An Ancient Ontology:

 An Ancient Ontology:

"The One is everywhere present, inasmuch as each of the beings derives its existence from the gods and even though they proceed forth from the gods, they have not gone out from them rather are rooted in them … They have not been cut off from the gods. If they had been cut off, they would not even exist, because all the offspring once they are wrenched away from their fathers, would immediately hasten towards the gaping void of non-being."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus:

The One may be described as the Unity, or the continuation, the nature of which is Agape. In the qabalah this idea is tied into the Logos and the Shekinah as the Dove -- the Holy Spirit, meaning that both matter and motion can be seen as opposites that express; making intelligible the nature of this eternal force that unifies all opposites, even within the body of the demiurge. It is the Dyad symbolised in the Yin-Yang of Daoism and Shiva and Shakti of Hinduism, and in Thelema it is the union between the Beast and Babalon. Hence the One is the Dao or Brahman that is the counterpart of Atman, and when Atman realizes its true nature as eternal and omnipresent it awakens the self to a higher more abstract level of experience. In other words, Union manifests a greater awareness of the gods and as a result, via necessity, a closer -- more direct relationship develops. This relationship serves as the foundation for divine inspiration. The theurgist, upon this union, becomes a priest, or a prophet reflecting eternal truth into the world, an expression that is sometimes called genius, hence, Theurgy is often called the religion of the philosophers. Orphism tells us that the demiurge is created when Zeus is born along with Phanes and Aether, as well as Hestia's subsistence continues into Being along with these. What this indicates is that Agape illustrated in the Empress Atu as well as the light of consciousness -- the L.V.X. are the elements that unite all things within the magickal universe; following this logic, Hestia's subsistence is represented with the juxtaposition of the Priestess and the Empress Atus of the Holy Tarot. Upon closer inspection this ontology presents us with the human soul, or more accurately, the relationship between self and the other, was according to the ancients what constituted the demiurge and not merely the creator of the world, as this creation is dependent on Phanes for its manifestation. Therefore, since the theurgists were concerned with direct experience, this ontology perfectly reflects the ontology of individual consciousness and outlines the structure of the relationship between self and the other, as is also done in the qabalah. The gods, angels, heroes, demons etc, are said to be not separate from but rooted within this body of God. Within this analogy the gods become elements of the macrocosm, both on a subjective and objective front. For example, in the sublunary world the archons are objective being sympathetic to a magician, and they are potentially corrupting forces in the world and their counterparts, the demons, are subjective and correspond to heredity, often a peculiar genetic disposition turns these demons into evil spirits, as they are associated with the talents and natural inklings of the subject. The archons and demons attract each other in this way and are elements of the magician's lower nature. In contrast to the lower beings, the gods are of the higher and are attracted to the intellect. However, both the higher and the lower are aspects of the same soul. Albeit this is a modern rendering, the races find their way within the psyche in the way presented as a consequence of the aim of theurgy, which was to align the soul with the gods and raise the priest to ecstatic states sometimes called divine inbreathing. This only works, as the microcosm within this theology, is a perfect reflection of the macrocosm, as in the qabalah, making the subjectivization of these races a natural progression.

Proclus and Neoplatonism 4:

Proclus and Neoplatonism 4: 

"The myth of a golden chain (seirê chruseiê) of succession (diadochos), a Homeric metaphor of a golden chain stretching from heaven to earth, was promulgated by the Athenians in an effort to re-establish the legitimacy of Platonism on the basis of a spiritual if not actual genealogy of inaugural and successor figures. The continuous line of descent from Plato and Pythagoras, then, was a myth promoted in order to establish irrefutable authority for the Athenians."

"Proclus will categorize souls in the later books of the Commentary and consider some types of mortal souls less mortal and more divine than others. This elevation of his Hellenic predecessors almost to the status of demigods may have worked its way into his genuinely believed hierarchy of soul types."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus:

The "Cloud Upon the Sanctuary" by Karl von Eckartshausen presents the idea of a society of the elect, an order of adepts who having attained immortality choose to incarnate and serve humanity. The golden chain written of in the above quote is highly reminiscent of such a society. Rosicrucianism is said to be the entrance of this Inner Order. The Order is sempiternal and precedes religion, however, it is the source of every and all religions. Some think that it was from within this Order that the Magi acquired their knowledge, that the Chaldean Oracles was a revelation given to the world by members of the Great White Brotherhood. It seems that even during the time of Proclus initiates of certain schools were aware of the same and that their focus on these teachers became emphasized when their survival became most severely threatened by Christianity. They created a mythology around this idea and presented it to the public, it became common knowledge among Athenians that their religion was a religion of nobility, that within their tradition were counted figures such as Pythagoras and Orpheus. They must have suffered a lot under Christianity and perhaps found strength in this idea that they were a part of something greater than themselves and greater than any one religion. This Academy in Athens was thus proclaimed to be a link in a golden chain of adepts, sometimes called the Brotherhood of Light. Proclus' mention of souls not having equal status reinforces the idea of Ascended Masters sometimes referred to as Secret Chiefs guiding the evolution of humanity. Today we speak of the Masters of the Temple, who in life presented us with a Great Work of such value that they will through their success continue serving humanity and will be remembered forever. The legitimacy of this idea may perhaps be seen in the heroes of the platonic tradition, heroes such as Plotinus, Iamblichus, Julian, Porphyry and Proclus etc, who regardless of Christianity's attempts at ridding the world of this tradition have become the most celebrated philosophers of all time. Aleister Crowley was such a Master of the Temple, and his Order called the Astron Argon is said to be the modern incarnation of the Great White Brotherhood. He believed that his predecessor was Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, who he considered a Master of the Temple as well and referred to her as his "sister in the temple of truth". Her contribution cannot be overstated, as she almost single handedly resurrected the Great White Brotherhood, by publishing her magnum opus "Isis Unveiled'

"Proclus was not only an active promulgator of Academic philosophy, but a practising pagan actively pursuing his religious beliefs. According to Cameron, he used to worship openly in the temples that had been ordered closed fifty years before. As previously mentioned, Proclus uses the word mochthêrais (corrupt) of Christians (as did Julian), and calls Christianity paranomia (transgressing the law). Cameron tells us further that other Athenian figures, such as Proclus’ immediate predecessor Hegias, aroused hostility by openly parading his paganism, having come from a rich and noble Christian family in Athens."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus: 

Proclus and Neoplatonism 3:

 Limitations of the Intellect:

"Theurgy, as strange as it may seem to Western ideologies, can be recognized as the Neoplatonist means to bypass an exhausted discursive, or dialectical, knowing. For the theurgic philosopher this type of practice transcends the limits of dialectic and even negative dialectic, as a means to unify with ultimate causes. It can reach or touch a mode of experience that is technically unreachable by the normal avenues of human reason. An ‘action’ of some sort, such as eliminating the particularity of individual ‘ego’ through purifications, on technical grounds, is more equipped to do the job of assimilation and revelatory apprehension than discursive thinking."

"Proclus, however, recognizes that the gifts that are bestowed on this universe are fathered and bestowed without limit upon a physical world. To study it, therefore, is to learn the secrets that lie behind nature’s ‘veil’."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus

A true occult secret cannot be told or understood by erudition, it must be experienced. Today, following the structuralist school of linguistics known as the Prague Circle a lot of insight is gleaned into the nature of poetics, especially philosophical language. We have learned that via the use of certain poetic devices found within the structure of language itself, a writer is able to expose this unconscious substrate and actively target the intuition for the reader to understand the text on a deeper level. Philosophical language that seeks to describe the transcendent has always been a point of enquiry for scholars as linear discourse fails to capture the essence thereof in any kind of meaningful way. In the same way that regular discourse falls short of the aim of describing such experiences, a regular perception is also inadequate for us to see through this veil, thus the techniques of theurgy are employed to look into the higher worlds and experience divinity. Following that, insights into the mysteries are intuited and present alongside the work done by a magician. This work is arduous and often leads to sublimation of the ego as it is exposed to a deeper world of understanding that must necessarily be crystallized as part of the soul. The theurgist via this work of writing commentaries seeks to articulate that which has been felt, regardless of whether anyone else understands, it is first meant as a tool for the assimilation of new knowledge. When considering the Pythagorean tradition and the use of geometry and mathematics in some of these commentaries they were perhaps not written for the layman at all, but meant for the initiated. Of course, there are in most cases a large gap between the intuition and the intellect and thus non-discursive thinking must be as well articulated as possible for this gap to be bridged. Proclus felt that mankind was given ten perfect gifts by the demiurge, which is the topic of the book that the quotes are taken from. Although language is and will always be limited to describe things of this nature, the theurgists felt it was their duty to present these experiences to the world in written form. The first magick is and always has been writing, and as such, it has always been the work of the magician to enliven and preserve these teachings by way of this art form. Within the world of modern esotericism, these neoplatonic philosophers should serve as an example, that a badge of attainment and grade happiness means nothing unless you are doing the work and enriching this tradition via your contribution. Failure certainly means doing nothing, good report or not. Nothing is secret, secrecy is for shut ups and frauds, although, some things are harder to explain than others, however, we do our best, so that those with eyes to see may see. Hundreds of years from now this tradition will continue, and there will be new seekers, and it is perhaps only from the work left behind by us - our writings, that they may find guidance, and an affirmation of their place in a religious tradition, that precedes even religion itself.

Proclus and Neoplatonism 2:

Proclus and Neoplatonism 2:

 "The ‘all in all’ principle allows that things that exist in their own right and are self constituted, as are the gods/henads, are not obliterated by unity. There is a simultaneous presence of the One, Being and at the material level, Existence. None of these levels can reduce to their higher hypostasis, continuity and discontinuity are reconcilable."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus:

I am a finite point in an infinite universe made up of all the essential elements of the macrocosm. This finiteness is my subjective experience. Above there are many worlds of abstract nature, there is the world of the gods, the intelligible world and then there is the One. The One is that infinite source of pure consciousness that in Thelema is called Nuit as No-thing, and qabalistically we refer to this state as Ain, Ain Soph and Ain Soph Aur. The last of these is the Limitless Light which establishes Kether, and it is within this sephirah that the Light and Darkness are still a perfect Unity. In context, this Unity is symbolised as the perfect union between Hadit and Nuit as one that has never experienced separateness, it is pure consciousness or the One continuity wherein all discontinuity exists. Hence from our purview these natures are associated with Agape and Will, that, respectively issue forth from Binah and Chokmah. The presence of these elements of light and darkness within Kether thus manifests the Dyad that again via the union of male and female the demiurge is created. As this infinite source of creativity moves down into the lower worlds its nature is reflected with more discontinuity until finally it is seen in the multiplicity of the sublunary world. These are all reflections of the same source and their natures are affected depending on their proximity to the Unity. Thus a god has unity, to whom in comparison we as humans seem flawed. However, a god cannot reside in the lower worlds just as you and I cannot debase our beingness to become demonic entities, although, we can raise ourselves to experience the qualities of the higher worlds. Humans are particularly gifted and have a special place within this hierarchy as the Soul is the only member of the celestial races able to experience all the worlds, albeit not entirely expressed. Within my makeup I am limited in my finiteness to only assimilate that which is in accordance with my beingness as received from the infinite as well as the lower races. The importance of this must not be overlooked, especially in a world where terms describing the death of the ego have been categorized as mystical attainments. The quote points out that when unity is attained it is merely glimpsed, that the perfection that follows the experience is always an expression of the self having awakened from the light of knowing. Of course, as the intelligible world -- the world of archetypes is perceived as ecstasy, one is incapable of rendering the nature thereof fully. Thus the experience leads to contemplation and a restructuring of the universe limited by the presence of the ego. The sublimation of the intellect is said not to be permanent in the above quote, illustrating the major difference between theurgy and the contemplative -- mystical school of neoplatonism, as well as, the importance these priests placed on maintaining the integrity of the ego after union was achieved. In summary, every constituent of the universe from a god to a soul even plants are entirely separate from and perfectly share in oneness with the all. If any of these were to lose their beingness, such as the death of the ego, it would result in a state comparable to No-thing.

Proclus and Neoplatonism:

Proclus and Neoplatonism:

 "Proclus reads Plato in a way in which the One is seen as independent of Being, and as the clear ground of all form in the cosmos and of all knowledge about it, including mathematics, spherics and geometry. From its physical infrastructure, constructed according to the theorems of geometry, to the political structure of the ideal state, conforming to ratios, everything in the

cosmos is unified according to noetic patterns."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge: Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus-

Being in neoplatonic thought is allegorized in the story of Dionysus or Phanes, who via his life, death, resurrection and upbringing is eventually seated upon the throne of the demiurge, where he takes Zeus' place as king of the gods. Phanes is also analogous to the Christ representing the intellect and the ego establishing our connection to the One. The One is Pure Consciousness but is also related to L.V.X. and Agape as issuing forth from the Limitless Light serving as the force of divine inspiration, and Being is the relationship between an individual and the world of contraries. Qabalstically, Being takes up the worlds below the abyss starting at Chesed appropriately called the sphere of Jupiter and ending in Malkuth whereby both the sublunary and ethereal aspects of life are emphasized. Clearly established in the above is a dualistic approach to metaphysics and the importance of the Great Work is emphasized as being an individual pursuit in service of tradition with the ego at the centre. The neoplatonic tradition of writing commentaries was seen as integral to this work. In fact, it was inseparable as an element of their doctrine which is often referred to as the religion of the philosophers. The theurgic tradition in contrast to the mystical schools of the platonic tradition are well known for their allegories and comparative critiques. Where Plotinus' form of neoplatonism is considered contemplative and the school popularized by emperor Julian and Iamblichus is religious, the latter is best known for its observance of holy rites meant to induce ecstatic states. Yet an equally profound practice of this school is how they brought together mythology and philosophy, and explored the Chaldean Oracles, Orphism, Pythagorean teachings and Platonic dialogues to attain a better understanding of the Soul's relationship with the divine. It may fruitfully be described, that they sought to draw down the perfection of the One and crystallize it as exemplified in their written commentaries expounding the gnosis of a lived tradition. These commentaries were not merely explanations, they were sacraments wherein the priest was partaking in an intimate dialogue with the gods, it was an element of worship. As the quote points out, everything is united via noetic patterns referring to rendering the transcendent into words depending on the Neshamah's connection to the Ruach, the perfect union of which was necessary for such an inspired semination to take place. In other words, it was viewed as a type of divine inbreathing -- a communion with the gods necessary for fulfilling such a holy task. It is customary to be given a written commentary of initiation or sometimes knowledge lectures within initiatory orders that serve the same purpose. The tradition has in this way been preserved and must continue in the same way if we are to maintain its integrity. What is also expressed in the quote is the comparative nature of the commentaries, that examples are taken from numerous sources to illustrate a point. An example of how this particular practice has been preserved would be Aleister Crowley's 777, the usefulness of which has been illustrated in his own commentaries on the Holy Books of Thelema. Instead of merely focussing on the transcendent potential of poetics, the priest often compared the ideas of Plato to Orphic and Chaldean ideas relying on the telestic quality of these writings, by selecting topics as disparate as politics, mathematics, geometry and mythology, the priest was able to deepen the reader's insights into the perfection of this particular school of thought. 

The Limitations of Language:

Limitations of Language:

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

"Theurgy, as strange as it may seem to Western ideologies, can be recognized as the Neoplatonist means to bypass an exhausted discursive, or dialectical, knowing. For the theurgic philosopher this type of practice transcends the limits of dialectic and even negative dialectic, as a means to unify with ultimate causes. It can reach or touch a mode of experience that is technically unreachable by the normal avenues of human reason. An ‘action’ of some sort, such as eliminating the particularity of individual ‘ego’ through purifications, on technical grounds, is more equipped to do the job of assimilation and revelatory apprehension than discursive thinking."

"Proclus, however, recognizes that the gifts that are bestowed on this universe are fathered and bestowed without limit upon a physical world. To study it, therefore, is to learn the secrets that lie behind nature’s ‘veil’."

Ten Gifts of the Demiurge-Proclus' Commentary on the Timaeus

A true occult secret cannot be told or understood by erudition, it must be experienced. Today, following the structuralist school of linguistics known as the Prague Circle a lot of insight is gleaned into the nature of poetics, especially philosophical language. We have learned that via the use of certain poetic devices found within the structure of language itself, a writer is able to expose this unconscious substrate and actively target the intuition for the reader to understand the text on a deeper level. Philosophical language that seeks to describe the transcendent has always been a point of enquiry for scholars as linear discourse fails to capture the essence thereof in any kind of meaningful way. In the same way that regular discourse falls short of the aim of describing such experiences, a regular perception is also inadequate for us to see through this veil, thus the techniques of theurgy are employed to look into the higher worlds and experience divinity. Following that, insights into the mysteries are intuited and present alongside the work done by a magician. This work is arduous and often leads to sublimation of the ego as it is exposed to a deeper world of understanding that must necessarily be crystallized as part of the soul. The theurgist via this work of writing commentaries seeks to articulate that which has been felt, regardless of whether anyone else understands, it is first meant as a tool for the assimilation of new knowledge. When considering the Pythagorean tradition and the use of geometry and mathematics in some of these commentaries they were perhaps not written for the layman at all, but meant for the initiated. Of course, there are in most cases a large gap between the intuition and the intellect and thus non-discursive thinking must be as well articulated as possible for this gap to be bridged. Proclus felt that mankind was given ten perfect gifts by the demiurge, which is the topic of the book that the quotes are taken from. Although language is and will always be limited to describe things of this nature, the theurgists felt it was their duty to present these experiences to the world in written form. The first magick is and always has been writing, and as such, it has always been the work of the magician to enliven and preserve these teachings by way of this art form. Within the world of modern esotericism, these neoplatonic philosophers should serve as an example, that a badge of attainment and grade happiness means nothing unless you are doing the work and enriching this tradition via your contribution. Failure certainly means doing nothing, good report or not. Nothing is secret, secrecy is for shut ups and frauds, although, some things are harder to explain than others, however, we do our best, so that those with eyes to see may see. Hundreds of years from now this tradition will continue, and there will be new seekers, and it is perhaps only from the work left behind by us - our writings, that they may find guidance, and an affirmation of their place in a religious tradition, that precedes even religion itself.

Love is the law, love under will.

On Love:

On Love: 

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

"Invoke me under my stars! Love is the law, love under will. Nor let the fools mistake love: for there are love and love. There is the dove and there is the serpent. Choose ye well! He, my prophet, hath chosen, knowing the law of the fortress, and the great mystery of the House of God."

Liber AL vel Legis: Chapter I:57 -

What is the definition of Love for practitioners of Thelemic magick? Of course, there are many forms of love, however, Crowley tells us that this Love is not sentimental or romantic love, certainly, love in common parlance seems more a sentiment for fools and platitudes. Agape as it is often referred to starts as an acknowledgement and an adoration. We learn that we are connected in Spirit, and that this spark which we are all animated by is of the same essence. Via this practice we connect with those around us on a deeper level and by acknowledging each other as divine we learn what Love is. That it is a substratum in Nature that connects us all, or universal love, that it is intimately tied into the Light of consciousness and Life. By way of our acknowledgement that 'Every man and every woman is a star' -- inherently divine, we foster a profound reverence for the human condition; we learn to treat each other with dignity and love in the highest most profound sense. Developing this perception is not passive, it is a practice of mindfulness which makes the development of this deeper faculty intentional and a magickal act. However, it is important to understand that this acceptance of the fact that every man and woman must be given due respect and freedom to attain their highest possible potential in life, does not automatically give us an injunction to forgive our enemies; or let people walk all over us; it is not a call to altruism -- those who seek to restrict us must still be dealt with in kind. Therefore, this practice is not moral, ethical or sentimental, it is merely developing the perception of a magickal principle, that we who adhere to the Thelemic praxis call Love. 

Within this simple practice is embodied one of the most profound insights, an insight that lays the foundation for Thelemic Sex Magick. It is Love in this sense that becomes the auxiliary of creation and is symbolised in the Empress Atu of the Tarot that connects Chokmah to Binah, but is also the path uniting the Fool and Magus, three paths on the Tree of Life symbolic of Thelemic Sex Magick as understood and preserved in the 9th degree initiation ceremony of the O.T.O. The dove and the serpent juxtaposed in the above quote may also be interpreted as relevant to the present topic. The serpent could be seen as corresponding to the intellect and intention, whereas the dove is a symbol of the pre-linguistic. It presents these ideas as being inseparable although distinct. The serpent is clearly phallic and the dove is the womb, thus we could view this symbolically as the phenomenon of conception, however, it is perceived on a much grander scale than the union between a man and a woman. Once awareness of this auxiliary force is developed the magician finds himself in the auspicious position from where his will may be projected onto the substrate of consciousness that I have here referred to as Agape, thus causing change to occur in conformity with it. There is the idea that the Will must survive death, and this formula is the practical application thereof. This can be understood in the psychoanalytic theory of the semiotic, a state wherein the ego is sublimated and re-transfigured by way of creating meaning, it also illustrates the fluidity of meaning and the arbitrary nature thereof. It is a sensual world and a place where self awareness is lost, where one is overcome with a kind of confusion -- overwhelmed such as one is at the climax of sexual union. These symbols are perhaps easiest explained in sexual terms accorded by their nature, and comparing Thelemic symbolism to those of other schools of thought have always proved interesting. Although, orgasm as well as the semiotic can also be symbolised as death, and hints at the fluidity and the lack of fixed meaning from where a magician seeks to imprint his will upon this substrate of consciousness and re-transfigure the self and indeed the entire universe in accordance with it.

"Love is the law, love under will."