tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71989191094947753752024-02-20T02:07:12.398-08:00StreetMagickA gnostic priest, a Martinist a Ceremonial magician, a Hermeticist and a Rosicrucian walk into a bar.
-He- then drinks a beer and beholds how the imperfections of the cosmos perfect ExistenceMusicfoxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15107605810982102070noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-18933930464506243082013-03-21T05:34:00.000-07:002013-04-01T16:08:07.259-07:0010 The pitfalls of Albedo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmzvaTKU1MmR62oKuIcI1FaomRWaHuninKEQGYNxo7B9h3NnC1q4UxJVn2gWrxh86tftz82YGwQwjdImlWhvbSAVCC1rs6RKERXMZUNjyCU66cKWx6qAQv5sYql11dIvrA7UbXdAKe4N-/s1600/mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmzvaTKU1MmR62oKuIcI1FaomRWaHuninKEQGYNxo7B9h3NnC1q4UxJVn2gWrxh86tftz82YGwQwjdImlWhvbSAVCC1rs6RKERXMZUNjyCU66cKWx6qAQv5sYql11dIvrA7UbXdAKe4N-/s320/mountain.jpg" width="190" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">"The only initiation which I preach and seek with all the ardour of my soul is that by which we may enter into the heart of God and make God’s heart enter into us, there to form an indissoluble marriage, which will make us the friend, brother, and spouse of our Divine Redeemer. There is no other mystery to arrive at this holy initiation than to go down into the depths of our being, and not let go till we can bring forth the living vivifying root, because then all the fruit will be produced within us and without us naturally." -</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><em>Louis Claude de St.-Martin</em></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">, 18</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><sup>th</sup></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;">century French mystic and philosopher.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="btext" colspan="2" height="20" style="color: #001320; line-height: 21px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life - The Master Joshua quoted in the Gospel of St John</span></td></tr>
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</span>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-29435063468650246972013-03-15T07:44:00.000-07:002013-03-15T07:44:00.469-07:0010. The pitfalls of Albedo, prelude<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-aZ__aH0BtcSvT3ccDCXjYO0_ALz1KxBVM1FJGIYr16rcLZ165dWralrJH6PIKBlPmUh-MbHI7ycnV0WtVCV0TTexFCHFSnAIkPoipjuew1CVlaIMlTGGasm95veD4Xhj1SSIUOrRiZfw/s1600/kingofalltears_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-aZ__aH0BtcSvT3ccDCXjYO0_ALz1KxBVM1FJGIYr16rcLZ165dWralrJH6PIKBlPmUh-MbHI7ycnV0WtVCV0TTexFCHFSnAIkPoipjuew1CVlaIMlTGGasm95veD4Xhj1SSIUOrRiZfw/s320/kingofalltears_1.jpg" width="92" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is one specific thing that can go wrong in the Albedo phase, this is falling into the pit of the Archons.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As the comedian Bill Hicks said:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">" And these other musicians today who don't do drugs and in fact speak out against them? Boy, do they suck! What a coincidence! Ball-less, souless, spiritless corporate little bitches, suckers of Satan's cock, each and every one of them. Gnorr. "We're rock stars against drugs cos that's what the President wants." Aw, suck Satan's cock."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We usually have to follow some system to get to the goal. Gnosis is built on Pistis. But Gnosis is not pistis, in fact it destroys Pistis. I am using a non alchemical language structure in this article, even though I am talking about alchemy. Trust me. This is easier to follow than if I was to talk about the 7 metals, their oxidisation and corrosiveness and splendour...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With Gnosis I do not mean the watered down ideas presented to the english speaking world of armchair magicians by the only people actually doing something in the UK that could be described as magic, aside from Psycick Television. No sir. I am talking about the true Knowledge, Understanding and Wisdom that comes. The certainty, not faith, that you have when you open your eyes and see exactly what you expect to see there; The world. The knowledge that is as steadfast as the truth that 2 pebbles placed in an empty bowl are 1 pebble and another pebble, becoming two pebbles. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Why is this difficult? Because Pistis is linked to the Moon and Gnosis is linked to the Sun, thus the Body of Silver needs faith to come into being, yet, there is nothing for the one who has been reborn in the pleroma to believe in, since there is no-thing to believe in since something either is, or is not.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Without Faith, without conviction no act is possible, no system workable. Indifference is often just as bad as active disbelief or belief.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Belief doesn't have to be complicated. You are constantly being told what to believe. There are constantly symbols and images, signs and signifieds being fed into your mind. these symbols then create belief.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From one point of view, the point of view that is almost impossible to understand unless you have it, nothing is real. Reality is a lie that we constantly weave together. Why am I then not willing to throw myself over the balcony and fly to safety?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Because I believe in gravity. I believe on all levels that I want to stay on this mudball flying through the vacuum of space. I expect my blood to pump the correct way. Not only this but for every second of my life I have been conditioned and have been in constant feedback with the world, proving to me that this is true. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not just me. This is done to all sentient incarnated beings upon this Earth. The odds are kind of stacked against me here.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am not certain I have touched upon this before or not, and I do not intend to go off on a rant. Just to mention that no matter what popular belief is. This is the reason folk magic works so well. Its language is based on symbols that you are already familiar with.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you are visiting a friend and asked to open the main door for the next guest, what is your <i>instinct?</i> Is it to say "enter" ala science fiction films, to pick up your iPhone and press the door opener or is it to look for a doorknob/to twist the key?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I somehow doubt that you were looking for a mercury symbol or an eight pointed star...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I digress.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Point being that it is very hard to give up our beliefs in light of the truth, especially when the truth is presented to us using the symbols we are familiar with and that we have worked so hard to internalise.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You will never be able to know the mystery in an unmediated way because of the way our cognition works. However it is possible to experience and understand it on a meta-level.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The moment we assume the map is the territory we have immediately fallen into the trap of the Archonts.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, if we use the structure as leverage and not as a prison, then we see the other face of the archons, wherein is the mystery hidden why some call the planetary forces the Archons of the Demiurge and why some believe that they are the Elohim.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Solar mystery revealed is a vindictive, elusive, mercurial thing. The Sun, who is the son is also the father, the Logos is the Mind.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In your understanding of the Sun therefore strive to leave the sun behind for the mystery of the one thing to reveal itself to you.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is very, very hard to accomplish on your own. The highest initiations/empowerments and work can only ever go as far as the Lesser countenance. But in this meeting you need to delve deeply into what the meeting means on all levels. This can only be done if you have already loosened the Archontic structures, prior to the ultimate initiation. This in turn can only happen if you have internalised all that you used to externalise and externalise the internal. Through this, projections are removed. In Mystery cults, such as the cults for Flame and the Solar mysteries this is often easy to do if we keep remembering that the light of the moon ultimately comes from the sun. Therefore we seek correspondences. Hence why mercury is the metal mercury, or quicksilver, why it is the spirit, why it is the breath, why it is the planet always next to the sun why it is the Ancient Ice and why it is the water and the Tree.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Always remember the Smaragdine tablet for therein is the key, the start and the end of the work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If we forget this one truth we fall into the pits of division, if one thing is true i our experiments then it is true.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'd wager that enough has been said for those with eyes to see to avoid falling into the traps of their own making.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Remember o Israel, the Lord is your God and the Lord is One.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-80656425129284073602013-03-07T19:27:00.000-08:002013-03-07T19:27:16.830-08:009. Albedo, Part 2<div style="text-align: center;">
9. Albedo, the white work, part 2, Practical considerations</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqFzPAORcItQ-qI2CP3vbFvOKA2oTk7FT0rXW0vqZbeuW1KZDUNtxdFIbEx2D4bn0dcHSH6TyoAo_RtxdAdQJIXcqP8U9bNrEAYi1VDySwP8Z9OpsVdQafJDTpxw1bcj8Xq80SIQqRLYS/s1600/A225small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqFzPAORcItQ-qI2CP3vbFvOKA2oTk7FT0rXW0vqZbeuW1KZDUNtxdFIbEx2D4bn0dcHSH6TyoAo_RtxdAdQJIXcqP8U9bNrEAYi1VDySwP8Z9OpsVdQafJDTpxw1bcj8Xq80SIQqRLYS/s320/A225small.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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What we need to understand is that Albedo and Rubedo flow in and out of eachother, one cannot happen without the other. Thus, there are those who will read operations and material pertaining to the rubedo phase from an albedo perspective. Often those of us who believe we are experiencing rubedo are genuinely in the throngs of albedo.<br />
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As one of the most successful and knowledgeable Alchemists of our time, Orphë, points out, the Nigredo does not necessarily mean that it is subjectively experienced as the blackest phases of death and Albedo does not always mean we are constantly joyful. After all, Black is the colour of the fertile earth and White is the colour of the bones that come out after death...<br />
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The four (often 3 or 5) alchemical phases each contain within themselves the four(3/5) other phases.<br />
Thus Nigredo has its own nigredo-albedo-citrinitas-rubedo and then through projection the final phase of the one becomes the next starting phase of the other.<br />
Without wanting to mix in too much Qabalah into this, I might just add that the concept of the four levels of the Tree of Life being linked on one single tree is exactly the same idea.<br />
We can say. with not too much of a stretch of the imagination that, the Crown of one level is the Foundation of the higher realm and through projection of this into Daath, the Well of the Alchemist, we are able to create the new <i>Materia</i>, The Kingdom. From this the higher tree manifests.<br />
So for those who like the modern/hermetic Qabalah, it would look something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6jG_lgO76bRALWrEBrqhirXPvHz_XqbSN638dQf8fL-pA7DSc4SYlyHxj51fer04DCt5u6ecjW331DqhBbWCDeTcsoLJ7zrgH6FNr84LmMD_hnIImxZV5eC3nkZoJhakxH4CnDDTjjyh/s1600/4trees4worlds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6jG_lgO76bRALWrEBrqhirXPvHz_XqbSN638dQf8fL-pA7DSc4SYlyHxj51fer04DCt5u6ecjW331DqhBbWCDeTcsoLJ7zrgH6FNr84LmMD_hnIImxZV5eC3nkZoJhakxH4CnDDTjjyh/s1600/4trees4worlds.jpg" /></a></div>
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I am aware that it might prove exceedingly difficult to follow this article as it becomes more and more abstract. It is my aim to try and bring this down into material terms and examples as often as possible, however keep in mind that unless the Prima Materia has been found and the Royal Secret unearthed, we are still blind men describing a Hippogriff yet we were all told to be expecting an Elephant!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz79lma8rkXS8nXf3zf2EtRdqvkMFa3gJzNZxm0VKa9oo0QLgAqNVfOiFG1mO2oAHw__1lJ0FdWQY7A5Y3GZpwm_GpDDZz05AABEI-kWTkwgThpbVXSOD8wrB9U0cje_KaarjGRJrkSrI_/s1600/hippogryph.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz79lma8rkXS8nXf3zf2EtRdqvkMFa3gJzNZxm0VKa9oo0QLgAqNVfOiFG1mO2oAHw__1lJ0FdWQY7A5Y3GZpwm_GpDDZz05AABEI-kWTkwgThpbVXSOD8wrB9U0cje_KaarjGRJrkSrI_/s320/hippogryph.JPG" width="252" /></a></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Yes, it smells like a horse. Yes, it lays eggs. Yes it has wings. </span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<i>Thus,</i> the below explanations are not completely true, they do reflect a simplistic explanation. They are the best we can do via this media.</div>
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There are three alchemical bodies.<br />
Lead/Copper -<i>The Material Body</i><br />
Silver - <i> The Lunar Body</i><br />
Gold - <i>The Solar Body</i><br />
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There are also levels of consciousness<br />
(The Mineral)<br />
(The Vegetable consciousness)<br />
(The Animal)<br />
and Man<br />
<br />
it might be easier to see this as<br />
The Terrestrial<br />
The Lunar<br />
The Solar<br />
The Universal (yes it does sound exceedingly cheesy, doesn't it?)<br />
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The alchemical body and the level of consciousness is linked.<br />
A Saturnian/Copper/Lead body starts off with a Terrestrial consciousness, but should in a natural state uphold a Lunar mind.<br />
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What happens next is dependent on which version of alchemy we do, what our primary function is, where in the world we are incarnated, what our psychological and spiritual imprints are.<br />
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The consciousness transforms/manifests a specific alchemical body and an alchemical body usually gives rise to a specific consciousness. This is therefore a two way street of manifestation. It is like a cybernetic feedback loop. The Saturnian body asks for sex, power, shelter, food, the consciousness is occupied with providing the body with sex power shelter food. Because the Consciousness is focusing upon the world of the body, the vibration of the body will not change.<br />
Many armchair magicians will scoff at this and immediately assume this is a bad state of affairs. Let me highlight that this is not the case. The Age of Saturn is referred to as the Golden Age for a reason. A small note is that traditionally it is believed that different ages in a persons life automatically correspond correspond to a specific phase. I do not believe this to be the case anymore.<br />
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What are the bodies and the levels of consciousness?<br />
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The Terrestrial body is your body. It is your lifeforce and everything that is measurable. <br />
The Saturnian mind is completely focused on the material aspect. This is both a paradigm and a way of thinking and a way of prioritising. It is best described by a consciousness that claims "I am".* Most humans alive today leave the Terrestrial consciousness behind at a very early age, thanks to society.<br />
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The bodies are the chalice and the level of consciousness is whatever is in the chalice. Thus the chalice needs to be able to uphold and contain the content.<br />
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As the vibration of one changes, so also does the other. The chalice and its host interact, there is a periodic washing/dipping of the host in the chalice. If the chalice is not prepared properly it might react aversely to the host. If you dip the Sun into a chalice of lead, the chalice will melt. If you have ever heard of someone whose life was changed completely for the better after a single acid trip or went completely down the toilet than you have heard this being described. In one case the heavily concentrated Plant Stone (the acid) was a literal Vitriolic acid. Simillarly, if the Chalice is purified, than that which is washed and dipped into it will itself transmute. Its hard to be a horrible person if you lead a chaste and virtuous life. Thoughts give rise to action and right action gives way to right thought.<br />
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I consider the "normal" state of affairs would always be to have the chalice uphold a host one level higher. Most human beings do not behave like primates or vegetables, unless there is something seriously wrong physically.**<br />
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An interesting aside is of course that the Grail <i>should</i> always uphold a consciousness higher than itself.</div>
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The natural sequence being</div>
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Lead Body - Lunar Consciousness</div>
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Silver Body - Solar Consciousness</div>
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Solar Body - Universal Consciousness (Yes, it is a cringeworthy expression.)</div>
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It is not difficult to develop the Lunar consciousness. In practice this means that the Saturnian consciousness becomes illuminated by the light of an invisible sun, and the blackness, often symbolised by the new moon, becomes the lunar crescent.<br />
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The body remains the same but now the chalice upholds a Lunar consciousness. This consciousness contains within it the previous one as well, but uplifted. The reason luna is often shown as a crescent moon, facing left or right at this point is because the lunar consciousness is one of duality. Its focus is the emotional and mental realms. The Lunar consciousness has three phases just as the moon.<br />
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The first is still clinging to the Saturnian way of thinking and all emotional and intellectual effort is directed towards the manifestation and upholding of the Saturnian body. It is still a phase of ME but with an awareness of "others" as well.<br />
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The second phase is where the greatest interaction is between the Self and the Others. The effects of our actions and how they affect others becomes integral and the self is realised as not being the result of the Saturnian processes of the terrestrial body, but the interaction of the mental and emotional flames of ourselves and others.***<br />
This is the stage of the mental and emotional, the Lunar world interacting with our physical world.<br />
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The third phase is often described as some form of peak experience. The world is understood and experienced as being both material and spiritual. The material affects the spiritual and the spiritual is directly manifesting the material. Intense religious experiences fall into this category. The highest level of the lunar consciousness is often symbolised by the lunar crescent shown as a pair of Horns, symbolic that it is able to uphold the sun. This is often why some authors incorrectly claim that the Moon is the hidden power behind the Sun. This is a misunderstanding of the dynamic between the Lunar body and the Solar-consciousness. Since without a properly developed Lunar Body, the Solar Consciousness is not able to interact with and exert influence upon the greater world. The lunar body is thus the medium. However the power itself always resides in the Sun, since even the Lunar consciousness.<br />
It is when the Lunar consciousness becomes tinted with the drop from the Sun that it transforms slowly, or violently into the Solar consciousness.<br />
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Now most people will rotate through these phases in their day to day lives. A jewish person may experience it as: Spending most of the day working in an office in the first phase, but then experiencing the second phase in the park on the way home, and the third phase being the Shabbath, the ritual, the prayers, the meal in the presence of one's family and the Presence.<br />
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The lunar consciousness is characterised by the ability to affect ourselves and others emotionally, the knowledge, not belief, that there is more than material determinism. The ability to experience what most call spirituality. If you have Pistis, if you have experienced and manifested things from meditative, religious or physical exercises, and know that the inner affects the outer, Then you either have or are capable of entering the lunar consciousness.<br />
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Remember the beginning of the article claiming that the consciousness and the body go hand in hand?<br />
Well, what is described above is when the realisation comes from within to without. It is a way of thinking, a way of seeing the world. it is however possible to do it the other way around.<br />
Physical exercises, the imbibing of diverse plant matter and vegetable and mineral elixirs can produce the manifestation of the lunar body.<br />
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This is why it is possible to create a lunar body just by following outer rituals and doing exercises. Qi Gong, Falun Gong. Living according to a belief and an intellectual understanding may give rise to a very powerful lunar body. This is often the case with systems that are process rather than gnosis oriented. The work will transform/give rise to the lunar body.<br />
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This post is full of sidenotes. There is a reason why initiation exists. Whether the system works from a Gnosis perspective where the focus is on the lifting up of the consciousness of the initiate, or if it is a system that is process oriented and focuses on the transformation of the Terrestrial (Saturn) Body into the Lunar one, there could be an argument made for the initiation being what actually accomplishes the change and the work before and after is either a preparation for this moment to make sure it works or a way of dealing with the effects. I am here exclusively talking about traditions that actually have an alchemical element, not only an egregoric, skillteaching or social aspect. In those cases the word initiation is not really applicable in the sense that is meant in this context.<br />
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Through hard work the Saturnian Grail may be polished and transmuted into a Chalice of Silver.<br />
Through hard work the Lunar consciousness may be uplifted to a Solar consciousness.<br />
The Lunar body is the Resurrection body. Adepts would consider the view that everyone automatically experiences everlasting life as extremely naïve. It is only a Lunar body that is able to fully uphold a Solar consciousness and it is only a Solar consciousness that is able to withstand that which happens to the Being after the death of the physical body. The Lunar consciousness cannot remain one and undivided after death, instead it is washed in various levels of existence, the many heavens and hells as it were, until there is no trace of individuality left and the whole thing is recycled. The Solar consciousness is from this perspective, indestructible and then Lunar body is the armour surrounding it. Initiates agree however that this is not the end result, the final stone. The Lunar body has been called many names. The soul, the double. It is a body that is not a body. The Stone that is not a Stone. Anyone who truly is in possession of the Stone should be able to prove it. It is through the mediation of the stone that true initiation can occur, that the beginning of true "occult" powers are manifested.<br />
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There would be no point in discussing the extent of the abilities that the lunar body gives access too. It is enough to say that most of the common magical phenomena in any and all traditions happen when the Lunar consciousness of the individual manages to transform/manifest the lunar body for a short time. Therefore the permanent possession of the Lunar body is a permanent state of being that most seldom reach.<br />
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It is often said that this stage of the great work is child's play and women's work. If you are able to be as a child at this stage then the stone will manifest. Traditionally, there are various exercises that assist in the creation of the Lunar body ranging from the worship of and assumption of Godforms in a western or eastern perspective, various energetic exercises of an inner meditative and outer physical nature, and also the imbibing of various elixirs of a mystical or alchemical nature. Arguably, the True Mass would fall under this category, Yogic and tantric methods of the Hindu and Buddhist variety, severeal Daoist systems of alchemy, Theurgia and Magia, certain nigromantic work etc.<br />
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At this stage, breath and mind are key, as is doing that which is in conformity with your true destiny in absolute freedom.<br />
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The creation of the solar body starts when the Lunar body is perfected, however it cannot be perfected until all dualities have been completely reconciled, something which is not possible as long as the two ultimate dualities of the great God Thanateros have not been met, and the Tomb of this world hasn't become the Womb of the great Goddess Nyx.<br />
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In this, our work, the lesser work of Darkness is within the first stone, the black stone of the foolish, whose number is five and whose extent is as far as we can will it.<br />
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The Greater Work of Light is within the second stone and without the first, the white stone of the philosophers, whose number is 6 and and that materialises the spiritual and is to the gross body what the lunar consciousness is to the animal.<br />
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The Great work is one.<br />
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*<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In meetings with others sometimes it is possible to experience the Lunar body that is created in the meeting between two or more individuals. The spirit of a tribe of people. The "us" when you refer to yourself and your loved one. The "Family"... all these things are instances of a Lunar body manifesting. This is however not -YOUR- Lunar body. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">In a similar way, there are things which allow our consciousness to react. Music, substances, things of beauty, ideas.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">**This is not a dig at people with learning difficulties, or chromosome damages. It is simply the case that someone in a coma is highly unlikely to be manifesting any level of consciousness let alone a lunar one. use common sense people. This is not elitism. Alchemy is a way of trying to describe the world, not the other way around.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">***</span>At this stage one often experiences that what one ought to do or wants to do conflicts with the life one has built up and should do. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">As a nod towards the earlier point about the stages being linked to physical ages, one could say that this is where the duality comes when you decide to stay in the abusive relationship "for the sake of the children" or to leave your loving spouse and kids and buy yourself a new car and get a new lover, because you never could.</span></div>
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<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-21561961977421395272012-10-04T07:30:00.000-07:002012-10-04T07:30:03.711-07:009 Albedo The white work, part 1, theory<br />
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The choice between pursuing the way of return or to fall into our own little self created imaginary world is part of the real choice faced when the first slivers of light shine through and the white tincture is made.<br />
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Albedo is a very complex stage of the work, and arguably, is the most important. Albedo has 2 phases, several layers, and not everything that sparkles is gold.<br />
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We know that this stage refers to <i>silver. </i>We also know that many choose to stop working at this level. The light of the Sun is reflected by the moon, and anyone who has experienced a real full moon in the countryside out in the open can attest to a strange fact. When the full moon reflects the light of the sun fully, it is almost as light as day, but "after a different manner". The light is not warm, it doesn't heat. It has an aetherial feeling to it, like seeing things through a slightly shimmering veil.<br />
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I have been putting off writing this article because I believe it is good to consider what we put into writing. I have no intention of misleading anyone and therefore sometimes I need to consider, and reconsider what I plan on posting, especially on a subject as difficult as this. It was not until this past weekend when speaking to some of my peers and people I consider more knowledgeable than me that the penny dropped and I found the correct way of tackling this topic. It was not until one of the authors of Krystiania publishing house made a poignant comment about who to write for and how that I found the exact angle I was going to attack this post on.<br />
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Albedo never occurs in isolation. Albedo and Rubedo move in and out of eachother and are part of eachother. Not only that, we need to make a difference between <i>Gnosis, </i>the ultimate understanding of the mystery as a <i>realisation</i> and as distinct from having undergone the <i>process. </i> The realisation, the acquiring of gnosis is a life-changing moment, after which one is never the same again. In theosophy one refers to this as being reborn in Christ, and most traditions claim that it is only at this stage that the seeker acquires a soul.<br />
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Gnosis is the Philosopher's Stone, it is reintegration into Adam, the awareness of and becoming part of the fullness. For those out there who are kabbalistically challenged, this is not an initiation into any specific sphere upon the tree. This is most definitively not an initiation into Tiphereth or even Kether. Instead this is closer to what certain traditions refer to as being freed, returning fully into the Ain Soph Aur.<br />
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Why is it important to make a difference between Gnosis/Realisation and process? Because depending on the path of return chosen you may work with a system where your level of realisation is linked to where you are in the process or you may work with a system where it is seen as more important to get a realisation that you later use for your process instead. We can also talk about this from the perspective of the difference between the different phases in the alchemical bodies and the levels of consciousness reached in alchemy. One can have a solar consciousness without having developed a solar body ;)<br />
The opposite is also true. You may have experienced things from a process related perspective yet not truly receive Gnosis. This is typical with mystical approaches where levels of non-dual awareness are mistaken for gnosis.<br />
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I am taking the liberty to name this "Alchemy with nature" and "Alchemy against nature".<br />
(For an example of Alchemy against nature I recommend Sendivogius' system.<br />
http://www.levity.com/alchemy/newchem1.html for those interested.)<br />
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In the work against nature,<br />
The powder of projection, created by the philosophers stone can be given to someone when they are in a nigredo phase. This will then lead to a transformation whereby they receive and create a philosophers stone themselves. The point of consciousness will move into the stone and never ever be able to leave again. some find this difficult, since truth can hurt from the point of view of where we previously were.<br />
The stone immediately transforms all materia in the vessel to the prima materia, thus a forced Nigredo that is darker than the black of nature will occur. Then the stone will cause a change depending on what process related state the vessel was in prior to being exposed to the stone.<br />
However the vessel will still hold the caput mortem, materia that has been whitened and some materia that will start to be tinged with the colour of the stone.<br />
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The vessel will become more and more tinged as the stone dissolves the metals and turnst them into tinted gold. This type of Albedo does however have a curious tendence to lead to the caput mortem becoming an indissoluble stone. This creates a duality in the flask, where the wholeness is reflected. The stone radiating gold, gold radiating silver and silver being held by the fangs of the caput mortem which is the dragon.<br />
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In the process this will lead the aspiring adept to have within all aspects of creation. The abyss has been crossed and is seen as not an abyss anymore, and the transformation is now something that has to happen and needs to be done, not as some unsurmountable task. The initiators job here is to make sure the stone is not merely inserted into the vessel at a random place but has to be put in the absolute center to replace the old center.<br />
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Thus albedo is reached and this is albedo tinted with the stone, but containing within the dragon. The dangers are here to only focus on the stone and ignore the process that still needs to happen. Also, as the stone is in the vessel and can eternally be replicated, one can loose oneself in the consequences of the stone and in using the stone as a powder of projection in rituals, where one's Lunar consciousness is raised towards the sun and can shine down upon the darkness. Those in darkness can thus be blinded by the light as there is from the outside perspective no difference between the moon in its fullness and the true spiritual sun.<br />
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Many a sect has been started by this.<br />
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Thus Albedo reached from a process point of view is different from albedo reached as a result of gnosis.<br />
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If albedo is reached through a process then the power of the mirror remains, but the wholeness is not reached. There is not a single claw of the dragon left instead the whole vessel undergoes a graying after the blackening.<br />
This time of twilight scares many as the utter darkness has been passed yet the whiteness of the l´silver that reflects the sun is not reached yet.<br />
Often a few spots of superheated white powder turn into gold too quickly, yet combust and are no more. This disheartens the seeker as they are able to hold the mirror to heaven and allow the moon to enter fullness, yet they are not fully gold themselves.<br />
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As with the prevous version this has its blessings and dangers.<br />
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<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-45181282116591819062012-06-12T08:42:00.000-07:002012-06-12T08:42:35.008-07:008 The Dark Night<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Dark Night of the Soul</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"When all is dark and no hope is seen,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">where we find ourselves alone.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When there is nowhere to run to, but where you already have been</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You will be forced to look inwards and realise you're already at home."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You are alone. You have worked and worked and you have gained results. No, nothing is changing. There is no answer to your prayers and all the hard work is as blown away. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The dark night of the soul has been written about by more authors and artists then you'd at first think. I don't think I can make this issue justice without going into personal experiences from myself or those who have gone through the same, which is really not appropriate on this blog. I will jot down some thoughts and issues, but not even try and go into detail</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are however many, many, commercially available books, stories and biographies that illustrate the whole process. "The Dark Night of The Soul" By St. John of the Cross being the most famous one, however I honestly feel that for a modern seeker its a bit shit. There are many more relevant versions of the process available today that we are able to relate to better.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Michaelangelo's painting of the sixteenth chapel is a prime example of a "Dark Night of the Soul" that is overlooked. He took on the bronze work and the painting of the chapel because if he did, the pope would let him carve his tomb, which is what Michaelangelo really wanted to do. His diary is filled with information about his misery and how much suffering he went through.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He wasn't a painter and he was not good at fresco work. He had to pay people to teach him, and honestly, if you look at the beginning bit of the work in the entrance, its not great work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mosts of Uncle Al's life is a Dark Night of the soul.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />The mythical Christ is another good example From when he is in the Garden of Gethsemane until he cries out <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">"Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Upon the Cross is often seen as the Christian allegory of the Dark Night. Not only does he feel abandoned, knowing that this cup cannot be taken from him, he is also severely beaten hurt whipped, crucified and no angels come to save him. He dies. Goes to Hell for 3 days (I wonder what they do to the Word of God down there). Only -after- this is he resurrected, then he spends 40 days kicking around doing -something- before he ascends.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So what then -is- the dark night?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Dark night doesn't necessarily come at the end of the Nigredo phase before it shifts into the albedo, it is actually possible to have the Dark Night later. The Dark Night is not some mere depression, you can be fairly happy during days in the Dark Night. The issue with the Dark night is that you suddenly see aspects of the path you chose not to see. You see parts of yourself you have chosen not to see. You are presented with realities that you did not know existed. Some people therefore say that the Dark Night is not strictly linked to the alchemical phases, rather it is linked to the Heroes journey to become the Warrior King. Thus, the Dark night happens just before understanding of the Light can occur. However, the light seen on the other side can sometimes be a jack-o-lantern, that takes you away.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you have not experienced a dark night, then you have not truly entered into a higher understanding, as the crisis is the needed fuel for a change to be able to occur. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the Dark Night, the inner life of the initiate and the "objective reality" start to merge. Objective events start to happen that mirror the inner turmoil of the person undergoing this. There is a loss of faith if the system works in the mystical path. Experiences will be had that do not follow the set faith of the seeker, and most often, the spiritual world disappears. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is no consolation. In prayer, or in ritual. That which was a safety blanket is torn away. Jung often talks about "the crisis" and his own period in a mental institution is a very epic, telling tale of this.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">From a Christian perspective we can look at a monk.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He takes his vows. He believes in God, the church and that the Order will get him there.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">He joins. Prays. Cooks, Teaches, prays, cooks, studies, cleans. Talks to some of the other monks unless there is a vow of silence. The abbot might start to piss him off. The priest performing the mass might not be good enough. The songs and worship that he grew up on loose their value after having said them 6 times a day for 1 year. The novelty wears off. Not seeing his friends and family is starting to hurt. not as many people who said they would come visit come and visit him. Also, there are no dreams. The world outside is falling into pieces with war and famine, the monk wants to go out and help but is informed that prayer is equivalent to physical aid. The monk despairs. Feels nothing. His faith crumbles to dust. He goes to heaven and there is nothing there.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is when the night has descended. Because only if the Dark is fully walked through will there be true light. Many distractions will appear. Maybe a different set of prayers? Maybe if he wasn't a monk but just a lay brother? Maybe if he became a full priest? What if Christianity version X isn't the right one?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shit, maybe changing the Creed was wrong? Could the Orthodox be correct? etc etc etc.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Dark night is sometimes a denial. A refusal to see the Truth and that forces a darkness to descend upon the seeker. Not being willing to accept the truth. Trying to hide in drugs, alcohol, displacement activities, anything but accepting the truth becomes the norm.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As a final note: there are several Dark Nights.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The first is of the Body. Puberty deals with part one. realising your body is winding down and will at some point die is number two.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Second is the Dark Night of the Mind. This is often a projection upon ones teacher. system, faith, culture etc. Read up on the LSD Experiments. Many people underwent horrid psychological trauma as a result because they were not ready. They reevaluated their lives their whole paradigms. That was a dark night of the mind. If you think you are having the dark night, but you can rationalise it, put things well into words then you are merely waiting for the reflection of the reflection of the light to come.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Third is the Dark Night of the Soul</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All I can say to further this is: Enjoy. Work. Work. Work. It will pass. But unless you feel like its not going to pass, then you're not there.</span></div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-447235960223492042012-05-25T14:05:00.002-07:002012-05-25T14:05:34.683-07:007. Nigredo, the black work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">7. Nigredo. The torture never ends.</span></div>
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The single most important period of your life is the actualisation of the nigredo.</div>
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The most important process for your path towards unveiling of the gold is this stage. You need steady heat from within and underneath and at crucial stages you need to receive the fire from above. Not a single speck of dust shall remain that has not been transformed, the sulphur and mercury extracted from it.</div>
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The issue with alchemy is that you are already experiencing most of what alchemy is trying to show you just by living. Thus your entire life is in a way one single, long nigredo, but it takes so long that all that ends up happening is you get maybe halfway through the process, then you die.</div>
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Alchemy is about speeding up this process, actualise it, making yourself aware of it and speeding it up enough for the blackening to be complete not in your usual 80 years but your decade or less.</div>
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Some think that nigredo means you have to be depressed all the time, dark and moody. Some subcultures linked with the study of the western traditions seem to think that nigredo means wearing black.</div>
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That cherry doesn't look horribly tasty does it. That is you. (except those of you who have already undergone your complete nigredo of course). Nigredo is needed because we all have festering wounds. We all have disfigured parts. We all have imperfections. Through nigredo we can transform it. Nigredo is the beginning and in a way the crown of the work. It is a purifying process. You can take whatever matter you want and burn it, it will still become nothing but ash in the end. Clean. Harmless and uniform, with the impurities removed.</div>
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If you have ever burned something that is not resin, you will have noticed that there is a smell following the burning. Whether you burn human hair, skin, food, wood, burned things smell bad. What happens if you keep burning? If you put a rose into a pan what happens? Does it catch fire after awhile or does it mostly wilt and dry and start to burn? Is there a pleasant smell first? Does it start to smell burned after this? What next? Is there a point when there is no longer a smell emanating at all? yes there is. When all has been reduced to ash, all is black. When you want to change something, first you have to reduce its body into its primal element. This is the process of travelling inwards and outwards at the same time. The fire will drive out the worms, bring them to the light. How much do you identify with the worms? If you suddenly scream "poor worm" and try and save it you will turn off the heat and remove the cherry from the pan. More people then you think do this. Why else are there douchebags out there? why do people not change? If someone want to become a different person then they are today why are they not doing it? Because, the process would be too horrible. For them. The maggot or a specific pretty bit of the cherry the maggots inhabit are not allowed to burn.</div>
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If you still become upset when you don't want to. You you still haven't worked out why you are on such a moral high horse. If you are still struggling with addiction. If you still believe that you are a person, then you are still working with this process. There is nothing wrong with that. </div>
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Alchemy shows with the "without" what happens "within" and vice versa. </div>
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Just to make this lovely process visible for you, I have included the Materia (before) and Materia in Nigredo (after) pictures of this lovely process, courtesy of one of my dear brothers.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBhcadEsNBcKS706UdFqq8UDZl_PK9qBA5QPFBcbO0ocqeAUblSewqQ6wBKTcOdxrh3S3WKmq1avVpih5BITQqZwVHhL3Ub4MDkTjogT0z3aqAubcUMxqM4SC96eMYFCAd76MS025GzB4/s1600/apple_liten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBhcadEsNBcKS706UdFqq8UDZl_PK9qBA5QPFBcbO0ocqeAUblSewqQ6wBKTcOdxrh3S3WKmq1avVpih5BITQqZwVHhL3Ub4MDkTjogT0z3aqAubcUMxqM4SC96eMYFCAd76MS025GzB4/s1600/apple_liten.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Apple, just placed into the athanor </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Apple, after several months of natural decay. </span></div>
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The apple is placed on a bed of pure sand (it has been blasted in about 800 degrees so there are no impurities in it) and covered with a purified completely clean glass bowl. The outside is then filled up with sand and the bed of sand is on a heatproof ceramic dish. This allows a natural decaying process to take place, free from all larger vermin. This is the way the alchemists of old would investigate certain things.<br />
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Why is this useful? Firstly the alchemist identifies with the object in the testube. The materia is a magic mirror for the alchemist, so s/he can see what is happening, at what stage of this particular process the soul/mind/body trinity is.<br />
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In the inner life, this alchemical process will manifest in a few ways, independent of outer work, whether this is shamanistic psychotherapy under St C.G. Jungs aegis (had to say it) or if its ceremonial magic or pure meditative work.<br />
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1 There will be a travelling inwards and a clearer understanding of ourselves.<br />
2 there is an increase in heat, physical body heat but also "our heat" will envelop the worker<br />
3 for a long time there is a sense of increased energy.<br />
4 there is a collapse when the materia suddenly gives way to the darkening.<br />
5 Bouts of feeling low will start to mix as the transformation occurs.<br />
6 Periods of intense luminosity. The materia exhales the poisonous fumes and this release gives insight about oneself and the nature of the poisons.<br />
7 as the materia returns slowly into the embrace of our isis, the dignities remain yet the individuality of the materia is given over to the great mother.<br />
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Jung and others have hinted that there are several meetings with the "shadow" that lead to a form of union with this entity/archetype just at the end. This is indeed the case.<br />
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If we think of the opus as a faerytale and the heroes journey, then your job is to go to the mountain and within it find the seven metals that you excavate and bring up to the top of the mountain. That there is a dragon guarding the gems is self explanatory. Why would there not be a dragon?<br />
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The nigredo will continue and do its job, if you let it. If you allow it to happen. If you don't drag out its process forever.<br />
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Why the nigredo is not all that bad:<br />
The nigredo, though showing a blackening, is a purification and believe me, that is a nice experience. The fire cleans and heals.<br />
Popcultural references to the Nigredo phase<br />
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In Snowwhite and the seven dwarves, the nigredo of the princess is living in the forest with the seven Dwarves and meeting her stepmother a few times, until finally she ends up in a casket.<br />
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In The Matrix, Neo's journey from awakening into the hell that is the real world and dying when being beaten to pulp by agent Smith is his nigredo.<br />
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Frodo's journey is a journey describing the Nigredo.<br />
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The story of Jesus has many readings, one of which will be the last bit of these series, and from one perspective, his life between baptism and the garden of gethsemane can be argued as a Nigredo.<br />
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The nigredo, will culminate in the absolute darkness when it cannot become anymore darker.<br />
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It is possible to spend your entire life doing rituals and engaging with religious practices without ever getting to the actual complete blackening.<br />
Think about it. You are meant to take yourself, put yourself in a vessel and then undergo the process shown above in pictures. Are you -really- willing to do this? Your lips say yes but experience has taught me that it means "No". Its seriously just so much easier to stay who you are and keep trying to find the right system, or the "correct way John Dee's system was intended to be used" or what have you.<br />
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(Methods will be discussed in later blogposts.)</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-3547676045837457142012-05-17T07:52:00.002-07:002012-05-17T07:52:17.828-07:006 Why Adepts are hated<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnzDDolsQ30Yq896xGgX1iJaw9xN8qe7jVrXrvIElBb4FlkmmmjXaGbcGuJIm3oyKBhAY3x0Jm3zD1HKfyxChZdFTNc45o2VhUzbQPRlzIecleWPub-l4s3iaEZrcaECMv48KsVd-GMl-/s1600/001x9xew.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWnzDDolsQ30Yq896xGgX1iJaw9xN8qe7jVrXrvIElBb4FlkmmmjXaGbcGuJIm3oyKBhAY3x0Jm3zD1HKfyxChZdFTNc45o2VhUzbQPRlzIecleWPub-l4s3iaEZrcaECMv48KsVd-GMl-/s1600/001x9xew.jpeg" /></a></div>
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Having looked at hints about the Royal Path and in some detail about Sorcerous and Sacerdotal paths, it seems relevant to highlight some issues that arise.<br />
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One of the problems with the Royal Path is that it starts at one or both of the midpoint intersections of the sorcerous and sacerdotal paths. Sometimes, though this is one in thousands, the student might enter upon the Royal Path when the teacher did not intend this to happen, or wasn't even aware that it could happen. This is the case where the student has an innate psychological, karmic, or other bullshit reason for this to happen. The student is lost, believes hirself to be the first person to realise the truth behind the path and can not find any guidance in what to do with herself. The student the rises above the teacher and with hir newfound Royal Blood claims the inheritance that is hir due.<br />
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Most of us would want to say at this point that we are the 1 in thousands and isn't that great? ;) (cough hybris)<br />
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There are three cases we can look at where this happens. Now, I am not using these examples because I think any higher of them than other examples, but instead because I think they may be more useful to my readers. We have a version where the new wanderer on the path uses his understanding, one where the wanderer instructs with philosophy in absolute antinomianism and one where the wanderer believes himself the be unique.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">If we assume that the story of Jesus is based on something real, and he wasn't the incarnation of some cosmic consciousness, just someone who managed to reclaim his divine status, then his life brings us to a decent example. A learned and very devout jewish man, follower of the ideas of the baptist has a realisation. Based on his first steps upon the Royal Path, as a true anointed one, he builds upon and around his culture and in some cases takes on an antinomian position to Judaism. Just think how odd his views very in comparison to the status quo. The will amongst the people to have him executed is very understandable from their point of view.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Think of Gautama Buddha. In thailand there are several images of him in his form of a skeletal ascetic. This is because they believe that G started his journey towards enlightenment using yoga and other established practices. Once he became enlightened he set out on a path of least resistance that could help others understand that which he had.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Look at poor Uncle Al. Born and raised with Victorian ideals and christian mindfucks, completely giving himself over to the teachings of the Golden Dawn, and as a 5-6 being catapulted into the Royal Path when receiving his understanding of it. Believing himself to have understood something noone before him understood, he wished for a system that was about as subtle as a penis sticking out from a forehead. </span><br />
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More often the slight ego inflation that the above people experienced when they went off to start their own thing doesn't happen as, there is a "person" who has been overlooking the process and can cushion the effects of the enlivening blood as it awakens in the new King/Queen.<br />
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However, from the point of view of any of the paths, be it the sorcerers or the sacerdotal's, the Royal Path, the Warrior's path looks wrong. The sorcerer will not understand the flaunting of the rules and the work towards liberation, as it will seem much to much as the sacerdotal path disguised as sorcery. Similarly, the sacerdotal path view it as sorcery disguised as religion.<br />
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The theurge breaks taboo and the gods love him for it. The theurge follows religions that are completely contradictory. The theurge prescribes the chaste man to become a prostitue and the Harlot to become God's chosen dame knight.<br />
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The theurgic supercelestial work functions both above and below the normal operational levels of the sacerdotal and sorcerous paths, flaunting the blinds in the systems and seeing all for what it is.<br />
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The universe simplifies into a single undivisible truth wherein the mystery of all is revealed. Sorcerous feats become possible that most sorcerers would not dream of as true, whereas certain skills that are simple yet that require highly specialised training might never manifest. The theurge is always and constantly in the knowledge Dharmakaya, in the presence and of it. becoming Christeos truly with what that actually entails.<br />
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How can this wo/man not be hated of s/he is open about it? Where a priest sees secrets and esotericism because the religion requires initiations, the Royal Warrior sees a dead end, where sorcerers become enamoured by the 9999 secret names the recitations of which will cause something to happen the Theurge understands to be a way to instil belief in the belief system so the sorcerers own will can accomplish the change, whereas in a simple flower that is trampled by the sorcerer and priest alike, the United King and Queen of the world sees all of creation reflected.<br />
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This is all very interesting and well, however we are talking about this on a blog and in text, so any understanding gleaned from this only established a projected understanding of "so" and only the kings and queens amongst us are quietly thinking "not so".<br />
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When your entire magickal or religious belief system is looked at by someone as a joke or misstake in understanding its lifegiving essence and you are told that there is a real way of understanding it and it is such and such or that your current path won't lead you anywhere... surely you'd get pissed off too?<br />
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<h1 class="rubrik" style="color: #003366; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold;">
YES, OF COURSE IT HURTS</h1>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><pre class="dikttext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking.
Why else would the springtime falter?
Why would all our ardent longing
bind itself in frozen, bitter pallor?
After all, the bud was covered all the winter.
What new thing is it that bursts and wears?
Yes, of course it hurts when buds are breaking,
hurts for that which grows
and that which bars.</pre>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><pre> </pre>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><pre class="dikttext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">Yes, it is hard when drops are falling.
Trembling with fear, and heavy hanging,
cleaving to the twig, and swelling, sliding -
weight draws them down, though they go on clinging.
Hard to be uncertain, afraid and divided,
hard to feel the depths attract and call,
yet sit fast and merely tremble -
hard to want to stay
and want to fall.</pre>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><pre> </pre>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><pre class="dikttext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">Then, when things are worst and nothing helps
the tree's buds break as in rejoicing,
then, when no fear holds back any longer,
down in glitter go the twig's drops plunging,
forget that they were frightened by the new,
forget their fear before the flight unfurled -
feel for a second their greatest safety,
rest in that trust
that creates the world.</pre>
<pre class="dikttext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">
</pre>
<pre class="dikttext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal;">Karin Boye, translation by David McDuff</pre>
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<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-59559714467325951802012-05-15T10:26:00.001-07:002012-05-15T10:26:50.718-07:005 The Goals of the sacerdotal path<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Joy, the time to talk about the sacerdotal path.<br />
Not my favourite topic in text, but deffinitively in speech.<br />
This is the fast way towards High Magick/Magia/Alchemical Theurgy and it is also the one riddled with the most dangers, pitfalls and bigoted people.<br />
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What is the sacerdotal path exactly? It is the "active engagement with a worldview". Just like most people do some form of magic, as could be intuited from my bit about the sorcerous path, most people do fall somewhere in the continuum that is the sacerdotal path.<br />
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Your first steps upon this path is handled by your parents, and then you continue to build on this or very early rebel against it. It is a paradigm, and contrary to common belief, your paradigm is really bloody difficult to change. You can tweak it, you can invert it, but changing it requires a hell of a lot of work. This work is exactly what the sacerdotal paths essence lies in.<br />
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Let's have a look at the really simple chart from a few posts ago with a nice sacerdotal purple added to it together with some lettering.<br />
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We are looking at the right side of the chart marked in purle. All worldviews fit in here from the various forms of the Abrahamic religions, whether Judaism Christianity or Islam, to Daoism from high to low, shinto, non-theistic systems, animistic and materialistic atheists. The purpose of the whole purpleish circle is to give you a way to understand the world you are in and to allow the mythic structure that the worldview represents to help you in slowly but steadily come closer to the center where a <i>Realisation </i>of the Higher mysteries <i>can</i> happen. Please be aware that the realisation is not automatic because you have entered the center, please refer to previous posts about this.</div>
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The discussion and examples below are to be understood to refer to the sacerdotal path, not the realisation of the theurgic truth.</div>
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A) is the center where an inversion into the "higher" as discussed in this series can happen. Depending on what specific mythical structure is used to experience this center is used, there are different words for this is often a form of divine, automatic understanding of the world, where everything makes sense. </div>
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Prayer without words, Deep meditative states and communion. de closer to the Center we get, the more Spirituality and the less Religion is involved in the path.</div>
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B) is the region of mythical structures where the worldview allows a two-fold path, where the divine is actively participating and is willing and able to cause change in the world. Intersession of saints and sacerdotal practices that require ritualistic actions. Religions where a spiritual understanding informs the ritualistic practices.</div>
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C) is The region that is close to the rim, but far away from the center, thus is symbolic of approaches where the outer form is more important for moral reasons rather then any spiritual reason. Most worldviews relying on materialism and can be classed here. For example, most Low-Church Lutheran denominations end up here, Children are baptised and moral lessons are taken from the religion but there is no understanding of the spiritual aspect, whereas Luther's own vision about protestantism would fit into the A section.</div>
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D) Practices that have a very non-spiritual aspect, where the spiritual search is merely an explanation for the magical practice. Highly animistic religions exist on this level. The focus is laid upon the here and now just as much as with the other extreme, the materialistic atheism or its equivalent in the Sorcerous path.</div>
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From the Point of view of the Theurge:</div>
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The purpose of walking this path properly is to find a place where the supreme ultimate and the here and now can interact in a way that allows the follower to be content with navigating the above and the below. When this is accomplished in a balanced manner, guided by a teacher who can make sure that the outer explanation is not confused with reality, the student can realise the underlying archetypical truths that are common to all religions and true systems of spiritual development. From this point of view, a true christian is not one who can quote the bible and attends church every sunday, but one who understands the underlying message of his chosen way of interacting with the world and gains a deeper connection with its archetypal mode of being. Imitatio Christe is more important than religiously following commandments.</div>
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The Mystic seeks ever to understand his or her life from the point of view of the religion and the mythic cycle, be it hermetic philosophy or orthodox christianity.</div>
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Not only is there belief needed for this, the belief needs to be lived. </div>
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The Goal is To experience Unity. The supreme ultimate, the Dao. This is its strength and its greatestweakness. </div>
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1 The worldview is self-asserting.</div>
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2 Mystical states are comparatively easy to experience and misstake for being finished.</div>
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3 You are not alone.</div>
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Crowley warns about the dangers of mysticism</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'calisto mt', calisto, georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; line-height: 21px;">Now the formula of the mystic is much simpler. Mathematically, it is 1 – 1 = 0. He is like a grain of salt cast into the sea; the process of dissolution is obviously easier than the shock of worlds which the magician contemplates. “Sit down, and feel yourself as dust in the presence of God; nay, as less than dust, as nothing,” is the all-sufficient simplicity of his method. Unfortunately, many people cannot do this. And when you urge your inability, the mystic is only too likely to shrug his shoulders and be done with you.</span>" Elsewhere he writes "The Path of the Mystic hath this Pitfall; for though he unite himself with his God, his Mode is to withdraw from that which him seemeth is not God. Whereby he affirmeth and confirmeth the Demon, that is Duality"</span></div>
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Yet he himself falls into mysticism as he ends up later creating a system that is in essence a sacerdotal approach hidden behind a veneer of hermetic ritual.</div>
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The difficulty of the Sacerdotal path lies in realising what our actual paradigm is. You can try and try to be a pagan if you immediately revert to calling upon god i times of need.</div>
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For the sacerdotal path to be effective, the Myth must become second nature, ingrained in the spine. For the sacerdotal path to work without becoming a trap, it needs to be understood that this second nature us a chosen one. It is easy to replace the god of christianity with a goddess and called it sophianic gnosticism, whereas it really is God in Drag.</div>
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One of the great double edged swords of the sacerdotal path is that all of its realisations will come through using its own truth and that you are not alone in the work as you are essentially working with <i>things </i>that are quite interested in working with you too. </div>
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There are the guardians of your tradition and the egregore of the tradition itself. There are beings that exist whether you want them to or not, how they came into being is anyones guess. There are certain cosmic forces that can use any one of the above as masks to interact with you with and then there is the ever descending force that any sacerdotal path that has a line from the outer edge to its inner centre and had a way to lead from there onwards to the Royal Path.</div>
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The issue with the sacerdotal path is that it is itself made up of 2 intersecting circles. One of these is moving from the center outward and the other one is moving from the rim inwards.</div>
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Center out: This is when through spontaneous realisation the point of A has been reached and transformed into the center of the royal path and the individual who is there needs to find a new way of showing others how to get there. Thus Myths are created and cosmologies developed, certain practices that should assist in leading to the center are adapted.</div>
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Let me quote myself from an old post:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 20px;">1 In the purest form. This is referred to as someone who has beheld the mystery and becomes a living link to the mystery.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">A being who beholds and becomes a living link to the mystery is free from all cultural notions and can bring others to the realization of the mystery by whatever means that person needs it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Christian Rozenkreutz and Martinez Pasqually for example both suggested that one should take up the dominant religion of the country wherein one resides. This is so that one may understand enough for the cultural symbols present in the mind of the locals so one may use those symbols and crutches in the guidance of these souls. It is measured work.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">2 Strongly coloured by the social cultural, religious and psychological makeup of the individual. These people behold the mystery but are unable to see it in its entirety and interpret it from a point of view they are familiar with. This is naturally a degradation of the mystery as the nature of the mystery is that it is beyond cultural social and religious forms.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">These beings sometimes become living links to the mystery and manage to fully understand it in time. Often they spend their life having created a new religion or a new form of an old one since that was the context through which they understood it and trying to help people to behold the mystery but only from the point of view from which they themselves saw it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Ever wonder why Jesuits who have performed the spiritual exercises of Loyolla are so devoutly certain Catholicism is the way to go?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">3 Beings that behold the mystery but have no bloody clue what they experienced. Sometimes they don't even have a cultural context to place it into.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">People performing rituals or mystical practices without guidance, who do drugs and experience spiritual peak experiences all fall into this category.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">They have seen the outer mystery, or one of the manifestations of the mystery.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">These people often become enamoured by the technique or thing that got them there first.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">A true spiritual master is a being from the 1th category who is guiding people there.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">the 2nd category is most of your prophets and spiritual leaders</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; line-height: 20px;">the 3rd category is your random practitioners, groupies, druggies and culties.</span>"</span></div>
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The other way is when pure fancy has created a cosmology that agrees with the world which slowly creates a worming way to eventually leading in the development of the system closer to the center.</div>
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To have a practical example:</div>
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Thelema</div>
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Alistair experiences the Royal Path but sees it from number 2 above. creates Thelema. this is center outward.</div>
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Gnosticism:</div>
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You can take any version of christianity and give to a random clone, if they pray and are guided the right way will end up in the center.</div>
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This specific blogpost could go on forever and it would never be exhaustive enough. </div>
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Therefore it will now be summarised and posted.</div>
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The goal of the scaerdotal path is to allow its practitioner to experience union with the highest in a non-dual awareness where the above/god/emptiness coexists with the below/man/illusion. The Practitioner should live a harmonius life, invisible, in essence, from the the archontic forces.</div>
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What the sorcerer seeks to dominate, the mystic hides from.</div>
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What the sorcerer seeks to control, the mystic finds a way to live in harmony with.</div>
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What the sorcerer sees as a personal plaything, the mystic sees as a toy that has artisitic value but is not important.</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Further reading:</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Louis Claude de St-Martin - any</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Sartre, Being and nothingness</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">jacob Boehme - any</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The Routledge Companion to the Study of Religion</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Deikman, Arthur, understanding mysticism</span></i></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Dean, Inge Christian Mysticism</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Smart Ninian, Reasons and faiths</i></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Forman, Robert, The Problem of Pure Consciousness</i></span></span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">The spiritual Exercises of Ignatius Loyola</span></i></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><div>
The Dark Night of the Soul</div>
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The Bible</div>
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The Q¨ran</div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Isis Unveiled and the Secret Doctrine by Blavatsky</span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Carl Gustav Jung - Any</span></i></div>
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<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-73135783413928320202012-05-03T17:12:00.000-07:002012-05-03T17:12:26.222-07:004 The goals of the sorcerous path<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Having looked at the Royal Path that is to be trodden by those who have obtained Royal Blood by sacrificing themselves, let us turn our eyes upon the Path of Sorcery.<br />
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The Path of Sorcery is, in essence the active, enforcing your will upon the world part of the Myth-Ritual duality. Though we have come a long way from how Frazer saw things in the Golden Bough, we should perhaps not forget how much his view was clouded by his understanding of things.<br />
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Sorcery is everything from lighting a match to tossing coins in the corners of your new home to bring money, to lifting your hand in a weird gesture to ward off the evil eye, the evil eye used on purpose, rites of exorcism, the summoning and controlling of deities and forces, the manipulation of names through animistic means etc ad infinitum.<br />
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Some acts of sorcery are so common in certain cultures that they are not seen as acts of sorcery, they have become commonplace. There are acts of sorcery that look almost identical, to a casual observer, to Theurgy and the royal path and/or the prayerful elements from work related to the Sacerdotal path. Sometimes the practitioner does hirself not realise that what s/he is doing is sorcery and not sacerdotal or theurgic work.<br />
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Sometimes there is confusion because the sorcerer (note the correct spelling, like "altar" instead of "alter", the latter of the two meaning "to change" and not "holy flat surface") is confused about what they are trying to accomplish. Since sorcery can give insights into the machinations of the world and the workings of the human mind, it can be tempting to believe that one is working towards some form of supreme understanding of the cosmos and getting close to the Royal Path. There are even those who do not realise they are engaged in doing sorcery and believe that they are praying! So cute.<br />
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Remember the caveat kids, these posts are from the point of view of actual highmagic, not from the all paths are equal fluffy bollocks pov.<br />
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The one and ultimate aim of sorcery is: to be able to affect the world around you one way or another.<br />
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That is it. It is this simple. Everything else is cultural garbage added to it. When mediating between a manifestation of the divine and trying to understand it, you are engaging in sacerdotal practices. When putting that practice into effect you are engaging in sorcery. There is an overlap, but after a different manner.<br />
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So, what are some of the characteristics of Sorcery?<br />
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Belief+Programming=Action.<br />
The less belief you have the more potent the Programming needs to be. The less potent the programming, the more Belief is needed.<br />
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1. Belief. This is the fuel.<br />
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Without believing that what you do works, it wont. This belief is based on your paradigm which is culturally indoctrinated into you and is nigh unchangeable. Be aware I am using paradigm from the classical percpective, not the Chaos Magician perspective. This means that you will often believe in things that you don't want to.<br />
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You may raise an eyebrow and say: how about people who dabble with magic or try a spell and it works? The answer is simple: Beginner's luck. If they would not have believed in it, they would not have tried. This is also one of the reasons mail order amulets, hoodoo stuff and similar paraphernalia works so well. There is so much hope faith and belief invested in the little spell that it goes through your own "I can't change reality" filter and actually does.<br />
This is also explains why its difficult to cast 100% functioning spells. Everyone can get lucky once. To get lucky all the time, you need an unshakeable belief in what you do. Clinically so.<br />
Did you know that the way your brain structures things it believes in and things it knows are not real is different? And you can actually get your brain to treat things that you know are not real as if they were? Childhood memory implantation works in this level. This is scientifically proven. Have fun googling.<br />
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This also means that picking up one part of a specific system will immediately screw up all other parts of the system. Doing a western ceremonial magical style working and moving counterclockwise by accident will have consequences whether you understand why or not. As long as you write left to write and use a western clockface you are indoctrinated, whether you want to be or know you are or not.<br />
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2. Indoctrination into The program. This is the engine the fuel makes active.<br />
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It is all about the signified and signifier. Let me quote one of the most well known texts. Available in Wiki as well!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Peirce characterizes the three </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotic_elements_and_classes_of_signs_(Peirce)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Semiotic elements and classes of signs (Peirce)">semiotic elements</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> as follows:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em;"></sup></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><ol style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>Sign</i> (or <i>representamen</i><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_(semiotics)#cite_note-12" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;"><span>[</span>13<span>]</span></a></sup>): that which represents the denoted object (cf. Saussure's "signifier").</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>Object</i> (or <i>semiotic object</i>): that which the sign represents (or as some put it, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encode_(semiotics)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Encode (semiotics)">encodes</a>). It can be anything thinkable, a law, a fact, or even a possibility (a semiotic object could even be fictional, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Hamlet" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Prince Hamlet">Hamlet</a>); those are partial objects; the total object is the <a class="mw-redirect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe_of_discourse" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Universe of discourse">universe of discourse</a>, the totality of objects in that world to which one attributes the partial object. For example, perturbation of Pluto's orbit is a sign about Pluto, but not only about Pluto. The object may be<ol style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>immediate</i> to the sign, the object as represented in the sign, or</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>dynamic</i>, the object as it really is, on which the immediate object is founded.</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>Interpretant</i> (or <i>interpretant sign</i>): a sign's meaning or ramification as formed into a further sign by interpreting (or, as some put it, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decode_(semiotics)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #0645ad; text-decoration: none;" title="Decode (semiotics)">decoding</a>) the sign. The interpretant may be:<ol style="line-height: 1.5em; list-style-image: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3.2em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.3em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>immediate</i> to the sign, a kind of possibility, all that the sign is suited to immediately express, for instance a word's usual meaning;</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>dynamic</i>, that is, the meaning as formed into an actual effect, for example an individual translation or a state of agitation, or</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><i>final</i> or <i>normal</i>, that is, the ultimate meaning that inquiry taken far enough would be destined to reach. It is a kind of norm or ideal end, with which an actual interpretant may, at most, coincide.</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
</span>"<br />
<br />
<br />
The program allows you to interact with the world and actually make your intent translate into whatever it is the world runs on (what that is is completely irrelevant. Whether you're a Hoodoo or a Palero, a granny praying or KaosGrrrrl Kali282 high on acid, however you explain the world. As long as you have juice and the correct indoctrination you'll be successful)<br />
<br />
The program needs to be consistent and fully internalised. It is easier to get things to work with a program that is internalised then with one that is not. The reason folkmagic works so well is not because there is some secret technique behind it that needs elaboration. (The code is often stupidly easy to crack) It is merely because the signifier is immediate.<br />
<br />
A key opens and closes things. If you are a westerner you handle a key daily. You are wired to remember your key leaving your home. You know that having the right key can get you into places. You will probably even be wired as to which side up it goes into the lock and whether you need to turn it left to open or to close the lock.<br />
<br />
This symbol is therefore your lock/open. You will find it easy to think of a key in very abstract terms even. On the other hand, the sentence abra ablanatha acherom acherom from the greek magical papyri I would imagine doesn't do the same... Does it. Probably did for the half greeks a few thousand years ago.<br />
<br />
The more abstract the symbolic system employed and the further removed the symbol is from the signifier the less likely it is that you have been sufficiently indoctrinated with it and therefore the juice you need to bring into the equation is exponential. This is why its hard to get talismans based on stuff in ceremonial magic that you don't understand to work.<br />
-----<br />
<br />
So if belief is the fuel in this analogy we can see that essentially, the belief is that which allows the sorcerer to actually -cause- the change to happen, whereas the programming is the means the sorcerer makes this happen.<br />
<br />
If we are able to step outside our own narrow minds we can actually deconstruct all sorcery effects along these lines. This is what Carrol did with Chaosmagick, however as I have said again and again, he missed something important, and I am not going to solve that little riddle for you just now.<br />
<br />
Deconstructing sorcery means that we can look at a Shaman, a Praying priest, a ceremonial magician, an urban shaman and a chaoite doing 10 different things, one talking to spirits one drawing symbols, one waiting 10 years for the correct placement of the stars, one getting high and just imagining talking to a spirit, at least according to the shaman, all of them being wrong according to the priest who know that its god who does all and answers prayers etc. Yet they are all doing the same thing. Will - translation-action. Who is to know whether The gods of one and the spells of the other are not the same thing but understood from a different context? (Not just stepping on toes here, breaking them).<br />
<br />
The Juice is the ability to enter a momentary or extended state of mind, that most people would think is insanity, where you do not function in the normal world, instead you focus on interacting directly with the signified objects in the greater world. (Hint, people who think magic is psychology will only ever get psychological results because of this)<br />
The better you are at this, the less is there a difference between your everyday consciousness and your "altered" consciousness. The issue here is NOT to be able to get more and more fucked up by prayer or breathing or sacrificing. It is to be able to interact and affect.<br />
<br />
We all create the world we live in all the time and we are each and everyone of us responsible for its upholding. The only thing that keeps you back from flying is not that it would be a breaking of "the laws of physics". It is because you will never EVER convince yourself that it is possible because every moment of your waking life has been reaffirming that the world behaves as if the laws of physics were true, thus they will be. But then the world is not real is it ;)<br />
<br />
All symbolic systems you program yourself with have to be internally consistent, offer a map of the things to be affected. Once that is fully integrated you will be able to put a coin into the universal vending machine that your carefully created program is and be able to expect a result. However, there is a catch. For the vending machine to work, you have to be a part of the vending machine.<br />
<br />
The easiest way for us westerners to understand this is through playing cowboys and indians.<br />
<br />
Most of us had puffer guns. We could all turn sticks into swords and horses. When playing you knew you could not catch up with the other kids who were on horsebacks. When a gun was pointed at you and they said BANG or the gun went BAAAAANG! you played dead. Sometimes you got away with "missed me" but usually you'd lie down and count to 10 or whatever the local variation was. The circle on the floor represented the tippi and you could only escape through the front gate etc.<br />
<br />
So, for the rules of the game to make sense, you have to subject yourself to them. If you are yourself not subject to the rules then you will never make the rules work for you. This is why children cannot rob a toystore when they dress up as cowboys, yet can shoot eachother effectively by pointing a finger and saying BANG!<br />
----<br />
<br />
This brings us around to things like working with grimoires such as the Picatrix or any Solomonic one. If you want to do something using a specific Program, then you have to play by the rules.<br />
<br />
On a windows machine you have to find the uninstall file to get rid of a program, and often it will leave random DLL's. On a mac you find your prog, then drag it to the bin. Done. If you'd do the same in Windows you'd never et rid of the program as it would have left tonnes of little files everywhere. Different OS have different internal rules that need to be followed. This is worth keeping in mind.<br />
<br />
The Example of the Husband beaten by the Wife.<br />
<br />
How does the father of the man who is beaten go about to get rid of the evil Wife?<br />
In order from interacting with the signified through more and more symbolic means:<br />
<br />
Materialist on this end and complete transcendentalistic magic on the other<br />
<br />
Tells her to fuck off at gun point. - Creates an effigy that he tells to move away- builds a replica of the home and moves her away - symbolises the whole thing with words and simply writes her out from the story - asks a higher/different power to move the person away - creates a specific symbolic representation of the expected end situation and then activates it.<br />
<br />
The last one would fall under planetary/astrological magic. notice however that all that happens even there is that the "marriage" would translate into a specific chart that we want, the wife and husband would translate into specific aspects and the new situation would translate into another aspect and the symbol would need to be "activated" accordingly. Thus all that is happening at any level of this above example is that the end result that is required is brought about by interacting with the same things through various abstractions. Depending where the abstraction takes you, you'll have to play along.<br />
<br />
If you believe in the efficacy of Zodiacal magic then you should be so indoctrinated that you actually are fully stuck in the weavings of fate the planets and signs create. If you only believe when it suits you, for example:<br />
"Hm Jupiter is in a good position now so I will create this Jupiter talisman. Oh no Saturnus is in a position that will cause illness. and I should take steps against that by having solar and venusian influences in my house. Actually I don't believe in this today cause I can't be bothered."<br />
<br />
Then you'd probably not get very great results when putting your coins into that specific universal vending machine.<br />
<br />
Your beliefs will not affects someone else's beliefs. You can think that burning your name with cheaply printed chinese paper and a letter to Yama King is not going to do anything, but someone for whom the celestial and hellish bureaucracy is a reality can cause a lot of havoc by doing just that.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Therefore, HOW you go about manifesting your will is not important. Make money, or be devout. Burn candles or ask your spirits. Burn incense as sacrifice or look at someone maliciously. In the end your ability do create and destroy, control or transmute the world is all that matters.<br />
<br />
If people want you dead, who should you fear the most?<br />
<br />
The old italian woman with your photo<br />
The Corporate Executive with mob ties and billions<br />
The Palero with his spirit ally from beyond the grave<br />
The Kid with a hard dick and a sigil with your name on<br />
The astrologer with a talisman<br />
<br />
Answer: The person who actually 100% wants you dead.<br />
<br />
<br />
Caveat regarding entities.<br />
Using sorcerous techniques once in awhile a sorcerer may use an entity for the causing of an effect. Whether the entity is an objectively existing thing or just a signifier is irrelevant from a sorcery perspective and why this is will possibly be elaborated on further in one of the future posts in this series.<br />
<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-62489070908123382362012-04-24T15:41:00.000-07:002012-04-25T02:47:05.171-07:003 The Goals of the Royal Path<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK630p6bUP9KIA-r8vTEeXjZfQu2DLBjlLmGHz4m6AXPH6TOwi8OP9HTjrZK_TF1734M0Y9jeDxrPm2mV3C0z-SsGOz-QXd6yTRHMj0qRehRemRH31SWVXZX1oDitsZgW9xxiEN62KgPi/s1600/C0031633-Stag_meeting_a_unicorn-SPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRK630p6bUP9KIA-r8vTEeXjZfQu2DLBjlLmGHz4m6AXPH6TOwi8OP9HTjrZK_TF1734M0Y9jeDxrPm2mV3C0z-SsGOz-QXd6yTRHMj0qRehRemRH31SWVXZX1oDitsZgW9xxiEN62KgPi/s320/C0031633-Stag_meeting_a_unicorn-SPL.jpg" width="313" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The first and most important goal is to fully actualise your understanding of the royal secret in all levels of your being.<br />
<br />
Crowley's ideas regarding what the other side of the abyss grades are up to should shed some light on the matter.<br />
<br />
"The essential Attainment is the perfect annihilation of that personality which limits and oppresses his true self....His will is entirely free from internal diversion or external opposition; His work is to create a new <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe">Universe</a> in accordance with his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_(philosophy)">Will</a>....be free from limitations and necessity and live in perfect balance with the manifest universe. Essentially, the highest mode of attainment"<br />
<br />
In Daoism we can say " the object of spiritual practice is to 'become one with the tao' (Tao Te Ching) or to harmonise one's will with Nature (cf. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism">Stoicism</a>) in order to achieve 'effortless action' "<br />
<br />
Paragraph 1 of The hermaphroditic Child of the Sun and the Moon sums up the entire opus<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Among the 7 planets I am called the Sun.</span></i></div>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">My pointy crown symbolizes the process:</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">First, we become completely subtle and pure</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">And bind with Mercury,</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Then the black raven grows.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">It is buried in the grave,</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Rising anew,</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Adorned with lillies, and betrothed.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Then at last the Sun-Child appears,</span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Bedecked with purple on his throne.</span></i><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">They key to the entire opus is summed up </span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><i>Hermes called me the Sun and the Moon. Riplaeus called me the green<br />lion. Our author called me hermaphrodite, but I pay no attention to<br />that. It makes no difference. Nor does it matter what the sophists<br />call me, for they learn nothing for all their trouble except: (1) I<br />am One Substance, not two; (2) In me is Bernard's little fountain;<br />(3) I am dry water, subtle pure; (4) I am raised up by the power<br />of Mars, as commanded by Philaleth, the famous Adept who<br />coagulates my esoteric nature with Mercury.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Without the actualising and fully understanding it in the three levels of existence, From the sulphur mercury and salt, from the 4 worlds of Qbl, and the prevous unconscious and conscious into action, the seed of the royal path is only planted. The Royal road must be walked, not merely contemplated and looked upon.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">In the life of jesus the Christ this is symbolised by his 3 years of preaching.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The Hermaphroditic Child further tells us</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">Turn Air, Fire, Water, and Earth<br />into Water through our Fire.<br />Then make that Water into Earth.<br />That completes the Work.<br />In other words, separate<br />the Air, Fire, Water, and Earth,<br />and unify them once more.<br />Do it gently or all is wasted,<br />And all the work and all the reward are lost.<br />The Crown sits in the point of the Earth.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">The Mystery speaks through Crowley's brainwash and the egregor of the country he realised it in.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">"22. <i>... </i></span><i>Since I am Infinite Space, and the Infinite Stars thereof, do ye also thus. Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt.</i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"></span><br />
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;">
<i>29. For I am divided for love's sake, for the chance of union.</i></div>
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;">
<i>30. This is the creation of the world, that the pain of division is as nothing, and the joy of dissolution all."</i></div>
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;">
-Liber AL</div>
<div style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Our lovely modern madman Pete J C writes about the Dao</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Space, time, mass, and energy originate from Chaos, have their being in Chaos, and through the agency of the aether are moved by Chaos into the multiple forms of existence.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Thus it happens that "Once the first Salt has been created by allowing the mercury and sulphur to penetrate into the purified ashes and tint it, we have our first stone."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The work from this stage is to use this stone. You can manifest the light in the world and allow its heat to keep melting your metals. Alternatively you can make the darkness a bit brighter for those around or just light a path for yourself you in a way that allows you to further understand your own light. you can manifest the light within yourself so the next separation may take place.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The most important goal of all at this level has been said again and again in all Daoist literature and has unfortunately not been published by the Western Rosicrucian school, because it is perhaps too profound for most westerners.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">I personally vouch for the importance and efficacy of this technique.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">The biggest failure at this level is to not boil tea. </span></span>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-19971638006770959202012-04-22T07:10:00.004-07:002012-04-22T07:10:37.448-07:002 Many are called, few chosenIt helps to have read number one in this series, since this post will only touch upon a few more pointers from that article.<br />
<br />
Now, the most important thing to remember throughout this article is that Religion is for everyone and Magick is for everyone as well.<br />
<br />
Being a <b><i>good </i></b>magician sorcerer, shaman, christian santero palero buddhist or what have you is for those few people with the gift and calling.<br />
<br />
High magic (the alchemical theurgic work) is for the very, very few.<br />
<br />
Why is this? is this some form of elitist bullshit dreamt up by some random groups of people trying to be more special then anyone else? I highly doubt it. It is a question of psychology, gift and any stuff that may or may not be related to any past life and also how they go about trying to execute the opus.<br />
<br />
The issue is, if we are going to be blunt about it, physically, not everyone is equal. There are differences in our brains that mean we may or may be more drawn to inner praxis or outer praxis. Add to this that everyone I know who is actually any good with Sorcery will agree that there is a level of inborn skill or gift needed. Someone is of the blood or is not. Having worked with various people in various places in the world in different systems this remains true everywhere. You can learn some of the skills needed but there are those who take to it like fish to water and some that even with the simplest and most powerful tech end up shaking it off like water off a duck's back.<br />
The same thing is true for inner praxis. As a monk would say "not everyone is called."<br />
<br />
But, everyone can use some basic technology that belongs to magic or religion. this is because some of the basic ideas are there for everyone to use. It is useful to see the magical and mystical, or inner and outer approaches as the breath in, where the practitioner is passive and the active one, where the practitioner breathes out and is in control.<br />
<br />
Since honestly, is religion really anything more then the tool we use to understand the world and magic the tool we use to affect the world? If we really break it down to its most basic components? Not really.<br />
However the rule of thumb is: take the path of least resistance. If you always felt religious because of your social genetic and karmic background it us useless to try and go atheist. If you need a job, maybe you should stop jerking off to seals and start putting your cv out there and join some job agencies?<br />
<br />
The most powerful mages are the ones who can get you killed because they don't like the cut of your gib. I wonder when Bill Gates became a "Word of Power"....<br />
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<br />
As stated, there is a difference between those who have a gift for inner and/or outer work and those who don't have the gift. But with hard work it is possible to get roughly equal. The person with the craziezt ADHD mind can still learn to meditate and will be able to experience certain spiritual experiences of ceazing of the inner voice, passive being, awareness of oneself as existence, ego loss etc. In the same way as the most unemotional thick person who by the time swallows the milk they are drinking have let it turn into yoghurt can, with enough persistence and exercise get to the point where they are able to enchant to the level that their spells almost always work.<br />
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Anyway, I don't want to get too lost in this part of the text. Let's move on.<br />
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One of the reasons "Few are Chosen" is because it requires a lot of dedication, a laserpoint focus in the right setting for the work to actually start. Not only that, but as the two circles in the previous article show, the various inner and outer tools are in and of themselves a whole. One can spend a whole lifetime messing around in any of the countless systems paths beliefs and ways of working without even approaching the opus (the center) and even if one does, it takes guidance, dedication and a certain.... gift on the part of the seeker.<br />
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This gift will manifest on all the levels of being. In the material plane it might be described as the ability to both think in a highly abstract way yet also to always bring the abstractions down to reality. without this two-way street the vesica pisces between the two circles will never be entered.<br />
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On a spiritual level one needs Grace. Grace is very hard to define, so I will not try. Instead I will point to the idea of Jesu being just a very devout learned Rabbi and Nazarene, yet when the grace of God in the shape of the Dove symbolising the holy spirit descends upon him he understands himself to be the Son of God. Why Christianity then adopts the concept of the Mystery of the trinity that none of them can explain without offering an explanation that is so fluid as to not be an explanation or so good that it has already been declared heretical is something everyone should spend some time meditating on.<br />
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Furthermore, it is worth stating that once the True Opus starts the practitioner is forever set apart from the rest of the world. S/he will experience and see the world differently then those who may be following the same path to get there, yet are not there yet.<br />
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Why is this part of the series before we start talking about the elusive Nigredo?<br />
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Because for some reason everyone think that all paths will lead to Rome. They will not. Receiving an ordination as a priest does not mean that you truly are what a priest is meant to be. You can create alchemical elixirs and spend the rest of your day with spagyrics or qigong and still not get it. You can can talk to your gods and be able to walk through a wall by the grace of your possession, uyet none of these prove that you are there.<br />
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I will heavily paraphrase and twist a story to srve my purposes now:<br />
Remember the Tantric who sat by the river and spent most of his life practicing austerities and spells? Once the tantrika was practicing devotion to the Power of the River, a practice requiring him to spend 2 years immersed in the freezing waters whilst practicing mantra and sacrifice. One day an enlightened Brahmin walked by, and the brahmin asked: what have you accomplished with your devotion? The tantrika replied by showing him how he could walk across the waters of a river. The brahmin was impressed, but pointed out that there is a bridge further down the path that the tantrika could have used instead of spending all this time with his Puja.<br />
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Therefore be warned. In the following posts there will be points discussed referring to Holy Guardian Angels, meetings with the unconscious from a Jungian perspective and alchemical operations that might make sense from two levels, and I will not make any further attempt to differentiate.<br />
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In the above example, we might think we know immediately which one of them is engaged in the work of the Royal Art and which one is not. However both might well be in the Circle of Sorcery or the Circle of Religion. Both might be in the vesica pisces or only one of them may be.<br />
We do not know whether the tantrik had the intention of the river representing an inner passion, the stream of life from beginning to ending representing the eternal rebirth and his crossing of it was merely a manifestation in the gross world of the inner truth that he has realised, in a way similar to Gold being produced sometimes as a sign for the alchemist.<br />
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As an exercise in practicing the skill of abstraction and materialisation.<br />
Always remember:<br />
<br />
You can spend your life trying to create Gold using alchemy<br />
or<br />
You can spend your life trying to create Gold using alchemy<br />
<br />
You may succeed in producing gold with both ways. But when is gold the Signifier and when is it the signified?<br />
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<br />Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-53293169794278765582012-04-16T04:06:00.002-07:002012-04-16T04:06:20.694-07:001 The Royal Path between Sacerdotal and Sorcerous PathsThere is a tendency to classify any practice that is slightly unavailable to the public as esoteric. There is also a tendency to call any books or documents or teachings that deal with the same as "esoteric". This could not be further from the truth and comes from the labels that publishers chose for certain books and a conflation of the academic terms used in religious history, comparative religious studies and anthropology.<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">The term esoteric first appeared in English in the 1701 History of Philosophy by Thomas Stanley, in his description of the mystery-school of Pythagoras; the Pythagoreans were divided into "exoteric" (under training), and "esoteric" (admitted into the "inner" circle) However, Antoine Faivre discusses all four usages of the term in his,</span> Access to Western Esotericism, Albany: State University of New York Press (“SUNY Series in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Western Esoteric Traditions”), 1994, 10-15. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Wouter J. Hanegraaff</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> (ed.),</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><i>Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">, Leiden / Boston: Brill, 2005, I, 340.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">The one definition that has been in use in the actual schools of secret teachings is of course "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">esotericism sometimes suggests the idea of a secret transmission of spiritual teachings, through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Initiation" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; color: #0645ad;" title="Initiation">initiation</a> from master to disciple</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">". Being admitted to the inner circle that is.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">This would suggest that anything that is available, that is there for you to believe in because a book says so or someone else says so is not true esotericism, whereas if you come to a realisation based on certain practices and initiations that hint towards or fully reveal to you the one true mystery, then we're talking esotericism.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Why and how is this relevant to The Royal Path? I'll get to that further down.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">First let me point out a fun little fact. There has been so much written and talked about high magic and low magic. Crowley changed terminology and started to refer to low magic as black magic and high magic as white magic. This has lead to later sects and groups thinking of black magic as bad or evil and white magick as good. Add chaosmagick and the current (10-20 years old) obsession with things dark and you have groups of people and new orders that work a form of western antinomianism, more or less successfully, claiming that the antinomian path is the left handed path and thus is black magic. And black magic is the only real magic, whereas the white, right handed stuff is just religion disguised.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">it is very easy to see why these ideas evolved the way they have. The issue starts when we start to confuse two other terms with eachother. We often confuse the idea of ceremonial magic with High Magic. Just because someone is playing around with pentacles and circles, Golden Dawn Style magic or Shinto formulae does not mean the person is practising high magic, however they might be practicing ceremonial magic. Similarly a priest of Ifa performing a divination or someone healing you with laying on of hands might very well be doing high magic.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">How does this work? Well, High magic as understood by initiates is simply the Royal Path. It is Alchemy, it is theurgy when the theurge peforms <i>Magia. </i>It is an attitude to the work requiring an understanding and acknowledgement of certain truths. High Magic has more in common with Chaos Magick, as originally formulated by Carrol, except it doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Kia and Chaos share a lot of similarities with the Universal Mercury that alchemy speaks of, however where Carrol looked and saw no soul and decided there wasn't one, the alchemist sees the same and then goes about to make one. This is a thread I'll pick up in a later post.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">So let's have a quick glance on sorcery and the sacerdotal path, This is done from the point of view of High magic and will therefore probably offend anyone strictly working with these paths.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Let's imagine them as two intersecting circles</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQvUiCFU3BYyPA7joAMu8raB4DodQcaoN3uUSUG-ciDeEyhHTVW1E9n0FJYeLFvK7YXeRebKWiVxX0mNYJXOTjegGog4FjjQK-j_44Q2MIHybzSmJlxVI0Od33UC5vYS0CzLqhRejhaBQ/s1600/Venn2_blank.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQvUiCFU3BYyPA7joAMu8raB4DodQcaoN3uUSUG-ciDeEyhHTVW1E9n0FJYeLFvK7YXeRebKWiVxX0mNYJXOTjegGog4FjjQK-j_44Q2MIHybzSmJlxVI0Od33UC5vYS0CzLqhRejhaBQ/s320/Venn2_blank.gif" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The left one is sorcery, the right one is the sacerdotal path, their intersection is where High Magic happens. Remember kids, high magic is not ceremonial magic nor has it anything to do with "good magic".</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Let's break this down a bit shall we?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The centers of the circles represent intuitive, inspired work, yet also where the circles somehow touch upon eachother . The edges of the circles represent the extremes of pure belief and faith. To enter the vesica pisces of The Royal Path in the intersection, you can only step into it from the center of either the sorcery circle or the sacerdotal circle, where the other circle touches upon your circles center.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Sorcerous circle</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">In sorcery, the progression from left to right is nicely illustrated by the 3 Books of Agrippa, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">the 3 levels of the world, natural astral and celestial magic.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">There is however no progression, magical practice isn't linear, various practises and ways of doing magic will fall somewhere inside the circle.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">So somewhere on the left edge you have pure sorcery and belief in a specific technique with little or no outside influence</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"> Draw a Sigil and have a wank. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Lighting an X colored candle and saying the X Psalm will automatically have X effect. It is when a black cat crosses your path and you know you will be unlucky and where breaking a mirror is a divinatory revelation of self caused curse for bad luck for seven years. Moving closer to the centre towards the right, we have the belief in correspondences and the belief that they actually matter. A Magnet pulls, therefore if I want to pull something towards me I put a magnet on it. Intoning one of the names of G-D will automatically have an effect. Listening to this chakra meditation cd will make me aware of my chakras.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">On the right you have Ceremonial Magic, magic linked very strongly with religious belief, say tantric sorcery and Magic that borders on insane rules-following. As in, only being able to dedicate a talisman at a specific time. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Remember, the circumference of the circles is rules based, where the magic happens because of outside influence, the closer to the center you get the more magic happens because of YOU. But on the left you can have blind belief in the power of a dust you buy online and on the right you might believe in the names of the middle pillar or that an R replaced with a V will actually make a difference in your Enochian work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Where the circles actually touch, there is a mix. So any sorcerer performing work withing the paradigm of X religion, christian, hindu, palo etc would be working on the small section where the sacerdotal overlaps with the sorcerous one. Whereas someone who believes that the world is a machine and that a specific entity may or may not exist, but engraving his image on a tin disk at 19:an on 13th or Novekter on Bloomsday while wearing a paper hat will cause Jupiter to give you wealth..... well that person is on one of the crescent tips of the sorcery circle.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">If you are close to the center but still off-centre to the right you might fall into some form of religious missconception. Such as "man is divine and thus all spirits have to listen" or "I have spent 6 months doing this sadhana, THAT is why all these entities follow me". </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Off-centre to the left means you just don't see why on earth you'd need an initiation to perform the miracle of the mass or to work with certain tradition bound entities? You might even start to suspect that they are all in your head, that they are all mirror reflections of eternal principles and thus have no cultural validity.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Remember, this says nothing about the circle itself or the entities or anything like that. ALL parts of the circle are true, all of it is sorcery, this is merely an attitude of mind. It is ALL true. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">In the center, if we manage to stop there we have the realisation that what is important is will, imagination, that symbolic systems are just there to allow us to tap into the part that allows magic to happen. This realisation, which by the way is slightly incorrect as we still don't know WHY this is so, can have several, less good results.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Effect one : <b>Postmodern sublime.</b> You are fucked. Everything is in your head and only works because of delusion. Nothing is true everything is true, nothing is permitted everything is permitted. God is dead (good thing if you meant the demiurge, bad if you don't think the pleroma exists). This is the Nietzchian fallacy, the chaosmagick black hole you can only crawl out from by adopting a structure to try and plug the hole. Hine got into tantra and Carrol fell into a need to explain everything using crap science.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Effect two: <b>God is dead, long live the new God.</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">the insights are similar to the above mentioned. Systems break down and you realise that all that is important is the will and so on. yet, you need to find a reason as to why this is. At this stage you revert to what your mind has been the most successfully indoctrinated. You are Christ. you are primordial man. Buddhas explanation finally makes sense. ALL is an illusion and is malleable. What have you. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Effect Three: <b>"Welcome to the Dark night of the Soul"</b> engendered using the magical path.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Both versions above happen, yet there is no end. The whole circle inverts and when you are spat out you have entered the vesica pisces. If you succeed. if not, you might end up in Effect One or Two or Four.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Effect Four: <b>"Have you heard the Good News?" </b><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>You end up popping over allright. but to the circle of Sacerdotal work. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The Sacerdotal Circle.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Same rules apply. The outer edge is blind faith and belief in the book, what your elders say, etc. The classical Hyllic approach. The overlapping part is what we in the west would call magical religions and the right side are rational religions. Off the top of my head i would place Atheism and protestants who barely go to church on the right edge along with western buddhists, catholics and quakers and jehovas witnesses in the crescent approaching the sorcery circle and mediterranean catholicism, orthodox xtianity, tibetan buddhism and afrocaribean religions with a strong magical leaning in the overlap. Initiation into any form of its priesthood propels you closer to the center, most of the time.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">I would place <i style="font-weight: bold;">individuals </i>with a strong inner, mystical leaning that actually actualise the religion (whether it accepts magickal practices, then off center left or not, then off center right) closer to the center.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">This is when someone doesn't just add gnostic gospels to hir bible for a more authentic christianity but realises there is something behind it all, this is where meditation and the jesus prayer leads you, where entheogens can catapult you.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">effects of the center:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Effect one: <b>I was lied to! What is the truth again?</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Yes you were. Good luck. You feel betrayed by your religion and now you need something else that, hopefully doesn't lead you to the center. Born agains who swap from one extreme religion to another, and wiccans who realise their religion was made up, people who find out that christ may not have been a real person. etc etc etc. But more often this marks a real spiritual awakening that the individual is incapable of dealing with.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Effect two: <b>I am the NEW/Latest/Reat Prophet/asshole/Goodguy</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">This is my absolute favourite. This effect makes the person think they are the only one who is capable of reaching the center and have therefore a special place in the mind heart emptiness of whatever. It can go horribly wrong as when enforcing your new religion or your understanding of an old one on an unsuspecting populace or when you abuse your knowledge for sex and money, and it can go well when you try to guide people to where you are yourself, even if you have no fucking idea of where to go from now. Non-dual awareness often does this to peeps. I should also point out that there are many lovely people here who have truly lived their lives in imitation christe.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Effect Four: <b>Welcome to the Dark night of the Soul.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The outer forms of whatever you believed is a lie, yet your experiences cause you to know that many things even from other religions are true. The torch until now has been your blind faith but that faith is now gone. The prayers you have used ot the meditations no longer take you to the center (as you are now playing the the vesica pisces ballgame but unaware of this) </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Effect Four: <b>Anti-(add religion)</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">This is when you pop over to the sorcery circle instead. Very Very uncommon and I'm sure you can think of an example. I can't right now</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">How was this relevant to the Royal Path again?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Well, esoteric, the inner circle we have been talking about? That is the vesica Pisces. it is the place that is not the sacerdotal path being overlayed by the sorcerous or vice versa. This is something completely different. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The Royal Path is the pathway taken by those initiates of our Art that, in western parliance have gnosis and now know what to do with it, that have received the yeast and are transforming their elixir. Where the alchemical inner work is done. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">This is where the true, inner work the High Magic can start. When Crowley talked about the K and C of the HGA he did not mean being able to communicate with an entity that is today understood by the esoteric writers. Their subjective experience is true and valid but not what is meant.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The Royal Path cannot be described because any description of it will automatically land in the "overlap between the circles" not in the new thing that comes into being when the inversion has happened....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">This is alluded to in many Western systems.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">In Gnosticism we have the primordial myth that is at the same time a map for individual restitution and reintegration.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">In Work with Demons from the perspective of the grimoires themselves, we uppraise the lowest again under the rulership of the highest.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">Boehmian and protestant Theosophy wishes for us to transform the hell fire into love fire.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The Pillars of masonry and those of Seth Hermes and Solomon</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The mysteries of Jesus Christ the son of God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">The only vocabulary that has evolved to deal directly with the Royal Path that I am aware of is Alchemy, inner and outer both here in the West and the East, along with its derivatives or "exoteric" versions.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif;">What does alchemy say to us?</span></div>
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<br /><br />That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is belowto do the miracles of one only thing.<br />And as all things have been arose from one by the mediation of one: so all things have their birth from this one thing by adaptation.<br />The Sun is its father, the moon its mother,<br />the wind hath carried it in its belly, the earth its nurse.<br />The father of all perfection in the whole world is here.<br />Its force or power is entire if it be converted into earth.<br />Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross sweetly with great industry.<br />It ascends from the earth to the heaven again it descends to the earth and receives the force of things superior and inferior.<br />By this means ye shall have the glory of the whole world thereby all obscurity shall fly from you.<br />Its force is above all force. for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing.<br />So was the world created.<br />From this are and do come admirable adaptations whereof the means (Or process) is here in this.<br />Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world.<br />That which I have said of the operation of the Sun is accomplished and ended.<br />
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We also know that alchemy seeks to unite all opposites.<br />
When Fire and Water meet, they don't kill eachother, they give rise to steam, the son, who then coagulates into earth the daughter.<br />
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as Osiris says in the Book of the Second Breath<br />
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I am neither alive nor dead, yet without me there is naught and the world is in me and due to me<br />
Hoor is my heir and me and I am my father as he is his, yet my sister lives and is forver dying as I am dead yet forever living, to give the sun to my son, Heruset.<br />
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The Royal Path is beyond sects and beyond orders and systems. Anyone in possession of its secret, the secret that is entrusted upon entering the true Royal Path will recognise any other of its adepts, no matter creed. As long as there is any form of communication possible the Warriors upon the royal path, reading eachothers diaries, books, seeing eachothers lives or having a 5 minute conversation with no prior arranged signs of recognition will suss eachother out as they are all part of the royal blood, the kinship and the stream that has been with mankind since we first were able to experience this one truth. If the Queen/King was dependent upon the symbols of hir prior life and path here then the path would not be trodden.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>My Burning Heart</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 10px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">My heart is burning with love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">All can see this flame</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">My heart is pulsing with passion</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">like waves on an ocean</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">my friends have become strangers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">and I’m surrounded by enemies</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">But I’m free as the wind</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">no longer hurt by those who reproach me</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I’m at home wherever I am</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">And in the room of lovers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I can see with closed eyes</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">the beauty that dances</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Behind the veils</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">intoxicated with love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I too dance the rhythm</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">of this moving world</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I have lost my senses</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">in my world of lovers</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Bittersweet</strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 10px;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In my hallucination</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I saw my beloved's flower garden</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In my vertigo, in my dizziness</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In my drunken haze</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Whirling and dancing like a spinning wheel</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I saw myself as the source of existence</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I was there in the beginning</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">And I was the spirit of love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Now I am sober</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">There is only the hangover</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">And the memory of love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">And only the sorrow</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I yearn for happiness</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I ask for help</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I want mercy</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">And my love says:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Look at me and hear me</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Because I am here</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Just for that</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I am your moon and your moonlight too</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I am your flower garden and your water too</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I have come all this way, eager for you</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Without shoes or shawl</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I want you to laugh</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">To kill all your worries</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">To love you</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">To nourish you</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Oh sweet bitterness</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I will soothe you and heal you</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I will bring you roses</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I, too, have been covered with thorns</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><strong>Intoxicated by Love </strong></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Because of your love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I have lost my sobriety</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I am intoxicated</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">by the madness of love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In this fog</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I have become a stranger to myself</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I'm so drunk</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I've lost the way to my house</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">In the garden</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I see only your face</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">From trees and blossoms</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I inhale only your fragrance</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Drunk with the ecstasy of love</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">I can no longer tell the difference</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">betweeen drunkard and drink</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #555555; font-family: 'trebuchet ms'; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Between lover and Beloved</span>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-81976487013013775822012-04-13T05:30:00.004-07:002012-04-13T06:01:34.867-07:00The road to hell is paved with good intentionsThe blog has been suffering because I have had more pressing matters to attend to than to write blogposts. I have also been to busy with physical spiritual work and my actual job. There are, however still some things I'd like to get out there on the 'net. It will most likely drown in the sea of chaos and disinformation and misinformation out there, but as has been proven to me, I have made a difference to a handful of true seekers out there.<div><br /></div><div>The road to hell is indeed paved with good intentions. I do not think for a second that the many blogs, books and websites spread bad information on purpose. I also don't think that orders religions and do it yourself groups do it on purpose. People are people and want to share what they have, and once in awhile make money off of it. There's no shame in that. I sincerely hope that it helps those who need that kind of help. At the same time, some information is blatantly wrong and can create problems for those who sincerely seek that which a publication says it can give them. In the day and age of the internet it is as easy to spread all manner of information, whether it is right or wrong. A hacked wikipedia page will result in a lot of strange facts handed in on essays in schools and altered views amongst most people.</div><div><br /></div><div>Therefore, without further delay I shall present certain things as they have been handed down to me, experienced by me and others who have come before me the past, oh I don't know, few thousand years. Many will disagree and thats their prerogative. </div><div><br /></div><div>I will state things and provide any and all background needed when appropriate. There are about 15 or so posts being written up and will probably be published with a few weeks between them. After this I shall probably take another break, publishing a book that will be available in hardcopy for money and softcopy for free. Its my usual modus operandi under a different pen-name and has worked very well for the poorer versus richer parts of the world.</div><div>If you have a question whilst reading any of the posts that you want to ask but don't want it published here then include your email in the comments and I will email you.</div><div><br /></div><div>For those who want to speak openly about alchemy, from an <i>Inner </i>Perspective, you can tell me "why does the lady on the tarocard of the path of Judgement smile".</div><div>Or, basically, make it clear to me that you have what you need to have in order to be able to talk about our <i>mercury. </i></div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-77447679602079300622011-09-23T03:53:00.000-07:002011-09-23T04:42:52.462-07:00Highlight: The Key: Sethian Gnosticism in the Postmodern worldI am exceedingly busy and will be for the next few weeks before the blog continues.<div><br /></div><div>The problem with equinoxes solstices and other things.</div><div>However The Key: Sethian Gnosticism in the postmodern world has now finally been released on Amazon.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Key-Sethian-Gnosticism-postmodern-world/dp/8299824370/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316603746&sr=8-2" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 204); ">http://www.amazon.com/Key-<wbr>Sethian-Gnosticism-postmodern-<wbr>world/dp/8299824370/ref=sr_1_<wbr>2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316603746&sr=8-<wbr>2</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div>I read the original when it was still a Norwegian word document and was meant to assist in translating it. There might be 1 or 2 pages in there that I translated as well.</div><div>I am extremely happy to see this on Amazon after loving it when I read it 2 years ago. That it is available to the English speaking world is a huge asset!</div><div><br /></div><div>The book gives an introduction to Sethian Gnosticism in a way that it becomes relevant to people today. It is actually Book 1 of 3 planned ones where the other 2 will focus more on practical matters and also contain some of the hidden and revealed texts.</div><div>The book is the result of the work of a practitioner from their Albedo phase through the citrinitas.</div><div><br /></div><div>I strongly recommend it for anyone who has an interest in gnosticism, would like an overview and thinks in these paths.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have to highlight that this is not a historic treatise nor is it a book filled with informatio about how you can be a Gnostic, what it does do is that it takes concepts and ideas from Gnosticism that many use yet few understand, and makes it as clear as possible for todays readers.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you enjoy it!</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-45701125820771904322011-08-19T13:50:00.000-07:002011-08-19T14:59:36.690-07:00the x-files<div>It is said that during the final bits of the Elysian mysteries certain words were said and a basket was shown to the participants, and that made them realise the Mystery of Elysius.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Some say, that the 3rd degree of Masonry used to be enough to propel people into the beginnings of enlightenment. If we believe the research of Bishop Hoeller, the Valentinians used the sacraments as initiations.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>There seems to be a lot of things that in times passed meant a lot to people, that were words containing the deepest mysteries. Texts kept away from the profane, because they contained the secrets to ___insert something__ itself!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Most of these things are limited to time. I doubt that it would be useful for anyone to undergo the Elysian mysteries today because we are not in the same mental space. Eating meat fish drinking wine and having sex is also not a massive taboo for most of us and is not going to cause any shocks to the system. Being shown a gurus rose-smelling piss might be a life altering event for a lifelong groupie, but the western reporter is probably just going to think that it is gross.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The question whether there are traditions that still have secrets and whether or not there are <i>papers</i> that are not published is actually not relevant.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Of course there are papers that exist that haven't made their way into the internet. </div><div>Are the papers worth anything? NO. Not out of context. That is the whole point. Can you give me the texts for all the rites in the Swedish rite of freemasonry started by Duke Carl in March 1735? No, I doubt you can. Would it make any difference if some random got hold of them?</div><div>Nope.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>A guy actually emailed me and said "If you have these ancient secret papers, why don't you share them or shut up about them?"</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Thats kind of missing the point. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Allow me to demonstrate. Instead of sharing the papers I will play a game.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Let's play the game of "Giving the game away" and see how without the oral traditions, the correct context and being a part of a living tradition the following statements are meaningless, yet are still considered the highest secrets in some regards:</div><div>
<br /></div><div>-The Tomb is empty</div><div>-Christ is slain Christ is Risen Christ will come again</div><div>-Osiris is a black God</div><div>-There is no part of me that is not of the Gods</div><div>-The dove confirms you are ready</div><div>-I am Truth!</div><div>-Chew and Swallow</div><div>-The god you worship is actually the Devil!</div><div>-Iao is short for Ialdabaoth</div><div>-There was a fifth nail for Jesus, but a Gypsy stole it.</div><div>-Only Loco gives the Asson</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The thing is, the papers that haven't been released and are not findable are not what is going to solve an age old mystery. This is not an intellectual academic pursuit of putting a puzzle together. Having "Horus is the mystery" whispered into your ear, or being taken to a church at midnight to have your hair cut and wrist slit into a cup only makes sense, is only revelatory if you have been schooled in the right context. </div><div>The western mystery traditions have never, EVER, been about working out something intellectually as they relate to something so specific. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Putting corpse bits into a pot doesn't make you a Tata and until you get circumcised and accepted by a jewish rabbi as his student of Qabalah you are not -really- a kabbalist.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Did you know it is nigh impossible to create a 5 pointed star using a par of compasses and a straightedge unless you know exactly what you are doing? (hint, the wikipedia way is not the way) I will look up the reference when I have time</div><div>
<br /></div><div>And if there are schools with mysteries? Mate, if Palo and Santeria has survived after being created in Cuba based on African religious practices, what makes you think there isn't a living tradition of other things?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Maybe some of these things rely on more then paperwork. Maybe the reason you cannot call yourself a Houngan just because you read some books on voudu and worship the Lwa isn't just some odd Exoteric rule, maybe there is a point to it. Maybe some of the grimoires are actually just bullshit made up of people who wanted a fast buck and maybe the corpus hermeticum is as esoteric as the bible, without certain specific empowerments or just a way of working that is meant to be un-locatable no matter how much one searches. the secret words are not qabalistic ennummerations, they are the colour codes of my little ponies.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Certain things will never make it to the public domain, and the moment they do they cannot be used for their intended purpose again.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>This is the origin of the Old Alchemists saying:</div><div>"It is when we talk the most plainly nobody understands and when we talk in riddles that the people hang on our words".</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I would want nothing more for there to be an essay or a book or ANYTHING I could just give out and know that if you just follow that instruction you will get to the end of what the traditions hint at. But it doesn't work like that. Because the moment that would happen the way to Gold would immediately transform into the way of Silver.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>living proof: The Book of the Law. From one point of view every word in it is True. But Are you enlightened ujst because you read it? Really? (please please dont say yes, its a trap)</div><div>
<br /></div><div>If you answered "No" why do you think that is?</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Sometimes you need to be touched on the head by someone or be taken to a specific location or have become a vegan ascetic before being forced to eat a corpse of your own gender you have to copulate with whilst your mentor says chew and swallow...</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Ce la vie, eh?</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-25179270183654062832011-08-05T00:30:00.000-07:002011-08-05T01:40:03.497-07:00KnowledgeThere are 3 sorts of people out there.<div><br /></div><div>Those who don't care</div><div><br /></div><div>Those who believe in something</div><div><br /></div><div>Those who have Gnosis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, someone asked me the following question:</div><div><br /></div><div>"What is the difference between a Gnostic and a Christian, because it really seems that they both do the same thing, following myths and stuff".</div><div><br /></div><div>Someone else asked me:</div><div><br /></div><div>"What is the difference between a magician who claims to be enlightened who can work with spirits and do miracles and a magician who has actually found the stone of the wise, seeing as they both seem to do the same thing, you know, majicka."</div><div><br /></div><div>I thought about charging sex, money and power for a made up answer, then I realised I'm not a douchebag and can do so for free with the real answer.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Gnosticism</div><div><br /></div><div>It is all about the attitude. You see, all those holy texts out there, from the bible to the Bhagavad Gita to Liber Al were <i>made up</i> by someone who themselves may or may not have had gnosis. It might be they had gnosis, it might be they mistook a vision for a moment of gnosis or it might be they were complete and utter dicks and just wanted a way to control people. </div><div>The attitude needed is to choose to work with a religious myth. Not because you believe in it, not because you were raised in it, but because it happens to resonate with the cultural scheme in yourself and you can make the tools work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst you do this you are 99% the same as any Psychic, someone who truly believes. Thats the point. But when you start to have mystical experiences that show the bringing on of what in alchemy is often referred to as the albedo phase, you will not ground them in the tradition, running back to a textual or authoritative source, you will work to understand them based on your lived experience thusfar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, when you are truly ready the grace can in some few cases bestow upon you gnosis (See the Life story of Boehme) or you may be lucky enough to be guided by someone else who has gnosis and they can impart this upon you. When this truly happens you will know it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because until a Gnostic has Gnosis s/he is merely a psychic who is intellectually drawn towards that which s/he perceives as gnosis, whereas a psychic doesn't even ask the questions intellectually and simply accepts.</div><div><br /></div><div>But from the view of the one with Gnosis, they are both psychics because they both live either in the world they choose to believe in, or the world they have been made to believe in, not the world that is truly there.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Magic</div><div><br /></div><div>The same rule applies to a magician as does a gnostic, here however, the mythologem that is referred to is called the Stone of the Wise, that is not a stone.</div><div><br /></div><div>The books are made up in the same way as above, sometimes by people who know how to make others make use of existing symbolic systems to interface with the mind of the Godworld, some who have no ideas and just wanted to make a buck. Same goes for modern books on magick used for "enlightenment" versus magic made for practical results. Some are shit and others are really good. Compare with the old Alchemical texts where some actually could guide you to Gold others were outright dangerous and some were extremely good chemistry handbooks.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the same way as it is impossible to get Gnosis by following concrete rules, it is not possible to attain unto the stone within the context of the lower work within magical traditions.</div><div><br /></div><div>It certainly is possible to become a very effective magician, to have practical results, even to experience magically altered states of consciousness. But tell you what. You are not doing anything different then millions of people in oriental Asia are doing daily. The rituals, the conversation with spirits all that, they do from birth. The pujas, the offerings, the communing with spirits and their ancestors, casting powders on the people next door... this is being done by many more then you could count.</div><div><br /></div><div>"There are more people practicing magick today then ever before". I'm truly sorry but that is utter bullshit in the context it was said. There are just as many people practicing magick today as there has always been, except in secularised countries like USA and Europe and heavily dogmatised religio-political places where even having a bad non-religious conformist thought will get your face melted with acid. And even so the enormous amount of people born in China and India and the region makes up for our slackness.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from that? No, people still do magick. The same way as people in the desert do and did. The same way as egyptians woke up and fed their housegoods, as Romans bowed slightly before the fire in their house etc. My grandmother refuses to pour out hot water to this day as she doesn't want to hurt the housetomte. A lunar consciousness exists in many places as a matter of fact and has done so as attested by countless academically accepted historical sources such as papyri, lead-tablets and ethnologic research conducted the past 50 or so years attests to. Doing magic and having a living relationship with spirits and being good at magic is not something true and unique for a select few that we have managed to bring back from utter destruction.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not magic itself that will raise you to find the stone of the wise, it is a very specific application of mystical and magical techniques that <i>might</i> if you are lucky, bring about the change.</div><div><br /></div><div>Argent's inane metaphor of the week:</div><div>Following recipes will make you a good cook, and if you have any talent whatsoever you may even learn to cook without a recipe. Thats good. Welcome to the club of being a magician. But until you can turn that fucking turnip into a carrot, you do not have the Stone of the Wise.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It is here that it is all brought together. For Gnosis is not non-dual awareness, it is not unio-mystica. the Stone of the Wise is not an initiation, or to wank around with God.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gnosis and The Stone are the same thing and both can only be bestowed by divine Grace in <b><i>very</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> exceptional circumstances (Life of Boehme, St.Martin, Jung) but most often it is achieved by the littlest amount of helping push, the <i>yeast </i>given by someone who has some already. The light of the Gnosis within someone, a particle of the Stone.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Until that is in place the magician is a magician without Gnosis. Without the Stone of the Wise.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Is this a bad thing?</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Nope. Everyone should do magick. Everyone should learn how to speak to spirits. Everyone should be a psychic and have some form of relationship with the divine. </span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">But should we claim that what in alchemical terms is barely an albedo phase is the end-result?</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">No.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This tendency started with Crowley and the world around the WW1 when modernism shattered the Western world and brought about the end of the enlightenment era and plummeted us down into a meaningless pit.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">We overcompensate. It is not enough to learn how to cook, we want to change parsnips into oranges. And we will use the cookbooks for this end for surely they will have the keys?</span></b></div><div>It is not enough we recover from the curse of modernism and seek to be in communion with the divine. No, we will use a portion of a religious system, say the bible, and seek complete enlightenment through that, ignoring that within that framework the only people who have all needed to reach the highest possible level whilst alive are really the bishops.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>People want the fast way forward without knowing what it is. They don't want to serve the Lwa they want to become a houngan. It is not enough to learn self-defense and get in good shape, no you want to open your own dojo.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am not saying that it should take 50 years to get Gnosis. I am saying that you can spend 50 years and never get it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Alchemy has broken down the mystical-magical language to as pure a symbolic system as possible.</div><div><br /></div><div>Doing religion and doing magick all fit into the earliest forms of having developed a lunar consciousness (think, a mirror) and working with the preparing for Nigredo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Without having passed through Nigredo there will be no albedo, hence no citrinitas and thus no rubedo. </div><div><br /></div><div>St. Mother Theresa was seeking for Albedo for over 30 years. Why? because she used the wrong tool for the wrong job.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to be a good magician, if you want to have a relationship with the divine then do it. But don't enter into a process that you don't know how to get out of.</div><div><br /></div><div>To have the Stone of the Wise or have Gnosis you need to pass into the alchemical Albedo phase and then transmute that into rubedo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do you have to be <i>perfect </i>to summon Raphael for a chat? Hell, no. Do you need to fast for 7 days just to jinx someone? Doubt it.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if you have worked through your nigredo phase and the white-gray mass starts to brighten, then you will not be a bag. You will no longer be tied to outer forms. You will truly have been turned inside out and cleansed. Remember that bad thing you did? Gone.</div><div><br /></div><div>Only then will you truly be able to say:<i> I am utterly and perfectly happy with myself in every single way all the time</i>. And you will also have performed the traveling into the deepest reaches of the world/beyond the astral/the subconscious (yourself) and there found the centre and that centerpiece will be you.</div><div>You will not care about things. You will not <i>be </i>angry or happy. You might experience these things but they will not move you from your center.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is Albedo, this is where todays living orthodox saints, he none-phoney sadhus and Daoist masters reside in. and you know what? Just as there are little old women who can make a meal to beat any michelin star chef, can hex you to death with a glance no matter how much magick you have done, so there are people who have through very hard work gotten to this point.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you truly can look into your own eyes in the mirror, away from your friends, away from the internet, away from even the eyes of god and say that this is the case, in everysingle moment, then you have achieved the albedo.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not only will you have by necessity passed through the Dark Night of the Soul and met your guardian, but if you'd have done so, religion and magick, as performed by others will not be a part of you anymore. You will live and breathe divine contact as the RightHandMan of God, (written for westerners as I'm sure you get it by now).</div><div>it is here and only here that What is really meant by the Knowledge and conversation of the HGA can be achieved. That the work to create the alchemical body takes its start because it is the center-sun that is the prima-materia for this work. Not the lead you are now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then, and <b>ONLY</b> then can the Rubedo phase start and that work can utterly ruin everything and blemish the white with impurities forever. Any and all ideas you have about the Rubedo are false. Even the projections upon the albedo are as incorrect as a 7 year olds musings about old age are.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And just to pull my dick out: The blog exists partly to help define lines, not to offer theories, none of this is theory.</div><div><br /></div><div>There, that should have answered the 24 emails I received asking questions.</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-29321539662353810152011-08-02T12:45:00.000-07:002011-08-02T13:38:04.227-07:00It must be an angelThere is a fad among postmodern internet occult celebrities and their students to claim having achieved the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.<div><br /></div><div>This operation, which according to a published grimoire takes 6-18 months depending on the specific version of the published versions you read, they accomplish in much less time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of <i>course</i> they do. You see, Crowley himself said that the achievement of the HGA is the first step, then we are talking.</div><div>And uncle Al is always right, isn't he? Except when he mixes up about 4-5 different concepts, refers to them as one thing and then, keeps changing his mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>Crowley is, in his published writings unnable to distinguish between his understanding of the mystery of being, the revelation of his (lesser) solar mystery, the beginnings of his Citrinitas phase, his initial contacts with what is a Holy Guardian Angel and Solar consciousness.</div><div>This is why he has several completely different methods for attaining unto it (whatever it is at that point he is referring to with the same word :S)</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, as we know after having read previous posts on this blog, there is more to the western tradition then the Netultists* think. </div><div><br /></div><div>You see, I happen to have access to a few** manuscripts that are a few hundred years old belonging to various Traditions*** that aim to perform similar things.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not impossible to find one of the bastardised versions of the Arcana Arcanorum online. I leaked one myself about 6 years ago that I got from a friend, because the person I know who is one of the people in charge of the masonic currents that hold the keys to the A.A. and thus knows his thing claimed: that A.A. document is about as effective as mixing coke, cola nuts and fizzy water and calling it coca cola. I happen to agree, knowing what I know so I thought it wouldn't hurt.</div><div>Anyway, point being even with the bastardised version floating around online you will quickly realise that whoever was meant to receive that document probably worked through the system that it belongs to. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, last I checked the A.A. belongs to the Memphis Misraim Rite that only starts to hand out the real deal from the degrees above 50. (not counting some of the cool angelology in the lower scottish rite degrees). So, whoever is receiving the papers should by this point be a Master Mason, with other degrees, manifest those in real life and have <i>quite</i> a few years under his or her belt in the system, living with it day in and day out. THEN you undertake the operation underlined in the A.A. <i>after </i>receiving the initiations**** for it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Aside from the fact that the books out there do not come with keys and are thus impossible to decypher, these things take time because the process takes time.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can get you a contact with your angel in 3 hours. You can experience solar consciousness after 3 days of fasting or sleep-deprivation. Hell get some illegal substances and get it in a few minutes. You can experience non-dual awareness by accident. But these things are not the same thing as what happens when you have built yourself a vessel.</div><div><br /></div><div>A bad example but one worth mentioning anyway is: That when Mathers and co shaped, modernised and innovated and made workable a lot of the raw data out there, because they had the keys to do so, they choose to place the Abramelin work in the 5=6 grade. Now, why would they do that?</div><div><br /></div><div>It is remarkably easy to have a subpersona masquerade as an entity. To have a random being pretending to be your Holy Guardian Angel. To spend years and years devoting yourself to something you think will free you from the world or make you into something <i>keeeewl.</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Truth is, its not gonna work, its fake. </div><div>I don't doubt that cool effects come out of this, heck I don't doubt that some of the Netultist stuff has effect. But, it's not the same thing as what is really meant by achieving the Knowledge and conversation with your holy guardian angel.</div><div><br /></div><div>To get back to the GD version, as that will be the one most people are actually familiar with. This is Crowley's lifetime version:</div><div>You spend X time going through from neophyte to juniorus adeptus minor. This would have taken, about 5-6 years, or so. Possibly 3-4 if you push it. So then you undergo certain operations in the Adeptus minor grades to work through certain things.</div><div>Then, you'd be ready to perform the Abramelin operation*****, which actually ONLY makes sense in the context of what you have undergone. Hmm. Odd.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>* I am making up a new word. Netcultist. it stands for any wannabe magician who has learned their stuff online, from books online, from books only and is too busy reinventing the wheel. </div><div><br /></div><div>This goes from people reading a few books on Hoodoo calling themselves conjurers, readers of grimoires who think they represent some long dead tradition that needs reviving as if it died, puffers who know about as much about alchemy as I know about airline traffic management followers of 'traditions' that are about 10 years old, any witches who think there has been a surviving cult of <i>anything</i> they have been initiated into (sami-shamans on my mothers side of the family are exceptions) but you know who you are and other <i>wankers</i> who are the magician equivalent of protestant christians but instead of fucking with the Bible are discarding minimum 3000 years of oral teachings and think they can do it better.</div><div><br /></div><div>In short, New + net + occultists+ cultists</div><div><br /></div><div>**when I say few, I mean many</div><div><br /></div><div>***Those things with history that have survived because their bullshit works, not because its popular</div><div><br /></div><div>**** Initiations are those cool things that actually work by making you a living link in a Tradition that is alive. They also prepare you in various ways and make it possible for you to do certain things that it would be completely impossible to do without the initiation. For the netultists out there, this is the traditional version of getting an internet subscription.</div><div><br /></div><div>***** You didn't really think that The Abramelin Operation is written by Mr Worms who just accidentally published a holy ancient ritual for the fun of it? You DO know that the Abramelin operation is merely a look-alike-rip of some more secret papers out there?</div><div>Ooops. I did it again, didn't I?</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-29614885128321162552011-07-22T17:20:00.000-07:002011-07-22T17:20:00.534-07:00Evocation is not (pt 2)Evocation has gotten a lot of slack from people.<div><br /></div><div>Evoking the entities seems to almost be considered silly, a waste of time, or dickwaving. Why, oh why would anyone want to evoke an entity when you can just contact it using a means of divination or even astral hearing?</div><div><br /></div><div>This is probably due to the fact that as a chunk of western magick was broken of it and then watered down into an unrecognizable weak mess, (kinda like budweiser compared to real beer) a ton of juveniles, or people who never got beyond that stage, wanted to evoke things as a proof.</div><div><br /></div><div>Originally, the reason you evoked something was to make sure you actually got what you wanted to be there.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of my readers will be familiar with Afro-traditions. You will be aware that in Haitian Voudu the congregation dances together with the priests and thus anyone can become possessed, BUT because anyone could be possessed people are worried that someone might be faking it. Thus the Lwa, when they come down, not only say secret things and give signs, they also do things the person coulnd't do on their own. Sit on machetes, rub peppers on their genitals etc.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, from the point of view of the still living tradition that works with these entities, why would you want to evoke them?</div><div>Well, lets start by the fact that they are frickin' Demons. They are high up (or down) the specific chain. From the point of view of the tradition, you don't know for sure that you got that specific demon unless that demon shows itself. before that it can be a shade, an elemental or a lesser demon or anything else for that matter.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just to put things into perspective: To simply communicate with a demon using a pendulum is to the Tradition the same insult as if you would have started to call upon Orisha during your LBRPs and about as effective for the original purpose. Or, lets say visualising yourself astrally as a Lwa and assuming their godforms instead of a full on possession.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best of all? It can and often is, you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, if I put it mildly, the purpose of evoking a demon somewhere is not to ask to get laid or for some luck gambling. If you get the demon to be somewhere for a reason you better know what to do with it.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Hint: some demons in Lemegeton are hoping to become angels again after a set time. ever wondered why?</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>Now, when we evoke something (unto visible appearance) one of the requirements is that others should be able to see it and the entity needs to be physically present for example to lift things. The thing is, even this can be explained away using mass-hysteria telepathy telekinesis...</div><div><br /></div><div>Before you actually know WHY you ought to evoke demons, it might be useful being able to do it. The skill to cause mass-hysteria or the level of divine influx needed, or whatever you want to explain it as, is an indication to whether or not you can do what you need to do when Belsebub comes knocking on your door because some of his best generals suddenly grew wings again.</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-25520446177595509372011-07-16T17:44:00.000-07:002011-07-16T17:44:00.160-07:00Evocation is not...I find it interesting to see how many ways people manage to use items in ways they were not meant to be used.<div><br /></div><div>Steak-knives as screwdrivers, ice-picks as murder-weapons, and high-heel shoes as hammers, you name it.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you know what you are doing then it is all good and well. You <i>know </i>that a hammer is better them pumps to get those nails in. You know a rapier works better then an ice-pick. You are well aware that a screwdriver won't mess up your screws the way unscrewing them with a knife does.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a lot of people who have experimented using the seals of entities from various grimoires as means of empowering magick.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, from many perspectives this is extremely smart magick. Not good, per se, but smart.</div><div>The tradition the grimoires come from believes that symbols, seals and names and that which they represent or name is the same thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thus</div><div><br /></div><div>Bear the word</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi131DB0q0kPI-BQdRoE2pgXilYc5PXnoLHo6cJqJYg-sbslfebMEiXfuC8FmQbb0HIxW2rqsvdDbbyAil5o47ccZf0SezlX_cPvqzkhK16hYDXj58_qiVAEmWWT4G5PnzELLmTgJEsQ5Vb/s320/bear.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628245088989853858" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 75px; height: 80px; " /></div><div>this photo</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>and a real bear, they are really all the same thing.</div><div><br /></div><div>So if we are going to be careful to not perform cultural rape let us not forget that there is a western tradition that even 90% of those who claim to follow it aren't even initiated into.</div><div><br /></div><div>From the point of view of the tradition that the grimoires belong to this is what happens with the example of the bear.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you use the symbol to just communicate with the bear you are basically standing at the entrance of its cave shouting things and probably smelling it or seeing its eyes or shadow, but the bear remains in the cave.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you use the seal to empower magick, say as a chaosmagician you use the seal, or maybe you want to use the seal so you burn it and add it to a bag of talismans. What are you actually doing from the point of view of the Tradition?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, let's say your goal is t get the bear to go to a clearing and scare away some pesky dogs hat are disturbing your picnic. (And you forget watching Yogi Bear and don't consider he will steal your pic-a-nic basket)</div><div><br /></div><div>So, you can sit down with the sigil and communicate</div><div>::You shout roughly towards the cave:::</div><div><br /></div><div>you evoke the bear</div><div>::You go to the cave, show it your Bear-paw authority card instruct it in what to do and walk back with it and then see it chase away the dogs, but maybe steal your basket as well::</div><div><br /></div><div>you do what chaoists, hoodooists and members of the Tradition Grimoires belong to do with a seal</div><div>::You sneak into the cave, collect some of the bears hair and shit, maybe grab its paw and then you take all this into the clearing and use it to scare the dogs away with::</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, I realise my metaphor is a bit strained. Point is though, using the seals without involving the entity is <i>smart</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 you don't have to deal with the entity directly, <i>unless it wakes up</i></div><div>2 often you simply just believe more in your own magick and the seal doesn't do squat</div><div>3 you get all the benefits from accessing the entity but,<i>hopefully</i> none of the downsides</div><div><br /></div><div>Why its not really <i>Good</i> magick?</div><div>1</div><div>well, firstly, the "Bear" might wake up. He won't like that you shaved him to use his hair. Also, he might actually be friends with the dogs you chased away, and if he would have been woken up and asked nicely he would not have agreed. Guess what happens next time you try and sneak into his cave?</div><div><br /></div><div>2</div><div>Maybe he really likes what you did and wants you to do more of what you did. Shaving is hard Guess what happens next time you sneak into the cave? Will there always be dogs waiting?</div><div><br /></div><div>3</div><div>The tradition the grimoires come from has much better, efficient and powerful images that can be used instead of the demonic seals.</div><div>The images of the decans, the 28 mansions just to give an example</div><div><br /></div><div>4</div><div>People often don't know how to properly use the symbols. Guys, in the same way as most of you would not feel comfortable walking into a Voudu peristyle in rural Haiti and then dumping a frozen chicken unto a veve in the middle of a fete, stealing some of the corn for use in rituals and then escaping (doubt you would live through this, but lets pretend, eh?) it might be smart knowing that certain signatures would never, ever have been used on their own.</div><div><br /></div><div>So if you want to print the seal of varcas on a candle you are burning, if you are creating a talismanic bag with items in it relating to a force and you really think that dumping the sigil of a demonic entity in there is what is needed to enhance the spell, by all means do it.</div><div><br /></div><div>But be aware that it might be considered rude by the entity.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and never, ever use the heptameron seals without their angelic supervisors. It is not a safety measure, the entity works in symbiosis. You will not get the result you want because you are trying to use a half of a whole.</div><div>I know you can get results but trust me, its better with the whole.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or you could just print and eat every single one of the 72 goetic seals from lemegeton.</div><div>Oh, charge them with a mix of sperm and your blood first then eat them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Yum.</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-80135251117639294192011-07-10T16:35:00.000-07:002011-07-10T16:36:28.770-07:00Religion?A being that finds enlightenment will try and share that enlightenment with others.<div><br /></div><div>Depending on the mental makeup of that being, the mystery received through enlightenment can come through in 3 ways.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 In the purest form. This is referred to as someone who has beheld the mystery and becomes a living link to the mystery. </div><div>A being who beholds and becomes a living link to the mystery is free from all cultural notions and can bring others to the realization of the mystery by whatever means that person needs it.</div><div>Christian Rozenkreutz and Martinez Pasqually for example both suggested that one should take up the dominant religion of the country wherein one resides. This is so that one may understand enough for the cultural symbols present in the mind of the locals so one may use those symbols and crutches in the guidance of these souls. It is measured work.</div><div><br /></div><div>2 Strongly coloured by the social cultural, religious and psychological makeup of the individual. These people behold the mystery but are unable to see it in its entirety and interpret it from a point of view they are familiar with. This is naturally a degradation of the mystery as the nature of the mystery is that it is beyond cultural social and religious forms. </div><div>These beings sometimes become living links to the mystery and manage to fully understand it in time. Often they spend their life having created a new religion or a new form of an old one since that was the context through which they understood it and trying to help people to behold the mystery but only from the point of view from which they themselves saw it.</div><div>Ever wonder why Jesuits who have performed the spiritual exercises of Loyolla are so devoutly certain Catholicism is the way to go?</div><div><br /></div><div>3 Beings that behold the mystery but have no bloody clue what they experienced. Sometimes they don't even have a cultural context to place it into. </div><div>People performing rituals or mystical practices without guidance, who do drugs and experience spiritual peak experiences all fall into this category.</div><div>They have seen the outer mystery, or one of the manifestations of the mystery.</div><div>These people often become enamoured by the technique or thing that got them there first.</div><div><br /></div><div>A true spiritual master is a being from the 1th category who is guiding people there.</div><div>the 2nd category is most of your prophets and spiritual leaders</div><div>the 3rd category is your random practitioners, groupies, druggies and culties.</div><div><br /></div><div>A fun way to talk about religion is to state that there is someone from the 1th group who sets out trying to teach someone else but for whatever reason the other person is a thick bastard, or the being dies.</div><div>So the person being taught thinks that just because the master was using jewish or hindu symbols to try and explain something, or a parable that the metaphor IS the message.</div><div><br /></div><div>This way you have a traditional school formed where the true message is lost, where a religion, the set of rules, are followed but there is no enlivening spark.</div><div>Often the enlivening spark can be reinserted but unless done with enough fervor, the mystery will only come back slightly veiled and the people who behold it will interpret it through the symbols.</div><div><br /></div><div>More dangerous is it when a being from the 2nd category who are already enmeshed in some socioploitic set of rules (religion) and then experience part of the mystery, don't quite get it and then assign universal validity to their specific interpretation of it.</div><div>Christians who through certain exercises become so convinced that Christ is god, not from a universal yeheshua, redeeming force point of view but a personal saviour evangelical point of view that they are happy to say, quote the pope who sent Crusaders against some cities and villages in europe "kill them all, god will know his own."</div><div><br /></div><div>Crowley did the same when he received liber al. Congrats uncle Al, secret western orders have known for roughly 500 years, that we have historical evidence of, what you think is news in 1904, because you don't listen to one of the most important GD lessons> take everything gods, godesses and other astral crap say to you with a pinch of salt.</div><div><br /></div><div>If Crowley wasn't in egypt and other astral forces were present and his mind would have been filled with different symbols, he would not haved received liber al the way he did. He would have channeled a tantric text, or a Christano Gnostic one, or maybe even an alchemical treatise, or if he was less full of himself he would have realised that he has a heavily veiled format of the mystery and that he should understand it in its pure form. But hey, not everyone can ttruly be enlightened. Karma and whatnot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Example: Gnosticism is not Christianity. Gnosticism can be explained using the terms dreamed up around Constantins time. Yet in the middle ages we have neo gnosticism in the form of the Cathars. </div><div><br /></div><div>When you experience something it needs to be a Universal experience. Your cultural interpretation is irrelevant.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is why the true sages of old and now can talk to eachother and agree whereas the rabble are fighting over what type of pasta with which sauce the the prophet(ess) actually ordered the monks to eat and whether or not consumption of onions is Krishnaic or not</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-19487083612633279902011-06-19T16:06:00.000-07:002011-06-19T16:06:00.576-07:00The house metaphorImagine being in a house.<div>You are surrounded by servants, parents, family and a massive garden.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the world. Your parents the butler and everyone here are symbols for various forces.</div><div>If you break a vase you might get told off. </div><div>When your parents are away maybe the Butler is allowed to punish you by confining you to your room.</div><div><br /></div><div>The servants the Butler, your parents and the rules you have are simply there to protect you as a child. If you never grow up you will need to follow these rules.</div><div>When various steps in your spiritual journey arise you might have various ways of dealing with your situation.</div><div><br /></div><div>1 You could run away from home. Escape. If you succeed good luck, but if you go back you will be punished. (reincarnation.... )</div><div><br /></div><div>2 If you fail and you are found out you will be put under closer scrutiny</div><div><br /></div><div>3 You can make yourself invisible to the staff. This is in a way the mystery of mysticism. You don't bring attention to yourself and can mostly get away with things as long as you don't overstep your boundaries.</div><div><br /></div><div>4 You could enter various savoury and unsavoury contracts with different members of the staff or possibly bring in staff from the outside that are on your side</div><div><br /></div><div>4 you can simply, grow up. </div><div><br /></div><div>as a grown up, you'll realise that the nasty Butler who had the power to punish you will politely nod and bring you tea and cakes when you snap your fingers and the house will be a home you rule as its rightful heir instead of a prison.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm sure you can translate the metaphor into spiritual practices for yourself.</div><div><br /></div><div>(yes, still scheduled posts so comment moderation might be slow)</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-86745232262833030362011-06-11T15:53:00.000-07:002011-06-11T16:05:50.973-07:00Of Gods and Men<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 13px; "><div class="post-body entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; line-height: 1.6em; "><div>Religion and mysticism do not go hand in hand. There is no such thing.</div><div>It is not possible to be religious in any sense of the word at all that most people understand by that term and claim that one is following an esoteric mystic tradition.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you find yourself following a religion you are not allowing the mystery of mysticism to fully unfold.</div><div>If you find yourself being "chosen by a deity" which is so popular within neopaganism, then you are not transcending certain forces.</div><div><br /></div><div>The most important lesson with mysticism is that the religious symbols are there to point you in the true direction of spiritual truths. Not because the outer forms should be the ones worshipped.(1)</div><div><br /></div><div>(1)This doesn't mean that there are no spiritual entities. </div><div><br /></div><div>(Posts still pre-scheduled due to busy times.)</div><div><br /></div><div style="clear: both; "></div></div><div class="post-footer" style="margin-top: 0.75em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; color: rgb(169, 80, 27); text-transform: uppercase; letter-spacing: 0.1em; font: normal normal normal 78%/normal 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 1.4em; "></div></span>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-66060237429752444212011-05-29T02:35:00.000-07:002011-05-29T02:35:00.494-07:00If the soup nazi was a gnosticIt seems there is a confusion between what the difference is between the esoteric and the exoteric strands of Christianity.<div><br /></div><div>If I got a coin everytime someone complains to me that Gnosticism is dualistic or that the myths are difficult to swallow, or the fact that its confusing there are so many different myths, I would probably have enough money to build my own church.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think I can safely try and not have verbal diarrhea in writing this time around and simply state the obvious.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you swallow the myth, whether Christian, Jewish or Muslim, or any other religion for that matter, then you are following the religion. To believe, accept and follow you need faith.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you would swallow one of the gnostic myths, as so many, many do, then you are not actually a Gnostic. Following the Christian doctrine and believing in it fully, you are not a Theosopher.</div><div><br /></div><div>The myths serve a purpose, in the same way as certain Tools or magical processes do. They give you an approximation a way to make sense of the inner processes.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you believe in any specific gnostic myth in the same way as a fundie believes in the second coming of christ, if you think that any revealed text to be truthful, then you are doing a very very good job. Of being a Psychic, but Gnostic you are not.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Posts still pre-scheduled due to busy times.)</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-25325533999701895752011-05-21T03:59:00.000-07:002011-05-21T03:59:00.098-07:00Tools for the common manTo avoid having to write the same email over and over again:<div><br /></div><div>Most people do not actually want to learn magick. Most people do not actually want to get knee-deep into western esotericism. What you think you know about the esoteric tradition, what you have read in books, on blogs, that is still exotericism. Even I am not talking openly about many things here as I am not an idiot.</div><div><br /></div><div>The truth is, most just want to mess about with parts of the system. </div><div>I have met many who should just shut up, and fit into society. </div><div>I have met many who spend years of their life doing theurgy and hating every moment of it because what they actually WANT is religion. But they have been indoctrinated by the "books claiming to the esoteric" that religion is bad as it is exoteric. That the smart people, the people who understand postmodernism, and "spirituality" who want to get somehewhere in life and with the "work" do not follow exoteric religions.</div><div>The exact same goes for people doing mystical work.</div><div><br /></div><div>Same thing with people using the wrong tools for the job. People who deep down are Christian trying to become Buddhist because they get a mental stiffy out of its projected orientalism and doctrine that makes mental sense. (even though they would pray to god the moment i shove a revolver into their mouths...)</div><div>People who try to use practical magick to accomplish spiritual ends, people who think praying to Sophia will make them better people. Psychological issues we try to fix with magick even though there are more effective means.... the list is endless and 9 out of 10 seekers are dead wrong in where they are heading.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you want to have tools to become a better person, if you want to develop a deeper relationship with the source, if you want the bortherhood. If you want to start the path, by linking yourself one way or another to what is one of the few representatives of the existing western transmission outside Europe, become a Mason.<div><br /></div><div>1 You believe in a higher power and you will develop your relationship to it</div><div>2 it will show you what a functioning lodge is</div><div>3 you will be forced to work with so many other people with different backgrounds that your bubble will open up</div><div>4 the Egregore of the order will have a good influence on you</div><div><br /></div><div>you will NOT learn magic from them. You will not learn alchemy. No. You will simply become part of a massive brotherhood and you will start to work on yourself and you will receive tools to work with.</div><div><br /></div><div>For <i>most</i> this will be enough. Magick or mysticism for spiritual purposes is not for everyone and you should never ever feel like you HAVE TO do it. Become a Master Mason. Manifest it fully in your life. </div><div><br /></div><div>Gnostics usually say that Psychics are doing an excellent job. Keep up the good work :P</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Even if you want to learn goety, thaumaturgy or theurgy this will give you a good grounding, and certain things you might be able to find in books and certain things there are groups for.</div><div><br /></div><div>Read EVERYTHING you can get a hold of from Evola. Enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you seek a more spiritual approach: Go to a monastery of your faith for a while. Preferably 2 weeks. Pray. If you do not believe in God because you think she is a silly notion then how the hell do you propose to become a mystic?</div><div><br /></div><div>If you truly honestly feel that you want to spend your time and energy developing a further relationship with the divine?</div><div><br /></div><div>Read Theosophia : Wisdoms Children and start to have a practice.</div><div>Find out if there is a local Martinist group you may be able to join, seek initiation from one of them accepted by the others, use the tools and be aware that there is no further goal then Universal Reintegration.</div><div><br /></div><div>If none of this is what you want, if you just want those sixpacks and get laid, then do what the rest of the world does;</div><div><br /></div><div>Stop bitching about spirits, stop sitting for hours meditating without moving, stop doing rituals for some odd end. Get a haircut. Start to work out. Get an education for the job you want and live and enjoy life fully. With as many pretty pentagrams or crosses for decoration as you may or may not want. The Esoteric tradition is not self help.</div><div><br /></div><div>For goodness sake.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Posts are scheduled due to busy times. Comments might take longer to moderate and publish or reply to then usual.)</div></div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7198919109494775375.post-65061786097118651182011-05-14T03:46:00.000-07:002011-05-14T03:46:00.109-07:00What do you want?Many find magick and the esoteric fascinating.<div><br /></div><div>Some are attracted by the idea of visible effects. Some want to break the code and have more power. Some are loosers who have shit lives and want to escape into a world where they mean something and can do a career out of being initiated into something.</div><div><br /></div><div>All reasons are equally valid. You can find a nice religion masquerading as something deeply esoteric. Some need that. Others just want to be normalised.</div><div><br /></div><div>Write down the answers to the following questions:</div><div>"What do I believe about the world, its creation its purpose and my place in it."</div><div><br /></div><div>(Make it into an essay. It is worth it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>What is my relationship to :</div><div>God</div><div>Myself</div><div>Nature</div><div>Other people</div><div><br /></div><div>(again, essay)</div><div><br /></div><div>What is it that I am looking for?</div><div>(To learn to do 99,9% success love spells? To learn how to dominate people? To have a better relationship with god, myself, others, the world?)</div><div><br /></div><div>What completely mundane things can I do to accomplish this?</div><div>Get a social life, a career, actually swallow my stupid projections about the outer rules of the faith, stop praying to God dressup (cough most neopagans cough) or in Drag (cough goddess centered wicca cough) and actually just go to church?</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Once you have written down the above, you have a plan. You might realise this is all very fun and interesting but nothing more then an interest. Thats fine. It is OK to be interested in things and not make it into your life. I like Top Gear and nice cars. I'm not a mechanic. I am interested in natural sciences and read a lot about animal behaviour and I even know a lot of fun trivia about animal life, yet I do not aspire to be the next Sir David Attenborough.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>If you just want to be a Darren Brown, thats OK. If you realise you are a social misfit and you were just looking for an alternate reality to share with your friends, that also fine because now you are aware of it. If you realise you want to experience mystical states you finally will start to pray instead of doing magick, and if you want to evoke demons you will know that now you can stop meditating for hours a day and feel bad when you miss your meditation because evocation and meditation are two skillsets with as much in common as I have with a puppy.</div><div><br /></div><div>(Posts are scheduled due to busy times. Comments might take longer to moderate and publish or reply to then usual.)</div>Argenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15271897496326977593noreply@blogger.com2