Rufus Opus

Category: Blogspot Archive

Category: Blogspot Archive

  • The Nature of Deity

    Personally, I think I’m technically a monotheist because I believe that there is only ONE GOD. However, I’ve been told I’m really a Henotheist because I acknowledge that the ONE GOD manifests as gods and angels and demons and rocks and animals and trees and other self-aware entities on purpose.

    I find it alien after all these years of Working with gods, angels, and demons of various ranks that anyone would think there’s no single unifying Source that exists within each of the other manifestations. Yet there are people who believe that Deity can only be experienced as multiple entities, that the embrace of monotheism itself somehow blinds a person to the “true nature” of Deity.

    I think that’s as limiting as the monotheist who rejects all other manifestations of God as delusional or demonic. Hermetic theology is monotheistic, yet makes room for many other gods. As a result, the Hermetic student can experience the multiplicity of the many gods and spirits, and still reclaim their divine race and value that comes from remembering the Source in whose image we were made. We can develop a bi-directional relationship between the Nous and our own minds, we can participate actively and consciously as observer and observed, we can play with the sprites and fairies, the gods and goddesses, and still maintain a unified existence within and as a manifestation of the Good.

    We aren’t limited to the forms and structures that happen to define “us” and “not us.” We can see, from a unified perspective, that all that interacts does so in time to a tune that began long before we were born and will continue long after we’ve moved on. Insisting on limits to anything can only result in limitation.*

    The point of Neo-Platonism and Hermetic magic is to understand who we are, and what it means to be made in the image of The Divine. Divinity is One, and it cannot be understood if the perceiver insists otherwise.

    *This is, unfortunately, a “lesser truth.” With Greater Truths, the opposite is also true. Insisting on “no limits” by itself does not result in “no limitation.” It does, however, lead (more often than not) to methods of transcending limitations.

  • Hermetic Work

    The Earth is a prison. You’ve been sentenced here to work out whatever issues you’ve got that kept you from completing your cosmic responsibilities in previous incarnations in higher spheres. You’re descended from the One, and you’re supposed to be on a higher plane doing something that involves maintaining the continued existence of a multi-dimensional, multi-planar universe that is far larger than any portion that has the misfortune of existing in the physical time-space we’re stuck in.

    You fucked up, and until you work out whatever it was that you fucked up up there, you’re stuck down here, and killing yourself only puts you further back in line for Ascension.

    The only way out is to remember the truth, and to work with extra-terrestrial consciousnesses to work through your karmic debt, attain spiritual awareness, and earn your way back up to your natural state of Oneness with the One who is One and not Two.

    Sound familiar? That’s a summary of the Revelations of an Insider. I ended up on that page while perusing old links in my bookmarks Sunday, July 4th. 

    What struck me about the long exchange was that everything the dude was saying lines up perfectly with Hermetics, except for the bit about the Earth being a prison planet. Of course he would put it that way, he was talking to a conspiracy theory group, after all. Context demanded it be couched in those terms. That stuff about aliens and the popular conspiracy theories at the time it was written, bloodlines, ruling families, etc. is all bunk, but the core of the spiritual doctrine he’s giving there is totally in harmony with Hermetic doctrine.

    It’s neo-platonism all over again. You’re really a manifestation of God, the world distracts you, makes you forget, and you just need to be reminded of that. You conjure spirits from other realms, higher spiritual planes that teach you, remind you, grant you access to your memory of your true self, and then you join with the Powers that Be so you can meet even greater responsibilities in the higher realms.

    It’s a common theme in New Age teachings too. That crowd speaks of alien intelligences, and channeled wisdom. We speak of Planetary Intelligences, and entities from the Sphere of the Fixed Stars. The only difference between “Martial” and “Martian” is the last letter, when you look at it. And the experiences of the people who receive initiations (they call them transmissions) from the spirits (they call them alien entities) are pretty similar to the things we get to do when we have been through the proper clarifications and initiations, when we’ve been harmonized with the spheres.

    I guess what I’m saying is that the core “truths” of Hermetics keep popping up in different forms for different generations. The end product is that people get in touch with “higher” intelligences, entities with a broader view of existence than we have, and then we receive spiritual training and empowerments as a result. The effects are pretty potent.

  • Courses Launching This Week

    The Green and White Work courses will be launching this Friday. For a brief overview of the courses and to sign up, see this link.

    Note that if you were interested in the Black Work course, you can still sign up. I won’t be closing enrollment until Friday due to some personal requests received offlist.

  • Course Stuff

    Lesson 1 is available at the Black Work yahoo group.

    It looks like there are some people who have signed up for the course who haven’t joined the group. Please feel free to join, or shoot me an email and I’ll send you another invitation.

  • Cool Stuff (or WTF is an Etsy?)

    So someone mentioned they have an Etsy store. WTF is an Etsy store? I asked all innocent. Looks like an online flea market kind of thing. People selling (shudder) merchandise. Physical products you can’t just email out to the world. WEIRDNESS!!!

    But I took a look at their Etsy store, and it’s got some cool shit. An Alice in Wonderland tarot deck, and a bunch of “vintage” stuff. The 80’s nautical fanny pack is possibly my favorite item on there. Or maybe the Alice in Wonderland tarot deck. Kinda curious to see where it puts the Cheshire Cat.

  • Tick-tock

    Tomorrow’s the launch of the Black Work course. If you’ve signed up, please send me the time and location of your birth for creating the Genius name.

    The course sign-up site is located at this link.

    I’d write up a bunch of salesey stuff, but it’s been a long day after a long night, and I’m wiped out. I’ll repost the outline of the course below, but that’s about all I can muster at the moment.

    I’ve broken up the Black Work Course into three phases (eliminating the pretentious names cause it’s too much like an Order, and I got good advice about that idea that I’m taking for once). This is still a tentative outline, because there’s more I want to cram in there somewhere. I can’t seem to think of everything just yet, but this is the minimum of what I plan to cover*:

    Introduction
    • You have Cleansed me with Hyssop, Oh Lord: Banishing and Cleansing Rites
    • The Art of Contemplation
    • Self Assessment: Whoever therefore shall know himself…

    Cosmology

    • In the Beginning: The Creation of the World
    • First Father, Nous, Logos, Workman, Governors, Man
    • Spheres of Emanation
    • The Emerald Tablet: Map of the Great Work
    • Meet the Family: Dad and the Uncle-Aunts
    • Where are you from?

    Spiritus Mundi: Hermetic Animism

    • Chain of Manifestation
    • Genii Loci
    • Meet the Family: Mom? Is that you? And you had kids!?
    • What are you?

    Elementary

    • Elemental Hierarchy
    • Four Angels of the Corners of the World
    • Princes of the Four Angles of the World
    • Meet the Family: The Cousins
    • What makes you tick?

    The Altar: Table of Manifestation

    • Altar Layout
    • Elemental Weapons
    • Planetary Talismans
    • Constellations and Mansions
    • The Lamp
    • Miscellaney
    • What do you do?

    Conjuration

    • The Table of Practice
    • The Art of Drawing Spirits into Crystals
    • Variations
    • Elemental Initiations
    • What do you want?

    Magic without Tools

    • The Astral Temple
    • Dream Work
    • Path Working through the Spheres
    • How are you going to get what you want?

    About that Great Work

    • Who are you?
    • What’s wrong with you?

    Meet the Genius

    • The Threefold Keeper
    • The Genius and the Evil Daimon
    • Conjuration of the Genius

    On Working with the Genius

    • Spiritual and Practical Applications
    • An Introduction to the Seven Planetary Governors

    * I really need to update this outline, there’s a lot more to it than is listed. As I started developing the materials, more stuff insisted on being included.

  • Video: Teh Elburp!

    While I don’t advocate the rite personally, a friend posted his version of the LBRP on YouTube, and I’m all for seeing my friends get publicity for their Work, even if I don’t do that flavor of stuff myself.

    He’s a higher-ranking OTO member who’s done a lot for the local OTO lodge, and also the editor of Heaven and Hell Fifth Edition Volume One: The Official Organ of William Blake Lodge, which contains an essay/article by yours truly.

    So check out his video on YouTube. I’d embed it here, but it IS the LBRP after all. (And I don’t know if it counts viewers that watch it on my blog.)

    He’s got more advanced stuff on there too, a four-part video series of the Gnostic Mass. Check out his whole channel if you’re into OTO style Crowley rites done right by trained and experienced professionals.

  • Ohshitohno

    Thanks, V.V.F. Thanks a lot.


    Saw something neat at the VVF blog, thought I’d check it out, run the old Head for the Red posts through a text analyzer to see who I write like…

    I write like
    Dan Brown
    I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

    But do I get paid like Dan Brown? Fuck no.

    But that’s just some posts I tested, the majority, granted, but on others I get:

    I write like
    H. P. Lovecraft
    I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

    (Lots of quotes from the Corpus Hermeticum is what returns that result.)

    I write like
    Chuck Palahniuk
    I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

    Heh. Erisian influences can last years, apparently.

    I write like
    James Joyce
    I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

    Fuck you, man, I’m sober!

    Ok, out of time to play with that thing.

  • Boisterocity

    One of the long time hallmarks of my blog has been the occasional good spirited, well-balanced, thoughtful compassionate rant regarding the complexity of human incarnation.

    Lately, I just haven’t had it in me. I thought it might have been the heart problem, mortality shoving itself into your sphere can make you a different person. I thought it might be getting rid of the demons and their various symbols from my home and hearth, and having the cleaner atmosphere not influencing me to hate other people quite so much. I thought it might be the Eighth Sphere Work I was doing, that somehow managed to clean me out and fix some misanthropic points of view.

    I don’t know which, if any, of those things it was. I just don’t feel like laying into people anymore. People are still stupid chunks of talking dirt most of their allegedly “waking” hours, but I just don’t care anymore. It doesn’t bother me the way it used to.

    Little bothers me the way it used to, in fact. I still argue with people, but more out of habit than anything else. I don’t know what else to do. I know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind, and I don’t feel compelled to even try at this point. I provide information, people will use it, or not.

    Whatever it was that happened, I just don’t feel quite as entitled to rage as I used to.

    But knowing existence the way I do, I’ll quote the sage in closing…

    This too shall pass.

  • Physical Planets and Other Forms of Matter

    Yes, still yet more on planets.

    A friend of mine once asked me if I considered the physical planets like batteries for the forces of the Spheres. Like if a person went to Mars, they would be overwhelmed with Martial “energy.” Colonists there would live like Spartans, by Law and Order and Structure, but they’d always be belligerent and probably at war, near war, or recovering from war. Like America, but not fat and stupid.

    We won’t talk about what Colonies on Venus would be like (coughcoughFrancecoughcough).

    The question surprised me. I hardly ever think about the physical planets in terms of their spiritual significance. I mean, Mars is rock and iron. Venus is covered in bad gas. Some moon around Jupiter would be an awesome source of methane to power the planet. If they ever had the technology while I’m young enough to do it, I would totally go looking for an asteroid made of solid gold.

    But the planets being literally the manifestation of a spiritual force? Fuck no, it’s a metaphor. The planets are symbols of the spheres, things that indicate what types of powers are hitting the planet spiritually based on their relative positions to us on Earth. They’re cosmic weather vanes. Thinking they are the thing they point to is like thinking the weather vane is the wind.

    But when I think about it, an old weather vane would make a pretty awesome Wind Talisman. A meteorite from Mars would be pretty awesome in a Martial talisman too. But I don’t really believe colonists would exhibit the planet’s associated character traits because they lived there. It’s not like they are the spheres we use them to represent. It’s symbolic, like everything else here in the physical realm, an indicator, or an arrow pointing to its higher aspect, an image of the thing, not the thing itself.

    Even though images of things can be powerful in rituals, they aren’t the things they represent. Confusing the two can lead to idolatry. I think idolatry is dangerous because it leaves you missing the actual relationship with the spirit represented by the object. The damage it does is measured in the missed opportunities, missed time you could have spent learning about who/what the symbol represents, how it manifests in you.

    I think that’s why I don’t get concerned about the significance of the planets in the Chaldean Order not lining up with a heliocentric astronomical cosmology based on laser-accurate locations of the planets. They’re more like referents to me. As long as they get good results, I’m fine with it.

    If I do get to a point where I need to start using the planets actual order for something, I’m not opposed to it. I’ve run into some weirdness I’d like to investigate at some point at different times in my Work, and I shelved it for further research when I’m feeling dry or stagnant. For now I’m still achieving with the system I’ve got, and I’m happy with that.