1201
13. Always rememberthat allmankind and allcreatures areequally
childrenof theGoddess;therefore neverboastor threaten,or
do anything that mightdisgrace Her oryour brothers and
sisters in the Craft.
Toblatherthoughtlesslyaboutthe Craft,especiallytopersons
who have no business knowing about your coven's affairs, not only
drains your own energy and that of your coven, but also is a form of
boasting, of using the Craft for self-aggrandizement, that will get
you into the bad headspace law #3 warns about. More obviously, threat-
ening to "hex" someone, even though you THINK you have no intention of
doing so, violates the intent of laws 1 through 4, because you are
playing games with the Lady, who just might decide to act on the
threat, and because you are using the Craft (especially if you are
known to be a Witch) to influence another against his will and to get
your own way; furthermore, making such a threat reinforces the false
impression most people have of the Craft, and so disgraces the God-
dess. Again, since anyone could learn to do anything you can do, being
a Witch doesn't make you any better than anyone else; put on airs, and
the Lady will deflate you. Perhaps a good rule of thumb about discus-
sing the Craft with outsiders is this: once you are convinced that
someone's interest is sincere, then answer questions, fully and
freely; but don't just volunteer information that has in no way been
asked for, else you risk burdening that person with more information
than he or she is able to cope with.
1202
THE ABBREVIATED LAWS
'Tis the Old Law, and the most important of all Laws, that no one
may do anything which will endanger the Craft, or bring us into
contact with the law of the land or any of our persecutors.
*Be it ardane that noneshall use the Art (magick)in any way to
do ll to any. 8 words the Wiccan Rede fulfil: An it harm none, do
what ye will.
* Respect the privacy of other Coveners. You may reveal the
involvement of no person save yourself. In case of trouble, the Coven
will be disbanded. Should this happen, all Coveners are to avoid one
another for the safety and well-being of all. Should this happen,
refer to the Old Laws.
*Never accept moneyfor the useof the Art, formoney ever smears
the taker (and clouds ethical judgement). For all things magickal, pay
the full price asked without haggling. If it is unaffordable, it is
probably inappropriate in some hidden way.
* In case of dispute, the High Priestess is the final arbiter.
Within the Craft, no law save Craft Law may be invoked. Any who will
not agree, or who will not work under this HPs, may and shall remove
themselves from the Coven. Any of the third (L.T. Initiates OK) may
form a new Coven.
* The traditional way to hear complaints is this: Before the High
Priestess and any other Elders shall come first one, then the other,
then both together to be heard. The decision may be rendered immedia-
tely, one lunar month later, or whenever the time of waiting is
filled.
* The year-and-a-day rules pertains to: The minimum time between
Progressions; The final time of all Leavings; The closings of all
cycles.
THE TEMPLE LAWS
* Inorder of precedence, you areaccountable to: The Gods, your
Self, your High Priestess, your Teacher. Initiates are also account-
able to the Craft as a whole.
* "Pagan Standard Time" gives you 15 minutes leeway for an an-
nounced class or ritual. If you'll be any later or won't make it,
CALL!
* Questions are expected, desired, and anticipated.. The only
"dumb question" is the one the student doesn't ask.
* Commoncourtesy in all things. Whenin doubt, it is preferable
to err on the side of caution and silence.
* Ultimately, you are responsible for your own development.
Independent thought and research are strongly encouraged.
1203
Comments on The Abbreviated Laws
by J. Random Folksinger
The Wiccan Rede, while it has been taught widely, is not a
part of the Laws, although it may be considered derivative of them.
There is nothing in the Laws that says that "in case of trouble, the
Coven will be disbanded". There are, in fact, quite a few possible
solutions to specific instances, not just for "trouble".
There is nothing in the Laws about unaffordability equalling
inappropriateness in the purchase of a magickal tool. What the heck
are "L.T. Initiates"? Long Term? Why is is OK for them to form a Coven
when it is plain that you have to be of the Third Degree?
The traditional way to hear complaints, at least in my set of the
Old Laws, is for the High Priest or High Priestess to convene the
Elders. It says nothing about whether the HP or HPs are included in
this group, but it is assumed that BOTH, not just the HPs, are so
included. There is also nothing in the Old Laws about a "time of
waiting" for a decision.
In the Old Laws, the only thing the year-and-a-day rule pertains
to is the leaving of a High Priestess.
Everything in the "Temple Laws" falls in the good-to-very-good
category of advice; NONE of it is in the Old Laws. And I have known a
good many pagans to take PST to mean anytime during the calendar DAY.
There are a number of teachers in my experience to whom you NEVER ask
a question, at penalty of being kicked out of the class; still, a
teacher who can accept this rule is probably a good teacher.
In general, this sheet appears to be a worksheet handed to new
students and gone over with them for a quick rundown of the Craft in
order to go on to other things; in my opinion, giving them this sheet
and NOT reviewing the entire set of the Old Laws (in whatever form) is
doing the students a disservice; having this sheet around for later
reference, on the other hand, is probably a Good Thing.
1204
THE LAW
The Law was made and ardane about a week from last Wednesday.
The Law was made for the Wiccca, in order that they should develop a
nice longhand style from copying it.
TheWicccashouldgive dueworshiptotheGodz, presumingthey
believe the Godz exist and aren't just metaphors; and obey Their Will,
which the HPS of the Coven will make up as she goes along, for it was
made for the purpose of ego-tripping and wild parties. The worship
of the Wiccca is good for the owners of Occult Supply Stores, for the
owners of Occult Supply Stores love the money of the Wiccca.
Asa manlovetha womanusingthe missionaryposition, sothe
Wiccca should shaft their fellows and other total strangers frequent-
ly. And it is necessary that the Magick Circle which is the prin-
cipal difference between a Wicccan rite and a frat party be cast and
all Wiccca properly purified to enter it so they can drink five
gallons of Ripple each and not throw up.
TheHPSshallr/u/i/n/ rulehercovenasthe localrepresenta-
tive of the Goddess, and choose whomever she is sleeping with this
week to be her HP...or her Maiden.
Andremember that the Wiccca would have it that The God
Himself kissed her feet and gave up the position of Ringmaster to her
because of her arbitrariness and autocracy, her spite and unreason,
her mysteriousness and ignorance: so the HP is expected to go as far
away as possible and not even show up for Sabbats.
It is the greatest virtue of a HPS that she turn as many of her
Covenors into closet Xtians as possible, for the true HPS realizes
that anyone with the sense Goddess gave a goose is not going to stick
around without having a death wish.
* * * * *
In the Olden Days when Wiccca extended far, we were free and had
reservations in all the best restaurants. But these days, we eat at
McDonald's.
SO BE IT ARDANE, that nonebut the Wiccca shall ever be
invited to dinner, for people who ignore us are many, and if they
ever found out what we are really up to, they would giggle.
SO BE ITARDANE, that no Coven shall knowwhere the next Coven
bide, nor who its member be, save anybody who looks in Circle Newslet-
ter and the hit team we send out to sanction them.
SOBEITARDANE, thatnoone shalltellanyoneanything, least
of all thy fellows in the Craft, for fear one of you will learn
something; because as it is truly writ: Gerald wrote it, I believe it,
that settles it.
Andif anybreakthese Laws,theywill havetostart theirown
Tradition and make up their own Grandmother.
Leteach HPSgovernherCoven asshedamn'well please,riding
rough-shod over the Covenors as long as they will stand for it.
1205
Butitmust berecognized thatsooner orlater theywill get
mad and stop bringing the Ripple to Coven meetings. When this hap-
pens, it hath ever been the Old Law that the HPS will Elevate them to
the Third Degree and kick them out, and promise them the rest of the
Book...someday.
Anyone ofanydegree ornonemay founda Coven,providedthey
think they can get away with it and can create a convincing Grand-
mother.
They mayraidother Covensformembers aslongas nooneknows
where to find them.
But splitting the Covenoft means new opportunities for
evading the consequences of your actions, so the wise HPS will think
of it first.
* * * * *
If you should keep a Black Book, let it be in your own hand of write,
except for the parts you xerox out of Lady Sheba. Or better yet, tell
everybody they're not of a high enough degree to see it.
ProclaimyourWicccahoodloudly, andoften;youmaybe ableto
do a brisk trade in spells, psychic fairs, and talk shows. If nobody
believs you, try holding a public skyclad circle. If all else fails,
hire a press agent and advertise in the National Inquirer. If they
try to make you talk of the Brotherhood, lay it on with a trowel.
Ancient Atlantis is always good for a five-minute spot on the six o'
clock news. Not all interviewers are bad; some may even flash your
business address on the screen for a few seconds.
* * * * *
To avoid discovery, let your working tools be ordinary stuff such as
any may have around the house: AR-15's, Patton Tanks, Howitzers (let's
see how far we can stretch that First Amendment, gang!). Have no
names or signs on anuything, and remove the ones they came with, as
otherwise this can lead to a charge of receiving stolen property.
LetthePentacles bemadeof waxunlesssomethingelse ismore
convenient.
Haveno sword, unlessyou are inthe SCA ora collector of
WWII memorabilia.
Writethe namesand signson agummed labelsothat itcan be
peeled off immediately afterwards; remember that not guilty by reason
of insanity is not a valid defense in cases of this kind.
Everrememberthatyou aretheHiddenChildrenof theGoddess;
when you can take time out from Karma Dumping Runs, Psychic Vendettas,
Banishing each other from the Coven and discussing how much fun it
would be to persecute the Xtians, remember never to do anything to
disgrace Her. Or Them, if that's possible.
1206
* * * * *
In the Olden Days, when we had Power, we could use the Art against any
who ill-treated us; but these days a whispering campaign works better.
Remember always that there are a lot of flaky people out there, and
for this reason it is best to give a fake name and a Post Office Box
address. Someone is always going to blame you for something.
SO BEIT ARDANE: HARMNONE, or atleast have agood alibi.
Never break this law, or people who get burned along with you will
come after you with baseball bats, and you will never be able to score
any decent hash again.
AnyHPSwho doessomethingyou don'tlikeyou canwalkout on,
but be sure to clout the Coven Book on the way to the door and set up
in business for yourself (Learn Witchcraft From The Experts!).
Alwaysaccept moneyfor useofthe Art,butkeep aneye onthe
Gypsy Laws. In some states, Barter works better. All may use the Art
for their own advantage; remember, quick and dirty works best, and you
can lay off Karma on the Coven. If that doesn't work, try dead cats
in the mailbox.
* * * * *
'Tis the Old Law and most important of all the Laws that no one may do
anything that will endanger any of the Craft. Unless there's money in
it, or it's to someone you think deserves it, and anyway, "endanger"
is in the eye of the beholder.
In anydispute betweenthe Wiccca,no onemayinvoke anyLaw
but that of the Craft. However, you can break into your opponent's
home and mess up his stuff.. after all, it says right here they can't
go to the Police.
Neverbargain orhaggle whenyou buybythe Art;most Occult
Store owners will just throw you out and everyone else will think
you're a nut.
* * * * *
It is ever the way with men and with women that they are ruled by
their glands. At any moment your HPS may run off and become a Rosi-
crucian. And the way of Resignation is this: if she doesn't answer
her phone for two weeks and is never home when you drive by, you can
declare her outcast from the Coven and take it over yourself, with as
many as will have you. But if she comes back she will probably take
of the Coven again, or start another one in the same building and
declare you Invalid, and there's not much you can do about it. Learn
to live with anxiety. Get everything in writing.
* * * * *
It hath been found that two people sitting around with a bottle of
Chianti discussing Atlantean Grandmothers will become fond of each
other, if only because of the Stockholm Syndrome. Therefore, let it
be resolved that a human being shall be taught in the Craft only by
another human being, and screw the middle-class morality of the
nineteen-fifties.
1207
* * * * *
And the Curses of the Mighty Ones be on all who try to take this
seriously, or the Craft seriously, or the Wiccca seriously. Caveat
Lector, and May The Force Be With You!
1208
Karma, The Three Fold Law, & Grace
"As you sew, so shall ye reap". "What goes around, comes around".
"Whatever you send out returns three times". These are all sayings
very familiar to all of us, all of them examples of a supposedly
Universal Law of cause and effect, action and reaction. Of course
many of the religious systems try to furnish us with some sort of
"escape clause" that will allow man to either alleviate suffering fo
past misdeeds, or to escape responsibility totally. Let us take a
little closer look at these three ideas and ther inter-reationship.
It seems that, on one level, we do live ina mechanistic uni-
verse, one pretty much ruled by cause-and-efect. This Newtonian
universe seems to react in a very mechanical fashion, i.e. every
action "produces an equal and opposite reaction". A good analogy for
this is the example of one billiard ball striking another. The energy
from the striking billiard ball is transfered to the one struck and is
used to push against the first, imparting motion in the same direc-
tion. This brings the second law into play, i.e. an object in motion
tends to stay in motion untill acted upon by an outside force.
The principle of Karma basically says the same thing; i.e. any
negative or positive action or thought remains that way, until it
expends its energy by acting upon the originator. Of course this also
makes implicit the idea that thoughts or mental energy have a reality
of their own, one that interacts with the physical universe. If this
idea is accepted, it then implies the existence of at least one more
"world" or order of the universe, one with a non physical "reality",
and one where the basic fundamental rules of physics (as we know them)
may not truly apply.
The magician can bedescribed as one who "walksbetween" these
two worlds. "Walking between two worlds" implies that an individal is
connected with both and can move between them at will. The purpose of
magic is to manipulate one world for the benefit of the other, i.e. to
manipulate the unseen world for the express purpose of influencing
events in the physical. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a
"free ride" anywhere in the universe, and when an individual acquires
the power to do this, they also aquire a great deal of responsibility!
By accepting the power to exert "leverage" in the unseen world,
an individual seems to also accept a multiplied succeptibility to
influences initiated in that world. This is why negative workings are
so dangerous! This may also be the reasoning behind the "law of three
fold return".
Now comesthe hard part! Ifall of this causeand effect stuff
is absolute, how can any individual ever hope to "pay off" the debts
for all of the "stupid" things they have done not only in this life-
time, but in many others? Must we "pay off" all past transgressions
on a one for one basis? Is there no ecape clause in this "contract"
we seem to have for living in the universe?
This "escape clause" is called Grace by the Christians and by
other names in other systems, but it does exist in all. Basically,
the idea is this: "Once a lesson is completely learned and one grows
beyond a need for this lesson, it need not be repeated, even if the
'books' are not balanced". This is the "Enlightenment" sought by the
Buddhist that allows the "breaking" of the wheel.
EXEGESIS ON THE WICCAN REDE
1209
by Judy Harrow
originally published in HARVEST - Volume 5, Number 3 (Oimelc, 1985)
second publication: THE HIDDEN PATH - Volume X, Number 2 Beltane,
1987)
All religions began with somebody's sudden flashing insight,
enlightenment, a shining vision. Some mystic found the way and the
words to share the vision, and, sharing it, attracted followers. The
followers may
repeat those precise and poetic words about the vision until they
congeal into set phrases, fused language, repeated by rote and without
understanding.
Cliches begin as great wisdom - that's why they spread so fast -
and end as ritual phrases, heard but not understood. Living spiritual-
ity so easily hardens to boring religious routine, maintained through
guilt and fear, or habit and social opportunism - any reason but joy.
We cometo the Craftwith a firstgeneration's joy ofdiscovery,
and a first generation's memory of bored hours of routine worship in
our childhood. Because we have known the difference, it is our
particular challenge to find or make ways to keep the Craft a living,
real experience for our grandchildren and for the students of our
students.
Ithink the best of these safeguardsis already built into the
Craft as we know it, put there by our own good teachers. On our Path,
the mystic experience itself is shared, not just the fruits of mys-
ticism. We give all our students the techniques, and the protective/-
supportive environment that enable almost every one of them to Draw
the Moon and/or Invoke the God. This is an incredibly radical change
from older religions, even older Pagan religions, in which the only
permissible source of inspiration has been to endlessly reinterpret
and reapply the vision of the Founder (the Bible, the Book of the Law,
the Koran, ... ). The practice of Drawing the Moon is the brilliant
crown of the Craft.
But notice how often, in the old myths, every treasure has its
pitfalls? I think I'm beginning to see one of ours. Between the normal
process of original visions clotting into cliche, and our perpetual
flow of new inspiration, we are in danger of losing the special wisdom
of those who founded the modern Craft. I do not think we should
assiduously preserve every precious word. My love for my own Gardner-
ian tradition does not blind me to our sexist and heterosexist roots.
And yet, I want us to remain identifiably Witches and not meld into
some homogeneous "New Age" sludge. For this, I think we need some sort
of anchoring in tradition to give us a sense of identity. Some of the
old sayings really do crystallize great wisdom as well, life-affirming
Pagan wisdom that our culture needs to hear.
1210
So I think it's time for a little creative borrowing from our
neighbors. Christians do something they call "exegesis;" Jews have a
somewhat similar process called "midrash." What it is is something
between interpretation and meditation, a very concentrated examination
of a particular text. The assumption often is that every single word
has meaning (cabalists even look at the individual letters). Out of
this inspired combination of scholarship and daydream comes the
vitality of those paths whose canon is closed. The contemporary
example, of course, is Christian Liberation Theology, based on a
re-visioning of Jesus that would utterly shock John Calvin.
Although our canonis not closed- and theday it isis the dayI
quit -I'm suggesting that we can use a similar process to renew the
life of the older parts of our own still-young heritage.
So, I'dlike totry doingsome exegesison an essentialstatement
of the Craft way of life. Every religion has some sort of ethic, some
guideline for what it means to live in accordance with this particular
mythos, this worldview. Ours, called the Wiccan Rede, is one of the
most elegant statements I've heard of the principle of situational
ethics. Rather than placing the power and duty to decide about be-
havior with teachers or rulebooks, the Rede places it exactly where it
belongs, with the actor.
eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
AN IT HARM NONE, DO WHAT YOU WILL.
I'd like to start with the second phrase first, and to take it almost
word by word.
do what YOU will. This is the challenge to self-direction, to figure
out what we want, and not what somebody else wants for us or from us.
All of us are subject to tremendous role expectations and pressures,
coming from our families, our employers, our friends, society in
general. It's easy to just be molded, deceptively easy to become
acompulsive rebel and reflexively do the opposite of whatever "they"
seem to want. Living by the Rede means accepting the responsibility to
assess the results of our actions and to choose when we will obey,
confront or evade the rules.
Do what you WILL. This is the challenge to introspection, to know
what we really want beyond the whim of the moment. The classic example
is that of the student who chooses to study for an exam rather than go
to a party, because what she really wants is to be a doctor. Again,
balance is needed. Always going to the library rather than the movies
is the road to burnout, not the road to a Nobel. What's more, there
are others values in life, such as sensuality, intimacy, spirituality,
that get ignored in a compulsively long-term orientation. So, our
responsibility is not to mechanically follow some rule like "always
choose to defer gratification in your own long-term self interest,"
but to really listen within, and to really choose, each time.
1211
DO what you will. This is the challenge to action. Don't wait for
Prince Charming or the revolution. Don't blame your mother or the
system. Make a realistic plan that includes all your assets. Be sure
to include magic, both the deeper insights and wisdoms of divination
and the focusing of will and energy that comes from active workings.
Then take the first steps right now. But, beware of thoughtless
action, which is equally dangerous. For example, daydreaming is
needed, to envision a goal, to project the results of actions, to
check progress against goals, sometimes to revise goals. Thinking and
planning are necessary parts of personal progress. Action and thought
are complementary; neither can replace the other.
When youreally look atit, wordby word, itsounds likea subtle
and profound guide for life, does it not? Is it complete? Shall "do
what you will" in fact be "the whole of the law" for us? I think not.
The second phrase of the Rede discusses the individual out of context.
Taken by itself, DO WHAT YOU WILL" would produce a nastily competitive
society, a "war of each against all" more bitter than what we now
endure. That is, it would if it were possible. Happily, it's just
plain not.
Pagan myth andmodern biology alike teach us thatour Earth is
one interconnected living sphere, a whole system in which the actions
of each affect all (and this is emphatically not limited to humankind)
through intrinsic, organic feedback paths. As our technology amplifies
the effects of our individual actions, it becomes increasingly crit-
ical to understand that these actions have consequences beyond the
individual; consequences that, by the very nature of things, come back
to the individual as well. Cooperation, once "merely" an ethical
ideal, has become a survival imperative. Life is relational, contex-
tual. Exclusive focus on the individual Will is a lie and a deathtrap.
The qualifying "AN IT HARM NONE," draws a Circle around the
individual Will and places each of us firmly within the dual contexts
of the human community and the complex life-form that is Mother Gaia.
The first phrase of the Rede directs us to be aware of results of our
actions projected not only in time, as long-term personal outcomes,
but in space - to consider how actions may effect our families,
co-workers, community, and the life of the Earth as a whole, and to
take those projections into account in our
decisions.
But, like the rest of the Rede, "an it harm none" cannot be
followed unthinkingly. It is simply impossible for creatures who eat
to harm none. Any refusal to decide or act for fear of harming someone
is also a decision and an action, and will create results of some
kind. When you consider that "none" also includes ourselves, it
becomes clear that what we have here is a goal and an ideal, not a
rule.
The Craft, assumingethical adulthood, offersus no roterules.
We will always be working on incomplete knowledge. We will sometimes
just plain make mistakes. Life itself, and life-affirming religion,
still demands that we learn, decide, act, and accept the results.
Judy Harrow
1212
JOAN on the Witch Laws 8/22/81
Note: These are the comments of one of the early members of
Proteus Coven on what we gave her to read about ethics and laws. All
the material she had is still here, although a good deal has been
added since then, so I thought her comments would also be interesting.
Judy Harrow
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Reaction to "Traditional" - i.e. essentially Gardnerian - format
In many respects, as constricting as Catholocism without the
administrative experience, intellectual prowess, or verbal expertise
of Catholicism. If current researchers are correct, what we have is
one man's fantasy (with jumbled and skewed sources) made everyone's
obligation.
Maybedealtwith mosteffectively-especiallyas regardsthe
reality of current practice and expectation - by juxtaposition with
Lady Ikandkhop's masterful irony.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Reaction to Aporrheton 5 - [generally very good thinking, but
still more traditional than my preference]
ParagraphTwo: Good thinkingon nature ofGoddess -or any divini-
ty. My agreement is reserved, uncertain, withheld.
Paragraph Three: Claims to have arrived at FIRMLY ("no bending")
UNDISPROVEN hypotheses. This arouses natural suspicion in me. I
disagree with some of his perceptions of FACTS.
Idisagree violently withLaws 5 +6. Heterosexuality isa streng-
th, but not an essential. POLARITY OPERATES OUTSIDE [or INSIDE]
BOUNDARIES OF ANATOMICAL EQUIPMENT AND HORMONES. AND THE CHARACTER -
THE SACRED CHARACTER - OF THE WITCH IS WITHIN THE AT ONCE TRANSCENDANT
AND DISCIPLINED SELF.
Law #7 is unnecessary. A silly bow to a misunderstood "Trad" law.
Law #8 islargely true, but makes no allowancefor valid, honest
(fair to all), and necessary transitional states many must pass
through. Also sticks on "authority" peg, which has some necessity/-
validity but can easily get out of hand. I find HONESTY + COURTESY
better yardsticks.
Law #9. True.But much of interpersonaltension (inevitable) can
be worked out of God/dess' love and coven support-with-discipline
prevail.
1213
Law #10. TheGreat Mysteries mustbe livedout. And, withoutusing
Craft parlance, if another needs to hear them, they MUST BE VERB-
ALIZED. TO DO LESS IS HARM. i.e., it is to allow another to drown
when you're on shore and have a rope.
But no missionary zeal!
No proseletyzing!!!
That for which others are unready is foolishness for them and
foolishness for the Witch. (It may also be subconscious power
tripping. See agreement in Law #13.)
Law #11 - I agree with paragraphs one and two.
Paragraph3:saying thatonlythe HPsincarnatesthe Goddess
is inappropriate and - in my firm opinion - NOT FACTUAL. (note from
Judy - as I interpret what he says there, it's that only WOMEN incar-
nate the Goddess. I also disagree with that, but it's less bad than
Joan's reading that he limits it to the HPs only.) The Goddess is not
bound by ceremonial elevations. She incarnates where and when She Damn
Well Pleases!
Re:"all initiations..."- etc.-Ritual iscrystallization
of preexistent, potential, incipient reality and this actualization is
not trivial.
Law #12 - Goodcaution on limits (ill defined whereemotion runs
high) or self-defense. But assumption rules out solo magic (his
previous premise is that it isn't Wiccan) by corollary of group
responsibility / group danger to all action. "Return to sender" is
generally agreed as rule-of-thumb for defense. Practice has not
disproven. This is a difficult area to define. Probably group consen-
sus on this would help.
Does"impossibility factor" negatedanger? How about the
verbal escape clause sometimes used?
Obviously,I'mless sureofboundarieson thisonethan onany
other.
Law #13 - Good idea. Rather an ideal than a norm.
OMISSION: APORRHETON does not mention Balance or Polarity concept
except in male/female context. But these are valuable and central
concepts.
I got the feeling this person is still ruled by fragments of
left-over fear.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Starhawk is GREAT. But many people will need more codification
than she offers.
1214
From: L.A. HUSSEY
To: J_RANDOM FOLKSINGER
Subj: THE LAWS
I am disturbed and disappointed. "The Christians are our enemies."
"They will torture you to make you talk about the Craft." "Lie about
the Craft." "Covens splitting up makes for bad feelings."
What depressing garbage. This is the 20th century, and this is
America, this is not Inquisition days. The more we keep secret, the
more the ignorant will assume that we have horrible secrets to keep.
The true secrets of the Gods cannot be given away, because they cannot
be spoken -- they are beyond all language. And as for bad feelings
when covens break up, maybe that is how it is where you are, but
around here, there is rejoicing when one coven becomes two. Seems to
me like my best possible response to your "Laws" is the following
song:
BURNING TIMES
The songs are sung to rouse our anger of martyred Witches gone to the
fires,
But what is served by righteous singing, if all we do is stew in our
ire?
Nine million dead in four hundred years;
More in that time simply died of disease.
Why do we dwell on long past dead
When we are alive in times like these?
(cho)
Rise up, Witches, throw off your masks
And cease crying guilt for ancient crimes.
Earth and all Her children need us
For ALL face now the Burning Times.
In the face of that hostile power, how did the old knowledge stay
alive?
How have we still a Craft to practise? Our ancestors knew how to
fight and survive!
How do we honour our blessed dead?
Slavery threatens us all but few.
We must teach their cunning ways --
EVERYONE needs the skills they knew!
(cho2)
Rise up, Witches, gather your strength,
And let your power spread and climb;
Earth and all Her children need us
For ALL face now the Burning Times.
I will not cast off Science's works -- Witches all forces to Will can
bend;
I'll not accuse for war and waste some patriarchy of faceless men.
Men do not cast the only votes;
Women alone do not demonstrate.
Rather than shut out half the race,
Who if not we will change that state?
(cho2)
1215
I will not blame a Father's Church -- blame and guilt are their tools,
not mine,
And even in the shuls and churches, allies there will I seek, and
find!
I will not answer hate with fear,
Nor with a smug, cheek-turning love.
I will not answer hate with rage;
By strength alone will I not be moved!
(cho2)
I will not hide in my sacred grove -- the fact'ries and cities yet
ring me about;
I will not climb my ivory tower -- the real world exists tho' I shut
it out.
I will not work for Church nor State
Who serve themselves while they serve us lies,
Nor only for my Witchen kin,
But for the family of all alive!
(cho2)
So if rebellion means to fight a State lost sight of why it was built,
If heresy's to reject a Church that rules with force or fear or guilt,
Then let us all be rebels proud,
And shameless heretics by creed --
A tyrant's hand subjects the Earth,
More heretic rebels are what She needs!
(cho2)
Did it ever occur to the writers of your antique laws that the Craft
might actually be WELCOMED by a great number of people? That there
might actually be more of us than of those who wish us ill? That the
only reason those who fear us are so active nowadays is because they
see us becoming more and more welcomed by more people? As I say in
another song, "When folk in sorrow turn away/ From paths that lead to
misery/ And seek new ways for wholeness' sake/ Then waiting, ready
shall we be."
All I can say is, I'm Goddess-glad I'm not in your tradition.
B*B
Leigh Ann
To this I would add only one more admonishment, based on my own
experience: It is as important not to take oneself, one's power, and
one's Craft too seriously as it is not to take them too lightly.
Moderation in all things, including moderation. And remember that all
acts of love and pleasure are the rites of
the Goddess, and this includes HAVING FUN.
B*B Leigh Ann
1216
A RESPONSE TO "CRAFT ETHICS OF THE COVENANT OF THE DOVES"
It has always been my view that the Earth Traditions, both in the
Wiccan (European Shamanic) and Neo-Native Shamanic senses, are seeing
their rebirth out of a true need to heal this wounded Mother of ours,
and to stay Her hand, for Her anger is growing. It is quite possible
that without this renewed spirit of reverence and worship of Earth and
Sky and the True Source of All that Is, humanity as a species would be
made as extinct as the Passenger Pigeon and the Dodo Bird.
Therefore,as a Pagan and asa follower of theWays of the Chiri-
cahua Teneh Nation, I cringe whenever I see restrictions and require-
ments that are, for all intents and purposes, useless today, and only
hamper the mission we have of encouraging others to walk in a more
sacred way on the Body of Our Mother. I see the power trips, the "I'm
the High Priest(ess), that's why" crap and the games driving more and
more Pagans solitary, when we should be uniting. And I was extremely
angered when I read the published "ethics" of one organization, the
Covenant of the Doves, now known as the United Wiccan Church.
I have listed the salient points that disturb me the most, and
will respond to them one by one.
> No woman shall be a Maiden who has not been in her courses.
MK-H: I guess that's fair enough. But whether or not a woman is
currently menstruating is none of the Coven's business.
> No woman shall be ordained unless she has passed her 17th year,
> nor shall she have her ordination recognized until that time.
MK-H: No coven has any business ordaining a person, woman or man,
before the legal Age of Consent, unless the minor is legally eman-
cipated, and can produce their emancipation papers. To do otherwise
is a wonderful excuse for prosecution if the persecution that File 18
and other Fundie hate articles I have been compiling in my XIANHATE
series of files seem to augur comes to pass.
> No womanshall have herordination recognized unless sheis in
> her courses, has ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes, two ears, a
> nose. Her generative organs andbreasts must becomplete. The
> honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following
> ordination shall not invalidate the ordination.
MK-H: So you would deny ordination to a woman who is handicapped, or
blind, or deaf, or has suffered the effects of cancer and may have had
a hysterectomy, a mastectomy or even the less-invasive "lumpectomy"
done on her to save her life? That is bigoted and totally without
reason in this day and age. And what if she is past Menopause? Would
you deny ordination to a woman who may be past her fertile years?
That's wholly disrespectful to the Elders who hold so much wisdom that
could be an asset to a Circle.
> No woman shall be a Nymph who has not coupled.
MK-H: Again, this is none of the Coven's business whether or not a
woman has had sex.
1217
> No woman shall be a Crone who has not given birth.
MK-H: Some have chosen NOT to bear children, out of either financial
necessity, or conviction that this society is not the place to raise
kids in. And some have recognized that they simply do not have the
temperment for child-rearing (myself included in that category.)
Some are infertile, through no fault of their own. And some, through
either psychological or physical drives, prefer other women. There
are a great deal of Lesbians in the Wiccan movement. Would you write
them off as nonexistant?
> No man shall be a Magician who has not healed.
MK-H: Healing is not necessarily the only talent the God and Goddess
give to people. Therefore, if a person does not have that talent,
that does not mean that they aren't useful to the Circle in other
capacities. And why is this criterion only applied to MALE postul-
ants? Some of the best healers I know are female.
> Noman shall beordained unless he haspassed his 33rdyear, nor
> shall he have his ordination recognized until that time.
MK-H: Why a double standard on when a man should be ordained? 18 is
just fine for an eligability date.
> No man shall have his ordination recognized unless he is the
> father ofa living child, has ten fingers andten toes, two
> eyes, two ears and a nose and generative organs complete. The
> honorable loss of limbs or the effects of torture following
> ordination shall not invalidate the ordination.
MK-H: Again I voice my objections about the anti-Physically Chall-
enged bias that this requirement implies. And I suspect that the re-
quirement of being "the father of a living child" is there for only
one reason--that it is a legally permissable way of stating "No Poo-
ftahs". Just as the childbearing requirement is discriminatory to
Lesbians, the fatherhood requirement is discriminatory to Gays.
So what would I myself ask of postulants wishing initiation? In my
theoretical Circle, I would ask them to attest, under pain of dis-
fellowship, that they are not law enforcement officers joining the
Circle for espionage purposes, nor are they there for sabotage or in-
filtration purposes under religious grounds. Furthermore, they should
affirm their allegience to The Earth Mother, The Sky Father, and Their
Ultimate Source, forswearing allegiance to other deities. (primarily
to weed out Christian or "satanist" infiltrators) They should have
completed their Vision Quest, and have contacted their Lower Self in
the form of their Power Animal(s), and their Higher Self in the form
of the Shaman or Teacher Within. They also should not show outward or
inward signs of being mentally unbalanced (something that would
require a lot of trusting one's gut, although a psychologically-based
questionnaire might be a good way of confirming it) or overly con-
cerned with "finding power". They must also, for legal reasons, be
either over 18 or legally Emancipated.
Furthermore, there will be only ONE degree in my Circle--that of
Kin. Anyone who is initiated is theoretically ready to act as cerem-
onial facilitator, and that duty will be rotated to them as the
rotation goes around the Circle. Decisions should be made by consen-
sus, with one person having only one vote.
1218
I ask you, James...does notthe Mother and the Father decreethat we
should all be free and equal to one another? Is that not why you opt
to have your Coven be naked in their rite? (Due to the fact that the
Chiricahua Teneh never performed ceremonials in the nude, I would
myself opt for robed work, even to the point of people working in
comfortable street clothes.) So why all this bloody RESTRICTION? Why
all these trivial, and sometimes even discriminatory rules and regul-
ations? Your ancestor Aleister once said "The word for Sin is Rest-
riction." It's a good rule of thumb.
Respectfully,
Michelle Chihacou White Puma Klein-Hass
1219
SPELL TO EASE A BROKEN HEART*
John Shaman
You will need the following ingredients (be sure to charge them all
before you begin):
strawberry tea (one bag) Small wand or stick from a willow tree
sea salt 2 pink candles
a mirror one pink drawstring bag
one quartz crystal a copper penny
a bowl made of china or crystal that is special to you
1 teaspoon dried jasmine 1 teaspoon orris-root powder
1 tsp. strawberry leaves 1 teaspoon yarrow
10 plus drops apple-blossom oil or peach oil
10 plus drops strawberry oil
On a Friday morning or evening (the day sacred to Venus) take a bath
in sea salt in the light of a pink candle. As you dry off and dress,
sip the strawberry tea. Use a dab of strawberry oil as perfume or
cologne. Apply makeup or groom yourself to look your best. Cast a
circle with the willow wand around a table the the other ingredients.
Light the second pink candle. Mix all oils and herbs in the bowl.
While you stir look at yourself in the mirror and say aloud: "Oh,
Great Mother Goddess, enclose me in your loving arms and nurture and
bring forth the Goddess within me." Gaze deeply into the mirror after
you have finished mixing the ingredients and say aloud, "I represent
the Great Goddess, Mother of all things. I shine in the light of the
Golden Wings of Isis. All that is great and loving only belongs to
me." Then put half the mixture in the pink bag and add the penny and
crystal. Carry it with you always [or until you find another love].
Leave the other half of the potion in the bowl, out in a room where
you will smell the fragrance. Repeat this ritual every Friday if
necessary.
*From Laurie Cabot's "Power of the Witch"
Brackets mine.
Needless to say, you should replace the goddess name with one that you
attune
to.
1220
STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS--LIFEWAY SHAMANIC FELLOWSHIP
By Usen's grace, Ho-dah....
1.) PURPOSES:
This is an era of decision. Do we allow ourselves to cut the
throat of the Mother Who has nourished us as a species since
we "came down from the trees"? Or do we work to walk in
Beauty and Harmony with Her, and cherish Her, and work to
see Her healed? The resurgence of Shamanism, the primal
Earth Religion of practically all of the Earth's
pre-Agrarian cultures, is an important thing, foretold by
the Paiute prophet Wovoka and in the Hopi Prophecies. It
was said that both the Red Man would return to the Ways of
the Old Ones and that the non-Native would also embrace the
Lifeway. There are non-Natives who respectfully have chosen
these Ways, and are carrying them on in a reverent way. If
the Lifeway was only given for the Native peoples, it would
die out within our lifetime. There are simply not enough
traditional Elders left.
It has been shown to some of us that Our Mother The Earth is
not willing to die quietly. She has demonstrated this by
the increase in natural disasters of the past decade, which
continue day by day. The Hopi prophecies state that, when
the "bowl full of ashes" (most interpret this as the
Thermonuclear Bomb) is overturned, that Our Mother shall
rise up in Her righteous anger and destroy humanity. This
prophecy is coming true, although it may yet be reversable.
Perhaps it is we who reverence the Ways and walk in harmony
with Our Mother that may stay Her hand.
The Lifeway Fellowship is here for those who wish to honor
Our Mother and Our Father, Earth and Sky, and to honor The
Giver Of Life, from whence all things flow in the Universe.
Our world-view is primarily allied with that of the
Navajo/Dineh, Apache/Teneh, and Hopi peoples. However we do
not represent ourselves as the keepers of those ways. The
secrets of those Nations are for them alone, unless Usen'
wishes to reveal them to us. Our mission is to help heal
Our Mother, The Earth, and to help each other walk in closer
harmony with Her. We also exist to provide a way for urban
and sub-urban people to learn and practice the root Shamanic
techniques that aid us in finding our True Vision and True
Way of Power, and following that Vision and that Way.
We identify ourselves as Pagan (Webster's New World
Dictionary "1. b)...a person who is not a Christian, Moslem,
or Jew (by faith); heathen. Pagan specifically refers to one
of the ancient polytheistic (or pantheistic) peoples.") and
as unashamed Pantheists and Polytheists. The Lifeway
is truly a religious commitment. No-one can make a commitment
to the Lifeway and to the worship of Life Giver, The Earth
Mother and The Sky Father and remain a worshiper of other
Paradigms of the Deity, much as one cannot be a Christian
and worship the Greco-Roman pantheon. However this does not
imply the condemnation of other Paradigms, nor impel a duty to
"convert" others.
1221
We stand by other Pagans who do not share our paradigms, IE.
Wiccans, Asatruans, Hellenists, and other Shamanic traditions,
(African and neo-African(Santeria & Voudoun), Australian,
Siberian, Traditional Native American, and Polynesian, to name
a few) and even though we may disagree with some or all of
their practices and beliefs, they are Brothers, Sisters and
Cousins, and in times of persecution as well as times of
goodwill we must defend them. We may even share in their open
rituals and allow them to share in our open ceremonials. But
that which is ours must remain ours, just as that which is
theirs must remain theirs.
2.) THE(A)OLOGY:
As our Fellowship is inherently religious, we must declare a
The(a)ology. (The strange spelling refers to the fact that
we acknowledge a Goddess as well as a God)
This is summed up very easily. There are three main powers
we worship, Usen' the Life Giver, The Earth Mother, and The
Sky Father. The latter Two are emanations of the First, as
all, including the God and the Goddess, are emanations from
Usen', which is the primaeval First Cause.
Usen': One cannot look upon The Life Giver as either Male or
Female, for The Life Giver is beyond those distinctions.
Usen', and The Life Giver, are names for this First Cause,
this Force that pervades all and caused all to come into
being. From Usen', the God, Sky Father, and the Goddess,
Earth Mother, emanate, as the lesser Deities emanate from
Them.
The Earth Mother: We live and walk and are sustained from
The Earth Mother, which is our Earth. She is alive, and we
all exist within Her as part of Her structure. Science,
through the Gaea Hypothesis, has finally acknowledged Her
existence, and some even have learnt the lesson that our
duty in this life is to care for and honor Her. This is a
lesson that all must learn, for as long as we despoil Her,
we risk Her wrath. She is expressed through the faces of
White Painted Woman, Who is The Woman Warrior, through Corn
Mother, Who is The Nourishing Mother, and through Spider
Woman, Who is The Wise Woman, The Ancient One, The Custodian
of Wisdom. Women are acknowledged as being human represent-
atives of The Earth Mother.
The Sky Father: Just as among we Humans, there is both Man
and Woman, so there is no Earth Mother without Sky Father.
Sky Father is the air we breathe, the flame that gives us
warmth and cooks our food, and brings forth the rain that
fertilizes Our Mother and allows Her to provide us with
the crops and animals that sustain us. Sky Father is also
expressed as The Hunter, The Warrior, and First Shaman, and
is also expressed in Killer Of Enemies and The Child Of
Water. He is also present and acknowledged as being present
in every Man.
1222
There are other spirits that exist in the Universe, some
beneficient, some maleficient. But most important is Usen',
Earth Mother, and Sky Father. By walking in harmony with the
God(esse)s, one can tell the Good from the Evil, welcoming
in Good, and protecting each other from Evil.
3.) ETHICS:
We have our code of Ethics. It is neither lengthy nor
overly restrictive. We do not include ancient taboos in
this list, such as Mother-In-Law avoidance or the taboo
against Fish, because they may not apply nowadays. If you
wish to not eat fish or to avoid your Mother-In-Law for
religious reasons, it is your perogative. But it is not a
requirement.
1.) If the action does not harm yourself, other people or
intelligent beings, or Our Mother The Earth, you are free to
do as you wish.
2.) To charge for healings, sweats or ceremonials is totally
wrong and extremely offensive. Also, to charge excessively
for teaching is equally offensive, but a modest fee
over expenses is allowable. Your conscience is the best
guide, that and the Will of the Deities.
3.) Magick should be limited only to protection of Self and
Loved Ones, and to healing and helping those in need,
provided that permission is given by the patient and that
help other than healing does not interfere with the Will of
others. Magick that is used in a coercive (IE. Love spells)
or destructive (harming or killing magick) way is patently
wrong and is considered Black Magick.
4.) Contact of spirits by any means other than Shamanic
journeying or the Vision Quest is very risky, and Possession
is a real possibility. The practice of mediumship, or
"channeling" has no place in the Lifeway, and exposes not
only Self but others to danger.
5.) Permission must always be asked of the spirits of plants
and/or animals before taking them for either sustenance or
for medicine.
6.) One's visions and one's personal ceremonies are one's
own. Personal visions should not be spoken of, but shared
visions are for all of the group.
7.) It is wrong to criticise another within the group or
outside the group. Racism, sexism, xenophobia or general
disrespect of others has no place in the Fellowship.
Individual decisions about lifestyle and other ethical
issues not covered here are an individual's own affair.
1223
4.):GROUP STRUCTURE AND INITIATION PRACTICES
There is only one Initiation, which is the Initiation that
makes one Kin within the group and in the sight of The
Deities. It is given after one has taken their first Vision
Quest, has found their Power Animal(s) and has met the
Shaman Within. It can only be denied to those who have met
these requirements, is younger than the legal Age Of Consent
(in most places, 18 years) is not of sound mind, and/or is
under suspicion of being a Law Enforcement Officer or other
person antipathetic to Pagan and/or Shamanic belief
who requests initiation for fraudulent purposes (usually to
infilitrate to either sabotage or publically discredit the
Fellowship) Initiation must not be denied on account of
physical disabilities, blindness, deafness, or sterility,
nor on account of sex, race, nationality, political belief,
or sexual preference.
There are no set offices within the Fellowship. Ideally,
leadership should be by consensus, with true leaders being
temporary and purpose-oriented. Facilitation of rituals may
be done by any Initiate of the Fellowship. ANYONE WHO
REPRESENTS THEMSELVES AS A HIGH PRIEST/ESS OF THE LIFEWAY
SHAMANIC FELLOWSHIP IS A FRAUD, AND IS DOING SO CONTRARY TO
THIS STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES AND ETHICS.
Support of the Fellowship is done on a purely voluntary and
mutual basis. No tithe or dues should be assessed unless
they have been agreed upon by all members, initiates and
non-initiates alike.
Membership is extended to all. But initiation is reserved
for those who meet the criteria mentioned above.
Non-initiates can participate in open ceremonials and in
basic workshops, but may be denied participation in certain
ceremonials and advanced workshops.
1224
5.) THE QUESTION OF RECOGNIZING SHAMANS
In traditional societies, the title Shaman was not just an
honorific, or recognition of talents. Nor was it the
highest initiatory level in a Shamanic society. The Shaman
was, in most cases, above the Chief in decision-making power
and was judge, doctor, father-confessor, and intercessor
with the Deities for the tribe. Some Shamanic societies are
now providing their membership with "Shaman training
seminars" and "Shaman apprenticeships" that can be had for
an exorbitant price. This implies that the cost of being a
Shaman can be paid in money and in a set amount of time.
This is not the case. Many tribes believe that the office
of Shaman is not one that is earned, but one that one is
born into. Certainly, the skills are never something one is
born with, and this is not merely hereditary. Rather, when
a child is born, the current Shaman would recognize that the
child had the POTENTIAL of being the next one, and the
child's training would begin when they were considered ready
by the Shaman. At adulthood, they would be tested. If they
passed the test, they would become the next Shaman. If they
failed, usually the test was such that they would either die
outright, or they would go insane. Many "heroic quest"
tales, and most notably the Arthurian legends have echoes of
this practice within the ancient Shamanic traditions of
Europe.
But the point that is being made here is that we should not
go back to that sort of way of doing things, because in this
society it is nigh on impossible. The stand I am offering
here is that recognition as a Shaman can be conferred only
through shared vision, and signs from the Deities. It is
not my place to say what the signs are...it will be obvious
to the Fellowship. I am not Shaman myself, and will not
brook anyone calling me that. This is something I place in
the lap of the Deities to decide. I cannot do anything
more. It is a mockery of those people that can truly be
called Shamans, who are respected, powerful people of
traditional tribes, to do anything less. In any event, to
claim such a title is definately not enough, and is
punishable by withdrawing Fellowship from the one who claims
to be Shaman falsely.
6.) FESTIVALS AND WORSHIP DAYS
The festivals are reckoned as they have been for centuries
by most Southwestern tribes, by both the Sun and the Moon.
The seasons begin on the first full moon after a Solstice or
an Equinox. The Solstices and Equinoxes themselves are
times of celebration as well, and perhaps the period between
the two (which usually works out to be no more than a week
or so) could be considered a time of Holiday. Lesser
ceremonials are held on New Moons and Full Moons between the
first Full Moons of the seasons. Optionally certain Pagan
festivals could be celebrated in conjunction with other
groups, but they are not to be adopted as official Lifeway
Fellowship ceremonial days.
1225
There are other ceremonials that are personal in nature, and
can be held at any time, although synchronizing them with
the Festivals and the New and Full Moons is advisable. They
are Naming, where a newborn child is named in the presence
of the group and their Life-beads given; Coming Of Age,
where the child's physical maturity is acknowledged, and
where, for a short time, they become Child of the Water (if
a boy) or White Painted Woman (if a girl); Initiation, where
a person becomes a full-fledged member of the group, given
after a person becomes a legal adult; Joining, where a man
and a woman consent to be married; Unjoining, where a man
and woman who are married consent to have the bond
dissolved, which is to be done only after four reconcili-
ation attempts fail or after evidence of marital infidelity
or abuse is given before the group; the Moonlodge, which is
a special sweat for women in their Moon-time; and Release,
where a ceremony for a dead member of the Fellowship is done
to guide their soul Back Home. Other ceremonials that are
dreamed or envisioned by a person or group are also
encouraged.
7.) SUMMING UP
A few quick ones: One can be either clothed or unclothed at
ceremonies, but it should be known that none of the
Southwestern tribes did ceremonies in the nude. However,
one should disrobe for the sweat lodge, as clothes are not
only uncomfortable within the sweat lodge, but interfere
with the cleansing process of the lodge.
This Statement can be accepted or rejected by individual
groups that federate themselves with Lifeway Fellowship. But
federation can be denied to those groups who stray too far
from some of the basic guidelines, or do anything that would
sully the reputation of the Fellowship in general.
Hi-dicho...this is finished.
May these proceeds please Life Giver Usen', and the Mother
and the Father.
ENJU!
Chihacou White-Puma, 1988.
1226
THE LAST DRAGON
by
Gerald del Campo
In the land of Oz lived a great Wizard named Albert Creemshaw.
He was loved by everyone, and became quite popular when he
destroyed the Last Dragon in a great battle between the forces of
oppression and the powers of Freedom.
When the villagers heard that the monster had been killed they
rushed the mountain side where the Dragon had its nest and
proceeded to break the eggs; thereby insuring the destruction of
the creatures forever.
What they did not know, was that Albert had snuck one of the eggs
out before the villagers got there. He cared for it in his Castle
and through his great magical ability he was able to genetically
alter the dragon fetus so that it would soon be the watcher of
the people; a symbol of freedom and great strength. But he kept
this a secret from the people because they were not ready yet for
the trial which awaited them; they would just have ganged up and
tried to kill the Little Dragon. He became a Hermit and loved
the little creature.
One day the Wizard received a message from his God that he would
have to move on, and release his body the way that a butterfly
sheds its cocoon. So Albert called for the Council of The Sword
and Shield, a ruling body of his most trusted students, and told
them about the little dragon. At first they were repulsed by the
idea of bringing up the offspring of the object of their misery;
but the Magician persuaded them by telling them that the little
dragon would soon be the symbol of freedom and strength: they
swore by the Warrior Gods they would care for it.
The following evening, while the Full Moon shined on the peaceful
waters of Oz, Albert and his God left forever.
Upon finding their Master dead, the Council released the
information about the Little Dragon to the people of Oz. The
people of Oz loved Albert as much as he loved them, and after
they saw how fragile this poor orphaned creature was they decided
amongst themselves that they would honor those raising the little
dragon, for the dragon would represent all of the things Albert
himself stood for.
1227
Things went well, for a while. The favoritism displayed by the
people of Oz towards the Priests and Priestesses that cared for
the Dragon created turmoil: all of the sudden there were power
struggles within the Council, its members were fighting over who
would supervise the education of the Little Dragon, who would
feed it, who would educate it. They set up rules specifically
designed to make it impossible for others to reach the grades
appropiate to caring for the Dragon so that only a few on top
could reap the benefits associated with caring for the Little
Dragon.
One would say: "I have risked my life and given all so that the
little dragon could have food", and his ego was pleased. The
other would say: "While you first despised the dragon I stood
fast in my duty to care for it, for I have kept my word", and her
ego was satisfied.
The people were so impressed by the "devotion and selflessness"
of The Council that certain members were given gifts of silver,
gold, spices, and women. Treated as Gods for their sense of
duty.
Everyone at The Council became so preoccupied with the power
struggle, and with keeping their peers in lower positions that
they forgot about the little, fragile Dragon. When they finally
gained their senses, and returned to the Castle where it was
guarded they found it dead, starved from attention and
sustenance. They then realized that empty, lost feeling Albert
himself would have felt, if HE had killed the Last Dragon.
1228
Circle casting Dragon style
Cameron Mandrake
I just thought I'd drop a note on the traditional Dragon Tradition
Circle casting. The circle is cast with the Blade, the Cup and the
Censor. The Priest starts with the Blade in the north and draws the
boundry of the circle. As he does he recites "I tread this Path for
the Elements, that which comprises all that we see."
The HPS takes to sprinkling the boundries with the Cup filled with
salted water. She recites "I tread this Path for Self, a reflection
of the Divine."
The HP then takes the censor and carries the smoketo the boundries
of the circle in a deosil direction. He recites "I tread this Path
for Spirit, that which unites all things."
The HP or HPS then state the charge of our Circle. It is as follows.
"Our Circle is a place where hearts and minds can meet and share in
the wonder and empowerment of a living and loving Goddess. We are a
coven of friends, but above all things we are Family. Our Love and
our Magick binds us together and our Circle keeps us and nurtures us.
We are blessed. Blessed Be!"
The Dragon Guardians are then invoked.
EAST
Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the East. Your tongue is
a sharp sword, cutting with the knowledge of the arcane. Your spirit
flows as graceful as a swift in flight. Purify us with truth.
Blessed Be.
SOUTH
Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the South, your breath is
aflame with the fires of inspiration and passion. Your spirit is
searing
and fervent. Purify us with Love. Blessed Be.
WEST
Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the West, your coils are the
cleansing healing waves that nurture the soul. Your spirit lunges,
leaps and splashes like a Talbot at play. Purify us with pulsing
tides. Blessed Be.
NORTH
Mighty Dragon, Guardian of the realms of the North, your talons run
like roots into the earth, giving you infinite strength. Your spirit
is substantial, hard and pure like a clear crystal. Purify us with
persistant wisdom. Blessed Be.
Each of these Dragons has a secret name that they are also invoked
with. A suggestion is that anyone using these invocations meditate to
find an appropriate name for each Guardian and use it along with or
instead of the words "Mighty Dragon".
1229
I find that the Circle charge sets the mood for the Circle and I
change it to suit the situation. If anyone has ideas for a Circle
charge, I'd like to hear them. I have a number of Circle charges that
I use but fresh ones always are nice.
Blessed Be.
Cameron Mandrake
... Copyright 1992 - DragonHart Coven - All Rights Reserved
1230
ON THE NUMBER 451
(The true nature of the A.`. A.'.)
Publication in Class B
ORDO ARGENTUM ASTRUM
Anthra Andromda
The number is a very interesting one indeed. Originally suggested by
David Cherubim, in connection with the "true" meaning of the initials
A.`. A.'.. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much there...BUT!
451 = 4 + 5 + 1 = 10 = 1.
A glyph of the cycle. The monad starting its trek through experience
in the infinite body of Nuith and returning to this supreme Unity.
451 = ATh HADM. The essence of Man. Also Ath ADMH (a Temurah), The
essence of the attained Man.
ADMH also means "Red Earth" in the traditional sense. However, there
is a rather 'new' qabalistic operation at work here, that of fusing or
synthesis.That of two words joining to make a new one (or an old one)
with a new meaning. Here we have 'ADM' and 'MH'. Both words add to 45,
which may be a key to the way things are working here. ADM, Man and
MH, Yetzirah. In this case we have man identified with Yetzirah to
which he aspires. Crowley says of this number, "Thus 45 baffles the
accuser, but only by affirmation of progress. It cannot help that
progress."
Quite true, it baffles! ADMH is 50, and is "red earth". This would
seem to have little to do with the foregoing. However, consider this;
in the word ADMH we have the 'H' appended. This would place the number
five behind the Man, and would have the effect of giving him motion in
a forward direction (indicating progressive motion).
When the number 451 is divided by the number 51 (451/51) the result is
8.02. Perhaps not much here, but! The number 802 is twice that of 401
(essences) and is defined in 'Sepher Sephiroth' as; "401 X 2 = The
Reflection of 401, which is the (Th a), alpha and omega". It also
refers to the three grades of A.`. A.'. above the abyss. As to the
number 8.02; the number 8 is that of Ch = Chith = 418. And the 2
represents the 'extended' monad proceeding from the infinitely small
and un-extended point. Thus it is representative of the 'human' Star,
the true essences of Man that aspires to the higher, or in Enochian
terms; That Star (monad) that aspires, and is driven, to a higher
place in the hierarchy of the Universe. This is accomplished by the
motion imparted to it by the 'H' which gives the Star motion so that
it may gain in experience.
Now, 401 = 5 = Motion. And, 50 = 5 = Motion, and is also the 14th
letter of the Hebrew alphabet; Nun. The mystic number of 'Nun' is 300,
which is the number of the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet 'Sh'
Shin. Shin refers Yetziratically to fire, and is symbolic of the 'Holy
Spirit' and therefore is the letter and number of 'Spirit'. Spirit is
unmanifested energy, and matter is manifested energy (another pos-
sibility for the 2 of 8.02) which is, in a sense, the whole nature of
Man. This duality of man is shown in dual nature of his motion. The
401 which is the essences of his motion (the higher) and the 50 which
is the manifestation of this motion.
1231
CROWLEY'S ESSAY on MAN.
"The Mind of the Father riding on the subtle guiders which glitter
with the inflexible tracings of relentless fire." ZOROASTER.
MAN.
"What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"
Man being the subject of these Essays, it is first proper to explain
what will be meant therein by the word.
Man is a microcosm: that is, an image (concentrated around the point
of consciousness) of the macrocosm, or Universe. This Theorem is
guaranteed by the hylo-idealistic demonstration that the perceptible
Universe is an extension, or phantasm, of the nervous system.
It follows that all phenomena, internal and external, may be
classified for the purpose of discussing their observed relations, in
any manner which experience may show to be the most convenient.
(Examples: the elaborate classifications of science, chemical, phys-
ical, etc., etc. There is no essential truth in any of these aids to
thinking: convenience is the sole measure.) Now for the purposes of
analysing the spiritual nature of man, of recording and measuring his
experiences in this kind, of planning his progress to loftier heights
of attainment, several systems have been devised. That of the Abhid-
hamma is on the surface alike the most practical, the most
scientific, and the most real; but for European students it is cer-
tainly far too unwieldly, to say nothing of other lines of criticism.
Therefore, despite the danger of vagueness involved in the use of a
system whose terms are largely symbolic, I have, for many reasons,
preferred to present to the world as an international basis for
classification, the classico-mathematical system which is vulgarly and
erroneously (though conveniently) called the Qabalah.
The Qabalah, that is, the Jewish Tradition concerning the initiated
interpretation of their Scriptures, is mostly either unintelligible or
nonsense. But it contains as it ground-plan the most precious jewel of
human thought, that geometrical arrangement of names and numbers which
is called the Tree of Life. I call it the most precious, because I
have found it the most convenient method hitherto discovered of
classifying the phenomena of the Universe, and recording their relat-
ions. Whereof the proof is the amazing fertility of thought which has
followed my adoption of this scheme.
Since all phenomena soever may be referred to the Tree of Life (which
may be multiplied or subdivided at will for convenience' sake) it is
evidently useless to attempt any complete account of it. The cor-
respondences of each unit -- the Ten Sephiroth and the Two-and-Twenty
Paths -- are infinite. The art of using it consists principally in
referring all our ideas to it, discovering thus the common nature of
certain things and the essential differences between others, so that
ultimately one obtains a simple view of the incalculably vast com-
plexity of the Universe.
1232
The whole subject must be studied in the Book 777, and the main
attributions committed to memory: then when by constant use the system
is at last understood -- as opposed to being merely memorized -- the
student will find fresh light break in on him at every turn as he
continues to measure every item of new knowledge that he attains by
this Standard. For to him the Universe will then begin to appear as a
coherent and a necessary Whole.
For the purpose of studying these Little Essays, it will be sufficient
if a bare outline of the Cosmic Theory which they imply be given: but
it may be added that, the fuller the comprehension of the Tree of Life
which the reader brings to them, the clearer will their thought
appear, and the more cogent their conclusions.
(1) Jechidah
This is the quintessential principle of the Soul, that which makes man
at the same time identical with every other spark of Godhead, and
different (as regards his point-of-view, and the Universe of which it
is the centre) from all others. It is a Point, possessing only posit-
ion; and that position is only definable by reference to co-ordinate
axes, to secondary principles, which only pertain to it per accidents,
and must be postulated as our conception grows.
(2) Chiah.
This is the Creative Impulse or Will of Jechidah, the energy which
demands the formulation of the co-ordinate axes aforesaid, so that
Jechidah may obtain self-realization, a formal understanding of what
is implicit in its nature, of its possible qualities.
(3) Neschamah.
This is the faculty of understanding the Word of Chiah. It is the
intelligence or intuition of what Jechidah wishes to discover about
itself.
These three principles constitute a Trinity; they are one, because
they represent the being, and apparatus which will make the manifest-
ation possible, of a God, in manhood. But they are only, so to speak,
the mathematical structure of man's nature. One might compare them
with the laws of physics as they are before they are discovered. There
are as yet no data by whose examination they may be discerned.
A conscious man, according, cannot possibly know anything of these
three principles, although they constitute his essence. It is the work
of Initiation to journey inwards to them. See, in the Oath of a
Probationer of A.`. A.'. "I pledge myself to discover the nature and
powers of my own Being."
This triune principle being wholly spiritual, all that can be said
about it is really negative. And it is complete in itself. Beyond it
stretches what is called The Abyss. This doctrine is extremely dif-
ficult to explain; but it corresponds more or less to the gap in
thought between the Real, which is ideal, and the Unreal, which is
actual. In the Abyss all things exist, indeed, at least in posse, but
are without any possible meaning; for they lack the substratum of
spiritual Reality. They are appearances without Law. They are thus
Insane Delusions.
1233
Now the Abyss being thus the great storehouse of Phenomena, it is the
source of all impressions. And the Triune Principle has intended a
machine for investigating the Universe; and this machine is the fourth
Principle of Man.
(4) Ruach
This may be translated Mind, Spirit, or Intellect: none of these is
satisfactory, the connotation varying with every writer. The Ruach is
a closely-knitted group of Five Moral and Intellectual principles,
concentrated on their core, Tiphareth, the Principle of Harmony, the
Human Consciousness and Will of which the four other Sephiroth are (so
to speak) the feelers. And these five principles culminate in a sixth,
Da(acu)ath, Knowledge. But this is not really a principle; it contains
in itself the germ of self-contradiction and so of self-destruction.
It is a false principle: for. as soon as Knowledge is analysed, it
breaks up into the irrational dust of the Abyss.
Man's aspiration to Knowledge is thus simply a false road: it is to
spin ropes of sand.
We cannot here enter into the doctrine of the "Fall of Adam," invented
to explain in parable how it is that the Universe is so unfortunately
constituted. We are concerned only with the observed facts.
All these mental and moral faculties of the Ruach, while not purely
spiritual like the Supernal Triad, are still, as it were, "in the
air." To be of use, they need a basis through which to receive impres-
sions, much as a machine requires fuel and fodder before it can
manufacture the article which it is designed to produce.
(5) Nephesch.
This is usually translated the "Animal Soul." It is the vehicle of the
Ruach, the instrument by which the Mind is brought into contact with
the dust of Matter in the Abyss, that it may feel it, judge it, and
react to it. This is itself a principle still spiritual, in a sense;
the actual body of man as composed of the dust of Matter, temporarily
held together by the Principles which inform it, for their own pur-
poses, and ultimately for the supreme purposes of self-realization of
Jechidah.
But Nephesch, devised as it is with no other object that the direct
traffic with Matter, tends to partake of its incoherence. Its facul-
ties of perceiving pain and pleasure lure it into paying undue atten-
tion to one set of phenomena, into shunning another. Hence, for the
Nephesch to do its work as it should, it requires to be dominated by
the severest discipline. Nor is the Ruach itself to be trusted in this
matter. It has its own tendencies to weakness and injustice. It tries
every trick -- and it is diabolically clever -- to arrange its busi-
ness with Matter in the sense most convenient to its inertia, without
the smallest consideration of its duty to the Supernal Triad,
cut off as that is from its comprehension; indeed, unsuspecting as it
normally is of its existence.
1234
What then determines Tiphareth, the Human Will, to aspire to
comprehend Neschamah, to submit itself to the divine Will of Chiah?
Nothing but the realization, born sooner or later of agonizing ex-
perience, that its whole relation through Ruach and Nephesch with
Matter, i.e.,with the Universe, is, and must be, only painful. The
senselessness of the whole procedure sickens it. It begins to seek for
some menstruum in which the Universe may become intelligible, useful
and enjoyable. In Qabalistic language, it aspires to Neschamah.
This is what we mean in saying that the Trance of Sorrow is the motive
of the Great Work.
This "Trance of Sorrow" (which must be well-distinguished from any
petty personal despair, and "conviction of sin," or other black
magical imitations) being cosmic in scope, comprehending all phenomena
actual or potential, is then already an Opening of the Sphere of
Neschamah. The awareness of one's misfortune is itself an indication
of the remedy. It sets the seeker on the right road, and as he devel-
ops his Neschamah he soon attains other Experiences of this high
order. Her learns the meaning of his own true Will, to pronounce his
own Word, to identify himself with Chiah.
Finally, realizing Chiah as the dynamic aspect of Jechidah, he becomes
that pure Being, at once universal and individual, equally nothing,
One, and All.
It is of the essence of the Ideas of the Supernal Triad that the Laws
of Reason which apply to intellectual functions are no longer oper-
ative. Hence it is impossible to convey the nature of these Experien-
ces in rational language. Further, their scope is infinite in every
direction, so that it would be futile to attempt to enumerate or to
describe them in detail. All that one can do is to note the common
types in very general language, and to indicate what experience has
shown to be the most useful main lines of research.
The Quest of the Holy Grail, the Search for the Stone of the
Philosophers -- by whatever name we choose to call the Great Work --
is therefore endless. Success only opens up new avenues of brilliant
possibility. Yea, verily, and Amen! the task is tireless and its joys
without bounds; for the whole Universe, and all that in it is, what is
it but the infinite playground of the Crowned and Conquering Child, of
the insatiable, the innocent, the ever-rejoicing Heir of Space and
Eternity, whose name is MAN?
In Enochian Physics Man is known as 'the monad', we shall discuss the
nature of the monad or 'Star' from the Enochian view.
MONAD MODEL.
In conjunctionwith theCosmic Planes andElements Model,
Enochian Physics proposes the Enochian Monad Model. These two models
are not meant to be independent, rather they are inclusive and are
only separated for convience.
1235
A monad isdefined asan indivisible unit(Hadit), but,is
used in the sense that a monad is the infinitely small conscious point
of every entity. The only difference between monads is experience.
Giordano Bruno taught that the monad was the ultimate spiritual
particle and that all entities had a monad at their center, the core
of their being. Every monad is monastic above the first Aethyr (LIL),
and is dualistic below. This duality takes many forms as the monad
manifests itself downward. Basically, it consists of a subjective
self in the center of an objective world. Figure 2 shows a pictorial
representation of this model.
000000000
0 0 INDIVISIBLE MONAD
0 monadic 0
0 essence 0
000000000
|
+-----------------------+
| ring-pass-not |
+-----------------------+
| LIL - first Aethyr
000000000
0 0 DUALIST Watchtowers
0 I 0 MONAD (Life-atom) |
0 0 |
000000000 <-- NOT-I (world) TIME
SPACE
FORM
FIG. 2
ENOCHIAN AXIOMS.
1. Man, and every entity (thing) in existence, is in his (its)
essence a monad. This monadic essence expresses itself as a
subjective 'I' and an objective 'NOT-I'.
2. A monad's geometric equivalent is the sphere. The center is
the 'I'. The surface of the sphere is the 'NOT-I'.
3. The 'I' is conscious individuality.
4. The 'NOT-I' is the world in which the 'I' finds itself at
any given point in time and space.
5. Everygeometric pointinspace isan 'I-NOT-I'monad in
some stage of self-expression.
6. Any'I'can communicatewith anyother 'I'onlyin sofar
as their 'NOT-I's' intersect.
7. A world is defined as a set of intersections of a host of
'NOT-I's' at any given point in time and space.
8. Subsets of 'I's' are mutually exclusive.
9. Subsets of 'NOT-I's' may be either exclusive or inclusive.
1236
10. The monadic essence of each monad allows multitudinous
expression, but no 'I' can ever separate itself from or
exist independently of its 'NOT-I'.
THEOREMS OF ENOCHIAN PHYSICS.
1. Every person is an 'I-NOT-I' monad.
2. Every point in space is a consciousness center.
3. Energy flows from one cosmic plane or sub-plane to an
adjacent cosmic plane or sub-plane through Laya centers,
dimensionless points of space which serve as channels for
the flow of energies and forces.
4.Spirit isunmanifested energy.Matter ismanifested
energy.
5. Every manifestation within space and time is dualistic.
6. Space, time, and consciousness come into existance
simultaneously.
7. Every energy field and every force in our universe is
directed by the True Will.
THE FORCES OF MAGICK.
There aresix Magickal forcesthat aremanifested inexis-
tance. These six forces, by necessity, manifest in dual triads, the
upper, and the lower.
THE UPPER TRIAD;
1.Divine Force. This is said to be the "Supreme Force"
relative to our universe. This so-called 'Supreme Force' is known as
'The TRUE WILL'. It is the 'Divine' driving force of Hadit.
2.CreativeForce.TheKundaliniofEasternthought,manifest-
ing, below the Abyss, as electromagnetic energy.
3.Thought Force.This isthe occultforce thatoften takes
the form of projection, and continually projects fundamental subjec-
tive ideas of the 'I' outward into the 'NOT-I'.
1237
THE LOWER TRIAD;
1.MindForce.Thisforceshouldproperlybecalled 'Intellec-
tual', and would be attributed to Mercury. This is the reasoning and
logical powers of the intelligent entity. This force also includes all
of the senses.
2.Will Force.Thisis thelowermanifestation ofthe'Divine
Force'. This force is what drives us in a physical sense, it is our
outer needs and desires. It is what most 'men' perceive as their
'will', however it is frequently the opposite side of the 'Will
Duality'.
3.Word Force.Wordsand Letters,speechand physicalaction
make up this aspect of the magickal forces. It is the power of sound,
which has long been known in the west. God is said to create by
uttering His Word. Consider this; some politicians are virtual masters
of this magickal force.
As can beseen thereis little realdifference betweenthe
Enochian view of man and that of the Thelemic Magician, with the main
differences being that of nomenclature. It can also be seen that the
six 'magical forces' generally correspond to the five divisions of man
as set forth by Crowley, with the exception of the sixth 'force'. This
extra point is comprised of the actions performed by the first five.
If we think of man as a hexagram, instead of a pentagram, we have the
four elements, spirit, and motion.
The elementsand spiritmakeup theessential man,but heis
still static. With the addition of the sixth, he becomes dynamic,
capable of experience. It is then this 'man' that has the 'essences of
man', for until he becomes dynamic by virtue of his motion, and gains
in experience, he is incapable of attainment.
As wasstatedabove, Man'saspirationis toahigher placein
the hierarchy of the universe. Here then are the Laws of Hierarchies,
they will show, though perhaps not directly, how this ascension
(attainment) is made possible.
HIERARCHIES
LawofHierarchies. Fromthe highestrealmsof spiritto the
lowest levels of matter, everything in between is composed of a host
of gods, monads or life atoms arranged in a myriad of hierarchies.
The following rules apply:
1.All aggregatesare composedof hierarchies.All things,
save Hadit, are aggregates. We see in our world complete structures,
which are composed of molecules, atoms, and sub-atomic particles in
one direction. And planets, solar systems, and galaxies in another.
Thus science has enabled us to see, on a mundane level, that our
physical universe is composed of some basic hierarchies. Though from
rules 3 and 4 we see that these hierarchies continue unto infinity.
1238
2.Foreveryhierarchy thereisagoverningruler orhierarch.
On our personal level we have that which is referred to as our Holy
Guardian Angel. Aswe descend to the atomic level, we have the >nuc-
leus< of the atom. Each component of that atom has, in turn, its own
hierarch. In our worldly governments we see examples of these hier-
archs; mayors, governors, presidents, etc. And we can begin to see our
place in the physical manifestation of these hierarchies. We are also
members of hierarchies on less physical, or spiritual levels, though
little is known of these.
3.Hierarchiesdescendinfinitelyintomatter.Again,fromour
'middle world, we see the manifestation of yet smaller structures or
hierarchies, which descend to the smallest particles which science is
able to see or theorize.
4.Hierarchiesascendinfinitelyinto spirit.Ontheselevels
little is known, science has or can not enter into the realm of
spirit. We do know, however, that our own personal hierarch is our
H.G.A., and that logically we are but a component part of some yet
higher structure or hierarchy.
5.The universehas ahierarchicalstructure, interlinking
groups of entities living and working together. If we look sky-ward we
can begin to see something of this structure on a physical level. Out
stellar universe is made up of planets, solar systems, stellar clust-
ers, galaxies, and on and on. While earth is not yet working with
other groups of entities on a stellar level (as
far as we are allowed to know), it is clear that we must share the
same stellar environment with others. We can, however, observe this
'working together' here on planet earth. We can see the governments of
cities, counties, states, and countries working toward what is per-
ceived as the common good (at least in most cases).
6.Hierarchies areborn,evolve, anddie.The bestexampleof
this, I think, is ourselves. We are born into this world, grow and
experience (evolve) over some period of time then die, this is all a
part of what we call 'life'. Other examples of this rule may be seen
in various extinct forms of animal life, which came into existance,
evolved over time, then died out. We can also see examples on the
stellar level, stars which are born from collections of gases, grow
and evolve into fiery furnaces, then die out.
7.Worlds arecreatedby hierarchiesof cosmicbuilders and
architects acting together.
8. Everyworld containshierarchies of recorderswho con-
stitute the forces of karmic history.
9. Thecosmic elementsand planesarecomposed ofcountless
hosts of evolving hierarchies.
Theselast tworules are forthe mostpart redundant(see 3
and 4 above); they serve to stress the fact that hierarchies do, in
fact, extend infinitely in all directions.
10. Every hierarchyis composedof a hostof smallerhier-
archies.
11. Every hierarchy is a component part of a larger hierarchy.
1239
Thuswehave theEnochianview onthe nature,place,and path
of Man. To better understand this mystery of the true meaning of A.`.
A.'. and this nature of man we may now look at some of the Temurahs of
the number 451.
These are;451, 415,541, 514,145, and154. Weshall start
with the least of these.
The number 145; InSepher Sephiroth it is definedas the
numerical value of the 13 paths of the Beard of Microprosopus.
Thenumber 154;Againfrom SepherSephiroth;it is'Elohimof
Loves', and we are referred to the number 149. The reference in 149 is
to 'The living GODS'.
Inthese two numbers we have references to Man and this
'Starry' nature. Though in the number 149 it is perhaps more direct.
'The living GODS', indeed, the most tangible link between man and GOD
is this 'Starry' essence. Both Man and ANY GOD that one cares to think
of are at the core one and the same, that is to say, that we are all
made of the same stuff, we are all MONADS at some level of evolution.
But, on we go.
Thenumber415;Still againfromSepherSephiroth. Thenumber
is that of the Voice of the Chief Seer and also 'The Holy One'.
Stillagainsubtle referencestothis 'Star'naturewhich we
have already examined.
The number 514and 541. Hereare references thatare abit
more obscure. 514 gives reference to 'KABBALA DENUDATA', a reference
that unfortunately I will have to pass on due to a mis-fortune beyond
my control. The number 541 refers to 'Israel', which at first may
seem strange, but, historically Israel is/are 'Gods' chosen people. We
may take this to mean 'Free Man' in the Thelemic sense. The number is
thus indicating Man, or rather those Men that have risen above the
slavery of the old aeon and have begun to ascend/aspire to Yetzirah.
Those Men who have realized some small part of their true essence.
So then! Just what he hell is the true meaning of the initials
A.`. A.'. and the number 451? It is no more and surely no less than
the MONAD! Though others may use different words and different systems
to explain this, their meaning will of necessity be the same.
1240
CHAOS vs THELEMA ?
Alistair Livingstone
Inspired, no doubt foolishly, by a new moon and the
Cramps`"Psychedelic Jungle", I have decided to enter the
Thelema vs Chaos debate. This is of course an impossible task, which
is no doubt why it appeals to me.
Firstly, what is it that distinguishes Thelma from Chaos? In
Starfire, Mick Staley attempts to distinguish Thelema from
Crowleyanity. Thelema he suggested pre-existed Crowley`s formulation
of it. This immediately causes problems, since for the majority of
magicians, Crowley = Thelema. But if it can be accepted that there
is a something which exists independently of Crowley`s writings,
then it must be this something (Thelema) which is to be contrasted
with Chaos Magick. The core of this something, I suggest, is the
Will. Is this idea of the Will in any way opposed to Chaos?
What is Chaos then?
For the purposes of this argument I will interpret Chaos as follows:
that the familiar world of everyday experience has its roots in
Chaos. So that any attempt to understand the world via reason
reaches a boundary, on the other side of which lies Chaos, a state
of existence/non-existence which cannot be understood by the
rational ego. However, through the techniques of ritual, that state
can be manifest in the everyday world, suspending the accepted
"laws" of common sense and allowing magick to occur. Furthermore,
perhaps as a result of the practice Chaos magick, the idea of Chaos
is slowly entering the popular imagination via science. This refutes
classical science, which is based on the belief that if the
structure of the physical world could be sufficiently precisely
modelled in a mathematical form, it would be possible to predict the
future state of various systems (wheather, for example) which make
up the physical world.
However, it is now grudgingly admitted that this would require a
precision of measurement which it is impossible to achieve.
Engineers have long since had to accept this uncertainty - that all
measurement is limited by the accuracy of the measuring device.
Absolute precision is an impossible goal. There is always a degree
of uncertainty, an instability, and by focusing the Will upon this
either/or region, the magician can exert an influence upon the world
at this level, which when it occurs, can produce the Willed outcome.
To the extent that Chaos is a form of magick, ie. it seeks to exert
an influence upon the world of erveryday consciousness, it must
involve the Will. Otherwise it would be closer to a form of
mysticism, that is the attempt to "go with the flow" of the
experienced world without seeking to influence the direction of that
flow. In this form, Chaos is closer to a "higher form of order",
that is that the apparent random or chance events of one`s
experience of existence are in fact the result of some greater
existence than that of the individual. And that by disengaging the
desires of the ego-self, one can experience this greater existence,
interpreting the obstacles and blows of everyday existence as a
stimulus to the development of a "Stoic" consciousness, which will
enable the self to eventually swimm freely as a fish in the river of
the Tao, or Chaos.
1241
The idea which this is based on tends to be that of the hermit, the
forest sage of Hinduism, the solitary adept of High Magick. No doubt
if it was possible in this present age, one could experience such an
existence if one could remove the self from the rest of human
existence. But such a model is no longer valid, since the growth of
human consciousness is such that there is no virgin wilderness left
in which to undertake such a quest. We are forced to contend with
the results of the human desire for knowledge, power, control and
security.
This is perhaps the crucial difference between Chaos magick and
Thelema. Thelema, as developed by Crowley into a form suitable for
the 20th century, contains a whole heritage of experience and
practice which reaches back through the Golden Dawn through
hermeticism to Egypt and Sumeria, which in turn drew on the beliefs
of our nameless ancestors who struggled to create models of the
world, cosmologies and creation myths within which to make sense of
their being in the world.
Crowley`s task, as had been of Mathers and Eliphas Levi before him,
was to synthesize this vast body of conscious/unconscious knowledge
and represent it in a way understandable by at least a few of his
contemporaries. Partly it is a question of language. Unfortunately
the language of magick was limited by the dominance of
Judeao-Christianity on the one hand and Reason on the other. Our
everyday language derives from our perception of a world made up of
distinguishable objects, and on the faculty of sight primarily. But
as soon as we move into the more subjective sphere of magick,
problems arise. To what extent do we share the same magickal reality
and use words such as "the Will" in the same way? The problem is not
confined to magick. For a time I worked in quality control at London
Rubber. Periodically I had to compare my work with others to make
sure we were all applying the same so that I was not rejecting
condoms that another person was passing. In science the theory is
that one person`s work is critically examined by their peer group.
The difficulty is that as soon as creativity enters the picture, it
will tend to disrupt this process. The test of any form of magick
should be "does it work?". But how can that be judged, since the
results of a ritual may not become apparent for some time. In the
early eighties, much work was done to halt the expansion of nuclear
weaponry. But it is only now, as profound changes occur in Eastern
Europe, that this can be judged a success. And the changes may yet
be lost by a failure of imagination and the difficulty of
challenging the parasitic military-industrial complexes of both East
and West.
Thelema may be saddled with the archaic terminology inherited via
Crowley from the Golden Dawn, but at its heart lies a crucial
bullshit detector. I have found that the question "what is your
Will?" directed at any group or individual who claims to be desiring
change is a very effective challenge. What is unsettling, however,
is the discovery that in most cases it evokes only silence, or at
best a string of evasions.
1242
This I feel is the most damaging criticism of Thelema, that it has
failed to cross over from magick into the diverse pool of
"alternative" beliefs which seek to reshape society. This is hardly
a question of mere academic interest, as Green issues emerge and
look set to dominate the next decade, the "spiritual", that is
neo-pagan, belief structures which infest Green consciousness are
also going to exert a growing influence. We may yet discover that
the future, as the Dead Kennedy predicted, will be "California �ber
Alles".
Can Chaos magick then succeed where Thelema has not (yet)? I doubt
it, since the reaction to both by the average alternative type (let
alone Joe Normal) is that it is "too dark". The very word "Chaos"
tends to get tagged with "anarchy" and evoke nightmare visions of
mad-axemen running wild in the street. Of course, for some this may
be its very appeal, anything so bad must be good...
No, somehow we have to achieve the Sysphean task of applying the
notion of Will like Occam`s razor to the fast mulitiplying dualistic
entities of New Age (un)awareness. In practical terms I understand
this to mean directing our Wills at and with the growing Green
movement, so that rather than disappearing into a fog of "good
intentions", it becomes a real and willed critique of consumer
culture. Just as Marxism failed to achieve its desires, since the
working class had already been "mobilizised" by the capitalists, so
magick fails since the energies of the mass unconscious have already
been tapped by advertising, via the mass media.
The energy tending towards change of consciousness (evolution) has
been subverted by consumer culture into the desire to possess an
unending stream of glass beads and cheap cottons, or in our case,
microwave ovens and mink belly-button brushes. The whole thrust of
advertising is to bypass our logic circuits and touch directly our
desire for status and security. We don`t just buy the product, we
buy the dream, maya the illusion of success. It is, however much we
may protest, a form of magick. I may be an impoverished squatter in
a third world shanty town, but if I can buy a bottle of Coke, I
believe I possess the whole dream of the richest American
millionaire. I may be a Trabant owning East German, but by crossing
the (former) abyss of the Wall I become a potential Porsche
possessor.
But if you look at those already possess such dreams, what do you
find? That it is, as in California, these same people who turn to
the most ridiculous New Age bullshit in order to satisfy their
craving for something more, for something to fill up the endless
aching void they feel scratching and gnawing like some Charles
Manson nightmare outside the walls of their Beverly Hills mansions.
But of course, the last thing they want to hear is "the truth".
Better to create a multi-billion dollar New Age industry than accept
that within the richest mansions lies the reality of Chaos, of that
Void which spins around itself the veils of maya, the dance of
illusion, in which one is equally a starving beggar and a voluptuous
moviestar. "What is your Will?".
1243
Of course I am somewhat prejudiced for all I used to sing along with
Bowie on Ziggy Stardust (I could make it all worthwhile as a rock n
roll star) I chose magick as a path. Through experiences both
beautiful and terrifying I have come to understand the human
condition as but one aspect of a continuum of consciousness. For me,
the whole universe is a living entity which I interact with in the
fleeting streams of energies which inspire my awareness. Both
rationally and poetically I perceive my brain, my body as part of
the very substance of the universe and not distinguishable from it
(ie NUIT). For me, the human condition is part tragedy, part farce.
We are semi-intelligent apes who have been driven by fleeting
glimpses of what might be, to create this world, our reality. But in
our ignorance, we mistake the glimpse for the whole, the ego for the
self. We strive for "order" and create a chaos, and then recognize
in chaos a "higher form of order".
"Knowledge is power, power is control, control is security". Oh
yeah? But knowledge is also pleasure, a pleasure more intense than
any created by security. Security is sterility, sterility is death.
We pay lip service to evolution, but cannot accept that evolution
implies change, and change denise security. What do we will?
If our will is security, stability, then that we shall have, as so
many fossils. To embrace Chaos (Thelema) is to renounce such false
gods and accept that our actions as magicians will change not only
ourselves, but our world. Insofar as both Chaos and Thelema are
valid paths, thus far will they change us. To cling to an
identity, however pleasing or fulfilling, is a denial of magick.
Magick is about change, the only constant factor in the unfolding of
the implicate order/chaos of the universe.
Along with Thelema and Chaos, I also practise the magick of Maat. To
the Egyptians Maat was the "right order of the universe". The
contrast is between the familiar Hindu concept of "karma", which
deals with our human existence and the less familiar concept of
"rta" which deals with our aspects as forms of (universal)
consciousness.
Magick diverged from science some 300 years ago. Science sought to
discover "the hand of god" in the natural world; magick sought to
become the equal of the gods. Now we witness the overlapping of
these paths. We are no longer the creations of some distant god, but
the natural products of the universe. We have "evolved" out of a
handful of organic chemicals. Now we have the ability, through the
replication of DNA to evolve ourselves. We have, literally, the
powers of a god. What we lack, and what magick must seek to provide,
is the intelligence to use (or refuse) such power. The way to
achieve this is to ask the question: "what is our will?" Are our
genes our motivating force, or is there something else which I call
"consciousness"? This consciousness I hold to be implicit in the
structure of the universe, and has been revealed as such by quantum
physics, however difficult such a realisation may be for us. It may
be unprovable/undeniable, and therefore unscientific, but I suggest
that our so-called consciousness is a quantum phenomena.
1244
This is what Crowley experienced as the interplay of Nuit and Hadit
in the Book of the Law. It is also the root of Chaos. So that
Thelema and Chaos are but different aspects of a single (multiple)
experience, expressed in languages appropriate to their different
times and ambiences.
Alone I cannot fully express the complexity of these possibilities,
and yet we must each try to do so. Only by placing them at the heart
of our experience of being in the world, can we hope to create a
society which will survive rather than perish under its unconscious
contradictions. As yet we are but "naked apes", but we are apes with
sufficiently complex brains to at least glimpse the possibility of
being more than we are and become "homo veritas", that is truly
human at last.
As we are, we cannot fully know this to be true, only with our
imagination can we glimpse the potential implied. It is my Will to
bring this about, this is why I write these words, that they have
touch and stimulate whoever may read them. So mote it be.
On rereading the above, I feel the need to expand the argument
somewhat. Having bashed my way through an anthropological essay on
nationality and the state, it struck me that recent events in
Eastern Eurpe have many consequences. The whole point of the "iron
curtain", was to allow East to develop its alternative economic
system, as spelt out by Marx. What is happening now is the
incorporation of that economic system into a global economy, which
implies the failure of Marxism. This failure leaves a power vacuum.
The majority of critiques of the Western power structure have come
from Marxism. But if it is now seen to have failed, the possibility
exists for a more powerful critique to arise.
Where will we find this critique - in magick. Of course this
requires magicians to adopt a more rigorous intellectual approach to
their beliefs, but surely that is what Chaos/Thelema argument is
about, with each side arguing that the other is deceiving itself as
regards the "true" form of magick. What I am suggesting is that
magicians start to take magic seriously as "energy directed (willed)
towards change". Rather than as an escapist belief system parasitic
upon the economic success of capitalism. To practise magick we must
surely believe that we inhabit a magical, rather than a strictly
economic universe. How much more effective would our magick be then
if we could replace the belief system of economic society with that
of a society rooted in a magickal conception of reality.
Such is the apple with which I tempt you - do you dare taste the
forbidden fruit ?
Alistair Livingston
----
I do know him personally and am glad to meet him again in summer.
A. Livingstone is a pseudonym of Ramsey Dukes (which is a pseudonym
too :-)). He is member of the OTO and made a lot of Chaos working &
theory. He wrote some very genuine books about magic (Liber SGDSMEE,
Thunderqueak), is now concerned with KI (Words Made Flesh).
You can contact him via:
T.M.T.S., Wharf Mill, Winchester, Hants, SO23 9NJ, England
With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *
1245
Notes on the role of the historical Egregore in modern Magic
by Fra.: U.D.
It is quite easy to poke fun at the historical claims of most
magical and mystical orders, especially when they purport to have derived
from "very ancient", possible even "Atlantean" or, to top it all, "pre-
Atlantean" brotherhoods for whose existence even the most sypathetic
historical scholar worth his name would be very hard pressed to find any
significant proof. Actually, it is rather a cheap joke to cite, for
example, AMORC`s claims that even good old Socrates or Ramses II (of all
people!) were "Rosicrucians". However, the trouble only starts when adepts
mistake these contentions for _literal_ truths. "Literal", of course,
derives from literacy and the letters of the alphabet. And, as Marshall
MacLuhan has justly in his "Understanding Media" and perhaps even more so
in "The Gutenberg Galaxy", western civilisation has a very strong tendency
towards _linear_ thinking, very probably due to - at least in part - the
linear or non-pictographic nature of our alphabet. The very structure of
this alphabet informs us at quite a tender age to think in terms of linear
logics such as cause and effect, or, more intersetingly in our context,
PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE. This is not at all a "natural necessity" as most
people are wont to think, for the ideographic or pictographic "alphabets"
as used for example in ancient Egypt or even modern China and Japan tend to
bias the correspondingly acculturalised mind towards what MacLuhan terms
"iconic thinking" - a perception of holistic factors rather than the
systematisation into seperate (preferably indivisible) single units.
Western thought has formulated this problem as the dichtonomy of the
_analytic_ and the _synthetic_ approach. But it is perhaps no coincidence
that our contemporary culture tends to associate "synthetic" with "artif-
icial" , vide modern chemistry.
Now magical and mystical thinking is quite different; in fact it is not
half as interested in causality as is linear thought. Rather, it strives to
give us an overalll, holistic view of processes within our perceived
space-time continuum; an overall view which includes the psychology of the
observer to a far stronger degree than even modern physics seems to have
achieved in spite of Heisenberg`s uncertainity principle and Einstein`s
earlier theory of relativity. In other words, mythological thinking is not
so much about literal ("alphabetic"?) truth but rather about the "feel" of
things. For example, a shaman may claim that the current rain is due to the
rain goddess weeping because of some sad event. He might predict that her
phase of mourning will be over in two days` time and that the deluge will
then end. A Western meteorologist might possibly come to similar prognoses,
but he will of course indignantly deny using any of "this mystic stuff" in
the process. His rain godess takes the form of barometric pressure, wind
velocity and direction, air humidity and the like - but who is to say which
view is the "truer" one, as long as abstract and mystic predictions prove
to be accurate? From an unbiased standpoint, the modern demons "barometric
pressure", "wind velocity" and factors of a similar like are just as
abstract and mythic as the shaman`s hypothetical rain goddess - especially
so for us laymen who religiously follow the daily indoctrination via the TV
weather forecasts and satellite photograph divination: all we can do is
_believe_ in what the expert tells us is the truth. The non-shaman in a
shamanic society shares a very similar fate when he has to believe simply
that the rain goddess wants to be comforted say, by a substantial donation
of meat or tobacco in the course of a fully fledged tribal ritual.
1246
There _is_ an important difference however. If we accept the model (stron-
gly propagated by A.O. Spare, who was, of course, in his very special
manner, quite an orthodox Freudian) of magic primarily taking place within
the subconscious (Freud) or, less ambiguous, the unconscious (Jung); and if
we furthermore agree that said unconscious is not only the source of per-
sonal magical energy (mana, or, as I prefer to term it, _magis_) but tends
to think and act in symbols and images, we might come to the conclusion
that our shaman`s explanation may perhaps not be scientiffical more
satisfying in Western terms, but it is surely more in accord with the way
our unconscious tends to perceive reality. In that sense it is not only
more "natural" but, one suspects, even downright _healthier_ for psychic
hygiene. It is, so to speak, more "ecological and holistic" in terms of
psychic structure.
As an aside I might mention that it is the better explanation for practical
magical reasons as well. For at least rain goddesses can be cajoled into
happiness by magical technique, ritual trance and the like until they stop
weeping, a task a meteorologist will hardly be able to imitate. (Actually I
have preferred the magic of rain prevention to the more classical example
of rain making because it is far more relevant to our own geography and
experience).
In recent years Rupert Sheldrake`s theory of morphogentic fields has raised
quite a hue and cry, not only within the confines of the scientific
community but strangely enough among occultists too. I find this latter
reaction quite astonishing, because a lot of what Mr. Sheldrake basically
claims is nothing more than the old, not to say ancient, tenet of philoso-
phical idealism: namely that there is what in both German and English is
called "Zeitgeist", a form of unique time-cum-thought quality, leading to
surprisingly similar albeit completely independent models of thought,
technical inventions, political truths and so on. One would rather expect
the people to be profoundly intrigued to be among materialist/positivist
biologists or physicist rather that occultists who have traded in the
Zeitgeist principle ever since occult thought proper as we understand it
arose in the Renaissance. From a pragmatic point of view Mr. Sheldrake is
behaving very much like our meteorologist, replacing mythic explanations
with crypto-mythic "scientific" factors. Unfortunately, most scientific
scholars tend to fear a devaluation of scientific termini tecnici; once
they are mentioned in the wrong "context" (almost invariably meaning: by
"wrong" people) they are readily labelled as "non-" or "pseudo-" scientific
- which is, after all, precisely what happened to poor Mr. Sheldrake
amongst his peers in spite of all his academic qualifications. This example
goes to show how very much estranged occultists can be from their oown
sources even when working with them daily.
Reality too is always the reality of its description: we are marking our
pasts, presents and futures as we go along - and we are doing it all the
time, whether we are conscious of the fact or not, whether we like it or
not, we are constantly reinventing our personal and collective space-time
continuum.
1247
Space seems rather solid and unbudging; even magic can do very little it
seems to overcome its buttresses of solidity and apparent inertia, oc-
casional exceptions included. (May it be noted that I include matter in
this space paradigm, because solid matter is usually defined by the very
same factors as is space - namely width, length and height.) Time, on the
other hand, is much more volatile and abstract, so much so in fact that it
is widely considered to be basically an illusion, even among non-occultist
laymen. And indeed in his famous novel "1984" George Orwell has beauti-
fully, albeit perhaps unwillingly, illustrated that history is very little
more than purely the _description of history_. (Which is why it has to be
rewritten so often. It seems that mankind is not very happy with an
"objective past" and prefers to dabble in "correcting" it over and again.
This is quite an important point I shall refer to again later on.) History
is, after all, the defining of our past own roots and our _present_
position within our linear space-time continuum in relation to past and
future. Very often, unfortunately, the description and interpretation of
history seem little more pathetic endeavour to obtain at least a minimum of
objectivity in a basically chaotic universe. The expression "ordo ab chao"
is more or less a summary of Western thought and Weltanschauung, of the
issues straining and stressing the Western mind since ancient Greece. Chaos
is considered "evil", order on the other hand is "good" - then the polit-
ical philosophy, if you care to dignify it by this terms, of "law and
order", appeals to people`s deeply rooted fears of loss of stability and
calculability. ("Anarchy" is another widely misunderstood case in point.)
The ontological fact that everything is transitory has never been par-
ticular well-received in Western philosophy and theology.
Now before you get the impression that I am only trying to impose a typical
exercise in heavyhanded Teutonic style philosophical rambling upon your
overbusy reading mind, let me hasten to point out that if past, present and
future are, at least in principle, totally subjective, we as magicians are
locally perfectly free to do what we like with them. For the magician is a)
the supreme creator of his own universe and b) the master of Illusion (ref.
the Tarot card "The Magician/Juggler"). This freedom of historical choice,
however, is seldom realised let alone actively applied by the average
magician. Maybe one of the reasons for this has to do with the somewhat
pathetic fact that most of us tend to live our lives in a more or less
manner, being mild eccentrics at best, distinctly avoiding becoming too
much over the top. There are a number of possible explanations for this,
ranging from "every magician is just another guy/gal like me" to "preven-
tion of insanity". As we deal all the time with insanity - i.e. extremely
unorthodox states of consciousness by bourgeois standarts, we magicians
prefer some stability in our everyday lives and makeups, but this is not
really our topic.
Rather than delve into social normality of the average magician I should
like to investigate the many bogus claims to antiquity as put forward by a
multiple of magical and mystical orders from this point of view. Such
orders range from Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism and Theosophy to such
venerable institutions as the O.T.O., the Golden Dawn and many others.
Their historical claims are usually quite stereotyped: the spectrum covered
includes Atlantis, Lemuria, Mu, Solomon, Moses, Dr. Faustus, St. Germain,
the Gnostics, the Knight Templar,the Cathars, the Illuminati, the Holy
Grail myth, prehistoric witchcraft, matriarchy, shamanism etc.
1248
Now it is quite common for shamans, to cite one example, to claim that in
the good old days (usually, of course, dating back to a non-calibrated,
non-defined time immemorial) things used to be much, much better. One of
the more profane reasons for this contention may be the fact that most of
these shamans have already achieved quite a venerable age in their trade;
and don`t we all know the typical attitude of old crones towards modernity
? It may not sound particular spiritual or holy but maybe all we are seeing
here is the primitive`s parallel to the "Now when I was in Poona with Royal
Indian Army, young lad..." reported occasionally to be heard in some of
today`s pubs.
But there is more to it, I think. By calling up "bogus" ancestors from
Moses via Solomon to Dr. Faustus and St. Germain, the magician not only
reinvents his own history, he also is summoning up the egregore of these
"entities" (along with all their powers and inhibitions of course) - or, to
put into Mr. Sheldrake`s terminology, their morphic fields. By violating
all the painstakeing endeavours of the meticulous historian, by simply
ignoring a number of tedious and possibly contradictory facts and questions
(such as whether Moses and Solomon have ever _really_ been sorcerers of
some standing in their own time) the magician becomes God in the fullest
sense of the expression: not only does he choose his relatives in spirit
quite arbitrarily, he even claims the right to do what not even the
judaeo-christian god of the old testament is ever described as doing,
namely changing "objective past" at will.
This type of creative historicism appeals, so it seems, very strongly to
the unconscious mind, supplying it with a great deal of ideological back-up
information, thus reducing its conscious-mind-imposed limits of "objec-
tivity" to at least some modicum of superficial probability. It is only
when the occultist mixes up the different planes of reference, when he
purports to speak of "objective linear truth", instead of mythic or
symbological, decidedly non-linear truth, that serious problems arise.This
should be avoided at all costs in order not to strain our psychic set-up by
contradictory evidence, which can easily result in an unwilled-for neutral-
isation of all magic powers.
But this, of course, is the same problem as with occult scientism. "Rays"
are quite a convincing hypothesis to base telepathic experiments on, as
long as you don`t try to overdefine said rays by epitheta such as "electro-
magnetic" or the like. For if you do, you become the victim of scien-
tists`zealous inquisition boards. Or, as Oscar Wilde might have put it, it
is not truth which liberates man`s mind but lying. (Which, again, is one of
the reasons why Aleister Crowley entitled his magnum opus "The Book of
Lies" in the first place...)
1249
Let us then resort to _creative historicism_ whenever we find it useful.
Let us not have "historical objectivity" dictated to us by the powers that
be. Let us accept our fuzziness of expression which is, after all, little
more than a honest acknowledgement of the fact that symbols and images are
always more than just a little ambiguous, as our dreams well prove every
night. As in divination, it does not pay to become overprecise in magic:
the more you try to define a spell, the higher probability of failure. It
is quite easy to charge a working talisman quite generally "for wealth"; it
is quite another to charge it to "obtain the sum of $347.67 on March 13th
at 4.06 p.m. in 93, Jermyn Street, 3rd floor" and still expect success.
While the latter may strangely enough succeed occasionally, this is usually
only the freak exception of the rule. However, by systematically rewriting
our past in fuzzy terms, possibly eventing past lives and biographies for
ourselves consciously or arbitrarily, we are fulfilling the final demand of
Granddaddy Lucifer`s "non serviam". Let nobody impose his or her time and
history parameters on you!
And for practical exercise, allow your clock occasionally to be well in
advance of your contemporaries`; let it sometimes lay behind for a few
hours _and_ minutes (do not just change the hour hand as this would make it
easy to recalculate into demiurge`s "real" space-time continuum, making you
yet again its slave!) Do this to learn about your former ill-advised
humility towards the current time paradigm - and about the illusory
character of time and its measurement in general. Rewrite your personal and
family history daily, invent your own kin and ancestors. "Problems with Mom
and Dad? Pick a new couple!" Experiment with retroactive spells, try to
heal your friend`s flu before he even contracted it. But do this in a
playful spirit lest your censor should whack you for your constant viola-
tions of the rules of this game by again confusing the frames of reference.
Jump from one parallel universe to the next one, never permit yourself to
stand still and become enmeshed by Maya`s veil (you are supposed to be the
_Master_ of illusion, remember?). And don`t panic: for nothing is true,
everything is permitted.
1250
The Nemesis Conjuration
In this ritual the Greek Goddess Nemesis, a deity of fate and
vengeance, is seen in the role of being the complementary opposite of ones
ego referring to the inner self as the centre of both personalitties.
Habits and actions taken against ones real desires create the opposite to
the same degree and thereby form an anti-personality of ones ego, which in
this case is identified with the principle of Nemesis.
Disturbances on the plane of reality due to actions against ones subcon-
scious desires can be eliminated by ritual union with this personal
demon-sister/brother and enable one to reach ones inner self, which is
defined as the mean value of both the personalities.
The effect of this ritual, if performed correctly, would by
definition be fatal. Therefore the operation is strictly limited to the
part of the psyche which the magician wishes to explore.
A sigil representing this portion of the psyche is forcibly
activated during the ritual in order that the magician may
seek answers to his problems within the chosen area in the
personality. No specific wishes or desires can be used for this
purpose, only general ones. This is a necessary restriction to
avoid being overwhelmed by any unpleasant effects. The magician
should be aware of this when constructing the sigil.
Nemesis Conjuration:
1.Banishing.
2.The ritual is performed sitting on the ground in the posture
of the Rune PERDRO. The head may rest on the lower part of the
arms, and the face should be covered by the cowl of the robe.
3.Statementof intent: IT IS MY WILL TO TAKE A STEP TOWARDS THE
CENTRE OF MY SELF BY UNION WITH MY OPPOSITE THROUGH THIS SIGIL!
4.The incantation is given while visualising a winged figure of
opposite sex who approaches the magician. The figure wears the
chosen sigil on his/her breast and is both beautiful and
terrifying at the same time.
5.Incantation:
Come to me oh Nemesis, mighty, terrifying and beloved sister.
Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are the goddess of my god,
you, who are the demon of my demon.
Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are the demon of my god,
you, who are the goddess of my demon.
Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are part of me which I am not,
you, who are the counterbalance on the
scales of my fate.
Come to me oh Nemesis, you, whose wings carry us to our
mutual central Kia.
Come to me oh Nemesis, you, who are my ultimate fear,
you, who are my ultimate desire.
you, with whom to unite is the sigh of
ecstacy and the silence of death.
Come to me oh Nemesis, for you are my path and I am our aim
I call upon you to meet me in this sigil.
Come to me oh Nemesis and guide me through this sigil to our
mutual central Kia !
1251
Start hyperventilation during the reading out of the incantation.
The visualised figure with the sigil coming closer and closer to
finally melt into your own body. When this point is reached
shout out:
ZodACAM VaPAAHe ANANAEL ZoDA Ah!
(I move the wings of the secret wisdom within me!)
6.Banishing and/or laughter.
With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *
1252
IDEOLOGY
0
The human mind seeks to create order out of Chaos
It is in the nature of humanity to attempt to formulate laws from ex-
perience as a guide to future action. Acting as a feedback-response
mechanism, the mind considers the results of previous behaviour and
creates laws of action in an attempt to repeat past good results and
avoid bad results. In the individual this is known as personality, in
the communal world it is known as science.
1
All scientific laws are false
Science attempts to map the universe as a result of previous collec-
tive experience. Since this is limited to what has actually been
experienced so far, it is always inadequate, and since it is not what
has been experienced it is always human-centred. It cannot be objec-
tive because the object does not experience, only the subject, human-
ity, experiences. Two approaches have been used to tackle this prob-
lem. The philosophy of the western world posits that an external,
objective world interacts with us through scientific experiment, thus
science creates objectively true laws. Other European philosophy
holds, correctly in my view, that talk of an objective reality is
beyond experience and is thus meaningless babble. Moreover, scientific
experiment is no more objective than a childs attempt to walk. To Know
is not a high ideal, it is an instinct born of our particular way of
survival, and is thus survival-centred. Science is our Elephant Trunk,
our Giraffe Neck, and since it is inherently inadequate, it is a
belief system, a set of interconnected ideas-about-things. In terms of
European, Post-Hegelian philosophy, it is an ideology.
2
All idealogies are subject to chaotic dissolution
Every idealogy, whether science, Christianity or whatever, seeks to
and succeeds in creating a coherent view of reality that satisfies its
believers. The problem is that there is inevitably a gulf between the
idealogy and reality. Ideologies are fixed; reality is fluid. Thus all
ideologies are subject to readjustment when a new discovery challenges
the existing view. The rediscovery of the Greek text of the New
Testament and the discovery of the non-existence of the Ether each
corroded the existing ideologies of their day.
The Christian world responded with Reformation and Counter-Reformat-
ion. (Historical note: Counter-Reformation was the Reformation of the
Catholic Church rather than an attack on the Protestant Reformation.)
Science responded with Einsteinian relativity. These new elements are
Chaotic. The extent to which the ideology can reform depends on how
deep the Chaotic element bites into the ideological structure. Every
ideology has central tenets upon which the rest depend: so the dis-
covery that Jesus was actually stoned to death rather than crucified
would cause major rumblings; the discovery that he was a woman would
cause deeper rumblings; but the discovery that he was a spaceman
carrying out a standard sociological experiment would bring down the
ideology entire. Several ideologies have completely collapsed in the
past, such as Ptolomaic astronomy, and it can happen again. Moreover,
the spread of a unified ideology over the whole globe, Western Democ-
racy, leaves the way open to a bigger collapse than ever before.
1253
3
There is no such thing as innate value
All present Western ideologies depend upon a concept of innate
worth, whereby certain things are automatically "better" than
others. The White Race, Men, Adults, all have had their "innate"
value knocked for six. Even the Animal Kingdom is no longer seen as
of higher worth than the Vegetable as the spread of the Gaia
hypothesis shows. This is the Chaotic element that can bring down a
whole pack of cards. There is no ethical reference point, no
beginning from which to derive an end to aim for, to praise, to work
towards. As it says in Liber Al: "let there be no difference made
between one thing and another". The result is a confusion of belief
as people scramble to find a new ideology. Fundamentalists choose
deliberate blindness and perverse stupidity. Thelemites choose "pure
will, unassuaged of purpose". Chaoists worship the confusion itself
as the only "true thing" left. Pagans begin to construct a new
ideology based on the absence of heirarchy and turn to cyclical and
egalitarian beliefs. That a new ideology, or many, will arise is
inevitable; even the truth of Chaos is only true to us, in our
experience. But so what. All things considered, I think that things
are going pretty well.
Further readings:
Knowledge and Human Interest, J.Habermas, 1967
Differance, translated as Language and Difference, Derrida, 1959
Anything by Sir Karl Popper for the view from the opposition
With fractalic greetings and laughter * Fra.: Apfelmann *
1254
Thunder, Perfect Mind
or
How did all these people get into my room?
Tony Iannotti
Thetext called _Thunder, PerfectMind_ is a composite document,
composed of three distinct types of writing. These types of writing
can be compared to the Isis aretalogies, Hebrew wisdom literature, and
Platonic dialogue.{FN:1} The composite nature of the text is clearer
when the three strands are separated and reconstructed, each by
themselves. The three resultant texts can be found below.{FN:2}
If the document isto be considered agnostic document, adefini-
tion of gnostic must be tendered first. For now, the definition of
Theodotus will be used, that "what liberates us is the knowledge of
who we were, what we became; where we were, whereunto we have been
thrown; whereunto we speed, wherefrom we are redeemed; what birth is,
and what rebirth."{FN:3} The Thunder, Perfect Mind_ answers some of
these questions, but not others.
The questions dealingwith self-knowledge aredealt with veryfully
in the text. The tradition of Isis aretalogies is one of self-definit-
ion, aretalogies being strings of "I am" statements. The part of the
text like an Isis aretalogy describes the speaker in paradoxical but
full detail. The very first section of the aretalogy text answers the
questions of where the speaker comes from, where she has come to, and
where she might be found. There is a slight deviation, in that she
has actively come to "those who reflect" upon her, rather than "being
thrown" to them, but the idea of being removed from one's original
habitation is there. In the sixth section of this part she says that
she is an alien, as well as a citizen.
This bringsup the question ofwhat the point ofthe dichotomies in
the aretalogy section is. They range from philosophical, political and
social opposites to sexual and familial polarities. In each opposition
of polarity, the speaker maintains that she encompasses both poles, or
roles. She is "the whore and the holy one."{FN:4} She is "the barren
one, and she whose sons are many."{FN:5} She is "Knowledge and
ignorance."{FN:6} And she is "the one whom they call Law, and you
have called Lawlessness."{FN:7}
In the last dichotomy, the difference may be ascribed to the
people who call her either Law or Lawlessness, either "they" or "you."
Similar distinctions are made in other seemingly paradoxical state-
ments in terms of temporal placement. The tenses change, for instance,
in the fifth section in many statements, such as "I am the one who is
hated everywhere, and who has been loved everywhere.", "I am the one
whom you have despised, and you reflect upon me." and "I am the one
whom you have hidden from, and you appear to me." These distinctions,
either temporal or nominal, are subservient to the larger message that
the speaker is a very diverse personality. They are also only possible
to discern in a small percentage of the proffered paradoxes{FN:8} The
main attempt is to define herself, not to set up distinctions in time
or peoples. There is almost no cosmology or anthropology in this text,
and this is a clue to the nature of the message of the text. The
emphasis is on the person, not the cosmos; on the self, and not the
environment.
1255
In thisaretalogy third ofthe text, therean attemptto transcend
the intellect through intellectual paradox. By setting up identities
between polar opposites the mind is set in circles, as it is by the
Zen _koans_, until it is driven into the brick wall of impossibility.
In the introduction to his translation of this text, MacRae states
that "...the particular significance of the self-proclamations of
_Thunder, Perfect Mind_ may be found in their antithetical charac-
ter."{FN:9} One might rather say that the significance _must_ be
found in their antithetical character. There is no other common
denominator.
The second type of writing seen in this text is comparable to
Hebrew wisdom literature. The excerpted and reconnected text is a
series of hortatory instructions for those who would be _gnostikoi_,
in the form of very short injunctions to "Look upon me"{FN:10} , "Hear
me"{FN:11} , "Do not be arrogant to me"{FN:12} , etc. The speaker
exhorts the reader to be on his guard twice, and not to be ignorant of
her twice. This emphasis on care and awareness augments the intellec-
tual exercises of the aretalogy section. One could easily skim over
the polarities and not stop to reflect on them or their import, in
which case their efficacy of liberation would be severely
diminished. All three parts of this text work together.
The exhortationsgo on to impressupon the reader thathe must be
aware that the speaker encompasses all things, great and small, as
well as left and right, male and female, royal and base, rich and
poor. There is an element of the union of opposites here as well, the
speaker saying she is compassionate and cruel, and obedient and
self-controlled.{FN:13}
In the thirdsection of this part of the text, the instructions
are to "come forward to me, you who know me ... and establish the
great ones among the small first creatures." Here is some evidence of
an organised attempt to proselytise, or establish a group of those who
know the speaker. The fourth section also calls to "you, who know me."
They are told to learn the speaker's words, while those "hearers" are
told simply to hear. This suggests some form of hierarchy among the
"hearers" and the "knowers". The first step would seem to be that one
must hear the voice, and then come to know it.
This could be a sign of the initiatory path, along which one
must pass to come to _gnosis_ As noted above, the simple act of
hearing the message intellectually would not be enough. One must pay
special care to the paradoxes presented, and reflect upon them until
illumination comes. The process can again be compared to the effect of
_koans_, where one perceives them first as outright nonsense, "the
sound of one hand clapping,"_ etc._, until one comes to the crux of
where they attempt to fix the mind.{FN:14}
Where the _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ would fix the mind is on a
realisation of the transcendence of the speaker, and eventually on the
identification of the speaker with the hearer when that hearer becomes
a knower. As it says in the sixth section of the aretalogy part, "I am
the knowledge of my inquiry, and the finding of those who seek after
me, ... and of the spirits of every who exists with me, and of the
women who dwell within me." The path to _gnosis_ and the traveler on
that path are both played here by the character of the speaker.
1256
Another point madeby this partof thetext like wisdomliterature
is that manifestation implies duality, and that to perceive in the
world implies discrimination. The nature of the speaker comprehends
all things, but to appear in the world she must choose one of the two
halves of all those things through which to appear. As a complete
being she would be both invisible and insensible in any way, since to
contain both poles of being, such as 1 and -1, would be to equal 0.
This has a parallel in the way of the Tao, in which one of the aims is
to do everything by doing nothing. One might hear the speaker saying
"I am she who does everything, and nothing." The idea is to incor-
porate in oneself a balance between action and non-action, yin and
yang, and by doing such one gets beyond having to struggle with the
world. There will be no antagonism between the person and then en-
vironment, once that person becomes one with the environment. (Or a
reflection of it, by incorporating or epitomising all its elements.)
This shows the less ascetic nature of the text _Thunder, Perfect
Mind_. The world is not actively evil, but rather simply distracting
due to its incomplete nature. When one gets beyond this, then one has
improved, but there is no shame in being merely a "hearer," and not a
"knower." The only desiderata are to hear and then to know, to balance
oneself according to what one comes to know, and despise nothing along
the way, for every thing is part of the transcendent whole. Here one
could draw Deist parallels, intensifying the impression that the
writers of this text did not see the world as inherently evil.
It is ourperception of theworld that causesthe apparent evilof
the world. To perceive something is to discriminate between it and its
context.
It is this separation or making of differences that allows us to
operate in the world, but also that enslaves us to it by monopolising
our attention.
_Thunder, Perfect Mind_ insists that only by seeing the larger
picture of unions of all opposites can we escape this servitude to the
world. In other words, what liberates us is the knowledge of into what
we have been thrown, or have come.
The last section, the fifth of this part of the text, is a final
exhortation to the reader to "look," "give heed" and be aware of who
speaks and what that means, that by encompassing all things she is
"the one who alone exists," comprising all, "and ... no one who will
judge" her exists outside her. This extreme recognition of the unity
of oneself with the cosmos, of subject with object, and of positive
and negative, leads to an extension of the self to the limits of
perception. Sometimes this continues to the point that manifestation
requires a relimitation by definition of person. As the speaker has
done this, the extension and then the relimitation in order to com-
municate, she also implies that it is an achievement attainable by
all, if one will just "hear" and "know."
The third part of the text represents Greece, as the first two
reflect the Egyptian and Judaic strands of the Hellenistic world.{FN:-
15} It consists of questions and answers, not always on philosophical
subjects, but always leading to philosophical points. It is similar in
many ways to the prototypical Platonic dialogue in which the inter-
locutor is led to the truth
of the matter by way of dialectic. Another parallel would be the
dialogue between Arjuna and Krishna in that chariot.
1257
There are six sections to this partof the text, as it has been
cut up and fitted to the other two parts, and the first five display
an elegant ring composition. Section one is a question and amplifica-
tion of the question, while section five is the answer to it. Section
two is another question and amplification, answered by section four.
Section three is the center point, pointing out the union of the two
questions and their respective answers. Section six is a conclusion
of sorts, resuming that which the dialogue has attempted to draw.
The first question is why the reader, and people in general,
display contradictory behavior. This is not a psychological type of
inquiry, into the roots of irrationality, but rather another attempt
to unveil the nature of the speaker. The contradictory behavior
referred to deals with the reader's reaction to the speaker, and the
nature of complete being in general.{FN:16} If complete being entails
all things, then it elicits all responses, each of which will have an
opposite reaction that will be elicited simultaneously (or there-
abouts). Love and hate, truth and lie, knowledge and ignorance are all
part of man's reactions to the world.
The answer to this problem is contained in section five. The
incompleteness of things, inside and outside, judge and judged,
condemning and acquitting; these distinctions elicit opposite respon-
ses to each of their halves, yet both halves are only that: halves of
a whole, which elicits both love and hate, fear and confidence, and
obedience and self-control. The way out of the world of appearances is
again to realise the unity of opposites. that what is seen inside is
what is outside also.
The second question is directed toward the question of the ig-
norance of these unions of opposites. "Why have you hated me," asks
the unity, "Because I am a barbarian among barbarians?"{FN:17}
Because I don't speak the language of any specific nation, not even
those who don't speak you language? Because I speak of universals?
The answer is that "those who are without association with me are
ignorant of me, and those who are in my substance are the ones who
know me."{FN:18} Those who know, know; those who don't don't. One
cannot understand the nature of the speaker or the world until one
becomes a part of it, and all the parts of it. The antithetical and
polarised nature continues to be shown, "On the day when I am close
to you, you are far away from me, and on the day when I am far away
from you, I am close to you."{FN:19}
Thethird section unitesthese two questionsof the manifestation
of opposites, and the difficulty of perception of perfection. (not to
mention perfection of perception!) Both problems stem from human
nature in the world of manifestation. The separation of opposites,
needed for perception of manifested things, is necessary to operate in
the world as humans with human limitations, as these limitations are
usually counted. But the speaker here says the real need ideally is
not to separate, and thus to come to a realisation of the unity. This
is similar to the idea of _samadhi_, where the subject and object of
contemplation are united in a flash of illumination.
1258
Section six concludes, saying that the worldly forms are pleas-
ant, but numerous, disgraceful, and fleeting. When men "become sober
and go up to their resting place.... they will find me there, and they
will live, and they will not die again." This implies the possibility
of a permanent state of comprehension of the unity of opposites.
Nowwe can seewhere Theodotus' definitionof gnosticismis and is
not exemplified by _Thunder, Perfect Mind_. The writers of this text
were concerned with most of Theodotus' questions, but not all. They
provide answers for where we have come from, and whereunto we have
been thrown. They address the question of who we were, what we have
become, but not really what birth is, and what rebirth. Nor do they
proffer answers to whereunto we speed, or wherefrom we are redeemed,
beyond the answers to the first questions of where we were and where
we are. The answers that are offered deal with personal rather than
cosmological questions (if there is a difference). The issue is
primarily one of self-liberation, rather thanredemption, unless the
reception of the "good news" of unity is to be considered redemption.
This difference of degree of activity and passivity between
Theodotus and the speaker of _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ is revealed in
the answers to whereunto we have been thrown, and wherefrom we are
redeemed.{FN:20} In _Thunder, Perfect_ _Mind's_ view we came our-
selves to this world, and liberate ourselves through Hearing and
Knowing. What liberates us is still the knowledge, but the knowledge
of slightly different things. The lack of
cosmology or theology in the text, compared to other texts in the Nag
Hammadi library, suggests the comparison rather to the more psycholog-
ical sect of Buddhism in contrast to the majority of Mahayana that has
absorbed local religious or theological superstructure.
The path suggested by the text towards illumination is a strictly
intellectual path to the transcendence of intellect. Through the
mortification of the mind rather than of the flesh one may achieve
_gnosis_. There is therefore no need for a theology on which to hang
precepts of asceticism. The authors of the text say simply that when
one understands the facts, one gives up the preoccupation of the world
as incomplete.
The gnosticism exemplified by this text then, is transcendental,
syncretic, and hortatory. It is transcendent in that it looks at the
world and insists that there is a larger reality beyond what we see as
separate, discrete things. It is syncretic in that it uses three
distinct literary styles to get across its point. These three texts
may have been actual texts on their own before incorporation into this
text, or they may not. They fit so smoothly into each other in terms
of subject continuity that were they originally distinct texts, they
must have been revised for the purpose. The authors are hortatory as
opposed to imperative in that they say that if you come to their idea
of unity, then you will be less confused by the complexity of the
world. If you do not, then you will stick to all those pleasant forms
of passions and fleeting pleasures, and simply not achieve peace. They
do not threaten any punishment for ignorance, only a perpetuation of a
potentially temporary confusion.
1259
The comparisons ofthe threestyles of writingsis profitableonly
in so far as it serves to conveniently categorise the material. Too
strict ananalog y to the three styles would be blinding as well. The
content is radically different in message from the usual content of
any of the borrowed forms. Again, what must be looked at to explain
the meaning of the text is the antithetical nature of the "I am"
statements, and their commentary in the other two styles of text. The
medium (in this case) is not the message. The function of the text
must be considered to be not philosophical speculation, theological or
moral exhortation or religious definition, as the borrowed types were,
but rather psychological revelation, buttressed by practical exhor-
tation and logical proof.
What really qualifies the author or authors of this text for
consideration as excellent and true gnostics is their appropriation of
existing forms, whether myths, ritual speeches, or philosophical
methods, and turning them to their own ends.
_The text like an Isis Aretalogy_
1) I was sent forth from the power, and I have come to those who
reflect upon me, and I have been found among those who seek after me.
2) For I am the first and the last. I am the honored one and the
scorned one. I am the whore and the holy one. I am the wife and the
virgin. I am the mother and the daughter. I am the members of my
mother. I am the barren one and many are her sons. I am she whose
wedding is great, and I have not taken a husband. I am the midwife
and she who does not bear. I am the solace of my labour pains. I am
the bride and the bridegroom, and it is my husband who begot me. I am
the mother of my father and the sister of my husband, and he is my
offspring. I am the slave of him who prepared me. I am the ruler of my
offspring. But he is the one who begot me before a time on a birthday.
And he is my offspring in due time and my power is from him. I am the
staff of his power in his youth, and he is the rod of my old age. And
whatever he wills happens to me. I am the voice whose sound is man-
ifold and the word whose appearance is multiple. I am the utterance of
my name.
3) For I am knowledge and ignorance. I am shame and boldness. I am
shameless, I am ashamed. I am strength and I am fear. I am war and
peace. Give heed to me. I am the one who is disgraced and the great
one.
4) But I am she who exists in all fears and strength in trembling. I
am she who is weak, and I am well in a pleasant place. I am senseless
and I am wise.
1260
5) For I am the wisdom of the Greeks and the knowledge of the bar-
barians. I am the judgment of the Greeks and the barbarians. I am the
one whose image is great in Egypt and the one who as no image among
the barbarians. I am the one who is hated everywhere and who has been
loved everywhere. I am the one whom they call Law, and you have called
Lawlessness. I am the one whom they call Life, and you have called
Death. I am the one whom you have pursued, and I am the one whom you
have seized. I am the one you have scattered and you have
gathered me together. I am the one before whom you have been ashamed,
and you have been shameless to me. I am she who does not keep fes-
tival, and I am she whose festivals are many. I, I am godless, and I
am one whose God is great. I am the one whom you have reflected upon,
and you have scorned me. I am unlearned, and they learn from me. I am
the one whom you have despised, and you reflect upon me. I am the one
whom you have hidden from, and you appear to me. But whenever you hide
yourselves, I myself will appear.
6) But I am the mind of ... and the rest of .... I am the knowledge
of my inquiry, and the finding of those who seek after, and the
command of those who ask of me, and the power of the powers in my
knowledge of the angels, who have been sent at my word, and of the
gods in their seasons by my counsel, and of the spirits of every man
who exists with me, and of the women who dwell within me. I am the one
who is honored, and who is praised, and who is despised scornfully. I
am peace, and war has come because of me. I am an alien and a citizen.
I am the substance and the one who has no substance.
7) I am ... within. I am ...of the natures. I am ... of the creation
of the spirits. ... request of souls. I am control and the uncontrol-
lable. I am the union and the dissolution. I am the abiding and the
dissolving. I am the one below, and they come up to me. I am the
judgment and the acquittal. I, I and sinless, and the root of sin
derives from me. I am lust in outward appearance, and interior self-
-control exists within me. I am the hearing that is attainable to
everyone, and the speech that cannot be grasped. I am a mute who does
not speak, and great is the multitude of my words. Hear me in gentle-
ness, and learn of me in roughness. I am she who cries out, and I am
cast out on the face of the earth. I prepare the bread and my mind
within. I am the knowledge of my name. I am one who cries out, and I
listen. I appear and ... walk in ... seal of my ... I am ... the
defense ... I am the one who is called Truth, and iniquity ....
8) I am the hearing that is attainable toeverything; I am the speech
that can not be grasped. I am the name of the sound, and the sound of
the name. I am the sign of the letter and the designation of the
division. And I .... ... light .... ... hearers ... to you ... the
great power. And ... will not move the name. ... to the one who
created me. And I will speak his name.
1261
_The text like a Hebrew Wisdom Text._
1) Look upon me and reflect upon me, and you hearers. hear me. You
who are waiting for me, take to yourselves. And do not banish me from
your sight. And do not make your voices hate me, nor your hearing. Do
not be ignorant of me any where or any time. Be on your guard! Do not
be ignorant of me.
2) Give heed to my poverty and my wealth. Do not be arrogant to me
when I am cast out upon the earth, and you will find me in those who
are to come. And do not look upon me on the dung heap nor go and leave
me cast out, and you will find me in the kingdoms. And do not look
upon me when I am cast out among those who are disgraced and in the
least places, nor laugh at me. And do not cast me out among those who
are slain in violence. But I, I am compassionate and I am cruel. Be on
your guard! Do not hate my obedience, and do not love my self-control.
In my weakness do not forsake me, and do not be afraid of my power.
For why do you despise my fear and curse my pride?
3) Those who have ... to it ... senselessly.... Take me ... under-
standing from grief, and take me to yourselves from understanding and
grief. And take me to yourselves from places that are ugly and in
ruin, and rob from those which are good, even though in ugliness. Out
of shame, take me to yourselves shamelessly; and out of shamelessness
and shame, upbraid my members in yourselves. And come forward to me,
you who know me and who know my members, and establish the great ones
among the first small creatures. Come forward to childhood, and do not
despise it because it is small and it is little. And do not turn away
greatnesses in some parts from the smallnesses, for the smallnesses
are known from the greatnesses.
4) Hear me you hearers. and learn of my words, you who know me.
5) Look then at his words and all the writings which have been
completed. Give heed then you hearers and you also the angels and
those who have been sent, and you spirits who have arisen from the
dead. For I am the one who alone exists, and I have no one who will
judge me.
1262
_The text like a Platonic Dialogue._
1) Why, you who hate me, do you love me, and you hate those who love
me? You who deny me, confess me, and you who confess me deny me. You
who tell the truth about me lie about me, and you who have lied about
me tell the truth about me. You who know me, be ignorant of me, and
those who have not known me, let them know me.
2) Why have you hated me in your counsels? For I shall be silent
among those who are silent, and I shall appear and speak. Why then
have you hated me, you Greeks? Because I am a barbarian among the
barbarians?
3) Why do you curse me and honor me? You have wounded and you have
had mercy. Do not separate me from the first ones whom you have
known. And do not cast anyone out nor turn anyone away ... turn you
away and ... know him not ... him. What is mine.... I know the first
one and those after know me.
4) Those who are without association with me are ignorant of me, and
those who are in my substance are the ones who know me. Those who are
close to me have been ignorant of me, and those who are far away from
me are the ones who have known me. On the day when I am close to you,
you are far away from me, and on the day when I am far away from you,
I am close to you.
5) You honor me ... and you whisper against me. ... victorious over
them. Judge then before they give judgment against you, because the
judge and the partiality exist within you. If you are condemned by
this one, who will acquit you? Or if you are acquitted by him who will
be able to detain you. For what is in side of you is what is outside
of you, and the one who fashions you on the outside of you is the one
who shaped the inside of you. And what you see inside of you, you see
outside of you; it is visible and it is your garment.
6) For many are the pleasant forms which exist in numerous sins, and
incontinencies, and disgraceful passions, and fleeting pleasures,
which men embrace until they become sober and go up to their resting
place. And they will find me there, and they will live, and they will
not die again.
1263
1) For examples of aretalogies see Grant, F.C.; _Hellenistic Relig-
ions: The Age__of Syncretism._
2) The text _Thunder, Perfect Mind_ is CG VI, 2.
The aretalogy-like material's sections are;
1. 13,1-13,6
2. 13,16-14,15
3. 14,25-15,1
4. 15,25-15,30
5. 16,5-17,1
6. 18,10-18,30
7. 19,5-20,10
8. 20,29-21,12
The wisdom literature styled section are;
1. 13,6-13,15
2. 15,1-15,25
3. 17,1-17,32
4. 20,26-20,28
5. 21,12-21,20
The dialogue material comes from;
1. 14,15-14,25
2. 15,30-16,5
3. 17,32-18,10
4. 18,30-19,5
5. 20,10-20,25
6. 21,20-21,32
3) This definition of Theodotus is cited in Clemens Alexandrinus,_
Excerpta ex__Theodoto_ 78.2.
4) IA 2(Sections will be referred to by their section number prefixed
by IA for aretalogy sections, WT for wisdom sections, and PD for
the dialogue sections.)
5) IA 2
6) IA 2
7) IA 5
8) Only in 9 out of 68 complete paradox statements does there occur
temporal or nominal changes along with alteration of description.
(Interestingly, all occur in sections IA 2 & IA 5, two sections of
8)
9) Robinson, James M., ed.; _The Nag Hamadi Library in English_,
(Harper &
Row: San Fransisco) 1977/81, p. 271
10) WT 1
11) WT 1
12) WT 2
13) WT 2. In the sentence regarding obedience and self-control, the
point is also to have no reactive emotions to these things, as the
emotions form attachment to objects. This advice towards detachment,
reminiscent of Eastern philosophies more often than Western, shows up
in the dialogue sections more obviously.
14) _i.e.,_ where the subject of the knowledge they are designed to
impart lies.
1264
15) The Macedonian, Seleucid, and Ptolomaic Kingdoms made up the
Hellenistic world, _per se_, though external contact with Europe,
Asia, and Africa was constant. Of course, all three nations were also
assimilating parts of each other's cultures, creating the internat-
ional and cosmopolitan atmosphere necessary for the creation of our
text, and the sources are named after the originating national culture
for convenience only.
16) "Complete being" refers to the unified speaker and world.
(1)+(-1)=(0).
17) PD 2
18) PD 4
19) PD 4
20) These two questions presuppose a passive role on our part, which
may or may not refer to the Gnostic Redeemer as well as us regular
joes, the recipiants of the redeeming message. In this text, however,
there is no strong distinction between the speakers and the hearers on
the basis of origin; only on the level of knowledge. We may be assumed
to have the same genesis as she, and she states that she had an active
role in coming into the world. This only difference is that she knows
this, and presumably we do not.
1265
Treatise on Mind
From: The Tigress
Fromthe moment that 2cells form a zygote, wesee the interaction
of informational process - recognition, communication, interaction,
integration, re-stabilization and reproduction and or re-structuriz-
ation. This cycle of life can be see from the barest combinations of
any two elemental components beginning at the lowest atomic desig-
nations of energy and throughout the continuum of increasing com-
plexity - perhaps far beyond our capabilities
to understand. *** If consciousness can be defined as an awareness
of integrity through this process of self recognition; then conscious-
ness can be easily applied to that which is non-human.***
From the most basicinteractions of chemistry, wefind that evenon
an atomic level there is to be found this type of consciousness. We
have become aware of the atom's necessary maintenance of it's own
structure through the evidence of necessary balancing of protons,
neutrons and electrons; the importance of electron shell valences is
also a reminder of this type of integrity. Even on an atomic level,
there is a form of awareness of self-integrity in order to maintain
structure and identity.
This process ofawareness is alsoa geniusof discrimination. A
form of identification of self & non self on an energetic level.
There is a borrowing, and sometimes a sharing energetically, yet when
this process of self recognition begins to fail we see the destruction
of the matter it involves <this is evident with atomic structure and
also evident at the human level in the study of cancer.> Therefore we
might look at this process of self-recognition and maintenance and
examine it's nature in order to find its function and capabilities.
1266
When we lookat different typesof matter, wefind that themore
simple the atomic structure of the mass, the less complex its process
of "consciousness" needs to be. Things which are comprised of only
one atomic component do not need complex processes of communication
between those components. Thus the level of consciousness is rather
low on an evolutionary scale of creativity, yet we also see that these
types of things are far more stable in regards to their integrity -
far less vulnerable to destruction. In example, it takes an enorm-
ously concentrated force of heat to break the integrity of an atom...-
yet a mere 2000 degree flame will not only destroy the integrity of
human consciousness, but also destroy the integrity of the individual
component molecules which form the material mass of a human to their
lowest forms as individual atoms.
1267
Whenwe look at theforces involved incommunication of energy,
we see a flowing medium of different frequencies within a single
spectrum of energetic potential. Elemental energies and forces
<light, sound, temperature, pressure, magnetism, electricity...>
differentiate and vary in intensity and frequency yet are very alike
in that they are all means of transferring energy as a form of com-
munication which can be informative/stabilizing or disinformative/des-
tructive, depending on the structure of the "consciousness" they
encounter. It may be perceived that the more complex the structure,
the lower the frequency of the integrity of that structure and the
more vulnerable that structure is to disinformation.
The more diverse the components are that are included within a
thing, and the more efficient the means of communication within the
structure of that thing; the lower the common denomination of freq-
uency of integrity must be in order that the informational frequency
will not be destructive to any of the component parts. To analyze
this statement we must look at other analogies within our environment.
Firstly I would like to examine the nature of sound.
1268
Sound waves come in varying frequencies and modulations, and as
humans we assign different notes to those steps within the frequency
spectrum which we can differentiate and perceive. If we play several
notes simultaneously, we find that in order to maintain a balance
harmonically, we must play notes that match each others modulation.
You can play a "C" note at any octave and in fact play all "C" notes
simultaneously and you will find that within the frequency range
these notes will compliment each other, in fact they will contribute/-
share energy with each other. WE find similar matching if we look at
musical chording. If you play the notes "F" and "C" , the sharing of
energy vibrationally between those two ranges of frequency will in
fact create the note of "A" in the range in which the two notes
frequencies overlap. In this way communication is informative and in
fact the "whole is greater" than the sum of its parts. Similarly,
playing two notes which lie in the same modulation frequencies simul-
taneously will increase the duration of the vibration compared to the
duration if each note were played alone.
When we examine the sharing of electrical information at an
atomic level, we see that through the temporary sharing of electrons
in a phase path also indicates something that we might consider as
investing a thing <atom> with more than the sum of its parts. Simil-
arly in using electric frequencies in a series, we store information
on silicon chips which invest them with more than they would be if one
simply looked at the electrical and silicon components alone. This
transference of energy is also a transference of information in
frequencies which in many ways we are still attempting to understand.
1269
Simple, one component things, can sustain far higher frequencies
of energetic transmission than can complex components of things.
Frequencies which pass freely through atoms ultimately destroy complex
things such as humans when they are subject to them. It appears that
the more complex the union of the components, the slower and more
tediously complex the transformation of data must be. The more
complex a thing is, the lower the vibrational capability it sustains
in order to maintain the integrity of its own structure.
Energetic communication exists infinitely throughout the univ-
erse. The transference of information through radio waves and light
waves continues back in time to the occasion of what was known as the
Big Bang. It may be that in the future we will find that in the same
way gravity and electromagnetism are also continuums of information
from times long past. Scientifically we study these energetic con-
tinuums and yet we doubt and deny the holistic communicative nature of
the universe. We search for causes and effects within the realms of
our limited perceptions and are amazed when we can find no causal
effects to explain change.
1270
When we examine biological life, we find that each evolutionary
adaptation seems to be an extension of the process of self/non self
awareness and maintenance of integrity. Not only do we see inten-
sification of sensory perceptual abilities, but also we note that the
integrational and responsive/reactive components of the process also
have to evolve and adapt in order to stay integrated with the rest of
the "consciousness". Amoebas are "simple" life forms, and yet we can
examine them and see that each organic component within that life form
serves as an informational and communicative component within the
process of maintaining the integrity <life> of the whole. When this
communication process or any part of it ceases, the organization of
the organism begins to deteriorate and eventually ceases and dies. In
biological life, we find that though we have maintained the use of
electronic communication on some neural levels, we have sunk to the
depths of transferring actual molecular compounds <proteins, amino
acids...> in most of our organic processes. Even the human brain,
supposed highest achievement of organic life forms, requires base
molecular salts in order to process electrical information. Our
complexity denies us the speed of light, radio,
and other faster and higher frequency modes of communication except
from outside of ourselves.
1271
The human consciousness is a genius of discrimination. We use
the abilities of discrimination to identify those stimuli which come
from outside of our biological forms in order to protect and maintain
our integrity <life. We use our senses <inefficient though they may
be> to gather and interpret pure energetic communications such as the
radiated energy of sunlight and we are so inefficient at interpreting
that data that we can only sense light and heat and it destroys those
sensors that gather that information through blindness and sunburn if
we continue too long in our attempts. Yet,
conversely , we need the information from sunlight which stimulates
our organic forms into producing vitamin D <without which we would
die>. Is this a remnant of photosynthetic capabilities from lessor
complex integrations, or merely a new attempt at further increasing
our potential?
1272
As organic forms of consciousness, we are sorely limited in our
perceptions of the universe. Limited in exploring the possibly
limitless ranges of energetic exchange simply due to the limits placed
upon communication due to the complexity of our component structure.
Yet rather than admit to our limitations, we seek further exploration
through the development of tools made from things less complex than
ourselves. In the laboratory, we use light waves and shaped silicon
to create microscopes to increase our sense of visual acuity within
the spectrum of visible radiation imaging. In the studio, we use
simple cones flattened vegetable matter and electronic amplification
to create tools to compensate for our limited aural perception. We
have created many tools out of simpler and less complex components in
order to reach those higher frequencies of information which are
either so far removed from us as to be imperceptible, or so destruc-
tive to us that we dare not experience them ourselves.
The human zygote from the moment of conception is a discriminat-
ing consciousness which is involved in the differentialization of its
components in order to
develop finer levels of complexity. This fetus is also even before
birth learning to interpret communicative energies from the outer
world in order to begin definition of itself, its integrity and its
maintenance of self apart from the influence of "other". Cells,
joining together in communication to form co-operative systems each
with separate responsibilities to the whole. Organs with specific
functions supporting the organism in its fight to maintain its integ-
rity. Consciousness of Mind, determining the difference between self
and non self, regulating the integrity of the whole. This harmony of
components within a symphony of orchestration, this is the matter of
being alive.
1273
Despite our complexities, despite recognition of our vulnerabil-
ities and limitations; we as humans are beings of arrogant mind. We
claim supremacy over all biological organisms and claim the sole right
to conscious thought <as if we were the only from of communication we
wished to recognize.> We deny our insecurities and lay claims to
great understandings concerning the universe, when we in fact do not
even understand the actual workings of our own process of integration
and communication within our own biological forms.
We claim ownership of consciousness, yet we do not even pretend to
truly evaluate the process of consciousness nor its beginnings.
Despite our inadequacies, we assume to know the nature of the
beginnings of all life. We claim to know the "mind" of "God" <the
prime causation for all that exists> and we claim title to superiority
in emulation of this "God" - above and beyond all other forms of life
or integrity. An egotistic lot are we, who strive to seek security in
the midst of our fear, our inadequacies, our vulnerabilities; by
developing a system of belief which guarantees our security in a place
beyond our perception. We seek safety and foundation at the same time
that we reach outward to claim flight amongst the stars.
This is the paradox on humanity, of mind. Complexity found in
simplicity... using simplicity to explore a universe beyond the range
of our complex integrity. Our complex integrity vulnerable to all but
the simplest energies, while we lay grasp to use complex energies
which would destroy us in order to prove our strength. What it is we
look for, we eventually find at the expense of closing our senses to
see what really is. Perhaps it is true that the most foolish are
those who lay claim to knowledge for they have closed their minds
to further learning, and that the most wise are those who claim
knowledge of no thing, that they may learn all.
1274
Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is
is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------
** MAGICK 1 -- WHY MAGICK **
Theability tothink seems toset usapart fromother crea-
tures. And although we are concerned with living in the physical
world, we are mental beings. The fact is we are thinking all the time.
We plan, we brood, we get depressed or elated -- all of it is thought.
But the universe is mental too, and if we could control our thinking
we would see magnificent results in the everyday world.
Manysystems have been developedover the agesto help us
control our thoughts. A great amount of dogma too has been kicked
around in an attempt to make us into better people. Magick (the occult
kind, spelled with a 'k') is one of the oldest and most general of
these systems. Magick is the study and application of psychic forces.
It uses mental training, concentration, and a system of symbols to
program the mind. The purpose of magick is to alter the self and the
environment according to the will.
Mostofthe magickwesee todaycomesto usfromancient Egypt
and Chaldea. The Chinese, Hindus, and Tibetans developed their own
unique types of magick. Western magick was locked up by the Egyptian
priests for thousands of years and then supressed by the rise of
Christianity. It was not until medieval Europe that magical knowledge
was rediscovered by the alchemists and Cabalists. Only during the past
hundred years or so has western culture been open minded enough to
permit widespread investigation of the subject. Only since the start
of the twentieth century has science shown much interest in it al all.
PARAPSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIC PHENOMENA
Through parapsychology, weare gaining insightsinto the
hidden nature of man. Parapsychology is a branch of psychology which
studies psychic phenomena. It remains something of a frontier, even
today. Perhaps one reason for this is that psychic phenomena are
somewhat inconsistent.
Nevertheless, there is strong evidence from numerous cases and exp-
eriments in support of psychic phenomena. Somehow, under the right
conditions, the mind can directly affect the environment.
Wemaytheorize thatthehumanmind andbodybroadcasts akind
of psychic energy or force, much like a radio station. Kirlian photog-
raphy, temperature effects, cloud chamber tests, and other experiments
tend to support this theory. Although the exact nature of this psychic
force
is subtle and unknown, it is undoubtedly the energy behind all psychic
phenomena and magick. However, it is *not* a radio wave, since it
behaves somewhat differently. The psychic force is too weak to be
1275
measured directly (at least so far as we know). Everyone has some
psychic ability. There
are numerous types of psychic phenomena. Parapsychology separates them
into two groups: ESP and PK...
EXAMPLES OF ESP
ESP,theabreviation forextrasensoryperception, meansthe
reception of information through paranormal means (ie. not regular
physical senses of sight, sound, touch, smell, or taste). In theory,
this is accomplished by receiving psychic force from outside the body.
Here are some examples of ESP:
1)Clairvoyance,orRemote Viewing--the abilitytosense or
'see' (non-physically) distant objects, places, and people. Individ-
uals who see ghosts and spirits are probably clairvoyant.
2) Clairaudience, or remote hearing -- the 'hearing'
of paranormal information.
3)AstralProjection(OOBE)or TravelingClairvoyance--Full
experience at a remote location while the physical body sleeps.
4) Psychometry -- the reading of information by the
touch of physical objects.
5) Telepathicreceiver --the ability todirectly receive
thought (communication) at a distance, with no physical connection to
the sender. There are many everyday examples of this, in which we
1276
think something just as another person is about to say it. This is an
easy one to test for through experiment. Very dramatic cases of
telepathy have been recorded; there is often an emotional element in
such cases.
6) A 'channel'or medium, asin a seance,who is indirect
communication with a 'spirit' or entity.
7) Experiencewith a Ouija board,pendulum, or automatic
writing.
8) Precognition--to forseethefuture. Again,highlyemot-
ional events are the ones most likely to be 'tuned in'.
9) Retrocognition-- knowledgeof the past,by paranormal
means.
EXAMPLES OF PK
PK, the abreviation forpsychokinesis, is the active or
sending side of psychic phenomena. The theory here is that psychic
force is sent out from the individual. Examples of PK include:
1)Telepathicsender --thetransmitterin thetelepathyjust
discussed.
2)Psychokinesis (ortelekinesis) proper-- theability to
move objects by means of psychic force.
3)Somewhatalong thesamelinesarepoltergeist(noisyghost)
phenomena in which objects move of their own accord or noises are
1277
heard. There is always a human agent involved -- frequently a teenage
girl -- who appears to be the source of psychic energy.
4)Psychic healing-- theability toheal variousillnesses
and infirmities. There are many documented cases of this. Usually it
involves a healer and a subject, although there are recent cases
invloving cancer patients learning to heal themselves.
5)Teleportation, apportation,andlevitation. Someoccul-
tists feel a magician producing PK effects is simply a channel for
universal energy. Others think the force originates some way directly
within the magician.
THE SUBCONSCIOUS
Postulated byFreud andothers, theconcept of thesubcon-
scious mind is an important one. Basicly, this is the idea that part
of the mind normally operates below or outside of ordinary conscious-
ness and awareness. Dreams and hypnosis are examples of this. Also
subconscious are the many
automatic functions of the physical body such as respiration and
digestion.
1278
WHY DO MAGICK?
Magickencompassesmanythings-- scienceandart,philosophy
and metaphysics, psychology and comparative religion. Magick is an
adventure at the borderlands of the unknown. It can fit the pieces of
the puzzel of life into a meaningful whole.
*Magick is fun*and interesting. Usemagick to helpraise
consciousness without drugs. Gain new experiences. Fantacy can come
alive through magick. Psychic phenomena can be controlled and be fun
and helpful.
*Magick isbeneficial*. It canhelp you tohave excellent
health, and bring you good luck. With magick life runs smoothly; life
is good. Also use magick for personality improvement, to control bad
habits and to develop new motivations.
*Magickis
powerful*.Neverunderestimatethetremendouspower
of magick. Use magick to alter events and to achieve your goals. Exert
an influence over people and phenomena. But power for its own sake is
self defeating. The power which magick can give you should not be your
primary
reason for studying it.
MAGICK AND WITCHCRAFT
1279
A numberof other occult disciplinesare prevalent today
besides magick. There are many cults and sects which profess their own
views, but there are really few differences between them. One popular
area in the occult today is witchcraft. This is far removed from the
cliche of devil
worship. Real witchcraft is a nature religion (pagan). Witchcraft has
much in common with magick.
Alchemy alsohas muchin common withmagick. It'sheritage
comes from the middle ages. Alchemy fathered chemistry and the phys-
ical sciences. But the avowed purpose of alchemy, turning lead into
gold, is too limiting to be called magick. Sometimes the goal of
alchemy is interpreted in another way, as the transformation of man
into a spiritual being.
Thentherearethe numerousmodernday seersor'pychics', as
they like to be called, who operate within their own somewhat unique
systems. Although many of these people are deluded frauds, some are
very powerful occultists indeed.
1280
Of course,everything Ihavesaid hereis ageneralization.
Magick, witchcraft, alchemy, or any occult field are complex subjects.
Suffice it to say that magick includes them all (it is eclectic). For
magick is undoubtedly a philosophy which has, as the late Aleister
Crowley wrote,
"The method of science -- the aim of religion."
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) Define magick.
2) Define ESP and PK. Give examples.
3) What is the subconsicous?
BOOK LIST
Hal N. Banks, An Introduction to Psychic Studies.
Annie Besant, Thought Power.
Michael H. Brown, PK, A Report on the Power of Psychokinesis.
Richard Cavendish, The Black Arts.
Alexandira David-Neel, Magic and Mystery in Tibet.
Raynor C. Johnson, The Imprisoned Splendour.
Janet Lee Mitchell, "Is Anything Out There?", Fate magazine,
May 1988.
1281
Ostrander and Shroeder, Psychic Discoveries Behind the
Iron Curtan.
========
Phil Hansford, 4/88
Mysteria
(818) 353-8891 (modem)
P.O. Box 83
Tujunga, CA 91042
1282
Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is
is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------
** MAGICK 2 -- THE SUBJECTIVITY OF EXPERIENCE -- **
' The universe is a projection of ourselves;
an image as unreal as that of our faces in a
mirror....We cannot affirm any quality in an
object as being independent of our sensorium,
or as being in itself that which it seems to
us. Nor can we assume that what we cognize is
more than a partial phantom of its cause.'
( --Aleister Crowley, Magick, p. 110)
Yourawarenessofthe physicalworldand ofyourplace within
it is mostly based upon the physical senses(hearing, sight, smell,
touch, taste). These five senses continually send information to the
mind, and it is up to
the mind to select and interpret them. If you could not do so, your
senses would overwhelm you and be meaningless. Selection and inter-
pretation of your sensory inputs is essentially an automatic, mostly
1283
subconscious function of the mind. The program or map which the
subconscious follows
as its reference point is called a 'model'. The model is a subcon-
scious mental photograph of how you believe the world looks (ie.
worldview, mindset, egregore, or belief system). It was built up from
an early age by your religious and cultural background through inter-
action with family and
others. It contains your experiences, attitudes, and habits. And
whether you realize it or not, most of your behavior, thoughts,
feelings, and habits are based upon and conditioned by that model;
even personality. The model is one of the mind's master programs.
Change in behavior generally requires a change in the model. These
limitations built into our way of thinking cause our perceptions to be
subjective. That is why Hindu philosophy looks upon the world as
illusory (maya); the world itself (object) is not an illusion, however
from our viewpoint through perception
(subject) it is.
Thus weare allconditioned byexperience. Exceptthat our
perceptions, hence our experiences, are first conditioned and limited
by the model. Our perceptions and experiences tend to conform to what
we expect. We tend to misinterpret or ignore things which do not match
our
preconcieved notions about them. This is automatic.
1284
THE TRUE WILL
The forgoingdemonstrates how itis thatthere are somany
different versions of 'truth'. One's particular view is almost arbit-
rary. Although numerous religions, philosophies, and occult systems
abound, they do not contradict one and other as much as it might
appear. Rather, they describe the same (universal) reality taken from
different perspectives. For there can be no ultimate truth in the
physical world. We can only base our actions upon assumptions and
agreements. All experience is subjective. I like to think of the
universe as something indescribable, perhaps a 4-dimentional 'thing'.
As soon as we attempt to put it into our 3-dimentional knowledge-base,
something changes and we only see an aspect of the big picture. Just
as a photograph can only show us a flat *representation* of a greater
thing, so it is with any attempt to describe *spiritual reality* in
physical terms.
Yet,there isa separatereality withineach of uswhich is
often ignored unless we seek it. This inner self is in magick called
the 'true will'. The true will is the center of consciousness and
identity. It is the 'real you'. Everything else is an interface or
link to it from the outer (illusory) world. Since that interface is
based upon our model, it is conditoned and may sometimes produce false
information. 'Do what thou wilt' (Crowley) is an axiom of magick; for
1285
the true will expresses our exact desires. And what we truly want
('down deep') we tend to automatically
get. This isn't always in our best interests, since the true will can
be conditioned (tricked) by the illusion; and then we might desire and
obtain that which is not ultimately good for us. (Karma strikes
again!) The task of the magician therefor is to awaken his awareneess
of the true will, to be free of conditioning, and thereby to transcend
maya. ('My will unconditioned is magical' -- Spare).
1286
HAPPINESS IS BEING HAPPY
Thereis nogreatsecretto changingbehaviororhabits. Itis
largely a matter of determination. It equires that you ignore the
'pull' of the model when you strive for changes within yourself. The
model is, after
all, a collection of 'habits', some of which must be unlearned for
permananent change to occur. There are two ways to do this: direct,
through will power and awareness alone -- observing and acting out in
an unattached or indifferent manner; and indirect -- through con-
ditioning such as affirmation (explained later), self-hypnosis, and
magick. Meditation may help too, by relaxing tension and conflict.
Emotionsfollowphysical expression:smileandact happyand
you will tend to feel and be happy. The same is also true for other
emotions. Also, emotions can be purposely used (or programed) to
replace other emotions. Using this technique, a magician is somewhat
like an actor
in that he learns how to turn his emotions on and off at will. Note
that this is not 'fakeing it'; the magician is probably more in touch
with his true feelings than most people. And for these reasons we say
that happiness is being happy.
1287
SYSTEMS OF MAGICK
Magickalwaysinvolvesself-hypnosis.However, itmaybemore
than that. For one thing, there are objective forces involved (or so
it would seem). Deities, spirits, and cosmic force can have an indep-
endent existence. And the repetitive physical movement sometimes
involved in ritual can itself generate PK force. On the other hand, it
could be argued that all of this is subjective to the magician. Or
that the deities and spirits are nothing more than architypes or
cosmic patterns which the magician energizes with his own vitality.
Perhaps all magical effects could be produced through hypnosis alone.
But the effects are certainly real.
1288
Greatcomplexityisnotnecessaryinmagick.Although basicly
magick is a medieval system of symbolism (in a modern context), any
cosmological system will work from Cabala to Star Wars. We usually use
the medieval one in magick because it is convenient and traditional,
and
because it seems to fit our thought processes well. Traditional
symbols have greater emotional effect on the magician than modern ones
because of his familiarity with them. What really matters is that the
model of the magician be understood and programmed, and thus that the
model and the cosmological system do correspond.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) Contrast subjective with objective.
2) What is a 'model'?
3) Explain the task of the magician.
BOOK LIST
Eric Berne, Games People Play.
Fritjof Capra, The Tao of Physics.
Carlos Castaneda, The Fire From Within.
Arthur Koestler, The Roots of Coincidence.
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John C. Lilly, The Center of the Cyclone.
------, Programming and Metaprogramming in the Human Biocomputer.
------, Simulations of God -- The Science of Belief.
Alan Watts, The Book (on the taboo against knowing who you are).
========
Phil Hansford, 4/88
Mysteria
(818) 353-8891 (modem)
P.O. Box 83
Tujunga, CA 91042
1290
Copyright (c) 1988 by Phil Hansford. This article is
is licenced for free non-commercial distribution only.
----------------------------------------------------------
** MAGICK 3 -- THE FOUR WORLDS **
Theancientsdescribed manasmind, body,andsoul. Psychol-
ogists of the twentieth century added the subconscious to that def-
finition. This produces a four-fold classification. The universe is
also divided into four corresponding parts ('worlds'), as shown below:
WORLD BODY QUALITY
===== ==== =======
spiritual world spiritual body (soul or kia) intuition
mental world mental body (conscious mind) rationalthought
astral world astral body (subconscious) emotions
physical world physical body physical senses
Theastral body(subconscious)is theintermediary forint-
uition, magical and psychic phenomena, and is the 'psychic link' to
the physical world. J.H. Brennan says that the astral is the realm of
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visual imagination. It seems to be both a 'place' and a 'state of
mind' at the
same time. Most occult and magical phenomena originate in the invis-
ible, non-sensate, non-physical realm (ie. without physical senses).
Each of the four worlds interacts with the other worlds. Psychic
energy flows from the spiritual to mental to astral to physical. The
physical world is a projection (manifestation, reflection, or shadow)
of the higher worlds. Our center of consciousness is generally within
these higher worlds. "We are", to quote the rock music group the
Police, "spirits in the material world".
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Therearemanysimilar termsusedby otheroccultgroups. For
example, 'astral light' is another name for astral world, although it
may sometimes also refer to the entire non-physical realm, as may
'inner planes' or 'the invisible world'. Planes are essentially the
same as worlds. Vehicles or sheaths are the same as bodies. Some
groups include an etheric or vital body between physical and astral:
it is mostly 'physical' with a little of the lower 'astral' besides.
And sometimes astral and mental are each divided into two parts (upper
and lower). The 'causal body' is the upper 'mental'.
MICROCOSM AND MACROCOSM
Wehavebeendescribing'traditonal'occultphilosophy here,
and certainly an important part of the tradition is the idea (and
terms) microcosm and macrocosm. The greater universe, known as the
*macrocosm*, includes everything that exists. It corresponds with the
*microcosm*,
or tiny universe, ie. man -- who is thought of as a miniature replica
of the macrocosm (whole universe). This basic magical relationship is
demonstrated in the Bible (Genesis 1.27), where God is the macrocosm;
and in the writing of Trismegistus ("As above so below"). Since man
is in the image of God (universe) it follows that God is in the image
of man (in other words, man and the God/universe match each other).
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The magician, as a microcosm is thus connected with the macrocosm.
There is an intimate relationship of energies between you and every-
thing else. The universe is reflected within us and we are projected
into the universe. This is an important theory behind magick and
astrology.
MAGICK WHITE AND BLACK
'Personalmagick' is thatmagick used toaffect the self;
often involving affirmation, self-suggestion, and self-hypnosis.
'Active magick' is outer directed magick (as in PK) used to affect
someone or thing, or to bring about an event. 'Passive magick' is to
be affected (as in ESP)
by an outside non-physical cause. Everyone possesses some magical (and
psychic) potential. Some are especially gifted. Usually people are
better at one kind of magick (ie. active or passive) than they are at
the other kind; only rarely does an individual excell at both. Traning
and practice will, of course, improve ability somewhat.
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Although the forces of magick are neutral, various systems may
take on the qualities of good and evil. There is so-called white
magick or good magick, black magick or evil magick, and gray magick
between them. When many people refer to white magick they mean magick
for unselfish purposes, also healing and mental influence with spec-
ific permission. By black magick they refer to magick for self-inter-
est and healing *without* specific permission. Using magick to
forcefully control another's will is, in a sense, black magick too.
There are also some people on the occult fringe who claim to be,
possibly even think they are, 'Satanists', devil worshipers, or black
magicians. These people are most likely charlatans, hoaxters, dab-
blers, or merely misinformed. They may be attracted by the 'art' of
black magick, or even by the 'glamor' of doing something
against the 'rules'. But a real black magician is very dangerous.
Because he has dedicated his life to evil. We usually think of 'white
magick' as having *unselfish intent*, and (in the extreme case) of
'black magick' as
being actual Satan worship, human or animal sacrifice, dangerous
unconventional magical practices, and other bizarre stuff as makes a
nightmare. It is all a matter of degree. Most mild self-interest
magick (one of the most common kinds) would be called 'gray'. Better
terms may be
*constructive magick* as being beneficial; and *aversive magick* as
magick intended to work against the natural order, and to tear down.
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There is also the *high magick* of spiritual alchemy (ie. spiritual
growth), also known as 'the Great Work'; and conversely there is 'low
magick' which is concerned with materiality.
Any magickactislikelyto producesideeffectsregardlessof
whether or not the desired result is achieved. Such side effects are
no problem for constructive magick, since they are benificial as well.
However, aversive magick can produce aversive side effects which may
even harm the magician -- aversive magick is dangerous!
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MAGICK IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS
Whatwe havebeencalling 'magick'is actuallya continuous
process. Since your subconscious never rests, your environment is
continually being shifted into line with your model. This is true
whether you study magick or not. For most people, these effects are
usually very subtle, and they are probably not aware of them. However,
as you work
with the occult, the flow of psychic energy and your awareness of it
increases. Your true will is more likely to be strongly expressed.
Your luck may be affected (either in a positive or a negative way).
Remember, our lives tend to follow what we want down deep. That is why
a positive
outlook is so very beneficial to us.
THE MAGICAL DIARY
Sometimes it ishelpful to keep a diary of your magical
experiments and research. Such a diary should include the date,
perhaps even some astrological data (or anything else you think may
have a relationship to what you are doing). This is also a good time
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to begin recording your dreams -- at least the important ones -- in a
dream diary. Your dreams
can tell you a great deal about yourself, and may sometimes reveal
premonitions. Dreams are personal. Don't fall for the commercial
'dream book' gimmick.
AFFIRMATIONS
Themind is always open to suggestion -- especially the
subconscious. Most of the time we censor any suggestions according to
the model; but one way to break through the censor is with repetition.
An affirmation does this exactly. By suggestion, we mean any statement
which is capable of affecting your model. Usually suggestion is in the
form of a positive statement (such as the hypnotist's patter -- " You
are becomming sleepy"). An affirmation is the same kind of thing -- a
positive suggestion, which you repeat (affirm) to yourself aloud or
silently (for example, "I remember my dreams"). If there is some
quality you wish to change or develope within yourself, an affirmation
is ideal. Repeat it several times every day at several different times
throughout the day,
expecially when you go to bed. Affirmations are subtle and may require
a few months to work. Use them for changes, not miracles.
SIMPLE BANISHING TECHNIQUE
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Visualizationisanotherimportantmethod weusetoinfluence
the subconscious. A good example of this is the simple banishing
technique which follows. Banishing is used in magick to 'clear the
air' of negative 'vibes' and interference...
Visualize astrong white lightflowing outthe top ofyour
head, flowing down around you and covering you. At the same time
imagine you are throwing away any 'problem' vibes. Maintain the
visualization for a half a minute or longer. Good way to help you
handle your emotions, and to control worry or anger.
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1) What is a microcosm?
2) List the four worlds. Explain.
3) What is an affirmation? Give an example.
BOOK LIST
Geoffry Hodson, Theosophy Answers Some Problems of Life.
Marc Edmund Jones, Key Truths of Occult Philosophy.
Marion Weinstein, Positive Magic.
Nelson & Ann White, The Wizard's Apprentice.
Beatrice Bruteau, The Psychic Grid.
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========
Phil Hansford, 4/88
Mysteria
(818) 353-8891 (modem)
P.O. Box 83
Tujunga, CA 91042
1300