Rufus Opus

Posts by frredactumopus

Author: frredactumopus

  • Angelic Hierarchies

    To get anything of benefit from the hierarchical representations of God’s servants or ministers, we must first understand the foundational premise behind the formulation of a hierarchy in the first place, and also what an “angel” or minister of God is.

    The Premise of Hierarchies in the Western Magickal Tradition

    To the neo-platonists and their Christian successors, God was One. It’s a simple concept. Orpheus says:

    Pluto and Jupiter, and Phebus, are one;
    But why do we speak twice? Gods one alone. (From Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, Book 3, chapter x)

    The sh’ma of Judaism puts it this way:

    “Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

    The One God is beyond understanding, and is described in terms of what it is not due to our lack of ability to comprehend the awesome unity of God. “Ineffable,” “Invisible,” and “Infinite” are terms that do not tell us what God is, but what it is not. The mystic (by virtue of their calling to be a mystic) understands inherently that God is super-essential.

    This super-essential Deity is constantly providing a stream of grace (or what we would likely call “energy” today) from itself into all that it created, in order that all of creation might participate with and know God intimately. This stream is called Providence by the Christian mystics, and is understood to be the mechanism by which Grace is delivered. When you see a mystic of neo-platonic christian heritage say that an event was “Providence,” they mean that a person achieved “a closer and fuller understanding of God” (or Grace) through a series of events that might not have seemed to be Grace bearing in the moment.

    Ok, so we have One super-essential God, sending Grace to creation by Providence. Since man is not capable of comprehending all of God at once in our standard mode, when God interacts with us directly, we interpret the aspect of God that we interact with as an entity, a messenger from God, or a representation of Deity, or a god in and of itself. The Goddess Venus, for instance, is that part of the One super-essential deity that represents the human understanding of “Love.” In other cultures, this aspect of God is interpreted as Haniel, the archangel of the sephiroth Netzach.

    To understand where this part of God “fits” in the whole process we interpret as Providence, we create models and hierarchies of correspondences so that we can present-progressively interact with that particular part of God as we perform our mundane activities. This touches on the practical purpose behind having a hierarchy in the first place.

    The Purpose of Hierarchies

    Having a model of Providence allows us to work towards obtaining unity with God. (Note: By unity I mean consciously working with God to accomplish God’s purpose, not the idea that we can somehow consciously become GOD.) When one understands the aspects of God that are functioning at various points in Providence, one can begin to consciously integrate these processes into their daily activities. For instance, knowing that Cherubim means the fullness of divine knowledge, and that the function of this manifestation of God is to illuminate the soul of a man with the divine knowledge of the immanence of deity in all things, one would begin to work with the Cherubim when one is seeking to understand how a situation is supposed to integrate with God’s plan.

    This is the Great Work of the Western Mystery Tradition, to be in union with God in all things while in the flesh.

    Having crudely put forth the foundational premise and purpose of hierarchies, we can look at what the various hierarchies are. For a better description, see The Celestial Hierarchies, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopogate, from which the above was distilled.

    Some Traditional Hierarchies

    The angelic orders of the “cabalists” are associated with the ten sephiroth. Following the lightning path, they are:

    Kether – Haioth Hacadosch
    Hochma – Ophanim
    Prina – Aralim
    Hesed – Hasmalim
    Geburach – Seraphim
    Tiphereth – Malachim
    Nezah – Elohim
    Hod – Ben Elohim
    Iesod – Cherubim
    Malchuth – Issim

    That’s straight from Agrippa, the original spelling from the English translation by “J.F.” in 1651 intact. If you look in Book 3, Chapter x, you’ll find much more additional information on these orders, such as the particular angel in charge, the planets associated with them, and the biblical personages and the angels that were assigned to them that correspond.

    The terms Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels were used by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagate, a Christian mystic who was not a cabalist. Agrippa also uses these, and relates them to the sephiroth, but makes it clear in the text that they are not the names of the hierarchies used by the Hebrews.

    Bill Heidrick has a couple of tables that present the names, correspondences to the sephiroth, and the descriptions and functions of these orders in his Magical Correspondences . Know going into it that Bill is the product of traditional Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis teachings. While his research and facts have been proven to be as accurate as possible, his interpretations are nevertheless influenced by the teaching he received.

    Practical Application

    To effectively utilize these hierarchies, the mystic or magician must first identify which order is appropriate to their need. Then one would research the names of some of the members of this order, and then contact the entity and request a personal representative from that order to work with for the duration of the operation.

    Understanding the premise behind a hierarchy, the procedures of the magickal operations of the Western Mystery Tradition make a lot more sense. Abramelin’s Sacred Magick is an excellent example, with the Holy Guardian Angel being a member of the Order of Powers assigned to you at birth, who “aids the human mind to break free of the forces that draw man to earthly thoughts.” The Goetia can be better understood when it is recognized as a hierarchy of spirits that are closest to the manifest realm, a sub-hierarchy that doesn’t quite extend beyond the realms of Earth, Water, and Air in the platonic model.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, I would like to thank Richard Ryan for his Lamed towards presenting something of value and substance rather than simply critiquing someone else’s presentation. Putting this into words has helped me to better understand some of the issues I’ve been struggling with behind the scenes lately regarding cabalism vs. neo-platonic christian interpretations of the Great Work.

  • Angelic Hierarchies

    To get anything of benefit from the hierarchical representations of God’s servants or ministers, we must first understand the foundational premise behind the formulation of a hierarchy in the first place, and also what an “angel” or minister of God is.

    The Premise of Hierarchies in the Western Magickal Tradition

    To the neo-platonists and their Christian successors, God was One. It’s a simple concept. Orpheus says:

    Pluto and Jupiter, and Phebus, are one;
    But why do we speak twice? Gods one alone. (From Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, Book 3, chapter x)

    The sh’ma of Judaism puts it this way:

    “Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

    The One God is beyond understanding, and is described in terms of what it is not due to our lack of ability to comprehend the awesome unity of God. “Ineffable,” “Invisible,” and “Infinite” are terms that do not tell us what God is, but what it is not. The mystic (by virtue of their calling to be a mystic) understands inherently that God is super-essential.

    This super-essential Deity is constantly providing a stream of grace (or what we would likely call “energy” today) from itself into all that it created, in order that all of creation might participate with and know God intimately. This stream is called Providence by the Christian mystics, and is understood to be the mechanism by which Grace is delivered. When you see a mystic of neo-platonic christian heritage say that an event was “Providence,” they mean that a person achieved “a closer and fuller understanding of God” (or Grace) through a series of events that might not have seemed to be Grace bearing in the moment.

    Ok, so we have One super-essential God, sending Grace to creation by Providence. Since man is not capable of comprehending all of God at once in our standard mode, when God interacts with us directly, we interpret the aspect of God that we interact with as an entity, a messenger from God, or a representation of Deity, or a god in and of itself. The Goddess Venus, for instance, is that part of the One super-essential deity that represents the human understanding of “Love.” In other cultures, this aspect of God is interpreted as Haniel, the archangel of the sephiroth Netzach.

    To understand where this part of God “fits” in the whole process we interpret as Providence, we create models and hierarchies of correspondences so that we can present-progressively interact with that particular part of God as we perform our mundane activities. This touches on the practical purpose behind having a hierarchy in the first place.

    The Purpose of Hierarchies

    Having a model of Providence allows us to work towards obtaining unity with God. (Note: By unity I mean consciously working with God to accomplish God’s purpose, not the idea that we can somehow consciously become GOD.) When one understands the aspects of God that are functioning at various points in Providence, one can begin to consciously integrate these processes into their daily activities. For instance, knowing that Cherubim means the fullness of divine knowledge, and that the function of this manifestation of God is to illuminate the soul of a man with the divine knowledge of the immanence of deity in all things, one would begin to work with the Cherubim when one is seeking to understand how a situation is supposed to integrate with God’s plan.

    This is the Great Work of the Western Mystery Tradition, to be in union with God in all things while in the flesh.

    Having crudely put forth the foundational premise and purpose of hierarchies, we can look at what the various hierarchies are. For a better description, see The Celestial Hierarchies, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopogate, from which the above was distilled.

    Some Traditional Hierarchies

    The angelic orders of the “cabalists” are associated with the ten sephiroth. Following the lightning path, they are:

    Kether – Haioth Hacadosch
    Hochma – Ophanim
    Prina – Aralim
    Hesed – Hasmalim
    Geburach – Seraphim
    Tiphereth – Malachim
    Nezah – Elohim
    Hod – Ben Elohim
    Iesod – Cherubim
    Malchuth – Issim

    That’s straight from Agrippa, the original spelling from the English translation by “J.F.” in 1651 intact. If you look in Book 3, Chapter x, you’ll find much more additional information on these orders, such as the particular angel in charge, the planets associated with them, and the biblical personages and the angels that were assigned to them that correspond.

    The terms Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels were used by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagate, a Christian mystic who was not a cabalist. Agrippa also uses these, and relates them to the sephiroth, but makes it clear in the text that they are not the names of the hierarchies used by the Hebrews.

    Bill Heidrick has a couple of tables that present the names, correspondences to the sephiroth, and the descriptions and functions of these orders in his Magical Correspondences . Know going into it that Bill is the product of traditional Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis teachings. While his research and facts have been proven to be as accurate as possible, his interpretations are nevertheless influenced by the teaching he received.

    Practical Application

    To effectively utilize these hierarchies, the mystic or magician must first identify which order is appropriate to their need. Then one would research the names of some of the members of this order, and then contact the entity and request a personal representative from that order to work with for the duration of the operation.

    Understanding the premise behind a hierarchy, the procedures of the magickal operations of the Western Mystery Tradition make a lot more sense. Abramelin’s Sacred Magick is an excellent example, with the Holy Guardian Angel being a member of the Order of Powers assigned to you at birth, who “aids the human mind to break free of the forces that draw man to earthly thoughts.” The Goetia can be better understood when it is recognized as a hierarchy of spirits that are closest to the manifest realm, a sub-hierarchy that doesn’t quite extend beyond the realms of Earth, Water, and Air in the platonic model.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, I would like to thank Richard Ryan for his Lamed towards presenting something of value and substance rather than simply critiquing someone else’s presentation. Putting this into words has helped me to better understand some of the issues I’ve been struggling with behind the scenes lately regarding cabalism vs. neo-platonic christian interpretations of the Great Work.

  • Angelic Hierarchies

    To get anything of benefit from the hierarchical representations of God’s servants or ministers, we must first understand the foundational premise behind the formulation of a hierarchy in the first place, and also what an “angel” or minister of God is.

    The Premise of Hierarchies in the Western Magickal Tradition

    To the neo-platonists and their Christian successors, God was One. It’s a simple concept. Orpheus says:

    Pluto and Jupiter, and Phebus, are one;
    But why do we speak twice? Gods one alone. (From Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, Book 3, chapter x)

    The sh’ma of Judaism puts it this way:

    “Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

    The One God is beyond understanding, and is described in terms of what it is not due to our lack of ability to comprehend the awesome unity of God. “Ineffable,” “Invisible,” and “Infinite” are terms that do not tell us what God is, but what it is not. The mystic (by virtue of their calling to be a mystic) understands inherently that God is super-essential.

    This super-essential Deity is constantly providing a stream of grace (or what we would likely call “energy” today) from itself into all that it created, in order that all of creation might participate with and know God intimately. This stream is called Providence by the Christian mystics, and is understood to be the mechanism by which Grace is delivered. When you see a mystic of neo-platonic christian heritage say that an event was “Providence,” they mean that a person achieved “a closer and fuller understanding of God” (or Grace) through a series of events that might not have seemed to be Grace bearing in the moment.

    Ok, so we have One super-essential God, sending Grace to creation by Providence. Since man is not capable of comprehending all of God at once in our standard mode, when God interacts with us directly, we interpret the aspect of God that we interact with as an entity, a messenger from God, or a representation of Deity, or a god in and of itself. The Goddess Venus, for instance, is that part of the One super-essential deity that represents the human understanding of “Love.” In other cultures, this aspect of God is interpreted as Haniel, the archangel of the sephiroth Netzach.

    To understand where this part of God “fits” in the whole process we interpret as Providence, we create models and hierarchies of correspondences so that we can present-progressively interact with that particular part of God as we perform our mundane activities. This touches on the practical purpose behind having a hierarchy in the first place.

    The Purpose of Hierarchies

    Having a model of Providence allows us to work towards obtaining unity with God. (Note: By unity I mean consciously working with God to accomplish God’s purpose, not the idea that we can somehow consciously become GOD.) When one understands the aspects of God that are functioning at various points in Providence, one can begin to consciously integrate these processes into their daily activities. For instance, knowing that Cherubim means the fullness of divine knowledge, and that the function of this manifestation of God is to illuminate the soul of a man with the divine knowledge of the immanence of deity in all things, one would begin to work with the Cherubim when one is seeking to understand how a situation is supposed to integrate with God’s plan.

    This is the Great Work of the Western Mystery Tradition, to be in union with God in all things while in the flesh.

    Having crudely put forth the foundational premise and purpose of hierarchies, we can look at what the various hierarchies are. For a better description, see The Celestial Hierarchies, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopogate, from which the above was distilled.

    Some Traditional Hierarchies

    The angelic orders of the “cabalists” are associated with the ten sephiroth. Following the lightning path, they are:

    Kether – Haioth Hacadosch
    Hochma – Ophanim
    Prina – Aralim
    Hesed – Hasmalim
    Geburach – Seraphim
    Tiphereth – Malachim
    Nezah – Elohim
    Hod – Ben Elohim
    Iesod – Cherubim
    Malchuth – Issim

    That’s straight from Agrippa, the original spelling from the English translation by “J.F.” in 1651 intact. If you look in Book 3, Chapter x, you’ll find much more additional information on these orders, such as the particular angel in charge, the planets associated with them, and the biblical personages and the angels that were assigned to them that correspond.

    The terms Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels were used by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagate, a Christian mystic who was not a cabalist. Agrippa also uses these, and relates them to the sephiroth, but makes it clear in the text that they are not the names of the hierarchies used by the Hebrews.

    Bill Heidrick has a couple of tables that present the names, correspondences to the sephiroth, and the descriptions and functions of these orders in his Magical Correspondences . Know going into it that Bill is the product of traditional Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis teachings. While his research and facts have been proven to be as accurate as possible, his interpretations are nevertheless influenced by the teaching he received.

    Practical Application

    To effectively utilize these hierarchies, the mystic or magician must first identify which order is appropriate to their need. Then one would research the names of some of the members of this order, and then contact the entity and request a personal representative from that order to work with for the duration of the operation.

    Understanding the premise behind a hierarchy, the procedures of the magickal operations of the Western Mystery Tradition make a lot more sense. Abramelin’s Sacred Magick is an excellent example, with the Holy Guardian Angel being a member of the Order of Powers assigned to you at birth, who “aids the human mind to break free of the forces that draw man to earthly thoughts.” The Goetia can be better understood when it is recognized as a hierarchy of spirits that are closest to the manifest realm, a sub-hierarchy that doesn’t quite extend beyond the realms of Earth, Water, and Air in the platonic model.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, I would like to thank Richard Ryan for his Lamed towards presenting something of value and substance rather than simply critiquing someone else’s presentation. Putting this into words has helped me to better understand some of the issues I’ve been struggling with behind the scenes lately regarding cabalism vs. neo-platonic christian interpretations of the Great Work.

  • Angelic Hierarchies

    To get anything of benefit from the hierarchical representations of God’s servants or ministers, we must first understand the foundational premise behind the formulation of a hierarchy in the first place, and also what an “angel” or minister of God is.

    The Premise of Hierarchies in the Western Magickal Tradition

    To the neo-platonists and their Christian successors, God was One. It’s a simple concept. Orpheus says:

    Pluto and Jupiter, and Phebus, are one;
    But why do we speak twice? Gods one alone. (From Agrippa’s Occult Philosophy, Book 3, chapter x)

    The sh’ma of Judaism puts it this way:

    “Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

    The One God is beyond understanding, and is described in terms of what it is not due to our lack of ability to comprehend the awesome unity of God. “Ineffable,” “Invisible,” and “Infinite” are terms that do not tell us what God is, but what it is not. The mystic (by virtue of their calling to be a mystic) understands inherently that God is super-essential.

    This super-essential Deity is constantly providing a stream of grace (or what we would likely call “energy” today) from itself into all that it created, in order that all of creation might participate with and know God intimately. This stream is called Providence by the Christian mystics, and is understood to be the mechanism by which Grace is delivered. When you see a mystic of neo-platonic christian heritage say that an event was “Providence,” they mean that a person achieved “a closer and fuller understanding of God” (or Grace) through a series of events that might not have seemed to be Grace bearing in the moment.

    Ok, so we have One super-essential God, sending Grace to creation by Providence. Since man is not capable of comprehending all of God at once in our standard mode, when God interacts with us directly, we interpret the aspect of God that we interact with as an entity, a messenger from God, or a representation of Deity, or a god in and of itself. The Goddess Venus, for instance, is that part of the One super-essential deity that represents the human understanding of “Love.” In other cultures, this aspect of God is interpreted as Haniel, the archangel of the sephiroth Netzach.

    To understand where this part of God “fits” in the whole process we interpret as Providence, we create models and hierarchies of correspondences so that we can present-progressively interact with that particular part of God as we perform our mundane activities. This touches on the practical purpose behind having a hierarchy in the first place.

    The Purpose of Hierarchies

    Having a model of Providence allows us to work towards obtaining unity with God. (Note: By unity I mean consciously working with God to accomplish God’s purpose, not the idea that we can somehow consciously become GOD.) When one understands the aspects of God that are functioning at various points in Providence, one can begin to consciously integrate these processes into their daily activities. For instance, knowing that Cherubim means the fullness of divine knowledge, and that the function of this manifestation of God is to illuminate the soul of a man with the divine knowledge of the immanence of deity in all things, one would begin to work with the Cherubim when one is seeking to understand how a situation is supposed to integrate with God’s plan.

    This is the Great Work of the Western Mystery Tradition, to be in union with God in all things while in the flesh.

    Having crudely put forth the foundational premise and purpose of hierarchies, we can look at what the various hierarchies are. For a better description, see The Celestial Hierarchies, by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopogate, from which the above was distilled.

    Some Traditional Hierarchies

    The angelic orders of the “cabalists” are associated with the ten sephiroth. Following the lightning path, they are:

    Kether – Haioth Hacadosch
    Hochma – Ophanim
    Prina – Aralim
    Hesed – Hasmalim
    Geburach – Seraphim
    Tiphereth – Malachim
    Nezah – Elohim
    Hod – Ben Elohim
    Iesod – Cherubim
    Malchuth – Issim

    That’s straight from Agrippa, the original spelling from the English translation by “J.F.” in 1651 intact. If you look in Book 3, Chapter x, you’ll find much more additional information on these orders, such as the particular angel in charge, the planets associated with them, and the biblical personages and the angels that were assigned to them that correspond.

    The terms Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels, and Angels were used by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagate, a Christian mystic who was not a cabalist. Agrippa also uses these, and relates them to the sephiroth, but makes it clear in the text that they are not the names of the hierarchies used by the Hebrews.

    Bill Heidrick has a couple of tables that present the names, correspondences to the sephiroth, and the descriptions and functions of these orders in his Magical Correspondences . Know going into it that Bill is the product of traditional Golden Dawn and Ordo Templi Orientis teachings. While his research and facts have been proven to be as accurate as possible, his interpretations are nevertheless influenced by the teaching he received.

    Practical Application

    To effectively utilize these hierarchies, the mystic or magician must first identify which order is appropriate to their need. Then one would research the names of some of the members of this order, and then contact the entity and request a personal representative from that order to work with for the duration of the operation.

    Understanding the premise behind a hierarchy, the procedures of the magickal operations of the Western Mystery Tradition make a lot more sense. Abramelin’s Sacred Magick is an excellent example, with the Holy Guardian Angel being a member of the Order of Powers assigned to you at birth, who “aids the human mind to break free of the forces that draw man to earthly thoughts.” The Goetia can be better understood when it is recognized as a hierarchy of spirits that are closest to the manifest realm, a sub-hierarchy that doesn’t quite extend beyond the realms of Earth, Water, and Air in the platonic model.

    Conclusion

    In conclusion, I would like to thank Richard Ryan for his Lamed towards presenting something of value and substance rather than simply critiquing someone else’s presentation. Putting this into words has helped me to better understand some of the issues I’ve been struggling with behind the scenes lately regarding cabalism vs. neo-platonic christian interpretations of the Great Work.

  • Falling in Love with Binah

    As noted previously, I’ve been working on integrating the energies of the planets to balance out my hyper focus on the energies of Jupiter. My work with Binah/Saturn more than a week ago continues to ripple through my sphere.

    I think I commented before that the energies of Saturn left me depressed, and that the operation I did most recently was completely different. Instead of feeling depressed, I find myself encouraged by the boundaries I face in life, and aware that they are not set firmly in place, but serve as placeholders to support the unfolding of my life. Like pylons on a bridge, the energies of Binah serve to support the weight of our endeavors.

    There’s a scripture in the Bible that talks about people moving out their tent pegs. It means that the lord will bless them, and they need to prepare by making more room for the blessings to fit in their lives. It’s old testament speak for thinking outside the box.

    The power of Saturn in the magician’s sphere manifests as the power to set, or reset the boundaries of our empire. Knowing yourself leads to knowing your limitations, but knowing Binah leads to knowing how to move your limitations out a bit at a time. Bigger vaults means more room for the energies of Jupiter to fill with the treasures you seek in money rituals. Raising your expectations provides more room for opportunities. Raising your standards results in higher quality of character. Moving the boundaries of your mind releases you from the prison of your fear. Tearing down the walls of your heart makes room for love to flow into and out of your experience.

    The power of Binah is infinite because it is the power of making things finite. Looking back now, I see that the depression I felt came from the powerlessness I felt when I surveyed the boundaries of my life. These boundaries are firmly ensconced only by my attachment to them, which helps explain what the Buddha meant when he said attachment is the source of all sorrow.

    Barriers, walls, limitations… these things can seem to be negative, if your desires are beyond their limits. But at the same time, the walls support the roof, the dam stores the water, and the bones provide the support that lets us live as more than amorphous blobs. The skin limits us, keeps us from spilling out in a pile of goo, protects us from the intrusions of the malefic forces of nature.

    Yet Saturn is cast as a malefic. Its role of death and binding are detrimental when passive. If we don’t expand the boundaries, we outgrow them, and feel like we’re wearing a suit two sizes too small. But when activated through magick, when approached through the heightened awareness of the metaprogramming magickal consciousness, Binah is a beautiful friend, a mother full of love, a helper and a guide, a focuser of the forces that follow in her footsteps.

    With these revelations, I have found myself falling in love with Binah.

  • Falling in Love with Binah

    In a couple of places, I’ve seen people complaining a lot about the economy. Magicians even, who should know better.

    Gee, we’ve got bad financial times while Jupiter’s in Capricorn? Wow! Absolutely shocking.

    Gee, it’s affecting homes while Saturn’s in Virgo? Holy cow! That’s amazing!!

    Come on, people, get your heads out of your anal cavities. We’re magicians. The state of the world is not frightening to those in the know, it’s expected. We navigate behind the scenes. You can turn this generally bad time around for your benefit with a little planning and magic.

    I suggest talking to Tzaphqiel, or some other manifestation of the Intelligence of Saturn, since that’s where this is all coming from (Capricorn holding Jupiter hostage is ruled by Saturn, Saturn’s in Virgo Maleficently influencing things). Throw in Tzadqiel of Jupiter, and Michael of the Sun (he cushions the Saturn landing). Talk to Hanael and Hamaliel, Archangels of Capricorn and Virgo respectively as well.

    “They aren’t going to move where the planets are, what difference would it make?”

    The planets are still where they are, yes, but the planets are indicators of general influences at large. Like the label on the back of a plug you plug into the wall that tells you, “120VAC in, 9VDC out.” They tell you what the natural state of things are, but they don’t tell you how that will manifest in detail within your own life, within your own Sphere of Influence. You can run a clock radio off the plug, if it’s 9VDC, or you can run a flashlight, or whatever … as long as it’s got the right receptacle and runs on 9VDC.

    How the astrological influences manifest depends on a few million variables that are different for most people.Even people born in the same place at the same time will be raised by different parents, influenced by different teachers, or move to different parts of the world where their spheres of influence are shaped and molded uniquely. Twins are different, and it’s hard to get much closer than twins.

    Magicians get to do a lot more consciously than mundane folks with no interest in the occult. We get to say, ok, that’s a 9VDC output there, so I can run it through an oscillator to step it down to 4VDC to get it to light this here LED without burning it out. We get to do a lot that way.

    I don’t care if you’re a magician like Jason Miller with his roots and prajna, or St. Faust with his sigils and whatever, or even Fr. POS with his GD initiate ways and means. Heck, you can even be a Wastewater Consultant wth an epicurean garden and multiple OTO initations like the author of My Gal. It doesn’t matter, you’ve got techniques at your disposal to rewire the output and put it to use the way you want.

    Hop to it. No one’s going to sit around and do it for you.

    August 11, 2006

  • Opening Portals to Commune with Specific Spirits

    For the purposes of this post, a “Portal” is defined as a gateway through which communications with non-corporeal entities can be established.

    All magickal acts consist of working with non-corporeal entities, whether they are gods, demons, angels, egregores, eidolons, or servitors. I prefer the term “Spirits” to non-corporeal entities. It’s more personal. The entities we work with are generally self aware to some degree, and thinking of them as cold constructs with no will of their own can lead to all kinds of problems later in your experiences with the spirit realm.

    To get the spirits’ attention, we have to open a portal between our normal reality and the realms they exist in. There are many ways of accomplishing this, but all seem to include intoning specific god-names. The Druids are recorded as calling out their curses on the Romans, and throughout the Eastern mystical paths mantras are intoned to bring about access to higher states of consciousness. I don’t know what the mechanism is, but vibrating aural tones creates changes in the environment.

    Once the environment has been changed through the intonation of the “words of power,” it is necessary to get the specific Spirit’s attention. This is done by having an image of the spirit on hand. There are catalogues of the symbols and seals of the spirits we have made contact with as magicians over the centuries contained in grimoires and described in sacred texts.

    Having the symbol or talisman of the spirit we wish to contact, we call the spirit by its name(s) and ask/order it to appear by the “power” of various associated god names. I believe that vibrating these god-names further tunes the portal that is opened at the beginning of the rite to the specific energies that are compatible with the desired spirit, and incompatible with any other spirit. When the environment is sufficiently tuned, the spirit can appear, and communications can commence.

    In the Lemmegetton, there are records of the spirits appearing at first in forms that are horrible to look at, and acompanied by noxious fumes and gases. To eliminate this, you are instructed to hold a ring in front of your face inscribed with specific names of God, and to order the spirit to appear in a particular form by the power of specific god names. I think that what might be happening is that the connection of a partially tuned portal must be more finely tuned once the spirit begins to appear. After this has been accomplished, the spirit is comfortable and can communicate quite well.

    In 1918, Aleister Crowley performed the Amalantrah working in New York. During this ritual, he opened a portal to other dimensions, and called various entities through it to communicate with him. One of these entities was LAM, which resmebles what we now call “Greys,” those pesky aliens that are seen during what science calls sleep paralysis and occultists know as night hags. After he finished the Amalantrah working, he carefully closed up the portal he opened.

    Years later, in 1947, Jack Parsons and L. Ron Hubbard performed the Babalon rite. They were attempting to create a Moonchild, a human body that contained the spirit of Babalon from Revelations. It is postulated among many occultists that the rift they opened to draw down the star spirit was never properly closed, and this portal remains open to this day. 1947 marks the beginning of the UFO sightings that swept the world. Another connection between the interdimensional astronauts and the occult.

    As this example demonstrates, there is an important need to close a portal after you’ve communicated with a specific entity. This is done rather simply by performing an LBRP. Thank the GD for that contribution.

  • 1.2 – The Harmony of the Spheres

    Let me just say up front, I really hated writing that last post. There’s so much more than I can cram into a blog post, it’s unbelievable. There are competing doctrines of creation, details given in the Bible that complement the details given in Trismegistus, and Timaeus, the thing that started it all… Man. There’s a lot that was left out.

    But that’s yesterday. On to the Harmony of the Spheres!

    Ok, so there are spheres within spheres that make up the cosmos beneath the realm of God. There’s a sphere that has the constellations on it, a sphere for each of the planets, a sphere for each of the elements. That’s 12 spheres (hey, just like the number of astrological signs, and the number of tribes of Israel, and the number of apostles, and the hours in a day and in a night, what a freaking coincidence!).

    Now, there aren’t “really” 12 spheres. The realm of sensate matter is the lower four spheres, the Elemental spheres. This sphere includes all the physical planets, stars, galaxies, universes, etc. that we can and cannot see. Anything that can be sensed exists in the realm of the the elements, below the sphere of the Moon. So the elemental spheres, while separate and harmonious, blend together in to what we see. This is the sphere that can be sensed through our material bodies.

    This leaves us with nine spheres.

    The uppermost sphere, that of the constellations, can be viewed as an influencing sphere as opposed to a governing sphere. Agrippa talks a bit about this, and I won’t get too into details here, but suffice it to say that in my understanding of the NP cosmology, the sphere of the constellations is more like a barrier between the realms of the planetary governors (ending at the horizon of Saturn’s Sphere) and the unknowable Realm of God (Light-Divine Darkness-the One). The constellations can be viewed as pinpricks in this barrier through which the infinite light enters the realms of sensation, guiding or feeding as it were, the planetary governors.

    Now, what we’ve done here is divided the infinite universe into three parts. The material realm is composed of the four elemental spheres. The seven spheres of the planetary governors is the second part, ending at the barrier of the Sphere of the constellations. Then there’s the infinite realm of God, the third part.

    Only the realms of the Planetary Governors and the sphere of matter can be known and interacted with consciously. The higher realms may be experienced, but being before the utterance of the Word, they can’t really be put into words.

    The realms of the Planetary Governors exist as pure emanations of God. When viewing God they are passive, but when viewing the realm of Matter, they are active. Being pure in their essence, they are in perfect harmony with one another and with God.

    Now I’d like to introduce a concept I’ve used on the blog before (and I don’t claim to have created it), the Sphere of the Magician. Every one of us live in a bubble of perception. Lots of us have read various modern and classical interpretations of existence as being only that which can be sensed. Plato would have totally grokked Robert Anton Wilson, God rest his heathen soul. (I doubt Wilson could grok Plato though.)

    This bubble of perception is our sphere within the material realm. The Emerald Tablet of Hermes, an excellent model of magickal operation on its own, bears the famous inscription “that which is above is like that which is below.” Metaphysically speaking, we have a spiritual sphere of sensation as well as the physical sphere of sensation. They aren’t really separated, but it’s easier to think of them as parts than to try to understand the whole all at once. A seed in an orange doesn’t look like an orange, and neither does the peel by itself, but they’re still one thing.

    The basic intent of the magician is to get their “sphere” into harmony with the other spheres. Neo-platonic philosophers had various ways of achieving this. Plotinus taught that you could instantly “get it” by realizing your race and value. He talks about denigrating the things of matter and exalting the things of spirit. He, and Porphyry, his student and biographer, believed that the way to reclaim your race and value was through Philosophy, and various forms of Asceticism. Later, some Gnostics and others would take the idea to the extreme. They believed that because matter distracted you from your goal of reuniting with God, then all matter must be inherently evil. Some went so far as to claim that the God that created Matter must have been evil.

    Poppycock.

    Plotinus had another student that helped us out immensely as magicians who would rather do something more active than philosophize all day, and who wanted to participate in the matter-manifestation process in a more hands-on way. This guy was Iamblichus. He taught that theurgy, magickal arts and working with spirits were viable means of reuniting with the One, God. That’s the core of this system I’m presenting here. There are various other branches of neo-Platonism, and lots to discuss and argue about, but as magicians working with the NP magickal system, the point is to harmonize our sphere with the spheres above, and through this harmony to join with God, accomplishing what later became known as the Great Work.

  • 7 Planetary Spirits in a Week

    I’ve failed in this particular endeavor. I was attempting to work with one archangel of the planets (as listed in Trithemius and Heidrick’s resources) each day this week. I made it as far as Michael on Sunday. (Note: Michael is associated with the sun in Trithemius notes instead of Raphael. My own work with Raphael supports the Trithemius correspondences that put Michael in Tiphareth/Sun and Raphael in Hod/Mercury.)

    By Monday, I was exhausted. I was working with the archangels of the planets in the planetary hours of the planetary days. Due to my work schedule, I was waiting until 3:38 or 3:39 a.m. each night. The day time hours fell when I was at work, and the earlier night time hours coincided with the time I spent with my family.

    The results of my Saturday working with Tzaphkiel of Saturn were very pleasant. Previous expereinces with Saturn had been unpleasant, and depressing. For this operation, I started with the LBRP, went on through Liber Samekh to invoke my HGA, and then performed the evocation of Tzaphkiel. The results were immediate.

    Tzaphkiel appeared in the shewstone, and I stated my intention, to integrate the energies of saturn into my magickal sphere. Tzaphkiel agreed to help with this, and I felt the saturnine energies flowing into me, pooling in my fore-arms (of all places), like a weight was applied directly to my muscles and bones. Tzaphkiel explained the use of that energy as part of the operation.

    Sunday I worked with Michael, following the same pattern. I got a false spirit the first time who wouldn’t enter the consecrated shewstone. I banished and conjured Michael again, this time with the desired result. I asked for him to help integrate the energies of the sun into my sphere, and he agreed. The feeling was again physical as the solar essence entered my sphere. This time I felt it in the base of my lungs, and Michael explained that the key to accessing solar energies was in the breath. The four-fold breath excites solar energies (inhale for four seconds, press the breath down in your lungs for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, wait four seconds, and repeat) in your sphere.

    Monday I made a half-hearted attempt to contact Gabriel, but I fell asleep. Tuesday I was going to work with Gabriel and Kammael to “catch up,” but I figured it was a bad idea, and chose to stop the operation there for now.

    Working with each planet for as little as one day seems to give useful results, but not a lot of depth of understanding of each of the planetary powers. I started to understand the binding aspects of Saturn, and its application in assiah, but before I really integrated the energies, I was on to the Sun. In the future, I’ll pick up with Luna, but spend more time than just one day integrating lunar energies, and so forth throughout the planets.

  • 7 Planetary Spirits in a Week

    I’ve failed in this particular endeavor. I was attempting to work with one archangel of the planets (as listed in Trithemius and Heidrick’s resources) each day this week. I made it as far as Michael on Sunday. (Note: Michael is associated with the sun in Trithemius notes instead of Raphael. My own work with Raphael supports the Trithemius correspondences that put Michael in Tiphareth/Sun and Raphael in Hod/Mercury.)

    By Monday, I was exhausted. I was working with the archangels of the planets in the planetary hours of the planetary days. Due to my work schedule, I was waiting until 3:38 or 3:39 a.m. each night. The day time hours fell when I was at work, and the earlier night time hours coincided with the time I spent with my family.

    The results of my Saturday working with Tzaphkiel of Saturn were very pleasant. Previous expereinces with Saturn had been unpleasant, and depressing. For this operation, I started with the LBRP, went on through Liber Samekh to invoke my HGA, and then performed the evocation of Tzaphkiel. The results were immediate.

    Tzaphkiel appeared in the shewstone, and I stated my intention, to integrate the energies of saturn into my magickal sphere. Tzaphkiel agreed to help with this, and I felt the saturnine energies flowing into me, pooling in my fore-arms (of all places), like a weight was applied directly to my muscles and bones. Tzaphkiel explained the use of that energy as part of the operation.

    Sunday I worked with Michael, following the same pattern. I got a false spirit the first time who wouldn’t enter the consecrated shewstone. I banished and conjured Michael again, this time with the desired result. I asked for him to help integrate the energies of the sun into my sphere, and he agreed. The feeling was again physical as the solar essence entered my sphere. This time I felt it in the base of my lungs, and Michael explained that the key to accessing solar energies was in the breath. The four-fold breath excites solar energies (inhale for four seconds, press the breath down in your lungs for four seconds, exhale for four seconds, wait four seconds, and repeat) in your sphere.

    Monday I made a half-hearted attempt to contact Gabriel, but I fell asleep. Tuesday I was going to work with Gabriel and Kammael to “catch up,” but I figured it was a bad idea, and chose to stop the operation there for now.

    Working with each planet for as little as one day seems to give useful results, but not a lot of depth of understanding of each of the planetary powers. I started to understand the binding aspects of Saturn, and its application in assiah, but before I really integrated the energies, I was on to the Sun. In the future, I’ll pick up with Luna, but spend more time than just one day integrating lunar energies, and so forth throughout the planets.