One of the most pervasive aspects of Western Occultism and neopagan movements is the idea of lineage. Lineage can be very important from the point of view that you want to know that the person from whom you are learning learned something at some point. Lineages can also be a point of manipulation where the mystique of ancient lineages draws people into a tradition that simply doesn't have the goods.
I think that in the 19th century the prevailing attitude was that tradition was important. As the Industrial Revolution began to transform the world in which people lived, they sought out stability through tradition. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all had long pedigrees and the idea of ancient knowledge newly discovered spoke to the imagination of the time. Rightly so as the discoveries of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia were rocking the world.
This extended through the 20th Century. Surrounded by a rapidly changing world, people wanted to cling to ancient wisdom, sought pre-Christian native traditions, and craved spiritual paths founded in antiquity. How many traditions claim lineage from lost Atlantis? Gerald Gardner claimed his Wicca came from the New Forest region of England and that it was an unbroken line from before Rome introduced Christianity.
The reality is that most of these traditions were invented, sometimes entirely from scratch. The "Charge of the Goddess" is claimed to come from ancient Greece, and yet the only known versions date no earlier than 1949. The Golden Dawn, founded in 1888 claimed lineage from Germany through a Frauline Sprengel, yet there is no evidence of her existence.
Both stories were created to add legitimacy to the creations of new ideas, concepts, and traditions. Surrounded by innovation and transformation, people wanted, yea needed, a sense of legitimate history behind anything in which they were going to invest their time.
Yet this takes away from the individual autonomy of the seeker. The Golden Dawn tradition was founded by a group of scholars, experts in occultism, initiates in other traditions and formed as a synthesis of the existing ideas, philosophies, and rituals of their day. They introduced radical ideas like sexual and social equity and equality.
Wicca was formed by Gerald Gardner, writing by himself, borrowing heavily from Aleister Crowley, and building a cult of personality surrounding himself with sexy young women who (he claimed) the gods wanted to be naked all of the time.
Both claim the legitimacy of ancient lineages, but they are not equal. One is a system built by educated men and women, the other is a religion.
So what is the difference? You can either accept or reject any and all of the claims of ancient lineage given by the Golden Dawn and still find legitimacy in the work itself. Rituals are built on a philosophical foundation and they can be deconstructed and examined. Wicca, on the other hand only really works if you believe that everything comes from ancient sources. When examined much of it is set dressing without any real purpose or function.
For example. Both traditions require certain dress codes within their initiated rituals. In the Hermetic tradition, this is based on a single white robe. This represents the Spirit and the removal of all social ranks and privileges. The only markings of rank are those earned within the Order or Lodge in which you are working.
In Wicca, to remove the social hierarchies and symbols of rank initiates are naked in their rites. They still have symbols of rank and power within the system (cords, necklaces, etc...) but the function of the white robe of the Hermeticist is replaced with nudity. So, OK, it's the same symbol, but WHY? The reason Wiccans work skyclad is that they are told to do so by a "charge" which claims ancient lineage. "As a sign that you are truly free ye shall be naked in your rites."
The separation of secular and sacred spaces and the removal of society's symbols of rank are reasonable and arguable goals for working within a spiritual context. In every way, this is better represented by the white robe. This is a special piece of clothing, used only for specific types of work. Putting it on gives a clear signal to the Subconscious that you are about to embark on spiritual work, and seeing your fellow initiates in their white robes keeps the mind focused on the work at hand. My experience is that the mind does not remain very focused on "the Work" when you're surrounded by naked bodies. The hind-brain has its own ideas about what you should be doing in that context.
Yet to question Wicca's requirements of nudity is tantamount to heresy. I feel that it takes away from body autonomy and breaks one's focus. If we question the fakelore of the Charge's veracity then we find that the only reason for the nudity is to get people's clothes off. The sexual coercion that takes place in neopagan and Wiccan groups is rampant, and all done in the name of the gods and ancient tradition.
Perhaps we're at a point where we, as a society, can put stock in innovation over fake tradition. In the "information age" there's no way to pull off the kind of plagiarism and fakelore that formed the foundation of groups throughout the 20th Century. I've argued for a change in many situations only to be told "this is tradition" even when it is clearly not.
A lesson on Atlantis which is designed to teach a psychological principle and give the student tools for decoding myth comes across as factual all too often. I argued to change this lesson to make it clear that we were not requiring blind faith in Atlantis, and was shut down time and time again. I have a feeling that my superiors at the time DID believe in Atlantis, not so much as allegory and myth, but as reality.
Understand, mystique, allegory, and myth are all extremely valuable tools, but they must be presented as such. We can decode the Genesis story of Eve being removed from Ha Adam as a psychological allegory, or we can argue that it really happened exactly as translated. It's a valuable myth and part of our collective Egregore in the West, but it loses its value when we demand blind belief in it as a fact. I feel the same is true of our lineages and traditions. Does it matter if something is new if it's based on a solid foundation? Does it matter whether or not it can trace an unbroken line into the past, into cultures that no longer exist, into societies that are no longer relevant? Or is it more important that it is relevant and valuable to today's student and initiate?
I feel strongly for the latter.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Friday, February 8, 2013
Ritual Cumulation and Contact
Ritual is a valuable tool for any Magician, Priest, or Priestess regardless of tradition. From worship ceremonies to initiations to specific rituals with specific goals we all use ritual in some form or another. Those who have been part of a system of training will have noticed that there is a significant cumulative effect inherent in their work. It is more than just developing confidence in the operation, but something that makes the 100th time far more powerful than the 10th. It is this which I wish to discuss.
The performance of a ritual is more than just psychodrama and it is more than simply being a slave to someone else's idea of what you should be doing, but acts as a real, and powerful repository of force. When you perform a ritual you tap into that repository, you add to its power while at the same time directing that power. It is a curious thing which Paul Case commented on which is that the use of Light only seems to make room for MORE Light. Tapping into this power only seems to increase the power, drawing more into it from the universe, but also allowing you to direct it as befits the ritual.
When you create a ritual of your own from scratch there are two options open to you. You can build it from nothing, in which case all of its power must come from, or through, yourself. Or you can build it with traditional elements and symbols which will lend some of their power to the work in question. Of course any ritual takes time to learn, and performing it well might require dozens of practice runs. But in the end, what you will find is, as you repeat the ritual, over and over, it does become more powerful. Every time you do the ritual you draw in more power. If the ritual is designed to make a change in the universe, or the self, every performance exponentially increases the pressure that is employed to cause that change to come into manifestation.
This is why the traditional rituals are SO powerful. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have done the ritual before you, possibly thousands or even millions of times over decades or centuries. Every one of those performances adds to the power of the ritual. The more accurately you can perform the ritual, the more of that power is accessed. It is for this reason that the "Inner Temple" visualizations are often left out of published materials. It is also why many organizations make small changes to their rituals. These changes ensure that they can access a portion of the power of the original ritual, but also that they are creating a new centre of power for use by their own members and their own Egregore. Giving away the modified ritual allows others to access this power centre, and if you have people with malicious intent this can become a real problem, especially if it's their lodge/coven working and initiation ceremonies which have been compromised.
It is an interesting phenomenon that nearly everyone publishes some version of the Lesser Pentagram Ritual, and each one has subtle changes, or even sweeping changes. I've seen Thelemic "Milk of the Stars" versions, and Asatru versions where one "battles" the quarter guardians to prove their worth. Each replaces some aspect of the ritual from names to visualizations to even the weapon or implement being used. Each one is intended to tap into a slightly different energy source.
It is also inherent in the specific wording we use, for some words and terms have been "evoked" as magical talismans and using them connects you to their "current" of force as effectively as using their rituals. This is one reason why the Hermeticist uses the word "Qabalah" and not "Kabbalah" or "Cabala" as each is connected to a slightly different current of force. The word "Magick" is very powerfully attached to Crowley and his Thelemic religion. Using this term to refer to your own work connects you to some extent with that force and his work. (The "Introduction" of Magick in Theory and Practice is a very powerful evokation claiming this term as belonging solely to him and includes some very disturbing messianic and cult-like wording which he embeds into the very definition of the term.)
Now, of course, we know rituals evolve over time. Is the Lesser Pentagram Ritual given by Regardie an exact manifestation of an Hermetic/Rosicrucian ritual handed down for centuries? Maybe not. But the major elements are there, and it's been regularly used for over 100 years now. Consider that Mathers and the original GD were writing and working before they had electric light! Even if it is not many centuries old, it is certainly full of power at this point, and the elements of the ritual come from even earlier sources. The formulae being in Hebrew is just one more way of tapping into aeons of built up power. But there are ways of making a conscious effort to make these connections and accessing even more of the power stored in these rituals and formulae.
Before performing a ritual try to imagine yourself as being a central point that transcends space and time. For some it is the accessing of the Magical Personality, for others it can be tied to a keyword. I find that the Shema helps with its reference to eternity and the universe (all space and time). When taking deep breaths, grounding and centering, also imagine yourself as stretching back in time. You are not just you in this moment. You are also the you that performed this ritual the last time, the you from before that, the you of every time you ever performed the ritual. You are also every other person who has performed this ritual, from Paul Foster Case to Gerald Gardner to SLM Mathers, and so on. This performance of the ritual is a reflection of every other performance of the ritual throughout all time.
If the ritual you are performing is based on other rituals (such as Banishings in general) then go back further, hundreds of years, thousands of years, all of those rituals, all of those priests, priestesses, magicians, witches, all of them, all of their rituals, all of their work, flowing into this moment, this sacred space. You are the Priestess of the Mysteries in Atlantis (if you believe in Atlantis) the Priestess at Delphi, the Priest of Mithras drawing his circle of protection. You're the High Priest of the Mysteries of Isis which covered all of Europe and most of Britain. You're the Druids of Albion and the Priestesses of Avalon and everything in between.
All of this power, all of this force, exists in the formula of the ritual. It is all expressed in your Magical Personality, that cloak which you wear when you step into the ritual space. If you imagine energy as though it were data, it is the history of Human Banishing Rituals all stored in a single database which requires only the repeated passphrase in order to be accessed. (I use banishing rituals because they're convenient and one of the most common rituals.) You are a centre of expression for all of this, and the more accurately you perform the ritual, the more of that power is going to flow through you, the more of that power is going to manifest in your working.
You can try this with anything from a simple adoration (such as the Golden Dawn's adoration to the Lord of the Universe) or with any spell, prayer, or ritual to which you have access. You can tailor the visualization to the work you are doing and think specifically about certain people, places, and traditions in order to access their power. If you're giving the Charge of the Goddess, then see yourself as every High Priestess who ever lived. Imagine the Elusinian Priestesses, the Priestesses of Diana in ancient Greece, the Priestesses of Avalon, specific figures like Doreen Valantie, Vivian Crowley, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowiki, and even Priestesses you've known and respected in your own career. You are but a conduit for the same power they have all tapped, to which they have all contributed. You are part of a current of force, a torrent of tradition. With that built up, with the Goddess standing within you, give the Charge and see if it doesn't have a lot more kick than before.
Ritual has a cumulative effect. We may eschew tradition in our post-modern era, but tradition helps to build up these powerful forms. Everyone who works with the rituals makes them stronger. You can always build rituals up yourself, and perform them dozens and hundreds of times, building their force the same way pushing a wheel builds its momentum, and often that is a desirable thing, to work with only your own energy and work. Equally we should not reject the incredible force which is available to us in the traditional rituals, spells, prayers, etc... for not only is that power there for us to use, it is also our duty to help build them up further in the collective unconscious for future generations to access.
The performance of a ritual is more than just psychodrama and it is more than simply being a slave to someone else's idea of what you should be doing, but acts as a real, and powerful repository of force. When you perform a ritual you tap into that repository, you add to its power while at the same time directing that power. It is a curious thing which Paul Case commented on which is that the use of Light only seems to make room for MORE Light. Tapping into this power only seems to increase the power, drawing more into it from the universe, but also allowing you to direct it as befits the ritual.
When you create a ritual of your own from scratch there are two options open to you. You can build it from nothing, in which case all of its power must come from, or through, yourself. Or you can build it with traditional elements and symbols which will lend some of their power to the work in question. Of course any ritual takes time to learn, and performing it well might require dozens of practice runs. But in the end, what you will find is, as you repeat the ritual, over and over, it does become more powerful. Every time you do the ritual you draw in more power. If the ritual is designed to make a change in the universe, or the self, every performance exponentially increases the pressure that is employed to cause that change to come into manifestation.
This is why the traditional rituals are SO powerful. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people have done the ritual before you, possibly thousands or even millions of times over decades or centuries. Every one of those performances adds to the power of the ritual. The more accurately you can perform the ritual, the more of that power is accessed. It is for this reason that the "Inner Temple" visualizations are often left out of published materials. It is also why many organizations make small changes to their rituals. These changes ensure that they can access a portion of the power of the original ritual, but also that they are creating a new centre of power for use by their own members and their own Egregore. Giving away the modified ritual allows others to access this power centre, and if you have people with malicious intent this can become a real problem, especially if it's their lodge/coven working and initiation ceremonies which have been compromised.
It is an interesting phenomenon that nearly everyone publishes some version of the Lesser Pentagram Ritual, and each one has subtle changes, or even sweeping changes. I've seen Thelemic "Milk of the Stars" versions, and Asatru versions where one "battles" the quarter guardians to prove their worth. Each replaces some aspect of the ritual from names to visualizations to even the weapon or implement being used. Each one is intended to tap into a slightly different energy source.
It is also inherent in the specific wording we use, for some words and terms have been "evoked" as magical talismans and using them connects you to their "current" of force as effectively as using their rituals. This is one reason why the Hermeticist uses the word "Qabalah" and not "Kabbalah" or "Cabala" as each is connected to a slightly different current of force. The word "Magick" is very powerfully attached to Crowley and his Thelemic religion. Using this term to refer to your own work connects you to some extent with that force and his work. (The "Introduction" of Magick in Theory and Practice is a very powerful evokation claiming this term as belonging solely to him and includes some very disturbing messianic and cult-like wording which he embeds into the very definition of the term.)
Now, of course, we know rituals evolve over time. Is the Lesser Pentagram Ritual given by Regardie an exact manifestation of an Hermetic/Rosicrucian ritual handed down for centuries? Maybe not. But the major elements are there, and it's been regularly used for over 100 years now. Consider that Mathers and the original GD were writing and working before they had electric light! Even if it is not many centuries old, it is certainly full of power at this point, and the elements of the ritual come from even earlier sources. The formulae being in Hebrew is just one more way of tapping into aeons of built up power. But there are ways of making a conscious effort to make these connections and accessing even more of the power stored in these rituals and formulae.
Before performing a ritual try to imagine yourself as being a central point that transcends space and time. For some it is the accessing of the Magical Personality, for others it can be tied to a keyword. I find that the Shema helps with its reference to eternity and the universe (all space and time). When taking deep breaths, grounding and centering, also imagine yourself as stretching back in time. You are not just you in this moment. You are also the you that performed this ritual the last time, the you from before that, the you of every time you ever performed the ritual. You are also every other person who has performed this ritual, from Paul Foster Case to Gerald Gardner to SLM Mathers, and so on. This performance of the ritual is a reflection of every other performance of the ritual throughout all time.
If the ritual you are performing is based on other rituals (such as Banishings in general) then go back further, hundreds of years, thousands of years, all of those rituals, all of those priests, priestesses, magicians, witches, all of them, all of their rituals, all of their work, flowing into this moment, this sacred space. You are the Priestess of the Mysteries in Atlantis (if you believe in Atlantis) the Priestess at Delphi, the Priest of Mithras drawing his circle of protection. You're the High Priest of the Mysteries of Isis which covered all of Europe and most of Britain. You're the Druids of Albion and the Priestesses of Avalon and everything in between.
All of this power, all of this force, exists in the formula of the ritual. It is all expressed in your Magical Personality, that cloak which you wear when you step into the ritual space. If you imagine energy as though it were data, it is the history of Human Banishing Rituals all stored in a single database which requires only the repeated passphrase in order to be accessed. (I use banishing rituals because they're convenient and one of the most common rituals.) You are a centre of expression for all of this, and the more accurately you perform the ritual, the more of that power is going to flow through you, the more of that power is going to manifest in your working.
You can try this with anything from a simple adoration (such as the Golden Dawn's adoration to the Lord of the Universe) or with any spell, prayer, or ritual to which you have access. You can tailor the visualization to the work you are doing and think specifically about certain people, places, and traditions in order to access their power. If you're giving the Charge of the Goddess, then see yourself as every High Priestess who ever lived. Imagine the Elusinian Priestesses, the Priestesses of Diana in ancient Greece, the Priestesses of Avalon, specific figures like Doreen Valantie, Vivian Crowley, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowiki, and even Priestesses you've known and respected in your own career. You are but a conduit for the same power they have all tapped, to which they have all contributed. You are part of a current of force, a torrent of tradition. With that built up, with the Goddess standing within you, give the Charge and see if it doesn't have a lot more kick than before.
Ritual has a cumulative effect. We may eschew tradition in our post-modern era, but tradition helps to build up these powerful forms. Everyone who works with the rituals makes them stronger. You can always build rituals up yourself, and perform them dozens and hundreds of times, building their force the same way pushing a wheel builds its momentum, and often that is a desirable thing, to work with only your own energy and work. Equally we should not reject the incredible force which is available to us in the traditional rituals, spells, prayers, etc... for not only is that power there for us to use, it is also our duty to help build them up further in the collective unconscious for future generations to access.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Hermeticism and Religion
One of the greatest failures of our Hermetic Tradition (also called the Western Mystery Tradition) is that much of it is still based in a 19th century ideology. It was perfectly reasonable, in the time of the original Golden Dawn, to assume that any initiate was involved in some kind of external religious practice. In fact it would have been scandalous for them not to show up at their local COE church on a Sunday like everyone else.
This is no longer the case. With religious abuses being so common, and no longer hidden away, it seems most people who have an interest in Occultism have quite rejected "religion" believing all religion must be the same as the church who abused them. (This is a hot-button topic for me, but suffice to say that the Hierarchical and Conversionist nature of most Christian churches is representative of the world's religions.) As such a good percentage of people seeking work in our Occult Fraternities and Orders do not have a religious practice of any kind outside of what they are given by their occult organizations.
This creates a problem, because the very nature of an alchemical approach to training is to create a balance between the three principles of Power (Sulpher), Love (Salt), and Wisdom (Mercury). There is plenty of magical work and ritual work (Power) and lots of study, memorization and essay writing (Wisdom) but Love falls by the wayside. Without an external religious practice, there is little to encourage the Love principle in the student. By the time they get to the Second Order they've become the stereo-type of the haughty, arrogant, self-righteous Hermeticist or Ritual Magician.
Even the bits of practice which resemble religion, such as the adorations, are done with the understanding that the Lord of the Universe, or the Lady of the Aeons is just a principle of Nature or the Universe or the Self (or all three) but is not a "Deity" in any respect. It is an impersonal "thing" or "Property" along Newtonian lines of thinking. Daily adorations are done in order to align the self with the patterns of the Earth and the Sun, which is all well and good. The question is then raised, is it really "devotional" as the Love aspect is described, or is it like a Kata or Hatha-Yoga practice which helps align the body and train the muscles, good for health but not so much for soul.
Back in 1993 the Steward of the Fraternity in which I'd been initiated told me that the goal of his work with this organization was to reintegrate the two major traditions which came from Albion, the Wiccan and the Hermetic. The Inner School had never intended them to be separate and certainly not antagonistic the way they are today. I've never seen any evidence of this work, but I suspect there was a lot of resistance to it amongst the very Evangelistic Christian Southern United States.
Joining Wicca and Hermeticism would solve the problem of the imbalances which I often see in both traditions. I've met many "Wiccans" who eschew reading and books, preferring to be "wild spirits." There is a distrust of academic learning which seems rooted in a prejudice which is, too often, truth when it comes to arrogance and self-righteousness amongst "stuffy ritualists." The Hermetic Magician sees this and is equally put off of anything Pagan or Wiccan feeling that they are too chaotic. A synthesis would result in the ability to worship truly, deeply and, sometimes wildly, while at the same time having complex and allegorical ceremonies and intellectual challenges to round out the individual.
In Orthodox Judaism, which is the assumed root of our Western Mysteries, there is no such imbalance. What is often seen by outsiders is a dour, strict and oppressive regime of rules and structure. But this is only one portion of their religion. For example, during Purim one is expected to get so drunk they don't know Haman from Mordecai (the good guy from the bad guy). Often their festivals are raucous affairs with noise makers and music. It is a primary tenant of their faith that the world was meant to be enjoyed, not enslaved. We have lost this, and I believe it comes from a 19th century view of the world as something to be conquered, as an object of Newtonian mechanics and not part of a relationship which is relative to, and inclusive of, the observer.
By removing anything resembling a personal relationship with some manifestation of the Divine, I believe we break down and repress the forces represented in Netzach and Binah. I think this was one of the reasons Dion Fortune wrote The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic. The Hermetic system focuses too much on the Left Brain, Logical, Objective mind, even to the point where some people claim that any emotional response is simply a projection of one's shadow, either Golden or Dark. This dismisses any genuine connection with the universe, it breaks down and sanitizes compassion, passion, faith and belief in a very destructive way. "God" becomes a formula, a chemical energy signature for causing changes, not something with which to engage.
In most religions there is a personal relationship with the Divine, in whatever form it is perceived. If the One-Light is infinite, then it certainly can inhabit any form we can imagine, even a woman with the head of a cat if that's what is required. The point is, we can only interact with the Divine using our own brains, personalities and consciousness. If One-Force can appear to me as a beautiful woman with great wings, then that's the right form with which my psyche and personality can connect. It also means that I have a lot in common with others who also connect to this image of the Great Goddess. I am aware that this is not the absolute truth of the Divine, only the form which works for me, in this body, in this mind, in this time. What is important is that the Great Goddess manifestation gives me something with which to connect.
It is all well and good to know and even experience the One-Light, the Life Force which "eternally creates and sustains the universe" but it is so far beyond what we can grasp that we cannot relate. I cannot construct a real relationship with the stream of electrons we call "electricity" but I CAN relate, in a limited way, to images created by its power on a screen, or sounds created by its power on a vibrating membrane. If a system exists (like a telephone or video conferencing) which then allows me to relate to something beyond what the electricity shapes, so that it is a representation of a real personality, then I can actually relate to it and build a personal relationship THROUGH it which includes it. The Source of All, the No-Thing, the Tao, is not something that can be described. We can point at it, we can wrestle our brains around it, we can have moments of pure grace and understanding of it, but we cannot truly relate to it.
By reducing the Divine to mere symbols and principles we strip it of anything to which we can relate... and we create a lie for, though the One Light may be all of those things, it is also none of them. On the other hand, interacting with a Divinity which is a manifestation of that Light on a higher arc (whether God, Goddess, Archangel, Deva, Buddha, Avatar or Messiah) we become open to an understanding of the true Divine for which it is another mask, as are we. On the other hand, our Hermetic tradition was primarily formed by people who were used to going to Church every week to have a Priest act as intermediary and spend an hour or so telling God how to behave. Though separated somewhat from a "personal" relationship, they were still engaged in religious practice, the mystery of the Eucharist (which is very intimate in the COE) and some kind of worship.
Until a true synthesis can occur, though, I do urge those who study the Western Mysteries to explore religious practice as part of their work as long as they can be equally respectful of others. Any religion that insists on Evangelism, Dominionism, or Conversion cannot be compatible with the Mysteries. The point is to help build up the Love, Salt, Mother principle and balance the Father, Sulpher principle, not to push it into the Qlippoth.
This is no longer the case. With religious abuses being so common, and no longer hidden away, it seems most people who have an interest in Occultism have quite rejected "religion" believing all religion must be the same as the church who abused them. (This is a hot-button topic for me, but suffice to say that the Hierarchical and Conversionist nature of most Christian churches is representative of the world's religions.) As such a good percentage of people seeking work in our Occult Fraternities and Orders do not have a religious practice of any kind outside of what they are given by their occult organizations.
This creates a problem, because the very nature of an alchemical approach to training is to create a balance between the three principles of Power (Sulpher), Love (Salt), and Wisdom (Mercury). There is plenty of magical work and ritual work (Power) and lots of study, memorization and essay writing (Wisdom) but Love falls by the wayside. Without an external religious practice, there is little to encourage the Love principle in the student. By the time they get to the Second Order they've become the stereo-type of the haughty, arrogant, self-righteous Hermeticist or Ritual Magician.
Even the bits of practice which resemble religion, such as the adorations, are done with the understanding that the Lord of the Universe, or the Lady of the Aeons is just a principle of Nature or the Universe or the Self (or all three) but is not a "Deity" in any respect. It is an impersonal "thing" or "Property" along Newtonian lines of thinking. Daily adorations are done in order to align the self with the patterns of the Earth and the Sun, which is all well and good. The question is then raised, is it really "devotional" as the Love aspect is described, or is it like a Kata or Hatha-Yoga practice which helps align the body and train the muscles, good for health but not so much for soul.
Back in 1993 the Steward of the Fraternity in which I'd been initiated told me that the goal of his work with this organization was to reintegrate the two major traditions which came from Albion, the Wiccan and the Hermetic. The Inner School had never intended them to be separate and certainly not antagonistic the way they are today. I've never seen any evidence of this work, but I suspect there was a lot of resistance to it amongst the very Evangelistic Christian Southern United States.
Joining Wicca and Hermeticism would solve the problem of the imbalances which I often see in both traditions. I've met many "Wiccans" who eschew reading and books, preferring to be "wild spirits." There is a distrust of academic learning which seems rooted in a prejudice which is, too often, truth when it comes to arrogance and self-righteousness amongst "stuffy ritualists." The Hermetic Magician sees this and is equally put off of anything Pagan or Wiccan feeling that they are too chaotic. A synthesis would result in the ability to worship truly, deeply and, sometimes wildly, while at the same time having complex and allegorical ceremonies and intellectual challenges to round out the individual.
In Orthodox Judaism, which is the assumed root of our Western Mysteries, there is no such imbalance. What is often seen by outsiders is a dour, strict and oppressive regime of rules and structure. But this is only one portion of their religion. For example, during Purim one is expected to get so drunk they don't know Haman from Mordecai (the good guy from the bad guy). Often their festivals are raucous affairs with noise makers and music. It is a primary tenant of their faith that the world was meant to be enjoyed, not enslaved. We have lost this, and I believe it comes from a 19th century view of the world as something to be conquered, as an object of Newtonian mechanics and not part of a relationship which is relative to, and inclusive of, the observer.
By removing anything resembling a personal relationship with some manifestation of the Divine, I believe we break down and repress the forces represented in Netzach and Binah. I think this was one of the reasons Dion Fortune wrote The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic. The Hermetic system focuses too much on the Left Brain, Logical, Objective mind, even to the point where some people claim that any emotional response is simply a projection of one's shadow, either Golden or Dark. This dismisses any genuine connection with the universe, it breaks down and sanitizes compassion, passion, faith and belief in a very destructive way. "God" becomes a formula, a chemical energy signature for causing changes, not something with which to engage.
In most religions there is a personal relationship with the Divine, in whatever form it is perceived. If the One-Light is infinite, then it certainly can inhabit any form we can imagine, even a woman with the head of a cat if that's what is required. The point is, we can only interact with the Divine using our own brains, personalities and consciousness. If One-Force can appear to me as a beautiful woman with great wings, then that's the right form with which my psyche and personality can connect. It also means that I have a lot in common with others who also connect to this image of the Great Goddess. I am aware that this is not the absolute truth of the Divine, only the form which works for me, in this body, in this mind, in this time. What is important is that the Great Goddess manifestation gives me something with which to connect.
It is all well and good to know and even experience the One-Light, the Life Force which "eternally creates and sustains the universe" but it is so far beyond what we can grasp that we cannot relate. I cannot construct a real relationship with the stream of electrons we call "electricity" but I CAN relate, in a limited way, to images created by its power on a screen, or sounds created by its power on a vibrating membrane. If a system exists (like a telephone or video conferencing) which then allows me to relate to something beyond what the electricity shapes, so that it is a representation of a real personality, then I can actually relate to it and build a personal relationship THROUGH it which includes it. The Source of All, the No-Thing, the Tao, is not something that can be described. We can point at it, we can wrestle our brains around it, we can have moments of pure grace and understanding of it, but we cannot truly relate to it.
By reducing the Divine to mere symbols and principles we strip it of anything to which we can relate... and we create a lie for, though the One Light may be all of those things, it is also none of them. On the other hand, interacting with a Divinity which is a manifestation of that Light on a higher arc (whether God, Goddess, Archangel, Deva, Buddha, Avatar or Messiah) we become open to an understanding of the true Divine for which it is another mask, as are we. On the other hand, our Hermetic tradition was primarily formed by people who were used to going to Church every week to have a Priest act as intermediary and spend an hour or so telling God how to behave. Though separated somewhat from a "personal" relationship, they were still engaged in religious practice, the mystery of the Eucharist (which is very intimate in the COE) and some kind of worship.
Until a true synthesis can occur, though, I do urge those who study the Western Mysteries to explore religious practice as part of their work as long as they can be equally respectful of others. Any religion that insists on Evangelism, Dominionism, or Conversion cannot be compatible with the Mysteries. The point is to help build up the Love, Salt, Mother principle and balance the Father, Sulpher principle, not to push it into the Qlippoth.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The Problem of Ritual Magic
Ritual Magic is a term often used to include Hermeticists of all kinds, though there are those, often working from old books, who use nothing BUT ritual in order to interact with their magical universe. I've heard Ritual Magic described as being an approach where people us ritual to get what they want. This seems to be based on a very narrow interpretation of Crowley's definition of Magic as being "the art and science of causing change to occur in conformity with the Will." There are many kinds of change and people like Fortune use the term "changes in consciousness" in this definition.
Although there are forms of ritual which are intended to "get" something or "change" something, there are also an elaborate collection of ceremonials which teach something. Let us, for example, look at the Neophyte Ritual of the Golden Dawn.
Other than the actual initiatory psycho-drama which is intended to alter the consciousness of the new initiate, there does not seem to be a lot of purpose to this ritual. There is nothing asked for, nothing is produced, it is not a worship ceremony, so what is the point?
The point is that it is a ritualistic allegory of the human psyche. We look at this ritual from the side, or as an officer, and consider what exactly we are doing and what it represents. The ceremonial has six internal officers and one external, if there is room for a sentinel. Along the centre-line of the temple we see three officers and we can correspond them to the various layers of our human entity. This remains even during the initiation ceremony, for we see the Hegemon, who represents the individual's conscious self, coach the new initiate in the correct words and formulas, but only at the instruction of the Hierophant who represents the Higher Self or the Inner Teacher (Key 6).
In fact nothing happens in the temple at all except by the command of the Hierophant. This is an example of how the ritual shows us the truth of ourselves. We think that the "I that is me," or the personality, is ultimately responsible for the thinking and the acting, but it is our Higher Selves which give instructions which then filter down into our own minds as ideas. This is why we can have sudden flashes of genius which seem disconnected from our idea of ourselves, for they originate at a much higher level.
When the initiates and officers walk around the temple, they are lead by the Kerux, carrying lantern and staff, like the Hermit, guided by part of our subconscious, and not by our conscious selves at all!
These rituals are filled with these allegories, just as the Masonic rituals are, which show truths that can be extracted and understood as a kind of 4 dimensional teaching aid. The changes that result are those of the individual's understanding as it affects everyone in the group. If possible it is of value to video-record the ritual and review it as a group, see what interactions occur, and how they occur, and who initiates them. When does, say, the Hierus appear to act on their own?
This is the reason that the opening of the ritual is taken up by each officer explaining their purpose and the symbolism of their tools. It is like the expositional dialogue of a play or film, letting you know this person's role so that when you observe their behaviour you know why and what it means. All of this requires a considerable study or a very, very good teacher, but it is there, and it is the true purpose of the ritual. There is also a certain re-connecting to the Egregore that occurs, but it could be established through other means, such as a worship ceremony.
Some people complain that these rituals "accomplish nothing" but do not see the value in the play itself, the mysteries which are being enacted. This is no less "Ritual Magic" from a technical point of view, but it is quite different to what most people think of when they imagine the subject.
This then creates a problem when people think about Ritual Magicians, for the name may imply Hermeticists who, amongst other things, use ritual, or those working purely on a Ritual path such as is dictated in books like the Legematon, The Arbatal of Magic, The Books of Solomon, The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage, and other books of ritual. The term fails to take into account rituals done as teaching allegories, or the vast array of subjects studied by groups like the Golden Dawn.
Ritual is but one tool, and it can be used for many purposes. Whether that makes you, or someone else, a "Ritual Magician" I cannot tell you.
Although there are forms of ritual which are intended to "get" something or "change" something, there are also an elaborate collection of ceremonials which teach something. Let us, for example, look at the Neophyte Ritual of the Golden Dawn.
Other than the actual initiatory psycho-drama which is intended to alter the consciousness of the new initiate, there does not seem to be a lot of purpose to this ritual. There is nothing asked for, nothing is produced, it is not a worship ceremony, so what is the point?
The point is that it is a ritualistic allegory of the human psyche. We look at this ritual from the side, or as an officer, and consider what exactly we are doing and what it represents. The ceremonial has six internal officers and one external, if there is room for a sentinel. Along the centre-line of the temple we see three officers and we can correspond them to the various layers of our human entity. This remains even during the initiation ceremony, for we see the Hegemon, who represents the individual's conscious self, coach the new initiate in the correct words and formulas, but only at the instruction of the Hierophant who represents the Higher Self or the Inner Teacher (Key 6).
In fact nothing happens in the temple at all except by the command of the Hierophant. This is an example of how the ritual shows us the truth of ourselves. We think that the "I that is me," or the personality, is ultimately responsible for the thinking and the acting, but it is our Higher Selves which give instructions which then filter down into our own minds as ideas. This is why we can have sudden flashes of genius which seem disconnected from our idea of ourselves, for they originate at a much higher level.
When the initiates and officers walk around the temple, they are lead by the Kerux, carrying lantern and staff, like the Hermit, guided by part of our subconscious, and not by our conscious selves at all!
These rituals are filled with these allegories, just as the Masonic rituals are, which show truths that can be extracted and understood as a kind of 4 dimensional teaching aid. The changes that result are those of the individual's understanding as it affects everyone in the group. If possible it is of value to video-record the ritual and review it as a group, see what interactions occur, and how they occur, and who initiates them. When does, say, the Hierus appear to act on their own?
This is the reason that the opening of the ritual is taken up by each officer explaining their purpose and the symbolism of their tools. It is like the expositional dialogue of a play or film, letting you know this person's role so that when you observe their behaviour you know why and what it means. All of this requires a considerable study or a very, very good teacher, but it is there, and it is the true purpose of the ritual. There is also a certain re-connecting to the Egregore that occurs, but it could be established through other means, such as a worship ceremony.
Some people complain that these rituals "accomplish nothing" but do not see the value in the play itself, the mysteries which are being enacted. This is no less "Ritual Magic" from a technical point of view, but it is quite different to what most people think of when they imagine the subject.
This then creates a problem when people think about Ritual Magicians, for the name may imply Hermeticists who, amongst other things, use ritual, or those working purely on a Ritual path such as is dictated in books like the Legematon, The Arbatal of Magic, The Books of Solomon, The Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage, and other books of ritual. The term fails to take into account rituals done as teaching allegories, or the vast array of subjects studied by groups like the Golden Dawn.
Ritual is but one tool, and it can be used for many purposes. Whether that makes you, or someone else, a "Ritual Magician" I cannot tell you.
Friday, February 17, 2012
What Is Religion?
I define religion as "any strongly held set of codified beliefs." What does this mean? Well "strongly held" might seem obvious. In this I mean that the beliefs are, in some way, core to the individual's identity of self. I should point out here that one can belong to more than one "religion" at a time, very few are truly exclusive. "Codified" refers to some standard set of beliefs. This might be the Apostle's Creed, the Republican Party Platform, Libertarianism, Feminism, Hinduism, or Evangelical Christianity. Each of these has an outline that defines the belief system of its members.
A religion, therefore, has a level of homogeneity amongst its members. They often identify themselves by the religion even moreso than by their own achievements. "I'm a Christian" or "I'm a Liberal." Rather than define their own specific beliefs or where they may, or may not, agree with a specific label, they identify with the label. This can cause a great deal of psychological stress should the label they use to identify themselves become altered in the public perception.
An excellent example of this is the United Church or Anglican Christian who has suddenly found themselves a significant minority when it comes to the word "Christian." The label has been altered in the public eye because evangelical and coercive sects have become the majority. Christian, in the public lexicon, no longer refers to the core values of the average Anglican or United Church member.
Another example has been the re-branding of the Alliance and Reform parties in Canada. These extreme right wing parties were doing very badly until the Progressive Conservative party of Canada was almost drummed out of Parliament for various scandals. They then re-branded themselves with the Conservative colours and name (The Conservative Party of Canada) and stole the election after a similar Liberal scandal. The problem is, they have continued with their extreme right wing policies to the point where old-school Conservatives are embarrassed to use the term. Once they identified strongly with the word but now it has taken on a completely different meaning. (Sadly, they were also mostly those who voted for them thinking they were voting for their old party.)
The point is, a "religion" is strongly held in that it is often one of the things that we use to define ourselves as we integrate the codified beliefs into our personality. It helps us to feel that we are part of something greater than ourselves, gives us purpose and helps us to identify like-minded individuals. Psychologically this is an important part of our development and it is often easier to work with a predefined set of beliefs than it is to deconstruct ourselves and figure out what we are when we are not identifying as x or y. This often happens in middle age. Some individuals become so comfortable with themselves that they are able to deconstruct and analyze themselves as individuals. Others become comfortable and reinforce these predefined beliefs into a hardened and impenetrable structure.
More and more, though, we are seeing people trying on various ideas of self at earlier ages. They reject the religions of their youth and seek new structures, often confusing Religion with Christianity. Is the "Goth" subculture really any less of a religion than anything else? Their shared belief structures create an homogeneous whole often through emulation of one or more iconic individuals (what we might call "cult of personality" or "prophets" in ecclesiastical terms).
It should be pointed out, though, that even amongst spiritual religions, Christianity is a minority. Most religions do not have internal exclusivity. A majority of people in Japan, for example, consider themselves both Shinto and Buddhist. In the Old World it was considered polite to make sacrifices to the local Gods when travelling, regardless of what Gods you personally worshipped. If you were a Priest of Hern in Brittania, you would still throw incense on the coals as you passed a shrine to, say, Diana, while walking the streets of Rome. Even Orthodox Rabbis I've known do not feel that they have the right to impose their Law on others. The seven Laws of Noach which everyone must observe to live in Hebraic lands ask only that you respect their God, not that you must conform to their method of worship.
And this brings me to the most interesting aspect of Religion in the West. We've managed to make almost all of them confrontational. The Christian Majority believes that all others MUST conform to their way of thinking. This has tainted Political Parties, polarized our countries and made everything confrontational. The Right vs the Left has caused them to drift so far apart that they will shut down a proposed law just because the other team thought it was a good idea. It may have BEEN a good idea, but this level of religious "rightness" prevents them from seeing it as anything BUT adversarial.
I believe this is because Christianity adopted the Zoroastrian idea of an adversary. Whatever you believe, someone is trying to work against you, destroy you, and make you suffer for eternity. Even those of us who have escaped the primary Christian programming cannot escape our society's adversarial nature. Materialists take every opportunity to proselytize their religion even in the face of possible doubt. Atheists violently oppose the idea of God believing that all concepts of the Divine revolve around a voyeuristic vending machine sky daddy. They are so ready to argue and defend their position that they cannot even HEAR the words that are actually being spoken.
They do not tend to be self-aware though. Just as a Christian can point to their Bible and have a huge percentage of people on the planet agree with them (about 30% for New Testament, around 40% for the Old (Tanakh)) so too does a materialist rely on a consensus when they believe in things they cannot see. I cannot see an electron. I have a friend who works with them. If he shows me a plate and says "look a picture of an electron" I can either believe him, or not. He may be lying to me or be outright wrong for all I know. We read things in scientific books, but we are still putting faith in the people writing them.
When we get into more complex systems there are people who believe in M-Theory, and people who believe in Quantum Loop Gravity theory and people who believe in other theories. They are all certain that they are right, just as certain as most other religious adherents. Some conform to both a scientific and a spiritual religion seeing the beauty and perfection of their work as proof of a sublime consciousness in the universe.
In the end, Religion is a process of the brain whereby we believe in certain concepts and "truths" based on an agreement with others along the same lines. We integrate those beliefs into ourselves to the point where we begin to define ourselves by that structure, label and code. These beliefs then become the foundation for all of our motivations, actions and activities in life. If we believe in universal love and compassion, we will try to help and heal others. If we believe in fear and adversarial theology, we lash out and become a threat to others. If we believe in helping the poor, either through compassion or by commandment, then we will make efforts to do so. If we believe in free market corporatism then we will do our best to maximize our own profits at the expense of others.
It is for this reason that a study of religion, both domestic and abroad, can give us significant insights into the behaviour and motivation of ourselves and others. Religion and Culture are very closely related, as we can see by the development of our divisive culture based on adversarial Christian values vs. more unified Asian cultures where there is greater acceptance for one's countrymen based on a non-exclusive cosmology.
I know it is common amongst Occultists to reject all "organized religion" and, by doing so throw out all aspects of codification, often turning to Chaos Majik or some other pseudo-chaotic approach. (Chaos Majik is JUST as dogmatic and codified as anything else by the way.) But the organization and structure of, say, the Roman Catholic Church exists in no other spiritual faith tradition. Even Judaism, which is often seen as the Father of Christianity (much to the Jew's chagrin) does not have even regional organization. Each congregation builds their own Synagogue and hires their own Rabbi. Shinto shrines register with a central registry, but they function on their own. Therefore I do encourage you to examine other religions, see what they really say for themselves and even if there is nothing there for you personally, you will have learned to understand another group of people in a way you never could before... and if we're all expressions of the same Limitless Light, then learning about your brethren in this way can only help us in our journey.
A religion, therefore, has a level of homogeneity amongst its members. They often identify themselves by the religion even moreso than by their own achievements. "I'm a Christian" or "I'm a Liberal." Rather than define their own specific beliefs or where they may, or may not, agree with a specific label, they identify with the label. This can cause a great deal of psychological stress should the label they use to identify themselves become altered in the public perception.
An excellent example of this is the United Church or Anglican Christian who has suddenly found themselves a significant minority when it comes to the word "Christian." The label has been altered in the public eye because evangelical and coercive sects have become the majority. Christian, in the public lexicon, no longer refers to the core values of the average Anglican or United Church member.
Another example has been the re-branding of the Alliance and Reform parties in Canada. These extreme right wing parties were doing very badly until the Progressive Conservative party of Canada was almost drummed out of Parliament for various scandals. They then re-branded themselves with the Conservative colours and name (The Conservative Party of Canada) and stole the election after a similar Liberal scandal. The problem is, they have continued with their extreme right wing policies to the point where old-school Conservatives are embarrassed to use the term. Once they identified strongly with the word but now it has taken on a completely different meaning. (Sadly, they were also mostly those who voted for them thinking they were voting for their old party.)
The point is, a "religion" is strongly held in that it is often one of the things that we use to define ourselves as we integrate the codified beliefs into our personality. It helps us to feel that we are part of something greater than ourselves, gives us purpose and helps us to identify like-minded individuals. Psychologically this is an important part of our development and it is often easier to work with a predefined set of beliefs than it is to deconstruct ourselves and figure out what we are when we are not identifying as x or y. This often happens in middle age. Some individuals become so comfortable with themselves that they are able to deconstruct and analyze themselves as individuals. Others become comfortable and reinforce these predefined beliefs into a hardened and impenetrable structure.
More and more, though, we are seeing people trying on various ideas of self at earlier ages. They reject the religions of their youth and seek new structures, often confusing Religion with Christianity. Is the "Goth" subculture really any less of a religion than anything else? Their shared belief structures create an homogeneous whole often through emulation of one or more iconic individuals (what we might call "cult of personality" or "prophets" in ecclesiastical terms).
It should be pointed out, though, that even amongst spiritual religions, Christianity is a minority. Most religions do not have internal exclusivity. A majority of people in Japan, for example, consider themselves both Shinto and Buddhist. In the Old World it was considered polite to make sacrifices to the local Gods when travelling, regardless of what Gods you personally worshipped. If you were a Priest of Hern in Brittania, you would still throw incense on the coals as you passed a shrine to, say, Diana, while walking the streets of Rome. Even Orthodox Rabbis I've known do not feel that they have the right to impose their Law on others. The seven Laws of Noach which everyone must observe to live in Hebraic lands ask only that you respect their God, not that you must conform to their method of worship.
And this brings me to the most interesting aspect of Religion in the West. We've managed to make almost all of them confrontational. The Christian Majority believes that all others MUST conform to their way of thinking. This has tainted Political Parties, polarized our countries and made everything confrontational. The Right vs the Left has caused them to drift so far apart that they will shut down a proposed law just because the other team thought it was a good idea. It may have BEEN a good idea, but this level of religious "rightness" prevents them from seeing it as anything BUT adversarial.
I believe this is because Christianity adopted the Zoroastrian idea of an adversary. Whatever you believe, someone is trying to work against you, destroy you, and make you suffer for eternity. Even those of us who have escaped the primary Christian programming cannot escape our society's adversarial nature. Materialists take every opportunity to proselytize their religion even in the face of possible doubt. Atheists violently oppose the idea of God believing that all concepts of the Divine revolve around a voyeuristic vending machine sky daddy. They are so ready to argue and defend their position that they cannot even HEAR the words that are actually being spoken.
They do not tend to be self-aware though. Just as a Christian can point to their Bible and have a huge percentage of people on the planet agree with them (about 30% for New Testament, around 40% for the Old (Tanakh)) so too does a materialist rely on a consensus when they believe in things they cannot see. I cannot see an electron. I have a friend who works with them. If he shows me a plate and says "look a picture of an electron" I can either believe him, or not. He may be lying to me or be outright wrong for all I know. We read things in scientific books, but we are still putting faith in the people writing them.
When we get into more complex systems there are people who believe in M-Theory, and people who believe in Quantum Loop Gravity theory and people who believe in other theories. They are all certain that they are right, just as certain as most other religious adherents. Some conform to both a scientific and a spiritual religion seeing the beauty and perfection of their work as proof of a sublime consciousness in the universe.
In the end, Religion is a process of the brain whereby we believe in certain concepts and "truths" based on an agreement with others along the same lines. We integrate those beliefs into ourselves to the point where we begin to define ourselves by that structure, label and code. These beliefs then become the foundation for all of our motivations, actions and activities in life. If we believe in universal love and compassion, we will try to help and heal others. If we believe in fear and adversarial theology, we lash out and become a threat to others. If we believe in helping the poor, either through compassion or by commandment, then we will make efforts to do so. If we believe in free market corporatism then we will do our best to maximize our own profits at the expense of others.
It is for this reason that a study of religion, both domestic and abroad, can give us significant insights into the behaviour and motivation of ourselves and others. Religion and Culture are very closely related, as we can see by the development of our divisive culture based on adversarial Christian values vs. more unified Asian cultures where there is greater acceptance for one's countrymen based on a non-exclusive cosmology.
I know it is common amongst Occultists to reject all "organized religion" and, by doing so throw out all aspects of codification, often turning to Chaos Majik or some other pseudo-chaotic approach. (Chaos Majik is JUST as dogmatic and codified as anything else by the way.) But the organization and structure of, say, the Roman Catholic Church exists in no other spiritual faith tradition. Even Judaism, which is often seen as the Father of Christianity (much to the Jew's chagrin) does not have even regional organization. Each congregation builds their own Synagogue and hires their own Rabbi. Shinto shrines register with a central registry, but they function on their own. Therefore I do encourage you to examine other religions, see what they really say for themselves and even if there is nothing there for you personally, you will have learned to understand another group of people in a way you never could before... and if we're all expressions of the same Limitless Light, then learning about your brethren in this way can only help us in our journey.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Student Question: Perfection and the Qlippoth
A student recently asked me to post this response to their questions concerning perfection and the Qlippoth.
Perfection is something we judge, it comes from our own point of view. We perceive things and say they are imperfect. Does the Life Force make mistakes or do we think they are mistakes because of our particular perspective? If you're standing in the middle of the chalk outline in Uffington, can you see the horse? If you're a dog or an ant, can you even see that there is an outline?
Alan Watts wrote that the "bad" things that seem to happen to people are not happening to someone else. God is not punishing an external individual but experiencing suffering for Itself. Rabbi Kaplan once told me that visiting the sick and offering charity are Mitzvot (commandments) but if there were no sick and there were no poor, then we could not perform these Mitzvot. Everything we think of as a mistake is, in essence, something we may not understand.
It is the reason there are so many beings in the world of Briah. Gods, Goddesses, Archangels... all expressions of God, but simplified that we may interact with them on a direct basis. The Limitless Light is too much for us, we cannot wrap our primitive minds around it, they would burn to even try. In a universe that complex, how can we know what is a mistake and what is "perfection?"
There is no such thing as perfection, for every person has their own requirements for perfection. What is a perfect world from your perspective? What is perfect from the Evangelical Christian's perspective? The Shiite Muslim? The Zen Buddhist? Which perfection shall we create in the world in order to have a "perfect world?"
Sometimes it's the journey, not the destination... We may never reach "perfection" in this life, but we can strive for it, we can travel the path a little further than we did the last time. Each step brings us closer to our return to the Light, to passing the Ring-Pass-Not, or Ain.
The still small voice is sometimes very clear, but the lessons are not always obvious. Remember that any message from the Higher Self must be filtered through our own subconscious mind before our conscious mind can become aware of it. During that journey it must pass through all of our baggage, our shadow, and everything else before we are aware of it consciously. Also, sometimes, when we meditate, the brain falls asleep and we begin to dream. This can also be mistaken for the voice. I'm not saying this is the case, but it's useful to know in case.
The Qlippoth are forms of the Sephiroth which represent imbalance. By having free choice we can choose certain things. We can choose to move forward (good) or we can fight evolution (evil). Imbalance is something we all face at times. Too much Severity is but Cruelty and Viciousness. Too much Mercy is but weakness which would allow evil to go unchecked. We symbolically represent these as the Qlippoth.
Think on this though...humans or sentient beings in Assiah, are hanging between the Celestial beings (Angels, Archangels, etc...) and the Infernal beings (Demons, Devils, etc...) yet of all beings, we are given the freedom of choice. Nothing exists that is not holy, nothing exists that is not of God. We alone were given free choice. The Infernals are just as much a manifestation of the Divine as the Celestials, only that they represent a more primal part of our evolution. We, who descended from the Divine and were given free choice, climb back towards the Divine.
Our animal natures, for example, are not to be hated and reviled, but accepted, acknowledged, loved, and put behind us. The spirit of competition which was vital for survival in our pre-civilised state now prevents us from coming together as a people and working as a whole. If we were not competing with one another as nations, as corporations as individuals... how long would it take to wipe out world hunger? How long would it take to find a cure for AIDS or Cancer? How long before we left this planet and began to live amongst the stars? Those demonic, selfish, egotistical beings are representations of parts of ourselves we no longer need as a race. If we repress them, we give them power, just as the Shadow of our own psyche. Neither is it good to explore them without training... for they are ancient and powerful and can overwhelm you. This is why they are not approached in the early work.
It is like facing the shadow in psychology. It is not recommended to go at it alone, even with significant training in metaprogramming, magic and meditation. It can overwhelm you. Breaking down the personality can be an important step in the evolution of the magician, but if you don't know how to rebuild it, or you have nothing to replace it with, it can drive you insane. It's like hooking a plain LED into a mains outlet... it bursts. Yet if you know how, it can be done quite safely (building a board with the appropriate resistance and power inversion).
We are what we think about. The personality is very plastic. Should we focus too much on the unbalanced and outworn parts of ourselves and our species, it will warp our personality vehicles, often resulting in Fundamentalist Christian style paranoia.
Perfection is something we judge, it comes from our own point of view. We perceive things and say they are imperfect. Does the Life Force make mistakes or do we think they are mistakes because of our particular perspective? If you're standing in the middle of the chalk outline in Uffington, can you see the horse? If you're a dog or an ant, can you even see that there is an outline?
Alan Watts wrote that the "bad" things that seem to happen to people are not happening to someone else. God is not punishing an external individual but experiencing suffering for Itself. Rabbi Kaplan once told me that visiting the sick and offering charity are Mitzvot (commandments) but if there were no sick and there were no poor, then we could not perform these Mitzvot. Everything we think of as a mistake is, in essence, something we may not understand.
It is the reason there are so many beings in the world of Briah. Gods, Goddesses, Archangels... all expressions of God, but simplified that we may interact with them on a direct basis. The Limitless Light is too much for us, we cannot wrap our primitive minds around it, they would burn to even try. In a universe that complex, how can we know what is a mistake and what is "perfection?"
There is no such thing as perfection, for every person has their own requirements for perfection. What is a perfect world from your perspective? What is perfect from the Evangelical Christian's perspective? The Shiite Muslim? The Zen Buddhist? Which perfection shall we create in the world in order to have a "perfect world?"
Sometimes it's the journey, not the destination... We may never reach "perfection" in this life, but we can strive for it, we can travel the path a little further than we did the last time. Each step brings us closer to our return to the Light, to passing the Ring-Pass-Not, or Ain.
The still small voice is sometimes very clear, but the lessons are not always obvious. Remember that any message from the Higher Self must be filtered through our own subconscious mind before our conscious mind can become aware of it. During that journey it must pass through all of our baggage, our shadow, and everything else before we are aware of it consciously. Also, sometimes, when we meditate, the brain falls asleep and we begin to dream. This can also be mistaken for the voice. I'm not saying this is the case, but it's useful to know in case.
The Qlippoth are forms of the Sephiroth which represent imbalance. By having free choice we can choose certain things. We can choose to move forward (good) or we can fight evolution (evil). Imbalance is something we all face at times. Too much Severity is but Cruelty and Viciousness. Too much Mercy is but weakness which would allow evil to go unchecked. We symbolically represent these as the Qlippoth.
Think on this though...humans or sentient beings in Assiah, are hanging between the Celestial beings (Angels, Archangels, etc...) and the Infernal beings (Demons, Devils, etc...) yet of all beings, we are given the freedom of choice. Nothing exists that is not holy, nothing exists that is not of God. We alone were given free choice. The Infernals are just as much a manifestation of the Divine as the Celestials, only that they represent a more primal part of our evolution. We, who descended from the Divine and were given free choice, climb back towards the Divine.
Our animal natures, for example, are not to be hated and reviled, but accepted, acknowledged, loved, and put behind us. The spirit of competition which was vital for survival in our pre-civilised state now prevents us from coming together as a people and working as a whole. If we were not competing with one another as nations, as corporations as individuals... how long would it take to wipe out world hunger? How long would it take to find a cure for AIDS or Cancer? How long before we left this planet and began to live amongst the stars? Those demonic, selfish, egotistical beings are representations of parts of ourselves we no longer need as a race. If we repress them, we give them power, just as the Shadow of our own psyche. Neither is it good to explore them without training... for they are ancient and powerful and can overwhelm you. This is why they are not approached in the early work.
It is like facing the shadow in psychology. It is not recommended to go at it alone, even with significant training in metaprogramming, magic and meditation. It can overwhelm you. Breaking down the personality can be an important step in the evolution of the magician, but if you don't know how to rebuild it, or you have nothing to replace it with, it can drive you insane. It's like hooking a plain LED into a mains outlet... it bursts. Yet if you know how, it can be done quite safely (building a board with the appropriate resistance and power inversion).
We are what we think about. The personality is very plastic. Should we focus too much on the unbalanced and outworn parts of ourselves and our species, it will warp our personality vehicles, often resulting in Fundamentalist Christian style paranoia.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Explaining Paganism
Some of us who walk High Magic's Path are also Pagan and work with the Earth Magic as well. Sometimes, though, it is very difficult to explain to our primarily Christian society what it is we do without using pejorative terms. They have taken the words Pagan and Heathen and made them analogous to Evil and Satanism. This is their own misunderstanding but it is one that is deeply ingrained in them. Sometimes it is difficult to explain in terms they can understand.
One thing that has become very common knowledge is the Native American/Canadian's attempt to recreate their Native traditions. Those very traditions that our governments have driven from them through such atrocities as the Residential School System and the relegation of them to some of the crappiest corners of the land. Yet this attempt to reclaim their heritage is sometimes seen as heroic, or at least looked upon in a kindly fashion. They had something taken from them, and now they are trying to cobble it back together.
But what is Paganism but OUR Native Tradition? Caucasian people from the British Islands and Northern Europe (even into the Mediterranean) have lost our heritage, we have lost our Native Traditions and, worst of all, have lost our homes. It was not so long ago that generations of our ancestors lived in the same place century after century. I don't mean the same house (though for some families with an ancestral home this was true) but the same village, community or county. Our blood bound to the land, and the land to our blood. Sons and Daughters of Alba or Eire or Gaul know the connection they have to their land. Patriotism isn't political, it's blood and stone, earth and breath. It cannot be washed away by a few generations of migration.
When we are formed, the energy of the land affects us. From the food our mothers ate to the vibration of the land under the home where she lived, the spiritual energy of 'home' is somehow part of our very DNA, it's in our blood and it calls to us. This is what I think home-sickness is truly about. And though it affects us in this body, at this time... when a family has been in one place for a long time the bond is greater and it is not replaced by being born in a new land, only added to. In time, it could be washed out, the new land becoming the true home, but for most Americans and Canadians that generation is a long way off.
So what are we, dispossessed from the land of our blood, in a foreign culture (Christian) to do? Certainly we brought Christianity with us, but even into the late 19th century Pagan practices were still a major part of agrarian society, and therefore part of our culture and our land. Here we have lost most of those Pagan parts of our culture, the few remaining having been vastly watered down by Christian symbolism.
Don't get me wrong, I know many very good Christians, and have no issue with the more enlightened sects (such as the Anglican, United, etc...) but they have taken away what was part of our connection to the land, our celebrations, our rituals, our cultural heritage.
So being Pagan means that we are reconstructing our Native Traditions in an attempt to connect to our roots, our past, our blood, our land. These are our Native Caucasian/European/British Traditions, no less worthy of respect than the Native American/Canadian Traditions. Sometimes it helps to make this connection when explaining it to modern day Christians. They seem to have more sympathy when you associate your Paganism to that of the people who truly belong to this land.
For us, though this is made even more difficult by the sheer vastness of our countries. The land of our forefathers was cultivated over a long period of time in small nations with their individual egregore. Such egregore mated to the land and they became one. In those days (and sometimes even today) that marriage has a human manifestation. "The Land and the King are One!" We were part of something tangible and we could see the symbol of that embodied in a person. And when that person worked against the good of the land, the people rose up and destroyed them.
Here, though, we can go hundreds of miles away and not have left the province, let alone the country. We have tried to take too many nations and force them into one identity under one ruler who does not stay in power long enough to be part of the land. We have someone in Ottawa now who was born in the prairies, what little connection he has to Canada is far removed from Ottawa from where he is attempting to rule. What he may feel is good for the country can only be good for that place from which he came. We are all like that, which is why the American Countries are having so much trouble. We're too big, and we do not connect to the land... in fact we've become so stoic and scientific that we even go out of our way to break that tie, not wanting to believe in it, and by doing so, becoming unhappy and nobody knows why.
So there are those of us who seek to connect to our land, to give treats to the local Fey population, to dance around the bonfires and to celebrate our Native traditions, even if we are in a foreign land. Even families that have been here for a hundred years are still immigrants from the perspective of their blood/land ties. A thousand years in Eire is not washed away by a hundred years in Canada, especially if you've moved from city to city during that time. Performing the Native Rites of our forebears gives us some connection, some feeling of Home that has been lost to us. We are practising our heritage and honouring our blood and our families and our homes back where our families were born from the rock and soil. Like our Native American/Canadian brethren (especially in the Eastern Woodlands) we have lost our heritage and now we reconstruct it in order to rebuild a sense of self, a sense of belonging and a sense of roots in our world and our new land.
One thing that has become very common knowledge is the Native American/Canadian's attempt to recreate their Native traditions. Those very traditions that our governments have driven from them through such atrocities as the Residential School System and the relegation of them to some of the crappiest corners of the land. Yet this attempt to reclaim their heritage is sometimes seen as heroic, or at least looked upon in a kindly fashion. They had something taken from them, and now they are trying to cobble it back together.
But what is Paganism but OUR Native Tradition? Caucasian people from the British Islands and Northern Europe (even into the Mediterranean) have lost our heritage, we have lost our Native Traditions and, worst of all, have lost our homes. It was not so long ago that generations of our ancestors lived in the same place century after century. I don't mean the same house (though for some families with an ancestral home this was true) but the same village, community or county. Our blood bound to the land, and the land to our blood. Sons and Daughters of Alba or Eire or Gaul know the connection they have to their land. Patriotism isn't political, it's blood and stone, earth and breath. It cannot be washed away by a few generations of migration.
When we are formed, the energy of the land affects us. From the food our mothers ate to the vibration of the land under the home where she lived, the spiritual energy of 'home' is somehow part of our very DNA, it's in our blood and it calls to us. This is what I think home-sickness is truly about. And though it affects us in this body, at this time... when a family has been in one place for a long time the bond is greater and it is not replaced by being born in a new land, only added to. In time, it could be washed out, the new land becoming the true home, but for most Americans and Canadians that generation is a long way off.
So what are we, dispossessed from the land of our blood, in a foreign culture (Christian) to do? Certainly we brought Christianity with us, but even into the late 19th century Pagan practices were still a major part of agrarian society, and therefore part of our culture and our land. Here we have lost most of those Pagan parts of our culture, the few remaining having been vastly watered down by Christian symbolism.
Don't get me wrong, I know many very good Christians, and have no issue with the more enlightened sects (such as the Anglican, United, etc...) but they have taken away what was part of our connection to the land, our celebrations, our rituals, our cultural heritage.
So being Pagan means that we are reconstructing our Native Traditions in an attempt to connect to our roots, our past, our blood, our land. These are our Native Caucasian/European/British Traditions, no less worthy of respect than the Native American/Canadian Traditions. Sometimes it helps to make this connection when explaining it to modern day Christians. They seem to have more sympathy when you associate your Paganism to that of the people who truly belong to this land.
For us, though this is made even more difficult by the sheer vastness of our countries. The land of our forefathers was cultivated over a long period of time in small nations with their individual egregore. Such egregore mated to the land and they became one. In those days (and sometimes even today) that marriage has a human manifestation. "The Land and the King are One!" We were part of something tangible and we could see the symbol of that embodied in a person. And when that person worked against the good of the land, the people rose up and destroyed them.
Here, though, we can go hundreds of miles away and not have left the province, let alone the country. We have tried to take too many nations and force them into one identity under one ruler who does not stay in power long enough to be part of the land. We have someone in Ottawa now who was born in the prairies, what little connection he has to Canada is far removed from Ottawa from where he is attempting to rule. What he may feel is good for the country can only be good for that place from which he came. We are all like that, which is why the American Countries are having so much trouble. We're too big, and we do not connect to the land... in fact we've become so stoic and scientific that we even go out of our way to break that tie, not wanting to believe in it, and by doing so, becoming unhappy and nobody knows why.
So there are those of us who seek to connect to our land, to give treats to the local Fey population, to dance around the bonfires and to celebrate our Native traditions, even if we are in a foreign land. Even families that have been here for a hundred years are still immigrants from the perspective of their blood/land ties. A thousand years in Eire is not washed away by a hundred years in Canada, especially if you've moved from city to city during that time. Performing the Native Rites of our forebears gives us some connection, some feeling of Home that has been lost to us. We are practising our heritage and honouring our blood and our families and our homes back where our families were born from the rock and soil. Like our Native American/Canadian brethren (especially in the Eastern Woodlands) we have lost our heritage and now we reconstruct it in order to rebuild a sense of self, a sense of belonging and a sense of roots in our world and our new land.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Samhain
The feast of Samhain has passed yet again. This is the feast of the dead, the time when the veils between the worlds are thinnest. In Celtic lore it's a New Year's celebration, marking the end of the turning wheel and the beginning as well. In English we call it Hallowe'en which is a contraction of the words "All Hallow's Even" the night before the Christian festival known as All Saint's Day. Perhaps they felt the need to bring in all of the saints to protect them during this, sometimes frightening time of the year.
The word Samhain (or Samhaign) is often mispronounced. The letter h is not a "real" letter, so I am told, but rather a modifier of other letters (not unlike English's final 'e' which modifies the preceding vowel). In this case it modifies the 'm' creating a word which is pronounced sow-wain. Sow, like a female pig and Wain as in a wheel (alternatively "Wayne"). It is not pronounced Sam Hayn or Sam-a-hain-ee.
Almost every culture seems to have a story wherein a hero or God/dess descends into the underworld in order to confront, and bargain with its master who is Lord of Death in whatever form. In Japan we see Izanagi descend into the underworld to try to save Izanami. In Mesopotamia and Babylon we see Inanna descend into the underworld to confront Erishkagal. The story of Persephone's "abduction" by Hades/Jupiter and the journey of Demeter in order to confront him is generally well known. Even in the Norse we see Hermeod descend into Helaheim to confront Hel for the soul of Baldar. In Egypt (and later throughout Europe) we see Isis in her quest to reconstruct Osiris/Serapis and confronting Nephthys, Queen of the underworld.
In each of these stories there are obstacles to overcome, some are insurmountable, some are not and in many of these stories there is some limited amount of success. Hel agrees to let Baldar go if everyone will weep for him, Hades allows Persephone to leave the Underworld if she swears to marry him and live with him half of the year. Osiris only lives long enough to impregnate Isis with Horus the Younger. On the other hand, Inanna must be rescued in turn by Enki and Izanagi fails to save Izanami and, from his own eye, creates Amaterasu.
For every death there is a rebirth, as many of these stories show us. Even those who are rescued do not return unchanged. Yet when the land is cold and grey, when the veils are thin between the worlds, we are given a gift when it comes to our own beloved dead. Death itself gives us a reprieve. We lay out wine and cakes for those who have gone before us, and in so doing we aid them in their own journey, giving them the opportunity to be with us once again to enjoy the bounty of the harvest.
The Mysteries teach us that, when we die, we do not immediately dissolve the personalities we have formed during our lifetime. Rather we continue to inhabit it for some time until we absorb it into out Individuality, that part of us which continues from life to life like pearls upon a string. During this time we may be comforted by, and provide aid to, our loved ones whom we have left behind. Eventually a time comes, no matter how strong the personality, when it too must dissolve and be reabsorbed into the universe, just as out bodies are reabsorbed into the earth.
This may seem terrifying to some, but the personalities we create while manifest in Assiah are often the result of many outside influences and various psychological experiences. We take what is best of these experiences and absorb them into our true Selves before manifesting once again. This is why we remember, from time to time, people we've known before, or events we've undergone during regression therapy. Often it is those which are most emotionally charged which make the greatest impressions on our eternal Individuality. How long this takes depends on the personality in question. Sometimes it can be done in a few months, sometimes they hold on for decades... and sometimes a personality is so strong that it continues as an empty shell long after the Individuality has moved on. This is often the case with violent deaths and is the result of certain types of haunting.
It is one of the reasons that this time of the year can be so frightening! The thin veils can reveal those lost shells and give quite the startle to an individual. It is for this reason that we have created a holiday wherein we all dress up in frightening apparel, place ghostly and creepy images around our homes... if everyone is doing something a little spooky then the real thing won't even be noticed amongst the festive macabre.
It is also a time when the Folk are active for that veil between our world and the world of Fayrie is also thin. It is a time to give gifts of food and alcohol to the Wee Folk. As children go door to door "trick or treating" we may give candies to our fey brethren, not being able to tell the difference between them and the children dressed in outlandish costumes. Believe me when I tell you that the Fey really mean it when they say Trick or Treat!
It is a good time of year, a time of new beginnings as we move into the Time of Planning where we begin to think on our own futures. It is time to remember those we have lost and, though it is sad, to know that they are not forgotten.
The word Samhain (or Samhaign) is often mispronounced. The letter h is not a "real" letter, so I am told, but rather a modifier of other letters (not unlike English's final 'e' which modifies the preceding vowel). In this case it modifies the 'm' creating a word which is pronounced sow-wain. Sow, like a female pig and Wain as in a wheel (alternatively "Wayne"). It is not pronounced Sam Hayn or Sam-a-hain-ee.
Almost every culture seems to have a story wherein a hero or God/dess descends into the underworld in order to confront, and bargain with its master who is Lord of Death in whatever form. In Japan we see Izanagi descend into the underworld to try to save Izanami. In Mesopotamia and Babylon we see Inanna descend into the underworld to confront Erishkagal. The story of Persephone's "abduction" by Hades/Jupiter and the journey of Demeter in order to confront him is generally well known. Even in the Norse we see Hermeod descend into Helaheim to confront Hel for the soul of Baldar. In Egypt (and later throughout Europe) we see Isis in her quest to reconstruct Osiris/Serapis and confronting Nephthys, Queen of the underworld.
In each of these stories there are obstacles to overcome, some are insurmountable, some are not and in many of these stories there is some limited amount of success. Hel agrees to let Baldar go if everyone will weep for him, Hades allows Persephone to leave the Underworld if she swears to marry him and live with him half of the year. Osiris only lives long enough to impregnate Isis with Horus the Younger. On the other hand, Inanna must be rescued in turn by Enki and Izanagi fails to save Izanami and, from his own eye, creates Amaterasu.
For every death there is a rebirth, as many of these stories show us. Even those who are rescued do not return unchanged. Yet when the land is cold and grey, when the veils are thin between the worlds, we are given a gift when it comes to our own beloved dead. Death itself gives us a reprieve. We lay out wine and cakes for those who have gone before us, and in so doing we aid them in their own journey, giving them the opportunity to be with us once again to enjoy the bounty of the harvest.
The Mysteries teach us that, when we die, we do not immediately dissolve the personalities we have formed during our lifetime. Rather we continue to inhabit it for some time until we absorb it into out Individuality, that part of us which continues from life to life like pearls upon a string. During this time we may be comforted by, and provide aid to, our loved ones whom we have left behind. Eventually a time comes, no matter how strong the personality, when it too must dissolve and be reabsorbed into the universe, just as out bodies are reabsorbed into the earth.
This may seem terrifying to some, but the personalities we create while manifest in Assiah are often the result of many outside influences and various psychological experiences. We take what is best of these experiences and absorb them into our true Selves before manifesting once again. This is why we remember, from time to time, people we've known before, or events we've undergone during regression therapy. Often it is those which are most emotionally charged which make the greatest impressions on our eternal Individuality. How long this takes depends on the personality in question. Sometimes it can be done in a few months, sometimes they hold on for decades... and sometimes a personality is so strong that it continues as an empty shell long after the Individuality has moved on. This is often the case with violent deaths and is the result of certain types of haunting.
It is one of the reasons that this time of the year can be so frightening! The thin veils can reveal those lost shells and give quite the startle to an individual. It is for this reason that we have created a holiday wherein we all dress up in frightening apparel, place ghostly and creepy images around our homes... if everyone is doing something a little spooky then the real thing won't even be noticed amongst the festive macabre.
It is also a time when the Folk are active for that veil between our world and the world of Fayrie is also thin. It is a time to give gifts of food and alcohol to the Wee Folk. As children go door to door "trick or treating" we may give candies to our fey brethren, not being able to tell the difference between them and the children dressed in outlandish costumes. Believe me when I tell you that the Fey really mean it when they say Trick or Treat!
It is a good time of year, a time of new beginnings as we move into the Time of Planning where we begin to think on our own futures. It is time to remember those we have lost and, though it is sad, to know that they are not forgotten.
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Hermetic Path
It seems to me that the many "Ceremonial" magicians of the last century have done a very poor job representing their path. All Hermeticists are compared to the published version of the Golden Dawn and the various public manifestations of Thelema including the OTO. The stereotype is that of a stuffy, Judeo-Christian who works solely with angels and demons using ceremonial magic in order to gain specific results. Essentially, there is percived to be a huge gap between the Worship and the Work.
Yet all ritual is done for a purpose. A Wiccan worship ceremony—often thought of as NON-Ceremonial Magic—is done in order to strengthen one's relationship with the Gods. That is its purpose. Everything has a purpose so to say "their Work is always done for a purpose/outcome, and ours is just worship" is to misunderstand your own purpose in worship.
The Golden Dawn papers published by Israel Regardie and about 90% of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn reconstructionists have no inner teachings. They have the rituals, one or two knowledge lectures, but none of the oral teaching, none of the inner work which really defines this path.
Obviously I'm limited in what I can say in a public forum when it comes to the inner traditions, but I'll try to address the specific misconceptions that I've run into, especially over the last week.
Now, those who know me know that I am a long time initiate of a tradition with roots in the Golden Dawn. The tradition I speak of is connected to the same tree as the Cicero GD, the Servants of the Light, the Society of the Inner Light, the Builders of the Adytum and the Fraternity of the Inner Light. And it is to this tradition that I speak.
First of all, we are seen as Judeo-Christian because much of our work is based on the Qabalah. Yet this is not the "Kosher Qabalah" as Dion Fortune makes clear in her Magnum Opus The Mystical Qabalah but a living tradition which has a greater range than the original. Even the Kosher Kabbalah is seen as heretical by many Jewish traditions because it branches out past the simple "Old man in a throne" image of G-d.
If anything we are more Pantheist or Deist. Our system is based on the idea that the universe is God made manifest. That each human being is a manifestation of that same Divine Life-Force which we also know as the Divine ONE. In general, it has been easier to explain our tradition to the outside world by using the word God, but in Paul Case's work on Tarot he tends to eschew that word for phrases like "The Divine," "The Life Power," "The One-Force" and others. This is to avoid confusion with the image of God which is taught in our Judeo-Christian society. One of my greatest challenges with students is getting them to see a greater Life-Force universe wherein each "God" is a manifestation of something even greater which takes on the form of a God in order to make it easier for finite beings to understand and commune with.
We see all Gods and Goddesses as manifestations of the same Divine Power which is the One Light. Even the name Jehovah (Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh) is only one name for the specific power associated with the Supernal Father. It is a powerful formula that evokes that power in its highest and purest form. It is not so much a name as a formula composed of sacred pictograms with associated sounds and tones. Yet to evoke the Divine Supernal Father we could also call Odin, Zeus, or the Archangel Ratziel. Archetypes exist across cultures who gave the manifestations different names and different personalities just as we, human beings, are manifested with different names and different personalities. The personality is like the body in that it allows the individuality to communicate with the manifest world.
Second we are often defined as "Ceremonialists." It is true that we perform ceremonies, that we engage in Ritual Magic, but it is not the singular manifestation of our work. Ours is a threefold path which includes ritual, meditation and study (Power, Love and Wisdom). Within this system we also use Alchemy, Visualisation, Tarot, Gematria, Divination, Meditation, Colour and Sound, and many others. Ritual Magic is but one tool in our box, a very powerful tool, but one of many. Are we also to be defined as Alchemists? Or Tarologists? Or Meditators? Our path includes all of these, but they do not define us, and none of them are unique to our system. We use the word Hermetic because of the threefold path and our understanding of the universe which is based on the Prima Materia or One Thing discussed in the Emerald Tablet. This is the One Light, the Life-Force, the First Matter, of which all things, spiritual and physical are created. And for this reason, all things are holy no matter how vile they may appear to be to our sensibilities. (i.e. Excrement becomes food for plants which we in turn eat or feed to other animals which we, in turn, eat.)
Thirdly we are defined as not having religion, and in many cases, not having morality. It is true that the Life-Force is a force and can be directed in any way, good or evil, but we do have very specific and often strict morality as to how that should be done. Some of us cannot even do healing work unless directly asked by the person (or their guardian in the case of a child) that we not harm them by accident. Morality is very important to our work, for we see ourselves as actively evolving and working towards the greater good of all mankind. We should live as examples of goodness and worthyness and spirituality, true Priests of the Universe, and emmisaries of the One Light. We may be seen to worship the Sun, the Solar Logos, for it is the source of all life and force on Earth. Nothing lives, nothing acts, nothing happens save for the light of the sun. At the same time it is a symbol of the Life Force and it is a point though which that force manifests in the universe, just as each person is a "small light" manifestation of the Divine.
And we do adore the source of all life in the world. We adore the Lord of the Universe and the Lady as well. In Judaism they are God and Shekinah, in Christianity they are Jesus and Mary, in Wicca they are the God and Goddess, but they are all, ALL, the same force in different guises.
It was told to me many years ago by a true Adepti of our tradition "The inner school never intended there to be a separation between the Worship and the Work." Wicca or Craft and the system called "Ceremonial" were never meant to be separate. They were intended to compliment one another, not be at odds. I know at least 2 heads of contacted orders who are also 3rd degrees in Wiccan traditions. There has been greater movement to join the two together, but there has been resistance by people who see "Ceremonialists" as stuffy, snobbish, self-absorbed assholes and those who see Pagans/Wiccans as undisciplined, uneducated wannabes. Yes, both traditions do have those people in them... I will not deny that. That they should be representing our traditions, that they should be the stereotype, that I argue, for how many of them are initiates of a true tradition, how many of them have been doing the work of their system for more that a few years?
I think that, too often, people get into one of these traditions and it goes to their head. They become "initiate" and suddenly they're complete jerks, or maybe the complete jerk comes out because they don't have to play nice anymore. I've known "Second Order" people who were not the least bit spiritual or advanced and known people who'd never HEARD of initiation who were true beacons of Light. Grade often does not matter, for grade only means that one is doing specific work at a specific time. It does not impart wisdom or spirituality. It is hard to know who truly speaks for a tradition and who does not. "Lord MoonBladder is high Mucky Muck 10-1, 3rd Degree, Grand Hierophant of the Cosmos and he says... BLAH" and he's probably wrong.
Actually, that's a great example. As far as I'm concerned, when someone starts listing their degrees and their magical names anything they have to say afterwards is thrown in the "may be bullshit" container. OK, It's one thing to say "I've worked with this system for 20 years" because it means you've had experience with the system, you've more than a cursory knowledge of the tradition. Some groups can get you to Second Order or 3rd Degree in 6 months. Does that really make you an expert in their tradition? No. Time teaches, and time shapes us. I don't want to know your grades or your names. I want to know how long you've been with the system/tradition, maybe whether or not you've taught, for we learn much when seeing the problem from a different perspective. If I have ANY reason to know your magical name, I should be in a position to look it up! In our tradition it is the name of the aspiration of our soul, it is not to be used lightly.
Anyway, I'm getting away from the point of this post. In general, the people who claim the most authority (the loudest and most obnoxious) tend to have no real experience of a tradition and the tradition is then judged by them and their behaviour. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of "Orders" that have been formed throughout North America and the world have no contact to the Inner School and no real experience in the tradition. Many are formed because someone spends a few years and decides to create something new because of personality conflicts (often because the head of the order cannot see how special and important that person is) and they form a new "order" without really grokking the inner teachings. I'd like to address the misconceptions that those people have created about us, and to help define our tradition within the community as a whole.
If you want to add or discuss points I've brought up, please post. I'll edit this post and use the material in future lecutres on our tradition.
Yet all ritual is done for a purpose. A Wiccan worship ceremony—often thought of as NON-Ceremonial Magic—is done in order to strengthen one's relationship with the Gods. That is its purpose. Everything has a purpose so to say "their Work is always done for a purpose/outcome, and ours is just worship" is to misunderstand your own purpose in worship.
The Golden Dawn papers published by Israel Regardie and about 90% of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn reconstructionists have no inner teachings. They have the rituals, one or two knowledge lectures, but none of the oral teaching, none of the inner work which really defines this path.
Obviously I'm limited in what I can say in a public forum when it comes to the inner traditions, but I'll try to address the specific misconceptions that I've run into, especially over the last week.
Now, those who know me know that I am a long time initiate of a tradition with roots in the Golden Dawn. The tradition I speak of is connected to the same tree as the Cicero GD, the Servants of the Light, the Society of the Inner Light, the Builders of the Adytum and the Fraternity of the Inner Light. And it is to this tradition that I speak.
First of all, we are seen as Judeo-Christian because much of our work is based on the Qabalah. Yet this is not the "Kosher Qabalah" as Dion Fortune makes clear in her Magnum Opus The Mystical Qabalah but a living tradition which has a greater range than the original. Even the Kosher Kabbalah is seen as heretical by many Jewish traditions because it branches out past the simple "Old man in a throne" image of G-d.
If anything we are more Pantheist or Deist. Our system is based on the idea that the universe is God made manifest. That each human being is a manifestation of that same Divine Life-Force which we also know as the Divine ONE. In general, it has been easier to explain our tradition to the outside world by using the word God, but in Paul Case's work on Tarot he tends to eschew that word for phrases like "The Divine," "The Life Power," "The One-Force" and others. This is to avoid confusion with the image of God which is taught in our Judeo-Christian society. One of my greatest challenges with students is getting them to see a greater Life-Force universe wherein each "God" is a manifestation of something even greater which takes on the form of a God in order to make it easier for finite beings to understand and commune with.
We see all Gods and Goddesses as manifestations of the same Divine Power which is the One Light. Even the name Jehovah (Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh) is only one name for the specific power associated with the Supernal Father. It is a powerful formula that evokes that power in its highest and purest form. It is not so much a name as a formula composed of sacred pictograms with associated sounds and tones. Yet to evoke the Divine Supernal Father we could also call Odin, Zeus, or the Archangel Ratziel. Archetypes exist across cultures who gave the manifestations different names and different personalities just as we, human beings, are manifested with different names and different personalities. The personality is like the body in that it allows the individuality to communicate with the manifest world.
Second we are often defined as "Ceremonialists." It is true that we perform ceremonies, that we engage in Ritual Magic, but it is not the singular manifestation of our work. Ours is a threefold path which includes ritual, meditation and study (Power, Love and Wisdom). Within this system we also use Alchemy, Visualisation, Tarot, Gematria, Divination, Meditation, Colour and Sound, and many others. Ritual Magic is but one tool in our box, a very powerful tool, but one of many. Are we also to be defined as Alchemists? Or Tarologists? Or Meditators? Our path includes all of these, but they do not define us, and none of them are unique to our system. We use the word Hermetic because of the threefold path and our understanding of the universe which is based on the Prima Materia or One Thing discussed in the Emerald Tablet. This is the One Light, the Life-Force, the First Matter, of which all things, spiritual and physical are created. And for this reason, all things are holy no matter how vile they may appear to be to our sensibilities. (i.e. Excrement becomes food for plants which we in turn eat or feed to other animals which we, in turn, eat.)
Thirdly we are defined as not having religion, and in many cases, not having morality. It is true that the Life-Force is a force and can be directed in any way, good or evil, but we do have very specific and often strict morality as to how that should be done. Some of us cannot even do healing work unless directly asked by the person (or their guardian in the case of a child) that we not harm them by accident. Morality is very important to our work, for we see ourselves as actively evolving and working towards the greater good of all mankind. We should live as examples of goodness and worthyness and spirituality, true Priests of the Universe, and emmisaries of the One Light. We may be seen to worship the Sun, the Solar Logos, for it is the source of all life and force on Earth. Nothing lives, nothing acts, nothing happens save for the light of the sun. At the same time it is a symbol of the Life Force and it is a point though which that force manifests in the universe, just as each person is a "small light" manifestation of the Divine.
And we do adore the source of all life in the world. We adore the Lord of the Universe and the Lady as well. In Judaism they are God and Shekinah, in Christianity they are Jesus and Mary, in Wicca they are the God and Goddess, but they are all, ALL, the same force in different guises.
It was told to me many years ago by a true Adepti of our tradition "The inner school never intended there to be a separation between the Worship and the Work." Wicca or Craft and the system called "Ceremonial" were never meant to be separate. They were intended to compliment one another, not be at odds. I know at least 2 heads of contacted orders who are also 3rd degrees in Wiccan traditions. There has been greater movement to join the two together, but there has been resistance by people who see "Ceremonialists" as stuffy, snobbish, self-absorbed assholes and those who see Pagans/Wiccans as undisciplined, uneducated wannabes. Yes, both traditions do have those people in them... I will not deny that. That they should be representing our traditions, that they should be the stereotype, that I argue, for how many of them are initiates of a true tradition, how many of them have been doing the work of their system for more that a few years?
I think that, too often, people get into one of these traditions and it goes to their head. They become "initiate" and suddenly they're complete jerks, or maybe the complete jerk comes out because they don't have to play nice anymore. I've known "Second Order" people who were not the least bit spiritual or advanced and known people who'd never HEARD of initiation who were true beacons of Light. Grade often does not matter, for grade only means that one is doing specific work at a specific time. It does not impart wisdom or spirituality. It is hard to know who truly speaks for a tradition and who does not. "Lord MoonBladder is high Mucky Muck 10-1, 3rd Degree, Grand Hierophant of the Cosmos and he says... BLAH" and he's probably wrong.
Actually, that's a great example. As far as I'm concerned, when someone starts listing their degrees and their magical names anything they have to say afterwards is thrown in the "may be bullshit" container. OK, It's one thing to say "I've worked with this system for 20 years" because it means you've had experience with the system, you've more than a cursory knowledge of the tradition. Some groups can get you to Second Order or 3rd Degree in 6 months. Does that really make you an expert in their tradition? No. Time teaches, and time shapes us. I don't want to know your grades or your names. I want to know how long you've been with the system/tradition, maybe whether or not you've taught, for we learn much when seeing the problem from a different perspective. If I have ANY reason to know your magical name, I should be in a position to look it up! In our tradition it is the name of the aspiration of our soul, it is not to be used lightly.
Anyway, I'm getting away from the point of this post. In general, the people who claim the most authority (the loudest and most obnoxious) tend to have no real experience of a tradition and the tradition is then judged by them and their behaviour. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of "Orders" that have been formed throughout North America and the world have no contact to the Inner School and no real experience in the tradition. Many are formed because someone spends a few years and decides to create something new because of personality conflicts (often because the head of the order cannot see how special and important that person is) and they form a new "order" without really grokking the inner teachings. I'd like to address the misconceptions that those people have created about us, and to help define our tradition within the community as a whole.
If you want to add or discuss points I've brought up, please post. I'll edit this post and use the material in future lecutres on our tradition.
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Problem of Translation
The Bible can be a lovely source of inspiration, teaching and Occult wisdom. It can also be the basis for paranoia, slavery and psychosis. The problem is one of language and approach. First of all, English is an Objective Language. When we refer to things they are things. A fence is a fence, perhaps made of stone, or wood or chain link. The word Chet (Fence) also includes the ideas of separation and enclosure. Consider also the word Olam
Atah geboor l-olam Adonai. -- Thou are great forever Lord.
Malek Ha-olam. -- King of the universe.
Olam ha-yichud. -- The world of unification.
"Olam" is here translated as "World", "Universe" and "Forever." Hebrew words tend to represent concepts over physical objects.
It is, therefore, very difficult to simply assign a single translated meaning to Hebrew spiritual concepts. It is for this reason that we see books like the Chumash which combine English, Hebrew and commentary into a simplified form for study. When reading the English one can simply glance over to the Hebrew and find deeper meaning or even seek alternative ways of translating.
The Hebrew Bible is not a static thing either. Centuries of commentary, argument and discussion have been recorded to help one explore the inner meanings of the Scriptures. Midrash, Mishnah and Talmud make up what is sometimes called the "Oral Torah" as opposed to the "Written Torah." In many ways, taking only the written part of the Hebrew Bible (which includes Torah ("Teaching"), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings")) is to take the entire text out of context. It is for this reason that commentary is included in the Chumash. For Jewish scholars, they are all part of the same sacred teaching.
The "Spirit" of the Torah is called Qabalah, a word meaning to pass from mouth to ear. It is the sacred, inner teaching and expresses much which cannot simply be given in words. It also forms the basis of the Western Mystery tradition of which I have long been an initiate. Again, the Western Bible tends to be interpreted without this "spirit" or "soul" nor with reference to the Oral traditions.
So we take these two problems, one of language and one of approach or understanding. We see that there can be great meaning within any Biblical passage. Remember that Jesus/Yeheshua was a Rabbinic scholar and would likely have been well versed in the Qabalah and whatever Oral Torah was available at the time. It is reasonable to assume that the originals of the "New Testament" books were possibly written by people educated in a similar way (though likely without the depth of a Rabbi).
Let us take a passage for our example. Noach was instructed to build an Ark. Genesis 6:16 gives the following instruction: "A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." This is taken from the King James translation. The word which is here translated "Window" is the word "Zohar." This will be immediately recognized by any student of Qabalah as the name of one of the great Qabalistic books. Zohar is generally translated "Splendor" or "Brilliance."
Consider the following interpretive translations:
JPS 1962: "Make an opening for daylight in the ark..."
NIV: Make a roof for it..."
American Standard: "A light shall thou make to the ark..."
New American Standard: You shall make a window for the ark..."
The Message: "Build a roof for it..."
Jewish Publication Society: "A light shalt thou make to the ark..."
Young's Literal: "a window dost thou make for the ark..."
Darby Translation: "A light shalt thou make to the ark..."
Contemporary English: "Build a roof on the boat..."
New Life: "Make a window for the boat..."
New Living: "Construct an opening all the way around the boat..."
Each of these translations has had to interpret what was meant by the word Zohar. Out of 17 different translations the word Zohar is interpreted as a "light" 3 times, a "Window" 7 times, a "roof" 5 times, and an "opening" twice. Yet Hebrew has perfectly good words for all of these things. A window is Heh, a Roof is Gag, an Opening is Peytach. So why use the word Zohar?
If we examine the Oral Torah we can find a great deal of comment on the use of this word.
The Stone Chumash tells us
The Midrashic collection Legends of the Jews elaborates further:
The Zoharayim reports: " R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, instructed Noah, 'Set therein precious stones and jewels, so that they may give thee light, bright as the noon.' Gersham Scholem in his book Kabbalah tells us "..but as early as the Sepher ha-Bahir it [the Sepheroth] is related to the Hebrew sappir ("Sapphire"), for it is the radiance of God which is like a sapphire."
Perhaps we can consider the following line of though.
Between language, tradition and the various levels thereof, we cannot simply rely on a single translation and assume that it is "correct" or that the meaning "cannot be lost in translation." Whether you believe that the Bible is a teaching tool recorded by humanity, the Divinely Inspired Word of God or the Direct Writings of the Divine, it doesn't change that the words you see in the English, Latin and Greek cannot convey the complexity of the Hebrew and Arameic texts. If you feel that there is nothing of value in the Bible, I do urge you to consider it in light of a good course in introductory Qabalah. (Consider Fortune's The Mystical Qabalah as a possible place to start).
And the next time someone bashes you over the head with some interpreted translation which "proves" you're a bad person and are going to hell, start asking them how they came to this conclusion and whether or not they examined the secondary, yet vitally important, texts referring to their precious passage.
Atah geboor l-olam Adonai. -- Thou are great forever Lord.
Malek Ha-olam. -- King of the universe.
Olam ha-yichud. -- The world of unification.
"Olam" is here translated as "World", "Universe" and "Forever." Hebrew words tend to represent concepts over physical objects.
It is, therefore, very difficult to simply assign a single translated meaning to Hebrew spiritual concepts. It is for this reason that we see books like the Chumash which combine English, Hebrew and commentary into a simplified form for study. When reading the English one can simply glance over to the Hebrew and find deeper meaning or even seek alternative ways of translating.
The Hebrew Bible is not a static thing either. Centuries of commentary, argument and discussion have been recorded to help one explore the inner meanings of the Scriptures. Midrash, Mishnah and Talmud make up what is sometimes called the "Oral Torah" as opposed to the "Written Torah." In many ways, taking only the written part of the Hebrew Bible (which includes Torah ("Teaching"), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings")) is to take the entire text out of context. It is for this reason that commentary is included in the Chumash. For Jewish scholars, they are all part of the same sacred teaching.
The "Spirit" of the Torah is called Qabalah, a word meaning to pass from mouth to ear. It is the sacred, inner teaching and expresses much which cannot simply be given in words. It also forms the basis of the Western Mystery tradition of which I have long been an initiate. Again, the Western Bible tends to be interpreted without this "spirit" or "soul" nor with reference to the Oral traditions.
So we take these two problems, one of language and one of approach or understanding. We see that there can be great meaning within any Biblical passage. Remember that Jesus/Yeheshua was a Rabbinic scholar and would likely have been well versed in the Qabalah and whatever Oral Torah was available at the time. It is reasonable to assume that the originals of the "New Testament" books were possibly written by people educated in a similar way (though likely without the depth of a Rabbi).
Let us take a passage for our example. Noach was instructed to build an Ark. Genesis 6:16 gives the following instruction: "A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." This is taken from the King James translation. The word which is here translated "Window" is the word "Zohar." This will be immediately recognized by any student of Qabalah as the name of one of the great Qabalistic books. Zohar is generally translated "Splendor" or "Brilliance."
Consider the following interpretive translations:
JPS 1962: "Make an opening for daylight in the ark..."
NIV: Make a roof for it..."
American Standard: "A light shall thou make to the ark..."
New American Standard: You shall make a window for the ark..."
The Message: "Build a roof for it..."
Jewish Publication Society: "A light shalt thou make to the ark..."
Young's Literal: "a window dost thou make for the ark..."
Darby Translation: "A light shalt thou make to the ark..."
Contemporary English: "Build a roof on the boat..."
New Life: "Make a window for the boat..."
New Living: "Construct an opening all the way around the boat..."
Each of these translations has had to interpret what was meant by the word Zohar. Out of 17 different translations the word Zohar is interpreted as a "light" 3 times, a "Window" 7 times, a "roof" 5 times, and an "opening" twice. Yet Hebrew has perfectly good words for all of these things. A window is Heh, a Roof is Gag, an Opening is Peytach. So why use the word Zohar?
If we examine the Oral Torah we can find a great deal of comment on the use of this word.
The Stone Chumash tells us
Some say it was a skylightßžaccording to most commentators, it was the window Noah opened after the Flood (8:6)ßžand some say it was a precious stone [that refracted the outside light to illuminate the interior (Chizkuni)] (Rashi).Midrash Rabbah states:
R. Hunia and R. Phinehas, R. Hanan and R. Hoshaia could not explain [the meaning of ZOHAR]; R. Abba b. Kahana and R. Levi did explain it. R. Abba b. Kahana said: It means a skylight; R. Levi said: A precious stone. [Which provided light from itself.]The reference above [CF. Sanh. 108b] is a reference to the Talmud tract Sanhedrin. This particular piece is quoted from the Talmud.
R. Phinehas said in R. Levi's name: During the whole twelve months that Noah was in the Ark he did not require the light of the sun by day or the light of the moon by night, but he had a polished gem which he hung up: when it was dim he knew that it was day, and when it shone he knew that it was night. [Cf. Sanh. 108b.]
R. Huna said: Once we were taking refuge from [Roman] troops in the caves of Tiberias. We had lamps with us: when they were dim we knew that it was day, and when they shone brightly we knew that it was night.
The Midrashic collection Legends of the Jews elaborates further:
THE HOLY BOOK
Great wisdom was needed for building the ark, which was to have space for all beings on earth, even the spirits. Only the fishes did not have to be provided for. Noah acquired the necessary wisdom from the book given to Adam by the angel Raziel, in which all celestial and all earthly knowledge is recorded.
...
The book, which was made of sapphires, he took with him into the ark, having first enclosed it in a golden casket. All the time he spent in the ark it served him as a time-piece, to distinguish night from day.
The Zoharayim reports: " R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, instructed Noah, 'Set therein precious stones and jewels, so that they may give thee light, bright as the noon.' Gersham Scholem in his book Kabbalah tells us "..but as early as the Sepher ha-Bahir it [the Sepheroth] is related to the Hebrew sappir ("Sapphire"), for it is the radiance of God which is like a sapphire."
Perhaps we can consider the following line of though.
- Noach placed a "light" in the ark.
- This light also acted as a time piece.
- The light was a precious stone.
- The stone may have been a book made of sapphire.
- The book of sapphire acted as a time piece.
- They both are said to have radiated (emanated?) light in order to tell time.
- This served as a form of guidance for Noach so that he knew when it was day and when it was night.
- The light coming from the sapphire can be the eminations (sephiroth) of the divine radiance (zohar).
- The sephiroth make up the Tree of Life, the Qabalah.
- A book of sephiroth would then be the Qabalah.
- During the darkest days and surrounded by Chaos the Qabalah (Tradition, Mysticism, Wisdom) guided Noach.
- If the story is didactic then perhaps we can put this light in our own "ark"; our own selves.
- This inner light acts as a guide for us through darkness.
- The Qabalah helps us to discover and reveal that inner light to ourselves and others.
- We are assured (by the story of the Flood and the Ark) that by relying on this light to guide us we will always make our way safely through the darkness and find a safe place to land when it is over.
- The light within is a gift from God (as the book was given to Noach) and it shines the brightest when we need it most.
Between language, tradition and the various levels thereof, we cannot simply rely on a single translation and assume that it is "correct" or that the meaning "cannot be lost in translation." Whether you believe that the Bible is a teaching tool recorded by humanity, the Divinely Inspired Word of God or the Direct Writings of the Divine, it doesn't change that the words you see in the English, Latin and Greek cannot convey the complexity of the Hebrew and Arameic texts. If you feel that there is nothing of value in the Bible, I do urge you to consider it in light of a good course in introductory Qabalah. (Consider Fortune's The Mystical Qabalah as a possible place to start).
And the next time someone bashes you over the head with some interpreted translation which "proves" you're a bad person and are going to hell, start asking them how they came to this conclusion and whether or not they examined the secondary, yet vitally important, texts referring to their precious passage.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
High and Low Magic
It is an unfortunate tendency in Occultism to refer to two types of magic as Low and High. Too often this is interpreted as being a moral judgement rather than a technical descriptor. Low and High do not indicate moral value but technical quality.
We use the terms High and Low to indicate source, yet this is still based on a medieval cosmology rather than true analysis of the energy. High Magic is that which uses pure energy drawn directly through the Source mitigated by very specific forms and ritual in order to shape the force in accordance with the intent of the magician. Low magic draws energy up from the earth, energy which has been softened (for lack of a better word) by existing within the manifest world around the magician. One might better be called "Gaia Magic" or "Earth Magic" and the other "Sun Magic."
In fact this works much better as an analogy. The High Magician draws his force directly from the center of Life and Light which manifests as the Sun in our cosmos. The Low Magician draws on the same energy but after it has been absorbed and mutated within the living earth upon which he stands.
If one takes a sick person and applies Colour-Sound therapy this is High Magic. To make them a draught of herbs and giving them certain stones is Low Magic. Neither of them is better or more effective, they simply work on different parts of the individual in question. One works more directly with his physical vehicle, the other more directly with his Astral and Ethereal vehicles. Would I say one is better than the other? Depends on the ailment. Personally I'd say that both are better than one or the other and that together they have a greater chance of success.
I believe that the problem has originated in the difference in overall approach. The Low Magic is the magic of the common folk. This is the magic of plants and flowers and stones and trees, the magic of the old wise woman or the elderly apothacary. It is common because it is gentle and easy to work with.
The High Magic tends to be the province of the intellectual, the educated, those who are willing to learn the nuances of dealing with direct current power. To modify this takes great concentration and nuance. Not unlike being a low-level computer programmer vs. an apps user.
It also depends on how you define magic. Our tradition uses the definition of "making changes in consciousness at will" which is slightly different than the popular definitions of changing the universe in accordance with one's own Will. With Low Magic the work is very practical, we're dealing with candle magic, herbs, stones, etc... With High Magic we are altering the basic operating code of the Subconscious mind, implanting new programs and even altering perceptions, personalities and reality tunnels.
This has lead to a definite separation between practitioners which I find sad, but too often it is true. Low Magicians see the High Magicians as self important snobs, and many of them are. High Magicians see Low Magicians as hicks and hippies, and there is some truth to this as well. But as with any generalisations, there are always exceptions and the rare individual who is capable of seeing the value in both approaches. Perhaps the stereotypical High/Low magician is what happens early on, when they discover that they are special and have yet to realise that they are more a part of the whole than separate therefrom.
The division is a sad one since it often seems a self fulfilling prophecy. The Low Magician often goes out of their way to be folksy and hip, the High Magician goes out of his way to show off his intellectual prowess and how stunningly appointed is his Ivory Tower with grades and seals and titles. They create these images which are then observed and drive further the separation between the two types.
To my mind Witches and Wizards really should get along better, look for the similarities and see how the different methods can benefit a total person rather than finding ways to drench one another in derision. Legitimate traditions have value, whether they work primarily with Nature Magic or directly with the One Source. One great Adept I once knew said to me that he felt very strongly that the Wiccan and Magician traditions need to be blended into a single working tradition, and that in the distant past, this was the original intent. I have always agreed with him.
We use the terms High and Low to indicate source, yet this is still based on a medieval cosmology rather than true analysis of the energy. High Magic is that which uses pure energy drawn directly through the Source mitigated by very specific forms and ritual in order to shape the force in accordance with the intent of the magician. Low magic draws energy up from the earth, energy which has been softened (for lack of a better word) by existing within the manifest world around the magician. One might better be called "Gaia Magic" or "Earth Magic" and the other "Sun Magic."
In fact this works much better as an analogy. The High Magician draws his force directly from the center of Life and Light which manifests as the Sun in our cosmos. The Low Magician draws on the same energy but after it has been absorbed and mutated within the living earth upon which he stands.
If one takes a sick person and applies Colour-Sound therapy this is High Magic. To make them a draught of herbs and giving them certain stones is Low Magic. Neither of them is better or more effective, they simply work on different parts of the individual in question. One works more directly with his physical vehicle, the other more directly with his Astral and Ethereal vehicles. Would I say one is better than the other? Depends on the ailment. Personally I'd say that both are better than one or the other and that together they have a greater chance of success.
I believe that the problem has originated in the difference in overall approach. The Low Magic is the magic of the common folk. This is the magic of plants and flowers and stones and trees, the magic of the old wise woman or the elderly apothacary. It is common because it is gentle and easy to work with.
The High Magic tends to be the province of the intellectual, the educated, those who are willing to learn the nuances of dealing with direct current power. To modify this takes great concentration and nuance. Not unlike being a low-level computer programmer vs. an apps user.
It also depends on how you define magic. Our tradition uses the definition of "making changes in consciousness at will" which is slightly different than the popular definitions of changing the universe in accordance with one's own Will. With Low Magic the work is very practical, we're dealing with candle magic, herbs, stones, etc... With High Magic we are altering the basic operating code of the Subconscious mind, implanting new programs and even altering perceptions, personalities and reality tunnels.
This has lead to a definite separation between practitioners which I find sad, but too often it is true. Low Magicians see the High Magicians as self important snobs, and many of them are. High Magicians see Low Magicians as hicks and hippies, and there is some truth to this as well. But as with any generalisations, there are always exceptions and the rare individual who is capable of seeing the value in both approaches. Perhaps the stereotypical High/Low magician is what happens early on, when they discover that they are special and have yet to realise that they are more a part of the whole than separate therefrom.
The division is a sad one since it often seems a self fulfilling prophecy. The Low Magician often goes out of their way to be folksy and hip, the High Magician goes out of his way to show off his intellectual prowess and how stunningly appointed is his Ivory Tower with grades and seals and titles. They create these images which are then observed and drive further the separation between the two types.
To my mind Witches and Wizards really should get along better, look for the similarities and see how the different methods can benefit a total person rather than finding ways to drench one another in derision. Legitimate traditions have value, whether they work primarily with Nature Magic or directly with the One Source. One great Adept I once knew said to me that he felt very strongly that the Wiccan and Magician traditions need to be blended into a single working tradition, and that in the distant past, this was the original intent. I have always agreed with him.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Why Ritual Magic?
I was recently asked the question "why would I be interested in Ritual Magic" by a friend in the Wiccan tradition. This is a very difficult question to answer since Western Occultism as studied by our tradition is not limited to Ritual Magic. Rather this is but one facet of the great jewel that is the Western Mysteries.
It seems to me that there are two ways of interpreting this question. It could mean, "why would I study the tradition which uses ritual magic (including Tarot, Qabalah, Alchemy, Etc...)" or it could mean "for what purpose would you employ ritual magic as a method?" Both of these are very good questions and I will attempt to answer both as well as possible.
For me the tradition we work with is a path of spiritual evolution. It is not simply a way to get stuff, but it is also a way to reshape the consciousness of the individual in question. When visualising an outcome one may use meditation or ritual. Paul Case once described the difference as meditation being like a pencil sketch with ritual being a painting in full colour, at least to the Subconscious into which we are implanting the image.
Others may use ritual magic as a way to contact parts of the subconscious directly through something called Evokation. The Grimoirs of old are examples of this type of magic. In the end, though, the goal is the same, to shape the universe to conform with an image we have constructed on some level. Personally I find that using forms which have negative connotations within the Human/Western egregore is only asking for trouble as they tend to act on their own, often to disastrous results.
Knowing the methods of constructing and executing a ceremonial with reference to the correspondent symbols of your desire can be a very valuable tool for anyone. Subconsciousness can be trained to work with the symbols of a tradition and can cause change in the universe according to the symbols it is given. In fact, it is already doing it, every day. The fact that most minds are undisciplined enough to give often conflicting instructions is what saves us from manifesting every idle whim which crosses our thoughts.
Yet when we want something to stick out, it can be difficult to get the subconscious mind to tell the difference between one thought and the next. This is where Ritual Magic comes in very handy indeed. As you begin to open the circle the subconscious mind is alerted and begins to pay attention. If you have worked with ritual for a long time it knows immediately that the following symbols are important. The following instruction is an expression of the conscious mind's true desire. It makes a greater impact than the stray thoughts that float across the mind from day to day.
As an extension of this, we study and work with the symbols of Qabalah, Alchemy, Astrology and Tarot in order to better understand our Selves, better communicate with the system behind our conscious minds and learn to create changes as we desire. Through these associated disciplines we learn HOW the system works and then we can use Ritual in order to influence that system.
But what of the person who is very Taoist, who doesn't want to influence external systems, who wants to just let it flow. They may find that parts of themselves do not conform to this ideal. Through ritual they may refine themselves, create new patterns of thought and behaviour. Yet as a path it can also teach us about ourselves and that, perhaps, we are not the ideal after all and need to re-adjust our view of ourselves as well as how we interact with the universe. In the end, one may become "most him/her Self" rather than trying to conform to artificial personality constructs.
It may also be that one is seeing the artificial separation which the community has imposed between "High Magic" and "Low Magic" interpreting Ritual Magic as being something entirely separate from the ritual work expressed within the Wiccan traditions. In this case I can only say that our tradition's teachings give one a wide range of tools with which to understand the individual, both the self and others. One who truly pursues these subjects will gain greater insight into the nature of the human mind and the personality masks which it creates making them, in turn, a greater counsellor and Priest/ess. Once one begins to truly know themSelves they also know that everyone else is an expression of that same True Self and therefore can better understand others as well.
Ritual Magic, as a method, is very powerful when it comes to embedding symbols into the subconscious mind. As a part of our great Western Mystery Tradition, it helps form a practical link between the various symbol structures and methods we use. Ritual can open the gateways to meditation, human metaprogramming or just allow us to slip beneath the mask of personality. There are many reasons to consider both aspects of this tool, but in the end, like so many questions worth asking, one must really answer the question themselves.
It seems to me that there are two ways of interpreting this question. It could mean, "why would I study the tradition which uses ritual magic (including Tarot, Qabalah, Alchemy, Etc...)" or it could mean "for what purpose would you employ ritual magic as a method?" Both of these are very good questions and I will attempt to answer both as well as possible.
For me the tradition we work with is a path of spiritual evolution. It is not simply a way to get stuff, but it is also a way to reshape the consciousness of the individual in question. When visualising an outcome one may use meditation or ritual. Paul Case once described the difference as meditation being like a pencil sketch with ritual being a painting in full colour, at least to the Subconscious into which we are implanting the image.
Others may use ritual magic as a way to contact parts of the subconscious directly through something called Evokation. The Grimoirs of old are examples of this type of magic. In the end, though, the goal is the same, to shape the universe to conform with an image we have constructed on some level. Personally I find that using forms which have negative connotations within the Human/Western egregore is only asking for trouble as they tend to act on their own, often to disastrous results.
Knowing the methods of constructing and executing a ceremonial with reference to the correspondent symbols of your desire can be a very valuable tool for anyone. Subconsciousness can be trained to work with the symbols of a tradition and can cause change in the universe according to the symbols it is given. In fact, it is already doing it, every day. The fact that most minds are undisciplined enough to give often conflicting instructions is what saves us from manifesting every idle whim which crosses our thoughts.
Yet when we want something to stick out, it can be difficult to get the subconscious mind to tell the difference between one thought and the next. This is where Ritual Magic comes in very handy indeed. As you begin to open the circle the subconscious mind is alerted and begins to pay attention. If you have worked with ritual for a long time it knows immediately that the following symbols are important. The following instruction is an expression of the conscious mind's true desire. It makes a greater impact than the stray thoughts that float across the mind from day to day.
As an extension of this, we study and work with the symbols of Qabalah, Alchemy, Astrology and Tarot in order to better understand our Selves, better communicate with the system behind our conscious minds and learn to create changes as we desire. Through these associated disciplines we learn HOW the system works and then we can use Ritual in order to influence that system.
But what of the person who is very Taoist, who doesn't want to influence external systems, who wants to just let it flow. They may find that parts of themselves do not conform to this ideal. Through ritual they may refine themselves, create new patterns of thought and behaviour. Yet as a path it can also teach us about ourselves and that, perhaps, we are not the ideal after all and need to re-adjust our view of ourselves as well as how we interact with the universe. In the end, one may become "most him/her Self" rather than trying to conform to artificial personality constructs.
It may also be that one is seeing the artificial separation which the community has imposed between "High Magic" and "Low Magic" interpreting Ritual Magic as being something entirely separate from the ritual work expressed within the Wiccan traditions. In this case I can only say that our tradition's teachings give one a wide range of tools with which to understand the individual, both the self and others. One who truly pursues these subjects will gain greater insight into the nature of the human mind and the personality masks which it creates making them, in turn, a greater counsellor and Priest/ess. Once one begins to truly know themSelves they also know that everyone else is an expression of that same True Self and therefore can better understand others as well.
Ritual Magic, as a method, is very powerful when it comes to embedding symbols into the subconscious mind. As a part of our great Western Mystery Tradition, it helps form a practical link between the various symbol structures and methods we use. Ritual can open the gateways to meditation, human metaprogramming or just allow us to slip beneath the mask of personality. There are many reasons to consider both aspects of this tool, but in the end, like so many questions worth asking, one must really answer the question themselves.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Meditation
Meditation is one of the most valuable tools and powers of the Occultist. In the balance of the Three Rays approach to training it is the Love/Devotional aspect of our work. Yet there are many types of meditation and those who have begun training with a school might already have some experience in one or more methods. This may make it difficult for them to approach new methods as they have trained their minds in a specific way.
Most common methods of meditation tend towards the passive. Transcendental and ZaZen meditation tend to empty the self and seek passivity. ZaZen especially allows one to observe without judgement or thought. Some may have experience in guided meditation or Pathworking, but again, in this case the images given are from an external source.
Early in the training of our school one is exposed to a very active method of meditation. This is a focussed meditation often using words, phrases or images as the center of work. For those who are used to totally stilling their minds when they being to meditate this can be difficult at first, especially if one is used to working cross-legged with eyes closed.
Since the instructions, at least in our school, are to assume the God-Form posture when meditating it is an easy thing to change the environment a little in order to aid in this form of meditation. Rather than sitting in an empty room in a chair, add a small folding table to your workspace. On the table place a note-book, pen and the focus of your meditation, preferably on some kind of stand to make it easy to observe while in the God Form posture.
Begin meditating as normal. Breathe as instructed and clear your mind of extraneous thoughts. Once established though, open your eyes and engage the meditation focus. Read the passage over and over. Allow yourself to digest it. You may even read it aloud if you will not disturb others. If it is an image, trace the lines, allow your eye to dance over the image, really look at the different elements and get a feel for what is before you.
Once you have done this, begin to formulate questions in your mind. At this point, begin writing. Write anything, write questions, write out the passage, write something to open the door of the subconscious and say "I am listening." Write what comes to mind. Do not analyse it too much, just let it flow. Whatever it seems good to write, write it down. If it is an image, imagine the figure is speaking to you and you are recording what it has to say.
This may be difficult at first but with practice it will help you to connect to your focus of meditation and not fall into the silent reverie of ZaZen or Transcendental Meditation. You have a pen in your hand, a focus before you and words to record.
I will tell you now, it feels different than passive meditation, yet there is a similarity of consciousness. It is a higher state of vibration, the brain is operating at a different rate than in normal waking consciousness. Engaging the focus feels different than just looking at it or reading the words. There is a sensation of something more.
You may feel that this is strange, or that you're talking to yourself. Well you are. The personality is only one part of the whole. You are trying to engage the focus will your whole Self, not just the part that's conscious most of the day. Project a consciousness, a personality upon images (especially Tarot since these are representations of your Inner Self anyway) and 'hear' what they have to say.
In some ways what you are doing is using a pass-phrase or image to unlock part of yourself which has always been there. The Inner School transmits truths all of the time and there are keys to accessing that information. You are literally accessing parts of yourself which are normally closed off, hidden, buried. You are not "talking to a picture" but using projection to talk to some part of yourSelf which you may not have access to in day-to-day life. It is a very valuable tool to learn.
Hopefully this makes it a little easier to make the transition to focussed meditations. I may update this article based on any questions or comments in order to make it more helpful.
in LVX
Bro Greg
Most common methods of meditation tend towards the passive. Transcendental and ZaZen meditation tend to empty the self and seek passivity. ZaZen especially allows one to observe without judgement or thought. Some may have experience in guided meditation or Pathworking, but again, in this case the images given are from an external source.
Early in the training of our school one is exposed to a very active method of meditation. This is a focussed meditation often using words, phrases or images as the center of work. For those who are used to totally stilling their minds when they being to meditate this can be difficult at first, especially if one is used to working cross-legged with eyes closed.
Since the instructions, at least in our school, are to assume the God-Form posture when meditating it is an easy thing to change the environment a little in order to aid in this form of meditation. Rather than sitting in an empty room in a chair, add a small folding table to your workspace. On the table place a note-book, pen and the focus of your meditation, preferably on some kind of stand to make it easy to observe while in the God Form posture.
Begin meditating as normal. Breathe as instructed and clear your mind of extraneous thoughts. Once established though, open your eyes and engage the meditation focus. Read the passage over and over. Allow yourself to digest it. You may even read it aloud if you will not disturb others. If it is an image, trace the lines, allow your eye to dance over the image, really look at the different elements and get a feel for what is before you.
Once you have done this, begin to formulate questions in your mind. At this point, begin writing. Write anything, write questions, write out the passage, write something to open the door of the subconscious and say "I am listening." Write what comes to mind. Do not analyse it too much, just let it flow. Whatever it seems good to write, write it down. If it is an image, imagine the figure is speaking to you and you are recording what it has to say.
This may be difficult at first but with practice it will help you to connect to your focus of meditation and not fall into the silent reverie of ZaZen or Transcendental Meditation. You have a pen in your hand, a focus before you and words to record.
I will tell you now, it feels different than passive meditation, yet there is a similarity of consciousness. It is a higher state of vibration, the brain is operating at a different rate than in normal waking consciousness. Engaging the focus feels different than just looking at it or reading the words. There is a sensation of something more.
You may feel that this is strange, or that you're talking to yourself. Well you are. The personality is only one part of the whole. You are trying to engage the focus will your whole Self, not just the part that's conscious most of the day. Project a consciousness, a personality upon images (especially Tarot since these are representations of your Inner Self anyway) and 'hear' what they have to say.
In some ways what you are doing is using a pass-phrase or image to unlock part of yourself which has always been there. The Inner School transmits truths all of the time and there are keys to accessing that information. You are literally accessing parts of yourself which are normally closed off, hidden, buried. You are not "talking to a picture" but using projection to talk to some part of yourSelf which you may not have access to in day-to-day life. It is a very valuable tool to learn.
Hopefully this makes it a little easier to make the transition to focussed meditations. I may update this article based on any questions or comments in order to make it more helpful.
in LVX
Bro Greg
Friday, July 30, 2010
Ethics: Practice
As individuals most Occultists eventually have an experience by which they realize that they are manifestations of the One-Force which we in the West refer to by the unfortunate title "God." Whether or not this has occurred it is very common for magicians to have very highly developed egos which can border on elitist and isolationist. This reaction to the work misses the point of the revelation that "thou art God" by assuming that this somehow applies to us exclusively, even to the exclusion of our fellow workers along the path.
What we should realize is that if we are a manifestation of the Life-Power then so is everyone and everything else. After nearly twenty years as an initiate I have long held the belief that this understanding (intellectual or experiential) should place upon us a great responsibility. We KNOW that we are Divine beings and that others have forgotten, yet are also Divine. As such we are the Priests and Priestesses of the Universe and it is our duty to be the example of ethical behaviour. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard than the rest of humanity and strive to be the tips of the Hermanubis' ears and not the tips of his toes as he rises upon the Wheel in Key 10.
Now I don't mean that we rigidly follow a specific religion, though we might as individuals. Rather we, as knowing manifestations of the Life-Power need to become the best people we can be and try to help others do the same. We have been given a great gift in our opportunity and ability to study the Great Arcana, but it is not free, for in doing so we are given the responsibility to manifest it in the world, and to fail in that is a very bad Karma indeed.
Most people are so bogged down in their day to day lives, their own dramas, stresses and concerns that they stop seeing other people. The dog-eat-dog world has muddled their brains and they don't have the time nor opportunity to find their way out. They don't even notice other people exist let alone acknowledge them as part of themselves or as part of the One-Force. It is interesting to see how people, when reminded of ethical behaviour, will change their own actions to meet the higher ideal. It is human nature to want to be better people. Circumstances make them forget, society and certain religions have created so much fear and shame that they can't act first anymore, if at all.
An example is the crowded bus, an experiment I've undertaken myself a few times. When sitting on a crowded bus and you see someone standing who really should be sitting down (due to age or infirmary or encumbrance) give up your seat to them and then pay careful attention to those around you. My experience has been that people notice that you have extended a kindness to someone and they will emulate the behaviour. They know that this is the right and compassionate thing to do, but nobody has reminded them, nobody has alerted them that now is a good time to act. Nobody has acted first and given them permission to be good people.
As a magician, as a member of a universal Priesthood, it is incumbent upon you to actually BE your brother's keeper. It is up to you to extend kindness and compassion wherever and whenever you can. It is also important to know when such is beyond your abilities or beyond your rights over another personality. Lending a hand with setup/cleanup at an event is excellent and it may encourage others to do the same. But trying to curb the negative or destructive behaviour of others is only going to cause a backlash on some level. You can express your disapproval, but it is ultimately up to them to make the change. Remember that many of our schools do not even allow us to perform healing work without the consent and request of the individual in question. We can suggest, we can live the example, but we cannot coerce, we cannot crusade.
What I'm saying is that we're more like guides than pontiffs. We're not the Bible Thumping Ministers of the Universe, we're It's Priesthood, It's hands and tongue. It is up to us to point the way towards the mountaintop, not to drag the villagers kicking and screaming along the path. It also means that we have to do a lot of work on our own evolution, our own development, and act accordingly.
Some people seem to think this means a lot of social activism. This is acceptable if you honestly take the time to see both perspectives before joining in on a protest. We do not blindly follow the pack, we really are better than that. If people we know are protesting a seal hunt, then we do research and examine WHY the hunt is allowed, who would be affected by changing it and how would it impact their lives. We live in a world of balance, if we change one thing, something else suffers. If we stop a seal hunt the hunters go hungry, the seals overpopulate and wipe out the fish stocks leaving the people who rely on fish hungry as well. That's a lot of human suffering and that's the opposite of our purpose in this world. In this case the higher standard means making informed decisions, educating ourselves and extending our compassion where we feel it is needed.
This is the lesson given to new initiates in the Golden Dawn ceremonies published by Israel Regardie. Excessive Geburah is not strength but cruelty, excessive Chesed is not mercy but weakness which would allow evil to go unchecked. This is also true of the intellectual Hod and the emotional Netzach. There must be balance in all things, we strive to be the Adepti, the Enlightened and Awakened, not a sheep following the latest trends. We must learn to discriminate, to know when one action is required over another. We need to know when we need to be compassionate and when we need to be severe. We need to know when to share feelings and when to share thoughts, when to guide and when we are an imposition.
The Fama Fraternitatis tells us to wear the habit of the country in which we dwell. We're not an oddity, nor an invader, just one who points the way with a gentle hand and shows the way through their own behaviour. We choose our battles intelligently and give compassion where it is needed. We should be the example of spiritual refinement and personal development and not an Ivory Tower denizen who rains down scorn upon all of those with sincere hearts.
Yet I know of nobody who is perfect. We strive to be the ideal, and that's the important part. We may be disgusted by other people's behaviour (my big trigger is substance abuse and intentional ignorance) but then we need to see how we can be an example in those situations (like abstaining from recreational drugs and being the one who can respond when an emergency occurs, or trying to engage people in a literary or educational activity). It is important, though, not to let them rely on you as the "good guy." (For example, abusing substances to a greater extent because if something happens to the kids, someone gets hurt, etc... you're always there to take responsibility.)
I never said anywhere in this article that living as an ethical example was easy. We are not given the powers and perceptions we have for it to be easy. We are chosen to serve, and that carries responsibility. We cannot rend the veil lightly just as no medieval knight took his vows and swore his fealty without serious consideration of his duty to his Lord. We have taken it upon ourselves to become the Ministers of the Universe, to join the Priesthood of Light, and that makes us the Elder Siblings of humanity. It places us as representatives of the One Light amongst the personality manifestations of this world. We should accept this duty with pride, serve with joy and show others the Way by our own example.
What we should realize is that if we are a manifestation of the Life-Power then so is everyone and everything else. After nearly twenty years as an initiate I have long held the belief that this understanding (intellectual or experiential) should place upon us a great responsibility. We KNOW that we are Divine beings and that others have forgotten, yet are also Divine. As such we are the Priests and Priestesses of the Universe and it is our duty to be the example of ethical behaviour. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard than the rest of humanity and strive to be the tips of the Hermanubis' ears and not the tips of his toes as he rises upon the Wheel in Key 10.
Now I don't mean that we rigidly follow a specific religion, though we might as individuals. Rather we, as knowing manifestations of the Life-Power need to become the best people we can be and try to help others do the same. We have been given a great gift in our opportunity and ability to study the Great Arcana, but it is not free, for in doing so we are given the responsibility to manifest it in the world, and to fail in that is a very bad Karma indeed.
Most people are so bogged down in their day to day lives, their own dramas, stresses and concerns that they stop seeing other people. The dog-eat-dog world has muddled their brains and they don't have the time nor opportunity to find their way out. They don't even notice other people exist let alone acknowledge them as part of themselves or as part of the One-Force. It is interesting to see how people, when reminded of ethical behaviour, will change their own actions to meet the higher ideal. It is human nature to want to be better people. Circumstances make them forget, society and certain religions have created so much fear and shame that they can't act first anymore, if at all.
An example is the crowded bus, an experiment I've undertaken myself a few times. When sitting on a crowded bus and you see someone standing who really should be sitting down (due to age or infirmary or encumbrance) give up your seat to them and then pay careful attention to those around you. My experience has been that people notice that you have extended a kindness to someone and they will emulate the behaviour. They know that this is the right and compassionate thing to do, but nobody has reminded them, nobody has alerted them that now is a good time to act. Nobody has acted first and given them permission to be good people.
As a magician, as a member of a universal Priesthood, it is incumbent upon you to actually BE your brother's keeper. It is up to you to extend kindness and compassion wherever and whenever you can. It is also important to know when such is beyond your abilities or beyond your rights over another personality. Lending a hand with setup/cleanup at an event is excellent and it may encourage others to do the same. But trying to curb the negative or destructive behaviour of others is only going to cause a backlash on some level. You can express your disapproval, but it is ultimately up to them to make the change. Remember that many of our schools do not even allow us to perform healing work without the consent and request of the individual in question. We can suggest, we can live the example, but we cannot coerce, we cannot crusade.
What I'm saying is that we're more like guides than pontiffs. We're not the Bible Thumping Ministers of the Universe, we're It's Priesthood, It's hands and tongue. It is up to us to point the way towards the mountaintop, not to drag the villagers kicking and screaming along the path. It also means that we have to do a lot of work on our own evolution, our own development, and act accordingly.
Some people seem to think this means a lot of social activism. This is acceptable if you honestly take the time to see both perspectives before joining in on a protest. We do not blindly follow the pack, we really are better than that. If people we know are protesting a seal hunt, then we do research and examine WHY the hunt is allowed, who would be affected by changing it and how would it impact their lives. We live in a world of balance, if we change one thing, something else suffers. If we stop a seal hunt the hunters go hungry, the seals overpopulate and wipe out the fish stocks leaving the people who rely on fish hungry as well. That's a lot of human suffering and that's the opposite of our purpose in this world. In this case the higher standard means making informed decisions, educating ourselves and extending our compassion where we feel it is needed.
This is the lesson given to new initiates in the Golden Dawn ceremonies published by Israel Regardie. Excessive Geburah is not strength but cruelty, excessive Chesed is not mercy but weakness which would allow evil to go unchecked. This is also true of the intellectual Hod and the emotional Netzach. There must be balance in all things, we strive to be the Adepti, the Enlightened and Awakened, not a sheep following the latest trends. We must learn to discriminate, to know when one action is required over another. We need to know when we need to be compassionate and when we need to be severe. We need to know when to share feelings and when to share thoughts, when to guide and when we are an imposition.
The Fama Fraternitatis tells us to wear the habit of the country in which we dwell. We're not an oddity, nor an invader, just one who points the way with a gentle hand and shows the way through their own behaviour. We choose our battles intelligently and give compassion where it is needed. We should be the example of spiritual refinement and personal development and not an Ivory Tower denizen who rains down scorn upon all of those with sincere hearts.
Yet I know of nobody who is perfect. We strive to be the ideal, and that's the important part. We may be disgusted by other people's behaviour (my big trigger is substance abuse and intentional ignorance) but then we need to see how we can be an example in those situations (like abstaining from recreational drugs and being the one who can respond when an emergency occurs, or trying to engage people in a literary or educational activity). It is important, though, not to let them rely on you as the "good guy." (For example, abusing substances to a greater extent because if something happens to the kids, someone gets hurt, etc... you're always there to take responsibility.)
I never said anywhere in this article that living as an ethical example was easy. We are not given the powers and perceptions we have for it to be easy. We are chosen to serve, and that carries responsibility. We cannot rend the veil lightly just as no medieval knight took his vows and swore his fealty without serious consideration of his duty to his Lord. We have taken it upon ourselves to become the Ministers of the Universe, to join the Priesthood of Light, and that makes us the Elder Siblings of humanity. It places us as representatives of the One Light amongst the personality manifestations of this world. We should accept this duty with pride, serve with joy and show others the Way by our own example.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Intro to Ethics
I would like to begin a discussion of Occult Ethics. This is a difficult subject as it seems almost everyone has an opinion on the nature of Occultism. There is a great deal of discussion about White Magic, Black Magic, The Right Hand and Left Hand paths, almost none of which give any indication as to the origin of these terms, simply arguments concerning their meaning or approach. Therefore I feel that it would be valuable to begin by looking at the teachings concerning creation in the mysteries.
Genesis 1 states: "1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. "
In our tradition this is a reference to the Limitless Light flowing into the universe through what we call the Veil of the Absolute. This can also be thought of as Light flowing into Positive Existence, the creation of SOMETHING as opposed to the vastness of NO-THING. This is based on the Qabalistic Veils. Light flows forth and crystallizes into Kether, the Crown. From there it flows out into all of the other Sepheroth via the "Flaming Sword" or "Lightening Flash". This is the beginning of Creation.
This is not a once-off event, the Light eternally creates and sustains the universe. But just as light flows into creation to congeal into matter, so did human consciousness descend into creation.
We will begin by using Key 10 in order to visualize the path of evolution.
In the beginning the vibratory energy of the Human Group Soul descended into manifestation. On the card we see this descent on the Left Hand side of the wheel. During this time humanity was a single consciousness (represented in Genesis by the term HaAdam (The Human). In Qabalistic writing the male represents Selfconsciousness and the female Subconsciousness. Thus The Woman is the generic Subconsciousness of HaAdam, The Human. Not until she is given a name do they have any individual awareness of self.
So it is that the creature representing this descent into matter is a basic creature, a serpent, who also has many other attributions. For it is also the Serpent which guided the Subconscious to create an individual identity which it then passed on to self consciousness. In this way humanity became individual.
This Biblical reference is not an endorsement of a specific religious tradition, but rather a tool for explaining something by referring to something with which most people are familiar. It does, in fact, fit the teachings of the Mysteries regardless of what interpretations have been applied to it otherwise.
The self-conscious humanity, at this point very primitive, began to develop individual thoughts and individual souls. This separation into separate, conscious individuals represents the point at which we reached the bottom of our devolution. At this point we stopped devolving and began the "Path of Return" whereby we will one day return to the Veil and pass beyond.
From this point we began to develop communities, civilizations and religion. For a long time we saw the universe as filled with frightening things and our consciousness was so gross that the only ways to be aware of those entities beyond our physical senses relied on barbaric practices including human and animal sacrifice. It is easy for us to condemn our ancestors today but thousands of years of spiritual evolution has occurred since and, at the time, this was necessary for manifestation of the Gods. Drugs were also part of the more primitive religions as the people using them had not yet evolved enough to make contact without them.
Today we can be aware of advanced entities simply by burning vegetable sacrifices (incense) and working with higher vibratory rates than our predecessors. As we move forward we begin to realize that we are not truly separate entities but individual expressions of a unified whole, separate personalities tied to a collective subconscious. We are the Humanubis rising up the Right Hand side of the wheel towards the infinite.
You will notice, though, that the Humanubis has not yet shed all of his animal heritage. Nor has he risen very far up the Path of Return. His length encompasses the history of our evolution from the very basic near animals who first gained self awareness up to the tips of his ears which just rise above the 90 degree mark (representing those few Adepti who push ahead on the path). Most people are somewhere near the 100 to 110 degree mark.
This is the basis of the terms Right Hand Path and Left Hand Path. The Right Hand Path strives towards the spiritual evolution of humanity. We are climbing the mountain towards true realization and understanding of the Limitless Light. The Left Hand Path rejects the concepts of unity and indulges the individual. Often this devolves further into self-worship and self-aggrandizement. It embraces the illusion of Matter and works against the spiritual evolution of humanity.
The difference is that one seeks the truth of our relationship with the Divine, our connection to the Force, the Life-Power, LVX. The other embraces the lie of separation, feeds on fear and gives in to the animal hind-brain.
In Key 6 we see Self-Consciousness (Man) looking to Sub-Consciousness (Woman) who is now a clear channel to Super-Consciousness represented by the Archangel Raphael who, in turn, is the conduit of the Life-Power represented by a golden sun. In Key 15, however, this conduit is broken and the world seems dark, vile, hopeless. The people in the picture are part animal for they have embraced their base natures rather than seeking to refine themselves into a more perfect reflection of the Life-Power.
The Adepts of our tradition term Evil "that which retards the spiritual evolution of humanity." It is not hard to see how the one who seeks to aid in the union of the Spirit and the betterment of mankind as a whole is different from the one who seeks personal glory and is willing to step on others in order to achieve their selfish desires. On the Right we move towards Understanding, The Light and Union, on the Left we move towards Ignorance and Darkness and Separation. This also gives the names of "White" magic (moving towards the Light) and "Black" magic (moving away from the Light). Though the "magic" part is the same "substance" or "Force" which is manipulated in each, it is the intention which defines it as evolutionary or devolutionary, Good or Evil.
Hopefully this helps to illustrate the basis of Occult Ethics and the roots of its terminology.
in LVX
Brother Greg
Genesis 1 states: "1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. "
In our tradition this is a reference to the Limitless Light flowing into the universe through what we call the Veil of the Absolute. This can also be thought of as Light flowing into Positive Existence, the creation of SOMETHING as opposed to the vastness of NO-THING. This is based on the Qabalistic Veils. Light flows forth and crystallizes into Kether, the Crown. From there it flows out into all of the other Sepheroth via the "Flaming Sword" or "Lightening Flash". This is the beginning of Creation.
This is not a once-off event, the Light eternally creates and sustains the universe. But just as light flows into creation to congeal into matter, so did human consciousness descend into creation.
We will begin by using Key 10 in order to visualize the path of evolution.
In the beginning the vibratory energy of the Human Group Soul descended into manifestation. On the card we see this descent on the Left Hand side of the wheel. During this time humanity was a single consciousness (represented in Genesis by the term HaAdam (The Human). In Qabalistic writing the male represents Selfconsciousness and the female Subconsciousness. Thus The Woman is the generic Subconsciousness of HaAdam, The Human. Not until she is given a name do they have any individual awareness of self.
So it is that the creature representing this descent into matter is a basic creature, a serpent, who also has many other attributions. For it is also the Serpent which guided the Subconscious to create an individual identity which it then passed on to self consciousness. In this way humanity became individual.
This Biblical reference is not an endorsement of a specific religious tradition, but rather a tool for explaining something by referring to something with which most people are familiar. It does, in fact, fit the teachings of the Mysteries regardless of what interpretations have been applied to it otherwise.
The self-conscious humanity, at this point very primitive, began to develop individual thoughts and individual souls. This separation into separate, conscious individuals represents the point at which we reached the bottom of our devolution. At this point we stopped devolving and began the "Path of Return" whereby we will one day return to the Veil and pass beyond.
From this point we began to develop communities, civilizations and religion. For a long time we saw the universe as filled with frightening things and our consciousness was so gross that the only ways to be aware of those entities beyond our physical senses relied on barbaric practices including human and animal sacrifice. It is easy for us to condemn our ancestors today but thousands of years of spiritual evolution has occurred since and, at the time, this was necessary for manifestation of the Gods. Drugs were also part of the more primitive religions as the people using them had not yet evolved enough to make contact without them.
Today we can be aware of advanced entities simply by burning vegetable sacrifices (incense) and working with higher vibratory rates than our predecessors. As we move forward we begin to realize that we are not truly separate entities but individual expressions of a unified whole, separate personalities tied to a collective subconscious. We are the Humanubis rising up the Right Hand side of the wheel towards the infinite.
You will notice, though, that the Humanubis has not yet shed all of his animal heritage. Nor has he risen very far up the Path of Return. His length encompasses the history of our evolution from the very basic near animals who first gained self awareness up to the tips of his ears which just rise above the 90 degree mark (representing those few Adepti who push ahead on the path). Most people are somewhere near the 100 to 110 degree mark.
This is the basis of the terms Right Hand Path and Left Hand Path. The Right Hand Path strives towards the spiritual evolution of humanity. We are climbing the mountain towards true realization and understanding of the Limitless Light. The Left Hand Path rejects the concepts of unity and indulges the individual. Often this devolves further into self-worship and self-aggrandizement. It embraces the illusion of Matter and works against the spiritual evolution of humanity.
The difference is that one seeks the truth of our relationship with the Divine, our connection to the Force, the Life-Power, LVX. The other embraces the lie of separation, feeds on fear and gives in to the animal hind-brain.In Key 6 we see Self-Consciousness (Man) looking to Sub-Consciousness (Woman) who is now a clear channel to Super-Consciousness represented by the Archangel Raphael who, in turn, is the conduit of the Life-Power represented by a golden sun. In Key 15, however, this conduit is broken and the world seems dark, vile, hopeless. The people in the picture are part animal for they have embraced their base natures rather than seeking to refine themselves into a more perfect reflection of the Life-Power.
The Adepts of our tradition term Evil "that which retards the spiritual evolution of humanity." It is not hard to see how the one who seeks to aid in the union of the Spirit and the betterment of mankind as a whole is different from the one who seeks personal glory and is willing to step on others in order to achieve their selfish desires. On the Right we move towards Understanding, The Light and Union, on the Left we move towards Ignorance and Darkness and Separation. This also gives the names of "White" magic (moving towards the Light) and "Black" magic (moving away from the Light). Though the "magic" part is the same "substance" or "Force" which is manipulated in each, it is the intention which defines it as evolutionary or devolutionary, Good or Evil.
Hopefully this helps to illustrate the basis of Occult Ethics and the roots of its terminology.
in LVX
Brother Greg
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