Resources

During the past few years I have occasionally been invited to present magick workshops at " new age" places. The groups who attend these workshops are usually quite attentive, good students, if somewhat more sedate than the participants who turn up for workshops at other venues. (They are often less inclined to rock 'n' roll, and. more interested in the soothing tones of a Windham Hill tape.) Now, at the beginning of these events I go around the room and ask people to give me some idea of their background in this kind of work. It usually comes as no surprise to learn that my new age attendees have quite a repertoire of resources, ranging from " creative visualization" to " psychic development" to " past life regression" (and a slew of other things). It sometimes comes as a surprise to them, however, that I take all of these disciplines and include them in the study of magick.

Novelist William Burroughs once described the religions of the world as competing systems of magick. It is unfortunately true, I believe, that the many new age disciplines are also competing systems of magick. Too many workshop leaders seem inclined to declare their system the be-all and end-all of knowledge. I am not now going to jump on the bandwagon and say that my system of magick is the One True Way, as lucrative as this might be if I could get enough people to believe it.

What I am going to suggest is a definition of magick as a framework within which all systems of religion, science and practice can be reconciled. (Possibly it is not the only framework that can be used, but it is certainly one that many people have found useful.) Similarly, it is a framework that can align your personal experiences with your will. Whatever it is that you have studied, from " past life regression" to theoretical physics, can be tools for the understanding and accomplishment of your True Will. Every life experience can be useful in some way. I'll say it again: Magick is a framework within which all systems of religion, science and practice can be reconciled.

What I mean is that we all have an incredible amount of resources with which to determine and accomplish our True Will. You needn't have studied " creative visualization" to have an active imagination; daydreaming will do nicely. You don't have to be adept at " altered states" to get started; waking, sleeping and dreaming are pretty damn useful states of consciousness. Study of ancient mythology is not necessarily a prerequisite; your own life history makes a very rich field of study. Everything that you have experienced is still somewhere in your mind, conscious or unconscious. Instead of hoarding this wealth away where it is of no use, you can learn to spend it wisely, invest it in learning and accomplishing your True Will.

In fact, one traditional definition of " white magick" is the skill and ability to transform what might seem to be a problem into an asset. This comes through careful attention to all factors which are available at any given moment. As Pan showed the narrator of the last chapter, what he thought were problems, distractions from his meditation, were in fact powerful tools to be used to gain exactly what he had been seeking. Tantric yogis, as well as the Gnostics and many other groups of magickians down through the ages, have taught that the way of spiritual transformation comes through our use of the body and the environment. Even the most ascetic monk must use hir body, mind and environment for even abstinence and deprivation are methods of sensory stimulation, techniques that definitely work through some action upon the physical body (for instance, a certain type of fasting - don't try this at home, there are easier ways - can cause visions and hallucinations. There are those who theorize that many of the incidents recorded in the Bible were hallucinations resulting from mystics starving in the desert. See also Native American and Australian Aborigine practices). If you can demonstrate where " mind" ends and " body" begins, I congratulate you on your ability to work within unique belief-systems.

EXERCISE #7

1. Banish and consecrate.

2. Sit or stand in a comfortable position in your space, facing east.

3. Develop a resource state for the quality of ACTION:

Search your memory and find at least three different times (and places) when you were active and effective. If these do not come readily, you can simply imagine a time or situation in which you are acting effectively. To define action and effectiveness just a little bit more: action is doing, being decisive, manipulating things skillfully, it could involve skilled movements of the limbs, or of the mind, or speaking, but always in some way causing change.

Study these situations. What qualities do they have in common? What things are characteristic of action and effectiveness? Run through each of your sensory modes in turn and learn what is there. This attention to sensory modes can also help add new pieces to your knowledge of this state. What or how do you see at these times? What or how do you hear at these times? What (if anything) are you thinking? What or how do you feel at these times? What position or posture is your body in? Is it in motion? How? Do you taste or smell anything in particular? Keep yourself in the experience. You can experience it again, now.

Develop a specific sound to symbolize this state of being. It can be anything, just so it is not confused with other states of being. Use the word " Action" if you wish, or develop a nonsense sound or phrase. Using sounds to symbolize something can be done in ways just outside of the ordinary. For instance, you can use the initials A.E. to symbolize this state (Action and Effectiveness), and pronounce it AY-EE. Whatever works for you.

Vibrate this sound, using full, yogic breathing, as you experience the state which you have developed. Do this for a minute or two (or longer if you can maintain it). Cease concentration, experience of the state, at the same time as you stop vibrating the sound. Then you can take a deep breath, shake yourself, or clap your hands to help clear away this state.

4. Develop a resource state for CONCENTRATION. Remember or imagine times/places when you were able to concentrate powerfully, single-mindedly. The strongest moments of concentration often include moments of ego-loss, that is, in concentrating so intently, you become the object of concentration. While this is often described as a state which only great mystics ever reach, I believe that everyone has spontaneous moments of this kind of single-minded, congruent concentration. It usually doesn't happen when we are " trying" for it, but just when it comes naturally, perhaps when we are enjoying something, reading a book, listening to music, watching a great movie, playing a game or sport which requires concentration, etc.

Concentrate this concentration on concentration by running through all the sensory modes, as you did above. What do you see, hear, feel, taste/smell? Remain in the experience. Experience it again, if you can.

Develop a sound to symbolize this experience. Vibrate the sound as you experience the experience, as above. Cease vibrating and concentration simultaneously. Take a deep breath, shake or clap.

5. Develop a resource state for MANIFESTATION. You can remember or imagine times/places when your were able to bring things into form, into reality. This is an idea which might be likened to the end result of action. Remember the times when the project was finished, the report finally written, the jigsaw puzzle completed, the house built, the painting painted, the play performed, etc.

As you run through the sensory modes, you can remember how you felt at these times, what you saw, what you heard, what you tasted or smelled. Experience whatever it is that you experience.

Develop a sound to symbolize manifestation. Vibrate this sound/word/phrase while experiencing this state of manifestation. Cease vibrating and concentration simultaneously. Breathe, shake or clap.

6. Develop a resource state for UNDERSTANDING. You can remember or imagine times/places when you understood, when some realization flashed upon your consciousness. This is sometimes the end result of concentration. Perhaps you finally figured out the math problem, realized whodunit, understood an abstract concept, flashed on a philosophy. This can be the result of some kind of analysis, or some kind of intuition, but what you can concentrate on here/now is the result, the state of understanding.

Run through your sensory modes, and as you do so, you can experience the things which you saw, which you felt, which heard, which you tasted or smelled.

Develop a sound to symbolize this state. Vibrate the sound while experiencing the state. Cease vibrating and concentrating simultaneously. Breathe, shake or clap.

7. Close your circle.

8. Write down what happened. Which parts were easiest to do? Which sensory modes were easiest to imagine/remember? Keep a thorough record.

EXERCISE #8

1. Banish and consecrate.

2. Sit or stand in a comfortable position in the center of your space, facing east.

3. In front of you, just outside the edge of your circle, you can imagine a figure which embodies the experience that you developed as a resource state for ACTION. For some people, it is easier at first to recover the state, then imagine this figure, your ideal Active Self, walking off to stand at the perimeter. To recover the state, if this is the technique you choose, vibrate your action-sound and run through the sensory modes again.

4. With your action-figure standing before you, begin to vibrate the sound which you associate with the action resource state. As you do this, imagine that the figure before you is emanating the energy of this resource state, filling the circle, and yourself, with the qualities of that experience. You can allow yourself to feel (or imagine that you feel) infused with that energy. When the circle is fully charged with this energy, vibrating with it, then you can give that figure at the perimeter authority, under your will, to remain in position and continue to keep the circle filled with that particular energy.

5. Behind you, just outside the edge of your circle, you can imagine a figure which embodies the experience that you developed as a resource state for CONCENTRATION. (Imagine the figure walking from you to its position at the perimeter, if that is the way that works for you.)

6. Vibrate the sound which you developed to symbolize this state of concentration, and as you do so, imagine that the figure is emanating this quality, as you experienced it, and filling the circle (and yourself) with it. When the circle is fully charged, give the concentration-figure permission, in accordance with your will, to remain at its post, keeping the circle filled with that energy.

7. To your right, just outside the edge of your circle, you can imagine a figure which embodies the qualities and experience that you developed as a resource state for UNDERSTANDING.

8. Vibrate the special sound for understanding and imagine the figure emanating that energy, filling the circle and yourself with the energy of understanding, as you experience it. When the circle is full of this understanding-stuff, then give the figure permission, under your will, to remain at its post and keep the circle filled with that energy as you continue with your ritual.

9. To your left, just outside the edge of your circle, you can imagine a figure which embodies the qualities and experience that you developed as a resource state for MANIFESTATION.

10. Vibrate your manifestation-sound, and imagine the figure emanating that energy, filling the circle and yourself with the energy of manifestation, as you experience it. When the circle is full of this manifestation quality, then you can give the figure authority, under your will, to remain in its position, continuing to keep the circle filled with manifestation-energy.

11. Remain in the circle for a while, experiencing whatever it is you experience at this point. This might be a good time to practice your daily meditation, or go on to an invocation.

12. IMPORTANT: before closing the circle, absorb these four figures back into you. Imagine each one returning to the thought-stuff inside of you from which it was born. Do this thoroughly. Then you can breathe, shake or clap to clear yourself, as in the last exercise.

13. Close the circle.

14. Keep careful records. What was it like being in the circle with these four guardians at the perimeter? What kinds of things did you feel

inclined to do or think about at that point? If you practiced your meditation, how did it differ from previous experiments?

Note that this exercise is very similar to the evocation of the four archangels in the Lesser Pentagram Ritual (11) This leads to the idea that this kind of development and " anchoring" of experience attached to a magickal word can be used to intensify all parts of a ritual. Go back over the pentagram ritual and see what kind of experiences can be added on to each word. The archangels (Raphael, Gabriel, Michael, Auriel) perhaps provide the most obvious part to work on. Can you remember the experience of air (perhaps a memory of being outside on a windy day), water (plunging into a cool lake, or rain, or a shower), earth (digging in the ground, laying on freshly turned soil, being surrounded by plants), and fire (the hot sun on your skin, seeing a bonfire, etc.)? Isolate and develop these qualities just as you did the qualities of Action, Concentration, Understanding, and Manifestation in the above exercise, then anchor them to the name of the archangel. Use the experiences that are strongest for you and develop them in as many sensory modes as possible. It may even be possible to do the anchoring in real time, for instance, vibrating the name of Raphael while standing in the wind. You'll probably only need to anchor each archangel once or twice before recombining them into the full Lesser Pentagram Ritual.

(11) While it is similar, it is not the same. When you practice the pentagram ritual, you can continue to use the elemental qualities.