Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 3)

receive a visual impression of his Angel in a physical form which is sublimely quintessential of his idéal. A musician may be rapt away by majestic mélodies such as he never hoped to hear. A philosopher may attain appréhension of tremendous truths, the solution of problems that had baffled him ail his life. Conformably with this doctrine, we read of illuminations experienced by simple-minded men, such as a workman who “saw God” and likened Him to “a quantity of little pears”. Again, we know that ecstasy, impinging upon unbalanced minds, inflames the idolised idea, and produces fanatical faith fierce even to frenzy, with intolérance and insanely disordered energy which is yet so powerful as to effect the destinies of empires. But the phenomena of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel are a side issue ; the essence of the Union is the intimacy. Their intimacy (or rather identity) is independent of ail partial forms of expression ; at its best it is therefore as inarticulate as Love. The intensity of the consummation will more probably compel a sob or a cry, some natural physical gesture of animal sympathy with the spiritual spasm. This is to be criticised as incomplète self- control. Silence is nobler. In any case the Adept must be in communion with his Angel, so that his Soûl is suffused with sublimity, whether intelligible or not in ternis of intellect. It is évident that the stress of such spiritual possession must tend to overwhelm the soûl, especially at first. It actually suffers from the excess of its ecstasy, just as extreme love produces vertigo. The soûl sinks and swoons. Such weakness is fatal alike to its enjoyment and its appréhension. “Be strong! then canst thou bear more rapture!” sayeth the Book of the Law.1 The Adept must therefore play the man, arousing himself to harden his soûl. To this end, I, the Beast, hâve made trial and proof of divers devices. Of these the most potent is to set the body to strive with I. Liber Al vel Legis, II, 61-68, where the details of the proper tech¬ nique are discussed. — 297 —