Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 3)

“Fairyland”, with a Pagan Pantheism as its keynote, sometimes concealed by Christian nomenclature: the “Alchemical” plane, where the Great Work is often presented under the form of symbolically constructed landscapes occupied by quasi-heraldic animais and human types hieroglyphically distinguished, who carry on the mysterious operations of the Hermetic Art. There are also “planes” of Parable, of Fable, and of Folk-lore; in short, every country, creed, and literature has given its character- istic mode of présentation to some “plane” or other. But there are “planes” proper to every clairvoyant who explores the Astral Light without préjudice; in such case, things assume the form of his own mind, and his perception will be clear in proportion to his personal purity. On the higher planes, the diversity of form, due to grossness, tends to disappear. Thus, the Astral Vision of “Isis” is utterly unlike that of “Kali”. The one is of Motherhood and Wisdom, ineffably candid, clear, and loving; the other of Murder and madness, blood-intoxicated, lust-befogged, and cruel. The sole link is the Woman-symbol. But whoso makes Samadhi on Kali obtains the self-same Illumination as if it had been Isis; for in both cases he attains identity with the Quintessence of the Woman- Idea, untrammelled by the qualities with which the dwellers by the Nile and the Ganges respectively disguised it. Thus, in low grades of initiation, dogmatic quarrels are inflamed by astral expérience; as when Saint John distinguishes between the Whore Babalon and the Woman clothed with the Sun, between the Lamb that was slain and the Beast 666 whose deadly wound was healed; nor understands that Satan, the Old Serpent, in the Abyss, the Lake of Fire and Sulphur, is the Sun-Father, the vibration of Life, Lord of Infinité Space that fiâmes with His Consuming Energy, and is also that throned Light whose Spirit is suffused throughout the City of Jewels. Each “plane” is a veil of the one above it; the original individual Ideas become diversified as they express their éléments. Two men with almost identical ideas on a subject would Write two totally different treatises upon it. 15) The general control of the Astral Plane, the ability to find — 250 —