Who is Frater L.e.N.e.? - Part 2

After having my first spiritual awakening when i was 19, i knew that the Search for Light will be the most important factor for me in this present incarnation.
I felt a deep longing for the gigantic feeling of Divine Love that i have experienced in these split-seconds, and 15 years later i still feel this longing burning in my heart.
But i still was very young and wild and therefore would not have the persistence to submit to a daily discipline of spiritual practise.
Also, i was not sure if eastern practises would be the best option.
Although i already had a copy of Israel Regardies "Golden Dawn" in my possession, i did not know that it is a workable system even without an existing Order. I just had a few glances at the Initiation Rituals in there and thought them to be far too complicated to do something practically with it, on myself and without any group or teacher.

At the age of 20 i moved from Southern Germany to Berlin, feeling that my environment had become too narrow-minded for me to fulfill my dreams.
In this crazy town that i still love so much i first started to go to school again, preparing for my high-school exams at a school for adult education.
For the next 5 years my interest in spirituality faded.
I was too busy in exploring what adventures my new habitat had to offer me, made many friends, went to a lot of parties and also engaged in small art projects.
Eventually, this somehow spiritual unfocussed life-style led to a deep personal crisis.
After a violent breach with a man that i was deeply in love with at this time, i suffered severe feelings of depression and loss of identity in the year of 2000.
I could not open the door for visiting friends, did not want to read a book or listen to music, could not do anything except for eating and sleeping, and just shut myself up in my house, awaking every morning with the deep feeling of not knowing anymore who I am. Often, the days in this year started with tears and desperation and ended with panic attacks on the street when i tried to go to the supermarket.
But, as it is normal with every spiritual crisis, there was a little glimpse of Light that shone through all this desperation and that finally helped me to come out of it again, fortunately without having to look for professional help.
It happened that one time i picked up a book from my bookshelve, and more or less out of chance it was a book by Carlos Castaneda, that i have read and admired when being a teenager.
At random i read a small passage about the concept of Tonal and Nagual, with the Tonal as everything that can be perceived and termed as reality, and the Nagual as everything that lies beneath and beyond this material reality. It also said that if a person once made contact to the Nagual and after that did not care about the implications and impact of this experience, s/he would ever suffer a feeling of undefined longing, a longing that could never be stilled with any material act.
By reading these few sentences, i suddenly began to realize the true meaning of my present and completely unpleasant state of mind.
So i started to think about what i really want out of this life and made some serious decisions.
I started to prescribe a daily routine of fitness training and meditation to myself and entered one of the local universities to study comparative religious sciences.
With this, the interest in the occult was enflamed again.
I bought every book about magic i could lay my hands on, and especially read everything from and about Aleister Crowley.
In the years of 2001 and 2002 i experimented with some kind of self-styled auto-erotic magic on a regular basis by creating one personal sigil per month and charging this with sexual energy and will-power with the intent to come into closer contact with my Holy Guardian Angel.
I somehow also began to realize that without help from any spiritual teacher or school that fitted my temperament and character, i could not progress further.
This thought was quite new for me, seeing that up to this point i have always regarded myself as some sort of spiritual and solitary warrior.
Eventually- i heard about the inauguration of a local Golden Dawn temple in Berlin at the end of the year 2002!
I was totally surprised because i had thought that the famous Golden Dawn was dead long ago!
Of course, i went to this public event where our Chief Adept held a lecture about the Golden Dawn and its system, and introduced the Hierophant of the new temple to the guests.
I was deeply impressed by the sobriety and solemnity of this lecture and event and had a very peculiar vision when the Chief Adept provided a Skrying session with one of the main symbols of the tradition.
Straight after this event i bought the "Ritual Magic Manual" by David Griffin and at home performed my first Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and Middle Pillar along its outlines.
From this moment on i knew that eventually i had found the spiritual techniques that i was looking for for so long!

So in April 2003 i got initiated into the Neophyte Grade of the Golden Dawn and therewith became a member of the local temple.
I consider this initiation as the most important day in all my life.
It was truly a new beginning and i will always be grateful for having got this remarkable opportunity. No word can truly describe what this initiation meant to me.
I was 28 then and time was ripe and perfect for a disciplined, practical and scientific approach to the spiritual heights i have sworn myself to reach long ago!

And here I am, still a member of the german Temple and international Order, and all i can say is that the Order and its brilliant system of attainment did never disappoint me at any given time.
Over the years i have realised that attainment is not a single event, but more likely demands a life-long endeavour and willingness to tread the path, no matter what grade you are in.
I also realised that spiritual development comes gradual only, that the powers of the Soul unfold subtle and slowly and only with a great amount of personal discipline and perseverance, and that
the process of going through the grades is often an unpleasant one, because you are forced to reflect deeply on every trait of your personality.
In order to establish contact with the Divine, you first have to establish balance in your Microcosm, at least to a certain extent.
This is what the elemental grades of the Outer Order aim at- they prepare your sphere for the cultivation of Soul. And at the same time, you are made perfect in the performance of basic magical techniques like Banishing, Invocations, Skryings, Consecrations and Divination.
I will ever be grateful for the founders of this system and everybody who is willing to teach it to the aspiring student, because i can see that its initiations and techniques are truly able to unlock the doors of Heaven and of Hell, and finally lead to the Summum Bonum, True Happiness and the Stone of the Wise.
I do not consider myself as super intelligent or genuine, in fact i think iam a quite lazy person and there may be times when i am not able to do more than the prescribed and necessary work. I know that also there will always be people who progress faster and display more intellectual brilliance than me.
But i think this is not the point.
The point is that i truly believe that i have found my spiritual homeground and that iam willing to dedicate my whole life to the study of hermetic sciences and the cultivation of my Soul, and thereby to delve ever deeper into Self-Knowledge and Knowledge of the Divine, to hopefully to become more than human one day and then to help other aspiring students to realize the same.


By the Truth that is One and Ineffable,
Summa Scientia Nihil Scire,
Frater L.e.N.e.

Who is Frater L.e.N.e.? - Part 1

I was raised by very loving and tolerant parents in a small village in Southern Germany and since early on i had a deep hunger for everything occult, religious and mystical, although my parents were no regular church-goers and didnt lay this interest on me.

But of course we had a bible in our house and this should be the first occult book for me to read.

I didnt get through the Old Testament, although i tried it, and i dont remember if i went through the whole New Testament, but i remember clearly reading the Genesis and Apocalypse excessively again and again.

Also from early on i was excited by any scary and horror movie, and although i was still very young, i managed to convince my mother to let me see all the cruel late night movies that i wanted to see on TV.

From early on it was clear for me and my family that i am not like other boys in my age.

As a child and teenager i was damned to look like a girl and in my first years on this Earth i was very silent and self-sufficient, up to the point that my mother was already thinking iam somehow autistic, but the doctors were assuring that, apart from my hayfever, iam totally fine.

Later on i did not like to go playing football outside with the other boys from the village, due to my hayfever but much more because i was satisifed with either reading at home (i have learned reading on myself before entering school) or playing witches with my very best friend, a girl that i was closely befriended with since kindergarden on.

We played spirit medium and made table-turning and glass-moving, tried to evoke ghosts in deserted places around the village and even created an imaginary friend that we shared.

We did our best to scare our neighbour children with our ghost and witch stories, and we were hunting after every local legend that had something to do with supernatural things.

In fact, my childhood seemed to be very "Buffy".

When we were 10 or 11 we bought a book at the local trainstation bookstore that was called "The World of Magic". It was a heavy paperback and in it i read about Aleister Crowley for the first time, and as you can imagine-

i was totally fascinated.

I trained myself to read everything backwards and even walk backwards, because i read that Crowley was doing this to un-do his mind.

We tried every magical recipe we could find in this book.

One time we were trying to evoke Beelzebub (!) by reciting some strange hebrew verses backwards- i think at this time i did not even know that it was hebrew, but i remember words like Adonai and Tetragrammaton. We were doing it at my room in my parents house, after school, when my parents were still at work.

We were chanting the verses many times and came into a wild frenzy. It was so fun that we didnt want to stop, but suddenly we heard a heavy bang from the top floor, like something really big has crashed to the floor, and we abruptly stopped chanting, with faces full of fear and expactation. Of course we went to the attic to see what has happened, and to our disappointment we did not see anything, but at least i can swear that we smelled a heavy sulphurous odour that made us fastly flee downstairs again!

When my mother came home from work she noticed that i had spread flour on the floor of my room because i had read that when ghosts or entities show up at night, they would leave footsteps in the flour.

Another time my friend and me were collecting all the plants that were necessary for a magic witch salve, a recipe from the book which said that all the witches in the past were using this to fly.

In our childish innocence, we picked Datura and Belladonna from the local nature reserve, and in the following weeks my friend made a slimy thick and pink salve from these plants and other additives.

We used to celebrate Walpurgis Night every year, alone in the party cellar at her parents house.

We played mixed tapes with spooky gothic songs and used to dance along mystically.

So this one Walpurgis Night we planned to rub our bodies with the magic salve, feeling that this Night would be perfect to test it.

I do not remember much of this special night anymore. In fact i think i had many blackouts.

I only remember fragments of it, like laying next to my friend on the floor of the party cellar, naked and sweating really heavily, and then suddenly coming to consciousness again and it is already long after dawn. This was the first night that i have not spent at my parents house, and i fastly ran home because i thought my mother must be very angry, which she was not by the way.

Today, after over 20 years, and knowing about the (side-) effects of magical plants i think that we were very lucky, having this sort of special children protection from high above, and that maybe apart from natural sleeping and dreaming our astral bodies really were travelling for the first time.

It must have been around the age of 12 that i began writing poetry.

Soon, and more or less out of accident, i got discovered by a local newspaper that was printing my poems in the art section and a lot of people from local art projects began being interested in me.

I was praised by the local media as a poetic "wunderkind" and i started to hold readings in several cities of Southern Germany, and was involved with a off-theater-group that was organising musical poetry readings for me.

I even managed to get my poems published in an anthology of young writers when i was 14, and made a TV live appearence by reading one of my poems on my 16th birthday, dressed in full gothic style and surely scaring the hell out of several of the millions of people that were watching this certain german art show on one of the two main channels at this one sunday afternoon in the early nineties.

But this was not the beginning of a straight-forward artistical career, although there surely would have been a bit of potential.

I was either surrounded by people who had (too) great expactations or who were predicting loss of interest and talent the older i get. Therefore i was tensed by pressure and the fear of loosing.

But moreover, i detected that iam gay when i was 14, and the time was ripe for my coming - out and for exploring what love and life had to offer me.

So i completely delved into a bohemian lifestyle, seeing that the experiences i had made in my early teenage years had programmed me not to want to live a "normal" life like many other people, including following a well laid out plan for making money.

I deeply fell in love, several times, sometimes lucky and sometimes not, and especially one time so heavily, that i was convinced to have lost my identity when the relationship broke up when i was 18. This was the time when my interest in mystic and religion was enflamed again.

I started reading everything about buddhism i could lay my hands on. For two years, I read through piles of books about this subject and started experimenting with certain tibetan meditation practises.

At the age of 19 something happened that i consider as my first and certainly one of my most groundbreaking magico-spiritual experiences and kick-starts i ever had.

I was at a home party and suddenly, and completely out of chance, fell into a out-of-body-experience.

I was sitting on a sofa next to a friend, and one second after i saw myself standing maybe 100 meters in front of me, tiny and small, and bathed in complete darkness, a blackness i have never experienced before.

Then i saw a Light rising in front of my body, a huge and warm golden Light, and this Light was so intense and gigantic like the Sun and so full of Love that i saw my small body shaking, hardly bearing the sheer intensity of it.

I have never experienced such a full power feeling of Divine Love before and after.

Only one small beam or even the reflection of a tiny beam from this source seemed so powerful that it could destroy my small and insignificant being in one million of a second.

Then a voice was whispering to me that this is the Divine Core that is hidden in every human being and that it is my task in life to firstly find the way to this Light on my own and secondly to tell every human being i meet from now on about this special experience.

Then i was back in the room again, sitting next to my friend, noticing that only a few seconds had passed, and desperately trying to verbalize the experience, which i could not manage this very night.

To be continued….

Adoration of the Lord

This is a small ritual that i have created for myself, based on the traditional Golden Dawn ritual of the Adoration of the Lord of the Universe.
I mostly do it when having not enough time for a Greater Invocation ritual, but wanting a certain flair before proceeding with my daily Middle Pillar ritual.
It takes not more than five minutes.
It can be enlarged and deepened in many directions, e.g. I have combined it with the Bornless Ritual several times and found it quite strong and energetic, even without using regular pentagrams for invocation.


A.Perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram and if you like, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram. You can also perform a Purification with Water and Consecration with Fire to further prepare your temple space.

1. Go to the northeast corner of the room and circumambulate the Temple once in the course of the sun.

2. Go round another time but halt in the north.

3. Close your eyes and give the Sign of Osiris risen (by crossing your arms before your breast and slightly bowing your head).

4. Imagine yourself in the Godform of Nephthys, standing huge in the Universe.

5. Imagine floating before yourself in the Universe the large and vibrating Sigil of Enochian Earth.

6. Give the Sign of a Juniorus/Zelator, 1=10.

7. Say: Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows out to the ends of the 8. Universe rejoicing! Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows from Eternity to Eternity.

8. Imagine a stream of dark green, dense and cold energy flowing from or through the Sigil through Nephthys, while doing this.

9. Stop giving the Sign and open your eyes again.

10. Circumambulate the temple again, at the second round make halt at the east.

11. Close your eyes and give the Sign of Osiris risen.

12. Imagine yourself in the Godform of Thoth (Djehuti), standing huge in the Universe.

13. Imagine floating before yourself the large and vivid Sigil of Enochian Air.

14. Give the Sign of Theoricus, 2=9.

15. Say: Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows out to the ends of the Universe rejoicing! Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows from Eternity to Eternity.

16. Imagine a stream of yellow, warm and subtle energy flowing from the Sigil through Thoth.

17. Stop giving the Sign and open your eyes again.

18. Circumambulate the temple again, at the second round make halt at the west.

19. Close your eyes and give the Sign of Osiris risen.

20. Imagine yourself in the Godform of Isis, standing huge in the Universe.

21. Imagine floating before yourself the large and vibrating Sigil of Enochian Water.

22. Give the Sign of Practicus, 3=8.

23. Say: Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows out to the ends of the
Universe rejoicing! Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows from Eternity to Eternity.

24. Imagine a stream of blue, watery and cold energy flowing from the Sigil through Isis.

25. Stop giving the Sign and open your eyes again.

26. Circumambulate the temple again, at the second round make halt at the south.

27. Close your eyes and give the Sign of Osiris risen.

28. Imagine yourself in the Godform of Horus, standing huge in the Universe.

29. Imagine floating before yourself the large and vibrating Sigil of Enochian Fire.

30. Give the Sign of Philosophus, 4=7.

31. Say: Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows out to the ends of the Universe rejoicing! Holy Art Thou, Lord of the Universe, because thy Glory flows from Eternity to Eternity.

32. Imagine a stream of red, hot and fiery energy flowing from the Sigil through Horus.

33. Stop giving the Sign and open your eyes again.

34. Circumambulate the temple again, and at the second round halt West of Altar, looking
towards East.

35. Close your eyes and give the Sign of Osiris risen.

36. Imagine yourself in the Godform of Osiris, standing huge in the Universe.

37. Imagine floating before yourself a large black Spirit-Wheel.

38. Open your eyes and give the Sign of the Portal, the Rending of the Veil.

39. Then give the L-V-X-Signs.

40. Give the Sign of the Enterer towards East, and proclaim: Holy Art Thou, Lord of the
Universe!

41. Give the Sign of the Enterer again and proclaim: Holy Art Thou, Whom Nature hath not formed!

42. Give the Sign of the Enterer once again and proclaim: Holy Art Thou, the Vast and the Mighty One!

43. Proclaim: Lord of the Light and the Darkness!

44. While saying the final word "Darkness!", give the Sign of Silence and remain for a few moments, contemplating the voice of silence in your heart.

O. Proceed with other ritual work like the Middle Pillar ritual and close with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram.

Ouroboros

"Eins ist das Alles und durch Es alles und zu Ihm alles: wenn das Alles nicht alles enthielte, wäre das Alles nichts."

Träume

Träume sind der beste Beweis für das Vorhandensein eines natürlichen astralen Wahrnehmungsorgans im Menschen und einer astralen Daseinsebene, auf der man sich genauso sicher wie auf dem physischen Plan bewegen und Dinge erleben kann ohne an einen materiellen Körper und Sinnesapparat gebunden zu sein.

Die hermetische Tradition sagt, dass sich beim Träumen das Merkurprinzip vom Körper löst- der Merkur flügge wird sozusagen, und dass man deshalb den Schlaf als kleinen Tod oder kleine Nacht im Vergleich zur grossen Nacht, dem Tod, bezeichnet.

Schon allein die Tatsache des Träumens an sich katapultiert mich in allerlei philosophisches Grübeln über den Echtheitsanspruch unserer sog. Realität. Wenn Träume nur Fantasie sind, könnte es doch gut sein, dass unser Hirn die Reize, die unsere Sinne im alltäglichen Leben übermitteln, auch nur "irgendwie" interpretiert.

Ich habe einmal eine okkulte Theorie gehört, nach der es, abgesehen von Träumen die durch körperliche oder äußere Reize beeinflusst sind (wo also die Körperlage, Indispositionen, Licht, Schall oder Temperatur das Traumbild beeinflussen) ganz grob zwei Arten des Träumens gibt: in der einen geht man ein ins höher schwingende Astral, das von klarem Licht durchströmt und von universellen Essenzen oder Engeln bevölkert ist, doch diese Variante sei selten und meistens erinnert man sich nach dem Aufwachen schwer an etwas und hat oft nur das Gefühl, einen ungewöhnlich erholsamen und verjüngenden tiefen Schlaf genossen zu haben.
Die andere Variante spielt sich im tiefer schwingenden Astral ab, analog zu dem Konzept des persönlichen Unbewussten, und ist die häufigste Art des Träumens. Dort werden die Inhalte des alltäglichen Bewusstseins verarbeitet.

Natürlich ist die astrale Sphäre unendlich differenzierter als höher und tiefer schwingend. Die astrale Sphäre ist die unermessliche Region, aber auch das Schatzhaus der Illusionen. Will man sie im Wachbewusstsein bereisen, braucht man eine Art Landkarte und ein konkretes Ziel, sonst kann man sich leicht verirren.

Die Tiefenpsychologen der Jung’schen Schule gehen davon aus, dass Träume vorwiegend aus zwei großen Bewusstseinsschichten entstammen: entweder aus dem individuellen Unterbewusstsein, oder aus dem kollektiven Unterbewussten, das die gesamten Ideen und Erinnerungen unserer menschlichen Rasse enthält.
In der Kabbala entsprechen diese beiden Bereiche dem niederen und höheren Astralreich. Der Okkultist fügt diesen beiden Bereichen noch einen dritten hinzu, nämlich das Überbewusste, oder die Seelenanteile, die am Höchsten teilhaben, entsprechend den Drei Übernatürlichen Sephiroth am Baum des Lebens.

Natürlich gibt es Menschen, die begabte Träumer sind und die Fähigkeit besitzen, Informationen aus höheren Regionen der Astralsphäre im Schlaf zu empfangen oder es gelernt haben, ihre Träume willentlich zu beeinflussen. Doch viele habe ich bisher nicht kennengelernt. „Den Seinen gibt’s der Herr im Schlaf“.

Nichtsdestotrotz sind Träume der Schlüssel, den uns unser Bewusstsein gibt, um uns selbst zu erkennen.
Selbst wenn man sich im Schlaf nur auf der Ebene des persönlichen, und nicht des kollektiven oder gar göttlichen Planes bewegt, kann man stets eine Menge über sich herausfinden, von daher ist jeder Traum äußerst wertvoll.

Ein Traumtagebuch zu führen ist die beste Methode, um tiefer in Traumwelten einzusteigen.
Je länger man die Methode benutzt, umso einfacher wird es, zusammenhängend zu erinnern.

In der magischen Praxis ist ein Traumtagebuch auch deshalb wichtig, da man mit fortschreitender magischer Praxis eine immer größere Kontrolle über seinen Astralkörper erlangt und damit auch nach und nach lernt, die Träume bewusster zu lenken und die Dimensionen der Traumwelten zu erweitern.
Am besten ist es, neben dem Bett immer das Tagebuch nebst Stift bereitliegen zu haben. Unterstützend kann man seinem Geist kurz vor dem Einschlafen suggerieren, dass man sich nach dem Aufwachen ganz klar an alles im Traum Erlebte erinnern wird.

Ein deutliches Anzeichen für erste Fortschritte in der magischen Praxis und ein gewisser Beweis für die Ernsthaftigkeit des okkulten Schülers ist das Auftauchen von magischen Techniken, die man im Traum benutzt. Tue etwas über eine lange Zeit immer wieder und es wird sich im Traum verankern.

Und dann gibt es ja noch die sog. Klarträume! Fast alle Menschen kennen sie und meistens hat man sie, wenn man jünger ist, was unter Umständen dafür sprechen könnte, dass der astrale Körper in jungen Jahren noch besser entwickelt ist als im Erwachsenenalter, oder zumindest noch nicht so stark an und in den physischen Körper gebunden ist. Erst letzthin habe ich einen begabten Klarträumer kennengelernt, der mir berichtete, dass luzide Träume, also die Bewusstheit darüber, dass man träumt, bei ihm fast jede Nacht auftauchen. Dieser Träumer hat sogar herausgefunden, dass es seiner nächtlichen Erholung zuträglicher ist, wenn er nicht versucht, das Traumgeschehen willentlich zu beeinflussen oder zu ändern, sondern sich brav an das ihm vom Unterbewussten vorgegebene Skript des Traumes zu halten.

Eine gängige Empfehlung, luzides Träumen zu provozieren, ist, sich über einen längeren Zeitraum mehrmals am Tag bewusst zu machen, dass man wach ist. Diese Bewusstmachung kann man unterstützen, indem man sich im Spiegel anguckt, in die Wange zwickt und laut ausspricht: Jetzt bin ich wach!

Träume oder Visionen im Wachbewusstsein sind in der magischen Praxis nur erwünscht, wenn sie gewollt und zielgerichtet sind.
Der Magier invoziert eine bestimmte Kraft und bereist oder schaut dann in deren astrale Sphäre, oder um genauer zu sein: er betrachtet die Reflektion der Einstrahlung dieser Kraft in seiner Sphäre oder Aura, also die invozierte Kraft gefiltert durch sein persönliches Bewusstseinsfeld. Das ist Skrying oder Reisen in der astralen Schau.

Der Clue am Skrying ist, dass man sein Urteilsvermögen nicht ausschaltet. Anhand der kabbalistischen Landkarte und gewisser Techniken kann der Magier genau bestimmen, ob er sich am richtigen Zielort befindet oder ob er einer Illusion erliegt oder nicht.
Eine Vision in der Astralsphäre zu empfangen und gleichzeitig sein kritisches Wachbewusstsein aufrechtzuerhalten ist schon eine "chymische Hochzeit" für sich und bedeutet zumindest, dass man lernt, seinen Astralkörper bewusst zu entwickeln und einen ernsthaften Schritt gemacht hat auf der Stufenleiter der magischen Entwicklung.

Zum Schluss fällt mir noch die Gnosis ein, im eher wörtlichen Sinne von spontaner Erkenntnis über innere oder okkulte Zusammenhänge.
Die muss nicht zwingend an eine visuelle Erfahrung gekoppelt sein, wie man auch beim Skyring nicht unbedingt nur über astrales Sehen Informationen filtert. Die spontane Gnosis wird jedoch meistens, aber nicht nur, von bestimmten Auslösern verursacht, wie etwa durch intensive Meditation, Trance oder Rausch.

Träume können jedenfalls die ersten Schlüssel um das Wissen und Verständnis um den Höheren Genius oder Heiligen Schutzengel liefern, jenes magisch-mystischen Seelen-Anteils, um dessen Erlangung die ganze vorbereitende Magie des Golden Dawn kreist.

Dazu Agrippa von Nettesheim:

„Wer weissagende Träume erhalten will, muss sich körperlich wohl befinden; sein Gehirn muss frei von Dünsten und seine Seele von Leidenschaften ledig sein; er muß sich auch an ein solchem Tage des Essens enthalten und darf nichts trinken, was ihn berauschen könnte; sein Schlafgemach soll rein und freundlich, auch exorzisiert und geweiht sein; ferner soll er Räucherwerk anzünden, die Schläfe mit einer Salbe einreiben, Traumringe an die Finger stecken und ein himmlisches Bild unter sein Kopfkissen legen, in heiligen Gebeten die Gottheit anrufen und so zu Bette gehen, indem seine Gedanken auf das gerichtet sind, was er zu wissen wünscht, denn alsdann wird er wahre und unzweideutige Träume erhalten und ihm auch das Verständnis derselben erschlossen werden.“

Es dürfte für einen modernen Magier nicht schwer sein, die Weisungen dieses mittelalterlichen Gelehrten und Magiers in die Praxis umzusetzen!


Frater L.e.N.e.

Eine kleine erfreuliche Synchronizität- my personal Jesus

Schon am Abend des Montags, den 21. September, spürte ich auf subtile Weise den heilsamen Einfluss der Sonne, die das Zeichen Waage betreten hatte.
Obwohl ich mich durch verschiedene Umstände unpässlich gefühlt hatte, spürte ich nachts einen Schub erneuter Energie und innerer Ausgeglichenheit. Spontan beschloss ich also, nochmals eine kleine magische Übungseinheit zu praktizieren und ging danach dazu über, alle meine ägyptischen Statuen und Buddhas, die sich in meiner Wohnung befinden, mit selbstgemachtem Abramelin-Öl zu weihen und für jede dieser Statuen ein Licht zu entzünden, um den höheren Kräften, die zu jeder Equinox am Werk sind, meinen Respekt zu zollen.
Am Morgen des Dienstags, den 22. September, fuhr ich dann mit der Bahn zu meiner Arbeitsstelle. Die Zeit in der Bahn nutze ich seit 6 Jahren stets für stille Meditation, teils aus Langeweile, teils aus dem Willen, gerade inmitten störender Geräuschkulissen einen Zustand klarer Konzentration zu erreichen.
Ich beruhigte also erstmal meinen Geist mit einer stillen (und unauffälligen) Atemmeditation, betrat dann meinen astralen Tempel und vollzog darin zunächst astral das Kleine Bannende Pentagrammritual.
Danach visualisierte ich auf dem Boden meines astralen Tempels ein grosses, in 10 goldene Quadrate unterteiltes Tau-Kreuz und plazierte mich auf dem Quadrat, welches symbolisch Tiphareth entspricht.
Dann betete ich eine geraume Zeit zu meinem Höheren Genius, und bat Ihn, mich unter Seine Schwingen zu nehmen, mir meine Sünden zu vergeben, versprach Ihm, Ihn zu lieben und alles dafür zu tun, Seine Gegenwart anzuziehen und bat Ihn schliesslich darum, dafür zu sorgen, dass mein Geist und mein Herz die Stille entwickeln, die nötig ist, Seine Stimme zu erhören.
Dann verliess ich den astralen Tempel und just in den Moment, als ich wieder die Augen aufschlug, fiel ein Sonnenstrahl direkt durch das Fenster der Bahn auf mein Gesicht und zeitgleich begannen Strassenmusikanten, die das Abteil betreten hatten, und die ich, versunken in meinem Gebet, nicht bemerkt hatte, eine akustische Cover-Version von "Personal Jesus" von Depeche Mode anzustimmem: "Your own personal Jesus, someone to hear your prayers, someone who cares...".
Natürlich konnte ich mir mein Grinsen nicht verkneifen....hätten doch die Musikanten auch ein anderes Abteil betreten können, oder eher oder später anfangen können, aber nein: alles geschah in perfektem Timing zu meinem Gebet.
Ich bin geneigt zu glauben, dass mein Engel an dem Skript für dieses Erlebnis geschrieben hat und weiss, dass eben jene kleinen Synchronizitäten dafür sorgen, mich seit 6 Jahren magisch am laufen zu halten.

Frater L.e.N.e.

Über die Notwendigkeit von Disziplin in den magischen Künsten

Das Ziel der magischen Arbeit ist die Entfaltung eines höheren Bewusstseins, welches stufenweise zu der immer deutlicher werdenden Realisation einer transzendentalen Einheit führt. Je weiter der Student auf dem initiatorischen Pfad entlang schreitet, umso mehr wird sich individuell ausgeprägtes höheres Bewusstsein entwickeln und damit auch das Verständnis um die formbildenden, schöpferischen Kräfte und Gesetze des Universums.

Mit zunehmendem Bewusstsein und Verständnis wird der Student irgendwann auch immer besser fähig sein, dieses Wissen auf konkrete Alltagsziele hin anzuwenden.

Doch um dies zu entwickeln, bedarf es täglicher praktischer Übung, denn die magischen Kräfte können nur gedeihen, wenn man die Werkzeuge seines Geistes regelmäßig benutzt.

Die Tradition sagt, dass Talent und Begeisterung allein nicht ausreicht. Vielmehr ist es die Beharrlichkeit und das Durchhaltevermögen, die die Möglichkeit einer spirituellen Entwicklung gewähren.

Genauso, wie sich physische Muskeln erst durch regelmäßige und ausdauernde Übung entwickeln, entwickeln sich geistige Fähigkeiten wie Visualisationskraft, Konzentration und gesteigerte Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit feinstofflicher Energien nur langsam und unter der Voraussetzung täglichen Trainings.

Schon von Beginn der magischen Ausbildung an erlernt der Student der okkulten Wissenschaft den Umgang mit einer Kraft, die in der rosenkreuzerischen Tradition LVX, ausgesprochen wie das lateinische „Lux“, benannt wird.

Diese Kraft ist okkult in dem Sinne, in dem sie von der Wissenschaft noch nicht entdeckt und gemessen wurde, doch tatsächlich „vor aller Augen verborgen“ liegt, insofern das gesamte phänomenale Universum ein Aspekt ihrer Manifestation ist.

Die alten Kabbalisten vertraten die Ansicht, dass die Wahrnehmungs- und Verstandesfähigkeit des Menschen begrenzt sei, und somit auch die Fähigkeit des Begreifens des göttlichen Ursprungs unseres Universums. Sie räumten aber die Möglichkeit ein, dass sich der Mensch anhand mehr oder weniger abstrakter Symbole dieser Wahrheit graduell annähern könne.

Ein perfektes Denkmodell hierfür liefert die kabbalistische Glyphe des Baumes des Lebens.

Sie veranschaulicht deutlich, dass das Universum aus Emanationen einer ursprünglichen, göttlichen Kraft besteht, die sich stufenweise und über wechselseitige Polarisationen immer mehr ausdifferenzierte und verdichtete, bis sie schliesslich zu dem wurde, was wir als unsere physische Realität verstehen. Somit betrachteten die Kabbalisten die Objekte in unserem materiellen Universum nur als verdichtete Energie.

Hunderte von Jahren später anerkannte auch die moderne Wissenschaft, dass Materie nur Energie in einem bestimmten Schwingungszustand ist.

Das Wissen um das Vorhandensein einer okkulten Kraft, die als magisches Wirkprinzip funktioniert, war schon seit jeher bei den verschiedensten Urvölkern bekannt.

Diese Kraft hatte schon viele Namen. Die nordamerikanischen Eingeborenen nannten sie „Manitou“, die polynesischen Inselbewohner „Manas“, die Afrikaner „Ngai“, die Aborigines „Kutchi“.

Die hinduistischen Religionen bezeichneten sie als „Prana“ und stellten sich vor, dass das gesamte Universum ein Ozean aus Prana sei, mit den Sonnen als ihren Zentren und Verteilern darin.

Eliphas Levi schliesslich, dessen Schriften in der 2. Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts massgeblich daran beteiligt waren, eine Renaissance der magischen und hermetischen Wissenschaften einzuläuten, nannte diese Kraft „astrales Licht“, und bezeichnete damit eine Kraft, die sich über das ganze Universum ausbreitet und alles durchdringt und postulierte, dass das Wissen um den Umgang mit und die Meisterschaft über die astralen Strömungen dieser Kraft das Grosse Werk der Adepten ausmacht.

Mithilfe dieser Kraft, dem LVX der Rosenkreuzer, kann es dem Studenten der Magie gelingen, höheres Bewusstsein und ein tieferes Verständnis für die Gesetze des Universums zu entwickeln. Das LVX ist ausserdem der Treibstoff seiner persönlichen und magischen Entwicklung und Transformatíon.

Das Initiationsritual zum Neophyten dient dazu, den Samen des höheren Bewusstseins in die Psyche des Anwärters zu pflanzen.

Dies geschieht durch einen komplexen Ritualablauf, in welchem das Bewusstsein und das Unterbewusstsein des Kandidaten mit mächtigen, da uralten Symbolen imprägniert wird.

Diese werden wie Samenkörner in die Psyche des Kandidaten gepflanzt, und pflegt der Kandidat in den darauffolgenden Jahren den Garten seines Geistes mit täglicher Übung, wird der Same irgendwann aufgehen zu einem lebendigen Wesen, das schließlich als Höheres Selbst oder Heiliger Schutzengel die alltägliche Persönlichkeit des heranwachsenden Adepten regieren wird.

Während dieser Initiation erfolgt eine Übertragung der magischen Kraft des Hierophanten auf den Kandidaten. Dies impliziert, dass ein fähiger Hierophant schon Kenntnis erlangt haben muss im Umgang mit dieser Kraft, denn nur so kann er diese Kraft erfolgreich auf die Sphäre des Kandidaten übertragen.

Das LVX, welches im Verlauf der Initiation übertragen wird, dient einem Anstoß und einer energetischen Initialzündung in der Sphäre oder Aura des Kandidaten. Mithilfe dieser Initialzündung werden die Grundsteine für seine weitere Entwicklung gelegt, außerdem erleichtert sie ihm fortan den Zugang und die differenzierte Wahrnehmung dieser subtilen Kraft während seiner täglichen Übungen.

Die Tradition sagt auch, dass genauso wie das menschliche Bewusstsein einen physischen Körper braucht, um zu existieren, das spirituelle Bewusstsein oder der Heilige Schutzengel einen voll ausgebildeten energetischen, oder astralen Körper braucht, um im Geist des Studenten zu inkarnieren.

Indem der Student kontinuierlich, mit täglicher magischer Übung, seinen energetischen Körper entwickelt und seine feinstofflichen Wahrnehmungskanäle aufreinigt, und mithilfe gebündelter geistiger Fähigkeiten magische Kraft oder LVX anruft und in seinem energetischen Körper assimiliert, baut er stückweise und beharrlich an dem Tempel, „der nicht mit Händen erbaut ist“, und erschafft einen astralen Körper, der sich in perfekter Analogie und Harmonie mit den Gesetzen und Kräften des Universums befindet.

Was dies impliziert, deuten wiederum die alten Kabbalisten an, indem sie darauf hinweisen, dass es nicht nur so ist, dass der menschliche Körper mit einem energetischen oder feinstofflichen Körper verbunden ist, sondern dass vielmehr dieser subtile Körper das Fundament und die Matrix nicht nur des physischen Körpers, sondern auch unserer gesamten Gefühls- und Erlebniswelt ist.

Die Beschaffenheit unseres astralen oder lunaren Körpers bestimmt die Art und Weise, wie wir unsere Umgebung und unsere Mitmenschen wahrnehmen und auf unser Umfeld reagieren.

Auf diesen energetischen Körper kontinuierlich und mithilfe magischer Kraft schöpferisch einzuwirken, bedeutet schrittweise die gesamte Wahrnehmung der Umwelt und schließlich auch die eigenen Lebensbedingungen positiv zu transformieren.

Fähigkeiten wie Hellsicht, geschärfte Intuition oder die Aktivierung selbstheilender Kräfte sind Nebenprodukte dieses Prozesses.

Emotionale Gelassenheit gegenüber den verschiedenartigen Widrigkeiten des Alltags und ein harmonisiertes, ruhiges Gemüt sind also die Erkennungszeichen eines Adepten, der gelernt hat, seinen astralen Körper zu kontrollieren und beherrschen.

Die Schlüssel zu magischer Entwicklung liegen somit einerseits in der Initiation, andererseits in der unabdingbaren täglichen Disziplin.

Die wichtigsten Werkzeuge, mit deren Hilfe man magische Kraft anruft und benutzt, sind die Willenskraft, die Imaginationskraft und die Konzentration.

Jeder besitzt diese Fähigkeiten in unterschiedlicher Ausprägung, doch nur wenige erkennen ihr Potential oder geben sich die Mühe, sie zu schärfen, zu trainieren und am Leben zu erhalten. Diese Fähigkeiten sind das Instrument, welches uns der All-Eine geschenkt hat, um seine Präsenz zu realisieren, und um unser spirituelles Erbe, den schrittweisen Aufstieg zur Erkenntnis spiritueller Wahrheit anzutreten.

Deshalb sollte sich jeder ernsthafte Anwärter auf die Mysterien der hermetischen Tradition einer jahrelangen, ja vielleicht sogar lebenslangen Disziplin verschreiben, denn so wie die Kraft Gottes laut den Kabbalisten bis ins Unendliche expandiert, lässt sich die individuelle Wahrnehmungsfähigkeit und Realisation der subtilen und „okkulten“ Kräfte der Natur bis ins scheinbar Unendliche verfeinern.

© Fr. L.e.N.e., Berlin, 2009

The "Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz"

FESTINA LENTE - MAKE HASTE SLOWLY

When Christian Rosencreutz, the protagonist of the 17th century book "The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz" written by the Tübinger theologian Johann Valentin Andreae, starts his journey to the mystical castle of the King and the Queen, he comes to a crossroad and is forced to decide between 4 different ways leading to the castle.

Fortunately, a little tablet on a tree offers help regarding the right decision to make.

It says that there are 4 ways to come to the castle, but that only 3 of them are possible to follow. Every one of them will lead to the goal, but only when you do not go astray.
The first one is short, but full of dangers, because on it are many murderous cliffs.
The second one is longer, because it has side tracks, although they do not lead into offside.
It is said to be plane and easy, as long as, with the aid of your compass, you do not get lost on the right or the left.
The third one is said to be truly the Royal Way.
The fourth one, however, is not for the living, because its power is said to be overall consuming and not digestible for corruptible bodies.
The tablet also says that, once it is chosen, it is not permitted to leave the way.

We find that, eventually, Christian Rosencreutz chooses the second way.

Next to the quasi- anonymous "Fama Fraternitas" (1614) and the "Confessio Fraternitas" (1615) J. V. Andreae's book "Die chymische Hochzeit des Christian Rosencreutz" (1616) was one of the three german manifestos to inaugurate the rosicrucian movement on the european continent.
Whereas the first two texts are written in the form of a lecture and open letter from an allegedly secretive rosicrucian Order to the learned and pious public, with the "Fama" giving detailed account of the legend of the Order and its first members, as well as detailed description of the discovery of the tomb of its founding member Frater C.R., and the "Confessio" being a critical and satirical speech with a certain reformative intent (the protestant movement was still in its infant years), the "Chymische Hochzeit" somewhat falls out of place.
It is written in the style of a novel or fairy tale and is full of allegory and mystico-magical and alchemical symbolism. In seven chapters it deals with the magical journey of a certain Christian Rosencreutz, who, after experiencing an inner awakening, follows the invitation to a mystical "wedding" that takes place in the castle of the King.
Due to the impact of ancient and hermetic symbolism that is contained in every chapter of this novel, its inherent statements and implications are still alive and make it a timeless allegory on the initiatory path of the mystery traditions of the west. Because of the ageless validity of the symbolism involved, one is able to translate and adapt it to modern times.
Also owing to the qualities of these symbols is the fact that their meaning may be manifold and their different layers may not be grasped by one person alone.

Regarding the passage about the crossroad at the beginning of the second chapter, Christian Rosencreutz can simply be regarded as someone who has decided to follow a path of spiritual attainment, without yet to know exactly what path to choose.
So why does he choose the second path? Being very humble and of no noble descent he does not regard himself as royal, and therefore unprepared for the third path of Royal Art.
And although the tablet warns in unmistakable terms of the danger of the fourth path, he already decided not to take this route- seeing that poisonous clouds and tongues of fire emit from its direction.
Finally his reason tells him to take the second path, because having the constitution of an old man, he fears to loose control over the pitfalls of the shorter first path and to fall over its cliffs.

This little passage reminded me of some thoughts i had regarding the nature of the path of an hermetic initiate and why only few people are attracted to follow the serious practical and theoretical study that is involved there.
By flipping through various esoteric newspapers on the market iam always astounded by the vastness of offerings that is made to the esoterically inclined. Salvation is advertised by many groups, gurus and healers, nearly for nothing but one mouse-click or some cash transfer. Buy a guided meditation CD for 100 bucks and delete your karma! Visit a high priced retreat and attain illumination in one weekend! Transform your personality by letting a self-acclaimed spirit healer lay his hands on you - in just one session!
These and similar claims flood the mainstream esoteric landscape and many people i know who regard themselves as "highly spiritual", always leave me with the feeling that most of them do not really search for spiritual transformation, but for entertainment only, entertainment with the flair of the supernatural and occult. Also, in times like ours, many people are simply angst driven, and seeing that exoteric religion, common science and school education offer no means to relieve the feeling of uncertainty, the feeling that something is missing, the feeling of incompleteness and being the playball of forces which you can neither perceive nor control, they turn to dubious gurus and practises who nicely and with brilliant marketing skills know how to fill the gap that is yawning inside their hearts.
This is sad, but iam scared that no one is to blame. The esoteric scene is a market of belief systems, and like any market it needs and lives by its customers.

Now big cities like Berlin are a murky pool of esotericism and strange cults. There are hundreds of people out there who hop through different workshops every weekend. One week they pay for a buddhistic retreat, the other weekend they go to a "spiritual healer" who leads them through their "past lives", the next week they go to a dynamic meditation workshop or join the latest lecture about maya culture or conspiracy theories.
But for what? Only to empower their feeling of, alas, being superior over others - not knowing that hypocrisy and spiritual pride are the greatest hindrances on the path and lead to nothing except self-delusion.
But that is just the "mainstream" side of it.

When people are especially interested in magic and occultism, most of them dismiss the Golden Dawn as "outmoded". There are mainly three different lines of argumentation. The one fraction says that its system is outmoded because Crowley initiated a new aeon with his Liber Al (which is, in my estimation, only an adress from Crowleys own higher to his lower self, so purely individual), and not knowing that Crowley would not have been what he was unless having been trained by the Golden Dawn, they turn to the O.T.O.
The other fraction says that the Golden Dawn is merely a "right hand path", that is a path that mainly concerns itself with the exploration of divine hierarchies in order to adopt divinity and transcend the ego as opposed to the "left hand path" on which the aspirant seeks to work on and master the qlippothic or unbalanced forces of the universe in order to become truly godlike in his own right. This is underlined by confuse speculations about the loss of ego and literal death of the initiate when crossing the Abyss that divides the three uppermost and supernal Sephiroth from the seven lower.
So fraction two turns to saturnian and satanic brotherhoods, in order to bath their egos in the glory of a dark and broody magician, not knowing that the Golden Dawn regards itself as neither right nor left, but rather embraces both paths in a coherent workable system.
The third fraction says that the system is outmoded because its an illusion to think that enlightenment, that which is ineffable, can be attained by successive initiations and working on grade curricula and following a certain dogma, and that all is about simply attaining heightened states of awareness, and that this can be achieved by any means, and so they turn to Chaos Magick, neglecting the fact that when trying to use and train consciousness one must first employ certain tools with which to find out how this consciousness works.

But although every person out there in this world who tries to transform his personality and is interested in spiritual development has all my respect, no matter what or what not system he/she may follow, by the danger of simply sounding polemic and causing many magicians to turn their head angrily at me, i think that many of these debates about right or left are just an excuse for laziness and in very special cases it may also be the unconscious fear of truly attaining something, the fear of change.
Ora, lege, lege, lege, relege, labora et invenies ("Pray, read, read, read, re-read, work and you will find") was the advice of alchemists given to Neophytes in ancient times and i think that still holds true today.
Magic is a precise science that has to be conquered.
Magical attainment is something that comes gradually and usually the dawning of light on consciousness is hard-won.
I do not want to say that other systems apart from that which the Golden Dawn has to offer lead to failure.
There are many ways leading to Rome and there certainly is not only one way that is superior over others.
And i also do not think that working on magical or esoteric systems is the only possibility for human beings to gain insights into the mysteries of Nature and thereby reach some sort of spiritual perfection. Who were i to know?

But when choosing a system, i would consider that different systems have different advantages in regard to the socialisation of the individual and i guess few of them are out there who want to dedicate their whole life-time to one system only, or at least till they gain some strikingly results in terms of personal development.
And being a spiritual searcher for all my life i know that there came a time in my life where i realized that without the help of some school or guidance i could not progress.
Nature unaided fails is another axiom of ancient alchemy.

In my estimation, the hermetic path should be regarded as a life-long endeavour, seeing that the transformation of ones self comes in very little steps only, hardly recognizable and subtle at the beginning, and it certainly never ends.
Therefore, every true and earnest searcher for the light of occult knowledge should consider his choice and reflect about his motives when joining this or that organisation or school of knowledge.

Just like Christian Rosencreutz, who at the beginning of the second chapter of this timeless novel, stands at the crossroad, thinking about what path to choose. And he has a hard time in making his decision!
But finally, the light of reason dawns upon him, just like the Neophyte at the first initiation ceremony of the Golden Dawn is guided by the Kerux.
He chooses the second path, which has side tracks although they do not lead into offside.
This is symbolized by the ascent of the initiate on the kabbalistic Tree of Life.

The hermetic student cannot achieve the beauty of Tiphareth, unless he has undergone the elemental initiations of Malkuth (Earth), Yesod (Air), Hod (Water) and Netzach (Fire), which are seen as the "lower" constitutions of the kabbalistic Ruach, the ego-personality. The Microcosm must be studied before the Macrocosm can be comprehended.
The opposing counterparts of ones self must have reached a certain amount of balancing and the auric field and astral body of the candidate must have reached a certain rate of vibration in order to attract a ray of the Divine, because "it is in vain that the wine of Gods is poured into broken vessels".

To transcend the ego may be possible when being raised and trained by buddhistic monks in an asian monastery, secluded from the profane world, but not when living in an ego-dominated world like ours. Unlike with buddhistic practises, the magician in the western and hermetic tradition does not seek to transcend the ego with experience of Nothingness, but rather tries to transform the ego and subtle bodies to a shining tower of light that will hopefully transmit the knowledge of the One Truth, which is and stays ineffable and at the same time remains to be very individual.
The goal of both the eastern and western systems may be the same, but the approach fundamentally differs.

The tablet on the tree says that the second path is plane and easy, as long as you stick to your compass, and turn neither right nor left.
The compass is the Law of Equilibrium, which is stressed throughout the grades of the Golden Dawn.
It is the straight and narrow path between the opposites that create the dynamic interaction out of which our world is born. The Law of Equilibrium is expressed in many rituals in symbolic form, in many different and brilliant ways, but surely most simple and salient in the placement of the newly admitted Neophyte between the black and the white pillar of Hermes and Salomo, when receiving his final purification and consecration by Water and by Fire.

This being said, i close by again citing three ancient proverbs that strike me deeply with their simplicity and meaningfulness. The first two supposedly were written over the portals in the forecourt of the ancient initiation temple of Apollo in Delphi. The third one was displayed at the last page of the original "Chymische Hochzeit".


Gnothis Seauton - Know Thyself.

Meden Agan - Nothing in Excess.

Festina Lente - Make haste slowly.


Summa Scientia Nihil Scire,
Frater L.

Nature displays her secrets very openly.
They are for everyone to see,
but many people have not eyes nor time to see.

For example:
At daytime you can see the Sun.
It is the one and central star at the sky,
beaming its light with sheer intensity and majesty,
hardly bearable for human eyes.

At nighttime you can see myriads of stars,
as if the One Light from daytime
is split up in innumerable counterparts,
dazzling the mind with the idea of vastness.
At the same time you can also see the Moon
in its mystical beauty,
evoking strange feelings in everyone,
feelings of undefined longing,
or melancholy,
or fear,
because she is reflecting
the idea of Unity.

But sometimes,
you can neither see the Sun nor the Moon nor the Stars-
it is just cloudy,
and this is also part of the game.

Nature is One,
and we are all part of it,
fragmented in the All.

There is only one Truth,
and one Knowledge,
and One All,
and we dearly want to know it.

But our brains are so small
that they first have to get accustomed
to the mere idea of One-All
with the puzzles of hermetic study.

Did you ever watch the Sun at dawn?
You can definetely say that it has risen
when it has changed its position,
but you cannot watch
the actual movement of
this rising Body of Light.


R.N.