The Magister Volume 0 Section 1 of 3

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THE MAGISTER MAGICK IN HISTORY, THEORY & P RACTICE Volume 0: The Order of Revelation The Worker Enters the Workshop Part 1 of 3 parts on Kindle

O.E.D. Neophyte Grade Material Publication in Class B

FORGE PRESS

Keswick, Cumbria, 2016 www.westernesotericism.com Copyright © Frater V. (Marcus Katz) 2014, 2016. This book is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism, or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission. Enquiries should be made to the author. Tarosophy® and Western Esoteric Initiatory System® are registered trademarks. First paperback edition published 2015 by Salamander and Sons. This Kindle edition and all further print editions published by Forge Press, authorized by the author to whom all rights belong to this work. Edited by Paul Hardacre & Marcus Katz.

ALSO BY FRATER V. (MARCUS KATZ) The Path of the Seasons (Forge Press, forthcoming 2016) The Magician’s Kabbalah (Forge Press, 2015) NLP Magick (Forge Press, forthcoming 2016) Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It (Forge Press, 2016) After the Angel (Forge Press, 2011) The Alchemical Amphitheatre (Forge Press, 2008) The Zodiacal Rituals (Forge Press, 2008) With Tali Goodwin Tarot Edge: Tarot for Teens and Young Adults (Forge Press, forthcoming 2016) Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015) The English Lenormand (Forge Press, 2013) Tarot Life (in 12 books, Forge Press, 2013) Abiding in the Sanctuary (Forge Press, 2013) Learning Lenormand (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2013). Tarot Turn (in three volumes, Forge Press, 2012) Tarot Inspire (Forge Press, 2012) Tarot Face to Face (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012) Around the Tarot in 78 Days (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2012) Tarot Twist (Forge Press, 2010) Tarot Flip (Forge Press, 2010)

Easy Lenormand (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015) I-Ching Counters (Forge Press/TGC, 2015) The Original Lenormand Deck (Forge Press/TGC, 2012) With Tali Goodwin, Sasha Graham (ed.), Giordano Berti, Mark McElroy, Riccardo Minetti & Barbara Moore. Tarot Fundamentals (Lo Scarabeo, 2015) With Derek Bain & Tali Goodwin A New Dawn for Tarot: The Original Tarot of the Golden Dawn (Forge Press, 2015) As Andrea Green (with Tali Goodwin) True Tarot Card Meanings (Kindle, 2014) Tarot for True Romance (Kindle, 2014) Kabbalah & Tarot: A Step-up Guide (Kindle, 2015) Visit Author Sites for Complete Bibliography & Details www.marcuskatz.com www.taligoodwin.com

Ded ications To the students in the Crucible, those of the Order of Everlasting Day. To Frater C.V. for assisting with the first version of the Work. To Ashley Karstunen, because the world is instant. And as ever, and above all, this book is spiritually dedicated to Antistita Astri Argentei The Priestess of the Silver Star She whose light leads the way to the Arcanum Arcanorum, the Secret of Secrets Vos Vos Vos Vos Vos V.V.V.V.V. In Memorium Professor Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1953-2012), for opening the door another degree. We will teach on the avenues and in gardens more perfect than we can imagine when the walls of the world have long fallen.

Acknowledgements I would like to thank Stacy LaRosa, Freddie LaRosa and Sandra Mandaglio for translation from the Italian of the Joachim of Fiore material on the Ages/Aeons. Stacy LaRosa is the translator of the platinum-selling book in Slovakia, The Jewess, currently being published in English for American, Canadian and United Kingdom audiences. In arranging and translating into English for the first time the German of the Hauptpläne, a primary source of the initiation system corresponding to the kabbalah, we have the incomparable Steph Myriel Es-Tragon to thank. I would also like to thank Renko Geffarth for his patient assistance in guiding me beyond his research. The unique tarot images that grace this volume are provided by Janine Hall, whose production of the Tarot of Everlasting Day – a three-deck initiatory tarot – has been a miracle of realisation and vision. The Lodge of the Golden Apple provided invaluable primary source material and I acknowledge their kindness, assisted by the Staat-Archive of Berlin. Members of various Orders both public and private have been kind enough to discuss their work in comparison with my own, leading to refinements over the years.

The staff members of the Library and Museum of Freemasonry of the United Grand Lodge of England, and of the Warburg Institute, have been unfailingly courteous and helpful over the many years of my research. I also wish to acknowledge the staff of the Prints and Drawings Department of the British Museum, and of the Bibliotheca

Philosophica Hermetica

(Amsterdam). In pursuit of primary material, my quest took me to national museums and libraries from Scotland to Australia, where staff again assisted me patiently and precisely. My teachers over the past three decades, who guided me in my enthusiastic zeal and led me eventually to the mountain, I acknowledge; Daleth, who opened the Work of the Sun (which is now complete); Jasinth, who taught me the Mysteries of the Moon, Yeshe, for walking me to the Gate of Earth; and all those other stars whose orbits have swayed my gravity. In the academic approach to Western Esotericism, many have inspired and gently nudged me towards revelation and reception. My supervisors and mentors at the University of Exeter, including Professor Nicholas GoodrickClarke (dearly missed), Dr. Christopher McIntosh and Dr. Peter Forshaw, all attempted to keep me on the rails of Academia. Individual and brief conversations with luminaries such as Moshe Idel, Wouter Hanegraaff, Angela Voss, Antoine Faivre, Robert Gilbert, Henrik Bogdan, Joscelyn Goodwin, Marco Pasi, and other leading scholars in the field have inspired me in offering new eyes on the subject. Our thanks to language professional David Vine for the assistance with the translation of ‘Priestess of the Silver Star’ into Latin and elaborating on the fascinating results, particularly the three embedded T-crosses.

My wife Brina, family, friends and students have patiently waited 30 years for this project to commence, and I acknowledge their faith; the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Let us begin, then, as only we can, now and today.

This day, today Is the Royal Wedding day. For this thou wast born And chosen of God for joy Thou mayest go to the mountain Whereon three temples stand, And see there this affair. Keep watch Inspect thyself And shouldst thou not bathe thoroughly The Wedding may work thy bane. Bane comes to him who faileth here Let him beware who is too light. Christian Rosencreutz, The Hermetic Romance: or, The Chymical Wedding (1616)[1]

Victor Kemmings said, “The poster is torn.” “What?” she said. “We should have framed it,” he said. “We didn’t have sense enough to take care of it. Now it’s torn. And the artist is dead.” Philip K. Dick, I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon[2]

Table of Contents PREFACE A STATEMENT OF TRADITION, LINEAGE AND A FFILIATION. Introduction THE WESTERN ESOTERIC INITIATORY SYSTEM Chapter 1: STATE OF THE ART

THE ORDER OF REVELATION The O r d e r of R e v e l ation (0) T h e L i g ht of t h e Laby r i n th (1) The Rainbow at M i d n i g ht (2) The P r i s m of L i g ht (3) T h e Portal and t h e Ve i l (4) The A n g e l i n t h e Wo r k shop (5) The S a n c t u a r y of Fire (6) The Chapel of D e v o t i o n ( 7 ) The Te m p l e of Night (8) T h e Quarry of S o uls (9) T h e P o i n t of t h e L i g ht (10)

THE HERALD OF EVERLASTING DAY The Pyramid T h e S a l amander Ve s s e l T h e Millrinds T h e A n gels of N i g ht and D ay

T h e F o ur Rivers The Two T r e e s T h e T r e e of K n owledge ( E t e r n a l N i g h t ) The T r e e of Life ( E v e r l as t i n g Da y )

THE AEONS M a n i f e stations of Maat Chapter 2: Maat in Ancient Egyptian Cosmology Chapter 3: Maat in the context of the Golden Dawn Magical Society Chapter 4: Maat a n d the A e o n s Chapter 5: Soror Nema and Maat Magic Chapter 6: Maat Magic Today Chapter 7: Exercise: Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech

The Tr e e of Life a n d Kabbalah THE INITIATORY JOURNEY The A i m of the Initiatory Jou r n e y Chapter 8: The Scale of the Journey Chapter 9: The Method of the System Chapter 10: Practices of the Curriculum Chapter 11: Syllabus of Study

Apprentices h i p a n d Tea c h i n g Chapter 12: The Structure of the Tree, Sephiroth and Paths Chapter 13: Signposts Along the Way

THE CLOUDS ASTONISHED: A HERMETIC AND GNOSTIC UNIVERSE Chapter 14: Parable: The Discovery of Darkness Chapter 15: M e tano i a : T h e R e c overy of t h e S o ul through I n i t i a t i o n Chapter 16: Traditions and Paths Chapter 17: Gnosticism Chapter 18: Neo-Platonism Chapter 19: Hermeticism Chapter 20: The Em e rald Ta b l e t

THE INITIATORY MAP OF THE MAJORS ON THE TWO TREES T h e Tree of t h e Da w n T h e T r e e of t h e S a n ctuary

A Map of the Spiritual Mountain in the M i n ors Chapter 21: M e anwhile Ba c k at t h e Begi n n i n g of t h e E n d Chapter 22: The Spiritual Journey in the Wands

THE NATURE OF THE GRADES AND INITIATION T h e S. R . I . A. T h e Golden Da w n T h e O.T.O. a n d t h e A

∴A∴

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE A St u d e n t Case St u d y : Frater M a x i m us D i o n Fortune a n d Aleister Cr o w l e y

THE TITLES OF THE GRADES THE WORK OF THE GRADES THE VISIONS OF THE GRADES Conclusion Part One

‘The old beauty is no longer beautiful; the new truth is no longer true,’ is the eternal cry of a developing and really vitalised life. Our civilisation has passed through the First Empire of pagan sensualism; and the Second Empire of mistaken sacrifice, of giving up our own consciousness, our own power of judging, our own independence, our own courage. And the Third Empire is awaiting those of us who can see – that not only in Olympus, not only nailed to the Cross, – but in ourselves is God. For such of us, the bridge between flesh and spirit is built; for such among us hold the Keys of life and death. — Frater S.S.D.D., Flying Roll No. XIII, ‘Secrecy and Hermetic Love’[3]

PREFACE One by one, we take them out of this world.

This zero volume (in three parts on Kindle) is the introductory work to a series of volumes on what is hereafter termed the Western Esoteric Initiatory System (WEIS). This authentic and relevant spiritual system, comprising of models of elevated consciousness and graduated practices, is presented here in overview and in subsequent volumes in detail. The Magister proposes a comprehensive, consistent and congruent approach to Western spiritual practice derived from a synthetic tradition at least 300 years in development. Whilst cheerfully admitting that there is no monolithic, singular tradition – no one true path, no one right way – for the sake of brevity and expression, we here refer to ‘the’ tradition as we have found it over the course of 30 years or more of daily practice, research, discussion, and study. This series of volumes is to be considered the working manual of the Order of Everlasting Day (OED). It provides an overview of the initiatory schema, its history and practices, and avenues of discovery for initiates. It is not a manual of self-initiation, nor is it an academic treatise; readers are invited to enter the Order to unlock the work of this text, or use it as they may within their own work to comprehend their relationship to the universe.

Students of the OED are expected to have a comprehensive knowledge of the roots of our tradition and this first volume provides this essential background as a framework for their work. The remaining volumes provide much in the way of practical work for readers and initiates alike. We will cover the map first and only then start our journey proper into magical work – there are no short-cuts to wisdom. The esoteric and occult nature of this approach to spiritual work is to be found in its inexpressible and ultimately personal revelation, and should not be confused with most cultural and popular references to ‘the occult’ and conceptions of ‘esoteric’ or the practice of ‘magick’. The Magister represents a fundamental ‘ctrl+alt+del’ reset of Western occultism in its synthesis of academic assessment and contemporary practice. The path here given is one of an exhaustive nature that cannot be merely studied; it must be worked and lived. In that living – for all that lives, lives – the Sun can indeed be discovered at midnight, the stone of living water will grant you balm, and that which is dead will arise in the dawn of a new and truly everlasting day. In this and subsequent volumes we will cover the theory and practice of Western magick and mysticism in a contemporary manner, from both academic and practitioner perspectives. Our work will range across practices as varied as divination and invocation, astral travel and lucid dreaming, ritual and ceremonial magick; we will learn the language of Enochian and kabbalah, alchemy and astrology, Rosicrucian- ism and Gnosticism, Hermeticism and theosophy; we will encounter the secret masters and the dweller on the threshold, Thelema and Maat magick, paganism and shamanism, ancient Egypt and science fiction, mythology and symbolism, the New Age and the Golden Age, and walk the mystic stations of the cross, the rose and the key.

In aiming for a comprehensive coverage of the tradition, much will be missed. If nothing else, this first volume will introduce the reader to the depth of material and its vast scope. We will also open more questions than provide answers as we commence our journey. Once you have gained the scope of the tradition, each further volume will provide rituals, exercises, contemplations and other workings for your experience. However, we do hope also to provide original materials and first publishing of primary source material, from the archives of private and academic collections worldwide. The Magister may prove an unusual publication in bridging both practitioner experience and academic research, and this volume, whilst stand-alone, is a ‘zero’ volume which provides the context for the remainder of the series. If you read nothing onwards, this volume will provide all the bridge-heads you might seek for a lifetime of study and experience in the WEIS. It has been my personal privilege to be taught by so many diverse voices over the past three decades and I am honoured to be given the opportunity to present this work. I have often stated that I would exchange one moment of the magical life for a lifetime of a life without magick, and I trust that grace will be given for you to discover this singular secret – it is all true. In many ways this book (and those following) is a re-visioning rather than a re-making of Western esotericism. It attempts to put the spiritual ambition (if such could be the case) back into the traditional materials – in a contemporary manner. This sequence of books also provides the first publication of some of the working material of the private network of initiates known as the Order of Everlasting Day, who have developed this work over their own lifetimes.

We offer apprenticeship and levels of engagement with this Work to candidates who may apply to join us in the Crucible Club at: http://www.westernesotericism.com.

[ILLUS . The Herald of Everlasting Day – Nothing is Perfect]

A STATEMENT OF TRADITION, LINEAGE AND AFFILIATION. A tradition is only as old as when it was first invented, and innovation is only as new as what we have forgotten.

I am not a member of any magical order or organisation, other than the Order of Everlasting Day (OED), a network of initiates who make their enquiries in the workshop of life. Whilst over the past three decades I have worked and corresponded with many practitioners, authors, teachers, and academics, the work here presented is a personal amalgam of a multitude of influences. It is apparent from experience that an initiate will pass through phases of fraternity and solitude, and each is to be acknowledged and honoured.

I was initiated in 1983 into Gardnerian Witchcraft in the direct lineage of Gerald Gardner and Patricia Crowther, and worked with a High Priestess in that Craft for over a decade. I also practised and developed Golden Dawn ceremony in a fully constructed temple for many years. I was briefly a member of the Typhonian Order and corresponded with the late Kenneth Grant, who kindly gave me his patience and insight. I was also educated in correspondence and meeting with Chaos magicians such as Pete Carroll, and Maat magicians led by Soror Nema, and a host of other authors and teachers for many years whilst experimenting in intense practice. As the various versions of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) and the Golden Dawn consolidated over the last 20 years in particular, I was often involved in bystander incidents whilst never belonging to any group in a formal manner. Authors and teachers have been almost without fail amenable to my enquiries, and teach also by example, by living their work, whether it be tarot or ceremonial magick, Enochian ceremonial, Thelema, numerology, or astrology. I have come to realise that the magical path is radically explorative and if it does not open you to more perspectives, diversity, wildly exotic and quixotic adventure and travel, you are likely already doing it wrong. It should, on the whole, be mainly uncomfortable and challenging most of the time. In 2005 I became an academic student of Western Esotericism at the University of Exeter and was honoured to be the first student conferred with a Masters Degree in the subject.

A small part of my own experience of practical magical work and mystical practice such as the Abramelin Operation can be discovered in my published journal, After the Angel (Forge Press, 2011). Whilst many discuss the importance of operating a ‘fully contacted’ lodge or having ‘Inner Plane contacts’ or an ‘egregore’ – and we will discuss these concepts throughout The Magister – I prefer to go by the simpler route of “by their works shall they be known.”[4] Those truly in touch with such rarified beings can no doubt argue their own case, when they are not busy being under the tutelage of their masters. I am not interested herein in offering more wallpaper for your prison cell, distractions from the work, nor am I encouraging you to take the whole journey in only your imagination through endless pathworking and pretence or endless cacophonies of opinion. You have the internet and other people for that. What follows is a representation of something entirely different. Something real. Whilst this work comes to strip us of belief, some assumptions remain useful in directing our attention and activity. I do believe that if the Secret Chiefs/Hidden Masters do not exist, we would have to invent them anyway. I believe that there is a spiritual organisation transcendent of time and space whose members know each other through their work and do not need any other recognition. I believe each of us has a Holy Guardian Angel (blessed be they) who guides us from Rapture to Abyss. I believe, most of all, that this world is utterly and incredibly magical, and our time is short. Let us then herald in a new dawn, the dawn of an everlasting day.

Marcus Katz The Lake District, Summer Solstice, 2012. Re-formatted and updated for Kindle, Winter Solstice, 2015.

Introduction

THE WESTERN ESOTERIC INITIATORY SYSTEM “If only we could be a little bit more heroic. If only we could be a little bit more immortal. Then, and only then, might we realise more of what we dream.”[5] — Lord A., Vampire Ceremony, Sao Paulo, Brazil, July 2012

The eclectic and synthetic practice of the Western Esoteric Initiatory System (WEIS) will take you to many uncharted places. It is the intention of The Magister to guide you through those realms, which ultimately will be unique to your own path in the labyrinth of the mysteries. We will provide you with a map and a traveller’s description of the geography and culture of the land you are about to visit, although your own experience will be determined by a range of factors; the land is ever-changing, the people there have their own lives, and you will soon discover many routes that none before you have travelled.

The reason we offer this work is because since the Reformation in Europe, the path of a personal ascent narrative – one’s own gnosis and salvation – has been progressively excluded from mainstream Western spiritual practice. Once, words were magic, names were sacred mysteries, language was power.[6] Then came the mystery of architecture and space, the understanding of construction and the power of stone sealing a place.[7] Now the internet contains the mystery of communication beyond physicality – a world where the currency will be imagination, and the powerful those who are free to imagine new realms. So successful has this denial been that even when released from previous social constraints, it was to the East that we looked for ‘spiritual’ teaching; our own traditions had been rent asunder into two extremes of Christianity on one hand, and the ‘evil’ occult on the other. Religion, science and magic have become divorced, and yet in magic we find our soul, in science we discover mystery, and in religion we unveil spirituality. The WEIS marries these streams back together in a fourth way, a synthetic enquiry into life – as Crowley wrote, “the aim of religion, the method of science.” We will first introduce an overview of the architecture of the WEIS through personal experience, and then turn our attention to the magical orders which have carried this system to the present.

STATE OF THE ART “... assuming that irrefutable form of idealism which contents itself with the demonstration that, knowledge being a function of the mind, as the materialists not merely concede, but insist, the universe as we know it is equivalent to the contents of that mind; and assuming also that the mind contains a power able to control thought; then there is no absurdity in asserting that mind may be the master of matter. And the empirical rules laid down by the magicians of old may prove to some extent of use in practice.” — Aleister Crowley, The Revival of Magick and Other Essays[8]

In this first volume, we will lay out the general references for practitioners who may wish to get ahead on their reading list and studies, and provide an overview of the source material which is further opened in subsequent volumes. This section can be usefully read with the ‘reading list by grade’ offered as an appendix herein and the Bibliography, which will also be extended in the following 10 volumes. My own introduction to the WEIS came through such authors as Israel Regardie, Gareth Knight, William Butler, William G. Gray, and other practitioners.[9] The fiction of Dion Fortune, particularly The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, helped me bridge between my pagan roots and Western esotericism; a spiritual dilemma that persisted for some two decades.[10] In The Magister we do not differentiate between witchcraft and the WEIS as both are deemed aspects of one Western approach. One might consider that we take a Renaissance revisionist approach to our pagan workings.[11] I was also enamoured of the adventures and magic of the notorious magician, Aleister Crowley, whose work encouraged me to travel to Egypt when I was just 19 years old, spending a month haunting the Cairo museum, pyramids, trekking across the Sinai, and generally being an English magician abroad.[12] At the time I did not realise that I would be spending the rest of my life reading and studying Crowley’s own notebooks from a century prior, detailing his magick, travels and experiences.

My early learning of kabbalah started with Dion Fortune, rapidly branching into studying with the late James Sturzaker, of the International School of Kabbalists.[13] The kabbalah that we teach in The Magister and within the OED, whilst unashamedly Hermetic, esoteric and Western, also draws from an appreciation of the work of contemporary scholars in the field and traditional kabbalistic practice.[14] One volume of The Magister is to explore kabbalah in depth, and its roots will be seen nourishing every volume. The kabbalah is our map, tarot our compass, alchemy our exercise, and ritual our path. Astrology is how we navigate when we are left to our own devices and our signposts are synchronicity. I created my own tarot deck when I was 13, from images of the Swiss IJJ deck in a Stuart Kaplan book, and started reading and studying tarot every day, a practice I have continued for three decades and across more than 10,000 face-to-face readings. We will expand on the corpus and application of tarot in engaging life throughout these volumes.[15] For me, and for many practitioners, the early attraction of the WEIS is in practical magick, ceremony and ritual, evocations and invocations. We recapitulate the history of the entire tradition in our own life; our roots are embedded in the grimoire tradition of magical practice, fostered in a Christian environment (hierarchies of angels, names of God, etc.) whilst at the same time rejecting the Church and forging our own direct communication with the divine.[16] So what is a magical life? The field is now more open to study than when I commenced. There are now autobiographies and biographies of contemporary magical practitioners available, including William G. Gray, Gareth Knight, Mark Hedsel, and David Conway.[17] Israel Regardie has provided a personal background of his encounter with the Golden Dawn teachings.[18]

Pagan practitioners have also come to provide their autobiographies and are themselves increasingly the subject of biographical treatment.[19] Other experiential accounts include Greek traditions,[20] Celtic and Egyptian work,[21] and immersion in the world of contemporary occult groups and witchcraft written by a handful of academics.[22] My world was turned inside-out by reading Robert Anton Wilson’s (with Robert Shea) Illuminatus! series, but more importantly his personal account, Cosmic Trigger, which brought the esoteric to a uniquely contemporary re-synthesis. [23] Other practitioners have also published biographical and semibiographical accounts of their lives in magick, such as Lon Milo DuQuette. [24] There are semi-fictional accounts,[25] and strange self- published workbooks such as one in which one can learn to create one’s own real life lightsabre, or Zauberstab, from Vril energy.[26] Earlier accounts include those of the well documented Crowley, and later practitioners such as followers of Dion Fortune; Charles Seymour and Christine Hartley, whose diaries span 1937-1939.[27] Prior to that we have other ‘survivor’ records of Crowley’s regime and magical lifestyle, including Jane Wolfe, whose Cefalu Diaries record the discipline required for magical practice whilst enduring the poverty-struck conditions of the ‘Abbey of Thelema’.[28] This theme of magical practice in the most mundane of situations, resulting in tensions and strange sequences of events is taken up by the account of ‘Frater Shiva’ whose account of the Solar Lodge in California during the 1960s and 1970s is salutatory reading. [29] The work and biographical detail of Crowley’s later followers has been published to some extent.[30]

Modern magicians have provided workbooks of practice, deriving in part from the work of the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley or Dion Fortune. The works of Donald Michael Kraig, John Michael Greer, Frater U.D., Aaron Leitch, Josephine McCarthy, Christopher Penczak, Phillip Cooper, Peregrin Wildoak, and others represent a continuing formulation of magical practice. [31] Others have worked more explicitly within certain traditions, such as Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, whose work is in the lineage of Dion Fortune. [32] In a similar vein is the body of work by Marian Green, who was a huge influence on my own early studies, particularly her Magic for the Aquarian Age.[33] I once found myself talking to a woman after a presentation I had given at a Golden Dawn conference, talking on about my research, whilst the woman politely nodded and let me chatter. After I had enlightened her about the inner mysteries, and my vast experience, I thought I should deem to ask her name in case she might wish to be a student. Of course, she smiled, nodded politely again, and said, “Marion Green”. That singular lesson was worth every book I purchased and studied from her. Others have developed and re-presented Crowley’s Thelemic Magick, an ambitious undertaking in itself, so results have varied.[34] A later volume of The Magister will concentrate on Thelema in more detail. Whilst we will look then at Kenneth Grant’s work, we will also consider in our overview here of the ‘Aeons’ the post-Thelemic work of Maggie Ingalls.[35] Several orders have achieved a relatively stable longevity, such as the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (in various forms), Servants of the Light (S.O.L.), and the Society of Inner Light being notable.[36]

Another cohort of authors have published works of less explicit lineage, including Alan Chapman[37] and David Goddard, whose Tower of Alchemy is an amalgam of Grail myth, alchemical visualisations and Kabbalah.[38] There are a range of synthetic systems drawing upon many streams, such as the ‘magic of light’ taught by the Society of the White Flame, drawing on Persian and Arabic literature.[39] Lesser known individuals have presented insights into the kabbalistic design of the initiatory system, such as Eldon Templar, whose pseudonymous works harbour a deep grasp of the impact of initiation modelled on the Tree of Life. [40] Individual systems have flourished in separate streams, notably the Fourth Way work of G.I. Gurdjieff – a subject for our second and third volumes – and those who have followed that way, such as Ouspensky, Bennett, Pogson, Nicoll, and more recently Colin Wilson, Charles Tart and E.J. Gold.[41] Later we will also survey the works of Blavatsky, Besant, Kingsford, Steiner and other schools both theosophical and anthroposophical.[42]

Many groups have claimed a Rosicrucian heritage – the history of which we will come to examine from its roots in three original pamphlets including the Chymical Wedding – and risen in popularity, such as the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis (AMORC). The AMORC teachings span a curriculum of almost 19 years in length and these will be compared and contrasted to other systems including the Builders of the Adytum (BOTA), the Ancient Mystical Order of Seekers (AMOS) and various other ‘modern mystery schools’ of the past century.[43] Less well known authors have taken a Rosicrucian standpoint, such as Freeman B. Dowd and other teachers. [44] The Rosicrucian heritage is fundamental to the WEIS, and is seen as a ‘landmark’ in the life of the ‘Great School’ by Manly Palmer Hall, who also considers the movement in social and political aspects. [45] A number of Western practitioners pursue systems based upon Celtic or Arthurian myths, or have developed entirely new and novel systems, such as the Church of the Sub-Genius.[46] We will see how these reflect different grades and stages of the ascent narrative as a whole, tracing back to the structures of mystery schools and initiatory religions such as Mithraism.[47] A fundamental approach here is to consider these as a spectrum of perspectives, each useful at a particular step – until a new vantage point is gained and a new perspective gives a view to new horizons.

A number of other systems – both historical and contemporary – have been brought to light, which perhaps owe more or less to the main underground stream, such as Franz Bardon’s Hermetics, and the work of the Brotherhood of Luxor.[48] There are also papers and privately published works of smaller occult orders from which we can draw, including the Brotherhood of the Path, the Order of the Cubic Stone, the Brotherhood of Light (C.C. Zain), the Hermetic Order of Martinists (H.O.M.), A.S. Raleigh’s Hermetic Brotherhood, the Order of Secret Masters, the Gnostic Brotherhood of God (G.B.G.), the Martinists, the Elect Cohens, the Order of the Serpent, the Avalon Group, the Church of Light, the Astarians, the Ma’at Qabal, and many others in private collection.[49] Synthetic traditions have been published such as the work of the Merlin Temple of the Golden Dawn.[50] Individual authors have presented very specific approachs to the kabbalah and the path of Initiation, some better known than others, such as Julius Evolva, William Blystone, Samael Aun Weor, and Ophiel.[51] Still others have presented alternative models of the initiatory progression and the ascent narrative.[52] A few teachers have worked very much without publication and fanfare until their students have collected their teachings.[53] The work of magical lodges and schools has also received more public treatment, both from practitioners and academics.[54] We will also see in a later volume the overlaps between the WEIS and the arts, in the work of a wide range of artists, authors, poets, and directors.[55]

Throughout the course of The Magister, we will also draw upon periodicals and magazines across the last century – mainly published in the United Kingdom, but elsewhere too – such as Chaos International, The Lamp of Thoth, Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick, Occult Review, Thaneteros, The Occult Observer, The Gnostic, Azoth, The Occult Digest, The Occult Science Library, Quest, Probe, Talking Stick, Starfire, Ignator, The Qabalist’s I, Khephra, The Atlantean, Insight, Nox, Lightning Flash, Meridian, The Cosmic Connexion, Omni Vita, Sunpath, T.N.T., The Daath Papers, Formaos, and hundreds of others in collection.[56] As we cover witchcraft and paganism in later volumes, we will refer to periodicals in that realm, such as Inner Keltia, The Cauldron, Pentagram, Pagan Dawn, Pangaia, Moonshine, Medicine Ways, Pentacle, The Wiccan, and Pipes of Pan. Finally, we will survey magazines of the more mainstream variety, including Gnosis, Magical Blend, Fate and Fortune, Destiny, and a host of other professional magazines representing the WEIS in more popularist guises such as ‘a transformational journey’, ‘exploring the unknown’, ‘predicting your future’, and journaling the ‘Western inner traditions’.

It is through these magazines, pre-Internet, that much discussion and networking took place, giving glimpses of the WEIS in constant turmoil, diversification, and synthesis. Taking just one small press magazine at random we can read about the Order of the Pyramid and the Sphinx, who advertise themselves as a “special custodian of a hitherto unrevealed tradition which expounds the famous Enochian system of Dr. John Dee”; take lessons from (the now sadly departed) Alexander Sanders, “Lessons in Witchcraft, Sex Magick and Esoteric Mysticism”; and be perturbed at the approach and grammar of the Pagan Front asking for members with the express statement, “No time-wasters, trouble-makers, homosexuals or black magicians, etc.” We can also find the Fraternitas Lucifer next to a Hatha Yoga group, and letters from Israel Regardie and R.G. Torrens arguing the history of the Golden Dawn. Not bad for 4/6d (that is, four shillings and sixpence).[57]

I must admit too to a dabbling in the dark arts themselves, so we will cover these in the Zelator volume to follow. It is common for the newcomer in esotericism to immerse themselves in a range of occult practices, hopefully being enriched by, yet exhausting each approach – and the rebellious urge may initially gravitate them to such subjects as Satanism or the so-called Left Hand Path. My own trajectory between the ages of 16 and 19 took me to a Satanic group on a distant isle, strange practices and sexual experimentation, and eventually to a year-long experiment with mindaltering chemicals.[58] Whilst these years provided much material for later consideration, I was glad to enjoy them and just as glad to leave them. I do blame a steady diet of New England Library (NEL) books – such as Simon, King of the Witches (1971), featuring playboy witch, Simon Sinistari – with their garish covers and lurid language.[59] It was the more abstract and general writings of Pauwels and Bergier that geared me towards more profound shores – my first book with magic in the title, The Morning of the Magicians, although as a 13 year old I understood little of it.[60] Specific systems such as alchemy, astrology and tarot have received a range of treatments which we will survey and teach later.[61] They have also been contextualised within a Jungian framework, according them some measure of psychological gloss.[62] The strange reaches and profound mysteries of sexual magick will also receive a large part of a subsequent volume.[63] With this regard, we will also explore the gender differences in magical practice, tracing the nature of personal priesthood for both men and women through the ages into contemporary life.[64]

Of particular note is the work of the Aurum Solis, which came to light in the mid-1970s and claimed an older pedigree, dating back to 1897. Whilst I (and others) have been unable to gain proof of this claim, there is no doubt as to the power of the rituals and exercises provided by the authors Melita Denning (Vivian Godfrey) and Osborne Phillips (Leon Barcynski). They are based upon a Greek rather than ancient Egyptian framework, with more explicit reference to Hermeticism and poetic structure.[65] This ‘Ogdoadic Tradition’ continues to date. In recent years there has been a rise of grimoire-type books purporting to teach a ‘cunning craft’ and various arcane lore. These books have been of limited edition, circulated only in small numbers and already now fetch high prices in the occult book market.[66] Our Work here also includes the essential backdrop of mystical unfoldment in Christian mysticism and the ascent narrative, specifically in the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius, Meister Eckhart, Bonaventure, John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent), St. John, and St. Teresa.[67] Lesser known writings, for example, the Book of the Nine Rocks by Rulman Merswin, also inform our graduated work into the mystical experience.[68] Christian and Jewish methodologies mapped to the initiatory structure will be considered in our practical sections, such as the art of constant prayer, the imitation of Christ, Lectio Divina, and other contemplative methods.[69] Contemporary Western practitioners of Eastern approaches can also be usefully mapped to the initiatory structure. In The Magister we will consider the works of Da Free John, Irina Tweedy and Bernadette Roberts, as well as Paul Brunton.[70] It is also here that our path becomes increasingly indistinct as the integration of ‘East and ‘West’ blurs both geographical and ideological borders.[71]

It is also essential we touch upon the structure, aims and ambitions of Freemasonry, from which orders such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.) and thence the Golden Dawn emerged.[72] More general appreciations of Western philosophy and its synthesis can also be married to our studies, presenting us a ‘perennial philosophy’ by which we may be accompanied on the journey.[73] During the past three decades, new paradigms have unfolded, most notably Chaos magick, about which – again – more later.[74] This movement perhaps owes much to the work of the artist-magician Austin Osman Spare, whose alphabet of desire and methodology will also be discussed later.[75] This approach to sorcery and state-change emerged during the mid-1970s, particularly with the publication of Liber Null by Peter J. Carroll. This present author worked with the syllabus of this title and contributed to the first issue of Chaos International in 1986.[76] Later authors have continued this modern approach to magick, notably Phil Hine, Julian Vayne and Ramsey Dukes.[77] The escalation of this ‘out of the box’ approach to magick, particularly in its realm of self-development or self-liberation, brought it ultimately to extreme forms such as willed psychopathic experimentation.[78] In fiction too we find less than flattering treatments of a life lived by occult principles. [79] Less extreme forms but nonetheless powerful exercises in state-change are to be found in the work of Robert Anton Wilson, notably the highly recommended Prometheus Rising workbook, itself a fundamental part of this present author’s early work.[80] The ‘Dice Man’ philosophy of Luke Rhinehart is also an encouraged practice in the early stages of the Order of Everlasting Day.[81]

The introduction of other systems of state-change and models of the mind brought neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) into magick through the works of Philip H. Farber and Jason Newcomb, whilst this was bridged into tarot with the present author’s work Tarosophy (2011).[82] The use of Jungian frameworks can also highlight facets of the initiatory work and without explicit reference to esotericism, a number of Jungian authors have provided graduated schema; “initiation as a series of levels or stages, and initiation as a cyclic experience. We might even describe it paradoxically as a series of developmental cycles.”[83] A similar treatment – again, focusing on alternative Western paths than esotericism – can be found in Mary WolffSalin’s account of initiation in both monastic and Jungian traditions.[84] Throughout The Magister we will examine cases of magical activity, spellcraft and ritual. We will consider how science, psychology and esoteric models comprehend the results of such work, which can be life-changing. [85] There are many useful parallels of the WEIS to be discovered in the notion of the mythic journey, and the concept of the archetypes, their symbols and function in the psyche.[86] As the initiate enters the ‘Treasure House of Images’ in the earliest explorations of their journey, perils abound, not least of which is the danger of the irruption of powerful archetypal energies into consciousness, which in severe cases can literally devour the personality-construct and lead to ego distortions of numerous types.[87]

A thorough grounding in the nature of symbols and their usage is an essential teaching to which we will return in subsequent volumes. The embodiment of significant stages of the initiatory system in the experiences of the ‘Dweller on the Threshold’, ‘Parting of the Veil’, the ‘Portal’, the ‘Holy Guardian Angel’, and the ‘Abyss’, will be outlined here and discussed in detail in relevant volumes as the sequence is unfolded in its order of revelation. The popularisation of esoteric ideas has continued across a number of media and the Internet. The magician Alan Moore’s graphic novel Promethea includes kabbalah, tarot, alchemy, and Hermetic ideas on every page.[88] One can view performances of rituals on YouTube and join special esoteric interest groups on Facebook.[89] This has perhaps accelerated the abasement of the Work, its constant rote repetition and insidious dilution, and a complete ejection (in some cases outright rejection) of its core ambition.

Most notably, the rise of faux magick that has become, for all intents and purposes, the only magick. The most strident critique of this state has been made by Alan Moore, in his 2002 piece, Fossil Angels, which should be read before continuing here.[90] In a sense, The Magister is a response to such critique, aiming to offer some consideration to the tradition as being more than ‘an opportunity for dressing up’. This tradition requires an appreciation of long term narrative and consequence, dedication, patience, discipline, and above all, unassailable faith – there are many who want to fly straight to heaven, but few willing to climb. The significant difference between The Magister and other approaches is that we utilise the experiences of esotericism to boot-strap ourselves into progressively rarified states of awareness in a constructive and deliberate manner to a defined goal, along a well-marked route. These states are fundamentally different from each other and all contain their own world – it is entirely possible to appear to make the whole journey in just one’s imagination, which is only one of the ten states we utilise. This is not armchair magick but living spirituality.[91] There are also many other avenues of Western exploration that it would be impossible to cover in full, even in an attempt at a comprehensive treatise. Every day brings a new ‘secret’ or ‘cosmic ordering’ system, a new ‘prophecy’ or popular self-help guide. How these bridge across to Western esotericism is a matter of argument that we will probably studiously consider and possibly avoid altogether.[92] We will, however, refer to the models of Spiral Dynamics and the approach of Ken Wilbur as useful parallels to the WEIS.[93]

The rise during the past 50 years of academic interest in the field of Western esotericism is without parallel and arguably dates to the publications of Frances A. Yates (her first book, in 1964, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition, is groundbreaking) which brought the ‘Rosicrucian enlightenment’ argument into the academy.[94] The works of Antoine Faivre, Wouter J. Hanegraaff and Kocku von Stuckrad are preeminent in the field.[95] Similarly we will utilise academic appreciations of paganism and witchcraft in addition to practical experience.[96] We will also look at the useful concept of ‘signposts’ in the initiatory structure introduced by René Guénon.[97] A recent journal of the European Society of the Study of Western Esotericism lists a range of M.A. and PhD papers from ‘Occult War: The Legacy of Iranian Dualism and its continuing influence upon the Modern Occult Revival’ to ‘Esotericism and Quantum Theories, 1960-2010: A study of David Bohm’.[98] Whilst we will return to all these streams in following volumes, it is sufficient here to provide the backdrop and context in which the present work is written. The WEIS has many rivers but one source, and will always be a synthesis of practice bound together by models of varying scope and utility, whether that is alchemy, astrology, kabbalah, or any other system. The important thing is that this is a science of the soul, a spiritual path in real life, and a means of comprehending that which is incomprehendable. The scope and volume of the tradition is a reflection of the endless labyrinth of possibility which is your soul’s true relation to the universe. Nothing more. We will now present the scope of the 11 volumes of The Magister and open the Herald of the Everlasting Day, which is an emblem of the divine relationship and the true subject of our work to follow.

THE ORDER OF REVELATION This is the world you’re in and this is where ours begins A borderless nation of thoughts to replace your walled-in existence in space. — ‘Force Feedback’ from ‘A View from the End of the World’, Machinae Supremacy.[99]

This present volume provides an overview and structure of the WEIS, which subsequent volumes will treat in detail. Here follows an overview for the following volumes, which represents in brief the likely coverage of the entirety of The Magister.

The O r d e r of Revelation (0) The Worker Enters the Workshop [Neophyte] An overview of the WEIS, its history, syllabus and practice.

In this first book (in three sections on Kindle) I will present the history of the system starting from unique access and study of the Golden Dawn source materials, Aleister Crowley documents, PhD level research, and three decades of practical experience. We will trace the system back over a century prior to the Golden Dawn revival, and reference material previously only published in scarce German academic literature. I will present the syllabus and its aim to provide a graduated spiritual ascent narrative. I will introduce Neo-Platonic, Hermetic, kabbalistic, and Gnostic themes, showing how the Western system is firmly rooted in these philosophical and religious roots, whilst branching into its own parallel practice – a practice almost relegated to the minority of occult literature. A section will focus on anamnesis and metanoia as essential concepts in the tradition. The nature of the synthetic approach will be explored so that we can avoid ‘spiritual supermarket shopping’ and see the power of this generally Western attitude to spiritual practice. We will then move onto the nature of correspondence and its import in the system, and present an introduction to alchemy in this context, sufficient to provide a description of the grade system in alchemical terminology. We will then demonstrate how this system was originally couched in the terms of the kabbalah and provide an initiatory map based upon the Tree of Life. This will set the structure for the following ten volumes. I will use work by Aleister Crowley and other innovative material to describe this map, as a valid system for Western esoteric spirituality.

I will briefly introduce key components which will be explored in following titles, such as the Dweller on the Threshold, Holy Guardian Angel (HGA) and the Crossing of the Abyss. The tarot will be used to illustrate this map and further describe it – a subject to which I will return in greater depth in the following books. I will also provide the names of the grades and a new explanation of their titles and nature of work which fits into the context I have previously delineated and sets the scene for the following practical section. There will be a brief bridging section on the practice of journaling, with extracts from the magical journals of a number of occultists, including my own. This will provide the first practical work and is in response to the most common questions I am asked in my own teaching, regarding how to maintain a journal, what to put in it, etc. The nature of dream-work will be examined with box-in exercises for lucid dreaming practice, astral travel and so forth. These will be placed within the whole context of the system. The final section of the book will be purely practical and will offer an explanation of initiation and ritual. I will provide four rituals, namely the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, Liber Resh, the Middle Pillar, and the Rose Cross, with a unique explanation of why these rituals are given, and their relationship to the practitioner’s sense of space, time and self. I believe this will be the first account of these in the context of far later experience which shines a new light upon their importance and practice. Volume 0 will provide a comprehensive bibliography and annotated reading list by grade. This will update the reading list provided by Aleister Crowley in Magick in Theory and Practice and demonstrate the scope of the entire series.

The Light of the Labyrinth (1) The Worker is Hidden in the Workshop [Zelator/Malkuth] By Our Work We Are Changed In this second volume, we will look at the various cosmologies and maps that inform the journey of the tradition. We will further explore the way in which we can utilise such models – particularly tarot – in our own life and as part of the functional aspects of the system. We will also begin to open up core texts and explanatory material, such as the vision of Zosimos, the Emerald Tablet, the Chymical Wedding, etc. We will trace commonalities in these accounts and use them to illustrate the core components of the system, such as grades, changes of state and initiation. We will also see how they describe a journey with many challenges and opportunities at each grade, so the practitioner can assess their own state. I will present a full chapter on the Dweller on the Threshold and its role in the tradition and the personal experience of the practitioner. We will explore the Inner Guide Meditation (IGM) work and pathworking in general, with many examples from more than 1,000 workings recorded by hundreds of students and workshop participants over the past three decades. The nature of alchemy will be further explored in the practical section of this second book, as will many other exercises such as sigil creation. This book provides practical hands-on experience to the practitioner, suitable to the grade of Zelator. I will discuss the nature of purification, consecration, evocation, and invocation. Most importantly, the book places all practice in its wider context. Volume 1 will feature a do-it-yourself (DIY) ‘build a ritual’ template.

The Rainbow at M i d n i g ht (2) The Worker Watches the Workshop [Theoricus/Yesod] By Our Work We Are Awakened In this third volume of the series, we will meet the dramatis personae of the tradition, and I will show their major contributions in a flow-chart of the ‘currents’ of the system. This will include Levi, Crowley, the founders of the Golden Dawn, Florence Farr, the alchemists, Dion Fortune, Austin Osman Spare, etc. We will examine their lives in order to demonstrate the process of initiation and the map of the system, in their own words. I will present the psychological aspects of the tradition, particularly Jungian thinking and show how that relates to alchemy and, perhaps more importantly, initiation – the latter a relationship that has not been touched upon by other authors. I will concentrate on Dion Fortune’s early work in psychology and how this has developed into a large strand of contemporary practice. We will introduce the work of G.I. Gurdjieff into the system, and demonstrate how the Fourth Way provides an essential component in the syllabus. A chapter will demonstrate the role and import of secrecy in the Work and its psychological implications. We will provide exercises for inner meditation and contemplation, and look at various forms of yoga within the context of Western practice, particularly from the work of Paul Brunton. Volume 2 will feature a flow-chart of the occult currents and annotated character list.

[ILLUS. GD 2-1-2 p165v Bornless Ritual Original Golden Dawn Manuscript]

The P r i s m of Light (3) The Worker is the Workshop [Practicus/Hod] By Our Work We Are Worked In this fourth title we turn our attention to the ‘mental’ developmental areas of the system, such as the concept of Will in Crowley’s Thelema. I will use this to compare with other teachers such as Gurdjieff, Bennett, Orage, and Steiner, showing how mental exercises are intrinsic to the syllabus. In this book I will also bring in the work of contemporary Chaos Magick, as a hook to an analysis of modern science, cosmology and mathematics where that work has informed modern magick. I will look specifically at how initiation can be modelled with Catastrophe Theory, and how fluid dynamics provides a picture of kabbalah of use to the magician. In terms of context I will show how the ‘New Thought’ movement provided a precursor to magick, and then its later upsurge as the ‘New Age’ movement. The work of NLP will be shown to be of relevance to the Gnostic aspects of contemporary magick, which I will illustrate with a range of modern films and books. The nature of the oaths of each grade will be explored in one chapter. I will also provide practical exercises to work with time and fit these into the context of Liber Resh and ritual generally, from the prior titles, and as a foundation for work in following the titles. In Volume 3 we will cover time-work and retro-temporal engineering in magick.

The Portal and the Veil (4) The Workshop is Hidden in the Worker [Philosophus]

By Our Work We Are Taught In this fifth title, ahead of our major work to follow in the sixth (which deals with the Holy Guardian Angel, or HGA), we will conclude our laying out of the initiatory schema with a detailed breakdown of the system of the

∴ ∴

A A , Crowley’s ‘self-initiatory’ order. I will also list the ‘powers’ of each grade in a modern format, and the dangers at each stage – the first time that this will have been presented in a contemporary and accessible (i.e. practical and down-to-earth) manner. A chapter will cover the nature of the ‘Portal’, the ‘Veil of Paroketh’ and how these feature in the initiatory progress of the Adept. The practice of prayer will be taught, particularly the constant prayer method. This will be contextualised with regard to the tradition and other systems such as mantra practice. Volume 4 will cover teachings on active contemplative work.

The Angel in the Workshop (5) The Angel Enters the Workshop [Adeptus Minor] By Our Work We Are Converted This sixth title will bring together all that has been presented in the preceding titles and change the context for the following books. It will describe the work known as the Abramelin Operation and the nature of the HGA. It will contextualise this work in terms of the other great ‘crises’ of the tradition, namely the ‘Dweller on the Threshold’ (addressed in Volume 2) and the ‘Crossing of the Abyss’ (in Volume 9).

I will bridge from my published journal of the operation, After the Angel, and provide more material and context for the HGA, particularly exploring questions that have arisen from that work, such as the difference between the ‘Higher Self’, the ‘Augoeodies’ and the HGA. At least two chapters will cover my teachings on Enochian magic. In the practical section of this book, a new version of Liber Resh will be given (i.e. the Hymnodia) and the Bornless Ritual fully explained. Volume 5 will present for the first time new Enochian work and angelic teaching.

The Sanctuary of Fire (6) The Workshop is the Teacher [Adeptus Major] By Our Work We Are Completed In a wide-ranging survey, we will see how various authors have attempted to create their own ‘reality’ based upon their experiences, and how such a task is perfectly fitted to the initiatory scheme at this grade. We will look at how we can learn from working to such a model. I will work from a multitude of sources ranging from Philip K. Dick’s Exegesis to John Fowles’ The Aristos, William Butler Yeats’ Vision, Crowley’s Magick in Theory and Practice, Kurt Vonnegut’s ‘Bokonism’ in Cat’s Cradle, etc. We will also look in more detail at the nature of the Aeons as a practical cosmology for society and the individual. This will show how the Aeons were brought into contemporary practice through Levi, then Crowley, based upon even earlier (Christian) models. I will also cover the work of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.[100] Volume 6 will explore further the Aeons.

The Chapel of Devotion (7) The Worker Leaves the Workshop [Adeptus Exemptus] By Our Work We Are Devoted In this book I will cover the nature of the Secret Masters and use this to present the work of H.P. Blavatsky. We will also return to the work of those followers of Dion Fortune who advanced the idea of ‘fully contacted’ magical societies.

I will explore the idea of magical societies, their structure and relevance to contemporary practice. This will include a large and comprehensive overview of many lesser known magical groups including the Aurum Solis, the Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor and so forth – deriving from my research. In the practical section of this title we will cover devotional rituals such as Liber Astarte and examine the relationship of the practitioner to the divine. I will also present for the first time a ritual entitled ‘The Rebel in the Soul’ and at least two chapters on Ancient Egyptian belief and practice and its role in Western magickal practice. Volume 7 will provide researchers and practitioners a large catalogue of esoteric orders and their practices.

The Tem p l e of Night (8) The Workshop is No More [Master of the Temple] By Our Work We Are Removed In this book we will examine the spiritual/religious aspects of the tradition, working with the lives of St. Bonaventure, St. John, St. Theresa, Rushwin Mershwin, etc. We will also look at Western practitioners who have embraced Eastern practices such as Da Free John, Irina Tweedie and Paul Brunton. We will also introduce the work of Bernadette Roberts, which will be concluded in the eleventh book. We will deal with the ‘passage’ of the ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ as the ‘Crossing of the Abyss’ in the tradition. I will present a chapter on Chronozon, the ‘demon of the Abyss’ and the work of Kenneth Grant. In Volume 8 we will compare Western mysticism and magick.

The Quarry of Souls (9) The Worker Builds the Workshop [Magus] By Our Work We Are Created

In this penultimate work we will return to magical practice and I will present the ‘initiated’ view of magick, investigating why The Secret doesn’t work, the nature of ‘energised enthusiasm’, sex magick, and working without ‘lust of result’. We will also return to the concept of the Secret Masters and see them for the first time in a totally new light. I will give a chapter on a-temporal magick and how this accords with recent scientific discoveries on the nature of time and reverse engineering the past. I will illustrate this section with real practical examples from my own work and return to the very first ‘spell’ I performed, mentioned in Volume 1. In Volume 9 we will demonstrate how to build your universe.

The P o i n t of the Light (10) The Workshop is the Worker [Ipsissimus] By Our Work We Are In this final title we will present the tradition as a valid and comprehensive spiritual path for contemporary Western society. We will see how it leads to the self-same experiences and realisations as any of the major movements and how it is specifically geared to Western life. I will conclude my presentation of Bernadette Roberts and other Western spiritual teachers particularly dealing with the transcendent experience. As much as possible, I will compare and contrast these with Eastern teachings, using the work of Ken Wilbur and others. In particular, we will look at the spiritual poetry of Aleister Crowley and ‘The Man of Understanding’ by Da Free John as statements of the completion of the path offered by this tradition. The eleventh volume serves as a conclusion which sets this tradition in the context of contemporary spiritual practice.

We will now look at the Herald which opens the mysteries of The Magister.

THE HERALD OF EVERLASTING DAY After the Golden Dawn comes the Everlasting Day.

This series of The Magister is in part homage to The Equinox, an epic journal created by the notorious occultist Aleister Crowley in the early 1900s. Before we begin, we will reveal some of the mysteries in the symbolic Herald which accompanies The Magister. This explanation can be skipped by those who wish to enter straight through into the first hall of the work without pausing to view the decorative entrance. Although, as with many such features of the mystery school teachings, you may miss something of great import, even in your first step, only to later have to return in order to gain an essential key.

When Aleister Crowley published the first volume of The Equinox in March 1909, the upper cover was illustrated – as was the frontispiece of the deluxe subscriber’s edition – with a coat of arms design. Whilst we appear to have no record of the artist, the symbolism of this illustration is precise and could only have come from Crowley him- self. In it the theme of The Equinox is graphically illustrated; Crowley later wrote, in 1943, some 34 years later, that The Equinox was to be a “Rosetta Stone” in which he was tasked by the Masters to “preserve the Sacred Tradition” against a “planet-wide catastrophe” as the “New Aeon” superseded the old.[101] This was the essential message Crowley had received in Cairo, in 1904, five years prior to the publication of The Equinox and 10 years before the first of the two world wars that brought about such a catastrophe. That catastrophe – if we assume an average lifespan of 52 years in 1914, an average age of a soldier of 26, and an estimated 16 million dead during conflict – robbed our species of 416 million years of human life, in four short years, not counting the lost potential offspring of those whom perished. Crowley had seen himself as a herald of the new age, as in his private notebook, ‘Invocation of Hoor’, he wrote in 1904, “G.D. to be destroyed, i.e. publish its history and its papers.”[102] This was an allusion to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, at that time the repository of a vast synthesis of esoteric knowledge, in which Crowley had been immersed.

The Golden Dawn had a tradition of changing ‘stations’ at the equinox, with a ritual marking a new (or renewed) Hierophant and a changing of role holders in the temple.[103] We will see later how this derived from ‘Eastern’inspired fringe Freemasonic orders such as the Sat B’hai. A key element of this administrative changeover (which the ritual discloses has higher echoes in the upper worlds) is the change of password – the Hierophant asks the Kerux to “proclaim the EQUINOX and announce that the pass-word is abrogated.”[104] It was this tradition which Crowley usurped with his publication.

[ILLUS. Equinox Herald]

It is also this word abrogated (meaning to repeal by authority a law that has been previously established) that provides the nature of the usurpation, for Crowley wrote in Liber Al, The Book of the Law, “Abrogate are all rituals, all ordeals, all words and signs. Ra-Hoor-Khuit hath taken his seat in the East at the Equinox of the Gods.”[105] The notion of the magician finding a ‘higher authority’ or ‘inner planes contact’ was one taken across from theosophy and the bridge-head from which many occult wars were – and to this day, still – fought. Crowley had gone to Egypt (ostensibly on honeymoon) to find his own inner planes contact, trumping the more sedentary members of the Golden Dawn. This re-statement of authority was carried into the heraldic device of The Equinox which depicts a shield on which are a Sun and rose cross. These symbolise the Golden Dawn and the Rosy Cross, the outer and inner orders. The shield is then topped with a crest composed of the eye in the triangle, the symbol of Crowley’s own inner order, the A or silver star).

∴ A ∴ (Argenteum Astrum

The central motifs are flanked as columns by the red ram of Aries and the green robed lady of Libra, bearing scales and sword. These symbolise the Spring and Autumn equinox. The motto (technically, in heraldry, in the Scottish position) is “THE METHOD OF SCIENCE” with a banner below completing “THE AIM OF RELIGION.” In the title piece, the herald is surrounded by the text “The Official Organ of the A Illuminism.”

∴ A ∴ ” and “The Review of Scientific

Crowley provides in this key image his statement of revolution. The Aeons themselves are changing, time is accelerating and the old order is dead – not just the magical order of the Golden Dawn, but the previous order of humanity itself, moving in 2,000 year cycles. This image, stark and simple, is a

powerful metaphor of total change – through usurpation, individuation, through war and horror.

In the case of The Magister, representing the Order of Everlasting Day, we chose to re-vision the heraldic device in a contemporary manner whilst retaining much of the layout of The Equinox version. We also chose to centre the design on the nature of the initiatory work itself rather than the orders into which that work is organised. Furthermore, we decided to bridge from Christian – and recognisable – tropes such as the Garden of Eden and the Angelic forms. As these have much earlier precedents, it is to be hoped that viewers will connect to the antiquity of the traditional devices. The first point of note in the Herald of Everlasting Day is that the whole is under the aegis of Maat.[106] This ancient Egyptian goddess bears the ostrich feather, as she is representative of divine order and measurement. Rather than judgement, we fall under the rule of universal order, which weighs everything in its scales.[107] It is to this divine order that even the gods must fall, and is ultimately the ordering of the light and the field in which the Sun arises.[108] The Hall of Maat is our interior representation of the universe, “entering which one comes directly before that which nourishes the divine in oneself. To the extent that one has transformed one’s nature so that it is brought into alignment with the essential divine core of oneself, becoming conscious of having entered the presence of Maat must feel like a homecoming.”[109]

We will return to Maat when we discuss the Aeons in this volume. It should also be seen that Maat is the ‘distant goddess’ whose emissary is Thoth, lord of magick and bearer of the word of creation. It is magick – Thoth - which mediates the divine harmony – Maat – in the universe.[110]

[ILLUS . The Herald of Everlasting Day – symbolic version]

The Pyramid The pyramid has been used to denote the antiquity of the initiatory mystery systems for many centuries and through the 1700s we have writings attesting to their mystical grandeur and function as temples for “the Being who filled the universe full of light.” This Egyptomania, of which there have been a number of waves, informed much of the Rosicrucian, Freemasonic and theosophical teachings, leading to their synthesis in the Golden Dawn. [111] Here, in the Herald of the Everlasting Day, it represents tradition and memory, and the mystery of time. The pyramid of fire also plays an important role in the symbolism of the Tarot of the Secret Dawn. Finally, it is also an acknowledgement of the kitsch marketing value of Egyptian relics, as in this poster for the Order of the Magi by Olney H. Richmond, c. 1892.[112]

[ILLUS . ORDER OF THE MAGI, POSTER FOR OLNEY H. RICHMOND (1844-1920)]

The Salamander Vessel

In the centre of the Herald we have the shield, upon which is emblazoned what we term the ‘Alembic of the Salamander and His Son’. The Alembic “represents a conscious, purposeful, contained activity”[113] and presents us the Magnum Opus, the ‘Great Work’ in symbolic form. It is the shield which identifies us in the warfare for our soul and our storming of the gates of heaven. We see the salamander as the dry male and red seed of the work, the part of the soul which burns and is “conceived by fire, nursed by fire and perfected by fire.”[114] It is the primary seed which we put through the process of calcination which is covered by the following volume of this present work. Above the salamander – who gives birth to a son through the fiery purgation – arises a single white rose, aflame with pale light. It bears two leaves and six outer petals, symbolising Tiphareth, the centre of the Tree of Life, upon which the rose burns. It is an image to which we will return in The Fool card of the Union Deck of the Tarot of Everlasting Day. Above the rose, sealing the vessel, which is a “soul, with no leak at the seams,” is a crown.[115] The crown – which is a triple crown – signifies Kether, the top of the Tree. It bears a single pearl in its apex, the ‘pearl of great price’. As a whole, the Alembic of the Salamander and His Son announces the nature of the initiatory work, as a process of fiery creation and activity, from which arises the rose of perfect simplicity, forming in the stillness and quietness of secrecy.[116]

The Millrinds

The three millrind symbols on the shield are known as fer de molines. In a variety of shapes, these are common charges for European heraldry.[117] They represent ‘divination’ and are an iron support which holds the weight of a runner stone (the upper stone) in a mill wheel. This brings to mind the grinding process of the initiatory system, where the grains of belief are ground into increasingly finer particles before being blown away like chaff in the Abyss.[118]

The Angels of Night and D ay The supporters of the Heraldic device are two angels, a common motif in blazonry, such as that used in the arms of Nuremberg engraved by Durer in 1521.[119] The angels are of the Sun and Moon – day and night – and we see that the solar angel presents a joyful aspect whilst the lunar angel is contemplative, even sombre. This denotes that the divine is present at all times and in all states.

The Four Rivers The four rivers which flow from the Herald, from between the trees, represent the four elements, the four quarters of the universe, and the four rivers which were said to flow out of Eden: Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold ... The name of the second river is Gihon; it flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris; it flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. — Genesis 2: 10-14.

This river, divided into four heads, is said by the Golden Dawn to be “the River of the Apocalypse, the Waters of Life, clear as a crystal proceeding from the Throne, on either side of the Tree of Life, bearing all manner of Fruit.”[120] In the Herald is signifies that there are many paths back to the source, and that same source nourishes the whole of eternity and the everlasting day.

The Two Tre e s In a sense, the most significant yet enigmatic symbols of the Herald are the two trees. These appear in other illustrations of the Order such as The Fool and The World in the Union Deck, and The Lovers in the Outer Deck of the Tarot of Everlasting Day. They symbolise the Tree of All Knowledge (Good and Evil / Night) and the Tree of Life (Everlasting / Day) and are both fruitbearing. The Tree of Knowledge, which is to the right of the Herald (as viewed) contains the sparks of holiness in each fruit. The eating of this fruit and the subsequent ‘fall’ (descent into matter) expulses the Shekinah (divine presence / feminine) from the Garden. This allegory is depicted in The Lovers card as ‘choice and consequence’. As it has been said, “It will end, as it began, in a garden.”[121] The fall causes the process of beirurim, which is the ‘sifting’ of Good and Evil, to redeem the sparks of holiness trapped within fallen matter. At its simplest level, this is the seeing of good in all things.

The Tre e of Knowledge (Eternal Night)

Whilst it is not clear what specific trees the biblical authors had in mind for the two trees in Eden, the Book of Enoch describes the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge as tamarind. Others suggest the fruit as grapes, figs or even wheat. The commonly held notion of the apple being the fruit is perhaps because of a Latin pun on malum, being both ‘apple’ and ‘evil’. The four fruits at the base of the Tree of Knowledge symbolise four experiences of knowledge: Grapes: Ecstasy (Bacchanalian, divine ecstasy, etc.); Figs: Redemption / Grace (as the story of the withered fig tree, etc. in Biblical accounts); Wheat: Nature (Both pagan and Christian, nature as exemplar); Apples: Science (thought, dualistic mind, fall into consciousness). The Tree itself has fruit (tamarind) which becomes an amalgam of all knowledge. It is drawn on the Herald as a typical bushy growth usual to the tamarind, as the other Tree is more slender.

[ILLUS. GD 1-7 p380 Tree of Life After the Fall from Original Golden Dawn Manuscripts]

The Tre e of Life (Everlasting Day) We have used for the Tree of Life the lesser known moringa tree, particularly as it is known as the ‘tree of life’ or ‘miracle tree’. It is a very ancient tree and its dried seeds also look as if they are dark husks (klippoth) in which light may reside. The Tree of Life is depicted as having these black seeds, shells, husks, and pomegranates at its base, the latter recalling the myth of Persephone. Exercise: Contemplating the Herald of Everlasting Day Contemplate the image and reflect upon what pains and pleasures have burnt you in your life and consider too where you find the perfect peace. How do the fire and the rose find their relationship and union in the crucible of your life? The fruit of the Tree of Life bears white flowers of light, with darkness on their inside, in contrast with those of the Tree of Knowledge, which glow from the inside. There are ten flowers on the Tree of Life, representing the sephiroth of the kabbalah, and 12 fruit on the Tree of Knowledge representing the 12 tribes, signs of the zodiac, months of a year, hours in a half day. The Tree of Life holds the secrets of the divine; the Tree of Knowledge, of time. In between them, our Work is done. This Herald will be revisited in Volumes 5 and 10 of The Magister where we will see it with totally different eyes.

It is to the central mystery of time that we will first turn to contextualise our work. All of the rituals and works of the WEIS have a cumulative impact upon our being and relationship to the world – none more so than our relationship to time, space and our sense of self. We will begin with time.

THE AEONS “That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die.” — H.P. Lovecraft, The Nameless City (1921) [122]

In our magical practices for the first grade of work, the Neophyte, the newcomer to magick is given four rituals: Liber Resh, the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, the Middle Pillar, and the Rose Cross. Whilst not stated explicitly in any publication, these rituals are designed to re-orientate the individual respectively to time, space, self, and relationship. This has a fundamental effect on the Neophyte in addition to the overt nature of these rituals, which are ostensibly given to provide a daily observation, a protection ritual, a mystical means of self-development, and a meditation practice. As the initiatory work commences, through study and practice, experiences arise which fundamentally destroy these constructs – hence, we build artificial scaffolding to sup- port us later in the journey. Ultimately, the scaffolding is then taken away, leaving nothing.

Thro’ many a birth in existence wandered I, Seeking, but not finding, the builder of this house. Sorrowful is repeated birth. O housebuilder, thou art seen. Thou shalt build no house again. All thy rafters are broken. Thy ridge-pole is shattered. Mind attains the Unconditioned. Achieved is the End of Craving.

— The first utterances of the Buddha

The practice of the initiatory system is retro-engineered from its ultimate goal, and as it is said, the Neophyte ritual of the Golden Dawn contains the essential teachings of the later grades to Adeptus Minor. The first practice we provide in this volume, Liber Resh, can be found in the brief practical section of the book, and is an observational and semi-devotional practice to the passage of the Sun. One of the central mysteries of our experience is time, and in most mystical literature, the transcendence of time is a common feature.[123] Time may even be considered the alchemical stone of great price. In the Herald of Everlasting Day, the feather of Maat can be seen as representing time as the writing of our lifespan, and is shown as the highest point of the whole image – even slightly above the pyramid, in whose centre is the eye of Maat herself. This re-visions the earlier ‘illuminati’-associated ‘eye in the triangle’ with the eye of Maat rather than of Horus or Osiris.[124] We build from our practice of Liber Resh to consider the passage of time as it applies to culture and consciousness, and hence our magick. The experience of time is fundamental to our consciousness, and yet most people do not consider this at all, other than notice how ‘a watched kettle never boils’ or ‘time passes quickly when you’re having fun’.[125] These temporal associations, held in awareness, are indicative of a far deeper phenomenon: a truly magical one.

When the father who had engendered it [the universe] saw it in motion and alive, a shrine brought into being for the everlasting gods, he rejoiced and, being well pleased, he conceived the idea of making it more like its model. Accordingly, as that model is the ever-existent Living Being, he set about making the universe also like it, as far as possible, in that respect. Now the nature of that living Being was eternal, a character with which it was impossible fully to endow a generated thing. But he planned as it were a moving likeness of eternity; and, at the same time that he set in order the Heaven, he made, of eternity that abides in unity, an ever-flowing likeness moving according to number – that to which we have given the name Time.[126] — Plato, Timaeus, 37 c-d

The most commonly known esoteric division of time in terms of culture and consciousness is that of the zodiacal ages. Many in our society would know that it is presently the ‘Age of Aquarius’ and some- how associate that with the 1960s ‘cultural revolution’. They might be somewhat more tentatively aware that the previous ‘age’ was that of Pisces – and perhaps be bemused that the symbol of Pisces, and the earliest symbol of one of the world’s most dominant religions over that period of approximately 2,000 years, in both cases is a fish.[127] However, some Western esotericists have maintained another model of the passing of large-scale time, which we will now examine. This is perhaps a more relevant model than the current ‘in-vogue’ model of Mayan time, although it is also an interesting exercise to overlap these various models.[128] The model we will examine is that of the Aeons. The word Aeon comes from the means ‘age’, ‘forever’ or ‘for eternity’. It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word ὁ α ἰ ών (aion). It was used to describe periods of time, but also in Gnostic writings the Aeons were spiritual entities and planes of being, with their own characteristics such as ‘power’ and ‘charity’. This idea of emanations in time is fundamental to both our magick and our working model of kabbalah, which shares this central concept.

Whilst the Order of the Golden Dawn celebrated the passing of time on a global level with the equinox rituals, the more strident proponent of Aeons was Aleister Crowley, who developed the model to incorporate the Egyptian deities, particularly Horus, the warrior God whose Age Crowley saw himself as prophesying. The full model has been revised and argued since Crowley, but a general perspective would be as the table below, starting with the Nameless Aeon and moving through periods of approximately 2,000 years to the yet future Aeon of Maat and beyond.

Aeon Name (Egyptian)

Aeon Title/Nature

Bes Isis

Nameless (Primitive) The Goddess (Agriculture, Tribal) The Dying God (Industry, Science, Religion)[129] The Child (Psychology, the Self, Individualism) Global Consciousness Transcendent, Wordless[130]

Osiris Horus Maat Harpocrates

Time Period

?-1904 1904-?

However, Crowley was not the first esotericist to divide the ages in such a way – in fact he was building on a lesser known stream of Christian theology, influenced by Eliphas Lévi (1810-1875). Lévi used the Joachite teaching that there were three ages corresponding to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost: the Age of the Nettle (Law), Rose (Gospel) and Lily (Spirit); Father, Son and Holy Ghost. These were based upon the teachings of Joachim of Fiorre (1135- 1202).[131] In the following diagram we can see that Joachim taught that the three ages overlapped, and this is an essential part of our Western esoteric concept of the Aeons or the ages – that there are substantial periods of overlap in transition between each Aeon. The signing of the American Declaration of Independence comes at the central point of the overlap between the Age of Pisces and Aquarius, for example. In the illustration, we commence with Adamo (Adam) and the text reads: “Anyone who wants to be saved must first hold strong to their Catholic faith and those who are saved are whole and inviolate / pure and must banish all doubt into forever / eternally.” We see that the purpose of modelling time is to offer some transcendence of it. Above the circles we read: “The darkness was upon us like an abyss, it was an ‘occult’ trial from the realm of death when the time between Adam to Moses was dark. It could not be removed ... therefore it was the darkness of ignorance.” The phrase “Io sono ...” means “I am the Alpha and the Omega” and again shows the divine world as the beginning and end of all time. In fact, the illustration is not just about the passage of time but the “Primo / second / terzo stati ...” – the three states of man. This is the important thing about Aeons: they are recapitulated (played out) in our own personal lives – and the lives of organisations, cultures and social groups. An understanding of this fundamental pattern in the structure of our relationship to time allows the initiate to understand the deeper patterns at work in everyday experience. Ultimately, the continued and long term understanding and observation of those patterns frees the initiate from time itself.

To the right of the circles, we read: “In order for these five ways to be understood, although it is a solo process, it will bring you into communion with all living creatures and the trinity of F, S and HG [Father, Son and Holy Ghost].” The process is seen to be modelling a way of life as well as a cosmic scale of time.

[ILLUS. Joachim Three Trinitarian Circles]

At the far right of Adam, following the circles, we have “fine del mondo” – the “end of the world.” This is the world as it is perceived by the initiate, not the end of the world itself. The text goes on to say: “... with these 7 modes, we are defined as people of God, and we are not alone, but three together in communion.” The modes of comprehending time ultimately lead us to a meta-mind or group consciousness, a theme often seen in many Western esoteric works. Here is how Joachim characterised these ages and gave timeframes: The Age of the Father, corresponding to the Old Testament, characterised by obedience of mankind to the Rules of God. The Age of the Son, between the advent of Christ and 1260, represented by the New Testament, when Man became the son of God. The Age of the Holy Spirit, impending (in 1260), when mankind was to come in direct contact with God, reaching the total freedom preached by the Christian message. The Kingdom of the Holy Spirit, a new dispensation of universal love, would proceed from the Gospel of Christ, but transcend the letter of it. In this new Age the ecclesiastical organisation would be replaced and the Order of the Just would rule the Church. In a commentary on Fiore’s works, the Islamist scholar Corbin remarks, “The three Ages of which Joachim de Flore speaks [of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit] are not successive periods of historical time ... (and Berdiaev observes this in a profound remark ...) ... the three Ages represent unities of existential time, interior time ... The succession of these Ages plays itself out in the interior of souls, in the mystery of each soul ... In historical time in fact these Ages coexist.”[132] This is a most important observation that the Aeons co-exist, and all are accessible to the consciousness of the initiate – including those of the future.

Teilhard de Chardin speaks of the passage of time in similar scales: “... under the commonplace envelope of things and of all our purified and salvaged efforts, a new earth is slowly being engendered.”[133] Each age reaches towards an ultimate parousia, a Greek word for the imminent physical presence of a person – in its common usage, the second coming of Christ. This is worded differently by Terence McKenna in Re-Evolution: Human history represents such a radical break with the natural systems of biological organisation that preceded it, that it must be the response to a kind of attractor, or dwell point that lies ahead in the temporal dimension. Persistently Western religions have integrated into their theologies the notion of a kind of end of the world, and I think that a lot of psychedelic experimentation sort of confirms this intuition, I mean, it isn’t going to happen according to any of the scenarios of orthodox religion, but the basic intuition, that the universe seeks closure in a kind of omega point of transcendence, is confirmed, it’s almost as though this object in hyperspace, glittering in hyper-space, throws off reflections of itself, which actually ricochet into the past, illuminating this mystic, inspiring that saint or visionary, and that out of these fragmentary glimpses of eternity we can build a kind of map, of not only the past of the universe, and the evolutionary egression into novelty, but a kind of map of the future ...[134] In the initiatory work, this same concept is also taken on a personal spiritual level; that we aspire to integrate the Aeons and rise through them, ultimately culminating in our own parousia, when we meet ourselves coming back along the way. As the mystic poet A.E. Waite wrote: I carried the star; that star led me: The paths I’ve taken, of most forsaken, Do surely lead to an open sea: As a clamour of voices heard in sleep, Come shouts through the dark on the shrouded deep. Now it is noon; in the hush prevailing Pipes, harps and horns into flute-notes fall; The sea, conceding my star’s true leading, In tongues sublime at the end of all Gives resonant utterance far and near:“Cast away fear; Be of good cheer; He is here, Is here!”[135]

Having laid out some of the groundwork for understanding the concept of the Aeons, as passages of time and of the soul’s experience, we will now look more particularly at the next Aeon – the Aeon of Maat – to discern what awaits us further along our journey.

Exercise: The Unfinished Universe

Whilst the praxis and techne work in the Neophyte grade of the Crucible Club are most definitely inwardfocused, we also look outwards to the universe in our theoria assignments. In particular, we contemplate the notion of time, and share here one such practice outside the Club. The representation of time is so fundamental to our experience that it is no surprise it features in our magical work almost from the first practice. We attend to a daily practice at a particular time sometimes that practice is to make observations of the Sun, a fundamental marker of time itself. Whilst later work begins to question the other two aspects of the triad of our being – namely self-image, and values and beliefs - we should begin early to question our notion of time. In fact, the successful working of a ritual or divination will have already questioned the basic understanding of how time works, and how events are actually interrelated. We saw with Plato’s conceptualisation of time, that we see a ‘like-ness’ or image of time, spatially moving, in accord with number. Our mind perceives time in terms of space. We talk of looking forwards to a brighter future, or putting the past behind us. It is more interesting too that time – as spatially represented – has what are called modalities or qualities (in NLP), and that these can be changed in our mind. Whilst the future may look dim or it may be bright – these are qualities that are only representations, they are not reality. The most significant modality of space is movement. Here is an exercise: Sit for a moment. Notice that at the present moment, you are present. So is the room. Everything you can sense is here with you now. So is outside. You can extend this outwards in your imagination – the Moon is here with you now, in this present moment, a physical object out there in space. So is the Sun and all the planets, and the galaxy in which we are located and all the galaxies that exist out into the deep field of space. Now consider this, as a moment passes. Where did they all go? As they existed in that space – where are they now? Consider this for a few moments. Start to think about a minute from now. There are things in that space of that minute ahead that exist, will exist, with you in that moment ahead. Now wait for that moment to arrive and acknowledge that you are there, present with those things. Now do the same, but this time, as you wait, consider – and check – this one fact ... do you feel/sense that moment ahead moving towards you as you wait, or are you moving towards it? This simple sensation – this unconscious representation – is almost so fundamental to our sense of reality that it goes unremarked, to my knowledge. And yet it is so powerful when you change it. Whatever way you perceive it automatically (and in my experience, it’s about 50/50 for most people I’ve checked this with), try taking a few moments each day imagining that it is the other way and see how that changes you. You may also be surprised how it filters out into other changes in your behaviour and even actions over the course of a month practising it.

Manifestations of Maat It is evident that Crowley developed his teaching of the Aeons from both Lévi (who took it from Joachim of Fiore) and the Golden Dawn. In fact, in a Golden Dawn original manuscript of The Last Judgement tarot card, we see these Aeonic deities being labelled clearly – which would have no doubt impacted upon Crowley as a young man entering the Order.[136] We will extend this into looking specifically at the Aeon of Maat, and the concept of Maat as it was presented through the Golden Dawn. We will then look at Crowley’s few references to Maat, and her revival in the work of contemporary magicians such as Maggie Ingalls (Soror Nema).

Maat in Ancient Egyptian Cosmology The Goddess Maat, sometimes described as the counterpart of Thoth (God of Scribes and Knowledge), had as her hieroglyph a symbol which represented the straightness of a plinth supporting a throne. From the earliest texts mentioning Maat, where the word is used to denote a concept rather than a personification, the ideas of straightness, uprightness and justness predominated, in the context of morality and natural justice. The goddess Maat is hence a personification of this idea of universal balance. The plinth which is her hieroglyph is also seen as the primeval mound from which the Creator-God emerged, thus indicating that balance pre-existed creation in some manner. Maat, according to Wallis Budge, assisted the Creator-God in the work which was ordered by Thoth, the divine intelligence. In Chapter XV of the Book of Coming Forth by Day, Maat is described as “everlasting and never-changing,” and in symbolic terms, she and Thoth set the course of the Solar Boat of Ra, which is in turn piloted by Horus, Ra’s son. Sometimes Thoth is described as setting forth the boat in the east, whilst Maat receives it in the west; in other texts they both stand either side of Horus on the ‘Holy Barque’ itself. This information may be suitably embodied in rituals and workings of Maat, and can also be used to demonstrate the progression of the Aeons.

Maat’s emblem is the ostrich feather, against which the heart of the deceased is weighed in the Judgement Scene. Cirlot notes that as a determinative sign in hieroglyphic script, the feather enters into such words as ‘emptiness’, ‘dryness’, ‘lightness’, ‘height’, and ‘flight’.[137] The feather as a quill is taken as a symbol of the creative word, which in Ancient Egyptian cosmology was uttered by Thoth, and in Christian terms is the Logos. Often other gods or goddesses were depicted as holding the feather, to symbolise their adherence to Maat. In later texts, Maat was seen as the daughter of Ra, the solar god. Often she, as a feather, was presented to ‘them that love her’, or, as in the Vignette of Chapter XCVII, presented to a god by the deceased, or by another god on behalf of the deceased. This again was in order to represent the petitioner’s adherence to Maat.

Maat in the context of the Golden Dawn Magical Society Maat, as the Goddess of Truth, appears in the rituals of the Golden Dawn. The founders of the Order utilised many aspects of Egyptian cosmology in their teachings and rites from 1888 onwards, although Egyptology as a science was still in its infancy – the great find of Tut-ankhamen’s tomb did not occur until 1922, for example.[138] The Hall of the Neophytes is called (in the Golden Dawn docu- ment Z1), the “Hall of the Dual Manifestation of Truth,” which is a variation on the original translation of “The Hall of Two Truths.” It is here, then, that the Goddess Maat presides, with particular focus through the role of the Hegemon, who is the “presider of equilibrium,” and “reconciler between the light and the darkness.” It is also stated directly that the Hegemon is the “representative of the Goddess of Truth and Justice,” in the form of the name Thmaa-Est. During the initiation ritual itself, the Hegemon – whose name means ‘leader’ – acts as a guide, prompter and answerer for the candidate, and the office is described as being analogous to the higher soul of the candidate. The late Israel Regardie wrote, “the aspiring, sensitive, and the intuitive consciousness, the Neschamah, is represented by the Hegemon who ever seeks the rising of the light.” The Hegemon also carries a sceptre which is a symbol of religion, but not the religion of the masses – rather the religion of one who seeks to align himself to Maat.

This idea of ‘two truths’ can be explained as follows. In Z2, Thoth is invoked as the archetype of the initiation process, and Maat is seen as the expression of that truth in one’s outward dealing with the world. As Soror Nema states, “Magickal Currents and Formulae express the various facets of the eternal truth – each true in its purity, but none encompassing all facets. The whole of truth may be comprehended only when one has transcended particular formulae in one’s world-view ... the eternal truth must be spoken anew for each generation.” Thus, the Ordo Rosae Rubae et Aureae Crucis (‘Order of the Red Rose and Gold Cross’), whilst using essentially the same symbolism as their outer order, the Golden Dawn, would have seen its significance from a substantially different viewpoint. It is here that we can also identify the difference between mysticism and religion – the goal of all mysticism is the magical grade of Ipsissimus; the goal of all religion is to convey that mystical truth in a more tangible form suitable to the time. The ‘word’ of the Maat current is IPSOS (‘self ’), which conveys the idea of a progressive union at an individual level between the paths of religion and mysticism – which all too often are seen as disparate and antagonistic concepts.

Maat and the Aeons Although the word Aeon has many meanings, it is here used to denote the periods of time and types of magical current designated by Aleister Crowley in the early part of the 20th century. This system divides history into approximately 2,000 year blocks. These blocks are assigned the names of Egyptian gods and goddesses which relate to the general magical approaches taken during that time. For example, the Aeon of Isis was matriarchal and based in agriculture, whereas the Aeon of Osiris which followed has been dominated by a number of father gods. Crowley predicted, through his reception of The Book of the Law in 1904, that an Aeon of Horus was starting, which would be the age of the “crowned and conquering child.” This age would be preceded by a phase of destruction and war, and the old concepts of previous generations would be entirely overturned: “... the rituals of the old time are black.”[139] Horus is, like Mars, a God of War and Vengeance, and this was seen by Crowley as fitting for an Aeon of the “Law of the Battle of Conquest.” Crowley made only a few mentions of the Aeon following Horus, for example in a diary entry of 1923, where he refers to a “wordless Aeon,” and in a commentary to The Book of the Law where he states that an Aeon of Maat would follow that of Horus.

However, in 1936 Crowley wrote a letter to Charles Stanfield Jones, a magical student known as Frater Achad, where he admitted the possibility of an Aeon of Maat arriving simultaneously with the Aeon of Horus. It is Frater Achad who first claimed that the Aeon of the Daughter commenced in 1948, and would run parallel to the Aeon of Horus. This is known as the ‘twin current’. He explained this apparent overlap by viewing the cycles of time as running in spirals, so each Aeon runs above and below the others at any given time. However, it was not until the publication of Outside the Circles of Time by Kenneth Grant (1924-2011), another of Crowley’s students, that the idea began to receive wider attention.[140] Indeed, Grant, when writing the earlier Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God (1973), makes no mention of this view – see the chapter, ‘The Angel and the Aeon’ – but saw the Aeon of Maat as an age of synthesis and reintegration following the age of analysis and disintegration presided over by Horus.[141] By 1980, though, in Outside the Circles of Time, the case was being made for a ‘double current’. Although this book is convoluted and obscured by difficult concepts such as the ‘dark side’ of the Tree of Life, and the gematria of the qlippoth, it does serve as a vehicle for the work of Soror Nema, who at that time was a member of the O.T.O. working in the United States. Before moving onto more recent approaches, Aeons then can be summarised as the manifestation of characteristics portrayed by Egyptian deities, and while these archetypal forces are active at all times in human development – past, present or future – at sometimes one or more will predominate either as a reflection of human development at that point, or as a potential avenue for further development.

Soror Nema and Maat Magic On 14 January 1975, Soror Nema (then known as Soror Andahadna) received – in much the same way that Crowley received The Book of the Law – a text entitled Liber Pennae Praenumbra, or The Book of the forthshadowing of the Feather. She writes, “As I began an entry in my diary, Liber PP began writing itself non-stop.” Later, she received what she calls “an unquestionable directive” to forward a copy of Liber PP to Kenneth Grant, with whom she had not previously had contact. Further work led to much of the material found in Outside the Circles of Time, which makes the plea that humankind awakens to Maat through an evolutionary crisis point, ensuring the manifestation of N’aton, a being composed of our global consciousness. [142] This move to a new, racial consciousness is one of the central themes of Maat magic.[143] The social structure of humanity is presented as taking on a new form, bearing similarity with hives, where local communities work together in a self-sustaining framework. This has since been developed to take advantage of network paradigms, and the Internet itself can be seen as such a movement towards global awareness and mutual ‘telempathic’ union. An earlier precedent can be found in the alchemical writings of Sendivogius, talking of the coming of a “fourth age” when “mercy and truth will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from heaven. There will be one shepherd and one fold, and knowledge will be the common property of all without envy. I look forward to all this with longing.”[144]

Meshikan is the name given by Soror Nema to the single city which ‘travels’ in her vision of the future. This is examined in more detail later, but Nema sees that “It [the future species] consists of a planetful of individuals who participate in a gestalt-consciousness which expresses a super-persona, whose name was given as N’Aton.”[145] Of Meshikan, she writes: “Individuals dwell in small enclaves, or Hives, whose populations range from a few hundred to about a thousand. There is but one true city on the planet, Meshikan. It is mounted upon a platform and travels from continent to continent. Its function is to serve as the administrative and archival centre of the Race. In our time, there is no desire to crowd together in cities. We are en-rapport through individual participation in the gestalt. The Hive Temple functions as a centre for religious gathering, artistic display (as a museum/theatre of creative and performing arts), and other local administrative functions.”[146] The name Meshikan may also have a Biblical source: “the second half of the book of Exodus is devoted to a description of the Mishkan. The English translation of this word, ‘tabernacle’, is somewhat archaic and hardly serves to convey a clear meaning, so I will use the Hebrew. ‘Mishkan’ derives from a root meaning ‘to dwell’. It was the focus of spiritual life which enabled God’s presence to dwell amongst the children of Israel in the wilderness, and it became the pattern on which the Temple in Jerusalem was later built. The Mishkan was the transportable tent of meeting between God and the Children of Israel.”[147] This vision is not unique; a member of a group called the Illuminated Congregation of Melchizedek (ICOM) wrote that in the early 1970s he had a series of vivid and related visions and dreams, one of which matches Nema’s description rather perfectly:

In another vision I was a teenager living in France, in a small village, and one day something special happened ... There was a buzz of excitement in the village. The Floating City was coming! I knew this was my opportunity; I was stifled by the village atmosphere and, although I didn’t want to stay on the Floating City, I knew that, if I could get aboard, I would be able to find out about – whatever it was that I was looking for! I did get aboard – but I snapped out of the vision before anything else became clear. There was a lot of other stuff, but it was more emotions and ‘background knowledge’ than events I can describe. While these things were happening to me, my ‘future self ’ was taking stuff for granted that, after I ‘came to’ were incomprehensible. Anyway, I was left with a pile of stuff, that seemed to be clearly about the future, and was coherent in itself, but bore no clear relation to anything that I had read or had been thinking about. I had read a lot of Science Fiction, but even where similar things had happened in books, this had a different quality about it – less real than my ordinary life, but much more real than anything I had imagined while reading – and the whole didn’t fit into any single idea that I had read about. The ‘Floating City’ had no conceivable ancestors except in Gulliver’s Travels – but it wasn’t like my mental image from that book. I didn’t know what to do with the impressions and images, but I couldn’t forget about them, so I just stored them in my head and got on with my life.”[148]

An early article by Soror Nema stressed that “on the individual level, Maat magic is a philosophy of self-discovery through meditation, ritual, experimentation, art and communication. The principles of Maat can and should be applied to every act, from the most rare and exalted to the most mundane.”

Maat Magic Today Maat magic is still developing. Soror Nema published two books, Maat Magic: A Guide to Self-Initiation and The Way of Mystery, in 2003. A number of books have been written that echo the Maat philosophy of social change based upon magical principles. The work covers such authors as the Christian philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin, and futurologists such as Alvin Toffler and Barbara Hubbard. The world of science fiction is also a rich seam, beginning with A.C. Clark’s Childhood’s End. So we can see that from the magical perspective we rise above immediate fads and attachments in contemplation of the movement of humanity through vast Aeons of time. Whether these are characterized by signs of the zodiac, Egyptian deities or plants of the field and garden is useful but secondary. The primary purpose for dwelling and developing these models is to make a state-change in ourselves to put ourselves in the true perspective – that we are here for such a brief moment, and whilst the Aeons pass, every second counts. We will now look at applying the Aeons to real life events at a political level. It is useful to apply the concept of Aeons and their nature to all largescale cultural, artistic, political, and scientific events to see them in a larger perspective and ourselves in a true one in time. We will also introduce and develop the concept of ‘magical currents’.

Whilst Crowley saw the passage of the Aeon of Osiris (the Christian and patriarchal God, the central concepts of sin, sacrifice and salvation) into the Aeon of Horus, he also briefly admitted the possibility of seeing ahead into the Aeon of Maat. It was Crowley’s students and followers, notably Charles Stansfield Jones (Frater Achad) who took this idea and developed it further. In fact, Jones claimed to be the prophet of the incoming Aeon of Maat, and other contemporary writers as we have described, such as Soror Nema, have claimed to be in receipt of ‘communication’ from the future Aeon.[149] These are referred to as magical ‘currents’, both incoming and outgoing, like tides or waves of general change or consensus bound together by common themes, such as the warrior nature of Horus. Some esotericists also believe that the Aeons are ‘parallel’ or ‘dual’ or even multidimensional so that they all exist – in a sense – at the same time. The idea of the ‘dual current’ of Horus and Maat is one that we will apply. On a basic level, the primary difference between the nature of Horus and Maat is that Horus refers to the individual and Maat to the group. Horus is seen as a warrior – fighting for the individual right and even revenge, and Maat is seen as the whole, the measure, by which all stand and are judged. The energy or current of Horus is to be found in both the entrepreneur but also the dictator. The current of Maat is to be found in both the United Nations and crowd hysteria. The development of the Internet is a typical product of the overlap of both currents.[150] You may wish to explore the ancient Egyptian concepts of both Horus and Maat before proceeding to the exercise below.

Exercise: Barack Obama’s Inaugural Speech We will now look at the first half of President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech, given on 20 January 2009. You may wish to go through this text with two different coloured highlighter pens, highlighting aspects of the speech that you might consider to be pertaining to the Aeon of Horus and, in another colour, those pertaining to the Aeon of Maat. In both cases you may find both positive and negative aspects of these currents being addressed. For example, the Aeon of Horus may contain the references to strong individualism, but also singular dictators. My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents. So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land – a nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America – they will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted – for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things – some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom. For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and ploughed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished.

But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions – that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act – not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the Sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do. Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions – who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

The Tree of Life and Kabbalah It is necessary before we commence a description of the initiatory schema to introduce the Tree of Life and kabbalah. As these are the most useful maps of the schema, some knowledge is required for their appreciation. It is not necessary – nor likely – to fully understand kabbalah, which in itself is a lifetime study, even under the tutelage of authentic teachers and scholars, for our work here. It is one of several ways to hold together our thinking and map our experience throughout the initiatory work, and the one we chose to present here first as the most useful. The kabbalah (a Hebrew word meaning ‘handed down’ or ‘oral tradition’) is the term used to denote a general set of esoteric or mystical teachings originally held within Judaism, but later promulgated to a wider audience in the 12th century onwards through centres of learning such as Spain. It consists of a body of teachings and analysis dealing with the nature of the universe, the aspects of divinity and the method of Creation. From this set of teachings is derived the role of man in the revealed scheme of things. The Tree of Life is a common diagram (in variant formats) illustrating the central concepts of kabbalah.

The history of the kabbalah is difficult to fix to dates and linear sequences of succession due to its nature as oral, traditional teachings. Long before printing presses, the kabbalistic teachings were passed from teacher to pupil as oral teachings and collections of manuscripts, which in turn may have been copies of other sets being used by other teachers. The original impulse of kabbalah, however, emerged from a 1st century school of Jewish mysticism termed ‘Merkabah’, meaning ‘chariot’. These mystics utilised secret methods of ‘spiritual ascent’ in order to attain mystical experience. These experiences can be recognised as those common to any modern Adept following the occult initiatory system. For example: “the world changed into purity around me, and my heart felt as if I had entered a new world.” The teachings of the Merkabah mystics became part of the ‘Heikhalot’ school, whose name means ‘palace’, referring to the spiritual planes through which the mystics ascended. The description of these journeys seems to bear similarities to the journey of the soul into the Underworld depicted in the Egyptian Book of Coming Forth by Day, with magical words or appropriate names of the gods to be spoken before each door is passed and each palace entered. Three classical texts formulate the basic structure of traditional kabbalah: The Sefer-ha-Zohar, or Book of Splendour – first printed 1558- 1560 and 1559-1560; The Sefer Yetzirah, or Book of Formation – first printed in Mantua, 1562; The Sefer-ha-Bahir, or Book of Light – first printed in Amsterdam, 1651.

The Zohar was written around 1280-86 by Moses b. Shem Tov de Leon in Guadalajara, north-east of Madrid, Spain, where there was a lot of kabbalistic activity at the time. Many of the later kabbalistic schools are formed about these books, finding in them interpretation and meanings revealing the work of God and Creation. The school formed at Safed during the 16th century produced many of the leading thinkers of kabbalah, particularly Rabbi Isaac Luria, called the Ari (1534-1572), and Rabbi Moshe Cordevero, the Ramak (15221570). The former is responsible for much of the current structure and cosmology of kabbalah, as the ‘Lurianic’ school of thought provided answers to many of the more complex issues of kabbalistic thought, particularly relating to the ‘breaking of the vessels’. The next major historical development of kabbalah came with the formation of the Hasidic movement in the mid-1700s, based around the Rabbi Israel, more commonly known as the Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760), which means ‘master of the word’, a high mark of respect in kabbalism. Having briefly examined the development of kabbalah within the Judaic mystical tradition, we must now attempt to sketch some of the significant points at which it passed through to the occult tradition, particularly in Europe, and thence to the modern magician.

The kabbalah and its teachings passed across into the magical philosophy primarily by transition through medieval Christian thinkers who saw in kabbalah a model and validation for their own tradition. From the late 15th century Jewish converts to Christianity brought kabbalistic views to the attention of other theologians. A Platonic Academy in Florence, founded by Giovanni Mirandola (1463-1494), furthered research and discussion of kabbalah amongst the philosophers of the time. The later (1516) publication of the Shaarey Orah ‘Gates of Light’ in Latin – brought further interest in the teachings of the Bahir and the fundamental plan of the Tree of Life. The prime source for the precursors of the occult revival were without question Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680), a German Jesuit whose Oedipus Ægyptiacus (1652) detailed kabbalah amongst its study of Egyptian mysteries and hieroglyphics, and Cornelius Agrippa’s De Occulta Philosophia (1533). Other works, such as those from alchemists including Khunrath, Fludd and Vaughan indicated that the kabbalah had become the convenient meta-map for early Hermetic thinkers. Christian mystics began to utilise its structure for an explanation of their revelations, the most notable being Jacob Boehme (1575-1624). However, the most notable event in terms of our line of examination is undoubtedly the publication of Christian Knorr von Rosenroth’s (1636-89) Kabbala Denudata in Latin in 1677 and 1684, which provided translations from The Zohar and extracts from the works of Issac Luria.

It was this work which, when translated into English by S.L. MacGregor Mathers (1854-1918) in 1887 as The Kabbalah Unveiled, alongside already existing translations of The Sepher Yetzirah, provided the kabbalistic backbone of the Golden Dawn Society, from which issued many of the more recent occult kabbalists, such as Dion Fortune (1891-1946) – who summarised the sephiroth in her Mystical Kabbalah (1935) – and Aleister Crowley (1898-1947). The Christian occultist and Golden Dawn member A.E. Waite also produced many works examining the secret tradition of kabbalah. Of these occultists, Gershom Scholem says that they relied more upon their imagination than their knowledge of kabbalah, which he sees as ‘infinitesimal’. Another stream stemming from von Rosenroth’s work came through Eliphas Lévi (1810-75), who became familiar with cabalistic Martinism through Józef Maria Hoene-Wroński (1776-1853), and had read both Boehme and von Rosenroth amongst many others. He also became a student of tarot through the writings of Antoine Court de Gébelin (1725-84), who ascribed to the tarot an ancient Egyptian origin. From de Gébelin and von Rosenroth, Lévi synthesised a scheme of attribution of the tarot cards to the 22 paths of the Tree of Life, a significant development in that it provided a synthetic model of processes to be later modified and used by the Golden Dawn as mapping the initiation system of psychological, occult and spiritual development. Lévi wrote: “Qabalah ... might be called the mathematics of human thought.” Aleister Crowley continued Lévi’s work to some extent in his seminal work on the tarot, The Book of Thoth.

In summary, the kabbalah passed from Judaic tradition through to Christian tradition, and through other flowerings such as the Polish Jewry kabbalistic revival in the 18th century. Many of the early Hermetic scholars and Neo-Platonic thinkers began to merge kabbalah with other doctrines such as alchemy, and later occultists utilised it as a grand plan of spiritual ascent, bringing it full circle to its origins in the chariot riding of the mystics from which the tradition stemmed. It is said by traditional kabbalists and kabbalistic scholars that the occultist has an imperfect knowledge of the Tree, and hence the work of such is corrupt. It appears to me that the kabbalah is a basic device whose keys are infinite, and that any serious approach to its basic meta- system will reveal some relevance if tested in the world about us, no matter how it may be phrased. The first kabbalists cannot be said to have had an imperfect knowledge because they did not understand or utilise information systems theory or understand modern cosmology. Indeed, their examination of themselves and the universe revealed such knowledge many hundreds of years before science formalised it, in the same way that current occult thinking may be rediscovered in some new science 100 or 1,000 years hence. The body of teaching has various traditions and groupings of belief, but most hold as their central model a diagram generally composed of 10 circles joined by 22 lines, entitled the Otz Ch’im or ‘Tree of Life’.

These circles represent the 10 concepts called ‘sephiroth’, a Hebrew word meaning ‘numerical emanations’, and are said to represent every aspect of existence. The lines connecting the sephiroth are termed ‘paths’ and are taken to represent the nature of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which – unlike the letters of English and similar languages – are also concepts and numbers equally. The sephiroth are also seen as paths, and hence the full Tree has 32 paths. To this basic diagram have been attributed various other systems and attributions of elements from other systems. Therefore, the 22 tarot cards have been linked (in various formats) to the paths, the planets, elements, stages of alchemy, and other aspects of esoteric teachings have been linked to the sephiroth. The majority of these attributions are derivations and permutations of those developed by medieval Hermeticists, who painstakingly produced pseudo-scientific tables of every angelic hierarchy, every grade of demon and even the occult connections between rocks and stars. The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer (1801) of Francis Barrett[151] is an example of these tables of correspondence and the occult dictionary 777 by Crowley[152] provides a synopsis of the major systems of magical correspondence (i.e. deities, zodiacal signs, planets, perfumes, colours, numbers, mythical animals, etc.). Such tables were also to be found as early as 1533 in Book II of Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy.[153]

[ILLUS. Tree of Life]

Rather than examining any of these many elements in detail, we will sketch a number of basic concepts that apply throughout any examination of the multiple facets of this meta-system, specifically where recent advances in information technology and related systems have provided new conceptual models and terms for utilising this highly advanced esoteric and mystical framework.

One of the prime tenets of occult belief is the law of correspondence, or ‘like affects like’. This states that due to the inherent unity of all things, certain items and concepts have a type of mutual sympathy, association or relationship. A primal application of this law is seen in the action of the witchdoctor or sorcerer who gains an item belonging to that of the individual he wishes to influence, be it for healing or cursing, or with or without the individual’s knowledge.

[ILLUS. Tree of Life with transliterated Hebrew Letters]

Other more esoteric correspondences are seen across sets of items, for example, numbers, planets, scents, and colours. An example is that the colour green, the number seven and the emotion of love are associated with each and the planet Venus, also viewed as the Greek Goddess of Love. A magician attempting to invoke the influence of this goddess is likely to surround himself with items which resonate with her. This occult idea has a psychological parallel in colour theory, which has demonstrated that certain colours produce changes in our internal physical and psychological states. A biological theory of morphic resonance has recently been postulated as detailing a non-local field which determines the manifestation of living things, and this relies upon a similar basic view of occult interconnectiveness.[154] Although many traditional kabbalists abhor magical systems of correspondence, it is evident that early kabbalists utilised this law in apportioning letters of the Hebrew alphabet to certain aspects of God.

THE INITIATORY JOURNEY “We are in the best possible position because everywhere, below the surface, we do not know; we shall never know why; we shall never know tomorrow; we shall never know a god or if there is a god; we shall never even know ourselves. This mysterious wall round our world and our perception of it is not there to frustrate us but to train us back to the now, to life, to our time being.”[155] — John Fowles, The Aristos

In this section we will introduce the aim, scale and method of the initiatory journey, some of the processes and practices you will undertake, and the nature of the experiences on the way. Most importantly we will discuss the order of revelation, the necessary structure and the signposts with which we navigate. In doing so, we refer to kabbalah and tarot as our map and language, for it is these systems that provide an illustration and description of the journey in the WEIS, particularly that as taught within the OED.

As with all such information, only experience can enliven you and teach you in this Work. We are each our own crucible and alchemical vessel, and our work must be hermetically sealed (with secrecy and silence) in order to accomplish any substantial progress. Our souls must have no leak at the seams.

The Aim of the Initiatory Journey “Initiation refers to the transformation of man into something greater than he was before, an acquisition of new meaning through the realisation that he is more than dust and shadow.” — Nevill Drury, The Path of the Chameleon[156]

The aim of the journey is simply to experience existence as it actually is, prior to all interpretation, as an ongoing state of awareness. It is the culmination of all forms of enquiry, and is the end of all seeking. This is indicated by the god-name which is attributed to the highest sephirah on the Tree of Life, Kether, which is Eheih, meaning ‘I am that I am’ or ‘Existence is Existence’. Crowley put the nature of this experience in his most succinct manner in The Book of the Law: Remember all ye that existence is pure joy; that all the sorrows are but as shadows; they pass and are done; but there is that which remains. (II.9) The experience of this state is best depicted in the late Da Free John’s short piece, ‘The Man of Understanding’. He writes:

The man of understanding is not entranced. He is not elsewhere. He is not having an experience. He is not passionless and inoffensive. He is awake. He is present. He knows no obstruction in the form of mind, identity, differentiation and desire. He uses mind, identity, differentiation and desire. He is passionate. His quality is an offense to those who are entranced, elsewhere, contained in the mechanics of experience, asleep, living as various forms of identity, separation and dependence. He is acceptable only to those who understand. He may appear no different from any other man. How could he appear otherwise? There is nothing by which to appear except the qualities of life ...[157] The accomplishment of this aim – which is also called samadhi, the utmost experience of reality, the knowing of truth, or oneness with the divine – is not the ephemeral experience brought about by peak experiences, drugs or numinous events and epiphanies occurring in life (although these may foreshadow the accomplishment itself). Again, Crowley warns, in his writing on the tarot card of The High Priestess, that: It is important for high initiation to regard Light not as the perfect manifestation of the Eternal Spirit, but rather as the veil which hides that Spirit.[158] Whilst his footnote to this point references ‘Hindu mysticism’ as also stating “[t]he final obstacle to full enlightenment is exactly this vision of Formless Effulgence,” there are parallels earlier in the Western Hermetic tradition:

Thence the human being rushes up through the cosmic framework, at the first zone surrendering the energy of increase and decrease; at the second evil machination, a device now inactive; at the third the illusion of longing, now inactive; at the fourth the ruler’s arrogance, now freed of excess; at the fifth unholy presumption and daring recklessness; at the sixth the evil impulses that come from wealth, now inactive; and the seventh zone the deceit that lies in ambush.[159] Here we see a clear depiction of a way of exhaustion; as each zone or grade is attained, the psychic devices of the ‘earthborn man’ (‘child of earth’ in the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation) are disabled, in order that the next grade can be attained, and ultimately entry into the ‘Ogdoadic region’ is attained. The aim of the journey is enlightenment, but there are many grades in that spectrum of light.

The Scale of the Journey

Vignette: Frater Ash’s Money Spell When Frater Ash had first started his occult practice at the age of 16, he used a spell from a somewhat tawdry book called Winning With Witchcraft.[160] This was one of the first practical books he had purchased, and it contained a money spell in which the reader was asked to wave a silver coin at the Moon and chant something like “money, money come to me ...” or similar. Frater Ash duly took a 5p coin and shook it that night at the Moon, chanting very earnestly. The following morning at breakfast, his father said to him, “You know, last night when I was out, taking your grandfather to his meeting, he gave me this £5 note for the travel. I said I wouldn’t take it but he insisted. Here, you have it.” And the thing that went through the young spellcasters head was not “It worked!” but rather, “What would have happened if I had waved a 10p coin?”

The journey is the task of your lifetime and has no set periods of time, although some stages are more predictable than others as to their likely duration. Some stages are dependent upon your background and others depend on grace. We will see that the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn offered grades to students within several months of the preceding grade, although placed a nine-month minimum on the Portal grade – a significant grade between the Outer and Inner Order. In practice, it is my experience that in most cases, several years may be required between grades. In a work of this scope, the normal process of ageing is a key component of the spiritual work. The everyday experience of life provides more opportunities to learn and grow in wisdom and understanding (on the Tree of Life: Malkuth, experience; Chockmah, wisdom; Binah, understanding), and growth comes from this constant teaching. The contemporary mystic Bernadette Roberts, in her Experience of No-Self and Path to No-Self, writes of the mystical path being undertaken naturally as we age, if we are open to it.[161] Inevitably, physical birth is a primary initiation, and death a sacrifice of the self. We have no choice in this matter. The patience required to make progress is phenomenal and this is in part why the first grades are extremely slow and require discipline and dedication. To some extent, these train the faith of the candidate. We must remember that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. One of my teachers once said, “Hope is waiting for the bus because you are at a bus station and have read the bus timetable. Faith is getting on the bus.”

The Method of the System Gradibus ascendimus, ‘ascending by degree’. The method of the initiatory system is both synthetic and analytic, in constant application. It brings ideas and experiences together and it breaks them apart, repeating and recycling. This is indicated by the lower paths of the Tree of Life, corresponding to the tarot trumps The Last Judgement (analysis and action), The Universe/The World (synthesis) and The Moon (cyclic patterns). This is the secret formula known as Quesheth, ‘the Rainbow’, in the teachings of the Order of the Golden Dawn, based upon the corresponding three Hebrew letters of Qoph (The Moon), Shin (The Last Judgement) and Tau (The Universe/The World) spelling the Hebrew word for bridge or rainbow. The founders of the Golden Dawn said that this was one of their most important secrets, although they never indicated exactly why it was so. As a result of this approach, the method of the system is one of exhaustion. I term it a via exhaustio, a “’way of exhaustion’. It is not a straight and direct path, but more of a labyrinth with many turns, unclear journeys and returns. On the positive side, it often has sudden revelations, experiences of being closer to the centre even when not, and the knowledge of those who are returning from dead ends to assist you towards not wasting your own time. The initiatory experience is best mapped by the revolutionary conceptual model of Catastrophe Theory, first brought to the initiatory scheme by Pete Carroll in Psychonaut.[162] This shows how the ‘slopes of stability’ can suddenly (yet predictably) be breached by total collapse and state-change. [163]

In the tarot, The Hierophant and The Hanged Man are the most appropriate cards for depicting the method; the former, a revealer of the sacred mysteries, and the latter, the sacrifice that must be made in order to receive those mysteries. One is the teacher, who must interface with the divine and maintain position as a bridge, the other is the candidate or initiate, whose world must be turned upside down.

Practices of the Curriculum The practices of the curriculum vary from order to order and individual to individual. They may be given in order or simultaneously, and some may be seen as mandatory and some optional. The very nature of the grades means that some practices may have different impact dependent upon the timing of the practice within the initiatory journey. It is this latter fact that means that the curriculum remains secret even if every part of it is made available. There are basic ritual practices, such as the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and more complex versions such as the Ritual of the Hexagram. Without understanding correspondence – truly the greatest and yet most obvious secret of the WEIS – these rituals are merely empty formulations and activities. Yet without ritual, the learning of correspondences becomes mental drivel, and worse, becomes a driver away from the simple truth, not towards it. There are observations, such as that of the Sun, Liber Resh (or the Hymnodia, the Hermetic version adopted by the Aurum Solis Order) and of the Moon, Liber Lunae. There are also meditative and constant practices to be observed at various times, such as the Liber Jugorum practice, which is a form of yoga applied to the body, mind and habits. These practices build cumulatively. They build mainly in the lower grades to fit the person to perform the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, the six month working which (by grace) accomplishes the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA). At that point, and thereafter – if the preliminary work has been performed the curriculum becomes self-evident.

Syllabus of Study The books and reading material for the WEIS are drawn from a range of disciplines and some are given in the reading list at the end of this present volume. These have been generally graded by both subject matter and the grades of initiation. However, due to the nature of the curriculum, certain books have not been listed in order to ensure that they are made available at the most appropriate time for the student. Whilst many books (and book learning generally) will provide a flavour of the Work, some are better read whilst experiencing the subject matter, or in some cases as a seed for that experience at a later time. Some books will make no sense at all until long after a particular experience has been assimilated.

Apprenticeship and Teaching The concept of apprenticeship has almost vanished from Western society outside of specialist trades and certain professions. In our educational system, we are taught from the outside in, and the modes of learning are constrained within propositional knowledge and logico-deductive reasoning. We rarely learn how to be creative, intuitive, nor regarding the nature of belief, our place in the world, and the nature of awareness and our relationship to the universe. To find an authentic teacher requires that they be experienced in the journey. A wonderful demonstration of this journey and the role of the teacher (and the outcome) is to be found in the film, The Silent Flute (1978, also known as Circle of Iron). This was co-writtten by martial artist Bruce Lee, drawing upon Taoism, Zen and the teachings of Krishnamurti. Our resistance to a teacher is profound, for we are taught a lack of trust in our own early educational experience. The gifted C.S. Nott, a student of G.I. Gurdjieff, whilst talking about how Gurdjieff ’s teachings would often provoke friction, also writes:

In my childhood, and indeed later on in life, all sorts of persons, from my parents to my superior officers in the army, were constantly telling me what to think, feel and do. Outwardly I accepted their views, inwardly I doubted them: I doubted whether they were speaking from inner conviction due to direct experience. Now I had met a man who, I was convinced, was speaking from his own experience when he pointed out my faults and weaknesses. By his own efforts he had overcome these things, and he fully understood my needs. The older pupils also, when they answered my questions about the system, spoke only from their own direct experience. [164] The roles of teacher and student in the WEIS are complex and mutable. Whilst we have no formal mystery school or guild structure, the OED does operate according to a graduated system of teaching and this is paramount to the success of the Work. The nature of hierarchy and control is moot, in that any self-organising and natural process has an inevitable hierarchy of function.[165]

The Structure of the Tree, Sephiroth and Paths The most important thing to remember on the path of the Adept is that the journey is not simple nor is it linear. The idea of the Fool’s journey in the tarot is a relatively contemporary gloss, and somewhat reductionist when applied to the complexities of life and mystical experiences and progression. There are many people who have had one or more of the many varieties of mystical experience but have not performed particular rites, rituals, practices, or permutations to achieve such results. Sometimes one may try a particular practice and not gain any result, only to return to it sometime later and immediately achieve the goal. The map of progression modelled by the tarot on the Tree of Life is far more flexible and comprehensive for our particular requirements as practitioners of the Western esoteric path. We can use the map for locating ourselves and our experience, for formulating the next steps and for understanding where we have already travelled. This is paramount to a stable and progressive system, and one’s experience. Without a map, we may easily travel in circles or be unable to recognise a landmark as indicating our next route. So the Tree provides an indication of the grades of primary state awareness – the sephiroth – and the paths indicate the lessons that we must learn and the experiences we will encounter. As a predictive model, it also allows us to get a sense of what lies ahead of us, and to navigate towards those signposts.

As an example, we might look at the grade of Practicus on the Tree of Life, corresponding to the sephirah of Hod. This sephirah connects up the Tree to Geburah (via The Hanged Man) and Tiphhareth (via The Devil). It connects across to Netzach (via The Blasted Tower) and down to Yesod (via The Sun) and Malkuth (via The Last Judgement). So we read these cards as certain experiences, challenges and lessons which will correspond to this stage of the Great Work.

Signposts Along the Way Initiatory experiences are profound and incontestable. If you are unsure of the nature of what appears to be such an experience, it is likely that it is not initiatory. Whilst there are many experiences along the way, there are 10 significant signposts that have been identified within the WEIS, in accordance with the map provided by the Tree of Life, attested by experience and in comparison with any who have successfully navigated the journey in part or completion. These signposts are called the grades and relate to significant changes of state, with resultant change of attitude (asana) to the world, relationships and activity. These cascade down into every area of life, provoking change in behaviour and influencing the criteria by which all decisions are made. Often an initiatory experience requires considerable time and effort to be fully integrated into one’s life. Most significantly, these signposts are evident because they cause a fundamental shift in one’s own self-being, and relationship to the universe. They are significant because they lead to an increasingly comprehensive, consistent and congruent perspective – this latter word from the Latin, meaning to ‘see through’. The signposts, arrayed on the Tree of Life, can also be seen and experienced as shifts in dynamic – they are like breathing – we move from active/passive, in/out, self-willed/surrendered in a constant dance up the Tree. The nature of each grade also shifts between self-work and grace, all precisely mapped by the layout of the Tree itself.

In this kabbalistic diagram, we can see intimations of this journey, entirely independent of other common formulations as found in the Golden Dawn or a century earlier in the German Order of the Gold and Rosy Cross. It comes from an illustration in a Syriac Bible, dated around 1555.

[ILLUS. Syriac Bible Tree of Life]

In Malkuth, the grade of Zelator, we see the image of the Grail, the cup, being connected to the Heart of the Christ figure on the cross. This is symbolic of the heart of the Zelator, the enthusiasm being awakened – already from the Tiphareth centre which is also drawn to the same position on the Christ figure. The Golden Dawn stated that the lower grades in a sense “quitteth not Malkuth” and that in Tiphareth, the grades were subdivided into recapitulating each of the lower grades. Here we see that idea in diagrammatic form – indeed, there is a ladder with rungs in the grade of Tiphareth, as we see in this illustration. In Yesod, we see the grade of Theoricus. There is now a figure bearing the weight of the world upon his shoulders. This is the same world that we see below the Tree of Life in the illustration, lit by the fire which has now become the slow burning fire of calcination in the life of the Adept. The Theoricus has realised that the world is their own projection, and must exhaust this state before making any progress. The line is drawn to connect this sephirah to the genitals of the figure, indicating the generative nature of this grade as well as its primary attachment to sexuality. The remaining illustrations will be covered as we progress through describing each grade in their respective volumes. There are many reasons to follow teachings and experiences of the WEIS. The most of all is that even if the world is a material, non-spiritual and ‘entirely as it appears to be’ place, to which the ultimate end for all of us is simply termination, then those of us practising the WEIS will have more fun, more interest, more expansive experiences, higher highs, and lower lows than most. Then we’ll die just like everyone else.

THE CLOUDS ASTONISHED: A HERMETIC AND GNOSTIC UNIVERSE

There are other reasons to follow this path, and it is a path of historic tradition. We sometimes see something other than what appears to be happening in our everyday life – a glimpse of another reality, one infused with spiritual depth and a quality of life that has no equal in mundane experience. Although many shrug off these experiences and return to their normal state, for some of us these moments provide insight into a more desirable world – one in which we truly experience ourselves and Nature in unity and truth.

This experience and seeking is neither new nor ancient; references to such matters occur in the oldest texts of mankind and the latest popular films alike. Let us take an experience where time appears to stand still, and the mind begins to function in an almost godlike manner, transcending everyday experience and effecting superhuman change. We see this in the 1999 film, The Matrix, where the hero, Neo, achieves the ability to stop time and even halt bullets flying through space at the exact moment he accepts the nature of the reality in which he has been imprisoned. We also see this in an ancient Gnostic gospel (more on Gnosticism later) attributed to James: At the hour of the Nativity, as Joseph looked up into the air, ‘I saw’, he says, ‘the clouds astonished, and the fowls of the air stopping in the midst of their flight ... And I beheld the sheep dispersed ... and yet the sheep stood still; and I looked into a river, and saw the kids with their mouths close to the water, and touching it, but they did not drink. These moments lead to fundamental questions: what is real and what is going on? Who and what are you? Why are we here, and what – actually – is here? Where does time come from? Why are we unhappy? What is change and why does it hurt? These questions and all those others are what lead us at last to the Crucible – the place where we test ourselves and our apparent knowledge of the universe in which we have found ourselves. It is our profound wish that you test yourself and make your own historia – enquiry – into the nature of yourself and the universe. To this end we have provided this and subsequent volumes, combining teaching, practice and contemplation in order to assist your enquiry. On the Lo ss an d R e c ov ery of the Soul

We first learn two Greek words, which you will not often find in modern books on esotericism or magick, but which are fundamental to our initiatory tradition: ἀ νάμνησις (anamnesis) and μετάνοια (metanoia). These ideas are a touchstone and foundation to all later work and it is important that we learn them now for later reference as we progress. Anam n e s i s : T h e Loss of F orget f u l n ess of the Soul Anamnesis literally means ‘recollection’. It is a term used by Plato and by the later commentators on Plato, called the Neo-Platonists. In our context here, it signifies that the work in which we are engaged is to bring about a state which we already exist within – not a new state which must be created out of nothing. We aspire to a pre-existing state, not a new one. Therefore our work is one of subtraction, not addition. We do not – and must not – fall into the trap of doing more, thinking more, buying more, for its own sake. We aim to strip away the illusion (seek beyond the Veil of Isis, if you like), not to add more illusions on top of the present one. Thus, all rituals and practices are tools – steps on a ladder – and nothing more. Those who get trapped by their own ego are to be seen discussing the ‘correct’ way of performing rituals, or mired in the minutia of the performance, and never transcend the tool itself, which becomes another trap. Our process is one of exhaustion. We rule out the dead ends and blind alleys, until what is left is the inevitable and easily taken strait and narrow way. As the author Philip K. Dick put it, “The Exit Door Leads In.”[166] Here follows a parable of our intended work in the Crucible.

Parable: The Discovery of Darkness She had lived in this room since her eyes were opened and her voice gave forth words in which the room had found its description. It was a well-lit room, for which she was glad, and she made it so increasingly. There were many sources of light, it seemed, both within her control and not. There were globes that spun lazily out of reach, with their dark green hue and random glimmers; candles whose flames burnt straight as hot spearheads; lanterns and torches; bulbs that beckoned and beacons that bloomed; an array of incandescent shafts that cut through the still air. In such a room she came to be, and made her home. All in avoidance of shadows, which she feared and hated. Oftentimes, should a source of light give up its fragile hold, she would replace it with another. In this manner she came to understand that there could never be enough light in the room; once full, adding further light made no difference. In this there was revelation. And finally, she came to see that the sources of light were never exhausted. So slowly, fearfully, she put out the lights, one by one; some by a mere whisper of breath, and they fluttered out like bright butterflies, others took trials to reach and break. Others required subtle craft and trickery, puzzles in the making and breaking. Yet others went of their own accord, only to return later, renewed and resplendent.

So it came that there was only one solitary light left, one flame burning in the centre (perhaps, it was hard to tell in that final absence of other light) of the darkness. Surely she had made some mistake; the dark and the doubt assailed her. But she had come to a place of no choice; that light would surely not sustain her for long. So she reached out and placed her hand on the flame, killing it before remorse could claim her, or some other sudden emotion. And once that last light was extinguished, it seemed as if her very life had gone with it. In that darkness was seen a light; a crack around a door. A door leading out.

Metanoia: The Recovery of the Soul through Initiation Metanoia literally means ‘changing the mind’. Here it refers to the magical process of initiation – a word which means ‘to begin’. Throughout life, you may glimpse initiatory moments, where insight provides a sense of a new way of looking at the world. Initiations are the fundamental stages – steps and building blocks of magical progress – mapped in our tradition to the Tree of Life. In Christian theology, metanoia is often seen as a form of repentance, and in psychoanalysis it is viewed by Jung as a form of breakdown and recovery in the healing of the psyche.[167] In our context, it is a combination of both these levels, psychological and religious – the process of initiation restores a level of awareness that transcends previous states by being more consistent, comprehensive and congruent to the universe, albeit brought about by a breakdown of the previous psyche and a new viewpoint on the previous state. In each of our grade volumes we will look at an illustration of this process of change, referred to in our system as the ascent narrative. The most present symbol of this process and method is the ladder – which will we see in many forms. However, here we depict the pilgrim reaching out of the known world into the worlds beyond, in a woodcutting dated from around 1888 or earlier, called the Flammarion woodcut.

[ILLUS. The Pilgrim “Peering through the Cosmic Sphere,” from L'atmosphere: Meteorologie Populaire, Paris 1888, Camille Flammarion]

Traditions and Paths The WEIS comprises an evolutionary synthesis of many paths and traditions, some of which are, in turn, mutable and have many variations. This makes it difficult to precisely define what is commonly understood by Western esotericism. Does it include New Age ideas about dolphins and crystals, or Eastern ideas about chakras? Does it involve magic, and if so, what does that term mean? If I am initiated into one group, can I transfer my learning to another group? In the OED, we are not overly concerned with definitions; a broad experience will suffice for a while until we look for clearer signposts. However, we should note that the teachings stem from sources in the Western philosophical and religious systems, even if they were divorced from those systems over time and sidelined out of the mainstream. These systems include those denoted in general by the terms Gnostic (religious), Hermetic (magical) and Neo-Platonic (philosophical). It is in these wide currents of thought that Western esotericism runs, enabling us to form concepts such as ‘many worlds’, ‘initiation’ and ‘hierarchies’, and to make practices such as ‘ritual’, ‘divination’ and ‘visualisation’. We will very briefly point out a few of the concepts drawn from these three systems, which are covered in more detail in following volumes of the Magister.

Gnosticism Although there were no groups actually calling themselves Gnostic, there were a body of sects and groups around the time of Christ which developed an astonishing multitude of philosophies about the world. These systems, later labelled heretical and expunged from Christian belief, represent a more direct path of mystical experience, and have been grouped together as Gnostic on the basis of their stress upon the import of individual salvation through direct knowing – or gnosis. The Western esoteric tradition takes this more Gnostic approach by equally stressing that one must experience the world directly as an exemplar of the hidden reality – the true meaning of occult. Another common Gnostic idea which is shared by many of the variants of the Western esoteric tradition is that the world as it appears is an illusion or is not real. The Gnostics talked of a Demiurge – a ‘creator’ God who created the manifest world as a sin against the ‘true’ unmanifest God. Hence, the world as we live in it is a prison of the soul. This is an ancient idea that has been given a contemporary gloss by authors such as Philip K. Dick and films such as The Matrix.

Neo-Platonism The Neo-Platonic philosophers provide much of the groundwork and structure in which our thoughts in esotericism are placed. As mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947) remarked, we are all, in our Western thinking, “footnotes of Plato.” The doctrines of Neo-Platonism provide us our occult ideas of hierarchies – and hence ‘realms’ (for angels or demons, devas or fairies), correspondence – and hence the rationale of much ritual, and the relationship of the soul to the universe.

Hermeticism The revival of teachings labelled ‘Hermetic’, ascribed to the ancient philosopher Hermes Trismegistus, was seen as so important during the Renaissance that one of the leading scholars was taken off a project translating Greek philosophy to translate the Hermetic writings that had been rediscovered at that time.[168] These writings are compiled in a work called the Hermetica, although the central teachings which have been taken into esoteric teaching are succinctly presented in a brief text called the Emerald Tablet. This work contains the source for the famous line “as above, so below” which appears in alchemical works and then later in most esoteric teachings. We present below the whole text of the Emerald Tablet for your study and contemplation.

The Emerald Tablet We provide below one translation of the Emerald Tablet, a short text which provides a summary of Hermetic teaching. It is an unusual text which has survived and permeated many works, whilst remaining ambiguous. It is certainly a text which should be contemplated rather than studied; reflected upon rather than analysed. If you take up this reflection, you may wish to record your responses in your journal.

The Emerald Tablet True, without falsehood, certain and most true, What is Below is like what is Above; and what is Above is like what is Below; for performing the miracles of the One Thing. And as all things were from the one, by the mediation of the one; so all things were born from this one thing by adaptation. Its Father is the Sun, its Mother is the Moon, the Wind carried it in its belly. Its Nurse is the Earth. It is the father of all the perfection of the whole world. Its power is Absolute. If it is turned into earth, you will separate the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross, smoothly and with great cleverness. It ascends from earth into heaven, and again descends to earth, and receives the power of those things above and those below. In this way you will have the glory of the whole world!

Therefore all obscurity shall flee from you. It is the strong fortitude of all fortitude; because it will overcome every subtle thing and penetrate every solid. In this way the world was created. From it there will be wonderful adaptations, of which this is the method. And so I am called Hermes Trismegistus, having the three parts of the Philosophy of the whole world. What I have said concerning the operation of the Sun is completed. [169]

THE INITIATORY MAP OF THE MAJORS ON THE TWO TREES

In this section we will sketch out the map of the initiatory journey as depicted in its earliest stages of magical progress, and then alternatively from the viewpoint of mystical and spiritual experience. The two maps here are simply two views of the same journey – perhaps the latter is from a higher perspective, yet both provide useful models. They will both be examined in more detail in subsequent volumes, which might be considered 10 further vantage points from which we can pause and view the same landscape.

There are a multiplicity of arrangements of the 22 tarot Major cards and their positions on the 22 paths of the Tree of Life. It can be seen as an ‘ultimate secret’ that there is some ‘true’ or ‘initiated’ arrangement that will explain everything to everyone, an esoteric equivalent to a Grand Unified Field Theory or Theory of Everything. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case – there are as many arrangements of one map to another as one cares to construct. The question is their pattern and their utility; on what relationship are the correspondences created and what purpose do they serve? I covered this briefly in our work on the Waite-Trinick Tarot and wish to return to it here in more detail; presently two maps, one magical (the Golden Dawn arrangement) and one mystical (the Waite-Trinick).[170] The Golden Dawn ‘magical’ model is based upon a relationship of numerical attribution to the Tree of Life, layered with astrological and Hebrew letter correspondences, whereas the Waite-Trinick ‘mystical’ model is based upon correspondences to Waite’s version of Christian mysticism, allied with the kabbalistic mysticism of the Sepher Yetzirah, or Book of Formation. There is a third map I will come to consider – the ‘transcendent’ model – which we detail towards the final volume of The Magister. These maps provide a route plan for life lived according to their principles. As both a map and model they are predictive and can be used to formulate our route more effectively. They are also ‘self-generating’ maps in that our experience becomes a living feature of the map itself, and sometimes the map projects itself in a surreal fashion into our life.[171] Alternate versions of this map may be discovered in a number of works, including Charles Stansfeld Jones (Frater Achad) and William G. Gray, both of whom, amongst many others, have ‘restored’ the correspondences to their own particular mappings.[172]

Each of the three Trees of Life we will describe – the Tree of the Dawn (Golden Dawn/magical), the Tree of the Sanctuary (Fellowship of the Rosy Cross/mystical) and the Tree of Everlasting Day (OED/transcendent) – can be considered the scaffolding which supports the Work of the Worker, and then is dismantled when that work is complete. They provide a framework for the recognition of what is the important signal amongst the noise; that which must not be allowed to become part of the noise itself – for in that moment, all is lost.

The Tree of the Dawn At the portal of the mysteries, we stand in the Outer Courtyard, utterly unknowing of the journey ahead. We do not yet know of our illusionary perception of the world, we know not that what we are will be destroyed, and we have not yet heard the voice in the silence, or seen the Sun at midnight. These vague intimations seem like parables, metaphors, nonsensical or disconnected symbols – we have not even yet taken to believe that they are accurate descriptions of real events that will transpire within our very soul. Indeed, although our soul is constantly communing with the divine, and telling us, ‘it is love and it is true’, we do not yet know it. We are a child of Earth, and the “light shineth in the darkness but the darkness comprehendeth it not.”[173] Ahead of us stand three paths, and they are marked by the tarot symbols of The Last Judgement, The World and The Moon. As we are in the world (and must become ‘not of it’) we tread this path first, seeking the answers to our questions in the mundane and material, in the world of action and activity. At last, we come to exhaust these enquiries, and realise that this way has no end, no possibility for answers at all. The Work of the Zelator is completed by this constant activity and enquiry no matter its content. So we return, and try to renew ourselves; we pretend to be one thing after another – we take on roles and characters inside our heads and in The Last Judgement card we are seen to be reborn. We do stuff. Perhaps, too, we try to look deeply inside ourselves – The Moon path on the other side of the Tree, responding to the pillar of Force, by using every prompt from the outside as a question for our inner nature.

This great triad, corresponding in this Tree to the Hebrew letters QShTh, the Rainbow, generates the Veil (of Paroketh) in its inbalance, and The Blasted Tower (‘revelation’) path in its balance. We think we see, but only through a glass, darkly.[174] We must exhaust the outer and inner enquiries and work before returning to the world – and then we can make progress up that path. It is only in returning to our previous attempts that we can make progress, as nothing is by chance – every moment the door is open. So the grade of Zelator is one of constant enquiry and work, which appears to be constructing something but is rather destroying it; depicted by The Blasted Tower. We can use the map to recognise what is activity, and what is cyclic repetition (habit), and engage in activities that, whilst based in rote learning or repetition, are aligned to the grade. This is why so much early practice is relatively simple and demands constant discipline – we are usurpring the natural state of the Zelator by sneaking in new constructs into the existing patterns and mistaken processing. These constructs can then be utilised to deliver the next stage and then removed from practice.

The Zelator will complain that they are getting nowhere – their patience will be tested, and they will grow restless and bored. They will become frustrated, and this frustration is the very fuel which powers the engine of change, if it is timed correctly by their initiator. We see much in the alchemical process of calcination that depicts this grade.[175] It is recommended in the OED that students work with the Tree of the Dawn for several years, establishing its patterns in their awareness, so that when later experiences at the Adept grade upturn this model, the Tree of the Sanctuary opens itself up. In re-learning a new system of correspondences at that stage, the initiate maintains some congruency with their experience, without being lost. The maps relate to real (albeit magical or mystical) experience and their utility is not without cause.

The Tre e of the Sanctuary In what we here call the mystical Tree of the Sanctuary, originally developed by A.E. Waite for his Fellowship of the Rosy Cross (FRC), we see an alternate pattern of correspondences. Here the three lower paths are illustrated by The Tower, The World (as per the Tree of the Dawn) and The Star. In the mystical perspective, our journey is accompanied by the presence of the Shekinah, a term for the presence of God, usually denoted as feminine. Whilst this presence has no form, it is depicted here as the woman – and elsewhere in the Waite-Trinick Tarot images. The World is the feminine expression of the divine, to which is our primary relationship. In a sense, this path is that of the place of paganism in our system. Whilst appearing at the commencement of our journey, it is never relegated, constantly reminding us of our relationship to Nature herself as an exemplar of the divine. It is the relationship that supports the whole of the Tree of the Sanctuary. The path of The Tower shows that we realise we have built an entirely false construct to this point, as we step from the magical way to the mystical appreciation. The lightning flash destroys our attachments; our three false selves (sense of self, sense of other, sense of relationship) are removed from their pinnacle, and replaced with a new vision. That vision is depicted by The Star, whose waters bring the divine to Earth. In her light we now tread, using the ‘one star in sight’ as our primary beacon, guide, navigation, and measure. There becomes nothing else in life other than the service of this light.

These are the three images that light the way for the mystical experience, illustrated by this version of the Tree. In subsequent volumes we will explore these paths in detail.

A Map of the Spiritual Mountain in the Minors When considering the spiritual levels of tarot, the rich tapestry of the Majors can provide all the archetypal fabric we require to describe any profound vista of the soul.[176] Toni Gilbert provides us a wonderful survey of the Majors for healing and spiritual growth in Messages from the Archetypes and briefly presents the Minor cards in two levels, an upper and a more ‘primitive’ enactment of their archetypal energies.[177] Madonna Compton deals exclusively with the Majors in her Archetypes on the Tree of Life: The Tarot as Pathwork.[178] So what of the Minors? What do they have to tell us about our spiritual path? From a Hermetic perspective, when arrayed on the Tree of Life, the Minor cards correspond with the four worlds and the 10 sephiroth - four levels of 10 descending (and ascending) energies. They run from the Ace down to the 10, in each number descending from the Wands, through the Cups, Swords and finally to the Pentacles. These are the four worlds of kabbalah, whose names are given here purely for reference: Wands

Atziuluth

World of Emanation

Cups

Briah

World of Creation

Swords

Yetzirah

World of Formation

Pentacles

Assiah

World of Action

Students of Tarosophy will recognize these four worlds as the four levels of tarot card interpretation: literal (Assiah), symbolic (Yetzirah), extended (Briah), and secret (Atziluth). We can also give the names of the sephiroth and their numbers which provide a key phrase together with the world (suit) in which that number sits, informing the nature of the card. This was expressly utilised in the tarot of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley. 10. Malkuth – Kingdom 9. Yesod – Foundation 8. Hod – Glory 7. Netzach – Splendor 6. Tiphareth – Beauty 5. Geburah – Strength 4. Chesed – Mercy 3. Binah – Understanding 2. Chockmah – Wisdom 1. Kether – Crown So this allows us to see, through correspondence, that the 6 of Pentacles is the ‘Beauty of Action’ which gives a far deeper interpretation of that card in a reading. In taking these higher meanings, we can more easily apply them to even the most mundane of situations which are their lower reflection. Another example might be the 3 of Swords, which here is now the ‘Understanding of Formation’, showing how that card depicts the painful realisation that whatever is formed, is separate.

You can now go through the 40 Minors yourself and see how this generates meaning for the cards from these key words. In this schema we commence with the Ace of Wands at the very highest level of divinity, descending all the way down through 40 gates to the 10 of Pentacles, the grossest matter. And here is the Hermetic mystery enshrined more than ever – that ‘as above, so below’. In kabbalah it is said that ‘Kether is in Malkuth, and Malkuth is in Kether’, and in alchemy, “the heaven is in the earth, but after an earthly manner; and that the earth is in the heaven, but after a heavenly manner.”[179] So the Ace of Wands is the ‘creative beginning’ of pure spirit and the 10 of Wands is the card of ‘great financial stability’ and final manifestation. [180] The 40 gates of the Minors are arrayed between these poles. Out of interest, in the extremes of this arrangement, when we see the upper world of the Wands in the lowest sephirah, the 10, there is “Ruin of all plans and projects. Complete disruption and failure.”[181] The highest Ace in the lowest world, Pentacles, is better dignified, for in it we see the “lilies of spiritual thought”[182] growing in its garden. Some suits (worlds) support a better dignity to different ranges of number (energy) in the context of this mapping.

In using this map of 40 gates, we can plot a spiritual path up the flanks of Mount Carmel (see The Interior Castle or The Mansions by St. Theresa, and The Mystical Doctrine of St. John of the Cross), commencing our ascent with the 10 of Pentacles and aiming our vision on the Ace of Wands. We will first sketch out some of the significant points of this path by looking at the four 10s as our starting position, and then take a more detailed trip up the entire Tree in the highest world, the Wands. Firstly, we will summarise the entire journey. 10 of Pentacles: It ends, as it began, in a garden. In our everyday experience, we are furtherest, yet closest to the light. As it is said, “The light shineth in the darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not.” This card shows our sleeping state – and yet from this we can awaken, it is a full circle. The Gnostics say, “One by one, we are taken out of the world.” There is also a secret teaching embedded in this card as depicted by Waite and Colman-Smith. The young child looking back out at us is he who grows up to be The Fool. He clutches at the dog that will accompany him on his entire spiritual journey. It is his first (and last) attachment – faith.[183] Whether you have faith in your family, friends, material wealth, or wisdom, it is all the same in the Abyss – nothing. The child takes a white rose from this garden of matter in the 10 of Pentacles and at last gives it to heaven in the final card of the journey, The Fool. As Waite says in describing The Fool, this is a cyclic process: “The sun, which shines behind him, knows whence he came, whither he is going, and how he will return by another path after many days.”[184]

10 of Swords: Our next step is that of realisation of our intellectual attachments, and how these pin our body to the ground of matter. These too will have to be transcended in the Great Work. The card shows us how these inner voices fixate us and provide a mantra of attachment even in our most inner environment. There will be pain removing these inner voices, as many of them have been there for a long time. 10 of Cups: The illusion of happiness in attachment – we see here on closer examination that it is only a stage set; a fiction. Some day that curtain will be drawn up, and nothing will be saved. The Sufis say, “You only truly possess what you would not lose in a shipwreck.” It will take a great force of will to see through this façade. 10 of Wands: Here we see the highest expression of energy in the lowest world. We struggle constantly in a world of duality to meet our own expectations, values and standards. We are always working towards some goal or another, blindly and valiantly. Yet this is not the answer – the 10 must become the 1; those Wands must be pulled together and bound into one true thing, held not by ourselves but by the divine. Here is the short-cut of initiation and mystical insight; that all that we fight is our false sense of self and all that arises from that mistake. Only we can lay our own burden down and release ourselves. As Da Free John simply says, “Avoiding relationship?”[185] We will now provide key concepts for the remaining cards in the spiritual ascent journey, demonstrating how they show a progressive development of the soul. Again, we know not if this were intended, nor does it particularly matter – we read the design as it is read. Those who study the initiatory system through kabbalah will recognise the grade system experiences in these descriptions.

9 of Pentacles: The garden of security is now revealed. Do we take off and fly or live in the uncomfortable knowledge that there is simply more than this to our lives? 9 of Swords: The constant shocks of life cannot be

blanketed forever –

and even if so, they lead to our death. No matter how painful, we must face the truth of our lives. 9 of Cups: Then we begin to see our own smugness and ego games, and in doing so start to be removed from them. A quiet change begins in our awareness as we constantly observe our own emotional state. 9 of Wands: We begin to realise what is valuable to us, how our wounds have made us stronger, and how the world provides these opportunities constantly. We hold fast to an uncomfortable truth. 8 of Pentacles: The Worker is hidden in the Workshop. We begin to conduct inner work and test our enquiries into the universe and ourself, from a higher perspective. We may explore alternative spiritualities – the secret is to work, consistently, patiently, and without pause. This is a card of service, as Jasmine Sim, a tarot reader in Singapore says: “We continue to perfect the art and then we can share it with others.” 8 of Swords: Until ultimately this begins to reveal what we know and what we don’t know. We begin to see that all the traps and distractions were only of our own making – we have been playing a game which has become real, because it has been going on so long. 8 of Cups: So we walk away. Eventually we must act on our changing perspective of the world. The inner light eclipses the outer and we often find in this stage that we make major lifestyle changes, move home, career, relationships – it is always a difficult step.

8 of Wands: And a new energy comes – clean, fresh and rapid. A higher connection starts to move us, we feel enthusiastic about our course, borne aloft as if on the wings of angels. We may not at this stage know where we are going, but we know for sure that we are going. 7 of Pentacles: In Netzach now, we begin to pass into a phase of contemplation. We look at Nature as an exemplar and learn through Her teaching. The spell of the sensuous calls us to unity; a slow alchemy begins to take place in this long waiting game. 7 of Swords: Like a ‘thief in the night’ our old ideas are becoming obsolete. Without any effort, they are taken from us, leaving only what is congruent to our own personal experience. This is the Venusian Netzach undoing of the Mercurian Hod. 7 of Cups: There is an emotional upset at this stage for it feels like everything is possible and everything is permitted. When we are undone, what do we see – everything unravelled. However, as always, the secret is what transmutation is being wrought on our self – the only thing that we cannot see. Here (in the Waite-Smith image) we become a shadow, and there is much at this time to be drawn from that shadow. 7 of Wands: Ultimately, this stage leads to an inner resolution – a stand. A statement that cannot be argued, from within, that enough is enough. We take our place for our role in the universe and fill out the job description. Then we wait. 6 of Pentacles: And wait and wait. A new equilibrium takes centre stage and we begin to balance our own books – our resources, energies; we align to our highest vision. We seek only harmony, a divine balancing act, without knowing against what we are being judged nor what waits for us below or at the end of the rope.

6 of Swords: The only thing we can now do is take ourselves away from the world. It has nothing left to offer us, so we travel – literally or metaphysically – to new horizons. This is often inexplicable and unexplainable to others. It may begin to feel as if what we think we are is actually steering the course – and this is true. 6 of Cups: Through this middle stage, we are wed to our highest angel. It is like childhood, like widowhood, like a marriage, like death. It is the most significant stage of our spiritual progression and is called ‘the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel’. 6 of Wands: And after a long honeymoon, we make our way back to the city, back to the noise, back to the people and the places. However, we are fundamentally changed – we have been somewhere and make our return anew. 5 of Pentacles: What follows in the spiritual journey – as seen through the tarot and the initiatory system – is somewhat of a jolt. This is explained in my After the Angel: An Account of the Abramelin Working and many other mystical biographies. The 5 of Pentacles shows the banishment, the ejection, rejection, the excommunication of the self that is experienced at this stage following the ecstasy of the Angel. This is a dark night of the soul. 5 of Swords: Everything one thinks one knew is now stripped. Or flayed. “Eckhart saw Hell too. He said: The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won’t let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they’re not punishing you, he said. They’re freeing your soul. So, if you’re frightened of dying and... and you’re holding on, you’ll see devils tearing your life away. But if you’ve made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth.”[186]

5 of Cups: In the desolation of the Wastelands, only Chapel Perilous awaits across the bridge. It is time to decide what is real and what is not; to turn one’s back on the fictions of the former self and follow the current of Creation. This is the time of great despair. 5 of Wands: In one’s surrender to the Angel, and following from that event, values and spiritual concerns are utterly re-aligned, reformulated and reestablished on a new system – a system not of oneself. The edifice of the self and all its relationships – the grand façade – is destroyed utterly and a new pattern of being arises. This equates to the grade of Adeptus Major in the WEIS. 4 of Pentacles: Whilst this may seem the most mundane of material images, Waite says succinctly in The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, “He holds to what he has.”[187] To the spiritual journeyer at this stage, this simple mantra embodies a whole mystical approach to life. It is one demonstration of how a sentence can be given which means nothing at one grade, yet at higher grades takes on a knowing significance. The whole of Dion Fortune’s Mystical Qabalah book is written in that same manner. 4 of Swords: The mental faculties now go into retreat and re-align themselves. The mystical quest alights in the sanctuary and reviews all that has arisen. There is a simple clarity, as of light passing through a stained glass window, a “veil of vibrating light” as Trinick calls it. In that window (in the Waite-Smith Tarot) is the word ‘PAX’. This refers to Chesed, the fourth sephirah and our present stage in the journey up the Tree, which means ‘Mercy’. 4 of Cups: All temptations are now refused and one becomes utterly divine-sufficient rather than self-sufficient. This is the last of the challenges before the Abyss. There is only the Trinity ahead.

4 of Wands: The Abyss. There is no self on the other side of that invitation. 3 of Pentacles: Now within the Holy Sanctuary, the Master of the Temple commences work under new management. 3 of Swords: After fulfilling that work, the mind (through that work, by which we are changed) becomes a tripartite form, with a heart that burns for the divine. 3 of Cups: The people must be celebrated and their causes uplifted to fulfill the spiritual duty. There is no self in this, only service. 3 of Wands: There is only a far horizon in sight, and all journeys now lead to divine service. In the clothing and head circlet of this figure (Waite-Smith Tarot) we see intimations of the Magician, who is the image of the archetype of spiritual service. We now take the step and commit ourselves to the light, whilst knowing even this is another journey, not the end. 2 of Pentacles: Again, in contrast to its usual mundane meanings, this card embodies in our spiritual light a far more profound teaching. It is significant of the action of Chockmah in the World of Assiah, the ‘Wisdom of Action’ which is the literal translation of those signposts. It is no more complex than that. This card signifies the ongoing wisdom- in-action of the Magus, the one who is existing in this eternal moment. As Crowley indicates, it is at this point that the Lord of Karma takes notice, and one’s books become audited and balanced in every moment. There is no cause-and-effect here – everything is connected now. 2 of Swords: In this upper silence, the mind is stilled and held in singular balance. Beyond meditation and beyond contemplation, the mind is blind unto itself.

The value of meditation for inner peace, sublime ecstasy and world-free self-absorption is immense. But its value for the quest of truth and reality unaided by philosophy is quite a different matter and demands searching investigation by sympathetic yet impartially critical minds possessed of a sense of proportion and philosophical acumen – qualities usually absent from a mystic’s make-up.[188] The tide draws out, the Sun is eclipsed; our emotional world is withdrawn and our awareness vanishes. There is a period of divine emptiness, a holy moment like no other – the house is now prepared for the master’s return. 2 of Cups: And as is – and always was – promised, with nothing more than a touch, a kiss, a gesture, like the opening of a palm, the filling of a cup, the Great Secret is revealed. All that exists arises from that moment, this cocreation of soul and silence, man and woman, human and divine. The spirit and the flesh; all dualities are known by the one to arise in a third – a red winged lion, perhaps, atop the wand of healing and wholeness. And that lion, that sacred revelation, devours and consumes us utterly. 2 of Wands: So it comes to pass, the journey is complete. Only the realm of the archetypes awaits; the Aeons, the realms and circles and zones and sephiroth as they are known only in creation. We stand inbetween the pillars with the world as it began, all possibilities unfolding, no attachment, no particular perspective. In many ways, this is the ultimate depiction of the spiritual journey in this card. This is the outward Fool card in right relation to the apparent World card. And the only outward sign of the journey is the rose and the lily entwined. It is done. Tetelestai. The Four Aces now can be seen to embody the seeds of what G.I. Gurdjieff called the Four Ways or paths of spiritual enlightenment:

Ace of Pentacles: The Way of the Fakir – the mastery of attention through asana, or physical work such as yoga, dance, trance-work, etc; Ace of Swords: The Way of the Yogi – the mastery of self through mental discipline; Ace of Cups: The Way of the Monk (or Nun) – who works with the affections and spiritualises the emotional worlds of faith and love as their path; Ace of Wands: The Way of Synthesis – perhaps this is the esoteric way, and was coined by Gurdjieff as his ‘Fourth Way’ teachings.[189]

Meanwhile Back at the Beginning of the End Having seen how the Minors map our spiritual journey, we will return to take a look at the starting positions of each world – the four 10s – in order to demonstrate how they reflect the four aspects of existence in four elements. This is the Zelator grade of the WEIS, where all work is done, and the beginning of the spiritual journey commences – by working through the lessons and transcending each of the attachments illustrated by these cards. We will also demonstrate how they each contain a trap and, at the same time, their highest principle is also evident – ‘as above, so below’. 10 of Pentacles: The unity of the 10 becomes at one between the 10 and the Ace of Pentacles. The aim is to get beyond the obstacles of the earthly pentacles thrown along the path – these will trip you up if you pause to want. The child in the 10 of Pentacles grows up at last to become the Fool in the pack. Earthly riches make the world go round, but you will be caught on that Wheel if you become attached or fall asleep in the Garden of Earthly Delight. 10 of Swords: Italo Calvino wrote, “This is what I mean when I say I would like to swim against the stream of time: I would like to erase the consequences of certain events and restore an initial condition. But every moment of my life brings with it an accumulation of new facts, and each of these new facts bring with it consequences; so the more I seek to return to the zero moment from which I set out, the further I move away from it ...”

As Da Free John also puts it, “It is always already too late” to commence the journey. The moment of thought that enquiries is a paradoxical separation from which no unity can follow. This attempt to return to the “zero moment” of The Fool is also part of the journey of the tarot. It may seem that we move further from it, but in actual fact we are moving circularly towards it in our journey, winding our way up the slopes of the mystical mountain of initiation. The 10 of Swords warns of the inertia that will inevitably arise from prolonged mental fatigue, when surrender is due. There is no more working out to do, the swords of emotional anguish do weigh heavily but your worst fears have materialised into reality. Acceptance is to be embraced and a still point resonates. There is now the prospect of a new start and relief that will come when all turns full cycle. The old wounds of the battle of the Swords from Ace to 10 are the very wounds that will heal and transform into the Ace of Swords. A transmutation can occur. The World spins and The Fool steps into existence again and so the cycle goes on – Hallelujah! In fact, in the Tarot of Everlasting Day, the Outer Deck Fool contains this word, for ‘Hallel’ in Hebrew means ‘somebody who acts madly’, and ‘Jah’ is ‘Creator’ therefore this uplift of The Fool is as Creator and the ‘madness’ that is actually the transcendence of the reason.[190] In summary of the 10 of Swords, to quote Einstein, “Logic can only take us from A to B, imagination can take us anywhere.” Both of these dualisms have their traps, but from each we do (Swords), can (Pentacles), must (Cups), and will (Wands) escape.

10 of Cups: The nature of the Cups is seen most evidently in the 3 of Cups: the mitwelt, that is a ‘co- world’, where two figures – male and female – are depicted, and a third entity that evolves, whether it is the creation of children, or the creation of Creation. Perhaps the images on the card can correspond to the mitwelt way of being, as it can personify many things; it is a growing, changing entity. The 3 of Cups may contain the ‘third entity’ with the manifestation of the below. All your wants, desires and hopes, and these find their completion in the 10 of Cups. Think about what you would like to have filling your 10 Cups. If you like, you may try shuffling the Major cards of the tarot, and choose 10 which can be read as filling the 10 Cups below. Ask what they symbolise for you, these archetypal energies in each of these 10 emotional and spiritual contexts. Thus, you might pull The Hanged Man for Cup Three, “love of survival through community / society.” This might suggest that you are tasked to work from a different perspective whilst remaining in mainstream society. The phrase “be in the world but not of it” might come to mind. Don’t leave anything out, be all-inclusive (4 of Cups). Don’t be afraid to let go of obsolete desires (5 of Cups). In doing so, you can honour your innocence and authenticity whilst maintaining a mature perspective (6 of Cups). Also, while selecting your 10 cards do not be distracted by passing fancies – only choose what has endured (7 of Cups). You will soon find yourself free of what has been and your past will rapidly be eclipsed by a future, and one worth walking towards (8 of Cups). And in this making your choice – walking in the path of your own Grail Quest – there is true satisfaction (9 of Cups).

And in the healing power of love, each of the 10 Cups contains a gift of divine exploration, as depicted by the previous Cup cards, from Ace to 10, all each within another: Cup One contains love of coming into existence; Cup Two contains love of the divine breath; Cup Three contains love of survival through society (culture); Cup Four contains love of your very own existence; Cup Five contains love of melancholy; Cup Six contains love of nostalgia; Cup Seven contains love of imagination; Cup Eight contains love of your worth; Cup Nine contains security; Cup Ten contains love of family. All 10 Cups contain all you may ever need. Perhaps this explains why the 10 of Cups is the most spiritually idyllic image of human existence; it is indeed the idealised and realised Lovers card, that archetypal image played out in the real world. We must absorb from the 10 of Cups; experience the osmosis effect of love and being loved. Exercise: The Indwelling of 10 Cups Here is an exercise you might like to try. By placing the 10 of Cups by your bedside with the Ace of Cups, be aware of your emotions through that following day; then on the second night change the Ace for the 2. Repeat this each night, until you have the 9 and the 10 of Cups together.

You may find this simple exercise opens your spiritual heart quest – it a way of connecting that flow of the Ace into the 10. The most powerful magic is when you invoke the highest into the very far reaches of what is below.[191] 10 of Wands: This is the highest level of energy dropped into the lowest world; it shows what Crowley called “the force detached from its spiritual sources.” For us in our quest to redeem our own spiritual dignity, this card shows the worst result of misunderstanding the spiritual path. As Crowley says, “The whole picture suggests oppression and repression. It is a stupid and obstinate cruelty from which there is no escape. It is a Will which has not understood anything beyond its dull purpose, its ‘lust of result’, and will devour itself in the conflagrations it has evoked.”[192] Where we see these characteristics in a person or a situation we know that it is far removed from spiritual dignity, which is ultimately characterised by the Ace of Wands.

The Spiritual Journey in the Wands So from each of the 10s we can commence our spiritual journey as we have seen through the entire 40 Minors. Let us finally work through the Wands as a more detailed example and each see how they re-connect us when we feel lost from our spiritual source. You can recreate this detailed mapping with each of the other suits to show the way out of any dilemma in any world from a spiritual point of view. If you constantly struggle with your relationships, family and emotions, examine this journey in the Cups; if your finances and material work, the Pentacles; and if your education and thinking, the Swords. 10 of Wands: We begin by observation of where we struggle to ‘be spiritual’. This is always our first signpost. The spiritual path is characterised by the wrestling with one’s own Angel. There is always something more which must be discovered, always something presently preventing us being in the moment. The 10 of Wands calls us to step away from the struggle. Where we have patterns in our life that constantly weigh us down, these are each a potential Ace of Wands, repeating time and again to awaken us. That person in the 10 of Wands is carrying 10 identical Aces, they just do not realise it. See Michal Conforti’s Field, Form and Fate for a fascinating exploration of how patterns in our life collaborate creatively to provide us opportunities for growth.[193]

9 of Wands: We begin with the burden of attachment, so we must let this go – it literally does not (is not) matter. We stop struggling and embrace our own wounds, as that is where we may become strong. We take it from the perspective that the process of scar formation and its lifelong legacy is a protective mechanism to heal and protect us after harm. However, after repair we are still ‘vulnerable’, as the replacement scar tissue is more fragile than our original tough skin; therefore, we need to be kind to ourselves and tread with care along the journey, and wisely choose who we entrust to help us to heal, whether it is friends, family, therapist, or foe! It is tempting in emulating the 9 of Wands to ‘tread carefully and carry a big stick’. From a Jungian perspective, the ‘wounded healer’ does not mean a ‘once wounded now recovered’ one, but one who is currently vulnerable as well (the Latin word ‘vulnus’ means ‘wound’). We continue with our battle scars and wash them in the Cave of Wounds at dawn – a phrase that can be ritualised in the practice of the Greek mystery rites. The 9 of Wands can illustrate the impact of childhood wounds on our adult self, which in turn affect the way in which we develop our own unique spiritual path. As one therapist said, “We cannot choose our garden, merely the way in which we work with it.” This aspect of the 9 of Wands can be explored in Strong at the Broken Places by Linda Sanford (1991). Whilst this book illustrates the quite rightfully sensitive aftermath of the effects of child abuse/neglect, it is written from the perspective of how the wounded (vulnerable) become empowered and it refutes the belief of some that the abused must become the abuser. It is an essential book for those working in any therapeutic modality. The 9 of Wands teaches us that it is possible to escape our past. Or in the present moment, “You do not have to attend every argument to which you are invited.”

8 of Wands: At this point, escaping from our own past, we must not stop. This card tells us to keep going, to ride the energy from whatever source it is conjured. Think of the power of lightning and the strength that it wields. As Eco says, “Initiation is learning not to stop.”[194] 7 of Wands: Once we have begun on our journey, we must learn to use a spiritual system or map to maintain equilibrium. 6 of Wands: In engaging with a system, exploring it fully and deeply, dynamic energy brings new victories of understanding, taking one forward into new situations and states of being. We must be careful here for ‘pride cometh before a fall’. 5 of Wands: At the next point, the inner work must be transformed into outer work. We exert great effort in a group to create and construct what is new and innovative. The way of the 5 of Wands is ‘just do it, go on, get on with it NOW’. Alterations can be made later; this stage is a production in progress. It is characterised in our spiritual life by constant change, challenge and growth, constant success and disappointment; a rapid realignment of one’s values from moment to moment. It can lead to a new cohesive pattern or a complete breakdown. 4 of Wands: At last we achieve a form of stable inner Sanctuary, a place where you can consolidate your efforts so far, put down tools for a while and reward yourself for your endeavours. This is also the stage in our quest termed by Robert Anton Wilson ‘Chapel Perilous’, a phrase that originally occurs in Sir Thomas Mallory’s Le Morte d’Arthur. It is the point in our spiritual journey where we have to decide whether we are being accompanied by a presence external to ourselves or choose to believe that it is all in our imagination. This card calls for an act to faith from which there is no return.

Those that make the wrong choice here – for choice it is – through fear (an incomplete initiation of their previous stage, the 5 of Wands) become what Crowley refers to as “Black Brothers.”[195] Whilst an admitted overdramatisation, this can be seen in anyone whose modus operandi is to cast doubt, confusion or dismay, to sow seeds of despair, to attract others to their cause. It is characterised by constant implicit calls for self-validation and ultimately – for its fault is to not be creative beyond its own delusion – implodes, taking those who have been attracted to its apparent delights with it. 3 of Wands: Having escaped the perils of the previous stages in our spiritual quest, the 3 of Wands awaits. This is the stage where we have to think about where we are going next. We have turned our back on the past and look to the future; we cannot afford to be held back by restless yearning for old ties, and the new world is where the future of change lies. Do not find yourself left behind while others progress; avoid isolation. We have to pass on the baton. At its highest level this card signifies the trinity, generation, creation, progression/procession, all unified in one creative act. This is best put by Maria Prophetissa, a 3rd century alchemist: “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.” 2 of Wands: The journey now nears its terminus with this Minor card combination of the upper level archetype cards of The World and The Magician. This signifies that the act of spiritual transformation is now out of our hands – whilst at the very same time we feel that all is within us. This is the ‘final ambush’ that lies in wait for the journeyer in the spiritual realms, as we saw in the earlier quote from the Hermetica.

We have to discard all that might accumulate on this way, which is a via exhaustion – a ‘way of exhaustion’. As A. E. Waite writes in The Other Way: We tried all paths, nor found a road in one, Sought many things beneath the wintry sun Which shines alone on this dim earth of ours, But when the barren strife at length was done Grace comes free, handed, with unlooked for dowers And shew’d the true way strewn with deathless flowers. Ace of Wands: At last we come to the aim of our spiritual journey in the Wands. The value system of our whole being is taken in the hand of the divine. Compare this to where we commenced, with those 10 rods on our own back, and we perceive the total exchange carried out in the journey. We have done nothing more than returned to the singular truth of the matter. We were never ourselves to begin with.[196] As A.E. Waite again put it, “The atmosphere of the divine secret consists in a great disinterest.”[197]

THE NATURE OF THE GRADES AND INITIATION “There is one true charge, however, which can be laid at the door of the Guardians of the Secret Wisdom. Have they made sufficient provision for the preaching in the market-place, for the training in the Outer Court of the Temple?” Dion Fortune – Sane Occultism[198]

We will now briefly survey the nature and structure of the hierarchy of the WEIS, particularly that given by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley through the O.T.O. and the A A occult groups with which he was involved. These systems are the bedrock of mapping magical progress and spiritual advancement in the Western system, and whilst appearing complex, are worth extensive study and utilisation.

∴ ∴

Vignette: Esoteric Exposure of a Newcomer Frater F.P. once took a friend to a Chaos magick conference, wondering what would happen if a complete newcomer to the esoteric was exposed to dramatic and challenging experience. The friend was bombarded all day by talks and discussions on radical state-change, breaking all taboos, and that reality was merely a fictional prison. In the evening, he was taken into a hall with about 60 other participants – mainly men, mainly dressed in black leather. For a further hour he was instructed to hyperventilate and chant loudly the vowel sounds of A,E,I,O, and U. This was done until the floor and the air vibrated in the now rapidly warming room. The participants were then moved into a circle and an invocation of the godform of Baphomet was perfomed, with images being shown of the androgyne goat-like figure, usually associated with Satanism. At this point Frater F.P. was becoming increasingly concerned about his friend’s mental state. The priest into whom Baphomet had been invoked now circled the hall, proferring a large goblet with an unidentified red liquid in it, at which point Frater F.P.’s friend balked. Standing back from the circle, he was then witness to a ‘banishment by laughter’ in which the participants smacked each other on the back whilst laughing out loud very deliberately until it became hysterical, spreading rapidly throughout the whole crowd. Frater F.P.’s friend was very silent the entire trip home and never again returned to work esoterically. We must wonder how best to initiate newcomers into this world. We will look at two secret orders that have been rarely written about in public, and see how the Golden Dawn system derived from sources at least a century prior to their founding in 1888. This work is unique to the Crucible and I hope that you will find it particularly fascinating in widening your awareness of our Western esoteric tradition.

The subject of grades is often criticised as leading to elitism and overbearing structure. The nature of the qualifications required to gain a grade and their relevance are often questioned. In a contemporary article on grades and hierarchies within the occult corpus, Phil Hine (1999), himself a practitioner of the more eclectic Chaos magick, comments on such qualifications. He writes that although there “is a general unwillingness to explicitly examine grades and roles” within the practitioner community itself: It must be recognised that each grade that the magician attains implies not only a recognition of various degrees of ability and accountability, but also that there is a specific task, or ‘work’ associated with the fulfillment of that grade.[199] These grades – often divided into 10 which correspond to the Tree of Life diagram – are found in many occult orders. It is usually accepted that the Golden Dawn was the main source of these grades, but it is less well known that in fact, the grades were being used at least a century prior to the Golden Dawn by a little-studied (in English) German group, the Golden and Rosy Cross (G&RC). Whilst their work was alchemical in nature, they used the names for each grade later utilised by the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.) and then the Golden Dawn. We will trace some examples of what you would be expected to learn in such groups, so that within the Crucible you can begin to grasp the scope of later studies should you chose to progress your work in this tradition.

The S.R. I . A.

Much of the Golden Dawn structure is pre-existent in the S.R.I.A., of which Mathers, Westcott and Woodman (the founders of the Golden Dawn) were all members. In a 1953 reprint of the S.R.I.A. grade documents, it is indicated that there are three orders: First Order: Student Second Order: Teacher Third Order: Master The teaching syllabus for these Orders is eclectic; indeed, the lecture in the fourth grade of Philosophus is on religion and philosophy, including Judaism to existentialism. The specific teaching for the grades is given below: Grade 1: Zelator - Numerology, the symbol of the jewel Grade 2: Theoricus - Elements, composition of man, worlds Grade 3: Practicus - Symbolism of the cross, alchemy Grade 4: Philosophus - Religions and philosophies of the world Grade 5: Adeptus Minor - Teacher, tetractys[200] The presence of qualification is seen clearly within these pamphlets, rituals and writings. Therefore, the Philosophus would be asked: Frater [----] your attainments in the practice of Alchymy have been approved ... do you now earnestly desire to be received into the grade of Philosophus?

Within the Second Order, it is stated that a year must elapse before a candidate can be accepted into the grade of Adeptus Major. This is the only grade division marked temporally; signalling the different transition between the Orders. The work of the Adeptus Major is also of a marked difference – now internally focused rather than externally, the Adeptus Major is to work upon the “importance of contemplation,” and the issues of “selfdevelopment.” The aim is that: The life of the Adept [is] well spent in thought, word and deed should be a fitting preparation for a calm repose. Beyond this grade in the S.R.I.A., the Adeptus Exemptus was to receive the “guide studies of the Philosophi” and engage in “preparation for death.” The teachings of the syllabus were supplemented, in a precursor to the Golden Dawn ‘Flying Rolls’, by the Clavicula Rosicruciana, covering a diverse range of supplementary material, written by Woodman and Mathers, including: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

The Certificate and Seal; The Four Ancients; The 10 sephiroth; Beraisheth; The Four Pillars and I.N.R.I.

We therefore see that the Golden Dawn was a practical extension of the S.R.I.A. curriculum writ large, and that within both groups, the material was both expected to be learnt – aimed at an overall and progressive transformation – and tested before progress was attained.

[ILLUS. SRIA MEMBERS including A. E. Waite (front left to viewer)]

The Golden Dawn So what is it that a Golden Dawn initiate would be required to learn from the curriculum? A paper of 1897 given by McGregor Mathers (1854-1918) to the members of the Second Order in Caledonia indicates the regulations for progression through the grades of the Order. However, it also demonstrates important aspects of the political use of the curriculum in controlling the membership and in positioning the Order versus other groups: Members of the Second Order in Caledonia are requested not to arrange privately for Second order teaching with private members in Anglia or elsewhere ... The Chief Adept – the G.H. Frater D.D.C.F [MacGregorMathers] – is now the source of all official instruction. […] The works of the Lake Harris school are better avoided. The H.B. of L. is condemned, as of course are Luciferian or Palladistic teachings. The socalled Rose Croix of Sor Peladan is considered as an ignorant perversion of the Name, containing no true knowledge and not even worthy of the title of an occult order. The Black Mass is naturally by its own confession of the evil magic school. The Martinists, as long as they adhere to the teachings of their Founder, should not be out of harmony with the R.R. et A.C.

Moving on from this positioning, the document goes on to summarise the work of the Grades between Neophyte Adeptus Minor and Theoricus Adeptus Minor. These items of work relate to an attached catalogue of manuscripts and Flying Rolls – additional papers of instruction. Thus, in the Second Stage of Zelator Adeptus Minor: 11. Receive and study Flying Rolls 11, 12, 14, 20, 21, 26, 28, 29, 30, and may now pass C, G, and E examinations. These Flying Rolls enumerated include instruction on clairvoyance, telesmatic images, talismans, perspectives on the psychic constitution of man, planets and tattwas, and skrying rules. They also included a paper on administration and the use of the ritual implements. That the curriculum was open to variation is intimated: By permission of the Chief Adept, 6, 7, and 8 may be taken immediately after 3. Then 4 and 5. The work required in these instructions is varied, ranging from some items which are to be committed to memory, and others which are “to be attentively studied though not learned by heart.” Rituals were received, and implements, such as the Rose Cross, were to be constructed and consecrated. After receiving Ritual G, the Neophyte Adeptus Minor would be expected to make and consecrate the five implements: the magical sword and the four elemental weapons, being the wand (Fire), dagger (Air), cup (Water), and pentacle (Earth).

It is apparent that many members constructed such implements for their magical working. The poet W.B. Yeats (1865-1939), who was initiated into the Golden Dawn in 1890, describes not only how “we copied out everything we could borrow or find that bore upon our subject, including the Jewish Schemahamphorasch with its seventy- two names of God in Hebrew characters ...” but also constructed the four elemental weapons and the Lotus Wand, his pentacle bearing his motto ‘Demon est Deus Inversus’. A plate in Gilbert’s Golden Dawn Scrapbook shows a similar item of regalia, the Rose-Croix lamen, as created by another member, Benjamin Cox. It was Yeats who strongly defended the magical curriculum and the grade system. He wrote in a pamphlet, ‘Is the Order of the R.R. and A.C. to Remain a Magical Order?’ (March 1901),[201] in defence of the system of examinations that Waite was looking to abolish: The passing by their means from one degree to another is an evocation of the Supreme Life, a treading of a symbolic path, a passage through a symbolic gate, a climbing towards the light which it is the essence of our system to believe flows continually from the lowest of the invisible Degrees to the highest of the Degrees that are known to us. Here Yeats echoes the sentiment that the examinations and grades are based on the “essence of our system” and not, as he continued later in the same document, “the multiplication of petty formulae.”

Howe (1972)[202] gives an even more advanced curriculum for the grade of Practicus Adeptus Minor, which was issued by Mathers and Westcott in 1896-1897 but was unlikely implemented. It clearly demonstrates the practical nature of the work expected of the candidate for the “rigid examination,” some examples of which include: 2. Development of the sense of Clairaudience in the Spirit Vision. 4. The method of bringing the Divine White Brilliance into Action by a certain Ritual of Ascent and Descent. 12. Tarot Divination translated into Magical action. We see here the translation of theoretical or passive skills, such as divination and visualisation, into active skills such as invocation and using tarot for ‘magical action’.

The O.T.O. and the A

∴ A∴

Without doubt, the prolific work of Aleister Crowley following his expulsion from the Golden Dawn, his involvement with the German O.T.O., and his development of his own order, the A A , is fundamental to modern magick. We cannot survey the entire corpus of work in this volume,

∴ ∴

so we will examine Crowley’s description of the lower grades. Although warning that “these Grades are not necessarily attained fully, and in strict consecution, or manifested wholly on all planes,” he does append a more detailed account, as well as a summary, of the training plan, the first part of which includes the following expectations: Student. His business is to acquire a general intellectual knowledge of all systems of attainment, as declared in the prescribed books. Probationer. His principal business is to begin such practices as he may prefer, and to write a careful record of the same for one year. Neophyte. Has to acquire perfect control of the Astral Plane. Zelator. His main work is to achieve complete success in Asana and Pranayama. He also begins to study the formula of the Rosy Cross. Practicus. Is expected to complete his intellectual training, and in particular to study the Qabalah. Philosophus. Is expected to complete his moral training. He is tested in Devotion to the Order.[203]

The Crucible Club itself represents the Probationer grade in this system a year’s worth of study. These brief outlines contain a depth of description as to the likely challenges, experience, work, and insight offered by each progressive grade – the testing of devotion that occurs at Philosophus, whilst unique to every individual who goes through it, is surprisingly predictable for that grade and for all who encounter it.

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Potential students of the Western esoteric corpus were likely to approach a number of groups for their occult education. A private letter from Dr. S.W. Brathwaite to Gerald Yorke in 1932, whilst expressing an interest in the A A , also lists the student’s active and inactive membership of many other groups:

∴ ∴

Active – University of the Mystic Brotherhood; Chronzon [sic] Club; Unity’s Practical Christianity; Member of the Great White Brotherhood; Hatha and Raja Yoga; Coffman School of Numerology; Inactive – Rosicrucian Fellowship; Clymer’s Works.[204]

This type of curriculum esoterica vitae appears to demonstrate – other than the eclectic nature of such associations – an unwavering search for a source of ‘real’ esoteric knowledge. It is as if the student is suggesting that they have not found what they are searching for elsewhere, or have been left unsatisfied, and now believe that in the group to which they are applying is indeed the ‘true secret knowledge’ which they seek. This suggestion is made more explicit in some applications than others. It demonstrates that the drive of a student to locate the esoteric teaching is undiminished by disappointment in any one group or failure to learn what might have been taught. A student would often move from one group to another, perhaps on the presumption that surely one of them held the secret teaching or perhaps wondering if the disappointment was perhaps a test or occult ‘blind’ to the hidden teachings. This peripatetic activity caused a problem to groups whose singular capital was their teaching material, in avoiding that material being disseminated to other groups, leading to various attempts at oaths, secrecy and outright banning of individuals joining where an affiliation to another group was known. My personal favourite is the document which stated it was personally and specifically ‘magnetised’ to the individual and its words would not have the same impact if read by someone to whom it was not thus magnetised.

The response by Crowley to such enquiries during this time was to request a diary or journal be submitted, suggest the first topics of study and, in this case, provide an examination paper to be completed and returned. [205] The areas of study for the initial grades were that the Probationer should maintain a diary, a Neophyte should seek to gain “complete control of the Astral Plane” and the Zelator should master pranayama – the yoga of breath – and asana – the yoga of physical posture – in addition to discovering the “Formula of the Rosy Cross.”[206] The examination paper given to Dr. Brathwaite was typical: Give the principle correspondences of the letter Teth, and your comments. Explain the real value of Yoga practice for anyone attempting to make spiritual progress. What do you know of the psychology of Buddhism? How would you set to work to produce a magical thunder-storm, or to acquire by means of a magical ceremony a book of which you were in need? Set up a geomantic figure for the result of the presidential election in November, and forecast the consequences to the U.S.A. Give an account of the Rosicrucian philosophy, laying stress on the true meaning of the symbol of the Rosy Cross.[207]

Whether there was a particular rationale or intent behind this selection of questions, or the manner in which the student response would be assessed, is undocumented and unclear. The six questions range between the subject areas of kabbalah, correspondence, yoga, Buddhism, grimoire magic, geomancy, and Rosicrucianism. The answers to these questions also range from the easily assessed – there are established correspondences to the letter Teth, so ‘Virgo’ would be incorrect but ‘Leo’ would be correct – to the entirely subjective interpretation of a geomantic figure – a task which also involves a practical exercise of casting the geomantic oracle. The nature of these questions, particularly those regarding the Rosy Cross and the Rosicrucians, may have rather served a dual purpose of implying that the group demanded a prescribed and high level of knowledge prior to joining, i.e. was selective and hierarchical, but more importantly, held the answer to these questions. For those searching for the ‘real’ Rosicrucians, being asked prior to joining what was meant by the ‘true meaning’ of the symbol of that group would no doubt pique the curiosity of the earnest student. Where also would the erstwhile applicant have located the answers to these questions, if it were intended that such answers be available rather than merely setting up an implied statement of knowledge on behalf of those setting the questions?

A Student Case Study: Frater Maximus The trajectory of a Western esoteric student encountering the path of a wellknown teacher is no better illustrated than the barely known Sidney French (?-?) whose place in the story of Aleister Crowley is relegated to a single line in Kaczynski’s biography of Crowley, Perdurabo, (2002) and then that likely mis-referenced as a Mrs. French.[208] As particularly notable with Crowley, a teacher often left in their wake a great deal of flotsam and jetsam in the form of disappointed students wondering where their teacher – and often, their cash – had gone to. Sidney French was a chiropractor in New York with an eclectic range of studies. A series of letters between him and Gerald Yorke, during 1932, which were passed by Crowley for comment, recounts a typical first year of distance studentship. In this case, a rather unsatisfactory one, for Yorke and Crowley were in the midst of business arguments, culminating in Crowley filing for damages against Yorke in September 1932.[209]

French enquired about studentship in January 1932. Acting as Crowley’s secretary, Yorke requested that French submit a magical diary – a journal of his existing practices – in March. This was followed in April by a more succinct list of tasks to be practiced by a Probationer to the A A .

∴ ∴

It is unfortunate that we do not possess a full record of French’s journal – it is possible that Yorke passed these records with those of another Probationer he was supervising to Kerman when he and Crowley fell out. [210] However, we see that within a few days, French was welcomed into the A A as a Probationer, taking on the ambitious magical name, Frater Maximus, ‘the greatest’.[211]

∴ ∴

In the initial flurry of correspondence granted to a new Probationer – perhaps provoked by the possibility of a new stream of income – whilst suggesting that French contact Dorothy Olsen (1892?-), Yorke also sets out the learning agenda more explicitly. He asks that French practices the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (a standard ritual form taking about ten minutes to perform, with the intention of providing an area of protection and stability about the student, and a protection against adverse influences), the Assumption of Harpocrates (a god-form assumption, that is, placing the body in the represented form of a deity – typically Ancient Egyptian – in order to access the qualities embodied by that deity). These are referenced to ‘Liber O’, a short series of notes which Crowley described as: ... given for elementary study of the Qabalah, Assumption of God forms, Vibration of Divine Names, the Rituals of Pentagram and Hexagram, and their uses in protection and invocation, a method of attaining astral visions so-called, and an instruction in the practice called Rising on the Planes.[212]

It is this short list of techniques that provides the closest to a ‘beginner’s curriculum’ that we possess for this time. In fact, it is Crowley’s synthesis and simplification of the Golden Dawn teachings, which now came to represent the outer order work of his own teachings. In this curriculum Crowley talks of the advantages for the student pursuing these techniques, being chiefly “a widening of the horizon of the mind” and “an improvement of the control of the mind.”[213] He also alludes to the consequences of success, where the student will be “confronted by things (ideas or beings) too glorious or too dreadful to be described.”[214] The encounter with these “ideas or beings” is certainly a key attraction to the student, as exemplified by French. A few months after receiving ‘Liber O’, French replied at length to Yorke, with reference to an article in The Equinox magazine, Volume III.[215] Although he had yet to master the points of the pentagram and their correspondences in the Lesser Banishing Ritual, a ‘rote-drill’ method for the beginner, he was already concerned about far more profound matters. He wished to find out more “about the problems attending the ‘Brothers of the Shadow’ and their relation to that black horror [actually, “blind horror” as given in The Equinox article] whose name is Choronzon.”[216] Crowley’s response, which was added to Yorke’s reply, was to return French to the basic drills. Crowley commented: Diary kept in correct form from 31/5/32 onwards. It is important to keep a steady breathing cycle, and notice the relationship to thought. The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram should be done first in the physical and then in the astral.[217]

However, by now, the working relationship between Yorke and Crowley had broken down, and as often happened, the student was left floundering in their wake. There is no more mention of French – although it is possible that his journal was passed to Kerman in September[218] – until a final short letter from him to Yorke in November 1932, asking for feedback as he had not heard from Yorke for “several months.”[219]

D i o n Fortune and Aleister Crowley That those who were to become teachers of Western esotericism made contact with each other is of course no surprise, as throughout the last century it has been a small market, albeit highly stratified.[220] In this brief case study, I will focus upon a brief but unpublished correspondence between Dion Fortune (originally Violet Firth, 1890-1946) and Gerald Yorke, with reference to Aleister Crowley, dated 1928. It is unsurprising that this letter and explicit quotations have not yet been incorporated into studies of Fortune’s relationship to Crowley, as the letter is misfiled under Fortune’s original name, in a stack of far more anonymous letters simply labelled “Letters from Disciples.”[221]

[ILLUS. Photo of 2 sheets letter from Violet Firth to Gerald Yorke].

[ILLUS. Photo of 2 sheets letter from Violet Firth to Gerald Yorke].

We see that Fortune was interested in the specifics of the “ritual of Thoth,” namely the correspondences. She requested clarification of the colour of robes, the significance of the scales of colour, and whether they were utilised in ritual. She asks about the timing of the ritual and enquires as to whether Thoth belongs to a “fiery or airy triplicity” (in terms of zodiacal correspondences). Fortune was aged 38 when this letter was written, so it perhaps may seem somewhat surprising as to the elementary nature of the questions. However, this was still ten years prior to Fortune’s more mature work in fiction, such as The Sea Priestess (1938), and non-fiction, including her classic Mystical Qabalah (1935). What is more relevant to the present case is her attitude to Crowley. She explains to Yorke her reserve and regret that he has sent on her prior letter directly to Crowley. She claims that this makes a “magical point of contact,” one she felt no doubt she would have to guard herself against. She refers directly to Crowley as an “awkward customer” and explicitly states that: I admire the man’s works, but fear the man. Her relationship is furthermore couched in terms of a parable: I have the greatest admiration for his intellect, but like the earthen pot in the fable, I am disinclined to go to the well in the company of the brazen pots. [222]

THE TITLES OF THE GRADES

As we have depicted throughout this volume, the notion of grading spiritual experiences and consequent responsibility is an ancient one. The Gnostic sect of the Manichees (200 A.D.) divided their sect into three progressive groups: the Auditors, the Elect and the Perfect. This threefold division occurs in many esoteric groups; even in the earliest writings upon the subject, it is suggested that the Rosicrucians are divided into three such grades: Initiates, Philosophers and Mages.[223]

A similar division occurs in the most obscure of esoteric groups – for example, the Masonic order of the African Brothers, where J.M. Ragon in Orthodoxie Maçonnique describes the Apprentice, the Alethophilote (‘friend of truth’) and the highest order of the Knights of Everlasting Silence. [224] He furthermore indicates that the object of these grades is selfknowledge and the exposition of the intimate connection between man and the world. This progression is intimated in each of the grades within the three divisions and we will now examine one indication of the progression through the titles given to each grade. In the Cipher Manuscripts of the Golden Dawn, likely composed by Kenneth McKenzie, based as we have seen on earlier orders, the early grades of esoteric progression are given Hebrew titles, indicating a little of their nature. The grades are also given ‘brotherhood names’ taken straight from the German Order of the Golden and Rosy Cross. [225] We will here examine the outer order words and names and in subsequent volumes expand upon these under their relevant grades.[226] Grade

Grade Word

Brotherhood Name

Neophyte

MThChIL

(Converted)

Zelator

ThLMID

Pereclinus

de

Faustus

(Disciple) Theoricus

BLHDA’aTh

Poraios

de

Rejectis

(Consuming Knowledge) Practicus

BA’aLAMZ

Monoceros

de

Astris

(Owning Speech) Philosophus

PhLMVNI

Pharos

Illuminans

(Gaining Certainty)

We can see from the grade words that the path of the initiate is to be converted (literally, ‘turned around’) from the apparent world and, through discipline, take up knowledge, gain identity with one’s own representation of the world (‘speech’), and attain certainity of self-knowledge. At this point, the Veil becomes apparent (the noise created by our lack or imbalance of the foregoing) and the work enters the ‘Portal’ grade to prepare for the dropping of that Veil. There is a constant battle between signal and noise, and a totally different experience of the world awaits when there is only a clear signal in the silence. Whilst others have attempted to explain the brotherhood names through alchemical or colour symbolism – even tarot (which is unlikely to have carried the same correspondences during the work of the G&RC) – the explanation given here is based upon the experience of the grades themselves, through the collective intelligence of initiates passing through them, most unaware of the similarity of their experience to other travellers.

N e o p h y te ( M T h C h I L ) This is likely MThIHD, meaning ‘converted’. The root of the word ‘converted’, other than its obvious usage in religious terminology, is ‘to turn around’. It signifies a turning around of attention to that which is not apparent. It is when the person in Plato’s cave first wonders about the shadows on the wall and turns around to see from where they are being cast. This begins a new phase in their life, hence ‘Neophyte’, one ‘new’ to that direction. In everyday terms, this often manifests as a curiosity in obscure and occult subjects, a yearning and seeking, a feeling that something just isn’t quite right. Many people remain Neophytes, as whilst they are aware of the shadows, for many reasons – habit, fear and attachments – they do not progress once they have turned around. It is possible to become a very experienced and knowing Neophyte, fully cognisant of the nature of the shadows and full of plausible explanations or possibilities of what might be casting them – but no real experience or knowledge of the journey beyond that viewpoint.

The word MThChIL is also similar to MThIChH, meaning ‘stretched’, ‘extended’. The conversion or transformation that goes on at Neophyte is one where the person is stretched but not necessarily changed beyond that. This produces a certain tension that can be utilised by the initiator in order to catalyse the next stage of the journey. Like Lot’s wife, it is dangerous, once having made this turn around, to look back. That is to say, once you have begun to act as if you are looking ‘beyond’ the world as it appears, there will be a necessary and inevitable re-framing of your perspective on the ‘old’ world, and more particularly those who still inhabit it. It can be that Neophytes become very anxious to proselytise their new perspective, even whilst not having fulfilled it themselves. Interestingly by gematria, the word has the value of 488, the same value as PhThCh, meaning ‘gate’, ‘entrance’, ‘insight’. Zelator ( T h L M I D ) This means simply ‘student’ or ‘disciple’, but in the sense of a student of the Torah, or Law. It is also usually referred to in the context of a studentteacher relationship. The Zelator, having moved from the Neophyte position, is now zealously studying, discovering and fervently enthusiastic to their newfound passion. This is when the student starts to buy all the books, join all the groups, read all the websites, and live and breathe their esoteric studies. This can be very concerning to all around them; sometimes it may be seen as a phase or even treated with anxiety and disturbance. It must be contextualised and compared with the same stage in any other pursuit, for example sport, or watching sport.

The Zelator benefits from a teacher who can at least assist direct study and provide reflective material. There is a danger that the Zelator will imagine that they are consuming the work, whilst in fact the work is consuming them. They may not see opportunities to grow beyond their fervent studies, nor the dead ends likely in the labyrinth they have unlocked. The Zelator stage usually lasts a number of years, although like any grade it can be maintained indefinitely without progressing beyond it. It is also important to note that the grades are progressively built upon one another, so that as the alchemists said, “Cease not calcinations,” that is to say, maintain the zealous state throughout most of the journey. As a Pereclinus/Perecline de Faustus (‘blessed adventurer’) the Zelator is seen as a learner, an adventurer, blessed in that they have turned away from the trials and distractions of the world.[227] They are put under ‘trial’ for the period of a year, testing their patience in a mundane manner, and their faith at a higher level. It is the same story as the applicant being turned away at the Shaolin Monastery, and waiting stood outside for a whole year in the outer courtyard. Eventually a monk comes out, and gives them a broom to start sweeping the courtyard. And after that – after perhaps another year of that apparently meaningless work – they are let into the inner courtyard. T h e o r i c u s ( B L H D A’aT h )

This is likely a conflation of BLH, ‘to consume’, ‘spend time’, ‘mix’ and Da’aTh, ‘knowledge’. Here the Theoricus, corresponding to Yesod on the Tree of Life map of the initiatory journey, starts to actually spend time recanting or re-framing their knowledge and experience gained at Zelator into a change of ‘knowledge’. They begin to re-cast their life in a new perspective and start to perceive how that will change them, their values and their behaviour. The techniques given at this grade catalyse, promote and provide a lens through which this process may be managed. The Theoricus stage is – as the Hebrew name suggests in the Cipher Manuscripts – a dim reflection of ‘Crossing the Abyss’, corresponding to Da’ath on the Tree of Life. This is also seen in the position of Yesod on the Tree of Life in the Middle Pillar, reflecting Da’ath below Tiphareth. In practical terms this shows the impact of the work at this stage on disolving a core sense of self-identity, as new knowledge is mixed into the old, and the stable sense of identity challenged and consumed. That this all takes place in the field of awareness is indicated on the map by Tiphareth. The Theoricus stage is one of self-knowing. The techniques applied are geared to a ‘solution’ (the alchemical process corresponding to this grade, as we will see elsewhere) of the self; a promotion of internal reflection (the Moon corresponds to Yesod). This stage can continue many years or merely a matter of nine months or so. As a Poraios de Rejectis (‘brought forth from the rejected’) the initiate is concerned with the “realisation of gold without labour,” according to the S.R.I.A. ritual. This intimates the nature of the Theoricus work as redeeming certain aspects of the self from what has been rejected. This cannot be done in the active way of the Zelator, it must be done “without labour” – an area that we will discuss in the volume concerning this grade.

Pra c t i c u s ( B A’aL AMZ) Again, a probable conflation – of Ba’aL, meaning ‘Lord’ or ‘owner’, ‘possessor’ and AMR, ‘word’, ‘utterance’, ‘speech’. The long journey of Theoricus, its tests and trials (which we cover elsewhere in terms of the map of tarot), culminates in a specific event which demonstrates that the Practicus has reached the other side of the ‘path of the Sun’ (The Sun tarot card connecting Yesod and Hod, Theoricus and Practicus) and is now in touch with the perspective indicated by The Hanged Man, the card corresponding to the path leading from Hod to Geburah.

[ILLUS. GD1-1-6c Cipher Example from Original Golden Dawn Manuscripts]

This is the first – usually, although not exclusively – experience for the initiate which is truly out of their hands, or appears to be so. It is often experienced as an ‘act of Grace’. However, the experience is catastrophic. This can be seen on the map by noting that the path leading from this sephirah has The Blasted Tower tarot card upon it; The Hanged Man reaches up to Geburah – the sephirah sometimes called Pachad or ‘fear’ – and, as Crowley warns, this is the first time that the initiate ventures off the Middle Pillar. So following the long solution of the Theoricus work, culminating in a primary mystical experience, it rapidly turns into a state of upturn, uncertainty, confusion, and turmoil. The Blasted Tower path must now be trodden; everything must be analysed, refined, considered, and shaken. Now the initiate has experienced something which cannot be formulated just in terms of ‘logic’ (Hod), so must start to widen their experiential knowing, between emotional and mental experience. At the same time, they must begin to manage how this affects the sephiroth that they have already passed through – the activities of Malkuth and the psychological world of Yesod. The Practicus stage is, as one initiate termed it, the ‘Long Plod to God’. It is often characterised by a wavering in the work, long dry periods, study periods, and rich experience which seems not to lead anywhere, defying expectations. However, throughout, the initiate cleaves to the only constant; the universe has spoken, and they have heard – they are truly the ‘Owner of the Word’, the title of the grade. As a Monoceros de Astris (‘unicorn of the stars’) the work of the Practicus is to be “inured to hardship” and continue upwards whilst the “unicorns” destroy the “town-lands of heaven.” The unicorn here is seen as a symbol of “virginal strength, a rushing, lasting, tireless strength.”[228]

Philosophus ( P h L M V N I ) This means ‘a certain one’. Eventually, ricocheting between Hod and Netzach, trying to regain the experience which was given inbetween Theoricus and Practicus, the initiate simply exhausts themselves again and comes to rest in Netzach. This is on the passive pillar, and they realise that all their activities will avail them not. They must simply surrender. This is a challenge for many and initiates a new phase in the work, the like of which is unique to every individual – perhaps here more so than any other phase. The word PhLMVNI comes from a root meaning to ‘distinguish’ as in ‘set apart’, ‘sever’, ‘separate’. The initiate commences a new level of devotion – sometimes characterised with a religious or mystical context – to something outside them. Whether this is seen as the god Pan, God, Anubis, the Higher Self, the Archons, or any other formulation is less relevant than the state itself. The Self calls out beyond itself. Thus begins the Portal which starts to lead one to the work of the Adept grades. With gematria, the word equates to 216, which is an important number with multiple words, including IPSVS, the ‘word of Maat’ in the work of Soror Nema; DBIR, the Holy of Holies; GBVRH, Geburah on the Tree of Life, and RAIH, ‘proof ’, ‘evidence’. As a Pharos Illuminans (‘lighthouse of illumination’) the Philosophus continues to act upon their values and strives to maintain congruency between their values and actions. In this they become both the light and the house – illuminating others by virtue of their striving. In a sense they are also selfguiding, even to their own self-destruction. The apparently awkward wording of a ‘lighthouse of light’ is actually a useful koan-like rendition of the nature of this grade. How can the illusion become real? How can one lift oneself out of oneself? How can one align oneself to something unknown?

So we can see in these Hebrew titles a continuation of the graduated ascent narrative with specific experiences, challenges and work identified for each step of the way. When overlaid in the vast correspondence schema of the initiatory work, they become even clearer as they are compared to their location on the Tree of Life, illustration through tarot, correspondence to the stages of alchemy, and their various astrological and other correspondences.

THE WORK OF THE GRADES “I prefer spiritual practices to be selfdetermined, self-apparent, un-regulated, indeterminate, unwritten, unstudied, unprecedented, devoid of content, without ritual, silent, personal, and only to be shared on special request.” — Eric Muhler[229]

Aleister Crowley developed these grades into a comprehensive schema of initiation for the individual within the system of the A A . However, his presentation of this schema was often subject to his financial and spiritual states, so was rarely set in stone.

∴ ∴

There are specific descriptions of the schema made in such works as Liber CLXXXV, Collegii Sancti. This lists the work and oaths of the grades to Adeptus Minor.

The work of the grades beyond Adeptus Minor is sketched out in the essay, ‘One Star in Sight’.[230] We will here review the work expected of the lower grades in terms of the oath one takes and the practical work involved. We will also refer to the ‘qualities’ the aspirant was expected to bring to the grade, as given on their certificate. These will be further explained in subsequent volumes of The Magister. In this system there is an additional outer grade of the Probationer, preceeding the Neophyte. Crowley also replaced the Portal stage of the Golden Dawn with the Dominus Liminus, the ‘Master of the Threshold’. This connects the grades of Philosophus (Netzach) and Adeptus Minor (Tiphareth) and heralds a significant waiting period for previous work to consolidate and the next grade to become obvious. The Golden Dawn assigned a minimum period of nine months to this stage, and in practice it has been found to take between one and five years to fulfil the conditions of the grade. The Probationer to the A

∴A∴

was expected to gain “a scientific

knowledge of the nature and powers of [their] own being.” They were further expected to bring “reverence, duty, sympathy, devotion, assiduity and trust” to the order. As we have seen with all Crowley’s work, these words are not chosen lightly; they are based upon a kabbalistic and initiatory scheme. The Probationer has not yet attained the qualities of the grades of initiation on the Tree of Life, so they have to bring them out of themselves. As the initiate works up the grades, it is seen that they have to bring those same qualities, less each one, corresponding to their previous grade, until at Adeptus Minor, only “reverence and duty do I bring.” This then gives an indication of the requirements of each grade:

Neophyte: Trust; Zelator: Assiduity; Practicus: Devotion; Philosophus: Sympathy; Adeptus Minor: Reverence and duty (after the attainment of the Holy Guardian Angel). In terms of experience, these wordings are extremely appropriate and not to be missed whilst ‘hidden in plain sight’. Often the apparently chance wording of initiatory structures conceals an obvious simplicity when such has been experienced, but which remains veiled to the casual reader or ‘armchair magician’. The practical work of each grade follows appropriate kabbalistic correspondence: Neophyte: To perfect control of the Astral Plane; Zelator: Asana and pranayama (posture and breathing); Practicus: Intellectual training (specifically kabbalah); Philosophus: Moral training. During the stage of Dominus Liminus, the candidate would be expected to work with pratyahara (observation of one’s thought processes) and dharana (uniting of object and subject). In the revised grade system of the OED, we place the equivalent practice to pratyahara earlier in the work.

In working these methods at the appropriate grade, the initiate is attempting to gain the following powers: Probationer: A scientific knowledge of the nature and powers of their own being; Neophyte: Control of the nature and powers of their own being; Zelator: Control of the foundations of their own being; Practicus: Control of the vacilliations of their own being; Philosophus: Control of the attractions and repulsions of their own being; Dominus Liminus: Control of the aspirations of their own being; Adeptus Minor: To attain the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel.

The paths on the Tree of Life were also indicated by Crowley as having correspondence to the work of each grade. So, for example, in Malkuth, at the grade of Zelator, one would have access to the paths of The Last Judgement, The World and The Moon, corresponding to Meditation Ritual CXX, control of the Astral Plane, and methods of divination, accordingly. These will be outlined and described in full in the next volume of The Magister.

The Probationer had a simple list of tasks which would take up to one year to complete, including the making of a magical robe, chosing a magical name or motto, and memorising select chapters of Crowley’s writings. It is of interest that they could follow any practice “as seemeth him good.” At this stage, the initiate must be allowed to explore their own natural tendencies, as these (and their reactions to them) are the prima materia for later analysis and work.

THE VISIONS OF THE GRADES

Louise B. Young writes in The Unfinished Universe that “the universe is unfinished, not just in the limited sense of an incompletely realised plan but in the much deeper sense of a creation that is a living reality of the present.”[231] In the Platonic conceptualisation of time as “the moving likeness of eternity,” we sense this as our own incompleteness when we consider ourselves as entities within this ‘moving likeness’. We sense that we are unfinished, moving towards something, or perhaps away from something, in the dance that is depicted upon The World card of the tarot. Into that dance of sleep, a singular light shines, awakening us if we look into it and see what is beyond. In the Tarot of Everlasting Day, this is illustrated fully on that particular card and between the sleeping Fool and the Light of the World are 10 steps – the grades of initiation.

In the magical path of the via exhaustio, we proceed on the basis that each of these ten grades contains a different state of awareness – and a different perspective – which is only true until the next grade is attained. Each grade contains its own questions, its own illusion, traps and challenges. Each grade contains a novelty – a magical, esoteric or mystical experience that has never been experienced before by the candidate. This novelty may or may not coincide with the initiation of the grade – it is sometimes underestimated (as the candidate has no context into which to place its import) and then can only act as a slow burning fuel or seed for eventual realisation and initiation. We cannot know the destination other than what it is not, what we have already exhausted or demonstrated untrue in our experience. A candidate’s position in the initiatory structure can be best determined by the questions that concern them, not the answers that they think they have understood. We ourselves are an unfinished universe, and we make our way up the Tree of Life to recall and create that completion. As we do so, our vision opens up to evermore comprehensive, consistent and congruent experiences and states. These are described in key stages as the visions of the sephiroth. The following list is that given by the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley as the key visions of each of the sephiroth and hence grades of ascent in the Tree of Life and the WEIS: Malkuth: Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel Yesod: Vision of the Machinery of the Universe Hod: Vision of Splendour Netzach: Vision of Beauty Triumphant Tiphareth: Vision of Harmony

Gebruah: Vision of Power Chesed: Vision of Love Binah: Vision of Sorrow Chockmah: Vision of God face-to-face Kether: Union with God The most immediate implication of this list is that the experience of the Zelator, the grade assigned to Malkuth – the first after the Neophyte, beginner phase – is that of the HGA. This seems to make no sense in that the knowledge and conversation of the HGA is the work of the grade of Adeptus Minor in Tiphareth. However, here is concealed a powerful and mystical secret, in that the Zelator is indeed having a constant vision of their HGA, it is simply that they are not awake to this truth – and the knowledge and conversation is an awakening to that communion rather than a sleeping vision of it at Zelator. In each of the subsequent volumes of The Magister we will explore these visions in full.

Conclusion Part One This concludes the first part of Volume 0 of The Magister on Kindle. The following two parts continue the sketching out the curriculum of study for students, we look more closely at the Golden Dawn work from the original archive papers, outline the connection between psychology and magick, and then provide rituals and exercises in order to get you started on this profound path of western spiritual development. We provide a brief outline of the contents of the subsequent two sections below and we look forward to continuing this epic journey into magick with you in the Crucible Club, into which you are cordially invited in the spirit of a magical life. In the second and third sections of the MAGISTER on Kindle, we cover Rosicrucian teachings and the knowledge lectures of the Golden Dawn, drawing on original and often unpublished manuscripts. We develop the mystical teachings through the second section and in the third section present many more exercises and rituals for the student. Magister Volume 0 Part 2 On Those Things Which Call Us To Awakening Jerusalem’s Furnace: Concerning Graduated Mystical Experience The Stages of the Journey The Court Before the Tabernacle: Zelator (Malkuth) The Sanctuary or Forward Area of the Tabernacle: Theoricus (Yesod)

Practicus (Hod) Philosophus (Netzach) The Holy of Holies: Adeptus Minor (Tiphareth) The Mercy Seat and Solomon's Throne: Adeptus Major (Geburah) and Adeptus Exemptus (Chesed) After the Passing Over: Magister Templi (Binah), Magus (Chockmah) and Ipssisimus (Kether) The Alchemical Amphitheatre On Dreams and States of Consciousness The Guardian on the Threshold and the Inner Guide The Invisible College On Initiation and Calcination Vignette: The Mystical Explosion Exercise: Examining the Zelator The Secret Ladder The Sound of the Trumpet: The Original Intention of the So-Called ‘Rosicrucian Manifestos’ Historical Context Authorship The Fama The Confessio The Chymical Wedding The Mirror of Wisdom

Symbology and Metaphor Study of the WEIS The Nature of the Debate Western Esotericism, Rituals and Knowledge The Problem of Magic and the Occult Treatments of the Magical Orders The Teachings of Individual Esoteric Teachers and Followers The Teaching Work Conclusion The Academic and Esoteric Encounter The Birth of Academic Studies of Western Esotericism The Dangers of Monolithic and Historical Analysis The Insider / Outsider Problem The Issue of Secret Knowledge Definitions of Western Esotericism The Contemporary Milieu Conclusion The Ascent Narrative The Ascent Narrative in Christian Mysticism The Ascent Narrative in Kabbalah Curriculum Studies Applied to Western Esotericism Introduction: Curriculum as Model Methodology: Analysis of Curriculum Analysis of Content The Self in Education

Curricula as Content Purposes Content Procedures Evaluation Differences Between Secular and Esoteric Curricula Builders of the Adytum (BOTA): The Creation of a Curriculum The Teachers: A Case Study of Florence Farr The Aim and Structure of the Golden Dawn Light Before the Dawn: The Sat B’hai and the Gold and Rosy Cross The Sat B’hai and the August Order of Light The Influence of the Gold and Rosy Cross Westcott’s Western Mystic Doctrine Mathers and the Book of Concealed Mystery History Foundations at 17 Fitzroy Street A Society of Hermetic Students The Devastating but Priceless Secret The Construction of the Curriculum The Knowledge Lectures and Flying Rolls The Flying Rolls List of Rolls and Authors The Rituals The Ladder and the Golden and Rosy Cross

Evidence of Student Engagement in Western Esoteric Education Problems of Delivery of Material Qualification of Knowledge This is Reserved for a Higher Grade The Failure of the Golden Dawn Alumni of the Golden Dawn The Strange Reward Magister Volume 0 Part 3 In the Shadow of the Bright Circle: The Relationship Between Modern Ceremonial Magic and Psychology Strange Prisoners Naturphilosophie and Jung, the Development of the Unconscious The Nancy School and the Technique of Suggestion The Golden Dawn and the Development of the Self Dion Fortune and Israel Regardie, Psychoanalysts and Magicians Israel Regardie: The Sage of Sedona Dion Fortune: Priestess of the Soul Contemporary Syntheses of Psychology and Magic The Oath of Harpocrates: Considerations on Secrecy and the Hermetic Vessel Flying Roll XIII on Secrecy and Hermetic Love Sermons Through Stones: Who Are the Secret Masters?

No Man Hath Seen Me Unveiled: Considerations on the Dweller on the Threshold The Ka, the Ba, the Ab: Considerations on the Divisions of the Soul Vignette: The Goddess of Sais The Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel The Sacred Magic of Abramelin Vignette: 13 Dancing Girls on a Wednesday The Holy Guardian Angel The Angel and the Higher Self On the Egregore The Abyss Vignette: The Cube of Undoing The Fourth Way Work The Kundabuffers Watching for Kundabuffers The Initiatory Tarot The Three Decks The Mystery of the Monogram The World The Fool The Blasted Tower The High Priestess Your Magical Journal and Dream Diary Optional Journal Practices

The Dreaming Mind Zosimos of Panopolis The Vision of Zosimos Exercise: The Seven Steps Contemplation Optional Dream Practices Exercise: The Fountain of Morpheus (An Initiated Method of Dream Recall) Exercise: Hand Observation for Lucid Dreaming The Dream Journal: Liber Somnorium The Magickal Name The Purpose and Nature of the Magickal Name Salutations, Forms and Greetings Formal Framing in the Order of Everlasting Day Selected List of Magical Names and Mottos The Rituals and Practices Vignette: Airport Adoration Liber Resh (Solar Adoration) Liber Resh vel Helios sub figura CC Commentary and Practice Liber Qoph vel Lunae (The Book of the Moon, a Lunar Observation) The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram Notes Prior to Commencing the Practice The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP) Visualisations The Self in Relationship (The Middle Pillar)

Notes Prior to Commencing the Practice The Middle Pillar Method Circulation of the Light The Peace Profound of the Rose Cross and Key The Rose Cross Ritual The Opening of the Golden Dawn into the Everlasting Day The Opening of the Everlasting Day The Rituals of the Sapphire Temple The Oath of the Tarot Majors Conclusion Frequently Asked Questions Reading List Part One: General Reading Part Two: A Magical Curriculum (Books by Grade) Bibliography Index

[1] Knight, G. & McLean, A. Commentary on the Chymical Wedding. Magnum Opus: Edinburgh, 1984, p.8. [2] Dick, P.K. I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon. Victor Gollancz Ltd: London, 1986, p.179. [3] Mathers, S.L.M. (S. S. D. D.) in King, F. Astral Projection, Ritual Magic, and Alchemy: Golden Dawn Material by S.L. MacGregor Mathers and Others. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough: 1971, p.164. [4] See Greer, J.M. Inside a Magical Lodge. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1998, pp.106110. [5] For Lord A.’s writings and philosophy, see http://www.lorda.blogspot.co.uk/ [last accessed 27 November 2012]. [6] See Abram, D. The Spell of the Sensuous. Vintage Books: New York, 1997, p.99 and, for a therapeutic approach, de Shazer, S. Words Were Originally Magic. W.W. Norton & Co, Inc.: New York, 1994, pp. 17-20.

[7] For the impact of the Reformation on magic, see Chapter 3 of Thomas, K. Religion and the Decline of Magic. Penguin Books: Harmondsworth, 1978. In terms of the origins of mystical Christianity, refer to Louth, A. The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition from Plato to Denys. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1981 and earlier still for the roots of Gnosticism see Mead, G.R.S. Fragments of a Faith Forgotten. University Books: New York, 1960 and Petrement, S. A Separate God: The Origins and Teachings of Gnosticism. HarperCollins: New York, 1984. A fascinating analysis of the conflict between science and magic in the 18th century can be read in Gaby, A.J. The Covert Enlightenment: Eighteenth Century Counterculture and Its Aftermath. Swedenborg Foundation Publishers: West Chester, 2005. An overarching view of the development of magic and witchcraft in Europe is provided in Ankarloo, B. & Clark, S. (editors). Witchcraft and Magic in Europe. University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia, 1999. The latter is a six volume treatise covering Biblical and pagan Societies to the 20th century. [8] Crowley, A. The Revival of Magick and Other Essays. New Falcon: Tempe, 1998, p.19. [9] Regardie, I. Foundations of Practical Magic. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1983; Butler, W.E. Lords of Light: Teachings of the Ibis Fraternity. Destiny Books: Rochester, 1990; Apprenticed to Magic. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1981; Fortune, D. The Training and Work of an Initiate. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1986; Gray, W.G. An Outlook on our Inner Western Way. Samuel Weiser: New York, 1980; Knight, G. Magic and the Western Mind. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1991. For more on Dion Fortune, see Knight, G. Dion Fortune and the Inner Light. Thoth Publications: Loughborough, 2000; Fielding, C. & Collins, C. The Story of Dion Fortune. Thoth Publications: Loughborough, 1998; Richardson, A. Priestess: The Life and Magic of Dion Fortune. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1987; Chapman, J. Quest for Dion Fortune. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1993, and Richardson, A. Aleister Crowley and Dion Fortune: The Logos of the Aeon and the Shakti of the New Age Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2009. [10] Fortune, D. Moon Magic. Weiser: York Beach, 1986. The Sea Priestess. Weiser: York Beach, 1981. The Goat-Foot God. Star: London, 1976. The Demon Lover. Star: London, 1976. The Winged Bull. Star: London, 1976. It

would be a while before I discovered Fortune’s further work such as the Mystical Meditations on the Collects. Weiser: York Beach, 1991, where she discussed more profoundly the deeper revelation of the mysteries and how they might inform Christian mysticism, although The Mystical Qabalah. Ernest Benn: London & Tonbridge, 1979, was one of the first books I purchased at the Ace of Wands occult shop in Derby, England, opening a whole world of lifetime study. [11] Refer to Godwin, J. The Pagan Dream of the Renaissance. Thames & Hudson: London, 2002; Wind, E. Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance. W.W. Norton & Co: New York, 1968; Seznec, J. The Survival of the Pagan Gods. Princetown University Press: Chichester, 1972, and Paris, G. Pagan Grace: Dionysus, Hermes and the Goddess Memory in Daily Life. Spring Publications: Dallas, 1990. A later volume will return to the bridging of paganism, witchcraft, Wicca, and esotericism in the WEIS. Also refer to Livingstone, G. PaGaian Cosmology: Re-Inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. iUniverse: New York, 2008, pp.49-50 where the ‘Western way’ is split into ‘native tradition’ and ‘Hermetic tradition’ from Caitlin & John Matthews’ work, The Western Way. [12] There are a number of biographies of Crowley. I would recommend first Crowley’s own hilarious and rollicking autobiography, The Confessions of Aleister Crowley. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1986, followed in order of personal preference by Kaczynski, R. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. New Falcon: Tempe, 2002; Churton, T. Aleister Crowley: The Biography. Watkins: London, 2011; Booth, M. A Magick Life. Hodder & Stoughton: London, 2000; Regardie, I. The Eye in the Triangle: An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley. Falcon Press: Phoenix, 1982; Symonds, J. The Great Beast. Mayflower: London, n.d. [This is my dog-eared paperback copy that accompanied me from the back seats of a college bus every day and soon after to the Sinai Desert and onwards. It is missing the publisher’s page – I probably tore it out to write a sigil on it]); Suster, G. The Legacy of the Beast. W.H. Allen: London, 1988; Wilson, C. Aleister Crowley: The Nature of the Beast. Aquarian: London, 1987; King, F. The Magical World of Aleister Crowley. Weidenfield & Nicolson: London, 1977; Sutin, L. Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley. St. Martin’s Press: New York, 2000; Hutchinson, R. Aleister Crowley: The Beast Demystified.

Mainstream Publishing: Edinburgh, 1998; Symonds, J. The King of the Shadow Realm. Duckworth: London, 1989. See also the various essays in Bogdan, H. & Starr, M.P. (editors). Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2012, particularly ‘Varieties of Magical Experience’ by Marco Pasi, pp.53-87. [13] Sturzaker, J. Kabbalistic Aphorisms. Theosophical Publishing House: London, 1971; Sturzaker, J. & Sturzaker, D. Colour and the Kabbalah. Thorsons: Wellingborough, 1975, and The Kabbalist (magazine, 1975-2002, see my article in 1991, ‘An Analysis of Malkuth’ under ‘Mark Green’) at: http://internationalorderofkabbalists.org [last accessed 06 August 2012]. [14] Whilst impossible to provide a simple reading list for kabbalah, see elsewhere herein and perhaps commence with Berenson-Perkins, J. Kabbalah Decoder. Barron’s: Happauge, 2000, for a generalist introduction not straying to any particular school or tradition whilst giving adequate coverage for the layman. Also refer to Wang, R. The Rape of Jewish Mysticism by Christian Theologians. Marcus Aurelius Press: Columbia, 2001, for a critical appraisal of how kabbalah was utilised as it was moved into the Western occult movements. [15] My own works on tarot include Katz, M. Tarosophy. Forge Press: Keswick, 2016, and with co-author Goodwin, T. Around the Tarot in 78 Days. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2012; Tarot Face to Face. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2012; Learning Lenormand. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2013; Abiding in the Sanctuary: The Waite-Trinick Tarot. Forge Press: Keswick, 2011, and with Goodwin, T. & Bain, D. A New Dawn for Tarot: The Original Tarot of the Golden Dawn. Forge Press: Keswick, 2013.

[16] In terms of the grimoire tradition, an accessible and comprehensive practical work is provided by Leitch, A. Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2005. The source material of Agrippa and Barrett is available in a number of versions, including Tyson, D. Three Books of Occult Philosophy written by Henry Cornellius Agrippa of Nettescheim. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1998, and d’Arch Smith, T. (editor). The Magus: A Complete System of Occult Philosophy by Francis Barrett. Citadel Press: Cecaucus, 1980. Two essential academic approaches are taken by Butler, E.M. Ritual Magic. Sutton Publishing: Stroud, 1998, and Kieckhefer, R. Forbidden Rites: A Necromancer’s Manual of the Fifteenth Century. Sutton Publishing: Stroud, 1997. There are additional grimoires of note, which will be treated later, including Keith, W. (editor). The Grimoire of Armadel, trans. S. L. MacGregor Mathers. Weiser: York Beach, 2001, and Cavendish, R. (foreword). The Key of Solomon The King, trans. S. L. MacGregor Mathers. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1981. [17] Richardson, A. & Claridge, M. The Old Sod: The Odd Life and Inner Work of William G. Gray. Skylight Press: Cheltenham, 2011; Knight, G. I Called It Magic. Skylight Press: Cheltenham, 2011; Conway, D. Magic Without Mirrors: The Making of a Magician. Logios, 2011, and Hedsel, M. The Zelator. Century Books: London, 1998. [18] Regardie, I. My Rosicrucian Adventure. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1981. [19] Crowley, V. The Magickal Life. Penguin: New York, 2003; di Fiosa, J. A Coin for the Ferryman: The Death and Life of Alex Sanders. Logios, 2010; Kelly, A.A. Crafting the Art of Magic Book I: A History of Modern Witchcraft 1939-1964. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1991; Crowther, P. From Stagecraft to Witchcraft. Capall Bann: Chieveley, 2002. Witch Blood! The Diary of a Witch High Priestess. House of Collectibles: New York, 1974. The Witches Speak. Samuel Weiser: New York, 1976; Sanders, M. Firechild. Mandrake: Oxford, 2008; Deutch, R. The Ecstatic Mother: Portrait of Maxine Sanders. Bachman and Turner: London, 1977; Farrar, J. & Farrar, S. The Life and Times of a Modern Witch. Headline: London, 1998. Throughout my witchcraft work at the time I briefly corresponded with Janet and the late Stewart Farrar, and met with Maxine Sanders in London, although it was through the lineage of Patricia Crowther that I was initiated,

by a Priest and Priestess of her coven. I was also regularly corresponding with the new witchcraft groups in the United States of America, and receiving many of the early American journals and magazines during the period 1985-2000. [20] Mavromatis, A. Travelling Light: Glimpses of Modern Day Initiation. Thyrsos Press: London, 2010, and Lockhart, D. Sabazius: The Teachings of a Greek Magus. Element: Shaftesbury, 1997. [21] For example, Stewart, R.J. Underworld Initiation. Aquarian: Wellingborough, 1985, and O’Regan, V. The Pillar of Isis. Aquarian: London, 1992. [22] Luhrmann, T.M. Persuasions of the Witch’s Craft: Ritual Magic in Contemporary England. Picador: London, 1994. See also an intresting comparison of esoteric teachers by Mistlberger, P.T. The Three Dangerous Magi: Osho, Gurdjieff and Crowley. O-Books: Ropely, 2010. [23] Wilson, R.A. Cosmic Trigger: Final Secret of the Illuminati. Abacus: London, 1979. Right Where You Are Sitting Now. And/Or Press: Berkeley, 1982. With Shea, R. Illuminatus! Sphere Books: London, 1976, in three volumes. [24] Duquette, L.M. My Life with the Spirits: The Adventures of a Modern Magician. Red Wheel/ Weiser: York Beach, 1999. [25] St. George, E.A. The Casebook of a Working Occultist. Rigel Press: London, 1972. [26] Frost, G. & Frost, Y. Power Secrets from a Sorcerer’s Private Magnum Arcanum. Goldolphin House: Hinton, 1980, pp.27-29. [27] Richardson, A. Dancers to the Gods: The Magical Records of Charles Seymour and Christine Hartley 1937-1939. The Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1985, and Ashcroft-Nowicki, D. (editor). The Forgotten Mage: The Magical Lectures of Colonel C.R.F. Seymour. Thoth Publications: Loughborough, 1999.

[28] Wolfe, J. The Cefalu Diaries 1920-1923. The College of Thelema of Northern California: Sacremento, 2008. See also Fuller, J.O. The Magical Dilemma of Victor Neuburg. Mandrake: Oxford, 1990. [29] Shiva, F. Inside Solar Lodge: Outside The Law. Teitan Press: York Beach, 2007. [30] Kansa, S. Wormwood Star: The Magickal Life of Marjorie Cameron. Mandrake: Oxford, 2011; Starr, M.P. The Unknown God: W.T. Smith and the Thelemites. The Teitan Press: Bolingbrook, 2003; Carter, J. Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons. Feral House: Port Townsend, 2004. [31] Kraig, D.M. Modern Magic. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1991; Frater U.D., High Magic. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 2005; McCarthy, J. Magical Knowledge Book I & II. Mandrake: Oxford, 2012; Greer, J.M. Inside a Magical Lodge. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1998; Penczak, C. Ascension Magick. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2007; Cooper, P. Basic Magic. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1996; Wildoak, P. By Names and Images: Bringing the Golden Dawn to Life. Skylight Press: Cheltenham, 2012. [32] Ashcroft-Nowicki, D. The Shining Paths. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1983. First Steps in Ritual. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1982. This latter work, particularly the Egyptian-styled ‘Meeting of Mind with Mind’ ritual, helped my own bridging of pagan practice and esotericism at that time. [33] Green, M. Magic for the Aquarian Age. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1983. The Path Through The Labyrinth. Thoth Publications: Loughborough, 1994.

[34] del Campo, G. New Aeon Magick: Thelema Without Tears. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1994; Mortimer, G.T. The Probationer’s Handbook. Media Underground, 2007; Orpheus, R. Abrahadabra. Red Wheel/Weiser: York Beach, 2005; Duquette, L.M. The Magick of Thelema. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1993. I would highly recommend for those looking at the initiatory aspects of Thelema, Gunther, J.D. Initiation in the Aeon of the Child: The Inward Journey. Ibis Press: Lake Worth, 2009. There is of course no singular ‘widely accepted’ interpretation of Crowley’s work. [35] Nema, Maat Magick. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1995. The Way of Mystery. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 2003. [36] I have at various times over the past three decades approached or been approached by these groups (or versions thereof) in several contexts. We will consider the organisation of magical practice within magical orders and the teaching of the mysteries in later volumes. [37] Chapman, A. Advanced Magick for Beginners. Aeon Books: London, 2008. [38] Goddard, D. The Tower of Alchemy. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1999. [39] Harrison, F. & Shadrach, N. Magic That Works: Practical Training for the Children of Light. Ishtar Publishing: Barnaby, 2005. [40] Templar, E. The Tree of Hru. Kingfisher Press: Irchester, 1990, and The Path of the Magus. Kingfisher Press: Irchester, 1986. p.87: “The ‘dimension change’ is inevitably a traumatic experience involving a psychological upheaval of some description. This process will continue over a few days until either a centre of stability is established within the self or the state of the consciousness reverts to its former condition ... When the adjustment period is complete the effects caused by the higher self in Yetzirah bring reactions in Assiah.” Compare with the work of Florence Farr on the model of ritual through the Egyptian states of self.

[41] Gold, E.J. Life in the Labyrinth. IDHHB: Nevada City, 1986; Ouspensky, P.D. The Fourth Way. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1970. Whilst Gurdjieff’s writings can be difficult, see Gurdjieff, G.I. Views From the Real World. Arkana: London, 1984. Life is Real Only Then, When “I Am”. Routledge and Kegan Paul: London, 1981. For the commentaries of his students and others, refer to Wellbeloved, S. Gurdjieff: The Key Concepts. Routledge: London, 2003; Gorman, M. Stairway to the Stars. Aeon: London, 2010; Tart, C.T. Waking Up. Element Books: Longmead, 1988; Pogson, B. The Work Life. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1994; Nott, C.S. Teachings of Gurdjieff. Arkana: London, 1990; Orage, A.R. Psychological Exercises. Janus Press: London, 1968; Nicoll, M. Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. Shamballa: Boston, 1987, in five volumes. Commentaries on the life and work of Gurdjieff and Ousepensky can be studied in Patterson, W.P. Struggle of the Magicians: Exploring the Teacher-Student Relationship. Arete Communications: Fairfax, 1998, and Webb, J. The Harmonious Circle. G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1980. [42] The plethora of theosophical titles is beyond this present volume, but will be treated later in a section on Theosophy and related currents. Introductory titles include Kingsford, A.B. & Maitland, E. The Perfect Way, or the Finding of Christ. Cosimo: New York, 2007; Steiner, R. The Way of Initiation, and Initiation and Its Results. Theosophical Publishing Society: London, 1910, particularly Chapter V, ‘The Dissociation of Human Personality During Initiation’ and following chapters on the two ‘guardians’. [43] The present author has comprehensive collections of the majority of these curricula materials in print and whilst avoiding revealing ‘initiated teachings’ will attempt to make clear and accessible their deeper aims and methodologies in both conceptual and practical material. [44] Dowd, F.B. The Way: A Textbook for the student of Rosicrucian Philosophy. Health Research: Pomeroy, 1972. Dowd was a student of P.B. Randolph and in turn taught R.S. Clymer.

[45] Hall, M.P. The Adepts in the Western Esoteric Tradition, Part 3: Orders of Universal Reformation. Philosophical Research Society: Los Angeles, 1949, pp.11-13. [46] Bryce, D. The Mystical Way and the Arthurian Quest. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1996; Stewart, R.J. The Underworld Initiation. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1985; Dobbs, J.R. The Book of the SubGenius. Simon & Schuster, Inc.: New York, 1987. [47] Cooper, D.J. Mithras: Mysteries and Initiation Rediscovered. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1996. [48] Bardon, F. Initiation into Hermetics. Osiris-Verlag: Kettig Uber Koblenz, 1962; Godwin, J., Chanel, C. & Deveney, J.P. The Hermetic Brotherhood of Luxor. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1995; Burgoyne, T.H. The Light of Egypt: The Science of the Soul and the Stars. H.O. Wagner: Denver, 1963, in two volumes. [49] Greville-Gascoigne, A. The Way of an Initiate. T.B.O.T.P. Publications: North Ferriby, 1940; The Monolith (publication of the Order of the Cubic Stone); H.O.M, Lectures of the First Degree (1988). [50] Richardson, A. & Hughes, G. Ancient Magicks for a New Age. Llewellyn Publications: St. Paul, 1992 – a fascinating system built from two separate yet related magical diaries, dating 1940-42 and 1984-86. [51] Evolva, J. Ride the Tiger. Inner Traditions: Rochester, 2003; The Hermetic Tradition. Inner Traditions: Rochester, 1995; Introduction to Magic. Inner Traditions: Rochester, 2001; Blystone, W. Paenitere: An Introduction to the Occult Arts for the Neophyte. 1st Books, 2003; Weor, S.A. The Initiatic Path in the Arcana of Tarot and Kabbalah. Thelema Press: Aloha, 2006; Ophiel, The Art and Practice of Caballa Magic. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1977. [52] Dawkins, P. & Trevelyan, G. The Pattern of Initiation in the Evolution of Human Consciousness. Francis Bacon Research Trust: Northampton, 1981.

[53] Abbot, R. with Warrington, P. The Works of Arthur H. Norris Vol. I. Natural Living Books: Northamptonshire, 2012, and Power, R. (editor) Great Song: The Life and Teachings of Joe Miller. Maypop: Athens, Georgia, 1993. [54] My favourite work on the nature of esoteric schools is the kabbalistic approach taken by Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, School of the Soul: Its Path and Pitfalls. Gateway Books: Bath, 1985, although my own reading on the subject has been eclectic, ranging from group dynamics to Blakemore, L.B. Masonic Lodge Methods. Macoy Publishing: Richmond, 1953, pp.7-8 (i.e. ways of dealing with ‘Bossism in Lodges’, when someone thinks they are ‘boss’ other than the Lodge Master). One little known but extremely practical and insightful book is by the Satanist Yaj Nomolos, The Magic Circle: Its Succesful Organization and Leadership. International Imports: Hollywood, 1987. [55] As examples: Geldard, R. The Esoteric Emerson. Lindisfarne Press: Hudson, 1993; Roberts, A Lucid Dreamer: The Life of Peter Redgrove. Jonathan Cape: London, 2012, pp.232-8, noting Redgrove’s connections to Wicca and the Order of Q.B.L.H. [56] The Lamp of Thoth was published from The Sorcerer’s Apprentice shop in Leeds, United Kingdom, throughout the 1980s and this present author contributed to a number of issues under the magical name Frater AES, including letters and channelled workings such as Liber Penultima, an obscure piece in Vol. II. No.4 (1984): “When the black star rises and the hand grasps the feather, the pages of the Great Book will crumble and become like unto ash ...” etc. The 1980s were a fervent period of small press publishing as printing became more accessible. Magazines such as Sunpath were dedicated to one subject, astral projection; T.N.T. was devoted to ‘New Aeon Psychosexuality’; others were more eclectic. Earlier publishing periods produced such curiosities as the Living magazine during the 1930s, a publication of the School of Applied Philosophy, a New Thought movement incorporating “the wisdom-lore of three traditions: Christian, Hermetic, Buddhistic” (I.X., 1937, p. 3). [57] Insight, Issue 16 (published by D. James).

[58] My own inspirations at that time for satanic philosophy and practice were LaVey, A.S. The Satanic Bible. Avon: New York, 1969; The Satanic Rituals. Avon: New York, 1972, and a weekly correspondence by letter with several Satanic luminaries of the time, including at least two who, unfortunately, were later the subject of disparaging United Kingdom television documentaries. See also the ubiquitous Wheatley, D. The Satanist. Arrow Books: London, 1974. There are many more varied takes on the Left Hand Path nowadays, including Webb, D. Uncle Setnakt’s Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path. Runa-Raven Press: Smithville, 1999. We will also in the Zelator volume consider the work of such groups as the Order of the Nine Angles, Order of Dagon, Temple of Set, and other ‘sinister’ orientated work. See also Baddeley, G. Lucifer Rising: Sin, Devil Worship & Rock ‘n’ Roll. Plexus: London, 1999, and Schreck, N. Flowers from Hell: A Satanic Reader. Creation Books, 2001. As an example of academic approaches, see Asbjørn Dyrendal, ‘Satan and the Beast: The Influence of Aleister Crowley on Modern Satanism’ in Bogdan, H. & Starr, M.P. (editors). Aleister Crowley and Western Esotericism. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2012, pp.369-88. [59] The made-for-television movie by Gene Roddenbury, Spectre (directed by Clive Donner, 1977), also has a lot to answer for – with Robert Culp setting a role model as William Sebastian, the cursed occult investigator, accompanied by his loyal but damaged sidekick, Dr. ‘Ham’ Hamilton (played by Gig Young). The comicbook series Dr. Strange was also a surreal inspiration. [60] Pauwels, L. & Bergier, J. The Morning of the Magicians. Mayflower: London, 1971. [61] Hauck, D.W. The Emerald Tablet. Arkana: London, 1999. An overview of alchemical titles will be provided in the relevant section of The Magister.

[62] Suggested first readers are for alchemy in Edinger, E.F. Anatomy of the Psyche. Open Court: Chicago & La Salle, 1994; tarot in Nichols, S. Jung and Tarot. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1980, and astrology in Greene, L. & Sasportas, H. Seminars in Psychological Astrology: Volume 1: The Development of the Personality. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1987, amongst others. See also Spiegelman, J.M. The Tree of Life: Paths in Jungian Individuation. New Falcon Publications: Phoenix, 1993. [63] See Chappell, V. Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic: The Essential Ida Craddock. Weiser Books: San Francisco, 2010. [64] Williams, B. The Woman Magician. Llewellyn: Woodbury, 2011; Kaltsas, N. & Shapiro, (editors). Worshipping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens. Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation: New York, 2011; d’Este, S. (editor). Priestesses, Pythonesses, Sybils. Avalonia: London, 2001; Stewart, R.J. Celebrating the Male Mysteries. Arcania: Bath, 1991; Bly, R. Iron John. Element: Shaftesbury, 1990, and Moore, R. & Gillette, D. King, Warrior, Magician, Lover. HarperCollins: New York, 1990. [65] Denning, M. & Phillips, O. The Magical Philosophy (in five volumes). Llewellyn: Saint Paul, 1974. A contemporary author of the tradition, in one of its several offshoots, is Kraft, N.R. Ogdoadic Magick. Weiser/Red Wheel: York Beach, 2001, and Osborne Phillips published specific key initiatory rituals in Aurum Solis. Thoth Publications: Loughborough, 2001. [66] I found myself particularly unmoved by these texts, a pastiche of which would be: “XOANO: The Guardian of the Eighth Portal, he bringeth fire to your nostrils and remaineth in shadow always. Speak not of that inner word of flame for it burneth the heart when the Arcanum is opened ... yet in his power is all wealth for thee.” It is actually fairly easy to channel such streams of text, and far easier to experience such grimoiric revelations than it is to sort out one’s actual life and gain any insight into the workings of the world outside your nostrils. Often these works are the particular obsession of what one esoteric shopkeeper referred to as ‘Squid Boys’.

[67] Louth, A. The Origins of Christian Mysticism. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1981; McGinn, The Growth of Mysticism. SCM Press: London, 1995, this latter Volume II of an invaluable four volume series on Christian mysticism. [68] These authors and works will be unpacked throughout subsequent volumes. For the ‘Book of the Nine Rocks’, see Kepler, T.S. Mystical Writings of Rulman Merswin. Westminster Press: Philadelphia, n.d. We will also later return to the work of Marguerite Porete (?-1310) whose Mirror of Simple Souls (Babinsky, E.L. (translator). The Mirror of Simple Souls. Paulist Press: New York, 1993) picks up on the seven stages – explicity called ‘states’ of the soul in its divine ascent, see pp. 189-194. We only know of Porete’s death as she was burnt at the stake for heresy. [69] Ramon Lull, in Peers, E.A. (editor). The Art of Contemplation. The Macmillan Co: London, 1925; Thomas A. Kempis, in Barton, G. (translator). The Imitation of Christ. Guidance House: 1942, and Kaplan, A. Meditation and Kabbalah. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1985. [70] For background at this initial stage in our journey, consider Tweedy, I. Daughter of Fire. Blue Dolphin: Nevada City, 1986; Roberts, B. The Experience of No-Self. Shamballa: Boston, 1984; Bubba Free John. The Knee of Listening. Dawn Horse Press: Middletown, 1978; Brunton, P. The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga. Rider & Company: London, 1941. [71] One might consider Harvey, A. A Journey in Ladakh. Picador: London, 1993, p.181: “Westerners do not believe in being ‘Western’ as much as young Easteners do ...” Also by the same author, The Direct Path: Creating a Journey to the Divine Using the World’s Mystical Traditions. Rider: London, 2000, is highly recommended as a practical synthesis of Eastern and Western practice. [72] On Freemasonry, highly recommended is Churton, T. Freemasonry: The Reality. Lewis Masonic: Heresham, 2009, and Hamill, J. The Craft: A History of English Freemasonry. Crucible, 1986.

[73] Huxley, A. The Perennial Philosophy. HarperPerennial: New York, 2009; Holman, J. The Return of the Perennial Philosophy: The Supreme Vision of Western Esotericism. Watkins: London, 2008. For more individual writings on a personal philosophy, see Fowles, J. The Aristos. Pan Books: London, 1968; Wilson, C. The Outsider. Pan Books: London, 1963, or Yeats, W.B. A Vision. Papermac: London, 1981. [74] See Carroll, P. Psychonaut. Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d.; Sherwin, R. The Book of Results. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d.; The Theatre of Magick. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d.; Tickhill, A. The Apogeton. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d.; Wilde, J. Grimoire of Chaos Magick. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d. and more recent works including Wetzel, J. The Paradigmal Pirate. Megalithia Books: Stafford, 2006; Carroll, P.J. Liber Kaos: The Psychonomicon. Antony Rowe: Chippenham, n.d.; Hawkins, J.D. Understanding Chaos Magic. Capall Bann: Chieveley, 1996. My own early attendance at Chaos magick meetings equated them to concerts for ‘Sisters of the Dammed’ fans, although one invocation of Baphomet was particularly memorable. [75] Baker, P. Austin Osman Spare: The Life and Legend of London’s Lost Artist. Strange Attractor Press: London, 2011. The work of Australian artist Rosaleen Norton is comparable and has been detailed by Drury, N. in Pan’s Daughter. Mandrake: Oxford, 1993, and Dark Spirits: The Magical Art of Rosaleen Norton and Austin Osman Spare. Salamander & Sons: Chiang Mai, 2012. [76] Carroll, P.J. Liber Null. Sorcerers Apprentice: Leeds, n.d. In the first issue of the magazine Chaos International, published in 1986, is to be found a computer program for calculating gematria – Hebrew numerology – written under my pseudonym of ‘Frater W.H.H’. I recall this was my choice from the name William Hope Hodgson, whose House on the Borderland (1908) I was working with at the time as a metaphor for the ‘in-between state’ of consciousness.

[77] Summers, C. & Vayne, J. Seeds of Magick. Quantum: London, 1990; Hine, P. Condensed Chaos. 1992; Dukes, R. S.S.O.T.B.M.E. Revised: An Essay on Magic. The Mouse That Spins, 1974, revised 2000. In this collection of essays, the chapter on ‘Progress in Magic’, pp. 114-22, is essential reading. [78] Hyatt, C.S. with Willis, J. The Psychopath’s Bible. New Falcon Publications: Tempe, 2003. [79] Irwin, R. Satan Wants Me. Bloomsbury: London, 2000, p.18: “... I have plenty of other things to try – like the Process, or Divine Light, or Ouspenskyism, or that Witches’ Coven in Islington, or Scientology, or Esalen. I’m easy – except if I am going to stick around with the Black Book Lodge, I would definitely like to see some demons.” [80] Wilson, R.A. Prometheus Rising. Falcon Press: Phoenix, 1986. The exercise on pp.6-7 is one of the few mandatory exercises in the Order of Everlasting Day. [81] Rhinehart, L. The Book of the Die. HarperCollins: London, 2000; The Dice Man. The Overlook Press: New York, 2001; The Search for the Dice Man. HarperCollins: London, 1994. [82] Farber, P.H. FutureRitual. Eschaton: Chicago, 1999; Newcomb, J.A. 21st Century Mage. Red Wheel/Weiser: York Beach, 2002; Katz, M. Tarosophy: Tarot to Engage Life, Not Escape It. Forge Press: Keswick, 2016. [83] Henderson, J.L. Thresholds of Initiation. Chiron Publications: Wilmette, 2005, pp.175-184. [84] Wolff-Salin, M. Journey into Depth: the Experience of Initiation in Monastic and Jungian Training. Liturgical Press: Collegeville, 2005, particularly the pattern of ordeal, disillusionment and integration.

[85] As background and preparatory reading, particularly recommended are Main, R. Revelations of Chance: Synchronicity as Spiritual Experience. State University of New York Press: Albany, 1997; Clarke, R.B. An Order Outside Time: A Jungian View of the Higher Self from Egypt to Christ. Hampton Roads: Charlottesville, 2005; Conforti, M. Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature & Psyche. Spring Journal Books: New Orleans, 2003; Wilbur, K. The Spectrum of Consciousness. Theosophical Publishing House: Wheaton, 1979. [86] Jung, C.G. Man and His Symbols. Picador: London, 1978; Campbell, J. The Hero With A Thousand Faces Paladin: London, 1988, and Vogler, C. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters Pan Books: London, 1999. [87] See Madden, K.W. Dark Light of the Soul. Lindesfarne Books: Great Barrington, 2008, for a discussion of traumatic breakdown and its relation to spiritual breakthrough, through the analysis of Jacob Boehme and C.G. Jung. The astonishing book by O’Brien, B. Operators and Things: The Inner Life of a Schizophrenic. Abacus: London, 1976, can give some pointers to a world in which the conscious mind has been overtaken by these forces. Hollis, J. provides a useful guide to responding to the types of emotions arising from inner work (and general life) in Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places. Inner City Books: Toronto, 1996. [88] Moore, A., Williams III, J.H., Gray, M. & Klein, T. Promethea. Americas Best Comics, 1999-2005, 32 issues. [89] For tarot, http://www.facebook.com/groups/tarotprofessionals [90] Alan Moore, Fossil Angels (2002), http://glycon.livejournal.com/13888.html [last accessed 05 August 2012]. [91] I was once sat across a pub table from members of a contemporary Golden Dawn group. One of them waited until his friends had gone to the bar and then leaned across to me and whispered, “I’m an Adeptus Major you know. What are you?” I think the ‘bemused’ look on my face answered the question.

[92] The most popular works being such as Redfield, J. The Celestine Prophecy. Bantam: London, 1994, termed on its cover with no little irony, ‘The No.1 American Sensation’. This was followed almost immediately by Redfield, J. & Adrienne, C. The Celstine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide. Bantam: London, 1995, an ‘eagerly-awaited companion’ within the year. There is also the popular Tolle, E. The Power of Now. Hodder & Stoughton Ltd: London, 2011, which has been described as a Bible du jour. We might also consider the work and life of Bach, R. Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Scribner: New York, 1998, and Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. Pan Books: London, 1978; and Coelho, P. The Alchemist. Thorsons: London, 1995, as Western guides to ‘following your own dream’ or living ‘your own personal adventure’. There is of course Byrne, R. The Secret (2006) which at time of this writing has sold more than 19 million copies worldwide. It seems to me that from what I understand the ‘Law of Attraction’ has two fundamental flaws: firstly, the only people who have demonstrated that it works are those who have made their money writing that it works, rather than any other methodology; and secondly, it actually is the opposite of magical theory as stated by such as Crowley, in working without ‘lust of result’. That is neither here nor there unless a book claims that it is based upon research in such ‘secret’ or magical theory. Perhaps it all dates back to 1978 with the first publication of Harris, T.A. I’m OK – You’re OK. Arrow Boooks: London, 1995. [93] Wilbur, K. The Spectrum of Consciousness. Quest Books: Wheaton, 1979; Beck, D.E. & Cowan, C.C. Spiral Dynamics. Blackwell Publishing: Malden, 1996. [94] Yates, F.A. The Rosicrucian Enlightenment. Paladin: St. Albans, 1975.

[95] The student is advised to commence with Faivre, A. Access to Western Esotericism. State University of New York Press: New York, 1994; von Stuckrad, K. Western Esotericism. Equinox Press: London, 2005; Hanegraaff, W. J. New Age Religion and Western Culture. Brill: Leiden, 1996; Owen, A. The Place of Enchantment. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2004; and Bogdan, H. Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation. State University of New York Press: Albany, 2007. A thorough examination of how ‘tainted terminologies’ – such as ‘occult’, ‘magic’ and ‘superstition’ – have come about, and the interface between the ‘academy’ and the ‘esoteric’ world can be found in Hanegraaff, W.J. Esotericism and the Academy: Rejected Knowledge in Western Culture. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2012. [96] For an orientation to academic approaches to paganism, see Adler, M. Drawing Down the Moon. Beacon Press: Boston, 1986; Hutton, R. The Triumph of the Moon. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1999; Clifton, C.S. Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America. Alta Mira Press: Oxford, 2006; and Harvey, G. Contemporary Paganism. New York University Press: New York, 1997. [97] Guénon, R. Perspectives of Initiation. Sophia Perennis: Hillsdale, 2004; and Initiation and Spiritual Realization. Sophia Perennis: Hillsdale, 2004. [98] ESSWE Newsletter, Spring 2012, Volume 3, Number 1. See www.esswe.org [last accessed 28 June 2012]. [99] Used with permission. The music of Machinae Supremacy is described by the band as carrying “a vibe of self-confidence, enlightenment and encouragement for people to take control of their own lives.” See http://www.machinaesupremacy.com [last accessed 27 November 2012]. [100] de Chardin, P.T. The Phenomenon of Man. Harper & Row: London, 1961, is a fundamental book to begin exploring notions of human spiritual evolution, and was a big influence on many later writers. [101] Crowley, A. Magick Without Tears. Falcon Press: Phoenix, 1982, p.457.

[102] Crowley’s private notebook, labelled ‘Invocation of Hoor’, 1904 [Yorke Collection]. Also published in Churton, T. Aleister Crowley: The Biography, Watkins: London, 2011, p.101. [103] Zalewski, P. & Zaleswki, C. The Equinox and Solstice Ceremonies of the Golden Dawn. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1992. [104] The Golden Dawn. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1989, p.248. [105] Crowley, A. Liber Al, I.49. [106] It is also Maat who presides over our Temple corresponding to Kether – see later section. [107] Lurker, M. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson: London, 1980, p.78; Hart, G. A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, n.d., pp.116-117; Wilkinson, R.H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson: London, 2003, p.150-1, where Maat is seen as the nourishment of the Gods. [108] Shorter, A.W. The Egyptian Gods. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1937, p.105. [109] Naydler, J. Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred. Inner Traditions International: Rochester, 1996, p.264. [110] Hornung, E. The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West. Cornell University Press: Ithaca & London, 2001, pp.8-9. [111] See also Navratilova, H. Egyptian Revival in Bohemia, 1850-1920. Set Out: Prague, 2003; Iversen, E. The Myth of Egypt and Its Hieroglyphs in European Tradition. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1993; Rice, M. Egypt’s Legacy: The Archetypes of Western Civilization 3000-30 BC. Routledge: London, 1997; and Quirke, S. Ancient Egyptian Religion. British Museum Press: London, 1992.

[112] Richmond, O. Temple Lectures. Fyfe: Chicago, 1892, p.197. Richmond writes “The ‘Star of the East’ once more rises to guide the mystic traveller upon his way; while the light of the rising sun guilds the pyramids of Egypt with a Golden Light.” [113] Henderson, J.L. & Sherwood, D.N. Transformation of the Psyche: The Symbolic Alchemy of the Splendor Solis. Routledge: Hove, 2003, p.110. [114] Abraham, L. A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1988, p.176.

[115] Peter Gabriel, ‘Mercy Street’, on So (1986): “She pictures the broken glass, she pictures the steam / She pictures a soul / With no leak at the seam.” This song is based on the work on poet Anne Sexton, specifically the poem, ‘45 Mercy Street’. The number 45 is of significance in kabbalah, as is the word ‘mercy’ which is the literal translation of Chesed on the Tree of Life. Listen also to ‘The Two Trees’ by Loreena McKennitt, based on the poem by Yeats. [116] See also Adam Mclean, ‘The Alchemical Vessel as Symbol of the Soul’, http://www.levity. com/alchemy/vessel.html [last accessed 22 June 2012]. [117] Fox-Davies, A.C. The Complete Guide to Heraldry. Wordsworth: Ware, 1996, p.293. [118] See ‘Liber Cheth vel Vallum Abiegni, CLVI’, verse 6: “And the angels shall lay thy dust in the City of the Pyramids, and the name thereof shall be no more” in Crowley, A. The Holy Books of Thelema. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1983, p.101. [119] Slater, S. The Complete Book of Heraldry. Anness Publishing: London, 2002, p.64. [120] Regardie, I. Golden Dawn. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1989, p.74. [121] Private correspondence with Birkbeck, L., author of Understanding the Future. Watkins: London, 2008.

[122] Lovecraft, H.P. ‘The Nameless City’ in The Lurking Fear and Other Stories. Panther: London, 1964, p.72. We will return to Lovecraft in a further volume. See Joshi, S.T. A Subtle Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft. Wildside Press: Berkeley Heights, 1999; Primal Sources. Hippocampus Press: New York, 2003; Joshi, S.T. & Schultz, D.E. An H.P. Lovecraft Encyclopaedia. Hippocampus Press: New York, 2001; particularly pp.50-55 on Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos and his own thoughts on his ‘Yog-Sothothery’ pseudo-mythology. See also Evans, D. The History of British Magick after Crowley. Hidden Publishing: London, 2007, for a thread of discussion on the influence of Lovecraft’s work on both Anton LaVey and Kenneth Grant. [123] See Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed. Dover: New York, 1956, pp.171-189 on the eternity of the universe. Also ‘The contemplation of eternity maketh the soul immortal’ by Thomas Traherne (c. 1636-1674) in Grant, P. A Dazzling Darkness: An Anthology of Western Mysticism. Fount: London, 1985, pp.322-332. [124] It is beyond this present volume to go into the history of the Bavarian Illuminati and their later re-casting as a popularist fiction of an überbrotherhood, suffice to say that we will look at this conceptualisation – and that of the Secret Masters – towards the final volumes of The Magister. [125] See Zimbardo, P. & Boyd, J. The Time Paradox: Using the New Psychology of Time to your Advantage. Rider: London, 2008; James, T. & Woodsmall, W. Time Line Therapy and the Basis of Personality. Meta Publications: 1998; Libet, B. Mind Time: The Temporal Factor in Consciousness. Harvard University Press: London, 2004; and Damasio, A.R. The Feeling of What Happens. William Heinemann: London, 2000. [126] Plato, Timaeus. Dent: London, 1965, pp.30-31. [127] See Chapter 10, ‘The Miraculous Fish: Symbol of the Self ’ in Clarke, R.B. An Order Outside of Time: A Jungian View of the Higher Self from Egypt to Christ. Hampton Roads: Charlottesville, 2005.

[128] A multi-mapping of the I-Ching onto Aeonic timeframes has been conducted by McKenna, T. in, for example, The Invisible Landscape. HarperCollins: New York, 1993, and True Visions and the Archaic Revival. MJF Books: New York, 1993. A similar cross-cultural temporal map is provided in Arguelles, J. Earth Ascending. Bear and Company, 1988. [129] A useful overview of human development to this point of time can be found in Harari, Y. N., Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. London: Vintage Books, 2011. [130] See Frater Aurum Nostrum Non Vulgi, ‘The Place of the Ma’at Current in Modern Magick’ in Thaneteros, Issue 4. [131] Reeves, M. Joachim of Fiore and the Prophetic Future. SPCK: London, 1976. See also http:// www.centrostudigioachimiti.it/Benvenuti/benvenutieng.asp for the full diagrams of Joachim. [132] Corbin, H. En Islam Iranien: Aspects spirituels et philosophiques, Tome IV: L’Ecole d’Ispahan L’Ecole Shaykhie – Le Douzieme Imam, Gallimard, Bib. Des Idees: 1973, p.448. [133] de Chardin, T. Le Millieu Divin. William Collins Sons: London, 1964, p.150. [134] McKenna, T. Re-Evolution (1992) at http://deoxy.org/t_re-evo.htm [last accessed 27 June 2012]. [135] Waite, A.E. ‘At The End of Things’ in The Collected Poems of Arthur Edward Waite. William Rider & Son, Ltd: London, 1914, p.21. [136] See Bain, D., Goodwin, T. & Katz, M. A New Dawn for Tarot. Forge Press: Keswick, 2013, for this and more than 50 previously unpublished tarot-related images from the original Golden Dawn archives. [137] Cirlot, J.E. A Dictionary of Symbols. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1962, p.103.

[138] Reeves, N. Ancient Egypt: The Great Discoveries, a Year-by-Year Chronicle. Thames & Hudson: London, 2000, pp.160-166. [139] Crowley, A. Liber Al, II.5. [140] Grant, K. Outside the Circles of Time. Frederick Muller Ltd: London, 1980. [141] Grant, K. Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God. Frederick Muller: London, 1976, pp.53-58. [142] Other accounts of an arising global consciousness include Bloom, H. Global Brain. John Wiley & Sons: New York, 2000, and Stock, G. Metaman. Bantam Press: London, 1993. [143] There are many indications of visions of a global consciousness, and a new form of society based upon what might be called an open-source culture, such as Wells, H.G. ‘Human Life in the Coming World Community’ in The Open Conspiracy and Other Writings. Waterlow and Sons: London, 1933, pp.92-93: “A time will come when men will sit with history before them or with some old newspaper before them and ask incredulously, ‘Was there ever such a world?’” [144] Sendivogius. Treatise on Sulpher. Cologne, 1613. For an article examining Rosicrucian connections to Sendivogius, see also: http://www.levity.com/alchemy/sendi.html [last accessed 28 November 2012]. [145] Nema, Cincinnati Journal of Ceremonial Magick, Volume 1, Issue 5. [146] Nema, ‘Feast of the Hive’, Cincinatti Journal of Ceremonial Magick. [147] Lancaster, B. The Elements of Judaism. Element: Shaftesbury, 1993, p.33.

[148] Daleth, ‘ICOM and the Future Society’, Meridian. ICOM: Summer 1998. ICOM was a group of eclectic English magicians formed in the 1990s, the name being the deliberately tongue-in-cheek Illuminated Congregation of Melchizedek. Their work is partially revealed in Katz, M. The Zodiacal Rituals. Forge Press: Keswick, 2008, and was tangential to the Maat current work. They were likely amongst the first magical groups to take advantage of the newly created Internet, inhabiting early bulletin board systems (BBS) and performing the world’s first ‘virtual ritual’ in a nascent 3D environment called ActiveWorlds, which is now the oldest VR still in existence. [149] Nema, Maat Magick. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1995; The Way of Mystery. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 2003; The Priesthood: Parameters and Responsibilities. Black Moon: Cincinnati, 1985; ‘A Measure of Maat’ and ‘Liber Pennae Praenumbra’, in British Journal of Maat, Volume 1, Number 1. Ordo Occultus Dea: Cheshire, 1982. [150] There are at least two fictional accounts of what life might be like if we were all immediately interconnected with each other as a species, both for the positive and negative: McQuay, M. The Nexus. Headline: London, 1989, and Emtsev, M. & Parnov, E. World Soul. Macmillan: New York, 1978. [151] Barrett, F. The Magus: A Complete System of Occult Philosophy. The Citadel Press: Secaucus, N.J., 1980. [152] Crowley, A. 777 & Other Kabbalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley. Samuel Weiser, Inc.: York Beach, 1982. [153] Agrippa, Three Books of Occult Philosophy. Llewellyn Publications: St. Paul, 1998. [154] Sheldrake, R. A New Science of Life: The Hypothesis of Formative Causation. Icon Books: London, 2012. [155] Fowles, J. The Aristos. Pan Books: London, 1968, pp.22-23. [156] Drury, N. The Path of the Chameleon: Man’s Encounter with the Gods and Magic. Nevillle Spearman: Jersey, 1973, p.13.

[157] Bubba Free John. The Knee of Listening. Dawn Horse Press: Middleton, 1978, p.269. [158] Crowley, A. The Book of Thoth. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1985, p.73. [159] Copenhaver, B.P. Hermetica. Cambridge, 1992, pp.5-6.

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[160] Williams, J. Winning with Witchcraft. Finbarr: 1986. [161] Roberts, B. The Experience of No-Self. Shamballa: Boston & London, 1982, pp.193-195. [162] Carroll, P. Psychonaut. Sorcerer’s Apprentice: Leeds, n.d., pp.53-58. [163] See Woodcock, A. & Davis, M. Catastrophe Theory. Penguin: Harmondsworth, 1980, and to a lesser extent, Gladwell, M. The Tipping Point. Little, Brown and Company: London, 2000. [164] Nott, C.S. Teachings of Gurdjieff. Arkana: London, 1990. [165] In Mark Braham, ‘The Protector of Humanity’, a talk given to the Arcane School Conference, London, June 1987, we hear “to deny hierarchisation is to deny existence” and “hierarchy is the accompaniment of evolution.” [166] A short story by Dick, P.K. ‘The Exit Door Leads In’, originally written for Rolling Stone College Papers (1979) and republished in Carr, T. Best Science Fiction of the Year #9. Ballantine Books: London, 1980. [167] Jung, C.G. Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Vol. 5. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1967, xxvi: “The time [being aged 36] is a critical one, for it marks the beginning of the second half of life, when a metanoia, a mental transformation, not infrequently occurs.” [168] Voss, A. Marsilio Ficino. North Atlantic Books: Berkeley, 2006, pp.12.

[169] New translation provided courtesy of Dr. Peter Forshaw, Centre for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam. [170] Katz, M. & Goodwin, T. Abiding in the Sanctuary. Forge Press: Keswick, 2011. [171] See Morrison, G. ‘Pop Magic!’ in Metzger, R. (editor). Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult. Disinformation Company: New York, 2003, p.21. A hypersigil is a creative act, such as writing, usually extended over a long series, intended as a magical sigil which changes its author and the lives of the author and readers. One example is when the author Alan Moore had the lead character, John Constantine, from his graphic novel series, Hellblazer, appear to him in his real life – a scene he then drew back into the graphic novel. The extended use of observation of tarot symbols can also function as a hypersigil, particularly when crowdsourced or represented on a social media network such as Facebook. Participants generate their own content, are influenced by the images of archetypal patterns presented by others, and this recontextualises their own perception, creating a feedback loop or hypersigil. Participants in our own (non-explained) experiments of this nature often report, without any suggestion, synchronicity or strange events such as people coming back into their lives from their past, or significant life changes, etc. The hypersigil concept is a radical new form of co-creative and collaborative magick and our Order has been using it for two years with fascinating results. [172] Frater Achad. The Egyptian Revival. Samuel Weiser: New York, 1973; an extended com- mentary on the Appendix to Chapter 2 in Q.B.L. or The Bride’s Reception. Samuel Weiser: New York, 1974, and Gray, W.G. Qabalistic Concepts. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1997, pp.213-232. [173] One of the most important lines in the Golden Dawn Neophyte initiation ritual. [174] 1 Corinthians 13:12: “For now we see through a glass, darkly.”

[175] Edinger, E.F. Anatomy of the Psyche. Open Court: Chicago and La Salle, 1994, pp.17-45. [176] This section was first published in Katz, M. & Goodwin, T. Tarot Inspire. Forge Press: Keswick, 2011, and is here given in modified form for completeness. [177] Gilbert, T. Messages from the Archetypes. White Cloud Press: Ashland, 2004. [178] Compton, M. Archetypes on the Tree of Life: The Tarot as Pathwork. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1991. [179] MacGregor-Mathers, S.L. The Kabbalah Unveiled. Routledge Kegan & Paul: London, 1981, pp.20-21. [180] Gray, E. Mastering the Tarot. New American Library: New York, 1971, p.26 & p.69. [181] Gray, E. Mastering the Tarot. New American Library: New York, 1971, p.66. [182] Gray, E. Mastering the Tarot. New American Library: New York, 1971, p.29. [183] In fact, it could be proposed that each of the 10s in the Waite-Smith deck contain a reference to another card: the 10 of Cups shows the family whose parents first meet in the 2 of Cups (the red-roofed cottage and trees are seen in both), the 10 of Swords shows the murdered Hierophant (he is the martyred Thomas Beckett who wears the same clothing and is making the same blessing sign) and the 10 of Wands perhaps implies that they must be bound together to make a singular Ace of Wands. [184] Waite, A.E. Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Rider & Company: London, 1974, p.154-155. [185] See Da Free John. The Four Fundamental Questions. The Dawn Horse Press: Clearlake Highlands, 1980, pp.14-17.

[186] From the 1990 American psychological horror film, Jacob’s Ladder, directed by Adrian Lyne. [187] Waite, A.E. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. Rider & Company: London, 1974, p.274. [188] Brunton, P. The Hidden Teachings beyond Yoga. Rider & Co: London, 1941, p.161. [189] These are also to be found depicted as the Aces in the Union Deck of the Tarot of Everlasting Day. [190] See Fohrer, G. Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary of the Old Testament. Walter de Gruyter: 1973, under ‫ הלל‬. [191] If you are interested in exploring more about the Path of Love, including how transference, ‘threeness’ and even kaballah relate to this journey, see Chapter 11, ‘Love’s Angel’, in Haule, J. Pilgrimage of the Heart: The Path of Romantic Love. Shamballa: Boston, 1992. [192] Crowley, A. The Book of Thoth. Samuel Weiser: York Beach, 1985, p.194195. [193] Conforti, M. Field, Form and Fate: Patterns in Mind, Nature and Psyche. Spring Journal Inc: New Orleans, 2003. [194] For his thoughts on initiation, see Eco, U. Foucault’s Pendulum. Picador: London, 1990, p.215. [195] Crowley, A. Magick Without Tears. Falcon Press: Phoenix, 1982, pp.109-121. [196] For more on the initiatory journey through the tarot, you may wish to also read Ozaniec, N. The Element Tarot Handbook: Initiation into the Key Elements of the Tarot. Element: Shaftesbury, 1994. For more on the wounded healer, see the Bibliography and Sandford, L.T. Strong at the Broken Places. Virago Press Ltd: London, 1991. Also Sedgewick, D. The Wounded Healer: Countertransference from a Jungian Perspective, Routledge: Hove, 1994. [197] Waite, A.E. Unpublished notes.

[198] Fortune, D. Sane Occultism. Aquarian Press: Wellingborough, 1979, p.115. [199] Hine, P. ‘Graded Grains Make Finer Flour’. See http://www.philhine.org.uk/writings/gp_grains.html [last accessed 22nd August 2014]. See also Staley, M. ‘Graded Grains Make Finer Flour’, in SKOOB: Occult Review, Issue 4, 1991. [200] The Tetrys is the triangular shape composed of ten points arranged from one point at the apex to four points at the base. It is a fundamental symbol in Pythagorean philosophy. To the Adeptus Minor, it symbolises the completion of the elemental grades and the new phase of bringing harmony to all aspects of life and creation. [201] Yeats, W.B. (Under the pseudonym of D. E. D. I.), ‘Is the Order of R. R. & A. C. to remain a magical order?’ Typescript. Yorke Collection, NS11.d. [202] Howe, E. Magicians of the Golden Dawn. London: Routledge, 1972. pp. 288-9. [203] Crowley, A. Magick. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1985. p.328. [204] Letter from Dr. S.W. Brathwaite to Gerald Yorke, dated 05 May 1932. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [205] Reply from Gerald Yorke to Dr. S.W. Brathwaite, corrected by Aleister Crowley. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [206] Ibid. [207] Ibid. [208] Kaczynski, R. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. New Falcon Publications: Arizona, 2002, p.373. [209] Ibid. [210]

Ibid. [211] Letter between Sidney French and Gerald Yorke, dated 18 April 1932. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [212] Crowley, A. ‘Liber O vel Manus et Sagittæ’, in Symonds, J. & Grant, K. Magick. Guild Publishing: London, 1988, pp.448-59. [213] Magick, op. cit., p.448. [214] Ibid. [215] Crowley, A. ‘Liber LXXI’ including the ‘Seven Portals’, Equinox Vol.III. No.I, also called the ‘Blue Equinox’. Universal Publishing Co: Detroit, 1919, p.87. [216] Letter from Sidney French to Gerald Yorke, dated 20 July 1932. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [217] Yorke Collection, OSD12. [218] Kaczynski, R. Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley. New Falcon Publications: Arizona, 2002, p.373. [219] Letter between Sidney French and Gerald Yorke, dated 18 April 1932. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [220] See, for example, Marcus Katz, ‘Tarot on the Threshold: Liminality and Illegitimate Knowledge’ in Augur, E. (editor). Tarot in Culture. [221] Letter from Violet Firth (Dion Fortune) to Gerald Yorke, dated 02 July 1928. Yorke Collection, OSD12. [222] Ibid. [223] Ephraim, F.G. Der Rosenkreutzer in Seiner Blösse. Amsterdam, 1781.

[224] Documents viewed in private collection. [225] Kuntz, D. The Complete Golden Dawn Cipher Manuscript. Holmes Publishing Group: Edmonds, 1996, p.38. See also the original publication of Magister Pianco, Der Rosenkreuzer in seiner Blösse. Amsterdam, 1781, p.107-111. [226] See the S.R.I.A. rituals as given by Alex Sumner, demonstrating the alchemical basis of the grades and the usage of these titles: http://www.golden-dawn.com/eu/UserFiles/en/File/ pdf/sria.pdf pp.2-3 [last accessed 06 August 2012]. [227] The name is given at the conclusion of the initiatory ritual. See the Zelator grade in Regardie, I., The Golden Dawn. Llewellyn: St. Paul, 1989, p.152. [228] The poet and Golden Dawn initiate W.B. Yeats described the grade in allusion within his play, The Unicorn from the Stars (1907). One character, Father John, even muses about the Latin title: “I heard it in some place ...” Whilst we will detail this in a subsequent volume, the extract from that play where Martin describes his vision of the unicorns to Father John can be read for a stunning evocation of the work of this grade, familiar to Yeats. We must also look to the quoted Biblical psalm in the extract, Calix meus inebrians quam praeclarus est, “My chalice which inebriateth me, how goodly it is!” as a further indication of the nature of the grade. [229] Personal conversation with the present author. Eric Muhler is a jazz pianist and the grand-son of Aleister Crowley. [230] Crowley, A. Magick. Routledge & Kegan Paul: London, 1985. pp.327-338. [231] Young, L.B. The Unfinished Universe. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1986, pp.205-206.