Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
I see that getting up this morning in perfect health with dangerously energetic notions means I do, indeed, feel some controversial thoughts coming on. My immediate thought is to give caveat to this lecture which will get the all the women excited to bed with me, make dragons roar with fire, make the unicorns charge forth, make demons howl, make wolves bite, cause a camel to fart, the sheep to go number two, make cowards commit suicide, and make all the elephants surround their young to protect themselves from the dangers of my existence. The situation has become serious where I shall now explore how theory should be balanced by practice or go the way of a dubious, detrimental and devious dabbler. Once again, my terrifying ideas continue to baffle all the leading minds of this earth who ponder whether at the very least whether it applies to them.
My essay I titled “Hands On” has received some reaction; and I observe quite few have done nothing but read and read and read without applying much more than a once a week banishing ritual. Well, no one is recommending you dive in head first to what seems to be a pool of water you crash on the rocks. On the contrary, the Oaths and Tasks emphasize systematic clarity where theory is absolutely balanced by practice.
Systematic clarity where balance is kept in mind right from the start means you are pragmatically in adherence toward balance. As Uncle Hermes Trismegistus proclaimed, “As above, so below” where this ancient wisdom must be taken to apply to your actual growth where theory and practice are emphasized by the instructor. Most certainly, the balance of opposites is quite beneficial for meditation; and even decision making while reading those volumes or manuscripts of our Path. Most certainly, the balance of spiritual with magical is included in our Manifesto; and the entire idea of Grades existing means you do not skip over what is going to be important for your very real adventures and initiations as you move forth with your Great Work. Even that other famous quote inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo “Know thyself” shows that the wise advice to discover your True Self is foremost as a vital aspiration unto the higher.
“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspects” is a proverb that sums up the issue of the novice magician whose balance of theory and practice is heavy on the scales of theory where they cannot conceive how important it is to apply themselves to balance practice; and when they do they realize how naive they have been. On occasion, an aspirant will regret thinking back on what they wished they have known but this ridiculous notion eludes the glory of the uniqueness of the necessity of their experience which developed them. Silly ass, if you hadn’t done what you did you wouldn’t have learned what you learned. (no grace, no guilt...) Nevertheless, the key is to concentrate on theory balanced by practice in the preliminaries or go the way of a sidewalk philosopher whose theory is overpowered by any dabbling they may have. We might take this even further where the issue of where to start with something so the theory is accurately balanced with the practice we aspire to be a balanced initiate. This general advice does assist; and the really poor teacher is observed by proclaiming something that they “should not do” where they actually know in the back of their mind they are only presenting sensationalism where every star must decide on the will and practice of their Path. Who are you to chart another star’s course? Yet balance is good advice for everyone. On occasion, you’ll hear a solitary magician who gives you a list of regrets that they wish they knew not realizing how stupid they look not to have tried to find a teacher where they could of avoided such a confession which amounts to naive salesmanship wrapped in the cheap wrapping paper of rationalizations brandished to the gullible novice who bubbles over with revolting satisfaction thinking that this a gift of wisdom. Again, although I do not name names where some of these lectures do have some insight, I do raise an eyebrow to any number of commercial enterprises passing themselves off as real instructors. Any examples I present are to suggest the best possible advice to achieve the goal of balance where using others as an example of what not to do I might err with judgment. You are left to decide for yourself where everyone should note that I have chosen my Path; and naturally I take the side of the Order which might seem one sided to the solitary magician who is convinced they can progress without official instruction. After all, they who have carved their own Path might present something unique where in spite of my objections we do not ignore inspiration and insight.
Only one example where we begin sensibly avoiding such asinine lists of regret, we can resolve how Enochian magic is taught by creating the Topaz of the Magus for the Calls where both the vision and the voice are assured by concentration developed with Yoga; and astral work sufficiently developed with skill. After all, the issue of where to begin the Enochian teachings should begin with the beginning where you do not start something that cannot be developed toward any concrete vision and voice.
Now that I have presented clarity on how the Enochian magic is to be taught by us where we begin with the Topaz of the Magus it should be clarified that we are presenting it to parallel A.C. 's experience where it resulted in the admiral creation of Liber 418. You might, if you simply vibrate a Call get the Voice but this is not encouraged where we emphasize both the vision and the voice. We know that such group sessions without our Holy Order have existed where a number of magicians recite a Call with interesting effects but this will not be a direction of instruction we use. Others have invented Enochian rituals or studied the Enochian language itself but we shall proceed as A.C. proceeded where we attempt to parallel his experiences in Liber 418. In addition, a Zelator might be able to present sufficient insight for the 30th but others of lower Grade who haven’t moved with real progress with astral travel and Yoga will never receive the results that the serious Zelator or above will achieve who has truly gained his or her Grades. As previously stated, we do not teach outside the parameters of the Order so we have no advice to give those who go where angels fear to tread; or devils are unbridled company. Once again, the lack of Prudence in the solitary magician, or those who profess to teach who are simultaneously commercial enterprises might assist but we prefer to begin the teachings with some caution. We will to teach where both the vision and the voice exist and observe the aspirant carefully so that he or she is ready for the first Call.
Systematic clarity means you take each Grade seriously and accomplish everything that is demanded of you in the Oath and Task. My recommendation is generic that the Zelator might be ready for the Calls and this shall be generally good advice as cautionary. If you are without our Circle, of course, I cannot know how it will turn out for you. A solitary magician might have other methods of teaching Enochian magic but most certainly group Calls; and creating rituals with the Enochian language is of less importance and can be even dangerous rather than instructing parallels of procedure that resulted in Liber 418. Note the nine year gap from A.C.’s first Call to the next one where he did not proceed until he was ready.
You cannot have a soldier without boot camp anymore than you can have a real magician without systematic clarity. You cannot have a real scientist without “the method of science”; and what could bore you shit less more than a sidewalk philosopher whose occult research gives you endless theory and history without some plan to become a real magician? You aspire to magical powers? All well and good to have aspirations on the Path but choose your teachers with your aspirations toward reality or years down the line you will end up lying to others where you have lied to yourself. The most intense failures are those who blame their teachers or instructors running away where a careful study shows they simply did not adhere to their Oaths and Tasks and realizing that they have accomplished nothing try to rationalize away their own lack of self discipline.
A psychiatrist with his or her psychoanalysis must not be correlated with “know thyself” from the perspective of unfolding of the True Self. Nor should it be resolved by the immediate notion that others can be compared. If you are trying to reintroduce the patient into the world indoctrinated by what the herd mentality considers conservative you are ignoring completely the differentiation between the idea of a sociopath and a unique individual. What of those incidents that have proved the sociopath so-called is a unique individual? A psychiatrist doesn’t think like that, do they? They try to place a triangle in what is supposed to fit in a circle; and instead make them what they consider to be integrated into society instead of letting them realize what they really are. Instead of unfolding the True Self they become a robot to any number of indoctrinations or worse try to apply “conversion therapy” to an individual that simply has unusual qualities of their True Self. Plato was correct to view it like an initiate where “know thyself” was to know the truth of the soul where psychotherapy analysis reactions or theories of a personality who has issues isn’t always necessarily harmful to society as a whole. Of course, true madness where the patient is a real danger means the psychiatrist is trying to resolve the complexes means the patient’s false self has twisted the individual’s obsessions to the negative means they cannot return to living among the multitudes would result in an institution. All this means that a psychiatrist is a waste of time for the initiate who is trying to find the True Self where the psychiatrist is using his knowledge of psychology to indoctrinate the patient to be like everyone else. As respectful as I am to those initiates and even Adepts who try to use or integrate psychology into the Path where the True Self is unfolded they are beating a dead horse unless they learn how the sheaths of the self correlate with the manifested neshamah into the ruach; and are able to separate the planes of existence. The stark difference between a psychiatrist trying to resolve the issues of the patient; and the psychologist trying to define the particulars of the human personality are an abyss apart where insufficient data exists unless we invent and develop “parapsychotherapy” with the aim of the unfolding of the True Self. Applying systematic clarity to “Know Thyself” means every man and woman being a star their True Self and Great Work is different. So how does a Thelemite define the so-called “sociopath” with this concept in mind? We are then dealing with a multitude of complexities, complexes and concentration that profane psychology hasn’t even remotely touched upon.
Yes, yes now lets deal with that old proverb “As above, so below”. Its interpretations have wisdom on more than one plane where, again, systematic clarity is our watchword where we aspire to balance theory with practice, microcosm with macrocosm, astrological observation with personality, Divine Manifestation with sex magick, and the Priestess with the Priest in the Temple creating a Divine Force perfectly attuned to the reality of our species.
Love is the law, love under will