-The magical writings of Thomas Vaughan, ed. by A.E. Waite
-Treatise on the Great Art by Don Pernety
-The Twelve Keys by Basilius Valentinus
-Corpus Hermeticum (auf dt. von Edition Akasha)
Freitag, 18. März 2011
Mittwoch, 23. Februar 2011
The counter-initiatic force
In his latest posting on the Golden-Dawn-blog, David Griffin talked about the counter-initiatic force as a force that tries to hinder important initiatic events.
Well, i think i have encountered this force several times for myself.
I remember my first date with the german Imperator back in 2002.
I wanted to introduce myself to him, and ask for initiation into the Neophyte grade.
We had an appointment in a cafe i knew well.
I was in there right on time, and since i have already seen him at the official inauguration of the german Temple, i knew after whom i was looking.
But i could not see him, neither inside the cafe at one of its tables, nor outside or in front of it.
I spent maybe half an hour going in and out again, desperately looking after him.
Then i went home again, sadly thinking that he must have made a joke on me, and doubting my worthiness for initiation into the Order.
But then i decided to call him again and it turned out that he, like me, was there right on time, and could not find me too!
When we finally met again, we could not explain how we could not have met at this first date.
This still puzzles me.
What is also still on my mind is my trip to America to attend an international Golden Dawn gathering and to receive my Philosophus initiation (!).
First, my bosses would not grant me vacation.
But then i decided to go there for just a weekend, despite my voice of reason (and now, of course iam glad i ignored that voice on that special account).
One or two days before my actual flight, several flight unions started to strike.
This caused great horror in me, since i knew i had to be exactly on time in Las Vegas to not miss anything important.
Finally every plane i had to take was too late and i missed every planned connection flight.
I found myself at the airport in Frankfurt, not knowing for one hour where my luggage is or which plane to take. Time was running, and i already had the thought of giving up altogether, and flying back to Berlin.
Finally, maybe 15 minutes before start, i found out that i had been redirected to an alternative route, and that my luggage was already at the new plane.
All in all i spent 24 hours on planes and in airports. And i would have missed the last possible flight from Washington to Las Vegas, and thereby coming one whole day later and only being able to meet-and-greet before going home again, would i not have ran through the customs and practised queue-jumping (i remember one european guy shouting: "Oh these germans, they always cant wait!").
The most bizarre thing happened one day before my scheduled flight to another european city for my initiation into Portal.
I woke up very early in the morning because the heater in my sleeping room started to make nerving hammering sounds.
I rushed out of bed, deciding to deaerate it now.
I grabbed a screwdriver and fumbled with it at the valve on the side of the heater.
Suddenly, the valve broke off, and a fountain of hot, almost boiling water flooded my room. It was a matter of seconds, and all my bed and furniture and book piles on the floor stood under water.
It even ran in cascades down the stairs to the lower floor.
In my shocking state, i was nonetheless really quick in collecting every towel from my house.
Fortunately, a good friend and neighbour came to help me with the mess.
But then i realized that the hot water had flown over both my hands, and that they started to blister!
So i went to my doctor and got both my hands bandaged.
Well, i thought, now i can cancel my flight and postpone my initiation.
But over night my hands started to heal very quickly, and when i was ready for the flight the next day, miraculously i even needed no bandages anymore.
I think i even know, to some extent, the counter-initiatic force, or the force that wants to hinder spiritual progress, before every greater invocation i plan. Especially in the past, or when i began to invoke regularly.
There have been many voices and moods that wanted me to linger away from my plans.
Sometimes this manifested as urgent phone calls from friends with unexpected news, sometimes maybe as slight headaches (that passed at the moment when i started to do my preliminary banishings), sometimes as subtle ailments in one or another kind.
In regard to my personal work at my temple at home, i always thought this to be a kind of spiritual or magical test in itself.
My own Evil Persona, trying to convince myself in subtle ways to give up my lofty plans.
But the more often i conquered this force with firm will, the less distractive or convincing it became.
But now i wonder about the gravity of the counter-initiatic force when it ever comes to higher initiations.
Will i nearly escape death if i ever receive higher adept grades?
Lots of laughter.
In L.V.X.,
L.e.N.e.
Well, i think i have encountered this force several times for myself.
I remember my first date with the german Imperator back in 2002.
I wanted to introduce myself to him, and ask for initiation into the Neophyte grade.
We had an appointment in a cafe i knew well.
I was in there right on time, and since i have already seen him at the official inauguration of the german Temple, i knew after whom i was looking.
But i could not see him, neither inside the cafe at one of its tables, nor outside or in front of it.
I spent maybe half an hour going in and out again, desperately looking after him.
Then i went home again, sadly thinking that he must have made a joke on me, and doubting my worthiness for initiation into the Order.
But then i decided to call him again and it turned out that he, like me, was there right on time, and could not find me too!
When we finally met again, we could not explain how we could not have met at this first date.
This still puzzles me.
What is also still on my mind is my trip to America to attend an international Golden Dawn gathering and to receive my Philosophus initiation (!).
First, my bosses would not grant me vacation.
But then i decided to go there for just a weekend, despite my voice of reason (and now, of course iam glad i ignored that voice on that special account).
One or two days before my actual flight, several flight unions started to strike.
This caused great horror in me, since i knew i had to be exactly on time in Las Vegas to not miss anything important.
Finally every plane i had to take was too late and i missed every planned connection flight.
I found myself at the airport in Frankfurt, not knowing for one hour where my luggage is or which plane to take. Time was running, and i already had the thought of giving up altogether, and flying back to Berlin.
Finally, maybe 15 minutes before start, i found out that i had been redirected to an alternative route, and that my luggage was already at the new plane.
All in all i spent 24 hours on planes and in airports. And i would have missed the last possible flight from Washington to Las Vegas, and thereby coming one whole day later and only being able to meet-and-greet before going home again, would i not have ran through the customs and practised queue-jumping (i remember one european guy shouting: "Oh these germans, they always cant wait!").
The most bizarre thing happened one day before my scheduled flight to another european city for my initiation into Portal.
I woke up very early in the morning because the heater in my sleeping room started to make nerving hammering sounds.
I rushed out of bed, deciding to deaerate it now.
I grabbed a screwdriver and fumbled with it at the valve on the side of the heater.
Suddenly, the valve broke off, and a fountain of hot, almost boiling water flooded my room. It was a matter of seconds, and all my bed and furniture and book piles on the floor stood under water.
It even ran in cascades down the stairs to the lower floor.
In my shocking state, i was nonetheless really quick in collecting every towel from my house.
Fortunately, a good friend and neighbour came to help me with the mess.
But then i realized that the hot water had flown over both my hands, and that they started to blister!
So i went to my doctor and got both my hands bandaged.
Well, i thought, now i can cancel my flight and postpone my initiation.
But over night my hands started to heal very quickly, and when i was ready for the flight the next day, miraculously i even needed no bandages anymore.
I think i even know, to some extent, the counter-initiatic force, or the force that wants to hinder spiritual progress, before every greater invocation i plan. Especially in the past, or when i began to invoke regularly.
There have been many voices and moods that wanted me to linger away from my plans.
Sometimes this manifested as urgent phone calls from friends with unexpected news, sometimes maybe as slight headaches (that passed at the moment when i started to do my preliminary banishings), sometimes as subtle ailments in one or another kind.
In regard to my personal work at my temple at home, i always thought this to be a kind of spiritual or magical test in itself.
My own Evil Persona, trying to convince myself in subtle ways to give up my lofty plans.
But the more often i conquered this force with firm will, the less distractive or convincing it became.
But now i wonder about the gravity of the counter-initiatic force when it ever comes to higher initiations.
Will i nearly escape death if i ever receive higher adept grades?
Lots of laughter.
In L.V.X.,
L.e.N.e.
Dienstag, 1. Februar 2011
Gustav Meyrink and the occult tradition in Germany before World War II
All through the years i have always been interested in the occult history of Germany, and especially Berlin.
Of course, I have read Karl Frick's masterpiece of scholar research "Die Erleuchteten", a heavy volume which deals with all the gnostic-theosophic and alchemical-rosicrucian secret societies in the german speaking countries up to the end of the 18th century.
Therein i found the most extensive excourse on the german Gold-und-Rosenkreutz-Orden and its spin-off the asiatic Brethren i have ever read, both organisations being antecedents of the modern Golden Dawn.
I have another book in my possession, a limited edition of 500 copies which is simply called "Gold-und Rosenkreutzer", published by the "Archiv für altes Gedankengut und Wissen" in Germany, with beautiful typeset and bound in red linen, and this one consists mainly of very cryptic recipes of laboratory alchemy written down by different brethren of the old G.u.R. Order.
A very detailed historic account on the occult history of Germany and Bohemia we also find in the biography of Gustav Meyrink, a german writer (1868-1932) who is famous for his occult novels, especially "Der Golem".
Gustav Meyrink not only was the head of the bohemian branch of the Asiatic Brethren, but also of countless other masonic and esoteric bodies and branches of that time. He knew every renowned person of the occult and theosophic scene of that time, and he also was in mail contact with William Wynn Westcott, from whom he received certain instructions on hermeticism.
This biography is full of interesting anecdotes on occultism, since Meyrink, throughout his whole life, tried to "become more than human", and experimented with several systems to achieve this, western and eastern techniques alike.
At the end of his life he even said that he found out that the primary aim of any occult student should be to strive to not only change consciousness through magic, but moreover to transmute the physical body into higher forms of energy.
This, and the whole knowledge displayed throughout his extensive body of writing, published and private, reveals that he certainly has reached a high level of attainment.
One of the most interesting anecdotes that comes to my mind when remembering Hartmut Binders biography is that Meyrink once described the official emblem of the Asiatic Brethren, which consisted of the heads of a boar and of an unicorn, placed symmetrically to each other.
Then there is http://user.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/, the page of one Peter König, who is regarded as one of the best historic researchers on german occultism, especially on the phenomenon of the O.T.O., the german Fraternitas Saturni, and everything that predated these two organisations. It is said that Peter König possesses even more material on the history and origin of the O.T.O. than the O.T.O. itself.
On the 7th of December 1937, the german Nazi government forced every masonic and related esoteric organisations to close down their lodges, and on Königs research page we find a facsimile of the original edict with a list of all the names of these esoteric bodies. And hey, this list is HUGE.
Amongst all the numerous masonic organisations, we find also countless rosicrucian bodies, and even one organisation called "Der hermetische Orden der Goldenen Dämmerung", which, of course, caught my greatest interest, since i never heard of one german branch of it before.
I also once saw on TV a documentary on Hitler and the occult, where i saw shots of the inside of several occult lodges in Berlin in the 30s.
This all sums up to the conclusion that there once was a rich occult tradition in the german speaking countries, and that this tradition suffered a severe cut through Hitlers regimen.
He not only was committing genocide, but also murdered a vast esoteric corpus, and at the same time, and paradoxically, tried to incorporate bits and pieces of plain esoteric knowledge into his semi-esoteric ario-sophic Order of the S.S.
Hitler made tabula rasa on the occult landscape of Germany, and i believe only the smallest pieces of it could survive underground.
After World War II, the occupation forces of America helped to re-erect Freemasonry, and a few personalities from the several occult bodies who survived the War began to re-erect the O.T.O. and a pansophic lodge out of which was born the Fraternitas Saturni.
Soon Crowley appeared on the scene, and after becoming head of the english branch of the O.T.O. through Theodor Reuss, exerted his influence on the german countries as well, by proclaiming that he was the Prophet of the New Aeon at a famous congregation of occultists in Thüringen in the 40s.
Since then, the loose strands of german occultism that survived WWII became influenced by the Law of Thelema in varying degrees, and in my opinion, spoiled.
What is left in Germany since then is Freemasonry, the O.T.O., and the Fraternitas Saturni, that was founded by one Eugen Grosche, formerly secretary of the pansophic lodge, who was also present at the convention in Thüringen and highly excited by Crowleys appearance.
And last but not least, in 2002 a Temple of the Golden Dawn was inaugurated in Berlin
by David Griffin, the international Imperator G.H. Frater L.e.S., to bring back the Light to its original place!
My conclusive thought on all that is, although its sad that probably a great deal of knowledge simply got lost during WWII, its maybe not necessary to have a vast amount of esoteric bodies here, like it has been in former times.
We have to bear in mind that at the beginning of the 20th century, and even before, it was to some extent simply "trendy" to be member of a secret society- given that you were upper class or at least of "good standing", of course....
Quantity is not quality.
Of course, I have read Karl Frick's masterpiece of scholar research "Die Erleuchteten", a heavy volume which deals with all the gnostic-theosophic and alchemical-rosicrucian secret societies in the german speaking countries up to the end of the 18th century.
Therein i found the most extensive excourse on the german Gold-und-Rosenkreutz-Orden and its spin-off the asiatic Brethren i have ever read, both organisations being antecedents of the modern Golden Dawn.
I have another book in my possession, a limited edition of 500 copies which is simply called "Gold-und Rosenkreutzer", published by the "Archiv für altes Gedankengut und Wissen" in Germany, with beautiful typeset and bound in red linen, and this one consists mainly of very cryptic recipes of laboratory alchemy written down by different brethren of the old G.u.R. Order.
A very detailed historic account on the occult history of Germany and Bohemia we also find in the biography of Gustav Meyrink, a german writer (1868-1932) who is famous for his occult novels, especially "Der Golem".
Gustav Meyrink not only was the head of the bohemian branch of the Asiatic Brethren, but also of countless other masonic and esoteric bodies and branches of that time. He knew every renowned person of the occult and theosophic scene of that time, and he also was in mail contact with William Wynn Westcott, from whom he received certain instructions on hermeticism.
This biography is full of interesting anecdotes on occultism, since Meyrink, throughout his whole life, tried to "become more than human", and experimented with several systems to achieve this, western and eastern techniques alike.
At the end of his life he even said that he found out that the primary aim of any occult student should be to strive to not only change consciousness through magic, but moreover to transmute the physical body into higher forms of energy.
This, and the whole knowledge displayed throughout his extensive body of writing, published and private, reveals that he certainly has reached a high level of attainment.
One of the most interesting anecdotes that comes to my mind when remembering Hartmut Binders biography is that Meyrink once described the official emblem of the Asiatic Brethren, which consisted of the heads of a boar and of an unicorn, placed symmetrically to each other.
Then there is http://user.cyberlink.ch/~koenig/, the page of one Peter König, who is regarded as one of the best historic researchers on german occultism, especially on the phenomenon of the O.T.O., the german Fraternitas Saturni, and everything that predated these two organisations. It is said that Peter König possesses even more material on the history and origin of the O.T.O. than the O.T.O. itself.
On the 7th of December 1937, the german Nazi government forced every masonic and related esoteric organisations to close down their lodges, and on Königs research page we find a facsimile of the original edict with a list of all the names of these esoteric bodies. And hey, this list is HUGE.
Amongst all the numerous masonic organisations, we find also countless rosicrucian bodies, and even one organisation called "Der hermetische Orden der Goldenen Dämmerung", which, of course, caught my greatest interest, since i never heard of one german branch of it before.
I also once saw on TV a documentary on Hitler and the occult, where i saw shots of the inside of several occult lodges in Berlin in the 30s.
This all sums up to the conclusion that there once was a rich occult tradition in the german speaking countries, and that this tradition suffered a severe cut through Hitlers regimen.
He not only was committing genocide, but also murdered a vast esoteric corpus, and at the same time, and paradoxically, tried to incorporate bits and pieces of plain esoteric knowledge into his semi-esoteric ario-sophic Order of the S.S.
Hitler made tabula rasa on the occult landscape of Germany, and i believe only the smallest pieces of it could survive underground.
After World War II, the occupation forces of America helped to re-erect Freemasonry, and a few personalities from the several occult bodies who survived the War began to re-erect the O.T.O. and a pansophic lodge out of which was born the Fraternitas Saturni.
Soon Crowley appeared on the scene, and after becoming head of the english branch of the O.T.O. through Theodor Reuss, exerted his influence on the german countries as well, by proclaiming that he was the Prophet of the New Aeon at a famous congregation of occultists in Thüringen in the 40s.
Since then, the loose strands of german occultism that survived WWII became influenced by the Law of Thelema in varying degrees, and in my opinion, spoiled.
What is left in Germany since then is Freemasonry, the O.T.O., and the Fraternitas Saturni, that was founded by one Eugen Grosche, formerly secretary of the pansophic lodge, who was also present at the convention in Thüringen and highly excited by Crowleys appearance.
And last but not least, in 2002 a Temple of the Golden Dawn was inaugurated in Berlin
by David Griffin, the international Imperator G.H. Frater L.e.S., to bring back the Light to its original place!
My conclusive thought on all that is, although its sad that probably a great deal of knowledge simply got lost during WWII, its maybe not necessary to have a vast amount of esoteric bodies here, like it has been in former times.
We have to bear in mind that at the beginning of the 20th century, and even before, it was to some extent simply "trendy" to be member of a secret society- given that you were upper class or at least of "good standing", of course....
Quantity is not quality.
Samstag, 29. Januar 2011
9/11, Pluto etc.
For most of you this will be an old hat, but i found it interesting to examine the astrological chart of New York on 11th September of 2001.
We see an exact opposition of Pluto in Sagittarius and Saturn in Gemini.
Religious motivated terror against established structures (in Gemini- Twin Towers).
A little plain my interpretation, maybe, but nonetheless interesting.
Pluto is an explosive, unpredictable force.
We also had a Pluto return into Scorpio when the AIDS crisis came up in the early 1980s.
I for myself have Pluto and Uranus in my seventh house in Libra and Scorpio-
this fits to my experiences, or better the absence of experience, with long lasting relationships.
On the other side, i never had difficulties in learning to know every person that i wanted to learn to know- and i know a great deal of very interesting persons!
But I found out that those partners who were willing to stay with me for longer than several months in an intimate relationship always have been persons with a strong Scorpio influence, and the longest relationship i ever had was with an artist who had Pluto in Scorpio in his first house!
Well, maybe i should start to look after persons with certain astrological nuances instead other features, HAHA.
We see an exact opposition of Pluto in Sagittarius and Saturn in Gemini.
Religious motivated terror against established structures (in Gemini- Twin Towers).
A little plain my interpretation, maybe, but nonetheless interesting.
Pluto is an explosive, unpredictable force.
We also had a Pluto return into Scorpio when the AIDS crisis came up in the early 1980s.
I for myself have Pluto and Uranus in my seventh house in Libra and Scorpio-
this fits to my experiences, or better the absence of experience, with long lasting relationships.
On the other side, i never had difficulties in learning to know every person that i wanted to learn to know- and i know a great deal of very interesting persons!
But I found out that those partners who were willing to stay with me for longer than several months in an intimate relationship always have been persons with a strong Scorpio influence, and the longest relationship i ever had was with an artist who had Pluto in Scorpio in his first house!
Well, maybe i should start to look after persons with certain astrological nuances instead other features, HAHA.
Samstag, 22. Januar 2011
Tears and Wisdom
Iam going through an incredibly tough time. All through the last year i had to face my inmost fears and sorrows. I had to face emptiness, boredom and chaos. I had to ask myself if iam trying to compensate my sometimes low self-esteem with success in magic. I felt like running in circles. I also felt like 8 years of practising magic led to nowhere, and questioned if i had chosen the right goals when "only" wishing spiritual attainment.
I indulged in vices that nearly brought me to the edge of ruin.
I also over and over asked myself why i do attempt to write at this dammit blog.
I cried so much during the last months like i never cried throughout all the last 8 years.
But: now i definitely know that all my eager and zealous invocations of the Highest have taught me one thing, and at least this one special thing, although this realisation had to come up with many tears and struggles: and this one thing is-----
COMPASSION. Compassion, that is understanding of and forgiveness for my own faults, and my own needs, and compassion for all human beings and their right to experience joy and freedom.
Sorry for sounding melodramatic this time, but emotion is a powerful force and it can teach valuable things at times.
I indulged in vices that nearly brought me to the edge of ruin.
I also over and over asked myself why i do attempt to write at this dammit blog.
I cried so much during the last months like i never cried throughout all the last 8 years.
But: now i definitely know that all my eager and zealous invocations of the Highest have taught me one thing, and at least this one special thing, although this realisation had to come up with many tears and struggles: and this one thing is-----
COMPASSION. Compassion, that is understanding of and forgiveness for my own faults, and my own needs, and compassion for all human beings and their right to experience joy and freedom.
Sorry for sounding melodramatic this time, but emotion is a powerful force and it can teach valuable things at times.
Montag, 10. Januar 2011
Astral initiation?
Following recent articles about astral initiation into the Golden Dawn on the blogosphere i cannot help but giving in my two cents about this topic too.
I have many years of experience in active Temple work, and assisted as magical Officer at numerous initiations of dozens of candidates throughout the grades of the Golden Dawn in the Outer.
Especially the experiences i made when assisting at Neophyte receptions comprise the highlights of my whole magical journey until now, and i deem them so precious that i never dared to speak about that in public so far.
And its not because i fear to violate my magical oaths- as long as i never give out names, dates and places, they remain unsullied.
Its more about the fear that a true transcendental experience becomes stained when trying to verbalize it.
And its a question of magical power that is kept strong by keeping it hermetically sealed (and with this i touch the very sore spot behind my relation to this blog of mine, but i digress)....
Of course i heard about the legend of Moina Mathers, who, after the death of her husband, gave one american A.O. temple dispensation to nominally confer the grade of Neophyte without physical initiation to any candidate who is willing to send in 10 Dollars per mail. I never read anything about this temple performing astral initiations instead, by the way.
Well, its a pity that Moina cannot reply on this anymore, because i believe this is either an idle rumour or Moina simply was out of her head in her later years.
To be honest, the picture of her that i had in my mind after reading books of Dion Fortune, Ithell Colquhoun or Mary K. Greer never was free of ambivalence, seeing a certain deal of envy and competitivness and also some instability in her character.
But, anyway, who is free of flaws? And also, this alone can't be reason enough for throwing overboard important magical principles.
First of all, when i speak of initiation i mean initiation into the system of the Golden Dawn.
Initiation is a wide concept, from rites de passages in so-called primitive cultures to truly primitive adolescent rites in our culture, everything is possible.
Initiation into the Golden Dawn means getting initiated into the grade of Neophyte.
In general, i believe that the main intention behind this ceremony, apart from the official reception into a magical brotherhood, is to awaken into activity the divine spark that lies dormant in every human being.
It tries to trigger and raise the vibration of the seed of Soul and illumination that is trapped deeply in our material bodies.
It cleanses the Sphere of Sensation or Aura of the candidate, and by opening certain energy channels makes his etheric and astral bodies more receptive for the influx of L.V.X., the magical universal and transformative energy without every performance of ritual magic would be worthless.
And, last but not least, it also impresses on the mind and consciousness of the candidate the idea of illumination in a symbolic manner.
So it is clear that the initiation into Neophyte tries to accomplish its aim on more than one level.
There is a transmission of energy that works on the subtle bodies via the physical body, and a reprogramming of the mind by occult symbols, and in certain points the technique behind this resembles what i have read about brain washing techniques long ago.
Symbols are the language of the unconscious.
It is common to every occult student that the mere act of looking upon magical symbols will have an effect on the unconscious. By staring at a Tarot Trump, you allow the symbolism of the card to sink deeply into your mind. On the deepest level, the Trump will become an entity that is talking to you, leaving distinct messages and imprints for you to work with, if you are aware of it or not.
The whole ceremony of Neophyte is loaded with occult symbolism. There is nothing in it by chance. Every prop or implement, every speech and movement made by the officers, from the Banner of the East down to the colour of the robes of the officers, everything has a kabbalistical, magical or alchemical meaning or concept behind.
To see a Temple of the Golden Dawn in full bloom for the first time of his/her life is like a magical assault on the senses of the canidate. Even when the candidate knows nothing at all about the meaning of the symbolism displayed there, it will leave an important imprint on his consciousness, and this is the meaning behind the Z3- document stating that
"...the Sacred Rites may gradually, and as it were, in spite of himself, lead the Neophyte unto the Knowledge of his Higher Self".
But there is more behind it than just displaying certain symbols.
The Golden Dawn makes use of an ancient technique that accomplishes it to imprint these symbols much more deeper upon the mind than by simply showing them.
And part of this technique is to blindfold the candidate for quite a time, and to send him through a challenge and drama that makes his mind highly absorptive. The whole dramatic procedure of the ritual arouses his nature to the greatest extent.
By these devices, the emotional armour of the candidate is temporarily cracked and the symbols are allowed to flow in unfiltered, without the necessary barriers that ensure the sanity of our daily affair with the world around us.
This is no uncommon procedure. Freemasonry makes use of this technique, and we are also told that in ancient mystery cults like Eleusis the aspirants had to grope through darkness and to go through physical and emotional challenges before being received into the Light.
Sadly enough, even terrorists know about the effectiveness of putting somebody into emotional and physical insecurity in order to reprogram his mind and value system.
I think the whole process of re-programming the mind by ceremonial devices is impossible to accomplish by astral initiation.
While a magician or Adept may be able to send occult energy or force over long distances to somebody, or to ignite a certain current of force that is felt and absorbed by somebody at another place, i think s/he is not able to manipulate the energetic body in the same way as when performing the ceremony when the candidate is present.
The astral body is rooted in the physical body and its development is largely dependent on the treatment of the physical body. So if you want to affect anything, it would be only logical to affect the root of it.
I think there are many magicians out there who can attest that a magical ritual performed physically has a much more deeper and long lasting effect than any ritual performed only on the astral level, that is in imagination.
The hidden forces of nature strive to be "incarnated" on the material level.
This is the reason why you always complete any invocational round of a force with the consecration of a talisman- by doing this, you complete the formula of YHVH, you make the force practically accessible in your all day life.
I think Dion Fortune once spoke about this aspect. She said that a occult force, if not called down into a material basis, is likely to bring trouble to the Sphere of the occultist, because till then it is "only" whirling in the astral.
But when bound into a talisman, the force is equilibrated.
The talisman in case of the Neophyte Ceremony is the candidate himself!
And what a living and vibrant talisman he is, with all his senses in divine expectation and awe!
So i believe that the energetic transfer accomplished by astral initiations is at least very dubious.
And i believe that the re-programming of the mind and unconscious by the symbolic impact is simply impossible with astral initiation.
It also makes me sad to hear that aspiring Golden Dawn- candidates only receive astral initiations. With this they get robbed of the most wonderful and exciting experience i can imagine.
Of course i know that the successful performance of a Neophyte ceremony requires the Hierophant and its officers to build up and enliven the astral hall, that is the Godforms and invisible stations of it.
This part of the work sets in motion the magical current of the Order- and that will saturate, purify and consecrate the astral body of the candidate as well.
By names and images all powers are awakened and re-awakened.
This is basic knowledge for any Golden Dawn magician.
But this is only half of the work required for a successful initiation....
And there is also the argument that astral initiation is offered in order to serve students who cannot afford travelling to a temple.
Well, i travelled around the globe in order to receive certain initiations, although iam not a wealthy man at all!
Its always a question of what it is worth for you.
And this path never was there for serving the masses, but for the few and elected.
May you be blessed under the wings of the Eternal!
Summa scientia nihil scire,
Fr. L.
I have many years of experience in active Temple work, and assisted as magical Officer at numerous initiations of dozens of candidates throughout the grades of the Golden Dawn in the Outer.
Especially the experiences i made when assisting at Neophyte receptions comprise the highlights of my whole magical journey until now, and i deem them so precious that i never dared to speak about that in public so far.
And its not because i fear to violate my magical oaths- as long as i never give out names, dates and places, they remain unsullied.
Its more about the fear that a true transcendental experience becomes stained when trying to verbalize it.
And its a question of magical power that is kept strong by keeping it hermetically sealed (and with this i touch the very sore spot behind my relation to this blog of mine, but i digress)....
Of course i heard about the legend of Moina Mathers, who, after the death of her husband, gave one american A.O. temple dispensation to nominally confer the grade of Neophyte without physical initiation to any candidate who is willing to send in 10 Dollars per mail. I never read anything about this temple performing astral initiations instead, by the way.
Well, its a pity that Moina cannot reply on this anymore, because i believe this is either an idle rumour or Moina simply was out of her head in her later years.
To be honest, the picture of her that i had in my mind after reading books of Dion Fortune, Ithell Colquhoun or Mary K. Greer never was free of ambivalence, seeing a certain deal of envy and competitivness and also some instability in her character.
But, anyway, who is free of flaws? And also, this alone can't be reason enough for throwing overboard important magical principles.
First of all, when i speak of initiation i mean initiation into the system of the Golden Dawn.
Initiation is a wide concept, from rites de passages in so-called primitive cultures to truly primitive adolescent rites in our culture, everything is possible.
Initiation into the Golden Dawn means getting initiated into the grade of Neophyte.
In general, i believe that the main intention behind this ceremony, apart from the official reception into a magical brotherhood, is to awaken into activity the divine spark that lies dormant in every human being.
It tries to trigger and raise the vibration of the seed of Soul and illumination that is trapped deeply in our material bodies.
It cleanses the Sphere of Sensation or Aura of the candidate, and by opening certain energy channels makes his etheric and astral bodies more receptive for the influx of L.V.X., the magical universal and transformative energy without every performance of ritual magic would be worthless.
And, last but not least, it also impresses on the mind and consciousness of the candidate the idea of illumination in a symbolic manner.
So it is clear that the initiation into Neophyte tries to accomplish its aim on more than one level.
There is a transmission of energy that works on the subtle bodies via the physical body, and a reprogramming of the mind by occult symbols, and in certain points the technique behind this resembles what i have read about brain washing techniques long ago.
Symbols are the language of the unconscious.
It is common to every occult student that the mere act of looking upon magical symbols will have an effect on the unconscious. By staring at a Tarot Trump, you allow the symbolism of the card to sink deeply into your mind. On the deepest level, the Trump will become an entity that is talking to you, leaving distinct messages and imprints for you to work with, if you are aware of it or not.
The whole ceremony of Neophyte is loaded with occult symbolism. There is nothing in it by chance. Every prop or implement, every speech and movement made by the officers, from the Banner of the East down to the colour of the robes of the officers, everything has a kabbalistical, magical or alchemical meaning or concept behind.
To see a Temple of the Golden Dawn in full bloom for the first time of his/her life is like a magical assault on the senses of the canidate. Even when the candidate knows nothing at all about the meaning of the symbolism displayed there, it will leave an important imprint on his consciousness, and this is the meaning behind the Z3- document stating that
"...the Sacred Rites may gradually, and as it were, in spite of himself, lead the Neophyte unto the Knowledge of his Higher Self".
But there is more behind it than just displaying certain symbols.
The Golden Dawn makes use of an ancient technique that accomplishes it to imprint these symbols much more deeper upon the mind than by simply showing them.
And part of this technique is to blindfold the candidate for quite a time, and to send him through a challenge and drama that makes his mind highly absorptive. The whole dramatic procedure of the ritual arouses his nature to the greatest extent.
By these devices, the emotional armour of the candidate is temporarily cracked and the symbols are allowed to flow in unfiltered, without the necessary barriers that ensure the sanity of our daily affair with the world around us.
This is no uncommon procedure. Freemasonry makes use of this technique, and we are also told that in ancient mystery cults like Eleusis the aspirants had to grope through darkness and to go through physical and emotional challenges before being received into the Light.
Sadly enough, even terrorists know about the effectiveness of putting somebody into emotional and physical insecurity in order to reprogram his mind and value system.
I think the whole process of re-programming the mind by ceremonial devices is impossible to accomplish by astral initiation.
While a magician or Adept may be able to send occult energy or force over long distances to somebody, or to ignite a certain current of force that is felt and absorbed by somebody at another place, i think s/he is not able to manipulate the energetic body in the same way as when performing the ceremony when the candidate is present.
The astral body is rooted in the physical body and its development is largely dependent on the treatment of the physical body. So if you want to affect anything, it would be only logical to affect the root of it.
I think there are many magicians out there who can attest that a magical ritual performed physically has a much more deeper and long lasting effect than any ritual performed only on the astral level, that is in imagination.
The hidden forces of nature strive to be "incarnated" on the material level.
This is the reason why you always complete any invocational round of a force with the consecration of a talisman- by doing this, you complete the formula of YHVH, you make the force practically accessible in your all day life.
I think Dion Fortune once spoke about this aspect. She said that a occult force, if not called down into a material basis, is likely to bring trouble to the Sphere of the occultist, because till then it is "only" whirling in the astral.
But when bound into a talisman, the force is equilibrated.
The talisman in case of the Neophyte Ceremony is the candidate himself!
And what a living and vibrant talisman he is, with all his senses in divine expectation and awe!
So i believe that the energetic transfer accomplished by astral initiations is at least very dubious.
And i believe that the re-programming of the mind and unconscious by the symbolic impact is simply impossible with astral initiation.
It also makes me sad to hear that aspiring Golden Dawn- candidates only receive astral initiations. With this they get robbed of the most wonderful and exciting experience i can imagine.
Of course i know that the successful performance of a Neophyte ceremony requires the Hierophant and its officers to build up and enliven the astral hall, that is the Godforms and invisible stations of it.
This part of the work sets in motion the magical current of the Order- and that will saturate, purify and consecrate the astral body of the candidate as well.
By names and images all powers are awakened and re-awakened.
This is basic knowledge for any Golden Dawn magician.
But this is only half of the work required for a successful initiation....
And there is also the argument that astral initiation is offered in order to serve students who cannot afford travelling to a temple.
Well, i travelled around the globe in order to receive certain initiations, although iam not a wealthy man at all!
Its always a question of what it is worth for you.
And this path never was there for serving the masses, but for the few and elected.
May you be blessed under the wings of the Eternal!
Summa scientia nihil scire,
Fr. L.
Mittwoch, 5. Januar 2011
Reflektionen zum neuen Jahr
1. Januar 2011, Dies Shabbatai, Sol in Capricornus, Luna in Sagittarius:
Ich bin Typhon,
die innere Wüste,
ein karger durstiger Acker.
Ein Mensch, zum Tier degradiert, da all seiner höheren Anteile entledigt.
Ein seelenloser Zombie, gesteuert von blindem Verlangen,
auf die gröbsten Vitalfunktionen reduziert, gierig, zerstreut und unersättlich.
Meine Augen sind die Einfallstore zu einer ausgetrockneten Einöde.
Von der Seele abgeschnitten, damit ich mir bewusst werde, was ich vermisse, was ich verloren habe- und was ich dennoch wiedererlangen kann, sollte ich meinen Glauben nicht komplett verlieren.
Erst wenn ich dessen beraubt werde, wird mir bewusst, was für ein natürlicher und wesenseigener Bestandteil meines Gesamtgefüges mein inneres Licht war, doch war ich vorher praktisch betriebsblind, wie Adam im Garten Eden vor dem Fall.
Die Schleier der Nacht verbergen den göttlichen Funken der Seele so gut, dass sie ausgelöscht zu sein scheint, und dies bewirkt das eigentliche erste Gewahrwerden Ihrer Selbst.
Erobert man sie sich zurück, wird die ursprüngliche Reinheit wieder hergestellt.
Eine Reinheit, die vor dem Fall nur scheinbar vorhanden war, da der mit den Schlacken des Egos behaftete Abglanz mit der eigentlichen Glorie verwechselt wurde, eine Glorie, die sich schon spätestens mit dem Einsetzen der Adoleszenz verflüchtigt hatte.
"Nicht ehe Ihr werdet wie Kinder...."
Die Vision von Typhon, stumpf und leer aus mir herausglotzend, ist die Vision des Hüters der Schwelle, also dem Anteil meiner selbst, der den Zutritt über die Schwelle blockiert, und ist die folgerichtige Entwicklung meiner magischen Arbeit des Jahres 2010.
Und dies alles bestätigt wiederum die wunderbare Funktionsweise der Einweihung, der dunklen Nacht und der Erlangung-
noch besitze ich sie nicht, die Perle, die alles enthält.
Oh helfe mir Gott und meine höhere Seele!
(Typhon besiegt Osiris, damit Osiris wiederauferstehen kann, der fleischgewordene Solar-Mythos.
Typhon, auch Set, der dunkle Zwillingsbruder des Horus, des aktiven menschlichen Willens, der vom automatischen Bewusstsein gesteuerte, seelenlose Roboter, der nur auf die Befriedigung seiner gröbsten animalischen Instinkte und Triebe programmiert ist.
Es ist Zeit, dass der Gott im leeren Tempel wieder aufersteht- der Sieg der Sonne über die blinden Kräfte der Natur.)
Ich bin Typhon,
die innere Wüste,
ein karger durstiger Acker.
Ein Mensch, zum Tier degradiert, da all seiner höheren Anteile entledigt.
Ein seelenloser Zombie, gesteuert von blindem Verlangen,
auf die gröbsten Vitalfunktionen reduziert, gierig, zerstreut und unersättlich.
Meine Augen sind die Einfallstore zu einer ausgetrockneten Einöde.
Von der Seele abgeschnitten, damit ich mir bewusst werde, was ich vermisse, was ich verloren habe- und was ich dennoch wiedererlangen kann, sollte ich meinen Glauben nicht komplett verlieren.
Erst wenn ich dessen beraubt werde, wird mir bewusst, was für ein natürlicher und wesenseigener Bestandteil meines Gesamtgefüges mein inneres Licht war, doch war ich vorher praktisch betriebsblind, wie Adam im Garten Eden vor dem Fall.
Die Schleier der Nacht verbergen den göttlichen Funken der Seele so gut, dass sie ausgelöscht zu sein scheint, und dies bewirkt das eigentliche erste Gewahrwerden Ihrer Selbst.
Erobert man sie sich zurück, wird die ursprüngliche Reinheit wieder hergestellt.
Eine Reinheit, die vor dem Fall nur scheinbar vorhanden war, da der mit den Schlacken des Egos behaftete Abglanz mit der eigentlichen Glorie verwechselt wurde, eine Glorie, die sich schon spätestens mit dem Einsetzen der Adoleszenz verflüchtigt hatte.
"Nicht ehe Ihr werdet wie Kinder...."
Die Vision von Typhon, stumpf und leer aus mir herausglotzend, ist die Vision des Hüters der Schwelle, also dem Anteil meiner selbst, der den Zutritt über die Schwelle blockiert, und ist die folgerichtige Entwicklung meiner magischen Arbeit des Jahres 2010.
Und dies alles bestätigt wiederum die wunderbare Funktionsweise der Einweihung, der dunklen Nacht und der Erlangung-
noch besitze ich sie nicht, die Perle, die alles enthält.
Oh helfe mir Gott und meine höhere Seele!
(Typhon besiegt Osiris, damit Osiris wiederauferstehen kann, der fleischgewordene Solar-Mythos.
Typhon, auch Set, der dunkle Zwillingsbruder des Horus, des aktiven menschlichen Willens, der vom automatischen Bewusstsein gesteuerte, seelenlose Roboter, der nur auf die Befriedigung seiner gröbsten animalischen Instinkte und Triebe programmiert ist.
Es ist Zeit, dass der Gott im leeren Tempel wieder aufersteht- der Sieg der Sonne über die blinden Kräfte der Natur.)
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