Assimilating Evil:

 Assimilating Evil:

23. DE NUPTIIS MYSTICIS. (On the Mystical Marriage)

O my Son, how wonderful is the Wisdom of this Law of Love! How vast are the Oceans of uncharted Joy that lie before the Keel of thy Ship! Yet know this, that every Opposition is in its Nature named Sorrow, and the Joy lieth in the Destruction of the Dyad. Therefore, must thou seek ever those Things which are to thee poisonous, and that in the highest Degree, and make them thine by Love. That which repels, that which disgusts, must thou assimilate in this Way of Wholeness. Yet rest not in the Joy of the Destruction of each complex in thy Nature, but press on to that ultimate Marriage with the Universe whose Consummation shall destroy thee utterly, leaving only that Nothingness which was before the Beginning.

So then the Life of Non-Action is not for thee; the Withdrawal from Activity is not the Way of the Tao; but rather the Intensification and making universal every Unit of thine Energy on every Plane.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley-

It can be said that most people consider themselves moral. Sometimes morality is given to us by religion, in some cases prejudice not entirely distinct from that found in religion. Sometimes morality rises out of fear or cowardice. Whatever the source of morality, the idea of right and wrong action, it does exactly what has just been illustrated, it imagines the world of contraries being a type of divine injunction that we must adhere to as if the source of creation stands in opposition to the cause of negation. It establishes the demiurge as the highest. The way to see past this limited perception is to look past the world of contraries, to the Dyad and beyond to Kether even to Naught, at least in acknowledgement of these respective positions on the tree of life as having given birth to creation as we know it.

The morality of most people clouds their judgement, even leading them away from the ultimate truth, that there is no good or evil and that their god is an inversion of the truth created from the limited perspective inherent in the very nature of humanity, as a reflection of the world of illusion. This is a very liberal use of the term, as to us the illusion is very real, and since the illusion is so real, and to so many people, it may be that transcending duality is the true illusion. Be that as it may, it is a lovely thought: the idea of universal oneness or universal brotherhood united in what is called agape. There are perhaps certain characteristics, magickal powers associated with the realization of the all, and one having been raised to such heights’ inability to accept it as anything less than the highest truth referring to our existence as Maya, might serve as proof lending credence to the idea that our very existence is what has led most of us astray and away from that which is truly divine. Henceforth, as stated in the above quote, we are to transcend this world of duality by proactively uniting all opposites, but for what, to what end, and who does it benefit?

Crowley tells us that the Universal Marriage is an experience that will destroy one utterly, making the whole thing seem freakishly masochistic, and again, who does it benefit when one is turned into a pile of dust in the end? Perhaps it isn’t meant to benefit anybody. Perhaps it is an unquenchable thirst for finding the hidden truth behind the nature of existence, or perhaps, one does, in fact, obtain magickal powers that could darken the skies and move mountains. Who knows…? Crowley knew, and according to him so did a few other people, most notably Madam Blavatsky. Especially notable too, are the people in modern history who were able to attain these insights according to Crowley, could not have been, by any stretch of the imagination, called moralists in the strict sense of the word. Although, in all their writings from Blavatsky and in particular Nietzsche comes to mind, they seemed to have a had deep love for humanity and an ability to see past the inherent evils and find the goodness in the soul of humankind. That for all his ideas about good and evil, Nietzsche was perhaps trying to point this out to us, that at our most essential core we are united, and that our differences are but petty misunderstandings, that every individual has his and her place to occupy without the need for any of it to change. Perhaps it wasn’t implied consciously, but in my mind, for any individual to write such an extensive commentary on the human condition, there must also be present a profound love and acceptance for the same.

Just as easily as I can learn to enjoy and love a sunrise as much as I do a sunset, doing the same with the opposites found within my nature may present with equal ease as inquiring into the reason that I prefer night to day or sleep to wakefulness, as long as I am left alone to do so. But we live in a world populated by other human beings, wherein this pursuit is made more difficult owing to the unique qualities of every individual and the intricate problems we face in understanding the motivations of others and the human psyche. So, now we must learn to accept these things, even things that we are averse to, assimilating these ideas to the point of union—love, all the while as these people who we set out to understand and unite with are prone to conflict as if lost in their world of contraries without the slightest desire to change their perspectives and see it from our point of view. Their need to contend is a frustration, they debase themselves as unworthy of understanding in the pursuit of such a holy cause, as if one is better off an anthropologist than a magician, especially when their indifference leads to conflict and petty behaviors fueled by morality, that ever so often threaten the safety and security of one’s life and possessions. It seems that the game is lost from the start; as we are all human and we are all prone to a spectrum of emotions and feelings such as anger and resentment meant to deal with these contending forces we are surrounded by: feelings and emotions that have nothing in common with love and what we are trying to achieve.

The aforementioned is a misnomer, we are not trying to change the world, it is what it is: war is still war, and conflict is here to stay; it is the nature of the Universe, of Humanity and of Nature herself. We are to assimilate these into ourselves, we must learn to love, to accept and to find the beauty in the uncomfortable and the grotesque, the violent and the vulgar: to be drawn to those natures that we are by instinct averse too. To hate is not to assimilate, yes, we do hate, and for good reason, but this is contrary to our way of life and plays into the moralist perspective—the very position we are trying to avoid. It seems that some things then, may be unified by understanding one’s relationship to those things and the nature of the inherent prejudice towards anything in question. While others must be united with sensually as well, via experience, thus violence may be experienced over and over until one falls in love with violence or at least until the apprehension to partake in such acts ceases. The same will be true for most sensual activities, so if I am repulsed by a certain sight, to assimilate it does not only mean to expose myself to it over and over, but to inquire into the nature of the aversion, whereby exploring my complexes intellectually may expose them as irrational. This is a way of uncovering the character of the elements confined to the shadow, and by understanding, accepting and eventually learning to love those behaviors and affinities that we were in the past averse to, a greater love and understanding develops, not only for humanity as a whole but for oneself.

What makes this task so difficult then is mankind’s reverence for conflict, not the conflict itself, but the justification, that conflict is necessary according to the Moola or the Christian by divine orders. That they tend to commit themselves to an imaginary war, an abstraction, perhaps founded in man’s need to protect the tribe from being bastardized by those foreigners; and so, they prayed for protection. Once they had overcome the enemy their God was born: a God particularly fond of bloodshed and war and so, here we stand today, still under the sway of a tyrant envisioned by little more than a primate. The mystic minded of the lot retreated into the forest and found himself in a cave where he raised a mermaid from whom he was offered divine insights. Hence, after many years he returned home, to the tribe, and having awakened his own inner Genius gave them politics, or morality and a code of conduct for them to attain to ever greater heights of power, all in the name of a god: thus upon his return home he was drawn back into their pigsty and took on the role of moral leader or a politician. Now those of us who are interested in the prospect of seeing God face to face, without the hindrance of primitive morality, just the knowledge that love is what binds us all together, and you are okay as long as you feel the same way about me, are still facing the morality of the same aforementioned immature God, constantly under threat of being pulled right back into the kennel.

This God would never have existed if the notion of a tribe didn’t exist, but then a tribe wouldn’t have existed if we didn’t as humans have son’s and daughters, so we may as well blame humanity, and say we are in fact, attempting to transcend human nature. Thus, the appeal is made even more daunting as we are negating the very thing to which we owe incarnation, our humanity. This transcendence is achieved by looking at all the ugliness and all the beauty, an activity that once a magician has taken his Oath will be rather forthcoming, as if now these things are deliberately shown to him. All the pain and all the pleasure, all the uncomfortableness and joy must be assimilated entirely, without preference and prejudice to widen the circumference of experience, until finally, union with Man-Soul is attained.

Therefore, the above vignette is saying that we must assimilate by activity every opposite, and that all of these are realized as elements of our own beings. That they are not foreign and that the work is internal, utilizing and studying the different parts of the Self to gain a deeper connection to the All. These aversions are subjective, and we know they are as there are humans who are perfectly happy to joyously partake in things that I am repulsed by. Hence my repulsion is in question, what makes me think I am in any way different or special and separate from the Soul of Humanity, what is it that repulses me, not the thing, but owing to my complexes. Do I not also have a similar constitution, are we not all united by the same Spirit, the L.V.X. issuing forth from the highest and that which animates us into existence, that upon realization we become one with the All.

Technically Evoction:

 Technically Evocation:

56. DE MENSTRUO ARTIS. (On the Medium of the Art)

But concerning the Medium by whose sensitive Nature our Magick Force is transmitted to the Object of our Working, doubt not. For already in other Galaxies of Physics have we been compelled to postulate an Aethyr wholly hypothetical in order to explain the Phenomena of Light, Electricity, and the like; nor doeth any Man demand Demonstration of the Existence of that Aethyr other than its Conformity with general Law. Thou therefore, Creator and Transmitter of thine own Energy, needest not to ask whether by this or by some other Means thou performest thy Work. Yet I know not why this Aethyr of the Mathematicians and the Physicians should not be one with the Astral Light, or Plastic Medium or Aub, Aud, Aur (these three being a Trinity) of which our own Sages have spoken. And this Meditation may bring forth much Knowledge physical, which is good, for that which is above is like that which is beneath, and the Study of any Law leadeth to the Understanding of all Law. So mayst thou learn in the End that there is no Law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley-

The L.V.X. permeates all reality so that we are all connected thereby. The idea of universal oneness is, I suppose a misunderstanding of this element called Aethyr in the above quote. Not only does this light unite all things it is also the medium through which prophesy is received. It has, in other words a connection to the collective mind which is capable of enlivening the intuition and creativity. The L.V.X. is a medium through which messages may be sent and received affecting either the magician’s creativity and intuition as subjective, or the magician’s will may be projected along this substrate to affect change in the external world.

The trinity, Aub, Aud, Aur is of interest, as it gives us the mechanics of magickal creation, meaning a creation that is meant to cause a predetermined change according to the magician’s will. It is the same trinity presented in the 9th degree O.T.O. initiation, which is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But this trinity is also present in the supernal triad and is symbolized in the relationship between the paths of the Fool, the Magus and the Empress, or Aleph, Beth, and Daleth. These paths connect to each other through Binah and Chokmah which via this connection connects to the Limitless Light emanating forth from Kether. It is when these paths are in perfect harmony, that the L.V.X. issues forth into the worlds below the Abyss.

We could say that the sun represents the will of a magician, as a consequence, a magician at the start of any magickal operation places himself at Tiphareth as the Word. This is very clearly expressed in rituals of goetia where the magician invokes the different names of God proclaiming himself to be a prophet. This is done to force the demon into obedience but there is another, hidden, more metaphysical reason for doing this, which ties into what Crowley is talking about in the above.

According to the symbols found in the 9th degree the magician is the Father and the Son is the Astral Light, and of course, Aethyr is symbolized as the Holy Spirit. As stated, these elements are attributed to the three paths above the Abyss, although they aren’t very clearly represented, but the Magus is the Astral Light, the Fool is the magician and Da-ath sees these uniting with the Light from Kether by way of the Empress. Although, below the Abyss, the magician is the Logos of the operation: the Father, whose Sun is his reflection, thus his will is the thing reflected and the Astral Light is the Son or the Plastic Medium that is shaped according to the Logos. The L.V.X. as I have stated is a conductor, both receptive and active and is the medium upon which the will is imprinted.

The above is usually thought of in the context of Sex Magick or ecstatic states, but in fact, this is the formula for practical magick and is true for all forms, whether it be ritual evocation or skrying, the magician must in the way here presented make contact with Aethyr. Skrying is perhaps the easiest as it deals with the magician’s own psyche, and L.V.X. in this regard merely speaks of individual consciousness, however, within the context of goetia, the L.V.X. refers to consciousness as that in which we share and has the force to affect change according to the field wherein the magician is working.

The magickal child is the Son of the Logos, of course, when considering the symbols this is obvious. However, this child, is an abstraction, it is a child of light and as such isn’t subject to the same forces as we are, it is rather bound to Aethyr. Aethyr as hinted at in the Magus Atu is Mercurial, hence there is a propensity for the will of any operation to be destroyed by the power of this force. If the will is not concentrated enough, or if the magician lacks in skill and doesn’t effectively control the forces of nature during the operation, this child of light, may as well be termed an abortion of light.

We are always, from the time we are born in contact with the L.V.X. as we are united therein, it is the very place from where thoughts arise. But we are not adept at working with the Astral Light from the moment we project our first impression onto the field of consciousness. Herein lies the trickster. Mercury is in every sense impersonal, it is merely a force of nature, from which success is determined through harmony between a magician and the God. This is the reason that an operation must adhere to so many regulations to ensure its success, as the nature of the God in question is unpredictable, and right timing is an imperative. We could think of it allegorically in the following way with Mercury as messenger of the Gods: our prayers or intentions, must be packaged and presented in such a way, in our articulation thereof that they are able to withstand the journey, and most importantly, that the meaning doesn’t get lost in translation.

Thus, we as magicians perform ritual magick instead of attempting to will our way through life utilizing only the sheer power of our minds, we employ tools to strengthen and direct the Will. The elemental tools are used to harmonize the relationship between a magician’s intention and the universe and are the weapons of the Outer Order of the A.’.A.’. representing the different parts of the magician’s being. They correspond with the pentagram and once the magician has completed his assimilation of these elements, he pierces the Veil of Paroketh and his Soul is congealed within the Light at Tiphareth. Here we can see, from all that has been presented in this essay, that ritual evocation is an enactment on a small scale of this journey, and since Tiphareth is where the Microcosm and the Macrocosm are united upon the Tree of Life, the L.V.X. is attributed to both Self and the Other, it is transcendent being both, but the Astral Light may be thought of as projected by the magician and forming part of the same substance with its structure modified by the his intention.

The will must be crystal clear when attempting to imprint it upon the substrate of consciousness. Hence, certain aids are utilized when performing a ritual. The circle, the symbols, the weapons and furniture, the names of God and barbarous words of invocation are all chosen to symbolize the will, (the Logos of the ceremony, which must be formulated into a Word symbolizing the magician’s intention). These elements also have the effect, due to their foreign—symbolic and dreamlike character, to bridge the gap between the magician’s conscious mind and sub-conscious linking the will directly to reflect into the Astral Light and it is the Word that will aid in stamping this imprint upon the Aethyr. Demons are nothing more than portions of the magician’s unconscious associated with the talents and instincts, as well as, hereditary factors will determine which of these a person is most sensitive to. They are concentrated through isolating certain parts of the Will. Their evocation, is a means of raising these potentials to the surface and thereby the Logos of the ritual is strengthened as sharing in the same character as the entity evoked. Therefore, with the help of magickal aids, all the magician needs to do is perform a type of play symbolizing the successful outcome of his intent and it should be done, at least in the invisible world.

The magickal child, truly is a child, it is the child of will that one may think of as incarnating as a body of light with it being imprinted upon the Aethyr. When the circumstances around its conception and gestation aren’t favorable, the outcome will be uncertain. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance when performing any ritual, to make sure that everything done is in perfect harmony with the magician’s Will and the universe as a whole to avoid a negative outcome, as any such outcome, due to the elements explored in this essay, will have an equal effect on the magician psychically, as it will on anything else. 

Take Your Fill of Love:

 Take Your Fill of Love:

34. DE LIBERTATE CORPORIS. (On the Freedom of the Body)

There shall be no Property in Human Flesh. Every Man and every Woman hath Right Indefeasable to give the Body for the Enjoyment of any other. The Exercise of this Right shall not be punished either by Law or by Custom; there shall be no Penalty either by Loss or Curtailment of Liberty, of Rights, of Wealth, or of Social Esteem; but this Freedom shall be respected of all, seeing that it is the Right of the Bodily Will. For this same Reason thou shalt cause full Restriction and Punishment of any who may seek to limit that Freedom for the sake of his own Profit, or Desire, or Ideal. Every Man and every Woman has full right either to grant or to deny the Body, as the Will speaketh within. This being made Custom, the Evils of Love, which are many, extending to the Disturbance not only of Body but of Mind, and that in obscure Paths, shall little by little disappear from the Face of His unspeakable Glory.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley-

What is pointed out in the above vignette has certainly become obvious to most of us in the world as an indefeasible right. Every man and every woman has the freedom to give his or her body for the enjoyment of any other. Also, that sexual slavery goes against the law of liberty is obvious. Although there is hypocrisy among a lot of people in the world today, the idea that a man may tell a woman what is permitted and what is not in this regard, at the same time the same people speaking out against slavery is an absurdity. To dictate to anyone under whatever authority one claims; what the limits of bodily freedom are, is as good as enslaving that person to one’s prejudices, or one’s need for control.

Children are accordingly off limits too, as there is not a child in the world that would welcome the advances of some slimy old man or woman. The thought is sick; to break the will of an innocent child proclaiming that such was welcomed is contrary to the Law of Thelema. The above is dealing with the effects of guilt and shame upon the psyche, and could be seen as a type of sexual trauma. The suppression of our natural inklings to abide by another’s sense of normalcy is presented as devastating to the inner constitution of the individual leading to disturbances of behavior and mind. How much worse must it be for a child when a transgression has occurred? We are not to hurt children in any way, but especially not in this way, we are to foster their development, to help them reach their potential. Abuse of this kind would be in direct conflict to our roles of cultivating a child’s authentic beingness in a loving and caring environment. To manipulate any person, whether a child or an adult, to do anything against their natural inclinations is a crime, and in a perfect world, attacks such as these on the freedoms of others, especially children, would be punished as they should be.

When we are free to express ourselves without guilt or shame, we come to terms with ourselves in ways that under more oppressive circumstances wouldn’t be possible. Self judgement limits self-development for it is biased, a consequence of the super ego’s role in mitigating our impulses. But we live in sick societies governed by offensive ideals of unnatural moralism, tyranny and patriarchy, thus the super ego is in constant conflict with the id, (our unconscious, that encompasses our true nature and wherein is hidden our True Wills). But as this morality is unnatural as well as non-sensical, the relationship between the id and the super ego is unbalanced leading to an increase in psychic issues that with greater freedom could have been avoided.

Repression of our natural modes of being only feed our complexes and by increasing these, not only do we run the risk of developing neuroses, but we are actively burying our True Wills under the rubble. When we are free to act and to be ourselves not limited by judgement or preconceived notions of right and wrong, we enter into intimate communion with our souls. This is especially true for sex, an act that is linked to more taboos than the act of murder, which is honestly an absurdity and a consequence of Christendom’s hold on western society. It is an act that when performed may open up a doorway to the divine, but only if we are free to experience it as such.

Nobody has the right to shame another or to make them feel as if they have to excuse themselves for being human. In the Islamic world the law is that a woman shall be stoned to death for adultery, but in the same holy Quran their prophet rapes a nine-year old girl. It seems that for these polygamists it’s not so much the act of sinning, since they are also allowed to rape a woman as long as the assault culminates in matrimony, if not it is a crime, as per a holy injunction: it seems that it is a woman having power over her own mind and body that is really being punished. This type of attitude towards women is not a Thelemic virtue, it is an Abrahamic one; although, I have known of some involved in Thelema who regard women in the same way. There are those who claim to be Thelemites who promulgate the same values regarding sex, especially when it comes to women: that they are placed on a lesser rung as servants in this capacity needing a man’s leadership. Again, such an attitude towards the fairer sex, with the man as her strength, is not a Thelemic virtue. Thelema is not concerned with the same ethical questions as the herd is, we have transcended these in our doctrine, and it is high time we start acting like it. Just as a woman has the right to deny her body to whoever she pleases, she has the same freedom to think for herself, that manipulation is no less than mental rape, and should be treated as such.

The above is not concerned with sex magick, it is simply affirming that every man and every woman shall be free to express their sexuality in whatever way they please. Whether that be a furry orgy in the forest with unicorns, or a ritual surrender under the stars in one’s highest adoration to the Goddess, lost in the embrace of the object of one’s love, it is a thing that can only be allowed or disallowed by the parties involved. When we are able to express ourselves freely in this way we heal our souls from the disturbances of mind and body that Crowley writes about in the vignette. What he indicates is that suppression of these desires or the inability to act out our desires in a healthy wholesome way within a supportive environment may lead to compulsions, when one’s needs aren’t met in their entirety, or they have been repressed by shame or guilt, when these perfectly natural acts are seen as unnatural. Since when something like this occurs, and the act becomes perverted and degenerates becoming unwholesome or self-destructive often manifesting as compulsive behaviors, it is particularly the fault of religious and cultural institutions, (institutions that foster what some call traditional values).

The Book of the Law is very clear about what is written of in the vignette when it tells us: “Also, take your fill and will of love as ye will, when, where and with whom ye will! But always unto me.” And Crowley’s comment: “Also as to Love: be wholly free to make the best of your gifts in all respects, fearless and shameless. Yet all these acts must not be done for their results in success or pleasure, and the like; for they are holy and to be performed strictly as acts of Love under Will in worship of Nuit; that is, to fulfil all that may be and your own whole Nature by so doing.” Fulfilment in this context would be impossible in the Islamic world, or even just when attempted by a Muslim or a Christian; or anyone who under some ideal is restricted to lose themselves in this worship. When we are able, for lack of moral and idealistic strictures, to lose ourselves and fulfil our whole natures in this act, we peer into the very depths of our souls. It is a religious experience in every sense of the word, that when correctly performed, may lead us to uncovering the divinity of our own essential natures.

On the Imperfection of the Perfect:

 On the Imperfection of the Perfect:

31. DE LEGE MOTUS. (On the Law of Motion)

Consider, o my Son, that Word in the Call or Key of the Thirty Aethyrs: Behold the Face of your God, the Beginning of comfort, whose Eyes are the Brightness of the heavens, which provided you for the Government of the Earth, and her unspeakable Variety! And again: Let there be no Creature upon her or within her the same. All her Members let them differ in their Qualities, and let there be no Creature equal with another. Here also is the Voice of true Science, crying aloud: Variation is the Key of Evolution. Thereunto Art cometh the third, perceiving Beauty in the Harmony of the Diverse. Know then, o my Son, that all Laws, all Systems, all Customs, all Ideals and Standards which tend to produce Uniformity, being in direct Opposition to Nature's Will to change and to develop through Variety, are accursed. Do thou with all thy Might of Manhood strive against these Forces, for they resist Change, which is Life: and thus they are of Death.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley-

How many people in this world would have us all be the same: to behave the same, to dress the same, to walk and talk the same, to find unity in sameness. Of course, to negate the beauty in the uniqueness of all beings upon the earth, is an accursed view of diversity. To deem oneself an authority in the field of morality and human behavior, to decide and promote what is expected from a gentleman or a lady in order to be called just that, and thereby only, to find acceptance among our peers as equals. Although, we are not equals, just as the lion is not equal to the dog, the huntsman is not an equal of the cripple: we are deferent and unique and some are better or stronger, more beautiful or more intelligent, than others.

Synthesis only works by union of opposites and evolution is the consequence of such union. How are we as beings upon this planet going to reach such a transcendent point if we are all the same, having the same ideas both morally and intellectually? Genius is not born from resignation, it is forged in hardships, when life becomes a theme-park of chaos, of the unexpected, when confronted by the most foreign landscape from which the will to power forces us to adapt and change. It is a position from where the people we meet and come in contact with are so alien that we inquire into the nature of ourselves in awe of our differences. We seek union with such people and circumstances, not for the comfort of similitude, but for the excitement of the experience. These are the things that have always attracted the strong, setting them apart from the herd as leaders among men and women, who insisting on change have moved humanity forward by creating the same inquiry in the hearts of those who encountered them. Not governing by force but by example, such are the people who have shown us what it means to be human.

To love the diversity within humanity is a perfectly natural stance for those who accept themselves, their flaws as well as their strengths have fitted them with the capacity to cherish the uniqueness of the people they meet and know. The weak are those unable to accept themselves for whom another’s pride is an insult, something that must be confronted for the person to be put in line and follow suit. These people find the uniqueness in others threatening, as it shines a light upon their complexes, their insecurities, their weaknesses, that without them around would remain hidden and unnoticed. This is true cowardice; it is an inability to accept themselves and take the first step to becoming human for the security of their own ignorance. The way they attack the individual is always a coward’s attack, never an exhibition of their own strengths but an attack on the individual’s character is their first assault: they attempt to control the mind of the herd: they have created an enemy and have united with the people justifying their ideal of sameness. It is exactly the same psychology used in fascism to unite a nation: they first establish enmity against a foreign adversary, and their propaganda is in most cases dishonest, such as the Jewish conspiracy propagated by the Nazis that caused six million innocent people to die in the most grotesque way imaginable. In the same way the weakling and the coward use slander when attacking the strong. They use a very specific kind of rhetoric to unite the herd in enmity against their chosen victim: they use rumor mongering and false allegations to keep the attention fixed on their victims and away from themselves. These people’s actions and motivations are born of their impotence to actively live unapologetically as themselves at peace with authenticity. This happened to Crowley during his life-time: the yellow press called him the wickedest man in the world and made up an entire article of lies about him that negatively impacted his reputation. However, since this article was influential but false, it served to keep his name floating around long enough after he died for him to eventually become the most impactful occultist who has ever lived. His authenticity, and his refusal to succumb to their attacks immortalized him, along with their own incapacity to see how much their attention meant and that truth is eternal.

We could even think of what happened with Crowley and the yellow press as evolution, the survival of the fittest from which only the strong survive. It is certain that Crowley’s influence has resurrected our school of magick, which today is fostering adepts that will fuel this fire started by the Great Beast to mitigate the severity of the opposition’s attacks. We are evolving and the rest are exactly where they have always been, (they are still stuck in their pigsty). These people are dead; their ideologies are stagnant and unimpactful as death. They have no lasting influence thus they comfort themselves for their ineptitude by isolating those who threaten their worldview. But we are alive, our veneration for each other’s differences and the excitement of being alive keeps it that way. Our acceptance of each other is a celebration of our places as stars or gods upon the earth. As gods and goddesses, we unite in ecstasy creating children of light that will carry our influence for generations, we evolve. We are not resentful of one another, we are curious: we yearn to love one another, to know one another — that we may inspire change as we are inspired by the same. We champion each-other’s differences and strengths, and we muse with delight at each-other’s imperfections, our love for the experience grounds us in the knowing that this is the way things are.

Nowadays there are many self-appointed prophets as public pundits who tell us how to live: they tell us what a man is and what a woman is, while at the same time humanity is evolving at such a pace that the inner development of humankind is palpable. So much so, that the rate of evolution renders their words and ideas incoherent. These people tell us how to raise our sons and our daughters: I say, we shall teach them how to love and raise them as humans, and “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” They say that we must raise them as Christians or as Muslims, turning them into Christians or Muslims promoting what they call traditional values and tearing the very humanity from their little souls by forming such a distinction. Unless children be what is good according to this barbaric worldview, they are doing something contrary to their own interests and become in many ways less than human. It is a mindset that in no way shares in the championing of our differences, but an insistence for conformity to an ideal more important than humanness and the negation of the individual. Their love and peace are based on the same ideal as mentioned earlier in this essay, an ideal of enmity, from where there is always love and peace but only for those safely tucked away within the fold: the other Christians or Muslims, but never a Muslim for a Christian or a Christian for a Muslim. What else could be expected from a patriarchal institution which at its very beginning plucked the goddess from her throne and replaced her with prejudice. But she is all around us: she is in nature: we see her in the play of creation, even the photosynthesis of plants and flowers demands her love to ignite the very spark of life. The denial of division as necessary and good, as the very source of creation is the denial of life itself. The futurists who inspired fascism were also against all feminine traits regarding them as weaknesses, traits such as love, compassion, maternity and empathy, that they should build a war machine geared towards progress at all costs was the aim, going as far as to say that the sound of an engine running was the most beautiful thing on earth, as it signaled the height of human achievement. In their minds it was a masculine sound and that women represented only the most useless and unnecessary characteristics of our species. Where does it leave us; the soul of humankind torn in two is an unbearable thought, but it is the very thing to which some aspire, or that they wish to maintain, for, as we have lived under this delusion of male grandeur for over two millennia, they are merely seeking to preserve the status quo. Hence, let us teach our children how to love, to celebrate humanity and humanness, and to never shy away from themselves; for it is within their very beingness, wherein they shall find God.

On Love and Holy Scripture:

On Love and Holy Scripture:

The divine feminine manifests as the Other, she is the universe, as the god Hadit is the Self. Every aspect of objective reality is the Goddess. She especially shows herself to us as divine within certain traditions such as the occult tradition, which by extension the poetic and philosophic traditions form part. We call her the Great Mother, as she by her nature symbolizes that part which we were one with during the pre-Oedipal stage. Union with her manifests in a loss of self that is symbolically represented as Hadit falling into the body of the Goddess and becoming one with pure-undifferentiated consciousness, thus, in psychoanalytic terms, this experience relieves the sense of separateness first experienced during the mirror stage.

Devotion and love are the ways by which our relationship with her is cultivated. As a symbol of tradition, she becomes the vehicle whereinto the Soul is born to be immortalized through its actualization. This is called Gnosis and entails the fully realized self and the congealed Soul having become aware of its True Will to work its magick and affect change in the world.

The Holy Books of Thelema are symbolic of the Goddess, as they are expressions of our tradition that through their constant study one draws down the Shekinah systematically unlocking the mysteries of our tradition. This is a form of Sex Magick, and the Holy Books are symbolic of a woman, and this practice is our first exploration of the Alchemical Wedding.

Those who have devoted their lives to this unfolding of self into Being are tasked to memorize certain Holy Books at certain junctures along the path and to recite them constantly throughout the grades. This recitation serves to bridge the gap between the conscious and the unconscious establishing these symbols within the very Soul of the magician, wherefrom having taken root serve to fuel the fire of his passion in love of the Goddess. This union is Qabalistically presented on the Tree of Life in the relationship between Tiphareth and Yesod, that are the spheres of the intellect and the astral respectively, that at the very beginning of the journey this relationship begins to be cultivated with the aim of complete union.

From this it is inferred that the grades of the Outer Order form the ritual for attaining Knowledge and Conversation with one’s Holy Guardian Angel and are not as disparate as one might think, but instead could be likened to the furnishings of a temple and the fumigations being prepared for the supreme ritual of attaining Knowledge and Conversation. The supreme ritual in this sense is uniting the Pentagram with the Hexagram. The Hexagram is thus the Goddess and the Pentagram is the God that from their union perfection is attained.

Although as far as sex is concerned, the phallus is active and the kteis is receptive, and the masculine intellect is receptive as the feminine is active. This difference in polarity is what generates the bioelectrical current that leads to ecstasy, not just orgasm, but the ecstasy of love itself as being in love tends to awaken within us a higher sense of purpose and vitality. Therefore, these poles may be attributed to the intellect and the emotions, even the instincts, and it is love and its effect on the heart that turns this union into a transcendent force, which corresponds to Tiphareth on the Tree of Life. Love is thus a union between the senses the instincts and the intellect leading to a dissolving of the ego in ecstasy of the experience, which effectively serves to bridge the gap between the unconscious and the conscious minds, (these parts of the body, or the head, the heart and reproductive organs, are referred to in Daoism as the three gates). By exploring these parts of the psyche, an initiate is slowly dissolving the separation between Self and the Other, which, by means of the relationship between these two aspects of being that is constantly confronted in the work, these natures are proven to be an illusion.

Firstly, in the beginning the magician is concerned with perfecting him her herself by the formulation of the Pentagram, entailing that on a microcosmic level, all these masculine and feminine elements are already present. Thus, Yesod and the sub-conscious and the unconscious are easily seen as attributed to the feminine, and the intellect and the passion are masculine, (the elements mentioned here are limited in their scope and the act of defining the masculine and feminine parts of the Soul may be explored indefinitely). There is a difficulty in this though, with Malkuth’s role obscured from the sight of the magician when involved in the work of these higher sephiroth. The reason for this is that the Kingdom has inherent all the elements worked on during the Outer grades, that via the process of the Soul’s congealing and the realization of the True Will, these elements, that were seen as heterogenous, are now crystalized in Malkuth at the birth of the Christ. Thus, hell is raised to be equilibrated again, as was also necessary at the beginning of the journey.

Therefore, allegorically, the Royal Marriage may be seen in the myth of Dionysus and his consort Demeter, both of whom first espousing their love on Earth before they are united again eternally; a love expressed upon Mount Olympus. Hence this initial union, in Malkuth, is of such a nature, that the sincerity of it must sustain the magician through the following ordeal. It is as if by way of his commitment to the Goddess, he has also committed himself to proving his worthiness of her love by accepting all the trials in which he will be engaged until their reunion in Tiphareth. An apt allegory for expressing the gravity of the Great Work, and the need for sincerity, is Heracles and all the monsters he faced and defeated for his immortalization. Of course, the Hero’s journey is thus an appropriate metaphor for the magick of alchemy: especially in the way given to us by the poets and prophets of the Romantic era.

The Holy Books are thus, not merely expressions of the Goddess, but are symbolic of her expressed femininity; that which we were initially attracted to as the masculine counterparts (Hadit-Nuit) of this relationship. Now, when separating this nature into its various elements and when considering their effect upon the Soul of an aspirant, we will see how this becomes an act of Sex Magick of the highest order.

Although there are other means of strengthening one’s association to the Goddess, whether in a positive or negative capacity, they are not of the same quality as anagogical prose. The traditions of imbibing, sex, fasting and animal sacrifice, for example, merely strengthen one’s connection to tradition by altering one’s state of mind, wherein self-consciousness falls away and the deeper mysteries of our tradition may be perceived. Keep in mind, that all these aspects of theurgy are forms of Sex Magick, although of a lesser grade than discussed in this essay and that Sex Magick refers to practices that are meant to bring about a new perception in a controlled manner by way of union, from whence a certain mastery over nature is developed.

This practice directly unites the lower with the higher, as it is a symbol of the Goddess in her entirety, and by embodying the elements of a woman she serves to open the three gates mentioned earlier. The symbols accordingly speak to the head which in Daoism is attributed to Spirit, thus this archetypal character enflames Spirit, then the practice of studying, of devoting oneself wholly to her mystery, the memorization and the recitation of these texts correspond to the reproductive organ, and an appropriate phrase for the result of this practice is to enflame one’s heart with prayer. It is the heart thusly enflamed that in love connects the higher to the lower.

Hereby the spirit of our tradition is enflamed within the heart of an aspirant to enliven his passion. Any other mode of union is of a lesser quality, that for example the art of imbibing may lead to ecstasy and even insights into the mysteries, but only in as far as it is done within the framework here discussed. What this means is, that this practice of devotion is compared to that which kindles the fire of passion within the heart, which through these various other modes release is facilitated. There needs to be an outlet for this pressure, as it is none other than the fire upon the altar that burns away the dross, and this burning away is what leads a magician to his ordeal of transformation but always born again into our tradition as owing to the character of his work and insights. Therefore, the aim of the practice, is that the fire must be heated to such a degree, that the slightest stimulus, such as love in the form of a man and a woman, or imbibing, or cocaine or all of these elements employed at once, may serve to plunge the aspirant violently into the sphere corresponding to his grade.

The Mechanics of Creation:

 The Mechanics of Creation:

24. DE VOLUPTATE POENARUM. (On the Joy of Sorrows)

Go forth, o my Son, o Son of the Sun, rejoicing in thy Strength, as a Warrior, as a Bridegroom, to take thy Pleasure upon the Earth, and in every Palace of the Mind, moving ever from the crass to the subtle, from the coarse to the fine. Conquer every Repulsion in thy self, subdue every Aversion. Assimilate all Poison, for therein only is there Profit. Seek constantly therefore to know what is painful and to cleave thereunto, for by Pain cometh true Pleasure. Those who avoid Pain physical or mental remain little Men, and there is no Virtue in them. Yet be thou ware lest thou fall into the Heresy which maketh Pain, and Self-sacrifice as it were Bribes to corrupt God, to secure some future Pleasure in an imagined After-life. Nay, also of the other Part, fear not to destroy thy Complexes, thinking dreadfully thereby to lose the Power of creating Joy by their Distinction.

Yet in each Marriage be thou bold to affirm the spiritual Ardour of the Orgasm, fixing it in some Talisman, whether it be Art, or Magick, or Theurgy.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley-

The source of creation is nothingness, the light issuing forth from the negative veil is revealed by its counterpart Naught without whom the light would remain as she is. Nothing is related to death as it is that to which we return. The ontology of the god of light Phanes, being born from the womb of Night too symbolizes this idea. Hecate the lunar goddess of witchcraft was by the ancient Greek theologians seen as an aspect of Isis, and to them she was the goddess of death as well as fertility. This goddess was for a long time worshipped as the highest, even for the ancient Egyptians the counterpart of the Sun represented the divine feminine in her highest form. Today we worship Nuit who is both everything and nothing but not the self, that perhaps in her character has the goddess reached perfection.

The goddess was worshipped as a goddess of fertility by the rite of human sacrifice, more specifically the sacrifice of a male child. There is a reason for this owing to the magickal thinking of primitive people, and the difficulty of child birth having been a mortal ordeal for both the mother and her child. Suppose then, that children represented in the minds of these people the future prosperity of the tribe, of course, as they ensured the perpetuation of the race, that a new life was most valuable, not only to them but certainly to the goddess as well. This reasoning sets the stage for the murder of a mother and her child by a vengeful goddess who had not yet been appeased at childbirth, who Thus, out of necessity the tradition of sacrifice was created, perhaps reasoning, that it is better to lose one or a few and prevent the death of many or all unborn children and mothers, (as a demon she is Lilith, who was turned into a monster by the Jews inferentially owing to their patriarchal take on religion and their degradation of women in general, even impotence accordingly attributed to her stealing the man's semen). I am certain that human sacrifice didn’t work to appease any demons or goddesses, of course not, this superstition did nothing to help the outcome, they merely became more aware and vigilant owing to their ponderings and this influenced their preparation for the ordeal, also, it is simply natural to bear more children with every passing generation, thus an increase in numbers and a more prosperous harvest must follow. But the mythic significance of this savagery still lingers, and we have since then associated creativity with death and not with life, but as a gift emanating from the divine.

Now then for ecstasy, peering into the cellar of the collective mind one turns back inspired from what he has uncovered with a compulsion to reveal it. But what is this thing, how does ecstasy enable within the seeker new insights that affect creativity and what makes it a source of such inspired creation? It is certainly a death, and a death means a re-transfiguration, a reincarnation if you will, a position from where the limits of his previous perception have been transgressed owing to the experience and the imprint has been left upon his soul. One may need to get psychoanalytic in order to understand the relationship between the senses and the ego better, however, to speculate that an overstimulation of the senses have a tendency to bring to the surface certain parts locked away as part of the shadow, causing an increase in the number of elements inquired into when questioning the nature of Being, may just be, a reasonable hypothesis. This type of thing, when it occurs due to extreme trauma, is in many cases unresolvable and sees the subject drift in and out of normalcy until he or she is finally overwhelmed by the consequences of the initial sensory overload, as not having been capable of assimilation through understanding. In other words, an ecstatic experience, likened to a death, leaves one confused and causes one to ask questions about the nature of reality and existence, that prior to the experience the seeker was blind to. This questioning is the result of a new perception that must be integrated, and one outlet for this integration is creating, whether through art or other means, the creative pursuit serves to put the puzzle pieces together and make sense of this new life the magician is born into.

Ecstasy is referred to in the vignette as an orgasm, which of course, with the symbol’s sexual connotation birth and creativity are clear progressions, as symbolically sympathetic. But as mentioned earlier in this essay, so is death owing to the connotation of no-thing becoming some-thing or everything and the mythical relationship this holds to Diana and Hecate. Diana is Isis to the Egyptians and we find her in the formula of I.A.O. as representing life, and Apophis as the ecstasy which leads to death symbolized in Osiris. It is during putrefaction that the magician moves into assimilating those things that Apophis has shown him. Again, we may recall the unfortunate trauma victim, who paralyzed in death fruitlessly awaits a resurrection that may only lead to damnation. Magick is the means by which the self is reconstituted from the dissolving of the ego that results from ecstatic experience, but not necessarily for psychic trauma, as in the case of magick, the ecstasy and the pain are always received in a controlled manner, lessening the shock upon the subject's faculties. whereas for the trauma, he or she is entirely unprepared. Apophis is sometimes associated with purification, such as in the Fire Opal, which is a ritual given to initiates of the A.’.A.’. and symbolizes in a sense confronting the complexes, that when destroyed, one is presented with a fuller view of the world incorporating parts that were prior to this purifying obscured to the magician’s sight. Therefore, ecstasy brings to light the complexes within this experience, and the super ego abdicates as it is overwhelmed, as a result of the lesser parts of the ego and the id having taken control of the self, making the conscious mind acutely aware of these parts of the psyche that were locked away, many out of necessity.

Here we see that the sacrifice written of at the start of this essay is now symbolic of archetypal forces that shape the magician’s consciousness and ego. That the one sacrificed is the magician and that it is a willing self-sacrifice that unlocks the deeper mysteries of our tradition. Anyone who hasn’t experience the formula of I.A.O. remains blind to its significance and character and such a person is usually easily identified by their lack of insight. That it is not something that can be gleaned by erudite means, but must be experienced for oneself. Although in no way glamorous there is still danger in the reward obtained by way of suffering, as it may lead to glorifying the act of self-sacrifice. This formula keeps repeating itself throughout as it is the means by which one’s perceptual circumference is increased, and as pertaining to these major shifts, suffering as a means to attainment is often glorified, even seen as holy. If this is taken to an extreme a magician has fallen into the trap which Crowley warns about, of course, the greater the suffering the greater the reward, but such a self-sacrificial attitude to the work will not move the work forward, rather, it is the motivation that comes from realizing that life is temporal and that our time here is short which may lead to a deeper appreciation for the ecstasy of living, appreciating the experience of now—finding meaning in the joy of being alive even the suffering, instead of chasing the thrill of dying for some imagined future glory, or believing it to be a virtue.

Since being alive is ecstasy also, it stands to reason that similar effects shouldn’t be achieved by being present. To illustrate this point, psychoanalysis has shown that at every moment of being confronted with the semiotic there occurs a type of sublimation of the ego, a small death, from where reality is reconstituted upon the foundation of meaning. This meaning is constantly shifting as one’s relationship to the symbolic order is constantly changing. Hence there is a constant re-emergence of the ego, a recalibration of the self, owing to its relationship to the stimulus it is confronted with. The reason for the ego’s sublimation, is that as soon as one is confronted with a sign the mind starts identifying it and this is done by establishing a relationship between it and all the signs it forms a relationship with, since the ego is entirely reliant on the world as a reflection thereof, at this point of identification the relationship is negated and with this negation so is the ego. This theory shows that life is ecstatic in the magickal sense and that the fluidity of meaning and the ego’s inescapable reliance on such for navigating its place through the world, is in perfect harmony with the formula of I.A.O..

Although, this is to be taken into consideration there is pain in life, and it may be that the painful aspects of living are the one’s from which we see the most of ourselves. It is from pain that the self is revealed in its clearest form, and when we find ourselves under such conditions, Crowley says not to shy away from them and to hold onto the pain. Of course, this is pointed out in the vignette as the more we assimilate the greater the reward. The reward here are the insights we gain into Nature and Being, that when such suffering is experienced, the shadow rises to the occasion as a comfort and the complexes are seen in a clear light. Hence, the more we experience under the pressure of ecstasy, the more we are able to comprehend and the greater the force we may fix to our talismans. If these experiences force us to look closer at existence and to ask questions we have never considered as having been beyond our peripheral, then certainly, the creative expression of these insights would be of equal character.

Impressions:

Impressions:

 9. QUO MODO NATURA SUA EST LEGENDA.

(How One Should Consider One’s Nature)

Deem not therefore that thy lightest Fancy is witless: it is a Word to thee, a Prophecy, a Sign or Signal from thy Lord. Thy most unconscious Acts are Keys to the Treasure-Chamber of thine own Palace, which is the House of the Holy Ghost. Consider well thy conscious Thoughts and Acts, for they are under the Dominion of thy Will, and moved in Accord with the Operation of thy Reason; this indeed is a necessary work, enabling to comprehend in what manner thou mayst adjust thyself to thine Environment. Yet is this Adaptation but Defence for the most Part, or at the best Subterfuge and Stratagem in the Tactics of thy Life, with but an accidental and subordinate Relation to thy true Will, whereof by Consciousness and by Reason thou mayst be ignorant, unless by Fortune great and rare thou be already harmonized in thyself, the Outer with the Inner, which Grace is not common among Men, and is the Reward of previous Attainment.

Neglect not simple Introspections, therefore; but give yet greater Heed unto those Dreams and Phantasies, those Gestures and Manners unconscious, and of undiscovered Cause, which betoken thee.

Liber Aleph: Aleister Crowley

We lose ourselves in magick, even though, for most of us, it is the very place where we first found ourselves. Magicians are not of the herd, they seldom want what the average man or woman wants, in fact, to be and to stay committed to a path such as that given to us by the A.’.A.’., it could be said, that such a person must be insane. There are no material rewards in it for us, no earthly glory to be gained by way of this toil. But that was never what any of us signed up for. Any magician, who is always looking to find fault in others, or validation from them, or in a way presents this as something that needs to be revered that sets him apart as superior from the rest of humanity, or that it may manifest his every desire, is either insincere, or he is a liar and a fraud. Magick is subjective, it is the art and science of causing change subjectively, one cannot influence the weather or affect global affairs through magickal means. Magick will not give you what you want, it will give you what you need, until such time that you know what it is you truly want.

We start by asking questions: what made me get so angry, what about this situation made me behave in this way, is my aversion to that person justified, what about that person is making me feel this way, how can I love or hate such a person and are these feelings rational even if they are, what is the reason for my reaction? Then there are the dogs, I listen to their words and I pay attention to their attacks, and then I feel it, I ask myself what I am feeling and whether or not the way I am feeling is rational, what about this current experience is making me feel differently to an experience that was similar in almost every respect? One must also look at circumstances and memories and ask the same questions pertaining to them. These feelings are sometimes unbearably painfully and uncomfortable and sometimes joyful—pleasurable to the extreme, but this is what we are looking for. The humiliation, the fear, the uncertainty and anger, the joy, the love, the compassion, empathy and even the peace when in the company of a certain individual, in a certain environment, or the experience is associated with a specific set of circumstances; when evaluated, these questions may all shed light into the darkness of our inner worlds. We need these things to develop, whether painful or pleasurable; that through them we cultivate our Souls. Self-knowledge is the first requisite for any of us, and it is via our introspection that we attain mastery over our emotions, thoughts and feelings. Looking outward, trying to find someone or circumstances to blame, to run away or to look away from; defeats the entire purpose of this first injunction.

It has been documented, that aspirants and initiates of the Holy Order, throughout history, have in many cases been subject to slanderous attacks, and some have been tortured and killed for their association. There is nothing very glamorous about that prospect, and even so, some of us take on our responsibilities in full knowledge of this fact, that at the outset, we have accepted the opposition of the people as a potential fate. In the beginning, we are taught that to love the world and humanity is the highest adoration. Then we work to set ourselves apart from that very unity that we hold in such high regard. It is a tearing away from the mother that leaves us isolated and alone, that we may re-establish our relationship with her on our own terms and in a more perfect manner.

We have, under such circumstances, no choice but to enter into a deep and honest dialogue with ourselves, as there is truly nobody else to talk to. We must never allow ourselves to be dragged down so low as to partake in those things that are most detestable within the heart of humanity. We must be better; and instead of stooping to that level, to rather become quiet and to find answers from inside with which to move forward with integrity and pride; the pride of knowing that I am not an animal, that I am more refined. If I become, in any way, like that which I hate most, I would surely end up hating myself. How could I live with myself? But like this; I can live with pride in the reflection staring back at me, and I can die knowing that I didn’t negate my Soul for the sake of belonging or getting along. Know thyself; seems to be a rather straight forward injunction, but the way to accomplish it is to have nothing else to look at or to study; but to look into the very centre of one’s being demands isolation and a willingness to look at things that most people will never see. It is lonely, and so this must be done under Will. In order for this to be accomplished, one must become still and quiet, he must explore his inner world of symbols, and he must recognize and analyze his impressions without paying attention to the noise of the external world. Although, and this is where the difficulty lies: he must, even from his sense of isolation and indifference maintain harmony between himself and the world. This is achieved by utilizing the intellect and the Four Powers of the Sphinx and evaluating what habits, and behaviors as well as impressions don't serve his progress and cutting them away as they arise. Thereby he cultivates an environment of peaceful congruence that is absolutely essential to him at this stage in his magickal development.

31. For these fools of men and their woes care not thou at all! They feel little; what is, is balanced by weak joys; but ye are my chosen ones.

32. Obey my prophet! follow out the ordeals of my knowledge! seek me only! Then the joys of my love will redeem ye from all pain. This is so: I swear it by the vault of my body; by my sacred heart and tongue; by all I can give, by all I desire of ye all.

Liber AL: Chapter I, Verse 31,32:

25. Ye are against the people, O my chosen!

Liber AL: Chapter II, Verse 25:

The attacks of the people are in a way a blessing, that they serve to tear open new wounds and potential repressions from which we gain deeper insight into our Souls. They extend our circumference, that through this magick we attain greater control as our understanding of the semiotic relationship between the elements that shape our realities increase. The scars serve as reminders of those things we have overcome, those things that have aided in our development, albeit, some things we may have chosen to ignore, they are all things that we have entered into a relationship with, that have formed a part of us. Some of it may be neatly tucked away and avoided to form part of our shadows, but all of it fosters the unique character of every individual Soul. There is always a yearning to be reunited with the mother, however, this marriage is only possible once perfection is attained. Therefore, this initial step is of the utmost importance. As it teaches us what is of use to us, and what must be cut away. The Will of a magician and his intellect are the only tools he has to help him overcome these trials, as the yearning is there, and the herd will reinforce to him the idea that there is merit in his premature return to the world. Thus, his reward will only be attained in remaining steadfast, and by cutting away the false phantoms that seek to lure him, and guide him back from whence he came.