FOLLOW A WORD THROUGH THE COLLECTION
Search the corpus.
Phrase search ignores case and repeated whitespace. All-words search finds whole words anywhere on the same page. OCR errors can affect results.
19 matching pages
Page 1 of 11930 · PDF PAGE 44
… the whole of one’s powers at the service of any type of task. With regard to the mind, again, it would seem that concentra¬ tion on the question makes more difficult the necessary detachment from it. Once again, the diviner stands in need of a considérable degree of attainment in the practices of méditation. He must hâve succeeded in destroying the tendency of the ego to interfère with the ohject of thought. He must be able to conceive of a thing out of ail relation with anything eise. The regular practice of concentration leads to this resuit…
1930 · PDF PAGE 43
one’s minci until one can be positive, beyond the possibility of error, that one is able to detach oneself entirely from the question. The oracle is a judgej it must be beyond bribery and préjudice. It is impossible in practice to lay down rules for the inter¬ prétation of symbols. Their nature must be investigated by intel- lectual methods such as the Qabalah, but the précisé shape of meaning in any one case, and the sphere and tendency of its application, must be acquired partlv by expérience, that is, by induction, by recording and classifyi…
1930 · PDF PAGE 45
…hould marry, it being assumed that one’s emotional impulses suggest so rash a course. The man takes his wand and his sand; he traces the question, makes the appropriate pentagram, and the sigil of the spirit. Before tracing the dashes which are to détermine the four “Mothers”, he must strictly examine himself. He must banish from his mind every thought which can possibly act as an attachment to his proposed partner. He must banish ail thoughts which concern himself, those of appré¬ hension no less than those of ardour. He must carry his introsp…
1930 · PDF PAGE 52
… knowledge of the subject at issue is to bis own as that of an expert to a layman. The expert is not infallible. 1 he client may put his question in a misleading manner, or even base it on a completely erroneous conception of the facts. He may misunder- stand the expert’s answer, and he may misinterpret its purport. Apart from ail this, excluding ail error, both question and answer are limited in validity by their own conditions 3 and these conditions are such that truth may cease to be true, either as time goes on, or if it be flawed by the de…
1930 · PDF PAGE 48
…shall I be wise to marry?” one leaves it open for wisdom to be defined in divers ways. One can only expect an answer in the sense of the question. The connotation of “wise” would then imply the limitations “in your private définition of wisdom”, “in reference to your présent circumstances.” It would not involve guarantee against subséquent disaster, or pronounce a philosophical dictum as to wisdom in the abstract sense. One must not assume tliat the oracle is omniscient. By the nature of the case, on the contrary, it is the utterance of a being…
1930 · PDF PAGE 23
… materiaL It is of course not “real” 5 but then no more is the other body! Before treating of clairvoyance one must discuss briefly this question of reality, for misapprehension on the subject has given rise to endless trouble. There is the story of the American in the train who saw another American carrying a basket of unusual shape. His curiosity mastered him, and he leant across and said: “Say, stranger, what you got in that bag ?” The other, lantern-jawed and taciturn, replied : “Mongoose”. The hrst man was rather baffled, as he had never h…
1930 · PDF PAGE 47
…raint. One must endeavour to appreliend it as a thing absolute in itself. One must treat it, in short, very much the same as one did the question $ as a mystical entity, till now unrelated with other phenomena. One must, so to speak, adore it as a god, uncritically: aSpeak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” Il must be allowed to impose iis intrinsic individuality on the mind, to put its fingers independently on whatever notes it pleases. In this way one obtains an impression of the true purport of the answerj and one obtains it armed with a sanct…
1930 · PDF PAGE 35
…should he perfected. The Body of Light nmst be rendered capable of going every- where and doing everything. It is, therefore, always the question of drill which is of importance. You hâve got to go out Rising on the Planes every day of your life, year after year. You are not to be disheartened by failure, or too much encouraged by success, in any one practice or set of practices. What you are doing is what will be of real value to you in the end j and that is, developing a character, creating a Karma, which will give you the power to do your Wi…
1930 · PDF PAGE 76
…er connexion, he who' “destroys” any being must accept it, with ail the responsibilities attached, as part of himself. The Adept here in question was therefore obliged to incorporate the elemental spirit of the girl — she was not human, the sheath of a Star, but an advanced planetary daemon, whose rash ambition had captured a body beyond its capacity -to conduct — in his own magical vehicîe. He thereby pledged himself to subordinate ail the sudden accession of qualities — pas- sionate, capricious, impulsive, irrational, selfish, short-sightedne…
1930 · PDF PAGE 41
…eave the smallest loop-hole for being tricked, befogged, or mocked. He must not allow them to use casuistry in the interprétation of his questions. It is a common knavery, especially in geomancy, to render an answer which is literally true, and yet deceives. For instance, one might ask whether some business transaction would be profitable, and find, after getting an affirmative answer, that it really referred to the other party to the affair! There is, on the surface, no difficulty at ail in getting replies. In fact, the process is mechanical; …
1930 · PDF PAGE 38
…oscope is never complété. It needs to be supplemented by innumerable other horoscopes. For example, to obtain a judgment on the simplest question, one requires not only the nativities of the people involved, some of which are probably inaccessible, but secondary figures for directions and transits, together with pro- gressed horoscopes, to say nothing of prénatal, mundane, and even horary figures. To appreciate the entire mass of data, to balance the éléments of so vast a concourse of forces, and to draw a single judgment therefrom, is a task p…
1930 · PDF PAGE 53
…resumption in insisting that events shall accommodate themselves to our egoism and vanity. It is comically unscientific to adduce i. The question of the sense in which an answer is true arises. One not mix up the planes. Yet, as Mr. Russell shows, Of Cit. f. 61, the worlds which lie behind phenomena must possess the same structure as our own. Every proposition having a communicable significance must lie in just that essence of individuality which, for that very reason, is irrelevant to science , Just so : but this is to confess the impotence of…
1930 · PDF PAGE 40
…t is austere and sublime, yet withal so adaptable to every possible emergency that its figures may be interpreted to suit ail classes of questions. One may résolve the most obscure spiritual difficultés no less than the most mundane dilemmas; and the symbol which opens the gates of the most exalted palaces of initiation is equally effective when employed to advise one in the ordinary business of life. The Master Therion has found the Yi King entirely satisfactory in every respect. The intelligences which direct it show no inclination to évadé t…
1930 · PDF PAGE 74
…cksters need apply. Master everything, but give generouslv to your servants, once they hâve unconditionally submitted. There is also the question of alliances with various Powers. These again are hardly ever allowable.2 No Power which is not 1. Liber XC, verse 40. See The Equinox. 2. Notwithstanding, there exist certain bodies of spiritual beings, in whose ranks are not only angelic forces, but elementals, and even daemons, who hâve attained to such Right Understanding of the Universe that they hâve banded themselves together with the object of…
1930 · PDF PAGE 37
…late that the intelligences whom we wish to consult are willing, or may be compelled, to answer us truthfully. Let us first consider the question of the compendium of symbols. The alphabet of a language is a more or less arbitrary way of transcribing the sounds employed in speaking it. The letters tnemselves h ave not necessarily any meaning as such. But in a System of divination each Symbol stands for a definite idea. It would not interfère with the English language to add a few new letters. In fact, some Systems of shorthand hâve done so. But…
1930 · PDF PAGE 21
… only one of a number of similar murders. But Shakespeare’s account of the incident is a unique treasure of mankind. And, apart from the question of the value to others, there is that of the value to the magician himself. The record of the magician is his best asset. It is as foolish to do Magick without method, as if it were anything else. To do Magick without keeping a record is like tiying to run a business without book-keeping. There are a great manv people who quite misunderstand the nature of Magick. They hâve an idea that it is something…
1930 · PDF PAGE 42
…e pôle of trnth in the answer. Unies? the diviner hâve banished utterly from his mind the minutest atom of interest in the answer to his question, he is almost certain to influence that answer in favour of his personal inclinations. The psycho-analyst will recall the fact that dreams are phantas- mal représentations of the unconscious Will of the sleeper, and that not only are they images of that Will instead of représent¬ ations of objective truth, but the image itself is confused by a thousand cross-currents set in motion by the various compl…
1930 · PDF PAGE 73
…ather, and redeem the Virgin of the World from her virginity. II Before leaving the subject of Black Magic, one may touch lightly on the question of Pacts with the Devil. The Devil tloes not exist. It is a false name invenîed by tlie Black Brothers to imply a Unity in tlieir ignorant muddle of dispersions» A devil who liad unity would be a God L. It was said by the Sorcerer of the Jura that in order to invoke the Devil it is only necessary to caîl him with y our whole will. This is an universal magical truth, and applies to every other being as…
1930 · PDF PAGE 50
…le of the Formulae of Initiation. Graphiel, consulted by the Aspirants to Adeptship, would be bound to regard the Great Work as purely a question of Combat, and ignore ail other considérations. His advice wouid be absolute on technical points of this kind; but its very perfection would persuade the Aspirant to an unbalanced course of action which would entail failure and destruction. It is pertinent to mention in this connection that one must not expect absolute information as to what is going to happen. “Fortune-telling” is an abuse of divinat…