Brian Berge ([info]brianberge) wrote,
@ 2006-08-13 14:43:00
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Reincarnation, Structuralism, Aleister Crowley & Goetia
Notes to Myself Written Early This Morning
None of the terms of the individual's mind, which tend to be symbolic of a presumed external reality but which really constitute only the experience of the microcosm, survive transference from that microcosm. Consciousness succeeds the microcosm without the microcosm's terms/symbols. When it returns to a new microcosm, a.k.a. new "incarnation", any of the terms which symbolize a possible set of elements constituting an experience of the universe may be different. It may be that if one changes, that all others must also change. In other words, the character of all terms/symbols may be different from the previous incarnation. However, a similar structuralism may exist between the terms/symbols of two different microcosms. The idea of this structuralism is exactly the thesis fundamental to Qabalah.

Earlier tonight, in a conversation with a few people on the subject of reincarnation in which some time of silence on my part was not disruptive, I entered a trance in which these concepts (true or false) were clear to my mind. I recognized that Aleister Crowley was a provider of methods of initiation & both the mystical & magical evolution of the consciousness, & was at the same time considered "the wickedest man alive" owing to essentially the reality of that same fact. I wondered what terms/symbols his role would assume in my next incarnation, & realized that my consciousness would do well in searching for him/it by remaining uninfluenced by the claims of the collective as to the "wickedness" of a person or thing (which accusation ultimately has no relationship with that person or thing's actual value, morally, ethically, or for any purpose). I felt a tension in my body that seemed connected to the consideration of the collective's "goodness-evilness" judgment to relax inside me, & a category of spiritual ease rarely ever present in me before visited me. I recognized import to the carrying-over of this value by my consciousness to the next incarnation, & my mind returned to this thought at several opportunities through the rest of the night.

It occurs to me now that there may further be value in pursuing what is called "wicked" without apparent reason, & even what is collectively recommended against without apparent reason. I'll have to continue considering that, because, on the other hand, the danger of Goetia seemed, for some moment, to be very clear purely in terms of its place in the structuralism of the accepted cosmic (Qabalistic) model. But, perhaps its place is dependent upon the intention applied to it, or the initiation of the consciousness treating it.
I'm sharing this here because I'd love to hear any feedback anyone could offer. I'd also love to hear opinions on the place of Goetia in terms of the magician's magick being "white" or "black", or in other words in terms of the magician's career of pursuing &/or exercising K. & C. of the H.G.A.. We do plenty of magical practices which are not directly intended to effect this pursuit or exercise, but which may be considered "white magic" insofar as they may be considered probably-necessary prerequisites to the singular white-magic goal of K. & C.. Goetia is famously (isn't it?) recommended against as a digression from "giv[ing] up the self to the Beloved", but in terms of the qualification described in the previous sentence, could it be not a digression but instead one of the many steps of a white magician toward the K. & C., depending of course on the magicians sincere perspective & intention(s) w/ the operation?

I feel this is a subject that is difficult to get feedback on. Is this something people in the know are reluctant to advise any other person on?--Perhaps something only knowable by the magician/operator? Feedback even on just the topic of the value that feedback should or shouldn't have to someone considering these questions would be interesting to me!

Thank you!


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geat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-14 07:01 am UTC (link)
Harry Potter Maurader's Map remains blank until he says: "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" & when he's done he says "mischief managed!". when Professor Snape tries to reveal the map's secret several messages appear, from the mapmakers, to keep his nose out of other people's business. & that's, imho, the Goëtia in a nutshell. imho, the Goëtic system's foundation is terra firma & all of man's terrestrial concerns: getting money, finding money, stealing money, being invisible to your enemies, finding favor, making women love you, making men love you, making everybody love you.

you mention "white" & "black", but there's also "yellow". i was a buddhist at the time i purchased 777 And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley", primarily because of Sepher Sephiroth by Allan Bennett credited for bringing buddhism to the west. as a buddhist i had to deal with the "goodness-evilness" thing with my family. i chanted to an "object of worship" (gohonzon). when i lived with my mother, who's a christian, she worried that it was an idol. found a xerox copy of a page describing idols in her room, so i knew she was disturbed by this. several years later she surprised me, out of the blue, saying i prayed more than anyone she knew praising me for my thoughtfulness & kindness blah blah. in other words, i hadn't turned "evil". the gohonzon is a scroll (or, mandala) made of Chinese/Sanskrit characters & some of these characters are the names of demons who have promised to uphold, protect & promote the Dharma. eg, Kishimojin, the Demon Mother (who sounds a lot like Lilith) is one of them. if i remember correctly, demons also reside in the Kalachakra mandala.

evil & wickedness are difficult subjects to discuss because, maybe, differing ideas of what is wicked, or taboo, or evil &c. a pastor of a major church once said he doesn't read the old testament anymore because there's some strong stuff in there, he can't handle it. when considering their list of powers (& why we're drawn to use them) — what's honest, fair or decent about the Goëtia? however, Crowley described the Goëtic spirits as "portions of the human brain" & invoking the spirits stimulates the appropriate part of the brain. the effects are not miraculous, he says, and "these practices are useless" to him but he provides it for the benefit of those less fortunate — he has everything he needs.

watched the The Aristocrats last night which is about this classic joke with only a beginning & a punchline. the comedian's supposed to fill the middle up with feces, piss, vomit, blood, pedophilia, bestiality &c. so the movie's about all these comedian's describing & performing this joke. Phyllis Diller says, in her time, how hard it was for people to accept a woman cursing. Whoopi Goldberg talks about people complaining when she doesn't curse. Chris Rock talks about signs off stage saying "no profanity", but hey .... black people were never gonna be on tv anyway. watching Bob Saget do the joke was amazing because he really illustrated the art of this joke — none of the shit, piss or whatever they're talking about sticks to the comedian.

when Allan Bennett first met Crowley he said, "Little brother, you have been meddling with the Goëtia". when Crowley denied it Bennett said, "in that case the Goëtia has been meddling with you". when i first met you it was during Lon's Enochian Workshop. i had a color printout of Buer's sigil i created that i wanted him to sign. the night before i read about someone performing a Goëtic invocation to heal a friend's illness. when i handed the printout to Lon he looked at it for a moment then told me Buer was the Goëtic demon Crowley invoked when Bennett became very ill. as far as i know, Buer's description in Sepher Sephiroth is the only time the word "Goëtia" is mentioned there, even though all 72 demons are listed.

my personal experience with the Goëtia: they love cappuccino & they're just crazy about umlauts.

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-14 09:20 am UTC (link)
Your comments are always so informative! (Thank you.)

Here're more thoughts I've been having on the matter (cut & pasted from a different forum):

I must confess I'm thinking in a Thelemic paradigm, in which all magic is qualified as black or white based on a strict definition:
THE Magical Will is in its essence twofold, for it presupposes a beginning and an end; to will to be a thing is to admit that you are not that thing.

Hence to will anything but the supreme thing, is to wander still further from it--any will but that to give up the self to the Beloved is Black Magick--yet this surrender is so simple an act that to our complex minds it is the most difficult of all acts; and hence training is necessary. Further, the Self surrendered must not be less than the All-Self; one must not come before the altar of the Most High with an impure or an imperfect offering. As it is written in Liber LXV, "To await Thee is the end, not the beginning."

--ALEISTER CROWLEY,
Book IV (Liber ABA), Part 2 (Magick), Cap. 6 (The Wand)

I've been taking "the Beloved" as referring to "The Holy Guardian Angel", which in Thelema refers to an intelligence that communicates to the magician the "divine" Will of their incarnation. Communication with this intelligence is traditionally referred to as "The Knowledge & Conversation of the H.G.A.", and Qabalistically speaking is an attainment attributed to Tiphareth.

So, if we believe in Crowley's initiation, insight & articulation, we have this:

Surrender of the self to the Beloved is "White" Magick & all else is "Black", but apparently the training necessary to perform the White Magick act of surrender is necessary. I was about to say "permitted". "Necessary" seems such a better word, & I'm reminded that in Greek, besides Thelema ("Will") equalling 93, & also Agape ("Love"), Anagkhi ("By Necessity") also equals 93. Searching for the words "necessity" or "necessary" in The Book of the Law (the book received by Crowley which gives us the Law of Thelema), yeilded only the word "necessary" in the Introduction written by Crowley:

The Law of Thelema

This Book lays down a simple Code of Conduct.

"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."

"Love is the law, love under will."

"There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt."

This means that each of us stars is to move on our true orbit, as marked out by the nature of our position, the law of our growth, the impulse of our past experiences. All events are equally lawful--and every one necessary, in the long run--for all of us, in theory; but in practice, only one act is lawful for each one of us at any given moment. Therefore Duty consists in determining to experience the right event from one moment of consciousness to another.

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-14 09:21 am UTC (link)
Each action or motion is an act of love, the uniting with one or another part of "Nuit"; each such act must be 'under will,' chosen so as to fulfil and not to thwart the true nature of the being concerned.

The technical methods of achieving this are to be studied in 'Magick,' or acquired by personal instruction from the Master Therion and his appointed assistants.

--A.C., The Book of the Law, Introduction

This is informative to me to review. My understanding has been that Goetia has a reputation for being a distraction from the pursuit of, & a potential hinderance from the attainment of, K. & C. of the H.G.A., & therefore has some special reason to be regarded as "Black" Magick. There seemed to be at least some exception as Crowley &/or others who claimed to have K. & C. of the H.G.A. (or not) have employed Goetia, & seem to have remained open, healthy-minded, growing sisters & brothers (for what that's worth). Reviewing Crowley's words more fully here makes it clear that "all events are equally lawful--& every one necessary...in theory; but in practice only one act is lawful for each one of us at any given moment" & perhaps that is the one that is most "necessary" for each one of us at any given moment. It occurs to me that the event that is "most necessary" (out of multiple theoretically-possible events) is proven by the fact of its occurrence (but the idea of multiple events being possible in potential while one of those is determined according to some factor seems totally theoretical & perhaps part of the illusion of the uninitiate). I find it interesting that Crowley writes that "Duty consists in determining to experience the right event from one moment of consciousness to another", & not "Duty consists in determining to effect or enact the right event or action..." (cause & effect probably being another illusion of another category of uninitiate).

Anyway, I've been wondering "when is Goetia 'White' or 'Black' Magick" when I should've wondered "when is anything 'White' or 'Black' Magick". I've narrowed the question for myself down to: "each...act must be 'under will,' chosen so as to fulfil and not to thwart the true nature of the being concerned".

Of course then they say "only your H.G.A. knows what your 'True Will' is, & it may be quite different from what you think it is, & you may really need to go through all this & that suffering, poverty, apparent misfortune et al. to learn, acquire &/or attain these lessons etc. to be initiated, so to speak, instead of to just be comfortable or successful in your false, uninitiated concept of 'success'" BUT what else is a fool to do who doesn't know some "higher" will? One path of failure is simply a different initiation than another path of failure, & the one that happens could always be looked back at as the one most "necessary" (or again perhaps the potentially-illusory nature of multiple possible paths could be transcended). The foreward-looking illusion of multiple paths & the fear of taking one on the basis of it being more-wrong than another reminds me of a few things. I suppose that the proof of which events "fulfil & not...thwart" may be only the fact of which events simply occur in reality, & the proof of "the nature of the being concerned" may also be those events that occur in reality. We may walk a path on which there is no possibility to mis-step, except to stop for fear of mistep, which reminds me of:
26. I am the secret Serpent coiled about to spring: in my coiling there is joy. If I lift up my head, I and my Nuit are one. If I droop down mine head, and shoot forth venom, then is rapture of the earth, and I and the earth are one.

27. There is great danger in me; for who doth not understand these runes shall make a great miss. He shall fall down into the pit called Because, and there he shall perish with the dogs of Reason.

28. Now a curse upon Because and his kin! May Because be accurséd for ever!

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-14 09:22 am UTC (link)
30. If Will stops and cries Why, invoking Because, then Will stops & does nought.

31. If Power asks why, then is Power weakness.

32. Also reason is a lie; for there is a factor in finite & unknown; & all their words are skew-wise.

The Book of the Law, Cap. II

42. ...[T]hou hast no right but to do thy will.

43. Do that, and no other shall say nay.

44. For pure will, unnassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.

The Book of the Law, Cap. I

& taking the "secret Serpent" & venom references as allusions to the kundalini serpent & the Amrita/Vindu, I'm reminded of The Book of Lies Ch. 18, "Dewdrops", which whole chapter treats this subject profoundly, I think; but most relevantly it says:
Let this go free, even as It will; thou art not its master, but the vehicle of It....

Commentary

...Vindu is identified with Amrita, and in the last paragraph the disciple is charged to let it have its own way. It has a will of its own, which is more in accordance with the Cosmic Will, than that of the man who is its guardian and servant.

--A.C., The Book of Lies, Cap. 18 ("Dewdrops")

Qabalistically speaking, I had been thinking it was "whiter" magick to work on the plane of Malkuth, & to work on or against the wills of the complexes of that plane, instead of asking the favor/assistance of complexes/shells of Yesod (& I'm referring to the Goetic entities here as I think I recall Voxx the Psychic writing in one of the groups here that the Goetic entities are lunar). However, considering it now I really don't know why I should think that--I hadn't formalized it into a formula like that before & now that I do I don't see its basis. Maybe the feeling was that lunar qliphoth are more dangerous than terrestrial qliphoth, but maybe the reverse is true. Maybe there's a dichotomy between the solar quality of the H.G.A. & the lunar quality of the Goetic entities? Could there be a relevant connection between the Sphere of Luna (which I am imagining Voxx may've been attributing the Goetic entities to) & the path of Luna (which the chapter "Dewdrops" treats). Now I'm definitely rambling & this is already a long post! But I hope more feedback is inspired!

One last point: I may've been making a leap to read "the Beloved" as the H.G.A.. Maybe anything beautiful to a particular consciousness may be "the Beloved", but maybe what is beautiful is always informed by Tiphareth (the home of the H.G.A.). Of course this evolves & even grows, which brings up another point: The ultimate Beloved apparently must be pursued by the "ordeals" of lesser "Beloved"s. "...[T]he Self surrendered must not be less than the All-Self; one must not come before the altar of the Most High with an impure or an imperfect offering." The ultimate Self apparently must be pursued by the "ordeals" of lesser "self"s, each of which must die to bear its successor: We know love is the law of Thelema, but also:
Verily, love is death, and death is life to come.

Man returneth not again; the stream floweth not uphill; the old life is no more; there is a new life that is not his.

Yet that life is of his very essence; it is more He than all that he calls He.

--A.C., The Book of Lies, Cap. 18 ("Dewdrops")

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Re: geat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 06:24 am UTC (link)
haven't read this in awhile: The Three Schools of Magick (1), (2), (3):
These Schools represent three perfectly distinct and contrary theories of the Universe, and, therefore, practices of spiritual science. The magical formula of each is as precise as a theorem of trigonometry. Each assumes as fundamental a certain law of Nature, and the subject is complicated by the fact that each School, in a certain sense, admits the formulæ of the other two. It merely regards them as in some way incomplete, secondary, or illusory. Now, as will be seen later, the Yellow School stand aloof from the other two by the nature of its postulates. But the Black School and the White are always more or less in active conflict; and it is because just at this moment that conflict is approaching a climax that it is necessary to write this essay.
possibly, one way to interpret the three grades of Liber AL I:40 is that they're about these different schools. eg, since you & i are probably from different "schools" (i'm a chaos magician), i couldn't confirm whether "the Beloved" = HGA formulation is correct. however, a possible nexus for all schools is the Law of Thelema. someone once compared Peter Carroll's Augoides with Crowley's HGA — can't find it (could be this), but essentially everyone seems to accept the HGA connection as a necessary component in magickal practice. however, the problem is there's no clear definition, which is the HGA challenge. everyone can talk around it, but no one can really describe it because it must be directly experienced in order to really get it.

THE Magical Will is in its essence twofold. imho, the Magical Will is not twofold. for me, the key phrase you quote is: "this surrender is so simple an act that to our complex minds it is the most difficult of all acts". there was a test they gave us in sixth grade. don't remember details, but think it involved reading comprehension. if you ended up taking the entire test (which i did) you didn't pay attention to the first question. i googled: "reading comprehension" trick question & found The One Question I.Q. Test. what i noticed when i took the IQ test was how much i had to think to figure out the answer. what i did on that sixth grade test was ... well, i was on automatic pilot. as an experienced test-taker, gold-star coveter with an extreme praise-seeking itch, i knew how to defeat this test! unfortunately, my ego took that test & i "failed".

i guess a good skill is developing "magickal comprehension". eg, literacy is knowing how to read, but reading comprehension is understanding what is read. literacy is either/or (you either know how to read, or you don't), comprehension involves actively engaging a text. each is a different type of reading skill; one is dependent on the other. so for me it's also about comprehending one's HGA.

apprehend & comprehend both share the same root (ghend-) & come from Latin prehendere. in Alphanumeric Qabbala:

AQ 188 = PREHENDERE = THE BELOVED = LIBER LEGIS = WHITE MAGIC.

AQ 152 = BLACK MAGIC = HERU-RA-HA = SUCCESS = TO KNOW.

AQ 191 = COMPREHEND = DOUBLE WAND.

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Re: geat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 06:35 am UTC (link)
imho, the High/Low Magick distinction works better when considering the Goëtia. here's something i found several years ago. with the black/white distinction the Goëtia is already "bad", "evil", "wicked". but high/low removes that restriction & helps you decided what type of magick to use in any given situation. from the Chalice of Ecstasy:
The True Will unhesitatingly takes its rightful place, and since that Will is one with THE WILL OF THE UNIVERSE, Amfortas without hesitation accepts it.
the astro system i use is high magick because it's aligned to the Will of the Universe, however, the system itself was given to me by low magick, the Goëtia. here, the Goëtia are creating synchronous & asynchronous connections to different systems (magickal or otherwise). give me a week or so & i'll send you email about my Goëtic experiences. Lon Milo Duquette's Goëtia books provide a good intro. Lon is down-to-earth, funny, inventive & practical. his presentation is simple & to the point. he's dismystified the Goëtia by recognizing it as one of the "magickal pillars" & modernizing an ancient magickal system.

 • My Life With the Spirits: The Adventures of a Modern Magician

 • Angels, Demons & Gods of the New Millennium

 • Tarot of Ceremonial Magick Deck: A Pictorial Synthesis of the Three Great Pillars of Magick (Astrology, Enochian Magick, Goëtia) (book)

 • Taboo: Sex, Religion & Magick

 • Enochian World of Aleister Crowley: Enochian Sex Magick

 • Aleister Crowley's Illustrated Goëtia: Sexual Evocation

 • Taboo: Sex, Religion & Magick

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Re: geat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 06:55 am UTC (link)
still grokking everything you wrote. give me a moment.

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-15 07:08 am UTC (link)
No rush, My Friend!

P.S. Some e-mails about Goetia sound fascinating! Looking forward to it! :D

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-15 07:04 am UTC (link)
Whoops. That was me (just forgot to log in).

P.S. on the 3 Schools of Magick: I've long had a suspicion that White & Black were the same, at least when viewed from an adequate height, &...:
...[B]ecause thou hast not wisdom, thou shalt not know which school prevaileth, or if the three schools be not one.
(That Achad quote sounded inline w/ that idea & reminded me of it.)

Well, that Yahoo post was instructive, if only to assure me that another apparently decently-sound thinker is also failing to decipher a rule as to when Goetia is "Black" or "White" (short of being explicitly permitted/instructed by one's H.G.A.).

I've read & enjoyed all those books of Lon's! :) I haven't felt great, personal sympathy w/ all the points of his position on Goetia, however; in fact some of my...almost-experience (if you will) has seemed to deliver me information contradicting some of his points; which I think is totally okay but point being I feel I've benefited from his book(s) & yet am definitely still mulling things over for myself.

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Re: geat post
(Anonymous)
2006-08-15 06:53 am UTC (link)
Oh yeah, I meant to mention I'm not sure the Black School & White School of the 3 Schools correspond to Black Magick & White Magick, but reading those chapter again I can definitely see the possibility.

Crowley referred to the H.G.A. as "Augoides" in Confessions. I think Crowley defined the H.G.A. somewhere as "unity of mind", but I agree it definitely does seem to be a gotta-experience-it-to-know-it thing (from a little experience & from the apparent vague-as-a-rule quality of the traditional teachings).

"THE Magical Will is in its essence twofold. imho, the Magical Will is not twofold." Well, maybe there are multiple ways to look at it: Yes the wand is singular, but it does connect 2 points (don't it?)! :P I think I might know the test you're referring to. Is it the one wherein the first direction is to do nothing until you finish reading the directions, & the last direction is ignore all of the above?

"...[S]o for me it's also about comprehending one's HGA." I'm not sure I see the distinction but the AQ is very impressive (as it usually seems to be). Have you told me before the origin of this system? (I just read Del Campo's New Aeon English Qabalah & was quite disappointed w/ probably the majority of it.) Is there any comprehensive source available for what you're looking up? or are you using your own notes or software or something?

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Re: geat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 06:57 am UTC (link)
the first direction is to do nothing until you finish reading the directions, & the last direction is ignore all of the above?

yes! that's the test.
:O)

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Re: geat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-15 07:11 am UTC (link)
Ha, ha. I remember finishing the test successfully, sharing a satisfied glance of victory with a super-smart fellow student while most of the other students were blurting something out like "Done!", & then something in my mind just blurted out "Done!" & then I slapped myself for fluffing it. I'm still surprised (& amused) at myself. :P Good test.

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Re: gReat post
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 11:34 am UTC (link)
i mean. it's a GREAT POST {sorry}

thought to myself ::self, i betcha he took that test & passed:: :O)

isn't that a great definition of magick & the great work?:

the first direction is to do nothing until you finish reading the directions, & the last direction is ignore all of the above?

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Geat may be ok.
[info]northanger
2006-08-15 11:38 am UTC (link)
depends on how you look at things

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Re: gReat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-15 06:08 pm UTC (link)
:P

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Re: gReat post
[info]brianberge
2006-08-15 06:06 pm UTC (link)
Hmm. I guess I'll know when I get to the end of the directions! :P

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