaware that they were to be used as guinea pigs in the experiments of a satanic sect, the people of Mato Grosso received him with open arms. The local press heralded his arrival at each of the towns partic.i.p.ating in the project with praise, hyperbole and even a pinch of fantasy. After comparing him with Plinio Marcos and Nelson Rodrigues, two of the greatest names in Brazilian drama, the Campo Grande Diario da Serra Diario da Serra congratulated the government for having invited Paulo to bring to Mato Grosso a course 'that was crowned with success in Rio de Janeiro, Belem do Para and Brasilia'. The treatment conferred on him by the congratulated the government for having invited Paulo to bring to Mato Grosso a course 'that was crowned with success in Rio de Janeiro, Belem do Para and Brasilia'. The treatment conferred on him by the Jornal do Povo Jornal do Povo, in Tres Lagoas, was even more lavish: Now it's the turn of Tres Lagoas. We have the opportunity to experience one of the great names in Brazilian theatre: Paulo Coelho. He may not look it, but Paulo Coelho is a great man! The prototype of concrete art, in which everything is strong, structured and growing...Such a figure could not help but be noticed, and that is what drives him on and what makes of him a natural communicator. While not wis.h.i.+ng to exaggerate, we could compare him symbolically with Christ, who also came to create.

He had not received such reverential attention since Aracaju, when he had plagiarized an article by Carlos Heitor Cony. Cast in the role of full-time missionary, Paulo took advantage of his few free hours to become still more steeped in mysticism, and it didn't much matter to him how he gained access to this mysterious world. In Tres Lagoas, 'with the help of a Tibetan who is there fulfilling a mission', he went to the headquarters of the Brazilian Society of Eubiosis, a group that argued for living in harmony with nature, and also the Masonic lodge of the Grand Order of Brazil. When he learned that there was a village of acculturated Indians on the edge of the city, he decided to visit them in order to find out about native witchcraft. After his three weeks were up, he recorded the first results of his time there: At the beginning my work with the Emerald Tablet Emerald Tablet was a real disappointment. No one really understood how it worked (not even me, despite all the workshops and improvisations I had done). All the same the seed was sown in the minds of the students and some of them really changed their way of thinking and began to think in different ways. One female pupil went into a trance during a cla.s.s. The vast majority reacted negatively and the work only took on some meaning on the last day of the cla.s.ses when I managed one way or another to break down their emotional barriers. Obviously, I'm talking about a purely theatrical use of the was a real disappointment. No one really understood how it worked (not even me, despite all the workshops and improvisations I had done). All the same the seed was sown in the minds of the students and some of them really changed their way of thinking and began to think in different ways. One female pupil went into a trance during a cla.s.s. The vast majority reacted negatively and the work only took on some meaning on the last day of the cla.s.ses when I managed one way or another to break down their emotional barriers. Obviously, I'm talking about a purely theatrical use of the Tablet Tablet. Perhaps if the last day had been the first I could have done something interesting with them.Ah, before I forget: one day, I went for a walk in the city to collect some plants (I had just finished reading Paracelsus and was going to perform a ceremony) and I saw a cannabis plant growing outside a branch of the Bank of Brazil. Imagine that!

On his return to Rio, Paulo learned from a colleague at Tribuna Tribuna that the editorial team at that the editorial team at O Globo O Globo was looking for staff. The idea of writing for what claimed to be 'the greatest newspaper in the country' was very tempting, and he managed to arrange an interview with Iran Frejat, the much-feared editor. If he got a job there, he would have at his disposal a fantastic means of spreading the ideals of the OTO. Several times in his correspondence with Frater Zaratustra he had suggested allowing the weekly page in was looking for staff. The idea of writing for what claimed to be 'the greatest newspaper in the country' was very tempting, and he managed to arrange an interview with Iran Frejat, the much-feared editor. If he got a job there, he would have at his disposal a fantastic means of spreading the ideals of the OTO. Several times in his correspondence with Frater Zaratustra he had suggested allowing the weekly page in Tribuna Tribuna to be used by the sect, but they had never asked him to do so. When he told Raul Seixas of his interest in a position at to be used by the sect, but they had never asked him to do so. When he told Raul Seixas of his interest in a position at O Globo O Globo, his friend tried to dissuade him from the idea, again suggesting a musical partners.h.i.+p: 'Forget it. Don't go and work for some newspaper, let's write music. TV Globo are going to re-record Beto Rockefeller Beto Rockefeller [an innovative and very successful soap opera that was shown on the now defunct TV Tupi from 1968 to 1969] and they've asked me to write the soundtrack. Why don't we do it together? I'll write the music and you can write the lyrics.' [an innovative and very successful soap opera that was shown on the now defunct TV Tupi from 1968 to 1969] and they've asked me to write the soundtrack. Why don't we do it together? I'll write the music and you can write the lyrics.'

While Paulo was still torn between the supernatural and the need to earn a living, Raul was building his career as a singer, devoting himself entirely to music. He had an LP on saleSociedade da Gr Ordem Kavernista, which was recorded almost secretly at CBS a few weeks before he resignedand he was getting ready for the seventh International Song Festival being put on by Rede Globo. For Paulo, accepting a partners.h.i.+p would mean going back to poetry, which he had sworn never to do. For the moment at least the position at O Globo O Globo seemed more achievable and this was what he was going to try for. seemed more achievable and this was what he was going to try for.

He turned up at the appointed time for his interview with Frejat, introduced himself to the chief reporter, who appeared to be in a very bad mood, and sat down in a corner of the office waiting to be called. Before leaving home, he had put a book of poems by St John of the Cross in his bag to help take his mind off things while waiting. At two in the afternoon, an hour after he had arrived, Frejat had still not even so much as glanced at him, although he had walked past him several times, giving orders and handing out papers to various desks. Paulo stood up, got himself a coffee, lit a cigarette and sat down again. When the clock showed three he lost patience. He ripped the pages out of the book he was reading, tore them into tiny pieces, gathered them up and deposited them on Frejat's desk.

This unexpected gesture caught the journalist by surprise, and he burst out laughing and said: 'What's up, boy? Have you gone mad?'

Paulo said quietly, but forcefully: 'I've been waiting for two hoursdidn't you notice? Are you behaving like this just because I want a job? That's so disrespectful!'

Frejat's response was a surprising one: 'Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were here for the job. Well, let's give you a test. If you pa.s.s it, the job's yours. You can start now. Go to the Santa Casa and count the dead.'

The dead? Yes, one of his daily tasks would be to go to the Santa Casa de Misericordia and to two other large hospitals in Rio to get lists of the names of the dead, which would then appear on the newspaper's obituary pages the following day. In spite of his previous experience on Diario de Noticias Diario de Noticias and and Tribuna Tribuna, he was going to start at O Globo O Globo as a cub reporter. As a trainee, on the lowest rung of the ladder, he would work seven hours a day, with one day off a week, for a salary of 1,200 cruzeiros a monthsome US$408. His first weeks at the paper were spent on 'reports on still lives', or 'coverage of a pacifist demonstration' as he called his daily visits to the city's mortuaries. The famous, such as politicians and artists, were the domain of the more experienced reporters, who would write obituaries or 'memorials'. When this macabre daily round finished early he would go to the red light district of Mangue to chat to the prost.i.tutes. as a cub reporter. As a trainee, on the lowest rung of the ladder, he would work seven hours a day, with one day off a week, for a salary of 1,200 cruzeiros a monthsome US$408. His first weeks at the paper were spent on 'reports on still lives', or 'coverage of a pacifist demonstration' as he called his daily visits to the city's mortuaries. The famous, such as politicians and artists, were the domain of the more experienced reporters, who would write obituaries or 'memorials'. When this macabre daily round finished early he would go to the red light district of Mangue to chat to the prost.i.tutes.

Although he didn't have a formal contract, which was the case with the majority of cub reporters on most Brazilian newspapers (meaning that they had no form of social security), he could have his meals at O Globo O Globo's very cheap canteen. For a mere 6 cruzeirosUS$1.75he could have lunch or dinner in the canteen, along with the owner of O Globo O Globo, Roberto Marinho. A few days after meeting Marinho in the canteen queue, Paulo learned from Frejat that 'Dr Roberto', as he was known, had issued an ultimatum: either Paulo cut his hair, which at the time was down to his shoulders, or he need not return to the office. Working on O Globo O Globo was more important than having long hair, and so he gave in to the demand without protest and trimmed his black mane. was more important than having long hair, and so he gave in to the demand without protest and trimmed his black mane.

Paulo was, in fact, used to reporting on two or three emergency situations, which meant that his superiors could see that this cub reporter with dark circles under his eyes knew how to write and had the confidence to carry out an interview. While he was never singled out to report on matters of major importance, he went out on to the streets every day with the other more experienced reporters, and, unlike some of them, he almost never returned empty-handed. What his superiors didn't know was that when he failed to find the interviewees he needed, he simply made them up. On one such occasion, he was told to file a report on people whose work centred on Carnival. He spent the day out in the streets, returned to the office and, in the early evening, handed to his editor, the experienced Henrique Caban, five pages of interviews with, among others, 'Joaquim de Souza, night.w.a.tchman', 'Alice Pereira, waitress' and 'Adilson Lopes de Barros, bar owner'. The article ended with an 'a.n.a.lysis of the behaviour of the inhabitants of Rio during Carnival', a statement made by a 'psychologist' going by the highly suspicious name of 'Adolfo Rabbit'. That night Paulo noted at the top of his carbon copy of the article, which he had taken home, something that neither Caban nor anyone else would ever know: 'This material was COMPLETELY invented.'

While he may occasionally have resorted to such low stratagems, he was, in fact, doing well at the newspaper. Less than two months after starting work, he saw one of his interviewsa real one this timewith Luis Seixas, the president of the National Inst.i.tute of Social Security (INPS), on the front page of the next day's edition of O Globo O Globo: 'Free medicine from the INPS'. Following this he was given the news that if he moved to being pauteiro de madrugada pauteiro de madrugada (sub-editor on the early-morning s.h.i.+ft), he would receive a 50-per-cent salary increase. Most applicants for the position were put off by having to work every day from two until nine in the morning; however, for an insomniac like him, this was no problem. (sub-editor on the early-morning s.h.i.+ft), he would receive a 50-per-cent salary increase. Most applicants for the position were put off by having to work every day from two until nine in the morning; however, for an insomniac like him, this was no problem.

The pauteiro pauteiro began by reading all the competing newspapers, the first editions of which had been bought at the newspaper stands in the centre of town, and comparing them with the early edition of began by reading all the competing newspapers, the first editions of which had been bought at the newspaper stands in the centre of town, and comparing them with the early edition of O Globo O Globo, in order to decide which items might be worth including in later editions of O Globo O Globo. Once this was done, he would listen to the radio news to see what were going to be the major news items of the day and then draw up guidelines for the reporters when they arrived at nine o'clock as to what they should investigate and whom they should interview. He also had to decide which of the night's events, if any, merited the presence of a reporter or photographer. At first, he longed for something important to happen while he was working. 'One of these days, some really big news story will break while I'm on duty, and I'll have to cover it,' he noted in his diary. 'I'd prefer a different s.h.i.+ft, but working this one isn't unpleasant, if it weren't for that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Frejat, who keeps me hanging on here in the morning.' During his six months in the post, only one thing required him to mobilize reporters and photographers: the murder of the footballer Almir Albuquerque, or 'Pernambuquinho', a forward in the Flamengo football team, who was shot by Portuguese tourists during a fight in the Rio Jerez restaurant in the South Zone of the city. Mostly, though, the nights pa.s.sed without incident, which left time for him, as he sat alone in the office, to fill pages of notes that he later stuck into his diary.

I don't think Frejat likes me. He told someone that I'm a 'pseudo-intellectual'.[...] As I said to Gisa, what I like about journalism is that no one lasts long...Frejat's fall is long overdue and it's going to happen, because the whole production team is pressing for it. There are no nice people in journalism. Anyone nice is basically f.u.c.ked.[...] I read in the newspaper that someone knifed his wife to death because she never did anything. I'm going to cut out the article and leave it for Gisa to read. I hope she gets the message.[...] Adalgisa went to Minas leaving the house a complete tip. She didn't hand in our pages to Tribuna Tribuna, she didn't pay the electricity bill and she didn't even wash any clothes. These things make me so angry. It seems that she hasn't got the slightest idea of what living together means. Now I've got no cash to pay the electricity bill and the house is going to be in darkness. When she spoke to me on the phone she said that she's had too much work, but it's nothing to do with that. She's just completely irresponsible.

Before joining O Globo O Globo Paulo had agreed to lead the drama course in Mato Grosso, and at the end of 1972, after much insistence, he managed to get the newspaper to give him three weeks' unpaid leave. However, at the beginning of the following year the problem arose again. 'I'm going to have to choose between the course in Mato Grosso and the work here on the biggest newspaper in the country,' he wrote in his diary. 'Caban says I can't go, and if I have to give up one of them, I'm going to have to leave the paper.' Besides, Raul Seixas was continuing to pursue him with the idea of working together, and to show that his interest in having him as a lyricist was genuine, Seixas had done a very seductive thing: he let it be known that the song 'Caroco de Manga', which he had written for the theme music of the new version of Paulo had agreed to lead the drama course in Mato Grosso, and at the end of 1972, after much insistence, he managed to get the newspaper to give him three weeks' unpaid leave. However, at the beginning of the following year the problem arose again. 'I'm going to have to choose between the course in Mato Grosso and the work here on the biggest newspaper in the country,' he wrote in his diary. 'Caban says I can't go, and if I have to give up one of them, I'm going to have to leave the paper.' Besides, Raul Seixas was continuing to pursue him with the idea of working together, and to show that his interest in having him as a lyricist was genuine, Seixas had done a very seductive thing: he let it be known that the song 'Caroco de Manga', which he had written for the theme music of the new version of Beto Rockefeller Beto Rockefeller, was in fact by him and Paulo Coelho. Although it was not uncommon in the recording world for a composer to 'share authors.h.i.+p' of a composition with a friend, this also meant an equal division of any royalties. Raul Seixas was slowly beginning to win a place in his life. Paulo wrote: It's so peaceful working at night. I didn't take a bath today. I slept from nine in the morning until seven at night. I got up to find that Gisa hadn't done any work. We telephoned Raul telling him that we can't meet him today.[...] I'm tired. I spent all day typing and now I can't remember the music I promised Raul.[...] Raul is full of silly scruples about writing commercial music. He doesn't understand that the more you control the media, the more influence you have.

As he had foreseen, in April 1973, Paulo had to decide whether or not to continue at O Globo O Globo. As had become his normal practice whenever he had to make a decision, however unimportant, he left it to the I Ching or the Book of Changes, to choose. He was alone at home and, after a period of concentration, he threw the three coins of the Chinese oracle on the table and noted in his diary the hexagrams that were revealed. There was no doubt: the I Ching warned him against working on the newspaper and advised him that it would mean 'a slow and prolonged exercise leading to misfortune'. He needed nothing more. The following morning, his short-lived career on O Globo O Globo came to an end. The outcome had been good, even as regards his bank balance. The money he had earned by selling his and Gisa's cartoons, along with what he had been paid for the course at Mato Grosso, their page in came to an end. The outcome had been good, even as regards his bank balance. The money he had earned by selling his and Gisa's cartoons, along with what he had been paid for the course at Mato Grosso, their page in Tribuna Tribuna and his work at and his work at O Globo O Globo, not only covered his day-to-day expenses but meant that he, ever cautious, could start investing his modest savings in the stock market. 'I lost my money buying shares in the Bank of Brazil. I'm ruined...' he recorded at one stage in his diary, only to cheer up a few days later. 'The shares in Petrobras that were only 25 when I bought them are at 300 today.'

Between the time when he resigned from O Globo O Globo and the start of his partners.h.i.+p with Raul Seixas, Paulo did a little of everything. Alongside the various other bits of work he had been doing, he did some teaching and some theatre directing, and worked as an actor in a soft-p.o.r.n movie. No longer having to spend his nights working in the editorial office, which had meant he had to sleep during the day, he began to meet up with Raul either at his place or his own in order to begin their much-postponed partners.h.i.+p. The thought of working together had another attraction for Paulo: if 'Caroco de Manga' was already generating substantial royalties, what would he earn if he were the lyricist on a hit song? and the start of his partners.h.i.+p with Raul Seixas, Paulo did a little of everything. Alongside the various other bits of work he had been doing, he did some teaching and some theatre directing, and worked as an actor in a soft-p.o.r.n movie. No longer having to spend his nights working in the editorial office, which had meant he had to sleep during the day, he began to meet up with Raul either at his place or his own in order to begin their much-postponed partners.h.i.+p. The thought of working together had another attraction for Paulo: if 'Caroco de Manga' was already generating substantial royalties, what would he earn if he were the lyricist on a hit song?

As someone who, in a very short s.p.a.ce of time, had composed more than eighty songs recorded by various artistesalthough he claimed not to like any of themRaul had enough experience to be able to rid Paulo of any negative feelings he might still have about writing poetry. 'You don't have to say things in a complicated way when you want to speak seriously to people,' Raul would say during their many conversations. 'In fact, the simpler you are the more serious you can be.' 'Writing music is like writing a story in twenty lines that someone can listen to ten times without getting bored. If you can do that, you'll have made a huge leap: you'll have written a work of art everyone can understand.'

And so they began. As the months went by, the two became not just musical partners but great friends or, as they liked to tell journalists, 'close enemies'. They and their partners went out together and visited each other often. It did not take much for Raul and Edith to be seduced by the disturbing allure of drugs and black magic. At the time, in fact, drugs had taken second place in Paulo's life, such was his fascination for the mysteries revealed to him by Frater Zaratustra and the OTO. The much proclaimed 'close enmity' between Paulo and Raul wasn't just an empty expression, and appears to have arisen along with their friends.h.i.+p. While Raul had opened the doors of fame and fortune to his new friend, it was Paulo who knew how to reach the world of secret things, a universe to which ordinary mortals had no access. Raul held the route to fame, but it was Paulo who knew the way to the Devil.

The first fruits of their joint labours appeared in 1973 as an LP, Krig-Ha, Bandolo! Krig-Ha, Bandolo!, the t.i.tle being taken from one of Tarzan's war cries. Of the five songs with lyrics by Paulo, only one, 'Al Capone', became a hit that people would hum in the street. Krig-Ha Krig-Ha also revealed Raul Seixas to be an excellent lyricist in his own right. At least three of the songs he composed and wrote'Mosca na Sopa', 'Metamorfose Ambulante' and 'Ouro de Tolo'continued to be played on the radio years after his death in 1989. The LP may not have been a blockbuster, but it meant that Paulo finally saw money pouring into his bank account. When he asked for his balance at his branch of the Banco do Brasil in Copacabana a few weeks after the launch of also revealed Raul Seixas to be an excellent lyricist in his own right. At least three of the songs he composed and wrote'Mosca na Sopa', 'Metamorfose Ambulante' and 'Ouro de Tolo'continued to be played on the radio years after his death in 1989. The LP may not have been a blockbuster, but it meant that Paulo finally saw money pouring into his bank account. When he asked for his balance at his branch of the Banco do Brasil in Copacabana a few weeks after the launch of Krig-Ha Krig-Ha, he couldn't believe it when he saw that the record company, Philips, had deposited no less than 240 million cruzeirosabout US$200,000which, to him, was a real fortune.

The success of the disc meant that Paulo and Gisa, Raul and Edith could really push the boat out. They flew to the United States and, after spending a childish week at Disney World in Florida, visited Memphis, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and then spent a glorious, hectic month in New York. On one of their many outings in the Big Apple, the two couples knocked at the door of the Dakota building, the grey, neo-Gothic, somewhat sinister apartment block opposite Central Park where John Lennon lived and which had also provided the setting for that cla.s.sic of satanism, Rosemary's Baby Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski. With typical Brazilian immodesty, Paulo and Raul seemed to a.s.sume that the success of Krig-Ha Krig-Ha was recommendation enough for these two puny rockers to fraternize with the una.s.sailable writer of 'Imagine'. On their return to Brazil, Paulo and Raul gave several interviews, some for international publications, in which they gave details of their conversation with Lennon, who despite a heavy cold had, according to them, received them with his wife, Yoko Ono, to chat, swap compositions and even consider the possibility of working together. A press release described their meeting: was recommendation enough for these two puny rockers to fraternize with the una.s.sailable writer of 'Imagine'. On their return to Brazil, Paulo and Raul gave several interviews, some for international publications, in which they gave details of their conversation with Lennon, who despite a heavy cold had, according to them, received them with his wife, Yoko Ono, to chat, swap compositions and even consider the possibility of working together. A press release described their meeting: We only got to meet John Lennon the day before our return. We went there with a journalist from a Brazilian TV channel. As soon as we sat down, the journalist asked about his separation from Yoko. John immediately told the journalist to leave, saying that he wasn't going to waste his time on gossip. Because of this, the meeting began rather tensely, with John warning us that he would take a very dim view of any attempt on our part to capitalize on our meeting for the purposes of promoting ourselves in Brazil. After a few minutes, the tension lifted and we talked non-stop for half an hour about the present and the future. The results of this meeting will be revealed bit by bit as the situation develops.

It was a complete lie. As time went by the truth behind the story emerged. Paulo and Raul never visited John Lennon's apartment; nor were they received by Yoko Ono. The nearest they got to John Lennon was the porter at the Dakota building, who merely informed them over the intercom that 'Mr Lennon is not at home'. The same press release included another invention: that Lennon had been most impressed by the project Paulo and Raul were preparing to launch in Brazil, the Sociedade Alternativa, the Alternative Society.

The plan was to create a community based on an experiment developed by Aleister Crowley at the beginning of the twentieth century in Cefalu, in Sicily. The place chosen as the site of the 'City of the Stars', as Raul called it, was Paraiba do Sul, where Euclydes Lacerda, or Frater Zaratustra, lived. Raul had absorbed the world of drugs and magic so quickly that a year after his first meeting with Paulo, there was no sign of the smart businessman who had come to the office of Pomba Pomba to discuss flying saucers. He now sported a thick beard and a magnificent mane of black hair, and had started dressing extravagantly as well, favouring flares that were very tight in the leg and very wide at the bottom, and lame jackets which he wore without a s.h.i.+rt underneath, thus revealing his pale, sunken, bony chest. to discuss flying saucers. He now sported a thick beard and a magnificent mane of black hair, and had started dressing extravagantly as well, favouring flares that were very tight in the leg and very wide at the bottom, and lame jackets which he wore without a s.h.i.+rt underneath, thus revealing his pale, sunken, bony chest.

When they returned from their American trip, Raul and Paulo began to create what was to be by far their greatest successthe LP Gita Gita. Of the eleven songs chosen for the disc, seven had lyrics by Paulo and of these at least three became the duo's theme tunes'Medo da Chuva', 'Gita' and 'Sociedade Alternativa'. 'Medo da Chuva' revealed the lyricist's somewhat unorthodox views on marriage ('It's a pity that you think I'm your slave/Saying that I'm your husband and I can't leave/Like the stones on the beach I stay at your side/Knowing nothing of the loves life brought me, but that I never knew...'). The t.i.tle song, 'Gita', was no more than a translation of the dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna found in Bhagavad Gita, the Hindu sacred text which they had just read. The most intriguing song on the alb.u.m, though, was the sixth, 'Sociedade Alternativa'or, rather, what was intriguing was what the words concealed. At first sight, the words appear to be an innocent surrealist game based on a single chorus, which is repeated throughout the song: If I want and you wantTo take a bath in a hatOr to wait for Father ChristmasOr to talk about Carlos GardelThen let's do it!

It was the refrain that opens and closes the piece that concealed the mystery.

Do what you want is the whole of the law.Viva! Viva! Viva the Sociedade Alternativa!

As if wanting to leave no doubt as to their intentions, the authors transcribed word for word entire texts from the Liber Oz Liber Oz, finally showing their hand and making their allegiances crystal clear. While Raul sang the refrain, a backing track of his own voice sang: Number 666 is called Aleister Crowley!Viva! Viva!Viva the Sociedade Alternativa!The law of ThelemaViva! Viva!Viva the Sociedade Alternativa!The law of the strongThat is our law and the joy of the worldViva! Viva!Viva the New Age!

Although only the few initiates to the world of Crowley would understand this, Paulo Coelho and Raul Seixas had decided to become the spokesmen of OTO and, therefore, of the Devil. For many of their audience this was a coded message written to confuse the censors and arguing for a new society as an alternative to the military dictators.h.i.+p. This also seemed to be the government's view, because when 'Sociedade Alternativa' was released, the censors forbade Raul to sing it when he toured Brazil.

With or without censors.h.i.+p, the fact is that everything was going so well that Paulo concluded that his days of material and emotional penury were over. That evening, as he sometimes did, inst