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Page 1 of 51929 · PDF PAGE 144
…at are the conditions of the success of the Operation? Firstly, that the man’s Will should be to blow his nose; secondly, that he should hâve a nose capable of being blown; thirdly, that he should hâve at command an apparatus capable of expressing his spiritual Will in terms of material force, and applying that force to the object which he desires to affect. His Will may be as strong and concentrated as that of Jupiter, and his nose may be totally incapable of résistance; but unless the link is made by the use of his nerves and muscles in accor…
1929 · PDF PAGE 43
…ers of the magical alphabet — referred to above — are like so many names on a map. Man himself is a complété microcosm. Few other beings hâve this balanced perfection. Of course every sun, every planet, may hâve beings similarly consti- tuted.2 But when we speak of dealing with the planets in Magick, 1. Long since writing the above, an even grosser imbecility bas been perpetrated. One who ought to hâve known better tried to improve the Tree of Life by turning the Serpent of Wisdom upside down! Yet he could not even make his scheme symmetrical: …
1929 · PDF PAGE 134
and hé must hâve taken the vows with the fullest compréhension and expérience of their meaning. It is also extremely désirable that he should hâve attained an absolute degree of moral émancipation *, and that purity of spirit which resnlts from a perfect understanding both of the différences and harmonies of the planes upon the Tree of Life. For this reason Frater Perdurabo has never dared to use this formula in a fully cérémonial manner, save once only, on an occasion of tremendous import, when, indeed, it was not He that made the offering, bu…
1929 · PDF PAGE 57
…elf that this “straightforward” System of magick was perhaps never really employed at ail. One might maintain that the invocations which hâve corne down to us are but the ruins of the Temple of Magick. The exorcisms might hâve been committed to writing for the purpose of memorising them, while it was forbidden to make any record of the really important parts of the ceremony. Such details of Ritual as we possess are meagre and unconvincing, and though much success h as been attained in the quite conventional exoteric way both by Frater Perdu- ra…
1929 · PDF PAGE 97
…ntly revolts. 1 For this reason the weapons, altar, circle, and magus are ail carefully proportioned one with another. It will not do to hâve a cup like a thimble and a wand like a weaver’s beam. 1 2 3 Again, the arrangement of the weapons on the altar must be such that they look balanced. Nor should the magician hâve any unbalanced ornament. If he hâve the wand in his right hand, let him hâve the Ring " on his left, or let him take the Ankh, or the Bell, or the Cup. And however little he move to the right, let him balance it by an équivalent m…
1929 · PDF PAGE 123
…r, invoking that unity by placing a fourfold knock on either side of it. In this case, his battery would be 1-4-1-4-1. He will naturally hâve been careful to preserve the balance of each part of the battery against the corresponding part. This would be particularly necessary in an operation such as we hâve chosen for our example. 87 -
1929 · PDF PAGE 55
… of the Hebrews with its tedious prayers, conjurations, and curses. It will be noted, however, that in this invocation of Thoth which we hâve summârized, there is another formula contained, the Reverberating or Reciprocating formula, which may be called the formula of Horus and Harpocrates. The magician addresses the God with an active projection of nis will, and then becomes passive while the God addresses the Universe. In the fourth part he remains silent, listening, to the prayer which arises therefrom. The formula of this invocation of Thot…
1929 · PDF PAGE 130
…nce between live and dead matter. We pass by with deserved contempt the pseudo-scientific experiments of American charlatans who daim to hâve established that weight is lost at the moment of death, and the unsupported statements of alleged clairvoyants that they hâve seen the soûl issuing like a vapour from the mouth of persons in articulo mortis; but his expériences as an explorer hâve convinced the Master Therion that méat loses a notable portion of its nutritive value within a very few minutes after the death of the animal, and that this los…
1929 · PDF PAGE 136
the Bloody Sacrifice.1 Yet it should not be forgotten that this, and that other art at which we hâve dared darklv to hint, are the suprême formulæ of Practical Magick. You are also likely to get into trouble over this chapter unless you truly comprehend its meaning. 2 within” is my first attempt at description; and is not bad, despite its incongruities: P. “Frater Perdurabo, on the one occasion on which I was able to sec Him as He really appears, was brighter than the Sun at noon. I fell instantly to the floor in a swoon which lasted several ho…
1929 · PDF PAGE 111
it so closely that it must hâve been started before the time of the Work. E. g. I work to night to make X in Paris Write to me. I get the letter the next morning, so that it must hâve been written before the Work. Does this deny that the Work caused the effect? “If I strike a billiard-ball, and it moves, both my will and its motion are due to causes long antécédent to the act. I may consider both my Work and its reaction as twin effects of the eternal Universe. The moved arm and bail are parts of a State of the Cosmos which resulted necessarily…
1929 · PDF PAGE 106
… should be the utterance of the God in him at the first onset of the divine possession. So uttered, they cannot fail of effect, for they hâve become the effect. Every wise magician will hâve constructed (according to the principles of the Holy Qabalah) many such words, and he should hâve quintessentialised them ail in one Word, which last Word, once he has formed it, he should never utter consciously even in thought, until perhaps with it he gives up the ghost. Such a Word should in fact be so potent that man cannot hear it and live. 1. See Par…
1929 · PDF PAGE 16
…ecret springs that set in motion the vast and intncate mechanism of the worid. Hence the strong attraction which magic and science alike hâve exercised on the human mindj hence the powerful stimulus that both hâve given to the pursuit of knowledge. They lure the weary enquirer, the footsore seeker, on through the wilderness of disappointment in the présent by their endless promises of the future: they take him up to the top of an exceeding high mountain and shew him, beyond the dark clouds and rolling mists at his feet, a vision of the celestia…
1929 · PDF PAGE 145
…rossly animistic. The savage tribes described by Frazer had a far more scientific theory. The same may be said of witches, who appear to hâve been wiser than the thaumaturgists who despised them. - They at least made waxen images — iden- tified by baptism — of the people they wished to control. They at least used appropriate bases for Magical manifestations, such as blood and other vehicles of animal force, with those of vegetable virtue such as herbs. They were also careful to put their bewitched products into actual contact — material or astr…
1929 · PDF PAGE 105
… His resuit. 1 It may be conceded in any case that the long strings of formidable words which roar and moan through so many conjurations hâve a real effect in exalting the consciousness of the magician to the proper pitch — that they should do so is no more extraordinary than music of any kind should do so. Magicians hâve not confined themselves to the use of the human voice. The Pan-pipe with its seven stops, corresponding to the seven planets, the bull-roarer, the tom-tom, and even the violin, hâve ail been used, as well as many others, of wh…
1929 · PDF PAGE 45
…almost be said to be co-extensive with one’s whole knowledge. Fhe knowledge of exoteric science is comically limited by the fact that we hâve no access, except in the most indirect way, to any other celestial body than our own. In the last few years, the semi-educated hâve got an idea that they know a great deal about the universe, and the principal ground for their fine opinion of themselves is usually the téléphoné or the airship. It is pitiful to read the bombastic twaddle about progress, which journalists and others, who wish to prevent men…
1929 · PDF PAGE 91
…terial events are the words of an arbitrary languagej the symbols of a cipher previously agreed on. What happened to Kelly in Cracow may hâve meant something to him, but there is no reason to présumé that it has any meaning for his successor. There is an obvious line of criticism about any recollection. It must not clash with ascertained facts. F or example one cannot hâve two lives which overlap, unless there is reason to suppose that the earlier died spiritually before his body ceased to breathe. This might happen in certain cases, such as in…
1929 · PDF PAGE 17
…is way. And it has repelled only too many scientific and practicai minds, such as I most designed to influence. But is for MAGICK ALL. I hâve written this book to help the Banker, the Pugilist, the Biologist, the Poet, the Navvy, the Grocer, the Factory Girl, the Mathematician, the Stenographer, the Golfer, the Wife, the Consul — and ail the rest — to fulfil themselves perfectly, each in his or her own proper function. Let me explain in a few words how it came about that I blazoned the word MAGICK upon the Banner that I hâve borne before me ail…
1929 · PDF PAGE 129
The ethics of the thing appear to hâve concerned no one; nor, to tell the truth, need they do so. As St. Paul says, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission” ; and who are we to argue with St. Paul? But? after ail that, it is open to any one to hâve any opinion that he likes upon the subject, or any other subject, thank God! At the same time, it is most necessary to study the business, whatever we may be going to do about it; for our ethics themselves will naturally dépend upon our theory of the universe. If we were quite certain, for e…
1929 · PDF PAGE 143
…he force to which y on dedicate it. Confirm this dedication in words, invoking the appropriate God to indwell that pure temple which you hâve prepared for Him. Do this with fervour and love, as if to balance the icy detachment which is the proper mental attitude for banishing.1 The words of purification are: Asperges me, Therion, hyssopo, et mundabor; lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Those of consécration are: Accendat in nobis Therion ignem sui amoris et flammam aeternae caritatis. 2 These, as initiâtes of the VIT of O.T.O. are aware, mea…
1929 · PDF PAGE 22
… is or how it is connected with the machines that generate it; and our methods dépend on calculations involving mathematical ideas which hâve no correspondence in the Universe as we know it. *) (12) Man is ignorant of the nature of his own being and powers. Even his idea of his limitations is based on expérience of the past, and every step in his progress extends his empire. There is therefore no reason to assign theoretical limits 1 2 to what lie may be, or to what he may do. (Illustration: A génération ago it was supposed theoretically imposs…