Posts
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Tablet of King Solomons' stone was discovered in July 2001 in Israel. This archeological marvel appeared to solve one of the Bible's greatest riddles, and indicated the reality of the existence of the Temple of Solomon. The mystery that was hidden within the stone was to shake the archeological world from it's foundations!
The story starts with the appearance of a certain Obi Zaktsu and the revealing of a mysterious black stone with an inscription on it. The inscription on the stone revealed what seems to be proof of a wonder; That nearly 3000 years ago in Jerusalem, the Temple of Solomon really existed. The temple of Solomon was built to house the Ark of the Covenant, which contained the tablets with the ten commandments.
A few months after the investigator revealed the stone in a Jerusalem hotel, he took it to a stone of the country's leading scientific establishments; The Geological Survey of Israel.watch the playlist of 5 videos to see what the results of the investigations were.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
In order for readers to read more easily i have edited a table of contents of the first five chapters of the First Book of Occult Philosophy by Cornelius Agrippa as a link list;
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, or of Magick;
Written by that Famous Man Henry Cornelius Agrippa, Knight, And Doctor of both Laws, Counsellor to Cæsars Sacred Majesty, and Judge of the Prerogative Court.I shall be republishing this post with further chapter links as they are posted in time. You can also read the whole book as one page by clicking on the link on the left navbar that says;
"First Book Of Occult Philosophy (Cornelius Agrippa)"
"First Book Of Occult Philosophy (Cornelius Agrippa)"
Three Books of Occult Philosophy, or of Magick;
BOOK I. - Chapters One to Five.
- Magick (Ch. 1.) Cornelius Agrippa
- Magick (Ch. 2.) Cornelius Agrippa
- Magick (Ch. 3.) Cornelius Agrippa
- Magick (Ch. 4.) Cornelius Agrippa
- Magick (Ch.5) Cornelius Agrippa
Watch how this Khmer Sorceror brings a Chicken back from the dead. If you are squeamish then don't Watch this video clip.
First Book Of Occult Philosophy (Cornelius Agrippa)
Chap. v. Of the wonderfull Natures of Fire, and Earth.
And all Animals, and living things whatsoever, as also all Vegetables are preserved by heat: and every thing that lives, lives by reason of the inclosed heat. The properties of the Fire that is above, are heat, making all things Fruitfull, and light, giving life to all things. The properties of the infernall Fire are a parching heat, consuming all things, and darkness, making all things barren. The Celestiall, and bright Fire drives away spirits of darkness; also this our Fire made with Wood drives away the same, in as much as it hath an Analogy with, and is the vehiculum of that Superior light; as also of him, who saith, I am the Light of the World, which is true Fire, the Father of lights, from whom every good thing that is given, Comes; sending forth the light of his Fire, and communicating it first to the Sun, and the rest of the Celestiall bodies, and by these, as by mediating instruments, conveying that light into our Fire. As, therefore the spirits of darkness are stronger in the dark: so good spirits, which are Angels of Light, are augmented, not only by that light, which is Divine, of the Sun, and Celestiall, but also by the light of our common Fire. Hence it was that the first, and most wise institutors of Religions, and Ceremonies ordained, that Prayers, Singings, and all manner of Divine Worships whatsoever should not be performed without lighted Candles, or Torches. (Hence also was that significant saying of Pythagoras, Do not speak of God without a Light) and they commanded that for the driving away of wicked spirits, Lights and Fires should be kindled by the Corpses of the dead, and that they should not be removed untill the expiations were after a Holy manner performed, and they buried. And the great Jehovah himself in the old Law Commanded that all his Sacrifices should be offered with Fire, and that Fire should always be burning upon the Altar, which Custome the Priests of the Altar did always observe, and keep amongst the Romanes. Now the Basis, and foundation of all the Elements, is the Earth, for that is the object, subject, and receptacle of all Celestiall rayes, and influencies; in it are contained the seeds, and Seminall vertues of all things; and therefore it is said to be Animall, Vegetable, and Minerall. It being made fruitfull by the other Elements, and the Heavens, brings forth all things of it self; It receives the abundance of all things, and is, as it were the first fountain, from whence all things spring, it is the Center, foundation, and mother of all things. Take as much of it as you please, seperated, washed, depurated, subtilized, if you let it lye [lie] in the open Aire a little while, it will, being full, and abounding with Heavenly vertues, of it self bring forth Plants, Worms, and other living things, also Stones, and bright sparks of Metals. In it are great secrets, if at any time it shall be purified by the help of Fire, and reduced unto its simplicity by a convenient washing. It is the first matter of our Creation, and the truest Medicine that can restore, and preserve us.
First Book Of Occult Philosophy (Cornelius Agrippa)
Chap. iv. Of a three-fold consideration of the Elements.
There are then, as we have said, four Elements, without the perfect knowledge whereof we can effect nothing in Magick. Now each of them is three-fold, that so the number of four may make up the number of twelve; and by passing by the number of seven into the number of ten, there may be a progress to the supream Unity, upon which all vertue and wonderfull operation depends. Of the first Order are the pure Elements, which are neither compounded nor changed, nor admit of mixtion, but are incorruptible, and not of which, but through which the vertues of all naturall things are brought forth into act. No man is able to declare their vertues, because they can do all things upon all things. He which is ignorant of these, shall never be able to bring to pass any wonderfull matter. Of the second Order are Elements that are compounded, changeable, and impure, yet such as may by art be reduced to their pure simplicity, whose vertue, when they are thus reduced to their simplicity, doth above all things perfect all occult, and common operations of nature: and these are the foundation of the whole naturall Magick. Of the third Order are those Elements, which originally and of themselves are not Elements, but are twice compounded, various, and changeable one into the other. They are the infallible Medium, and therefore are called the middle nature, or Soul of the middle nature: Very few there are that understand the deep mysteries thereof. In them is, by means of certain numbers, degrees, and orders, the perfection of every effect in what thing soever, whether Naturall, Celestiall, or Supercelestiall; they are full of wonders, and mysteries, and are operative, as in Magick Naturall, so Divine: For from these, through them, proceed the bindings, loosings, and transmutations of all things, the knowing and foretelling of things to come, also the driving forth of evill, and the gaining of good spirits.
Let no man, therefore, without these three sorts of Elements, and the knowledge thereof, be confident that he is able to work any thing in the occult Sciences of Magick, and Nature. But whosoever shall know how to reduce those of one Order, into those of another, impure into pure, compounded into simple, and shall know how to understand distinctly the nature, vertue, and power of them in number, degrees, and order, without dividing the substance, he shall easily attain to the knowledge, and perfect operation of all Naturall things, and Celestiall secrets.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Magic without Tears
By A l e i s t e r C r o w l e y
By A l e i s t e r C r o w l e y
This is the first part of the publication of Magick without tears on Occult Magick blog. The whole book wil be published a chapter at a time at regular intervals.
In 1943 Aleister Crowley met a lady who, having heard of his
wide
knowledge and experience, asked his advice on occult,
spiritual, and
practical matters.
This chance connection resulted in a stimulating exchange of
letters. Crowley then asked others to put similar questions to him.The result was this collection of over eighty letters which are now being issued over the title that he chose, "MAGICK WITHOUT TEARS".
Crowley did not keep copies of his early letters to the above-mentioned lady, so was unable to include them in the collection that he planned to publish. Fortunately they have been preserved and are now included
in the introduction to this book. Their original form has been retained
with the opening and closing formulae which Crowley used in all his letters.
Crowley at first intended to call the book "ALEISTER EXPLAINS EVERYTHING",
and sent the following circular to his friends and disciples asking them to suggest subjects for inclusion.
ALEISTER EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.
"Much gratified was the author of THE BOOK OF THOTH to have so many letters of appreciation, mostly from women, thanking him for not 'putting it in unintelligible language', for 'making it all so clear that even I with my limited intelligence can understand it, or think I do.'
"Nevertheless and notwithstanding! For many years the Master Therion has felt acutely the need of some groundwork-teaching suited to those who have only just begun the study of Magick and its subsidiary sciences, or are merely curious about it, or interested in itwith intent to study. Always he has done his utmost to make his meaning clear to the average intelligent educated person, but even those who understand him perfectly and are most sympathetic to his work, agree that in this respect he has often failed.
"So much for the diagnosis --- now for the remedy!
"One genius, inspired of the gods, suggested recently that
the riddle might be solved somewhat on the old and well-tried lines of 'Dr. Brewer's Guide to Science'; i.e., by having
aspirants write to the Master asking questions, the kind of problem
that naturally comes into the mind of any sensible enquirer, and getting his answer in the form of a letter. 'What is it?' 'Why should I bother my head about it?' 'What are it's principles?' 'What use is it?' 'How do I begin?', and the like.
"This plan has been put into action; the idea has been to
cover the subjects from every possible angle. The style has been colloquial and fluent; technical terms have either been carefully avoided or most carefully explained; and the letter has not been admitted to the series until the querent has expressed
satisfaction.
Some seventy letters, up to the present have been written,
but still there seem to be certain gaps in the demonstration, like
those whitepatches on the map of the World, which looked so tempting fifty years
ago.
"This memorandum is to ask for your collaboration and
support. A list, indicating briefly the subject of each letter already
written,is appended. Should you think that any of those will help
you in your own problems, a typed copy will be sent to you at once ...
Should you want to know anything outside the scope, send in your question (stated as fully and clearly as possible) ... The answer
should reach you, bar accidents, in less than a month ... It is proposed ultimately to issue the series in book form."
_______
This has now been done.
Karl J. Germer
Frater Saturnus Xø
Frater Superior, O.T.O.
January, 1954 e.v.
Hampton, N.J.
I N T R O D U C T I O N
LETTERS WRITTEN BY MASTER THERION TO A STUDENTLetter No. A
March 19, 1943
Cara Soror,
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
I was very glad to gather from your conversation yesterday afternoon that you have a serious intention of taking up the Great Work in
the proper spirit. Your criticisms of previous experience in the course of your ad-ventures appeared to be singularly sane and just. As I promised I am writing this letter to cover a few practical points which we
had not time to discuss and which in any case I think it better to arrange by correspon-dence.
1) It is of the first importance that you should understand my personal position. It is not actually wrong to regard me as a teacher, but it is certainly liable to mislead; fellow-student, or, if you like, fellow-
sufferer, seems a more appropiate definition.The climax of my life was what is known as the Cairo Working, described in the minutest detail in the Equinox of the Gods. At that time most of The
Book of the Law was completely unintelligible to me, and a good deal of it - especially the third chapter - extremely antipathetic. I fought against this book for years; but it proved irresistible.
I do not think I am boasting unfairly when I say that my personal researches have been of the greatest value and importance to the study of the subject of Magick and Mysticism in general, especially my
integration of the various thought-systems of the world, notably the identification of the system of the Yi King with that of the Qabalah. But I do assure you that the whole of my life's work, were it multiplied a thousand fold, would
not be worth one tithe of the value of a single verse of The Book of the Law.
I think you should have a copy of the Equinox of the Gods and make The Book of the Law your constant study. Such value as my own
work may possess for you should amount to no more than an aid to the interpretation of thisbook.
2) It may be that later on you will want a copy of Eight Lectures on Yoga so I am putting a copy aside for you in case you should want it.
3) With regard to the O.T.O., I believe I can find you a typescript of all the official documents. If so, I will let you have them to read, and you can make up your mind as to whether you wish to
affiliate to theThird Degree of the Order. I should consequently, in the case of your deciding to affiliate, go with you though the script of the Rituals and ex-plain the meaning of the whole thing; communicating, in
addition, the real secret and significant knowledge of which ordinary Masonry is not possessed
4) The horoscope; I do not like doing these at all, but it is part of the agreement with the Grand Treasurer of the O.T.O. that I
should undertake them in worthy cases, if pressed. But I prefer to keep the figure tomyself for future reference, in case any significant event makes consultation desirable.
Now there is one really important matter. The only thing besides The Bookof the Law which is in the forefront of the battle. As I
told you yesterday, the first essential is the dedication of all that one is and all thatone has to the Great Work, without reservation of any sort. This must bekept constantly in mind; the way to do this is to practice
Liber Resh vel Helios, sub figura CC, pp. 425-426 - Magick. There is another versionof these Adorations, slightly fuller; but those in the text are quite al-right. The important thing is not to forget. I shall have to teach you
the signs and gestures which go with the words.
It is also desirable before beginning a formal meal to go through the following dialogue: Knock 3-5-3: say, "Do what thou wilt shall be the wholeof the Law." The person at the other end of the table
replies: "What is thy Will?" You: "It is my Will to eat and drink." He: "To what end?"
You: "That my body may be fortified thereby." He: "To what end?"
You:"That I may accomplish the Great Work." He: "Love is thelaw, love underwill."
You, with a single knock: "Fall to." When alone make a monologueof it: thus, Knock 3-5-3. Do what, etc. It is my Will to, etc., that mybody, etc., that I may, etc., Love is, etc. Knock: and
begin to eat.
It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of performing these smallceremonies regularly, and being as nearly accurate as possible with regard to the times. You must not mind stopping in the middle of a
crowded thooughfare --- lorries or no lorries --- and saying the Adorations; and you mustnot mind snubbing your guest --- or your host --- if he or
she should prove ignorant of his or her share of the dialogue. It is perhaps because these matters are so petty and trivial in appearance that they
afford so excellent a training. They teach you concentration, mindfulness, moral and social courage, and a host of other virtues.
Like a perfect lady, I have kept the tit bit to the last. It is absolutely essential to begin a magical diary, and keep it up daily. You begin by anaccount of your life, going back even before your birth to your ancestry. In conformity with the practice which you may perhaps choose to adopt later,
given in Liber Thisarb, sub figura CMXIII, paragraphs 27-28, Magick, pp. 420-422, you must find an answer to the question: "How did I come to be in this place at this time, engaged in this particular work?" As you will see from the book, this will start you on the discoveryof who you really are, and eventually lead you to your recovering the memory of previous incarnations.
As it is difficult for you to come to Town except at rare and irregular intervals, may I suggest a plan which has previously proved very useful, and that is a weekly letter. Eliphas L?vi did this with the Baron Spedalieri , and the correspondence is one of the most interesting of his works. you ask such questions as you wish to have answered, and I answer them to the best of my ability. I, of course, add spontaneous remarks which may be elicited by my observations on your progress and the perusal of your magical diary. This, of course, should be written on one side of the paper only, so that the opposite page is free for comments, and an arrangement should be made for it to be inspected at regular intervals.
Love is the law, love under will.
Fraternally,
666
End of Part One
Fraternally,
666
End of Part One
Excerpt from the Lost Secrets Of Ancient Hawaiian Huna, Volume 1-Chapter 1
Copyright © 1997, Tad James (Kiaina'auaomaikalani), and Advanced Neuro Dynamics
Chapter 1: The History of Huna
"Kau ka halia, i ka manawa, He hiamoe kou. Ho ala ana oe, o oe, o O halau lani
o hoa ka lei, He me manu e, e kani nei..."
Each day the Ho'omaka went, he felt, deeper and deeper into himself. During what seemed like the second day, the images came flooding back. He remembered a time long ago. He remembered!
The days of The Order of Kane had come to an end. The soldiers of Pa'ao had arrived, and they were hunting all the Kahuna of the old order, and burning the temples. In this time, as he remembered, was a young Kahuna, and he feared for his life. As he hid near the temple, he sensed his doom. All his masters were dead, his mother, father, wife, and young baby daughter, had all been killed. He knew that all was lost, and felt he was next. Even though the soldiers of Pa'ao were all around, he managed to survive through the night. And as the sun rose in the morning, the Pohaku O Kane (the stone images of the One God who had created the universe) had laid themselves down. None were broken, none were damaged. And as he remembered, the sadness came flooding back, and then the tears. The perfect times were over. That idyllic time of love, peace, and happiness was over.
When the Ho'omaka awoke the face of the kindly old Kahuna was smiling down on him. She said, "Welcome back." He said, "We aren't the first. I remembered when we were here before." She smiled as he continued, "There was a time when we all lived in harmony. Women were equally honored and could rise to the highest level with the men." "Yes, little one; you are right," she said. "In the ancient times it was so. Those times are gone now, but they will return." "But why did it end," he asked. "Everything moves in cycles, from the highest to the lowest. The time of balance was over long ago, and we are now in a time of imbalance, a time for extremes. But the balanced times will return. It is predicted. They will return."
AN ANCIENT SCIENCE: The science that is now called Huna is a very old science. We believe that it may be as old as 35,000 years old, and is a part of the original teachings of the peoples of the earth which were centered here in Hawaii on a continent which now, no longer exists. All that remains physically of that land are the mountain peaks of the island chain called Hawaii.
Long after the original teachings of the peoples of the earth were codified, and were spread out all over the world, the continent disappeared. The teachings continued in Hawaii and in other parts of the world.
For a long time prior to 750 A.D., there flourished a system of personal development, healing, and spiritual discipline that was known by "everyone." The system was a balanced system -- one that honored men and women equally. There were almost no secrets; in fact, there were so few secrets that the information that comprised the techniques wasn't even organized or formally taught. It just formed the background of "how it was" in the world.
In Hawaii, this teaching was originally called Ho'omana ("to make Mana, or life force energy"). The people who practiced these teachings and techniques knew that all power, and all life force emanated from the One, the source of all -- all life, all energy, which in Hawaii was called 'Io. In those times, the same knowledge was taught everywhere else on the planet, too. Around the world today, however, only remnants of this system survive.
There are only remnants of this system around the Earth, because starting in 325
A.D. (it may have started as early as several thousand years B.C., but the effects were definitely under way by 325 A.D.) a wave began to sweep around the planet in an attempt to destroy the balanced systems -- the original teachings of the peoples of the Earth. The wave hit Hawaii sometime between 750 and 1250 A.D. At that time, the Kahuna Pa'ao, arrived in Hawaii, and found a very peace-loving people living in a paradise.
Several years later Pa'ao returned with a number of warriors and priests, and overturned the original system in Hawaii. When Pa'ao arrived, he installed his system, and the original teaching was changed. The old order was overturned, and the current order of Ku was installed.
The Huna that we teach predates the teaching of Pa'ao. So it is very ancient -from before 750 A.D. We believe that before 750 A.D. the balanced order that existed was a balanced system that could be called The Order of 'Io. This is true all over the world. The balanced Male/Female system in western Europe was called Wicca, and like Huna it was attempted to wipe this teaching out. The Holy Inquisition conducted by "The Church," for example, reduced the population of Spain by more than 50% in 200 years, killing hundreds of thousands of people. In India, too, a system called Tantra was attempted to be wiped out by the newer system called Vedanta. Although Tantra fared better than Wicca, both systems were subjected to much persecution. The situation was the same all over the world, from the Native Americans, to the Aboriginals of Australia, each of the peoples bearing the original teachings were (and, be sure, still are) subjected to an attempt to eradicate the culture, and the teachings. In Hawaii, fortunately. the original teachings were hidden in the chants of the Ancient Ones -- when the original teachings were overturned they went underground. The original teachings were hidden inside of the chants and the Hulahula (Hula dances), and they have waited. They have waited, hidden, for a long, long time. The newer arrivals adopted chants and Hulahula which contained mysteries hidden to them but which were simply waiting for a rebirth of the original teachings.
The teachings were buried again (to a second level) in the ancient chants when the Missionaries arrived from Boston in 1820. Their arrival was not accidental, since the more modern Hawaiian system (order of Ku), called the Kapu system had been ended by King Kamehameha VI in 1819.
Once again the new priests brought their new gods, and the original teachings were buried even deeper. The Missionaries began to do away with the old "superstitious ways." In 1820, they passed the first of the laws that were designed to eradicate the ancient teachings:
"'Section 1034: Sorcery -- Penalty, Any person who shall attempt the cure of another by the practice of sorcery, witchcraft, ananna (sic), hoopiopio, hoounauna, or hoomanamana, or other superstitious or deceitful methods, shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined in a sum not less than one hundred dollars or be imprisoned not to exceed six months at hard labor.' There is also another section of the law which classes the kahuna with bunco men and defines him as one posing as a kahuna, taking money under pretense of having magical power, or admitting he is a kahuna. For this the fine goes up to a thousand dollars and a year in prison." -- Long, 1948
So, in a Pacific Island nation influenced by American Missionaries, the people were disallowed from practicing their original teachings until the federal government of the United States passed the Native American Religious Freedoms Act in 1979. Amazingly, in 1953 the Kahuna, Daddy Bray, was arrested for chanting a chant in the Hawaiian language at Hulihee Palace in downtown Kona -- a chant quite similar to a chant we teach at our Huna seminars in Hawaii.
That a country whose pride lies in, among other things, freedom of speech the practice and teaching of Huna was illegal in Hawaii from 1820 to 1979, is absolutely inconceivable. How could that have happened? What did we not see that allowed us to disenfranchise the dear, sweet, loving people of this land? Further, we shall see that this has not been, even as of today, been fully addressed.
We believe the final law against the practice of the ancient ways was repealed in 1989. But it was predicted that this would happen. Today, the entire planet is experiencing a revival of the old teachings, where once again we will experience the return of the balanced systems of teaching.
The older, male dominant, patriarchal systems are finding it harder and harder to survive. Look around you, the world is changing. Old systems are disintegrating, the most notable of which is the Communist system which wasn't vanquished by armaments, but which fell apart of its own accord because it denied the rights of women and because it denied spirit.
This offering is part of the revival of the original teaching that was predicted right from the arrival of the first newcomers in 750 A.D.
THE PROMISE OF HUNA: The teaching which is now called Huna was originally called Ho'omana. Ho'o means to make. Mana means life force, equivalent to Ki (as in Aikido), Chi (as in Tai Chi) or Shakti in the Sanskrit language. Taken together the word Ho'omana means empowerment or to empower. The purpose of the original teaching was, then, learning the ways to increase life force.
Do you remember the Big Kahuna in the Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello movies in the late 60's? In the humor of that name, we may be closer to the true meaning than we realize. The Big Kahuna was someone who was good at surfing -- he knew something about surfing that other surfers didn't know. He was the best!
WHAT IS A KAHUNA: "Ka" means "the," or "light," and Huna means "secret," but it doesn't mean secret in the sense that it did when you were a kid. It means secret in the sense of "esoteric," or "hidden." For example, if you were going to have a meaningful conversation with a Quantum Physicist, you'd probably have to study Quantum Physics for 4 or 5 years. So Huna means knowledge which is not secret as much as hidden from view. Huna means knowledge which is "concealed," or wisdom which is "protected like a treasure." If we divide the word differently (a common practice in discovering the deeper meanings of Hawaiian words), "Kahu" means "honored servant" or "high servant who takes charge of persons, property, or knowledge." "Na" means to care for, to settle difficulties, in a legal sense; quiet, pacified, as an aggrieved child; calmed, quieted, as one's passions -- calm and centered.
Today we would translate the word Kahuna as being roughly equivalent to Ph.D. -- a specialist in some field. So, in ancient times, there were Kahuna of fishing, farming and planting; there were Kahuna of philosophy, negotiation, and government; there were Kahuna of canoe building, navigation, and tiki (statue) carving; and there were Kahuna of child birthing and rearing; none of those types of Huna will be covered in this book. There were also (and this is our main interest in Huna), medical Kahuna called La'au Lapa'au; predictors called Kilokilo, or those who did divination; psychological healers called La'au Kahea; and mystical initiators, called Na'auao.
The Kahuna Kapihe in Kona in 1850 may have succinctly captured the essence of the Science of Huna in the saying,
"E iho ana o luna. E pii ana o lalo. E hui ana na moku. E ku ana ka paia."
Which means, "Bring down that which is above by means of the light.
"To ascend take from darkness into light that which is below by means of light.
"This will transform the spiritual energy as it flows from the source and integrates all the islands (inside you), giving peace.
"This will affect you profoundly, and change your life bringing illumination, and you will feel the delightful supreme fire."
Notice the similarity to the Hermetic axiom from the Emerald Tablet (approximately 1500 A.D.), "That which is above is like that which is below, and that which is below is like that which is above." -- Hermes Trismegistus
THE SCOPE OF HUNA: Huna is as broad based as any other shamanistic system, and it is important to know that there are correspondences from Huna to all other shamanistic and magical teachings. We can think of the origins of thought in Huna to be the same as Wicca, Alchemy or Hermetics in western Europe; the same as the Native American tradition; and the same as the Aboriginal teachings in Australia, the Maori teachings in New Zealand, or the original teaching of Tantra in India.
So whereas there was the tradition of the Holy Guardian Spirit in Hermetics, Alchemy and the Native American Tradition, so also in Huna we have the tradition of the Higher Self.
Where there was the tradition of the 5 elements in Hermetics, Alchemy and Tantra in India, so also in Huna we have the 5 elements.
Where there was the tradition of the Dream Time in the Native American Tradition, Maori and Aboriginal traditions so also in Huna we have Moe Uhane (Dream Time) in Huna.
Where there were Herbs used in healing in the Native American, Chinese and other traditions, so also in Huna we have a tradition of herbal healing.
Where there was energy healing in the Philippines and in Reiki, so also the use of symbols for energy healing in Huna. Where there was a tradition of using the numbers and the stars for making predictions in Astrology, the Cabalah, and in Numerology, so also in Huna we have a tradition of using the stars and numbers for prediction.
And where there was a tradition of chanting i n the Native American Tradition, the Aboriginal, the Maori traditions, and in the tradition of Tantra, so also in Huna we have a tradition of chanting.
Of course, there should be correspondences between Huna and the other disciplines if they all came from the same origin. While most, if not all, of what comprises the major esoteric disciplines has been written and published, upwards of 80% of what is really Huna has not yet been published.
This book is the beginning of the reclaiming of what, in this revival, has been called Huna.
ESOTERIC STUDIES: As you begin your study of Huna, or whatever esoteric discipline you choose, please consider the following:
The spirit of any esoteric training does not lie solely in the information being taught, but in the influences that come from the teacher and which, over time, tune the pupil to higher and higher levels of vibration. An esoteric school is different from all other schools in that, although its intent is to communicate wisdom, its real power lies in its contacts with the unseen, and in essence inner worlds. Unless it has these contacts, it cannot give its pupils the power to put the intellectual theory into practice. All of the different schools of the original teachings generally share the same principles but they differ very much in how they gather their power and in their ability to apply and share that power.
Any training in esoteric studies should increase positive character traits in the initiate. Above all, it should bring increasing balance of the mind. If it does not do this there is something wrong. What could possibly be the purpose if a student experiences the heavens open to him, and yet loses his reason, his livelihood, and his friends? To put it clearly, training in Huna should not cause a person to loose his job, relationships, and all that is dear to him. The result of any esoteric study is, and should always be Balance. Remember that you have four parts to your personality: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual; and any method of training should take into account all four of these. It should then bring them into balance if it is to produce the stability that comes from having symmetry and harmony in life.
"Unless the study of esoteric science yields fruits of practical application it is unworthy of the pursuit of any serious minded person, and unless these fruits be the fruits of the spirit it is unworthy of the study of any spiritually minded person."
-- Dion Fortune Please remember that any teacher (Kumu) of the esoteric sciences cannot reveal his entire system to one who is uninitiated, and the more the teacher knows the less he will be inclined to reveal immediately. But no real teacher would ever withhold knowledge from anyone who was worthy to receive it. On the other hand, for his own protection, he cannot accept as a pupil someone who would be likely to abuse that knowledge or betray that trust.
"The true trainer of souls knows that it serves no useful purpose to require an oath, for unless he is prepared to carry his pupils bodily into the Kingdom of Heaven he must teach them to walk on their own feet, and he can never do that as long as he keeps them in the splints of an oath... What is required of the neophyte is not a blind obedience but an intelligent comprehension of principles... that he shall have reached such a degree of self- discipline that, when a principle is explained to him, he will immediately be able to put it into practice... If the light that is in him be so dim that he cannot understand the principles involved, he should not be placed in the position of having to deal with problems beyond his powers... never surrender your will, never surrender your judgment." -- Dion Fortune
Remember this there is no one other than you who has the power to give you initiation or the power to refuse it to you; as soon as you are ready for initiation you claim it by your right, not your grace.
"A great body of tradition exists, though scattered and concealed and the student in whom the inner eye is open can penetrate its significance when he studies it ... an initiator ... should codify this knowledge and reduce it to an intelligible system; the value of an occult school depends in a large measure on the manner in which this purely mundane work has been done.
"If we seek the roots of living spiritual experience, we are unwise to look for it along the lines of organized... tradition... In every record of the foundation of an Order we read of a meeting between its founder and an illuminated teacher who gave him his contacts by virtue of his personal magnetism." -- Dion Fortune, 1922, 1987
Four years in the making, this book reveals the philosophy and many of the practices of the ancient Hawaiian Kahuna.
Lost Secrets of Ancient Hawaiian Huna is a must for anyone on a spiritual journey, or anyone who wants to integrate the spiritual studies of several disciplines. Tad James pulls it all together and present for the first time in print, the ancient Hawaiian system which reveals, what some are calling, "the secret of all secrets" of spiritual evolution.
Exeunt
1. Magick is the enemy of religion only when that religion relies on faith since faith is not permitted to ask the question ‘Why?’. The statement that the two paths are enemies should not be understood to infer that either is good or bad since this can only be judged in context by result. It would be as ridiculous for a man whose faith is very strong to attempt the way of the skeptic as it would for the skeptic to force a faith into him self.
2. There is nothing like a war to pull a nation together. United by hatred, a common ideal, fear of danger and fear of the unknown, the nation becomes a powerful, coordinated unit. The greatest advances in science and technology happen in times of crisis when little time or money can be afforded. Artificial crises induced in himself by himself, or, with his permission by others, have the same effects on the individual. These crisis or gnoses may have lasting effects depending on the method used. They need not be dangerous, merely extraordinary, moving his mind to areas he has not previously explored.
3. Thanateros also means ‘poison’.
4. Alternatively he might call upon the archangelic guardians of the Apiru, Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Auriel, or the protective goddesses of Khem, Isis, Nepthys, Nekhebet, Vatchet.
5. As a point of interest, Hekat was the frog-goddess of Egypt, the frog being a creature beloved of the traditional western European witch, the adorer of Hecate.
Browse Chapters of the Book
Encore - Theatre of magick 12
1. Anything which is not egocentric is dead.2. Anything which can be perceived is real.
3. Something which cannot be perceived is not necessarily unreal.
4. Try everything at least twice. This instruction precludes such activities as suicide which can only be committed once. Suicide attempts are, of course permitted.
5. Ignore all left and right signs. These serve only to confuse, since stage right is audience left and vice-versa.
6. Lay as many ghosts as possible.
7. Never expose your pentacles.
8. Will is unity of desire.
9. When visiting the local coven be sure to take a shilling for the meter.
10. Magick is the violation of probability.
Reprise
Magick is more of a necessity today, and has much more scope, than in the shamanistic period, its twentieth century functions and applications being more manifold. It can be used as1) a therapy
2) an antidote
3) a religion
4) a discipline
5) a way
6) a drama
or any combination of these.
Like all other dramas, the better one’s performance the more interesting it is. The more interesting it is, the more likely an improvement in ones performance. The magician aims for his performance to reach the level of his capacity and it is with this in mind that the following are offered as improvisations which will hopefully tend towards a greater flexibility in the Theatre of Magick.
Anonymity
The use of faceless masks in a ritual has various advantages. 1) Anyone who wishes to remain anonymous can do so. 2) In a carefully chosen or designed place, with the celebrants wearing masks time
and disbelief can be more easily suspended. Seeing a face one recognizes, like seeing a familiar object, brings one back to the here and now. 3) The sonorousness of the voice is enhanced by a well made mask.
Sound Effects
The use of unfamiliar noises can have an astonishing effect, especially on those present who do not know the source of the sound. Electronic music or music played backwards is useful but the magician will find more benefit for himself and his colleagues in creating weird sounds in situ. A glass marble rolled slowly around the inside of a slack drum, for example, can have a disorientating effect when used carefully in an outside location, as can a large metal canister containing a little water gently rocked from side to side.
The sound of a well made bullroarer creates a gnosis of its own. This is a piece of wood with chamfered edges about 8” by 3” by ¼” attached by one end to a piece of cord. Whirled slowly around the head it gives the impression of giant wings beating overhead. Whirled at speed it sounds like nothing if not the assembled hordes of Beelzebub. Both sounds are totally peculiar.
Characterizations
1) Adopt the ambience of being totally at cause over the universe and being successful in all ventures and activities. This brings remarkable results. 2) Adopt the ambience of being the most fortunate person on the planet. Good fortune follows such a postulate as a matter of course. 3) Change habits. E.G. Give up nail-biting and take up cigarette smoking for two months. Then change back. After two more months make a different arbitrary
change such as performing particular functions with the left hand instead of the right or vice-versa. Ambidextrous individuals should use their feet.
The Wrong Way of Walking
As a supplement to the foregoing spend a whole day in every few months walking and running backwards. Do not look where you’re going but develop a technique of avoiding large objects or deep holes. Practice in the following may prove useful.
Non-Sighted seeing
Blind people often develop an extra sense which helps them avoid objects in their path. It is possible for sighted people to develop this sense to such a remarkable degree that they can for example ride a bicycle blindfolded. Initially the technique depends on memory and detailed visualisation of the environment whilst blindfolded, filling in forgotten details by attempting to ‘see’ with the whole body rather than with the eyes. After some practice it is possible for anyone to differentiate colours in this manner. Adepts in the technique, having spent ten years or more perfecting their method, can even read books.
Walking over rough country on moonless, starless nights. helps build up this facility.
Stunts
Put yourself in dangerous or precarious situations as often as possible. As well as constantly drawing your attention to how good life has been to you so far this activity enhances the tendency towards premonition. This mind -brink phenomenon is impossible to describe or explain. It must be experienced.
It has the added benefit of increasing the amount of spontaneous liminal activity, during which premonitory flashes are most likely to occur.
The Phantom of the Opera
There is little benefit in this process above and beyond the academic interest in observing its results and the excellent practice in banishing required afterwards.
Theory: A poltergeist is a packet of undirected energy spontaneously and unwittingly created by adolescents of either sex.
Fact: If the attention of a group of such people is cleverly directed towards the possibility of there being a ‘presence’ in a particular place by a charismatic individual poltergeist activity will inevitably break out.
Note: Do not attempt this unless you are capable of controlling the un- subtle energies created and of maintaining the stability required by others during poltergeist activity. Amusing and unimportant at first the behaviour of an homunculous of this sort can easily get out of hand. During the author’s experiment entire windows were blown out and various objects destroyed. Moreover, the people unknowingly connected with the experiment were not the only ones to be affected by it. Parties entirely innocent of any knowledge of the experiment and not in the category of ‘adolescent’ were heard to be having conversations with the author in his absence being apparently able to see and hear him quite distinctly. Sensitive people were affected in ways too diverse to mention.
A very powerful banishing was required to rid the house of its unwanted guest and the author, who found its attention seeking habits irritating in the extreme, would walk over a million miles of broken bottles before he would repeat the experiment.
Crystals
The poltergeist might have been tamed in another way. There is a magical tradition that demons can be imprisoned in crystals and the author made good use of this information to regate the power of a package of unstable energy which had been hurled at him from an unknown quarter. That no-one has since been able to work the Abra Melin system successfully because he had encapsulated an energy recognized and described by the Mage under a particular name is unlikely. Such- energies are excretions or extensions of Kia in the same way as arms and legs; they are archetypes, essences thrown up by the correctly stimulated self.
The technique of magick is to recognize and order these energies some of which seem to be more powerful than the organism itself. Now crystal is one of the most ordered commodities in the universe whether it be natural, like quartz, or chemical, and this sense of order can be used to good effect.
Eutorbulated energy packets (demons) can be concentrated into a solid crystal and there contained until the magician is capable of reabsorbing them without ill-effects. Traditionally the crystal is cleansed in running water.
Conversely, energies or powers in which the magician is deficient may be built up using rapidly growing crystal forms, such as cobalt chloride in isinglass, as sigils; solid sigils which can be observed in their growth and which can be easily destroyed allowing the absorption of the power newly generated in the ritual. For effect chemicals of different colours can be used to typify different functions.
Props
Invent new magical weapons and invest them with magical potency for particular tasks. A stick or wand to assist night-walking might be a good one to start with. At all costs avoid the traditional unless it has a direct personal effect.
Gain through sacrifice
Carefully, sparing no detail, construct a magical weapon of any sort. The manufacture was successful if a) the object is purely personal and b) it successfully assists the performance of a particular magical function.
Restatement: You have constructed a personal weapon using all your expertise. It is beautiful, powerful and an extension of yourself. Over a period of time you have used it and built up its charisma so that you are almost reliant upon it.
Then, when a great deal of energy is needed for a particular operation, destroy the weapon or give it away. The energy released by this sacrifice is much greater than the power generated by using the weapon. Of course, operations requiring such an amount of energy do not occur regularly. Many magicians died without ever having used the instruments they made for this purpose.
Objects as sigils
A stick, a piece of jewellery, any object which can be carried can be used as a sigil. It is programmed into the subconscious function in the same way as any other sigil except that it is designed to exert its influence only in a particular kind of situation or when held in a special way. In view of this it can be multi-functional. The freer the mind of the magician the more versatile the weapon.
Perfumes as sigils
Manufacture perfumes and reify them as sigils for the enhancement of particular functions such as personal power, magnetism, sexual attraction, intellectual capability and so on. In doing these keep in mind the pheromone theory that the olfactory sense subliminally dictates to the organism. It follows then that essences will be chosen only after experimentation and the traditional attributions might be completely contradicted. The magician may find, for instance, that ambergris excites the flesh and not the spirit, camphor the urge to kill flying insects and not the properties of the sphere of Netzach.
The Staircase Meditation (for use in the liminal gnosis)
Image yourself at the top of an enormous spiral staircase whose dimensions are so vast that the curve can only just be discerned. Robed or naked, armed or unarmed, begin to walk slowly down noting details such as the texture of the carpet or the smoothness of the marble. As the gnosis ‘clicks’ in take note of the people who pass you on the way up or down and any other details.
This is a useful meditation for going backwards in time, that is, for training the magical memory, each stair representing a period of time. The images received whilst in the gnosis can be examined later and used as keys for other Liminal experiments.
The Astral Spiral (for use in the liminal gnosis)
Image the dark emptiness of infinity, ‘yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot’. Image a vast spiral to which you are being attracted and into which you will inevitably be sucked , a la black hole. The spiral leads to a separate universe or anywhere else you care to go and is useful in experimenting with what used to be called ‘astral traveling’. As you are sucked into the spiral construct a strong image of the place you want to be and then key in the gnosis. Empirical evidence can be used in the examination of results.
Divination
Devise new methods of divination, the more bizarre and unlikely the better. Example: examine the shadow cast by a naked woman onto a backlit screen and prognosticate the major news of the following day from the American continent.
All divinatory schemes are arbitrary, serving only to trigger a peculiar and usually dormant ability. The problem is to find the trigger which has the greatest effect on your capability.
Zoological Anathemas (with chymical justifications)
Capture a large toad and enclose it in your mouth. There are two reasons for doing this.
1) The absolute revulsion caused by having a wriggling, perhaps defecating amphibian in one’s mouth brings about a tremendous release of the type of energy useful in sorcery.
2) A terrified toad exudes bucophylin, a hallucinogenic drug the effects of which are well known to Shamans all over the world. Release the relieved batrachian with your thanks.
Collect a number of large snails or slugs and allow them to feed for several days on a plant or herb with magical virtues such as belladoma, borage and so on. Put them in a box of barley to remove the slime and then boil them in water flavour as you will. When the liquid has been reduced by 50% allow it to cool and drink it.
Both of these procedures can be used to effect with magick of the medieval grimoire variety, the creatures used typifying the demons so described in the ancient text.
Sacramental Wine
A bottle of Australian Ruby is not sufficient. The wine affords the magician an opportunity to exercise his alchemical ingenuity. The wine can be wholly made by him using herbs appropriate to particular workings or natural psychedelics in the fermentation or it could contain concoctions similar to the ones mentioned above. Whatever, its flavour should be unusual and provocative.
The Black Mass
The traditional black mass, although it has little magickal value in itself, should be performed at least once by every magician of whatever persuasion; not as an act of blasphemy but as an antidote to the lurking perverted psychocosm of the still extant mediaeval dogma of the church into which all westerners have, to some extent, been conditioned.
Astrognosis; a Question of Time
The magician’s first question is ‘how?’ ‘How do I violate probability or organise coincidence to work in my favour? But the how is not the whole. Deeply entangled within the how are the where and the when.At different times both magicians and magical scholars have formulated answers to these questions but their formulae have never been balanced and have invariably been too self-opinionated or too reliant on traditional theories to be of use to other people.
The how has been answered in a thousand ways too well known to the reader to restate here.
The where has never been satisfactorily answered. The magician chooses between his living room, his temple, or a quiet place in the woods; a lonely graveyard or, if he put credence in that kind of thing, a confluence of ley lines or an ancient earthworking. The rule here seems to be that he should use the most atmospheric place he can find for an important working and the most convenient for a routine one.
The question of time is altogether more thorny. Presupposing the question ‘is the time important?’ to have been answered affirmatively, a conclusion that many magicians of the spontaneity school would repute, a pan-dimensional problem is opened up. Not only does the correct time need to be selected but also the correct time for a particular act of magick. The following possibilities might be taken into consideration.
1) Should it take place in the hours of daylight or darkness ?
2) Is the day of the week of any importance?
3) Is the date of any importance?
4) Is the phase of the moon as critical as some authorities have implied?
5) Is it necessary to take the astrological situation into account?
There are several ways of classifying the hours of the day and the days of the week under planetary headings ranging from the traditional and apparently arbitrary ‘doctrin of signatures’ to the more modern, but still arbitrary, system which uses atomic numbers in conjunction with the older method of attributing all things to planetary categories.
The first method assigns a planet to each day of the week, whence the names. Thus we
have
MOON MONDAY LUNDI
MARS TUESDAY MARDI
MERCURY WEDNESDAY MERCREDI
JUPITER THURSDAY JEUDI
VENUS FRIDAY VENDREDI
SATURN SATURDAY SAMDI
SUN SUNDAY DIMANCHE
The hours of the day and night are calculated by dividing the periods of light and darkness by twelve and then naming the first hour by the planet of the day and following the sequence. The absurdity of this system is that on any given day the likelihood of that planet exerting any effect on the earth is minimal. However, if an arbitrary system is to be used as an indication of the best time to perform a working, randomity often functions on our behalf, this is as good as any and it does allow for emotional and atmospheric connections to be made.
The other method of attribution comes to the same conclusion concerning the order of the days of the week but presumes from the first that the ancient notion of making a connection between a particular metal and a particular planet is correct without attempting to justify this. It reasons as follows:- each planet signifies a metal and each metal has an atomic number. Arranging these a la periodic table with the lowest number first, the following list is obtained.
Mars iron 26 Surmounting these on a seven-pointed star
Venus copper 29 following the universal line and with the
Moon silver 47 order of the atomic numbers a figure is ob-
Jupiter tin 50 tamed which gives the order of the days of
Sun gold 79 the week, reading clockwise.
Mercury mercury 80
Saturn lead 82
Coincidence, happenstance, or an indication of divine order this serves to endow an arbitrary system with more meaning than it might otherwise have but there is here a further absurdity in that there are ten planets including sol and luna, not seven. A decimal system of dating would in many ways be more convenient than the present one but would detract from the week as a quarter of the lunar cycle which is more apparently important than any other indicator of periodicity for reasons given below. However, the year can be divided into thirty six decanates using the planets in the sequence of the days of the week with the more recently discovered planets interspersed between them thereby endowing each group of ten days with a set, but again arbitrary, planetary attribution which may be found useful, especially in works of sorcery. In addition to this the decans have traditionally been associated with the minor arcana of the tarot, the signs of the zodiac to the elements and so on, making the choice of time of the year very easy for workings which rely on this kind of jugglery with symbolism.
In considering the moon more definite observations can be made beginning with man’s first excursions into astrology during the shamanistic period.
The era of the shaman began long before man became hunter with the interpretation of signs, signs which signaled the availability of food. Here is a possible interpretation of the origin of the zoomorphic gods. Man was never equipped to hunt and until the basis of a hunting technology had been evolved his only method of obtaining meat was by stealth or by scavenging remains left by better adapted animals. The lion, the vulture, the hyena and so on therefore became totemic of surfeits of meat. The snake, the cat and the crocodile became the types of stealth by which small or young animals might be stolen. (A parallel to this is the way in which chimpanzees organize raiding parties against neighbouring tribes of their own kind, the chief male always receiving the prize of the young captives brain).
Over the centuries, as his technology of the hunt began to develop, man’s attitude towards the totemic animals must necessarily have changed. He no longer needed signs of this nature to follow. He now needed to avoid the danger- animals, as he had always done, and to observe the periodicity of the arrival of the animals he sought to kill.
The Shaman whose power over the others of his tribe was a result of his ability to interpret signs, would probably not discard totems which had become part of the group mythos even when their practicability was lost and so the signs from the previous period began to form the basis of an unsophisticated magick being of a primitive symbolic nature rather than expressive of a practical approach to the location of meat.
Coincident with this new signs were gaining in importance. Rather than being seen as mere meat, often previously unrecognisable by the time man arrived on the scene, prey was now observed in its living, animal form and the animals themselves became totemic. It was probably at this time that the notion of sympathy began to develop and the shamans next step would be to identify with the animal being hunted.
But how did such an idea come about ?
Sympathy, an apparently illogical connection between disconnected or disparate occurrences, must have first been observed between the lunar phases and the female cycle. In societies living close to nature the menstrual period is coincident with the dark days of the moon and in all societies the gestation period is of ten lunar cycles, the lunar reckoning being more easily observable and recordable than the solar.
According to archeologists who have studied their early epoch, by 40,000 years ago man was already logging the phases of the moon and the positions in which they occurred relative to his own position. Stone almanacs dating from this period have been well documented. They demonstrate that man was recording the phases of the moon 25,000 years before the advent of painting, arithmetic and writing.
It is reasonable to conjecture then that the observed sympathy between woman and the moon and the mystery of the phases of the moon with its cyclic death and rebirth and growth to fullness initiated far more than mere human curiosity. The importance of the moon in astrology and in magick has never been superceded. Its phases have been renamed and resignified throughout the ages and it was through observation of the moon and not the sun, if the etymological record is to be believed, that the dualistic concept of a battle between dark and lightness was formulated into symbolic perfection in the image of the Goddess Fifteen, Ishtar or Venus.
Given that man first began to study the moon 40,000 years ago our knowledge of her effects on the earth and on man is lamentably small. In his arrogance man visited our sister in orbit, brought back a few pieces of rock for scrutiny, and declared that she had been conquered. But what do we know about the effect the moon has on us? As a matter of fact. . .
. . . more people are committed to asylums at the time of the full moon than at any other time.
. . . the moon is responsible for the action of the tides, spring tides with the new or full moon, reap tides with the first and last quarter. As a consequence of the friction caused by tidal flow the period of the earth’s rotation is increasing by 1/1000th of a second per century. Man is not long risen from that primeval sea.
. . . if a female’s cycle is coincident with the phases of the moon she is at her most fertile at the full moon. It is likely that sexually attractive pheromones e may be exuded by her at that time although these have not as yet been isolated.
. . . a woman who is out of phase with the moon can reachieve synchronization with it by sleeping in a place where it can shine on her.
. . . sharp instruments exposed for long periods to the strangely polarized light of the moon become measurably less sharp.
. . . recent researches have established that crops sown in accordance with the phases of the moon give a better yield than control groups.
and as a matter of conjecture there is an occult tradition which states that magick cannot be successfully performed during the dark days of the moon. Many societies have taboos against intercourse during the menstrual period, maybe for stated reasons but more likely that magical power be generated or released when the taboo is broken. As a counterpoint to this, there is an astrological tradition which states that horary charts cannot be cast when the moon is in Scorpio and implicit in this is the idea that magick performed during this period is bound to fail. If this were true then negative magick worked during a negative period would produce a positive result!
There is another problem with which the magician must contend which is that quite evidently the moon has a greater effect on the reactions of some individuals than on others. It also appears that the moon exerts a more obvious influence on those people who are aware of it, its phases and its position.
SUMMARY: It is evident that the moon exerts an influence on the earth and its people but that influence is so various as to defy generalisation. It has also been demonstrated within recent years that a planet rising over the horizon exerts an influence, sometimes markedly, on the people born at that time.
Again no rule can be distilled from the available data.
The pragmatist must experiment in his own way, carefully recording lunar and planetary aspects and positions and thereby come to conclusions which are as personal as his methods of performing magick. Alternatively he could organize a routine of lunar observation, recording his emotional impressions, and thereafter perform magick during those phases or aspects in which he feels most powerful.
As a further alternative he might care to experiment with other people’s astrognostlc techniques. See, for example, Francis Barret’s ‘Celestial lntelligencer’ or Crowley’s ‘De Arte Magica’.
Above all, the actor in the Theatre of Magick should not lose sight of the fact that it is his function to create atmosphere, of such electricity as to enable him to alter consciousness at will. The stars may not be important to him, may not even be poemial to gnosis, gnosis being the stable-datum without which magick cannot be performed.
Interval
I have attempted to divide this book into two distinct halves, the first pragmatic and denying argument - the second concerned with beliefs which I and the reader may find convenient at particular times but which do not necessarily rely on truth or research in the orthodox sense.Of course this was an impossible task. There are many points in the first half of the book, treating as it does of the delicate subject of initiation with which the reader will disagree either in whole or in part. I have merely set down what I believe to be a scientific approach to initiation which I hope will, in some way, meet the ideas of other magicians.
There have been attempts during the present century to present magick as a wholly scientific pursuit. However laudable the intention, which came as a reaction to the previous millennia of ad hoc, unmethodical working, it represented no more than a direct swing from one limited approach to another limited approach except where it took into account that emotion can be used scientifically.
There is a well known maxim which states that magick is a subtle synthesis of the human qualities will, intellect and emotion. There is another, ‘solve et coagula’ which means that these qualities should be analysed in their separateness and then fused together.
Belief is an emotional not an intellectual quality. In the process of initiation per se there is not place for it except inasmuch as its being the reason for the candidates desire to be initiated. Only emotion itself is analysed, but subsequent to initiation that quality must necessarily be aroused in order to generate the power required to violate probability. After the rigours of initiation it is difficult to find any notion concerning which disbelief can be suspended. Any belief construct which the magician is to use as a magical vehicle must therefore be either appealing to his intellect or patently absurd, the latter category denying the conscious functions need to rationalize. For t his reason absurdities are more readily amenable and useful and they allow or expedite entry into a games condition of a peculiar theatrical nature. When the game condition has been entered the belief can be taken as a script or a storyboard and brought to reality, that is total mental involvement, through good direction, casting and, above all, props. This was the basis of the mystery religious of the past - the rites of Eleusis, Dionysus and Mithras. The difference between the mystery religion of old and twentieth century magick is that we are in a position to be heretic in the true sense - we have a choice. The worshipper of Priapus was that and nothing more. The modern magician may change his set, his props and his identity as he finds necessary.
The following essays were written with different belief constructs in mind. They represent figments of the authors and other peoples imaginations and in only the most tenuous of ways do they reflect truth, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; but they have been found useful in a multi-dimensional, multi-modular, non-exclusive approach to the techniques of personal and group magick.
Banishing
To expect a person to derive benefit from a written ritual of someone else’s devising would be bizarre and arrogant. No two magicians, not even members of the same order, could be expected to react in the same way to an arrangement of actions and words. Declarations of intention must of course be agreed upon but there absolute agreement must end.
This is one reason why magicians tend to find group work tedious - their point of view can never be perfectly expressed in such an environment. But in group working the individuals ability to summon up energy increases exponentially according to the number in the group so, clearly, the chief adept of the group treads a fil rouge between disheartening his members and achieving dynamic results.
In some cases this difficulty can be circumvented by avoiding the use of set invokations and set ritual altogether. Group sigilisation, for instance, once the sigil has been designed to the satisfaction of all concerned, might make use of the gnoses of laughter, overbreathing, mantra, sex and so on, instead of formalised ritual, in order to focus the group will on the image and to lose it in the group subconscious.
Before beginning to work with belief constructs though, the individual or group must take steps to ensure that belief is not suspended permanently. This is al ways done with some kind of banishing ritual without which no magician can work successfully. Its functions are fivefold.
a) At the beginning of a working it serves to change his mode from the pragmatic to
the receptive. b) It clears his mind of all activity not connected with the working. c) It clears an area in space/time in which he can safely display his vulnerability,
that is, allow his personality-defense system to drop. d) It prepares him for a possible suspension of disbelief. e) It acts as a demarcation between the plastic astral nature of the universe~ to
which he will return to continue his daily affairs. That is, it prevents obsession.
Clearly, if a ritual is to fulfill all these functions it must have been per- formed habitually, daily over an extended period of time. On each occasion, even when only ‘practicing’, it must be followed by some kind of working, even if that be only meditation, and it must be performed again afterwards. Only in this way can the magician make an automatic connection between the ritual and its purposes. When the magician considers that connection between the ritual and he can safely progress onto workings of greater importance to him.
A banishing ritual is symbolic, that is to say it relies upon deep-seated elements from the magicians imagination and subconscious in order to achieve its effect. It is impossible merely to think oneself into the right state of mind - devices of some nature are unavoidable.
A list of such devices would be infinite. There are some, however, which appear to have had an almost archetypal attraction in the past and these serve here as examples.
1) The circle. Infinite and impregnable, an expression of the early gods, the circle can be cast with the magician egocentrically at its centre. A symbol of It is impossible to reproduce a scientific experiment. In the same way it is impossible to recreate a ritual of any sort time and again and expect to achieve similitude of reaction either in solo workings or in group workings. Different stimuli before workings and the expectations of varied workings demand that the banishings serve to operate within the prevailing mind-conditions and environment and this precludes the use of rigid pre-set forms. In any case, the mindless repetition of actions and words serves only dogma - the letter and not the spirit.
timelessness, and therefore outside of time, it can also be considered as the
point where a protective sphere in which the magician stands intersects the
ground. It is a womb in which ideas ferment and mature.
2) The Elements. The number four was traditionally understood to be repre
sentative of stability and equilibrium. Also of rational change. The thinkers of
classical times classified all things real or imaginary, concrete or abstract,
under the auspices of the four elements.
3) The Pentagram. As a symbol the five-pointed star is usually explained as
representing the dominion of the spirit of man over the base elements. Of
course this is very effective in a banishing ritual but other significances of the
pentagram should not be overlooked.
4) God-forms or Guardian-forms of one sort or another have invariably been
used. Forms appropriate to the disposition of the magician should be chosen
or created prudently. Sexual images, being perhaps the easiest to visualize,
can be used with effect.
5) There is no reason why the English language should not be used. Its potency
in magick is unequalled.
The magician or chief adept must have the ability to approach each operation with pristine freshness and to a certain extent his intention should be expressed directly from the seat of non-duality, that is, autoschediastically. If this were not so the function of the banishing described at b), above, could be served only by extremely complex devices and, in concentrating on these, the magician would lose sight of his intention.
In this case, why should it be necessary to plan the basic form and content of the rite at all? Firstly, there are few people who are capable of improvising a rite with specific intentions. Second, and more important, in group workings the chief adept caters for the group mind, using consensus elements as the bare bones on which to build a rite which, in effect, none of the celebrants has heard before and yet which satisfies the intellect and the instinct of each individual.
Examples of banishing rituals will be found in most source books on magick. Of these the most commonly given is the masonic and pseudo-qabalistic Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. Whilst this is of some interest its greatest value is as a model as is also the case with the following examples.
EX. I. A circle of appropriate size is cast using ashes, chalk, rope or some other readily available substance. It is sanctified by the powers of the elements. A pentagram is drawn on a large scale in the air at the four quarters using an appropriate weapon. The name of the element opposite to each quarter is vibrated as the pentagram is visualized as blazing in a colour, suitable to the element. The quarter of the East is dealt with first and the magician returns to face that direction on completing this task.
Standing with his arms crossed over his chest the magician visualizes, a) a naked goddess with blue wings before him. b) a naked goddess with silver wings behind him. c) a naked goddess with red wings to his right. d) a naked goddess with yellow wings to his left.
Each of these he refers to as the goddess of the element to which he has ascribed her. The tips of their outstretched wings touch to form a square which tangents the circle at the points of meeting.
Maintaining this visualisation and holding the dagger above his head he declares “Above me the Blazing Star. Around me the elements of power Beneath me the circle of stability.”
He pauses to reinforce these notions and then passes on to the openings or closings.
EX. II. The magician visualizes himself as standing on a platform which bisects a perspex sphere motionless in the darkness of space. Electronically he inscribes the sigils of the cardinal points and the Zenith onto the perspex in appropriate electric colours. His invokations summon five spacecraft which approach their own sigils and remain on guard until licensed to depart.
It was observed above that a banishing ritual relies upon deep-seated elements from the magicians subconscious in order to achieve its effect. To use someone else’s elements for any ritual is rather like wearing another persons’ shoes. Uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous. But often it is difficult for the intellect to recognize those symbols and archetypes which have a direct and powerful influence on his whole being. For this reason it may be useful to use the Liminal Gnosis to explore the subconscious function for associated imagery and using sign or symbol of banishing as an entry point. The received images being totally personal, and for that reason powerful, may then be incorporated into a rite far greater than
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
| 
| 
| 
|