Changing Fortunes and Beginners Book

 

The month of March certainly was a wild ride for me. Paganicon was a great experience and also one that was personally very meaningful to me. While I was exposed to a very hostile winter like Spring, I enjoyed the warmth of meeting old friends and making new ones. I met a few people who would play a key roles in my changing fortunes as a writer. Things that I had thought were reliably set turned out to be capriciously overturned. It seemed that I had been inspired while at the convention to try to write a beginner’s book on Witchcraft magic, but I had doubts that Llewellyn would want to publish such a book.

I returned to Richmond resolved to get my fourth book in the “For Witches” series, “Sacramental Theurgy for Witches” into the production with Llewellyn and fulfill my contractual obligations. Folks at the Llewellyn HQ seemed to love the print out copies of the illustrations, so I thought that everything was all set. I just needed to hear back from my acquisitions editor about any revisions or fixes that would be required for the manuscript. Little did I realize that things were about to abruptly change.

Ten days after I had returned home from the convention, and still touched by the glow of what had happened to me there, I received notification from my Llewellyn acquisitions editor that Llewellyn staff  had met in their vision meeting and decided that they didn’t want to publish my book “Sacramental Theurgy for Witches.”  They got the impression that I was trying to urge the Witchcraft community to adopt my own idiosyncratic practices and drop their tried and true ones, and I was trying to sell revised practices that they already had been using. In their opinion, this was very different from the previous three books, and they just couldn’t see any profit in publishing this book.

While it is true that I had sought to reform the basic traditional coven practice where the High Priestess ran the coven and also channeled the covenstead Deity, because I saw it as a conflict of interests and a means of giving too much power to her over the other members of the coven, the rest of the book contained nothing but new practices, many of them cutting edge for the Witchcraft community. It almost seemed as if the staff at Llewellyn was talking about another book than the one I had written. It was a surprising superficial judgement on a book that I had felt the Gods and my spirit muse inspired me to write. Llewellyn, therefore canceled my contract, which also halted the publication of any of the other books in that series.

Needless to say, I was devastated. Not only had I written that book, but another one had not even been pitched yet because I was ordered to slow-go presenting new manuscripts to Llewellyn. I would not likely be able to pitch the last book in the series, which was titled “Transformative Initiation for Witches.” Now, I had talked about these two manuscripts with friends and interested parties at the convention, and they were keen on seeing them in print. Same is true with my fan base on Face Book. Many people were looking forward to seeing these two books published. I was briefly at a loss about what course of action I should take to continue to move forward.

One thing that I want to point out is that Llewellyn is in the business of publishing books and making a profit. They have been publishing occult books for a very long time, and they are successful enough to have their own building and adjoining warehouse, and a large staff of editors, marketing folk, artists, clerks, and warehouse workers. They are a friendly group of people and I liked everyone that I met at the HQ meeting in March. Still, they are a business, and in canceling my contract, they made a business decision. I had been one of their authors for over ten years, so that is a long time for a business relationship to last. Publishing companies typically drop and add new authors at a frightening frequency, so my relationship was unique in that regard. While my acquisitions editor may have rejected my current selection of books to publish, she did not close the door on our relationship. The fact that I don’t agree with the marketing decision that Llewellyn made in regards to the books I wanted to publish doesn’t mean that I am at crossed purposes with them. It’s just business as usual. Who knows, maybe they are correct about my books, but I kind of doubt it. Only time will tell who is correct.

However, in my experience, when one door closes another always opens. In fact, I had met two really amazing men at the convention who had their own publishing company. They were at the convention to help promote one of their authors (Alaric Albertsson), and I happened to meet them just before my book signing was to start. They knew about my work and they were impressed enough to tell me that if I ever wanted to publish a book, they would be happy to talk to me about it. At the time, I felt I had obligations as an author to Llewellyn, and I was expecting to write a few more books for them in the future. Still, I chatted with them for a bit, got their business cards and said that we might consider doing business in the near future. They discussed with me the possibility of picking up the book Mastering the Art of Ritual Magic from Immanion Press and adding it to their publishing company catalog. These two gentlemen were Blake and Wycke Malliway, and their publishing company was Crossed Crow Books. I liked them a lot, but I never thought that I would be doing business with them so soon.

My shock and sadness at Llewellyn canceling my book contract was only a brief ordeal, since I reached out the very next day to Blake and asked him if he would be interested in picking up the rest of the “For Witches” series, since Llewellyn had already rejected the latest one in that series. To my surprise, Blake was immediately interested, but wanted to know why Llewellyn had canceled my contract. After reviewing the brief email that my acquisitions editor had sent me explaining the reason for the rejection, and meeting with Blake and his acquisitions editor Becca, they decided to not only pick up the last two books in the “For Witches” series, but also wanted me to write a beginner’s book as well. Just a mere five days after receiving the cancellation from Llewellyn, I had signed a contract with Crossed Crow Books to write and publish three books. So, I was quite amazed and happy with the results.

Now, as you know, I never wanted to write a beginner’s book on Witchcraft. I felt that there were a large volume of media available to the public in the form of books, web pages, YouTube lectures, ritual presentations, and a plethora of people wanting to sell tools, robes, candles, incense, perfumes, witchy garb, talismans and amulets, and other materials too numerous to mention. Yet when I perused many of these offerings in my researches, I saw that nearly all of the educational offerings were limited or incomplete in one manner or another. None of these books, lectures or presentations would prepare someone to be able to pick up my five-book series unless or until they had spent years going over this material and experimenting with it, or by chance, if they got initiated by a coven and spent a few years in that traditional organization. Indeed, there wasn’t a convenient bridge to the “For Witches” series for a beginner to cross.

So, the question proposed to me at the convention by more than a couple of individuals was if I wrote a beginners book, what should I write into a book that would get someone efficiently to the point where they could start working with the “For Witches” series of books. That was the challenge presented to me, and when I got home from the convention and was diddling around with ideas for this book, the entire table of contents for it seemed to manifest out of thin air. My muse was once again active! This occurrence happened before my contract with Llewellyn was canceled, so I was seeking a way to pitch this book to them until I had the rug pulled out from under my feet. The Malliway brothers helped me to solve this conundrum, and that is when the book “Mastering the Art of Witchcraft” or MAW for short, was born.

It seemed as if I was destined to write this book. What I wanted to do was to present both the liturgical and magical sides of Witchcraft for someone who was practicing as a solitary practitioner. That is the path that I presented in my “For Witches” series, which are magical practices that should be done by the independent Witch, whether in a coven or functioning as a solitary Witch. I also wanted to establish the basic practices, tools, meditation techniques and promote to the beginner the idea of building their own lunar and solar calendar, mapping out the full moon esbats and eight sabbats. As for the magic, a simplistic version of the energy model of magic was a good place to start, and I also threw in simple negative and positive vortex ritual patterns to use along with a slightly more complex cone of power. I also added in the basic binding rite, poppet magic rite and the rite to evoke the four elements combined within the flesh, blood and bones of the operator for an enhanced ritual of self-empowerment. These three rites had been in my Book of Shadows for decades, although they were not oath-bound material.

What I had determined is that if someone were to take this book, copy and embellish the rituals and practices written in it, and then armed with the lunar and solar calendar, practice these for a two year period, then that person would be prepared to study and use the “For Witches” series of books. In the final chapter, I included a list of books and topical areas of study that a person would need to round out and deepen their abilities and understanding. Everything that I wanted to say in this book just fell together, and writing it was almost effortless. I completed writing the book in around three weeks. That has to be a record for the amount of time it took for me to write a book, and the whole process was very inspired and magical. At 44K words, it is not a large book, but it is, in my opinion, substantive.

I also had a meeting with Crossed Crow Books staff and my manuscript “Sacrmental Theurgy for Witches” should be in print and available in February 2024. The other two books will follow, and hopefully, by the late autumn next year, all three will be in print. With the five books in the “For Witches” series in print, and this new book “Mastering the Art of Witchcraft” I will have the means of training a Witch and a practicing ritual magician from the perspective of a beginner to acclaimed mastery. I think, although I might be wrong, that no other author can make such a claim to fame. What I will need to do is put together a series of classes and maybe record them and put them on a YouTube channel. However, I also have other book writing projects that I would like to explore, such as my ideas for the book “Liber Nephilim,” which I will likely explore either later this year or early next year. I will definitely keep you posted.

Frater Barrabbas

Losing My Religion?

I have engaged in some further discussions about the topic of the Dark Night of Soul recently on Face Book. What has come out of this discussion is a more refined definition of the Dark Night of the Soul that magicians as well as mystics might experience. According to those who disagree with me it has to do with the aftermath of experiencing a powerful but momentary union with the Godhead, in all its glory and majesty. The resultant sense of loss after such an experience, also temporary, produces in the magician the archetypal Dark Night of the Soul. Tomas Stacewicz has responded to what I wrote with his own article, and you can find it here. I have also read with interest what he has proposed as comments on one of my Face Book status postings,

While I would never say that it is impossible for a magician and initiate to experience pain, darkness, doubt, fear and even despair while undergoing a powerful transformative initiation (in fact I have stated that this is very likely), I wouldn’t necessarily equate that intense experience with what a mystic undergoes through the Dark Night of the Soul. This is because a mystic nakedly approaches the Godhead by faith alone, whereas a magician is armed with faith based on the experience associated with magical experiences. There is also something decidedly masochistic about how a mystic deliberately prepares for this occurrence. Christianity does emphasize the suffering of Christ on the cross (particularly in Catholicism), and so a Christian mystic should also experience a similar level of suffering in order to be considered legitimate. Also, as I indicated in my article, the Dark Night of the Soul is nearly a constant companion for the mystic, but it doesn’t seem to be something habitual for the magician.

Tomas seems to have ignored the details that I presented in my article about how a monastic adherent seeks to undergo union with God and all that it entails. Based on what I have written, it makes more sense for mystics who have diminished and emptied themselves so that only the naked and unadorned psyche is still extent to have these kinds of experiences. How could worldly magicians who are still full functioning and participating in the mundane sphere be capable of having this kind of experience unless they themselves were reduced to nought?

I think that Tomas is actually engaging in a romantic association and a glorified identification with the mystic path, even though, unlike a mystic, he is still functioning in the world. He has a job, material possessions, property and social obligations. A true mystic would have eliminated everything in his life that might have interfered with achieving union with the Absolute. Tomas seems to believe that because he has experienced what he thinks is the archetypal Dark Night of the Soul that all such experiences must be the model and foundation for all other magicians. In fact he goes on to point out that experiencing the Dark Night of the Soul as he defines it represents an important mile-stone signifying one’s true level of development and achievement. In other words, if you haven’t experienced this phenomenon, then you couldn’t possibly be an adept, or for that matter, an initiate. He is quite adamant about this belief, and there seems to be no middle ground. Here are Tomas’ words to that effect.

“However, my own experience [of the Dark Night of the Soul] and the experiences of other initiates proves beyond any doubt that it is possible and even constitutes a requirement to become a successful Magician or Adept.”

I suppose I should be insulted by what Tomas has said (since it excludes me from being a magician or even an initiate), but I won’t take it personally. I have the utmost respect and admiration for Tomas and I believe that he feels the same way about me. Despite the narrow definition that he has flatly proposed, we have agreed to disagree. Still, I felt it important to respond to some of his points to more clearly define the nature of my own tradition and magical perspective. Tomas seems to believe that I omit the importance of the Dark Night of the Soul in my magic because I define matter and spirit, and my pagan path, differently than he defines his spiritual path. He sees it as a difference in our paths, but I think that it is merely a difference in semantics.

While I agree that our paths are somewhat different, it is difficult for me to accept that they are that much different. My reply to Tomas is that he might be conflating the Dark Night of the Soul, which is a very specific phenomenon in Christian mysticism, with a difficult and particularly harsh transformative initiation. Of course, this is matter of opinion, but I felt that it would be constructive to contrast how we see reality and perhaps get a glimpse of the truth behind our passionate beliefs.

In my previous article I did state that painful transformations can and do occur, but if and when they occur they usually represent something specific about the individual and their own spiritual process, and they are not necessarily archetypal to all such experiences. The cycle of transformative initiation is something that is constantly repeated and it has lesser and greater cycles, so there would be a periodicity to experiencing intensely powerful and difficult changes regularly in the life-span of a magical initiate. While magical initiates follow the cycles of light and darkness and that this is feature of their path, the experience of darkness that a magician undergoes is not same as the Dark Night of the Soul. It is has neither the intensity nor the depth, and this is because it is just one phase of the initiatory cycle.

Another point that Tomas has made in his article is that modern pagans cling to the material world and are unable or unwilling to detach themselves from it in order to truly experience the manifested glory of the Godhead. Here are his words:

“All spiritual paths and the followers thereof distance themselves from the material world to a certain extent, Theurgy as well as Mysticism”

As I pointed out in my article, a modern pagan doesn’t differentiate between spirit and matter, rather they consider them to be fused into a holistic structure that can’t really be separated except through the artifice of the mind. Modern pagans don’t “cling” to the material world, they in fact embrace and fully live in it, and they celebrate its various wondrous mysteries and manifestations. We perceive that spirit and matter are conjoined in union so that life and the material reality becomes something sacramental. Thus, to a modern pagan, every living thing is a sacrament!

I also find the term “pagan reconstructionists” be somewhat misleading regarding my own beliefs and practices because as a modern pagan what I do has only the barest and rudimentary relationship to ancient pagans and the paganism of antiquity. Granted, there are pagan reconstructionists, but I am not one of them. That is why I call myself a Modern Pagan and not a reconstructionist. Even so, what I am doing is celebrating a religious tradition, although it is a very modern and newly developed one. Our work as Modern Pagans and Witches is not yet complete. In fact, we have only begun our spiritual and religious adventure. However, all magicians are more or less modern, since the cultural context and consciousness of even a few hundred years ago is irreparably lost to us.

Because I have equated the transformative cycle of initiation with that of the Hero’s Journey, I have also shown that a complete cycle includes both a descent and an ascent. The initiate undergoes a total shattering of the self and then a reconstruction and a reintegration. Such a process is often painful and difficult, perhaps even profoundly so. Still, the purpose of this cyclic process is for the initiate to psychically die and be reborn so that she might evolve and succeed in integrating the archetypal cosmogonic cycle with the temporal world - in other words, to achieve her individual and her collective destiny. In order to play a part in the destiny of the world, the magician initiate must be fully engaged with that world. It is also important to be balanced enough to avoid the extremes of material imprisonment or material corruption. Therefore, to be a magician and an initiate it is important to be able to function in the material world so that she might help to change and transform it. A magician is not detached from this world, in fact, the world in its spiritual and material manifestations is the great teacher, guide and even the harsh mistress of trials and life threatening challenges.

Tomas also discussed in his Face Book comments that the Dark Night of the Soul was analogous to losing one’s connection to the Godhead and then experiencing the darkness of doubt, loss of faith and the miseries associated with suddenly being bereft and abandoned. While I don’t doubt that this is a real phenomena that an initiate can experience, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it is the same as the Dark Night of the Soul. The process of the transformative initiation cycle reaches its highest point when the initiate experiences a complete breakdown and shattering of the self. Would that kind of experience also produce the same feelings that one might mistakenly think is the Dark Night of the Soul? Certainly it would be painful, perhaps even agonizingly so, and it would seem that one is deserted, alone and without any advocates or assistance. As I have stated previously, when this happens in a successful initiatory cycle it is just one of many stages. So these feelings, however intense, quickly pass as the initiate experiences the next stage, which is union with the opposite and hidden dark-self and a complete revitalization and restoration.

When I have undergone this process I have experienced the pain of the breakdown and shattering of the self, but it is always followed by the joy and celebration of rebirth. I could indulge in the pain and attempt to prolong it, but I see no reason to do so. The natural cycle consists of a shattering and a breaking down of the psyche into the rudimentary parts, and then a corresponding powerful regeneration and rebirth. Why would I attempt to block or halt this natural process? I suspect that doing so would distort or even cripple the transformative process, making it like a regressive fall into madness. Yet the tendency to rebirth seems to be much too powerful to resist.

My case is that a magician experiences a total shattering and destruction of his psyche instead of experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul . He might believe that this experience is the Dark Night of the Soul if he is so romantically inclined. That is what I think is being described by initiates and magicians who believe that they have experienced this phenomenon. I don’t either doubt or dismiss what they have experienced, but I choose to frame it differently because to me the whole context of the experience is a magical process, and it is startlingly different from what a mystic undergoes. 

Still, the question remains that Tomas has pointed out in his Face Book discussions. Can one loose their connection to the Godhead and still be a magician? This statement reminds me of that song by REM “Losing My Religion.”

“Consider this

Consider this, the hint of the century

Consider this, the slip

That brought me to my knees, failed

What if all these fantasies come

Flailing around

Now I've said too much” REM - “Losing My Religion” (part of the lyrics)

When it comes right down to it I suppose anything is possible in the various experiences and phenomena of magic; but losing one’s connection to the Godhead is a peculiar one, at least in my opinion. Let me explain why I think that this is so.

I have defined ritual magick as the methodology that incorporates the practice of godhead assumption as the fundamental state of consciousness for all magical work. So, that means that an initiate who performs magic is doing so under the aegis of his or her personal godhead. If that is a prerequisite then it would be difficult to lose connection to the greater Godhead and the One because the personal godhead is synonymous with the greater Godhead. There is no difference except in one’s mind and perceptions.

As the initiate progresses through the transformative processes of initiation, the apparent differences melt away and the initiate becomes more aware of the Godhead Within and the greater Godhead Without, and that they are one and the same. Is there any possibility that one might lose their connection with the personal Godhead? Perhaps in the beginning when it is a new experience which hasn’t become an integral part of the magician’s innate nature; but once it does, then any kind of spiritual disconnection is unlikely to occur. It wouldn’t be impossible, but such an occurrence would represent a catastrophic setback. It would be a total nullification of one’s entire initiatory process.

In all of the years that I have practiced ritual magick, I have never experienced this kind of loss of connection. I am aware of my inner godhead and often it resonates in a synchronous manner with the greater Godhead. Sometimes my mundane life has most of my attention and at other times my magical and pagan religious work are my primary focus. I also need to manage and balance living in the material world with being a pagan, witch and a ritual magician. I am focused on world events, thus making me worldly, but I also am keenly aware of magical and spiritual processes within and outside of me as well.

As a magician, I am seeking to be a master of both the material and spiritual world, since from my perspective, they are one and the same. What this means is that I experience a cycle of magical and mundane occurrences, and both of these occurrences are part of the overall process of conscious evolution. They are just part of a greater continuum that reaches from my unique individual experience and perception of life and its meaning all the way to the absolute levels of being. In my opinion, the road to self-mastery is where these different levels become unified into just one level all within my overall perception. Perhaps the one Tarot card that epitomizes that whole process to me is Atu V, the Hierophant.

Anyway, I have never been in a situation where I have not had, in some manner, a connection with the Godhead. For me it is only a matter of precedence, intensity and focus. I have never lost my “religion” since it is completely integral to my being. I know the nature of Spirit from my experiences with it, but I also know that it resides wholly and completely within matter, and the truth is that there is no distinction between them except in my mind. My beliefs and my faith are based on my experiences. From these experiences I seek to derive various maps, rules and doctrines that encapsulate what I have experienced. This is an evolving process, so what I hold to be true today will undoubtably change tomorrow. It is quite a different process than holding particular truths and doctrines based on faith alone, which is the starting point where the mystic begins his or her path.

Someday, perhaps in the future, I hope that I will be able to completely eliminate the distinction in my mind between spirit and matter, and when that happens, I will know what it is like to be a man and a god simultaneously. Until that time, I will continue my work and strive to realize the mystery and nature of the Godhead within me, and by outward projection, to know it in the world.

Frater Barrabbas

Toward Self-Mastery - Future Path of Witchcraft

Recently, I wrote an article entitled “Of Shadows and Darkness - Future Path of Witchcraft” and it got quite a bit of attention. In case you missed the article, you can find it here. Despite the length and detail of that article, I was just warming up to my subject. This is because the next part of this article has to discuss where this path leads and what are its goals and purpose. So, in this article I will attempt to briefly talk about the revelation of this path, what it means, why it is important, and where it ultimately will lead those who follow it.


To begin this article, let us review what one of my readers said regarding what I had stated in my article. She goes by the moniker of “Anna Munda at Enchanted Body” and she asked what I consider to be the most crucial question of all, which I am quoting here.

“A question: what does all of this get a person, in the end? When you've consorted with all the goetic spirits and the dark, chthonic spirits of the Underworld, and mined those mysteries, and conjured all the conjurations ... where does it leave one? I'd say, material riches and [longevity], but I'm not seeing a lot of long-living, rich shamans or witches of any stripe. (In fact, often the opposite.) Worldly power? Illuminati rumors notwithstanding, worldly power deals seem driven more by the boardroom and the backroom than the underworld.

Peace of mind? Feeling at one with all creation? Certainty of one's place in the scheme of things? The ability to have deeper, sweeter and more meaningful relationships?

I mean, it all sounds very sexy, but what's the point?”

The another reader, whose moniker is “YowYow” posted another question, which I feel is equally valid. I will also quote it in full.

“Having read Marlowe's version of Dr. Fautus, what would having access to all this knowledge do for others? As you remember, all Dr. Fautus did with his knowledge and power was conjure grapes for a princess.

At the same time, do I want to interfere with the world? As I travel my little path, I often wonder if I should butt in. I see the necessity of the slowness of change in society. The in-fighting and compromises made on a short-term and long-term basis enables a stronger foundation to be built through the development of alliances rather than tyranny.

And what of my attitude. I'm more of a dilettante rather than devotee. I've spent many decades at this stage. But the unicorns and wizards costumes have become trite and childish. Where were I fit in this new cosmic world?”

My friend Jack Von Faust responded to these questions in his own way, and you can look over the article and the comments and read them all if you wish. I want to focus on a few things that can quickly answer these questions and allow my readers to more concisely understand what I was getting at when I wrote that article.

First of all, the supposition that I stated in my article is that all true transformative initiations occur in the underworld. That means that any spiritual change or evolution that an individual might achieve is done so through a dark process of doubt, fear, dissolution and then, reconstitution and psychic rebirth. For the mystic, this is the dark night of the soul, and for the magician, it is the challenge of dealing and integrating with the dark image of the self. Without this process of total and complete transformation, there can be no deep kinds of changes needed to truly grow in a spiritual manner. Without transformation, then only translation occurs, which is just a surface change. If we are not truly challenged to the core of our being, then we remain in a kind of stasis where mediocrity prevails.

Secondly, there is always the feature of self-discovery that occurs during transformation, and that can assist us in knowing the God/dess Within, also known as the Higher Self or the Atman. The reason why such a discovery is important is because it reveals the path of ascension. This is because the underworld contains and also hides the gateway to ascension, and specifically, the portal whereby we might realize ourselves as gods. Yet without the powerful challenge of having to periodically re-invent ourselves, such a gateway will remain unknown and unknowable. It would seem that we cannot obtain ascension towards union with the One without first undergoing a profound series of internal transformations. I might also add that the place of transformation is the underworld - our collective psychic place of death and darkness, but also light and rebirth.

Thirdly, while the potential for material gain resides in the underworld, so does the potential for any kind of achievement whatsoever. In the material world proper we are faced with an immediate inertia, and then due to entropy, all things succumb to dissolution, death, and a return to their basic elements. Great civilizations fall into decay, buildings and statues crumble into dust, and inexorable powers of the wind, rain and sunlight, erase all traces that anything ever existed. What does remain, however, are the fragments of that psychic life process and the core spirit that sheathed them. Yet only that core spirit actually lasts forever, since it is immortal and immutable - that is where we should focus our efforts.

The cycles of fortune occur regardless of what we do or how we act in our short lives, and afterwards, our achievements fade away. We might be able to bend the probabilities of our lives to affect a slightly different outcome, but that is the best that can be done on the material plane. Those who are dedicated to gaining the greater share of the world’s material fortune have little time for anything else in their lives, and certainly, a serious undertaking such as sorcery would not likely be one of them. Those who take up the challenge of pagan magic and sorcery must precariously balance between these two worlds, with an emphasis on the domain of spirit to ensure a more profitable outcome in the arena of magick. Such individuals will half-heartedly seek out their material fortunes, while eagerly pursuing their magical muses into the nether realms of magic and mystery. Therefore, those who are proficient in magic are likely to be only moderately successful in the material world.

Even as the underworld contains the potential for any possible change, those who are able to travel into that world seldom take the path to acquire great wealth and power. This is because to change themselves into a wealthy and powerful man or woman would also have the effect of short-circuiting the entire process of the path of sorcery, and nullify one’s ability to gain entrance into the domain of the underworld. These two pursuits are diametrically opposed because one focuses on the inward and unseen world, and the other is focused exclusively on the material world. In my life experience so far I haven’t met anyone who is both a highly successful businessman who has built up a wealthy estate with his or her own hands and who is also a great magician.

How this typically works out in life is that someone who is born into wealth (and who doesn’t have any desire to acquire more) applies themselves to the exclusive study of the occult and magick. Some would classify this as a decadent path of slow dissolution itself. I have met and known individuals who fit this model, and Aleister Crowley, as a supreme example, comes to mind, as well as others. Still, it would seem that being an empire builder and a competent magician might actually be mutually exclusive. Thus the riches and wealth to be found in the underworld only allows the successful sorcerer to live a materially modest and comfortable middle-class existence, often with little influence or social power.

What then is the whole purpose for engaging in the forces and spiritual entities that reside in the underworld if it is not to materially enrich oneself? The purpose is to gain a special kind of spiritual knowledge, called “gnosis,” and this knowledge helps the magician to discover the path of ascension, and therein, to ultimately become a god. This is not a material process. It is a mental and spiritual process whose outward manifestation is enlightenment and at-one-ment with the Absolute Spirit. Enlightenment and union with the One is the ultimate purpose of both magick and mysticism; but they each take a completely different path to achieve that end. What I am saying is that without the powerful transformations that occur exclusively in the dark domain of the underworld, both the mystic and magician will fail to achieve this goal.

The state of enlightenment does one thing besides giving those who achieve it an inner core of imperturbability, insight into the problems of life, compassion for all, joy, bliss and an overall powerfully attuned psychic sensibility. It allows one the ability to understand the meaning of their life. It gives purpose, direction and certainty to the process that one is following. It also gives one knowledge of what comes after that final transition of death, since to be enlightened means that one is connected to that imperishable spiritual source residing in the core of one’s being. We all live and die regardless of our allotment of material wealth and power in this world or our achievements, but to have that kind of knowledge and awareness eliminates the fear of death and also the fear of not knowing what comes after when our life is finally extinguished. This is, in word, a form of psychic and spiritual immortality that one can acquire and realize in this life, living in the ever changing material world. I can’t think of a more powerful and eminent place to reside than to live in this state, and it is therefore, my ultimate objective.

Therefore, I say to Anna and YowYow, to gain a form of psychic and spiritual immortality and to be conscious of it is a profound and great achievement. I don’t believe that such a state is guaranteed to everyone simply because they are born with a mind, body and a spirit. To engage that spiritual essence that resides within us is a very difficult and nearly impossible feat, but to achieve that state is to pass through death and into a greater conscious life alive within the spirit that is a seamless facet of the One. It is, in a word, to complete the archetypal process of involution and evolution, and that is the nature of the Great Work, in my opinion. For those who believe in reincarnation, it is where the constant cycle of rebirth is nullified, and where the self and the spirit finally become one with the One.

After reading this article, my readers will no doubt understand that this is very much a monistic perspective of magic, paganism and witchcraft, and that some (if not many) will not share my perspective. I will attempt to write about how a monistic perspective is not only essential, but it is a natural evolution of the belief in a pantheon and a plethora of Gods and Goddesses. Still, I will write about this and other topics in future articles that will appear in this blog.

Frater Barrabbas

Further Thoughts About Astral Initiations

Once again the issue of astral initiations has become something of a heated discussion theme in the occult and magical blogosphere. I have already discussed this issue quite thoroughly in an article that I posted back in January of 2011. This is not a new discussion and for some reason it seems to gain new life in a cyclic manner, sort of like the plague. I have made my point that astral only initiations performed at long distance are pretty much ridiculous. My friend Scott had a funny story about using a “sock puppet” with the photograph of someone’s face pasted on it, and then putting that construct through a Golden Dawn initiation. Would the person whose photographed face was stuck to the sock be truly initiated?

There is also the problem of some disreputable person scheduling a long distance initiation (to be affected via the astral) for someone, having them pay money for this operation, and then doing nothing at the appointed time. Then, pretending that it had actually happened. You can find my previous article on this topic here, although it was in response to Robert Zink proclaiming his “astral only” methodology for Golden Dawn initiations.

Another issue that I discussed is self-initiation, to which I stated that it was not as effective as being taught and initiated by an individual or group. Self initiation brings to my mind some important questions. If someone is performing an initiation solely by their own hand then where does any kind of objective measurement occur? How is such a person challenged, and if they are not challenged, then is their initiation even valid? These are important questions. At some point even the most isolated or secluded student has to have some kind of outside and objective peer review, not to mention the importance of having his or her experiences and knowledge fully challenged.

In my opinion, there is nothing more sad, ludicrous or pathetic than discovering someone who has been exclusively self-taught and self-initiated for their entire magical and occult career. If you want a clear example of this kind of phenomenon, you need only google the name “Venus Satanas,” to find a perfect example of someone who has been called by her peers the “Forest Gump” of Theistic Satanists. Yes, it would seem that mixing alluring sexuality with simple-mindedness does help individuals to sell their ideas, however badly formed or ignorant they might be. I think that FOX news and Goetia Girls has shown this to be true. Also, it is quite novel, in my opinion, for a priestess to have her very own dancing pole mounted in the middle of her temple. I hadn’t equated pole dancing with sacred ritual dance, but then again, what do I know?

Still, an initiation is not the mechanism by which someone is conferred a specific level of spiritual and magical development. I have made this statement often enough that it should be considered one of the trade marks of my magical tradition. Often, initiations are just in-house accolades and peer group lintel rites that allow someone to have access to the specific ritual lore of that degree. Yet initiations by themselves do little to actually help someone to spiritually evolve or ascend. In order to truly grow and expand, one must do the work on a regular basis, and it is the work alone that causes transformation and spiritual ascension. The work might be aided by intercession of a teacher or mentor, but only if the initiate strives through consistent effort will anything dramatic actually occur. In this manner, initiates are responsible for their own magickal progress and the enrichment of their own spiritual process. 

In the Order of the Gnostic Star, only the first two initiations are rites performed by more than just the candidate and the initiator. Yet even these two rites have an alternate form that is reduced down to just the initiator and the candidate undergoing the initiation. All grades of the Order are associated with extensive ordeals or batteries of workings that must be completed and validated before the initiation rite is to be performed. In a sense, the transformative initiation is often achieved by the work and then just objectively validated by the initiation rite. In the ESSG, there is an important emphasis placed on the student and mentor relationship, and this relationship represents the entire cycle of degrees, from first through ninth. Although the identity of the mentor might change during the life cycle of the student, the relationship is still integral to the structure of the Order.

So, one could say that the Order of the Gnostic Star has both a form of self-initiation as the initiatory ordeals, and a mentor to candidate initiation at each degree threshold. What this does is establish a kind of ladder that runs up the Tree of Life, where each degree has its set of ordeals and workings to be performed (however long it takes), and at the completion and realization of each set, there is an initiation rite and mystery that acts as the threshold to the next level of expertise and magical knowledge.

Elemental Degrees

In order to really and fully document and define the nature of the lower four degrees of the Order of the Gnostic Star, I have decided to pull some associated text from some Order documents that have never been published. I felt that if my readers understand the nature of the first four Elemental Degrees, a greater understanding would be established for realizing the degrees associated with adepthood.

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One very important point is that a transformative initiation should not be a single event, never to be repeated. While there are some pagan and witchcraft traditions that espouse only one initiation, an occurrence of internal, cyclic transformations, expressed or realized through some kind of exterior ritual should be a natural part of anyone’s spiritual and magickal process. The exterior rite should not, in most cases, be one that is performed alone, but shared with others, who act as witnesses and perhaps even facilitators. They assist the candidate in objectifying the internal transformation.

This continuous and periodic transformation and it’s outer expression as an initiation rite characterizes an incremental expansion of consciousness and the evolution of spiritual awareness. For the progressive pagan, witch or occultist, spiritual evolution in this life is a very important virtue, denoting that one is on the “path” to ultimately achieving union with the Godhead. Not every pagan, witch or magickal practitioner has this as their goal, but for the progressive practitioner, growth and personal development is a critical part of one’s spiritual and magickal practice. It is also a natural by-product produced through the search for meaning, greater insight, and the exalted conscious realization of Spirit within the material world.

This is why many magickal lodges and other occult organizations have multiple degrees or grades, but the transformative process doesn’t adhere to fixed degree structures or orchestrated, time-in-grade measurements. Transformative initiations are, if anything, guided by the internal mechanism and the mysteries of the individual initiate, based as they are on his or her soul revelations. Some transformations are greater and far more profound than others, and they may occur at greater or lesser frequencies during the lifetime of the initiate. They can also happen during different time frames, some taking much longer to complete than others. What we can say about transformative initiations is that they are cyclic oscillations of an initiate’s internal spiritual process. That cycle can be compared to the mythic Cycle of the Hero or the twenty-two Trumps of the Tarot. An examination of the symbolic images of the Tarot Trumps, or the occurrence of one in a strategic Tarot reading, can indicate to the initiate their specific point in the ongoing and ever continuous initiation process.

As I have already indicated, cyclic transformations occur at various intervals, and have greater or lesser impact on the one experiencing them. The greater cycles can be symbolically compared to the ten Sephiroth on the Tree of Life (that is, if the Qabalah is an important tool), but other meta-patterns or symbolic structures can be used. Because, for me, the Tree of Life is a very useful tool, I also find it useful to determine the larger transformative patterns.

In the Order of the Gnostic Star, the Qabalah is used to build the required ordeals that an initiate must perform in order to attain to a specific degree, since by performing them, he or she triggers the associated transformation. Using the Tree of Life can also help us to define the differences between an initiate, an adept, and a high adept; a structure that is represented by the three triadic groupings of the nine Sephiroth. It’s assumed that Malkuth, the lowest of the ten Sephiroth, would represent the state of the non-initiate or the one who stands at the threshold of the process of spiritual transformation, but it is also the very first initiation ordeal that one undergoes.

What I am presenting here is something that is very simplified. One would have to incorporate the twenty-two paths as well as the ten sephiroth to produce a comprehensive examination. I will just use the sephiroth to aid this discussion, leaving the more complex analysis for one of my future books.

Initiates who are following a magickal path that uses the Tree of Life as a guide would begin their process at the point of the element of Earth. This is the place where the initiate crosses the first threshold,  revealing the truth that the material world is imbued and suffused with Spirit. This often causes the initiate to see the world as a sacralized phenomenon of nature, where there is no division between matter and spirit because all is one and unified. One can take this experience as indicative of the veritable truth of pagan spiritual perspectives (such as Neoplatonism), but it can also cause one to realize that the product of creation is just as sacred and holy as that which created it (such as the writings of Emerson would indicate).

Once the initiate has passed this threshold of Earth as the manifestation of Spirit, then he or she begins a process of transformation that has many incremental steps, both great and small. Yet the first progression can be compared to a series of ordeals that emulate the internal qualities of the four Elements. These transformations are therefore referred to as the initiation of the Four Elements, and represent a larger and more complex cycle for the initiate who is seeking to master Spirit. Of course, the quest for mastering Spirit is the long sought after achievement that bestows adepthood upon the seeker.

Where Earth is the revelation of the material world imbued and made sacred with Spirit, the sequence of the next three elements represent a similar progression. Let me briefly note them here for you to examine and ponder. Keep in mind that an actual transformative initiation process might not undergo the next three elements in the order that I am presenting here. Some systems use the progression of Earth, Air, Water and Fire, others might use Earth, Water, Air and Fire, and still others might use Earth, Fire, Water and Air. The order is not important, what is important is that the initiate goes through all four Elements in some manner. In fact, it is usually the case that an initiate will track through all four of them multiple times until they are completely mastered.

Water (Yesod): This transformative degree is characterized by the imagination, the power of dreams, symbols and psychic occurrences. This is where magick seems to become a fully realized phenomenon, where spirits and powers are encountered and realized. Initiates who walk this path also acquire a spiritual sense of themselves, and they discover that they have helpers, guides and spiritual allies who seek to aid them in their spiritual and magickal quest. As you can imagine, divination is important in this sphere, as is the foundation of archetypal symbols that lie at the core of the spiritual domain. 

Air (Hod): The next transformative degree is characterized by the occult intellect and the individual will, the ability to organize diverse spiritual and magickal phenomena using various occult systems, such as the Tarot, Qabbalah, Astrology, Alchemy, Psychology and occult metaphysics, and the desire to use them to will things into manifestation. Science is also used to understand the subtle occult processes that the initiate has personally experienced, and all disciplines and areas of knowledge are culled to assist the initiate in being able to intellectually apprehend the fullness of the spiritual and magickal world and then, to subjugate it. 

Fire (Netzach): The final transformative degree of the four elements is characterized by spiritual love, selfless devotion, spiritual service, and the practices of spiritual alignment. This degree is where the initiate begins the transition of becoming a priest or priestess of Spirit, and it is also where the other three elements begin to blend into a seamless discipline of spiritual and magickal practices and insightful experiences. In some traditions this would be the first element degree experienced beyond Earth, particularly if spiritual love was the pre-eminent foundation that one had to establish before doing anything else (this would be true of the Abramelin ordeal as well as certain monastic Christian traditions and Sufiism).

This degree would also represent the beginning of the manifestation of the higher self, which becomes more materially apparent to the initiate through spiritual love. Initiates walking this path dedicate their lives to building a core of spiritual practices that erect powerful bridges between themselves and their chosen personal Godhead.

The first four degrees have associated magical lore and techniques that must be mastered (and proven to one’s peer group) before one is able to advance to the next degree. The first four degrees have the following magical ritual workings that are a part of the lore of the Order:

1. First Degree - Elemental Magic (using the Enochian Godname Pair and Calls)

2. Second Degree - Talismanic Elemental Magic (using the Enochian Seniors/Kings)

3. Third Degree - Theurgy - Magical Evocation (Archangel Angel/ Demigod Invocations)

4. Fourth Degree - Lesser Archeomancy. (Full Angelic Theurgy & Goetic Evocation)

As you can see, the stipulated ordeals more or less fit the mysteries of the Four Elemental degrees. The progression is to first master Elemental magick, then Planetary magick (in combination for the Talismantic Elementals), then Magical Evocation, and finally Lesser Archeomancy (archeomancy of the 40 Qabalistic domains) and the assumption of the practices of the magician-priest as sacral technician.

I have previously written some articles about the Qabalistic degree cycles as they pertain to the Order of the Gnostic Star, and you can find them here, here and here. Combining what I have written in this article with these other three articles should completely fill out how transformative initiations via degree-based ordeals are established in the Order. For now, I believe that I have exhausted all of arguments that I can make in regards to astral-only initiations and self-initiation. I am sure that you, my readers, get my point and know what I think of these matters.

Frater Barrabbas