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Page 1 of 21913 · PDF PAGE 180
…lly opens. Some people think that these are the " eyes of imagination." Those with more experience understand that this truly represents things seen, although those things are themselves totally false. At first the seer will perceive gray gloom ; in subsequent experiments perhaps figures may appear with whom the seer may converse, and under whose guidance he may travel about. This " plane " being quite as large and varied as the material Universe, one cannot describe it effectively; we must refer the reader to Liber O and to Equinox II, pages 2…
1913 · PDF PAGE 141
… more false than others. The whole Universe is an illusion, but it is an illusion difficult to get rid of. It is true compared with most things. But ninety-nine out of every hundred impressions are false even in relation to the things on their own plane. Such distinctions must be graven deeply upon the surface of the Pantacle by the Holy Dagger. There is only one other of the elemental Instruments to be considered, namely the Lamp.
1913 · PDF PAGE 177
CHAPTER XVI THK MAGICK KIRE; Willi CONSIDERATIONS OF THK THURIBLE, THE CHARCOAL, AND THE INCENSE INTO the Magick Fire all things are cast. It symbolizes the final burning up of all things in Shivadarshana. It is the absolute destruction alike of the Magician and the Universe. 'I'hc Thurible stands upon a small altar. "My'altar is of open brass- work; burn thereon in silver or gold." This altar stands in the East, as if to symbolize the identity of Hope and Annihilation. This brass con- tains the metals of Jupiter and ^'cnus fused in a homogeneo…
1913 · PDF PAGE 81
…t "every word of which a man is ignorant represents an idea of which he is ignorant." And it is impossible per- fectly to understand all things unless all things be first known. Understanding is the structuralization of knowledge. All impressions are disconnected, as the Babe of the Abyss is so terribly aware; and the Master of the Temple must sit for 106 seasons in the City of the Pyramids because this coordination is a tremendous task. There is nothing [)articularly occult in this doctrine concerning know- ledge and understanding. A looking-g…
1913 · PDF PAGE 179
… the crying of beasts. The thicker the smoke, the darker grows tlie Universe. Wc gasp and tremble, beholding what foul and unsubstantial things we have evoked! Yet we cannot do without the Incense! Unless our aspiration took form it could not influence form. This also is the niyster)- of in- carnation. This Incense is based upon Gum Olibanum, the sacrifice of the human will of the heart. This olibanum has been mixed with half its weight of storax, the earthly desires, dark, sweet, and clinging; and this again with half its weight of lignum aloe…
1913 · PDF PAGE 73
6i he will see that mere illusion were the things that seemed so real, and he will be fortified against the new trials that await him. But unfortunate indeed is he who cannot thus endure. It is useless for him to say, " I don't like the Atlantic; I will go back to the fireside." Once take one step on the path, and there is no return. You will re- member in Browning's " Childe Roland to the dark Tower came": For mark ! no sooner was I fairly found Pledged to the plain, after a pace or two. Than, pausing to throw backwards a last view O'er the sa…
1913 · PDF PAGE 65
… I interpret this Word of God Most High?" The Magus thinks: "How shall I use this slug?" And in this course he must persist. Though many things useless, so far as he can see, are sent to him, one day he will find the one thing he needs, while his Understanding will appreciate the fact that none of those other things were useless. So with these early practices of renunciation it will now be clearly understood that they were but of temporary use. They were only of value as training. The adept will laugh over his early absurdities —the disproporti…
1913 · PDF PAGE 145
…hadows, no reflections. It cannot be touched, it cannot be extinguished, in no way can it change; for it is utterly apart from all those things which
1913 · PDF PAGE 39
…nt " principles," whose operations chemists have found it more convenient to explain in other ways. But Sulphur represents the energy of things, Mercury their fluidity, Salt their fixity. They are analogous to Fire, Air and Water; but they mean rather more, for they represent something deeper and subtler, and yet more truly active. An almost exact analogy is given by the three Gunas of the Hindus; Sattvas, Rajas, and Tamas. Sattvas is Mercury, equable, calm, clear; Rajas is Sulphur, active, excitable, even fierce; Tamas is Salt, thick, sluggish…
1913 · PDF PAGE 51
… complications, varying according to the nature of the student, and hence it may be necessary for him at any moment to will all sorts of things which to others might 39
1913 · PDF PAGE 93
…h. To puzzle out an imaginary meaning for this "nonsense" sets one thinking of the Mysteries; one enters into deep contemplation of holy things, and God Himself leads the soul to a real illumination. Hence also the necessity of Incarnation: the soul must descend into all falsity in order to attain All-Truth. For instance: Old Mother Hubbard Went to her cupboard To get her poor dog a bone ; When she got there, ' This chapter was dictated in answer to a casual remark by Soror Virakam. Fra. P. said jokingly that everything contained the Truth, if …
1913 · PDF PAGE 148
…ending his garden seeketh not to single out the flower that shall be NEMO after him. And we are not told that NEMO might have used other things than those which he actually does use; it seems possible that if he had not the acid or the knife, or the fire, or the oil, he might miss tending just that one flower which was to be NEMO after him! 1 NEMO is the Master of the Temple, whose task it is to develop the beginner. See Liber CDXVIII, Aethyr XIII.
1913 · PDF PAGE 80
…e plane. But as the Wand is weak without breadth, so is the water false with- out depth. The Understanding of the Magus must include all things, and that understanding must be infinitely profound. ^ A—, the privative particle; mrita, mortal.
1913 · PDF PAGE 69
… be attacked. Each must decide for himself whether this is a wise course to pursue. But it certainly seems easier to strip off first the things which can easily be done without. The majority of people will find most trouble with the Emotions, and thoughts which excite them. But it is both possible and necessary not merely to suppress the emotions, but to turn them into faithful servants. Thus the emotion of anger is occasionally useful against that portion of the brain whose slackness vitiates the control. If there is one emotion which is never…
1913 · PDF PAGE 70
…ss, and must be, as it were, awakened in order to be destroyed, so that the will of the Magician is in a sense trying to do two opposite things at the same time. Consciousness itself is only destroyed by Samadhi. One can now see the logical process which begins in refusing to think of a foot, and ends by destroying the sense of individuality. Of the methods of destroying various deep-rooted ideas there are many. The best is perhaps the method of equilibrium. Get the mind into the habit of calling up the opposite to every thought that may arise.…
1913 · PDF PAGE 68
…ause and effect, until he will be just as careful in avoiding this particular act which he has consciously determined, as in those other things which in childhood he has been trained to avoid. Just as the eyelid unconsciously closes when the eye is threatened,^ so must he build up in consciousness this power of inhibition until it sinks below consciousness, adding to his store of automatic force, so that he is free to devote his conscious energy to a yet higher task. It is impossible to overrate the value of this inhibition to the man when he c…
1913 · PDF PAGE 120
…of the rain and wind ; So passion hath no power to break into a rightly-ordered mind. Let then the Student practise observation of those things which normally would cause him emotion; and let him, having written a careful description of what he sees, check it by the aid of some person familiar with such sights. Surgical operations and dancing girls are fruitful fields for the beginner. In reading emotional books such as are inflicted on children, let him always endeavour to see the event from the standpoint opposite to that of the author. Yet l…
1913 · PDF PAGE 85
…f the speculations of philosophy. Mediaeval philosophers went hopelessly astray because their theology necessitated the reference of all things to the standard of men's welfare. They even became stupid: Bernardin de St. Pierre (was it not?) said that the goodness of God was such that wherever men had built a great city. He had placed a river to assist them in conveying merchandise. But the truth is that in no way can we imagine the Universe as devised. If horses were made for men to ride, were not men made for worms to eat?
1913 · PDF PAGE 140
…ment therein which may not be occasionally helpful. And so —beware ! Select ! Select ! Select ! This Pantacle is an infinite storehouse; things will always be there when we want them. We may see to it occasionally that they are dusted and the moth kept out, but we shall usually be too busy to do much more. Remember that in travelling from the earth to the stars, one dare not be encumbered with too much heavy luggage. Nothing that is not a necessary part of the machine should enter into its com- position.
1913 · PDF PAGE 56
…as this great value, that it never gets rusty. If the superior to whom the vow is taken knows his business, he will quickly detect which things are really displeasing to his pupil, and familiarize him with them. Disobedience to the superior is a contest between these two wills in the inferior. The will expressed in his vow, which is the will linked to his highest will by the fact that he has taken it in order to develop that highest will, contends with the temporary will, which is based only on temporary considerations.