Podcast Appearance: Praxis Behind the Obscure, Ep. 41

I was delighted to be a guest for a third time on Praxis Behind the Obscure: check it out!

Gebofal, Day 3

Sunrise: Same procedure as Day 2, except calling on King Babalel. Also, filing under “What Should Have Been Completely Obvious,” I place my right hand on the back of Leaf 47 (47b, which is at my right). I have my left foot on Babalel’s seal for balance.

I make the call to BAG. The vision starts with a hallway, which has a CGI feel. There’s set of double doors which I open, which shows another length of hallway with a set of doors at the end. This pattern repeats, and I zip through many hundreds of doors in this manner: these are the doors of the main sequence of letters from this side of the leaf. There are also sets of double doors to my left and right which represent those letters that I used my intuition to write in. I get to the last set of double-doors, which has the letter Van on it (the angels remind me that the first two letters are X & I, i.e., the transliteration of the Greek letter xi).

I open this last set of doors, and I seem to have opened a set of doors into the sky or heaven. I walk around through the sky, and they call it a hidden or alternative or mathematical Merkava. This is in the vein of the Merkava as Dee would have understood them, they tell me. I’m in a “chariot,” which is metaphorical: the chariot can be thought of as a force which allows me to traverse the heavenly realm. It’s bright and daylight; I can see the blue sky and there are clouds just below me.

I repeat the governors’ names: Labnixp, Focisni, Oxlopar. I see a set of 2D spirals, reddish (note that the moon is in Scorpio, thus the luminaries are both ruled by Mars today, which is Tuesday, the day of Mars). They create a square, and they ask me to step into the center of the square. I do so; they note the dimensionality but then say they won’t dwell on it in this vision. Reddish protrusions or perhaps the spirals themselves extend and come at me.

Now I’m at the center of a cube (so now we’re back to dimensionality); they remind me that from the center of the square, six square pyramids can be made, which can be made into three octahedra. This, they tell me, is the Glory of the Trinity. These are the signs of the zodiac in “duality”–the heavenly part and the earthly part, of each sign. “As above, so below,” they remind me. My mind alights on the idea of the fixed stars: “Not this vision,” they tell me.

I look at the three octahedra. They get tall and each forms a loop which come at me. Then I see the octahedra in normal form and they turn around me (counterclockwise from above), and two are shown as under my feet, supporting me, and one I’m holding as a rein. This clearly feels like I’m in a chariot. “This is how an individual can perceive a given moment of astrological influence. One can bring to mind a given planet, which is one of these modalities [cardinal, fixed, or mutable.]” The cube is sort of this earthly existence, the limits of being in one of these three states. One can feel like one is in a Black Iron Prison on account of either the earthly state of affairs itself being in one of these modalities, or feeling as if the strings are being pulled from heaven. Feeling like this would indicate a need for spherical consciousness.

I am curious as to where the chariot is going. I’m taken into a Roman-style stadium. It’s like the final leg of a triumph in the Roman sense. There’s cheering and the amphitheater itself is reflective of this spherical consciousness with the members of the audience being like unto the fixed stars (which we weren’t going to talk about? heh heh). So of course being cheered feels good, but note the emotional pull of all the possibilities which these fixed stars represent. I see a particular light flashing at me from the crowd. I float towards this spot and there’s a king who is flashing this light from a mirror.

The angels tell me to not look so much at what the king was getting me to do, but rather to look back at the center, the chariot. I can see my light body there, and it’s doing a better job of reflecting all of the fixed stars of possibility. I wonder what would happen if I expanded this out to all the places that the stars have been. They emotionally indicate that this is good, so my heart extends out.

Then I think about all of the possibilities that the stars could have been (to quote the Hole song: “My name is Might-Have-Been, my name is Never Was”), and that’s when I can see my heart extend into an amazing light show. This, is more of the rainbow body. I reflect during the vision that this is deep: when we think of possibilities, this is sort of a limiting idea or category. But if we think of all of those things that each possibility could have been, that’s sort of where Nuit and Hadit meet, to use Thelemic concepts. What if, for example, Jupiter had become a star instead of Sol? Honoring all of this in one’s heart and at all the levels of existence and awareness: this is key.

The vision ends.

Noon: Same procedure. Call to the Aethyr of BAG.

I now see the same spiral as show fourfold this morning, but it seems to come from in one form, and as a single point in the darkness. The spiral comes around me and I now appear energetically as I do in the Circulation of Light portion of the Middle Pillar Ritual. They back me up to see this energy field about me from afar and in the context of fixed stars. They mention that doing the Middle Pillar Ritual magnetizes the self, as it were, so that one can become a compass for the True Will, i.e., the particular set of fixed stars. This can, of course, become skewed by an imbalance of the elements, so the importance of the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram is obvious.

Regardless, the angels have me dwell on the fixed stars, and mention that one can use the MPR to find one’s personal fixed stars, i.e., the “lode stars.” Still, I contemplate this: were someone to orient themselves to their fixed stars, it is a proper thing to do so in order to follow one’s True Will, but this is also somewhat insufficient in two senses. First, what I call “the shifting of the orbit,” i.e., the discovery of additional fixed stars or elements within oneself which causes an adjustment to the True Will. Second, there’s the importance of honoring all of the fixed stars, appearing not only as Hadit and Nuit (which is really just one thing, and not merely the principles of Chokmah and Binah, respectively, leading to each individual’s Tiphareth/sun), nor as their single unified unfolding and enfolding in spacetime as the unified process of Kether. Instead, considering the need to honor the possibilities of possibilities and the world of Adam Qadmon, the idea of the True Will becomes secondary. The True Will continues to speak to the heart and its configuration, but honoring the depths of all fixed stars not only as individual lode stars but possibilities which could have been very different–this is where one honors the world of Adam Qadmon and the unfolding force of Ain.

I ask how I am to honor this, then. The angels point ahead and say that something will come around Leaf 15–which is the fire tablet, the last of the Watchtower tablets, if one starts with the most dense of them (earth).

I speak in an offhanded way about being a good guest to the angels who are hosting me, and they begin speaking about hospitality (note that the single word “host,” which can refer to either a multitude of an army or to one who receives guests, both derive from the word for “stranger, guest, enemy”). They mention that each of the leaves gives me a full day and night as a guest in the heavenly homes which God has created, and that Day 49 is the central home, the home of homes, in the throne room, which I will “never leave” (in status) and tending to the kingdom. The traveling which I do will be as a monarch or viceroy traveling to different realms to tend to whichever realm requires it.

Sunset: Same procedure. Call to BAG.

The angel governors ask me to focus on the feeling of the leaf, and then to focus on the spiral, which was common to both visions. Then the angels tell me to put the feeling of the energy of that spiral into the vision of heaven from this morning. I put my vision there and include my energetic body there.

I notice that I need to put more energy into concentration than I normally would for an Aethyr this low. I interpret this as being similar to dealing with the Aethyr of ZAX–in other words, the sevenfold nature of doing the Aethyr call during gebofal is putting the abyssal feeling much lower. They tell me to focus on the spiral and note the increasing size of the length of a diagonal as you go from one corner of the page to the book and the similar increase and decrease in size of a spiral’s arcs extending out from the middle:

Each of these leaves is thus similar to a fractal. This fractal is not only across leaves (such as going from only 105 letters on Leaf 49 (which is reduced from a small number of words) to 4802 letters on Leaf 2, to Leaf 1b which has letters at the end but which complexifies into words at the top, and finally Leaf 1a which is all words) but also within a single leaf. This self-similarity relates to the “as above, so below” principle of Hermeticism.

I try to relate this to the vision of the Roman-style triumph and to the idea of honoring all of possibilities and how each possibility itself could have been different. This pattern of self-similarity, I realize, is the universe/Divine trying to honor itself and the decisions it has made. Therein is the unity and multiplicity of coming into existence in the manner it has, and the arising and falling of patterns from moment to moment.

My mind alights on the concept of vibration as I handle the leaf in my hand. The phenomenon of vibration honors the idea of development. A vibration is an anticipation of the future, which we then take stock of after the fact. The most important vibrations are those which are meaningful: that makes the difference as to whether development proceeds in a given trend as anticipated. The concept of personal resonance relates to this.

I’m trying to combine the ideas now with the idea of being centered amidst polarities and forces. Fractals shift levels and do so in apparently nonlinear fashion; the idea of accepting things as they are is important, and I see development as a matter of homeostasis, but at the same time, biology speaks of punctuated equilibria. We find these in traversing the heart by attempting to be accepting, so accepting that we pay attention and at times we find, either by natural change or by noticing that which comes to be noticed with our development–we come to notice that which changes how we perceive everything. In such times, it seems like everything changes, and if we’re okay with that, we accept and flow with the change.

These moments are when our hearts feel that they would leap out of our chests into the unknown, because we see our past, our present, our future, our selves, our loved ones, and our world: these we see clearly and anew.

Progressing in Magick

So this is a question I’ve given some thought to: how quickly should one progress in magick? How far, how fast? What should you get into?

Having tried several things in magick, I can recommend the following:

1. Meditation (at the beginning and throughout your journey, perhaps to be foregone towards the end). Vipassana & Raja (one or the other), once or twice a day. I also recommend using simple pranayama techniques to relax one’s mind and emotional state, and then mentally confronting emotional triggers (i.e., “Why do I get angry about this? Is this really me, or am I just attached to [XYZ]? Does my emotional intensity match the situation?”) at least once a week for at least a year. Don’t be afraid to go deep. This will start clearing your mind of identifications that do not match who you are, and the best part is, you’re doing the clearing, so you are in control. It’s also good to talk through your insights with good friends.

Allllsoooo…therapy, especially as you get to the weirder stuff: find a therapist who doesn’t judge the woo.

Congratulations, your mind is now on a path towards healing.

2. Groundedness practice. (added) I recommend also doing some groundedness meditation (such as imagining roots growing from your feet into the earth and drawing in from the infinite amount of energy available that which you need). To complement this, spend time walking outside, gardening, etc., to stay in touch with the real world.

Congratulations, you’re able to live in reality.

3. Hatha yoga. The mind and body are intimately connected. In general, you will want to be in excellent physical shape, so if you can, Hatha yoga regularly, do cardio at least twice a week, and add in strength training (always talk to your doctor about exercise). Give yourself a couple of months to get in good (or better) physical shape. Obviously this depends on whether you are disabled, but think about how you can get in touch with your body.

Congratulations, you’re working on integrating your body and mind.

4. Sigils (as needed). After about a month of meditation, teach yourself to make a sigil (the Austin Osman Spare method is easy to learn, but others exist). They are easy, they are cheap, they will work with beginner’s luck. Start with something simple at the “5% probability” level and charge it the easy way (look at it during the “big O“).

Congratulations, you’re empowering yourself.

5. Learn (and DO) banishing (regularly, but eventually to be largely eschewed). A few weeks after your sigil, note the degree to which it was successful (you can do more, but for serious things). Then learn the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP). After you have started a daily meditation practice, for at least a month, start learning the LBRP. It’s not that complicated. Use flash cards to memorize directions, angel names, and the like.

Then do it for the first time. Don’t be surprised if you experience some clairaudience: I definitely did my first time and I had a huge WTF moment! Once you have it memorized and can perform it fluidly, it should not take more than five minutes. Start off doing that on a weekend, then add it to your “stack” and do it once a day (ideally before a meditation), then twice a day (morning and night). If you’re not in your own place, do it silently. If space is an issue, you can do it imaginally. Later, learn the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram (LBRH).

Congratulations, you’re starting to determine your circumstances.

6. Study the elements and astrology. The classical elements are fundamental to the LBRP, and now is the time to understand what they are about. It’s good to learn about them in conjunction with astrology, because there is some overlap. For that, The Astrology Podcast is excellent. Take their significations of the signs (parts 1 & 2), the planets, the houses (parts 1 & 2), then the ones on sect, essential dignities, and then look into the aspects. This will help you understand the LBRH. It will also help you understand the astrological forces, whether they are “good” for a working and invoked, or whether they are bad and should be banished. This will take some time, definitely no less than three months, probably no less than six.

Congratulations, now you understand how circumstances can arise.

7. Raising & balancing consciousness. (added) At this point, I also would recommend slowly adding in the Middle Pillar Ritual at this point. Once a week, then twice, then daily. The idea is to start raising your awareness. It’s very important to balance this with the groundedness meditation I previously mentioned.

Congratulations, you’re developing perspective on circumstances.

8. Start thinking about your True Will. Your understanding of astrology will come in handy now. Jason Louv offers a course on this, which is excellent.

Congratulations, now you know how you want to change circumstances.

9. Holy Guardian Angel ordeal. By now you should at least have a couple of years into your studies. I really can’t recommend this enough, but I probably wouldn’t recommend this for someone who hasn’t yet had their Saturn return. Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy Guardian Angel is the first great feat of the Western magickian, according to Crowley. I recommend the Abramelin operation (I was told by my HGA to forego the demon-binding portion of the operation, as was James Eshelman). It is an ordeal, and should only be undertaken when you can. Modify it as you can for your circumstances: the original presumed so much wealth but a sincere effort to have the key aspects of the ritual (isolation, prayer, etc.) is vital. Congratulations, now you have an ally in reaching towards your true nature.

10. Enochian. Having done all of this work, you might decide to take up Enochian. It’s complicated. It’s a lot of work. But it’s worth it, soooo worth it. I’ve written before that I consider it the key to plugging in to the great Western and Eastern accomplishments (such as a Chokmah initiation and the rainbow body–a Tibetan Buddhism arising–respectively). Congratulations, you are now on the path to reaching your true nature.

You may be surprised that I have left off this list other things such as talismans (I do them, but these are not necessary), alien contact, past-life regression, and so many others. I just don’t think that they are necessary, and may even side-track from paths to some core insights. I’m willing to change my mind on this, and I’ll let you know if I do.

Enjoy!

Simple Shortcut When Ascending the Tree of Life

There are shortcuts to things in life, though shortcuts are not always the best or cleanest way to get things done. Yet when you’re starting from a low point and want to get to a higher point, rather than practicing the same old techniques in drudgery until the slow accretion of effort pays off years later with achievement, or its opposite of a shortcut to the trophy that is devoid of mastery, it’s probably better to use both practice and the occasional shortcut to make your empowerment work faster.

The ascension of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life is the purpose of many magickal orders. While I have no grand techniques for preparation for initiation, and initiation itself (the LBRP or the Abramelin Operation still work as they should!), I have an “all-of-the-above” approach to magick, and believe that cross-pollination has interaction effects. Hence, the shortcut: sigils.

Sure, you may already know about sigils, but why not create a sigil to enable old-fashioned initiation? Sometimes we don’t think to put “new wine into old wineskins,” but we do it all the time, we just don’t think of it that way. Meditation is used in concert with being a good person, magick is used in concert with meditation, and sigil magick can be used in concert with Tree-of-Life magick.

The technique itself is rather simple: create a sigil with the intent along the lines of “I initiate into [name of sephirah, e.g., Yesod].” Charge it, don’t obsess about it, then continue going about your normal efforts to initiate into that same sephirah. What you should find (as I did) is that new techniques to initiate into a sephirah appear, or that your current efforts accelerate. I myself used sigils to assist with initiation into Binah, Chokmah, & Kether.

Get creative and clear with your intent, and don’t be afraid to iterate: “I deepen my initiation into [name of sephirah]” and “I complete my initiation into [name of sephirah]” are wise additional sigils to fire off after you surmise that you have succeeded in your initiation into a given sephirah. You must still do the hard work, but the hard work should pay off more quickly.

Enjoy!

Updated Rainbow Body Enochian call; Addition of empty mind Enochian call

This post has been updated: here is the latest iteration.

I continue to mix-and-match Eastern concepts with Enochian techniques because I believe that at the core of these traditions is the same structure of reality. In my last post on the topic, I called upon a specific part of heaven, but I decided to change it after doing some chanting to Padmasambhava. My preparation was to do the Supreme Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (I modded to add invoking-spirit pentagrams after banishing all 5 elements). This was followed by an Expanded Middle Pillar ritual (of my own devising) to call all four Kabbalistic worlds using the correspondences 776 1/2. Finally, I did a Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram, followed by a Greater Invoking Ritual of the Hexagram of OM. Because this is beyond the Tree of Life proper (i.e., associated with Ain, Ain Sof, and Ain Sof Aur), I chose to use the “color” of clear for drawing both the hexagram and the Sanskrit word–similar to the camouflage effect from Predator (but in a good way!), or heat vision waves as seen in Smallville.

The new call is phrased:

MADRIAX DSPRAF MAOFFAS QAA DE TON DAMPLOZ OLPIRT DE OI, A MANIN DE AFFA OLPIRT…[complete remainder of the call to the Aethyrs]. (“O you heavens which dwell in the measureless garment (body) of all variety of light of this, in the mind of empty light”).

I dropped the “of me” in favor of “of this” (sidestepping ego issues by referencing “me” in the call). I also linked the rainbow body to the clear light mind.

There was a nascent sense of the actualization of the lesser rainbow body afterward; this is uncharted territory for me. The vision included eclipse imagery (note the date; I was comfortable doing this magick because this was aimed at the supernals), but also Christian imagery. The message was that the cross was not to be thought of in the vertical position, to lift up the sacrifice, but rather the horizontal (emphasizing the accepting of the fulfillment of the law, so to speak). From this horizontal cross emerged a being, or perhaps a scaffold, which resembled me, who locked in around me. There was a shift, but the shift seemed to be one of awareness, as well as a subtle body shift.

I was told at the end to use a separate call for the clear mind itself, which was much simpler (and more directly referring to Ain):

MADRIAX DSPRAF AG (NOIB, AFFA MANIN)… (“O you heavens which dwell in nothing (yea, the empty mind)”).

This evoked a very peaceful state of the clear mind and I recommend trying it out.