Magick in Theory and Practice (Section 1)

in two places at once,1 for example, though even the possibilité of so simple a feat (in the case of spirits) seems to be denied by certain passages in extant conjurations which tell the spint that if he happens to be in chains in a particular place in Hell, or if some other magician îs conjuring him so that he cannot comc, then let him send a spirit of simîlar nature, or otherwisé avoid the dif- ficulty. But of course so vulgar a conception would not occur to the student of the Qabalah. It is just possible that the magi wrote their conjurations on this crude hypothesis in order to avoid the clouding of the mind by doubt and metaphysical spéculation. He who became the Master Therion was once confronted by this very difficulty. Being determined to instruct mankind, He sought a simple statement of his object. His will was sufficiently informed by common sense to décidé him to teach man T he Nexi Step, the thing which was immediately above him. He might hâve called this “God”, or “The Higher Self”, or “The Augoeides”, or “Adi-Buddha”, or 61 other things —but He had discovered that these w'ere ali one, yet that each one represented some theory of the Universe which would ultimately be shattered by criticism — for He had already passed through the realm of Reason, and knew that every statement contained an absurdity. He therefore said: “Let me déclaré this Work under this title: 'The obtaining of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian AngeP ”, because the theory implied in these words is so patently absurd that only simpletons would waste much time in analysing it. It would be accepted as a convention, and no one would incur the grave danger of building a philosophical system upon it. With this understanding, we may rehabilitate the Hebrew System of invocations. The mind is the great enemy; so, by invoking enthusiastically a person whom we know not to exist, we are rebuking that mind. Yet we should not refrain altogether from philosophising in the light of the Holy Qabalah. We should accept the Magical Hierarchy as a more or less con- venient classification of the facts of the Universe as they are i. He could do this provided that he can travel with à speed exceeding that of Light, as he does. See A. S. Eddington aSpace, Time, and Gra¬ vitation”. Also : what means “at once”? 20