Chapter Iv The Emerging Purpose
Whoever has read any work which shows an occult understanding of motivation, from the myth of Tthonus to the story of the Monkey's Paw, must have realized that the faculty essentially needed, in direct proportion to any kind of magical power that one may possess, is the ability to formulate a rational, articulate, lucid and adequate expression of one's True Will. To lack this is to walk defenseless among many dangers, of which the danger of mere failure is the least. First it is necessary to...
Chapter I The Spiritual Ideal
In the world of human thought, certain currents have been built up into forms of great potency by their reiterated use in successive ages. These established forms, or egregores, serve as channels of true power, and vary from region to region of the world. In the West, a theme developed and perfected in the course of one cult after another is that of the Spirit's descent into Matter and its subsequent return to the Divine Light. This theme, in its stark essence, is fundamental to the Mysteries...
Z
The individual begins working to perfect himself, however, and his first efforts, as the soul aspires upwards, are to separate it from the influences of matter. If he continues in this course he reaches what may be termed the ascetic ideal This is the ideal of self sacrifice. This figure has five free angles, and the number 5 is often taken to represent the human condition as material for sacrifice. Bodily life is typified by the five senses. In medieval Christian tradition there is much...
Info Oba
In providing the student of The Magical Philosophy with as comprehensive a picture of the development of the Ogdoadic Tradition as may be achieved within the scope of the present work, two references in the above ritual text may be amplified First, regarding the Order of the Helmet. This society was established in England during the reign of Elizabeth I, and combined Guild, Fideli d'Amore and Careggi successions. It and its members are currently the subject of much academic interest and...
The Magical Philosophy
This is the definitive work on the Western Mystery Tradition both setting forth the way mainstream Western occultism has developed and providing a completely modern and psychologically valid restatement of the Magical Art. The work of Magick is the work of Man. The famous schema of the Qabalah, the Tree of Life, which indicates an entire philosophy by means of ten circles and twenty-two connecting lines, is sometimes taken to be an objective plan of the universe. It is not it is altogether...