The thing that we refer to as "magic", i.e. "the occult", is being proven by Science more and more everyday. We live in quite the exciting time, right on the cusp of an Age of Transformation, as far as public perception and awareness is concerned.
I. Good God, Y'all
The funny thing is that ancient cultures understood that Magick and Science walk hand-in-hand, an intertwined part of the same overarching cosmology. Sometimes, they are simply different words for the same thing. The Greeks and the Egyptians always pooled these schools of knowledge together. Thoth, as he/it was called in Egypt (Hermes in Greece and Mercury in Rome) was/is the God of Science, the Arts, and Magick. Anything that governed that human ability to create and to understand the nature of the Universe, essentially. The very things that make us all Gods in our own right, not to mince words. That makes sense.
Then something went horribly wrong and this basic way of thinking was lost. The knowledge that was once common, became hidden. The word "occult" literally translates to "hidden". This knowledge, once commonplace, became accessible only to a handful of people who actively sought it out; the occultists. Well, not just the occultists, technically; the Jews knew what was up. The Kaballah is pretty much a user's manual to the entirety of Life, the Universe, and Everything. But, the Chosen Ones weren't exactly broadcasting that information. Which was smart. Keep it secret, keep it safe, right? Especially during the long dark reign of intolerance that blanketed the globe in that time.
To elucidate, a big part of what-went-horribly-wrong was the unprecedented onslaught of Christianity and, you know, the fact that throughout the history of that particular religion, it has incessantly been used as a tool for political power. As the Christian crusaders rapidly absorbed the cultures of Europe, Asia, and regions south, they incorporated the practices and pantheons indigenous to those conquered peoples into their own predetermined structure (saints, martyrs, and the like), ultimately discarding the cornerstone beliefs and teachings that had been so long protected and carried down by the peoples of the world. Suddenly, it's not such a great mystery as to why or how such an ideological shift took place.
Regardless, it is a bit comical that thousands of years later, humanity is finally coming back around to understanding the Way Things Are and what it all means to us. By "comical" I mean both "extraordinarily sad" and "funny as fuck". Like George Carlin!
II. Making A Prophet
During the second or third rise of [Western] interest in the metaphysical, in the early 1900s, Aleister Crowley proclaimed himself a prophet, here to usher in the Age of Aquarius. He was well aware that humanity had a ways to go before they'd be able to open themselves to universal (once commonplace) truths and he knew it wouldn't happen in his lifetime. His mission was to lay the groundwork, to open the door. Looking at where we are today, I would say that he succeeded.
His own religion, Thelema, was the only one in the world where women had 100% equality with men. His teachings were balked at and considered heretical, distasteful, and potentially criminal. Which is pretty fucking hilarious if one is to actually learn anything about what it was that he was teaching.
Thelema itself is a sort of Greatest Hits of other, preexisting schools of ceremonial magick, including a couple of "secret societies" that Crowley was, in fact, a member of before striking out on his own. Toss in a dash of Hindu, a smattering of Judaism, and a couple of heaping tablespoons of ancient Egyptian and that makes one heck of a gumbo! He basically took the bits that resonated with him and left the rest. Which is, in my opinion, the right way to do it. For any aspiring magi out there, this is your takeaway: Magick is deeply personal. If a method feels right, it is right, even if you made it up yourself. Hell, sometimes that's the best way to go.
Anyhoo...Crowley's core practices focused on rituals and ceremonial hijinks that he had learned from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and his mentor, Eliphas Levi, largely based around the Kaballah (mad shout out again). The purpose being the improvement of the self and understanding of the interconnection of all things, attained via a series of spiritual checkpoints, eventually bringing one in contact with their personal ArchAngel. Being a believer in mind/spirit/body balance, he also used Yoga as a means of physical and spiritual conditioning (waaaaaaay, waaaaaaaay before it was trendy).
Now, there were - and are - plenty of people who would cite the credo of the Thelemic orders as evidence for the nasty, uncouth nature of Crowley's intention: Do What Thou Wilt.
That sure sounds like a call to anarchy, yep. Unless, of course, we're familiar with the entirety of his credo...
Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be the Whole of the Law.
Love is the Law, Love Under Will.
So, this self-improvement life coach and avid yoga enthusiast built his entire church around one unyielding tenet: Love is the answer. Like, to fucking everything. Love holds the universe together. Love puts the universe in motion. Love is the source of all magick. Love will make you...maybe not a "better" person but certainly your most authentic self. But, we have free will! You gotta choose it. You gotta WANT it! And work for it. Let love in, as they say.
I think we're finally seeing Al's vision take form...and I feel like it's gonna stick this time. We've had a couple of points in the last coupla hundred years where humankind got real close aaand then it all just sort of fell apart and was crushed under the bootheel of oppression and apathy. Call me an optimist (which would be a new one on me) but I believe in you. I think we got this.
III. To Infinity and Beyond
Like I said up at the top there, it's an exciting time we live in. Every day, more and more people are waking up to the reality of the nature of our existence. Every day, Science continues to prove the very things that the occultists, and before them, the mystics, have been saying for a long time. Even more recently, Einstein and Tesla tried to tell the world that "everything is energy". They meant that quite literally but folks still weren't ready to grasp what that means and what it might indicate in terms of our reality.
In the spiritual community, people talk about the "Ascended Masters". I say that the likes of Einstein and Tesla certainly qualify as such. Homeboys knew the score.
Sidebar! I happen to share a birthday with Nikola Tesla. How cool is that!? =D
Everything is energy and, at a molecular level, everything is vibrating. Like the cosmos, we (and everything around us, living and inanimate) is constantly moving.
That, if nothing else, should be enough to convince any skeptic that there is an intrinsic connection between all things, everywhere, in the entire universe. If it still doesn't sink in, just tell them it's the Force. Unless they've been living in a cave without wifi for the last couple of decades, they should be familiar with that term.
And if there is an undeniable connection between you and me and everything, then we are ultimately all the same thing. I believe that one-ness, that unity, is the thing that we refer to as God.
If we are all connected, and if that means that we and everything in existence is one big coexisting entity, then it's not such a stretch to think that we, any one of us, might be able to manipulate any part of that all-encompassing macrocosm. "Reach out with your feelings" indeed.
We live in an age where we can offer scientific evidence and, even better, explanation for things that have been considered "arcane" and "esoteric" and other heeby-jeeby sounding words, for so very long. That is certainly going to help accelerate the global awakening that needs to take place if humanity is to take the next step in our evolution.
Another tremendous asset that people don't really think about is the advent of The Internet. I'm old and withered; I remember when Compact Discs were the new hotness and got excited when they released an Apple computer that had color, to put it in perspective. When I first delved into the Occult, it still was very hidden. I remember sneaking in to the local Freemason temple with my wee coven of magick-loving fiends just to get our grubby mitts on some of that sweet, sweet Knowledge...hey, we were just kids.
Nowadays, that sort of chicanery isn't necessary. The knowledge isn't hidden at all. It's readily accessible by means of a quick Google search. This has led to a world ripe with "esoteric" symbols everywhere we look, tv shows that cash in on ancient beliefs, and an unhealthy number of "dabblers" who might try some random spell or what-have-you with little to no mental preparation beforehand. Some of this is awesome. I'm all on board with subliminal prompts that could potentially help awaken someone at random. Not so on board with people jumping headfirst into magick with no idea what they're doing. That's a real good way to get a ticket to the mental ward.
There's pros and cons in this regard, just like anything related to the Internet. I think that the dangers are worth the payout, though. It's up to those of us who are in tune to gently guide those who are not, to buffer any potential madness before it's a problem, and to nurture those seeds. And, you know, remember that shit when you're on a forum or whatever and speaking under the cloak of anonymity. Don't be a dick. Be a teacher. Don't be part of the problem. Be the signal to action that will push humankind into the next Era.
Love is the Law, y'all. Love under Will.
Much love,
-lls
∞ 11 : 11 ∞
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