Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 1)

Our Magician, with this in his minci, will most probably leave thunderstorms to stew in their own juice; but, should he décidé (after ail) to enliven the afternoon, he will work in the manner following. First, what are the éléments necessary for his storms ? He .must hâve certain stores of electrical force, and the right kind of clouds to contain it. He must see that the force does not leak away to earth quietly and slyly. He must arrange a stress so severe as to become at last so intolér¬ able that it will disrupt explosively. Now he, as a man, cannot pray to God to cause them, for the Gods are but names for the forces of Nature themselves* But, as a Mystic, he knows that ail things are phantoms of One Thing, and that they may be withdrawn therein to reissue in other attire. He knows that ail things are in himself, and that he is All-One with the Ail. There is therefore no theoretical difficulty about converting the illusion of a clear sky into that of a tempest. On the other hand, he is aware, as a Magiciany that illusions are governed by the laws of their nature. He knows that twice two is four, although both “two” and “four” are merely properties per- taining to One. He can only use the Mystical identity of ail things in a strictly scientific sense. It is true that his expérience of clear skies and storms proves that his nature contains éléments cognate with both; for if not, they could not affect him. He is the Microcosm of his own Macrocosm, whether or no either one or the other extend beyond his knowledge of them. He must there¬ fore arouse in himself those ideas which are clansmen of the Thunderstorm ; collect ail available objects of the same nature for talismans, and proceed to excite ail these to the utmost by a Magical ceremony; that is, by insisting on their godhead, so that they flamewithin and without him, his ideas vitalising the talismans. There is thus a vivid vibration of high potential in a certain group construct a detonator which could destroy every atom of matter by releasing the energies of one, so that the vibrations would excite the rest to disintegrate explosively. 120