Magic Lessons — Open the Book of Magic: Your Magical Journal

January 24, 2016 by Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila in Energywork, House of RA, Lessons, Newsletter, Rituals and tagged Book of Light, Book of Shadows, grimoire, magical journal | 1 Comment

grimoire

The Magical Record is the most potent tool in the magician’s entire arsenal.

Metaphorically speaking, the book represents the record of your deeds in this life, but literally it can be anything from a text file on your computer to a simple blank notebook to a giant leather-bound tome (I like simplicity and functionality).

This book (which over time may become a pile of filled-up books) should contain several things:

1. Your dreams. Every morning, the very first thing you should do upon awakening is write down your dreams in as much detail as possible. The more you do this, the more vivid your dreams will become.

2. Records of the magical experiments you undertake. Every time you formally meditate or do a magical ritual, you should record what you did in detail within the book—as soon as your ritual is done. This way, you can look back later to see if you got results. You should be as scientific and detailed as possible in your notes, as if you were a highly skilled laboratory technician.

You should write intelligently and legibly, so that others may one day benefit from your notes.

How To Start Your Magical RecHow To Start Your Magical Recordord

This week, I want you to choose a book that will work as your ongoing record. You can use the following format to record your experiments (thanks to Aleister Crowley and Donald Michael Kraig):

Date:
Time:
Location:
Weather Conditions:
Physical Condition:
Emotions and Mindset:
Name of Rituals Performed:
Performance:
Results:

For the astrologically inclined, you may also wish to record the phase of the moon, current sun and moon signs, and ascendant sign(s) during the time of the ritual. But this is not necessary, and may add too much confusing extra information at first, unless you already know astrology well.

This is a bare-bones approach that you can customize and embellish as you like. You will find that your note-taking methods evolve over time.

Here’s a sample of a day’s record:

Monday, October 12, 2015.

Dreams. Dreamt I was flying over the city. Down below I could see my office. It looked like a cage. I flew down and was trying to open the windows so that I could escape. I saw my body inside—I looked hypnotized in front of my computer, working on a spreadsheet. I started yelling at myself. Eventually my body noticed, and together we flew away from the office.

8:30 AM.A Few Wise Words from the Past
Location: My bedroom.
Weather: Overcast.
Physical Condition: Groggy after waking up, had shower and coffee.
Emotions and Mindset: Hopeful after my dream. Excited about starting to practice magick!
Name of Rituals Performed: 5 minutes meditation.How To Start Your Magical Record
Performance: Sat cross-legged and focused on the point between my eyebrows for five minutes. I was fidgeting a bit at first, trying to find a comfortable position. After a bit of discomfort I found my center and relaxed into the meditation.
Results: Brief feelings of clarity and focus. At one point I felt “bigger,” like I felt my body was expanded and taller. Weird. It went away as soon as I opened my eyes. Looking forward to trying again!

A Few Wise Words from the Past

There is one final step. On the first page of your record, please include the following quote (from Aleister Crowley). Read it, understand it and make it a regular reference point:

“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist.

“It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.

“The advantages to be gained from them are chiefly these: a. A widening of the horizon of the mind. b. An improvement of the control of the mind.

“The student, if he attains any success in the following practices, will find himself confronted by things (ideas or beings) too glorious or too dreadful to be described. It is essential that he remain the master of all that he beholds, hears or conceives; otherwise he will be the slave of illusion…

“There is little danger that any student… will fail to get some result; but there is great danger that he will be led astray, obsessed and overwhelmed by his results, even though it be by those which it is necessary that he should attain. Too often, moreover, he mistaketh the first resting-place for the goal, and taketh off his armor as if he were a victor ere the fight is well begun.

“It is desirable that the student should never attach to any result the importance which it at first seems to possess.”

Translation: Don’t take it too seriously.

The Magdalene’s Alchemy Exposed, by Jude Warren

January 15, 2016 by Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila in Hermetic Alchemy, Newsletter, Rituals, The Mysteries | Leave a comment

Magdalene1

There is a process in nature that, when unlocked can give longevity and perfect animal, vegetable and mineral. Disguised in present day society as the philosopher’s stone myth, it is based on the Isis and Osiris story from ancient Egypt. I am convinced the elite Egyptians knew about this stone and worshipped nature and nature Gods for giving it to them. Furthermore, present day Christianity is also based on the making of it.

The making of the stone, which is rooted in much earlier myth, is a 16 month process and follows the path of the sun. It is made using what you might call the ‘nothings: A glass pyramid (pi Ra mid), dew or rain (mercury – murkunos – spirit), sun (sulphur – sol fire) time, and a little matter in the form of an egg, or the Great Cackler: Geb. This is also the divided waters of Genesis. The shell of the egg here is likened to the firmament, also containing pi and being hermetically sealed. I believe the Egyptians used ostrich and crocodile eggs.

This knowledge has been kept secret for a long time and confined only to the elite mystery schools and secret societies of the enlightened ones – denigrated to fairy story so that people dismiss it altogether. The alchemists of Europe later sought it and a few actually found it, including the great Nicolas Flamel. I would like as many people as possible to start understanding that it is real and super undefined matter like a human compost for growth. It is the universal medicine and can set us free from bondage.

magdalene2

The process in the Northern hemisphere starts on the 21st of December – sol invictus (saturnalia, the birth of the sun), when you prepare the dew for the work. On the 21st January, the egg is rotted with the dew for 4 months and kept in darkness (Set).

From the 21st May until the 21st August, dew is added, like Osiris in the coffin and it is kept in the sunlight, locked away. It becomes androgynous matter.

In september, the matter is moved to the top of the pyramid and it is dry for one month in moonlight only. It turns pure white under the constellation virgo – the virgin. Isis brings forth Osiris as a new baby. This is the origin of the virgin birth. It is linked to the making of the stone and gives eternal life.
From this primary white material, stripped bare the stone will be birthed.

From the 21st September until December 21st (12 months so far) it needs strong sun if going for a red stone. It is connected to Horus in December. Keep it wet with dew, work it in the eye of the pyramid towards the top. The moisture in the sealed pyramid rises and falls (ouroboros) this is the water that does not wet the hands, as the alchemists called it. I think at this time in Egypt, the Tit and lion cloth was tied to the djed pilar. The following Easter it has a full resurrection and is finished. It turns brilliant red or purple, the colours of royalty. This is now crowned matter. The Easter egg of Mary Magdalene – and in my version of the Da Vinci code, the Louvre pyramid at the end of the book is not where she is buried – it is the oven of her work……and rooted in the land of Khem.

— Jude Warren

alchemy-pyramid1

Living A Magical Life

December 28, 2015 by Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila in House of RA, Lessons, Newsletter, Rituals | Leave a comment

Right now, you’re sitting in a magic circle in the center of the universe.

You’ve become a master of your reality. You sit cross-legged, in a position of power, as mantras run through your mind and you watch the future change to fit your Will.

The more magic you’ve learned, the more ecstasy you’ve experienced. The more magic you’ve learned, the more you’ve learned to dance with the Universe, and all of its Gods and Goddesses.

And far more than that: The more magic you’ve learned, the more you’ve now learned to fully use your brain. You’ve learned to use it in the way that shamans throughout history have. Even more, you’ve started to use your brain the way all successful people in all walks of life are using thiers. And you can fully tap that power now.

That’s because you’re the rarest kind of human.

Psychology asks us to dwell on the negatives of the mind. But Magick dares us to find the limits of what’s possible. And those limits have not yet been found—they’ve barely even been tested. It takes brave pioneers like you to truly begin to push the limits — you’re truly one in a million.

As Sanctuary members, we will help you learn to do magic.

Over the next week, you’ll be getting free content in our postings that explains exactly what magic is and how it can help you achieve your goals and fill your life with meaning and excitement. After the first week, we will upload weekly magic experiments to try. They’ll be very simple at first—but they’ll build on each other, giving you a solid introduction to what magic is and how to use it.

This will give you a basic taste of Magic. Our magical Order, the Esoteric Order of the Golden Dawn (EOGD), will take you much, much further — it’s rocket fuel for your practice. The EOGD offers personalized instruction in magic to its initiated members. When you’re ready to get going For Real, this EOGD Sanctuary of Horus Behdety will be there for you.

In the meantime, please make either a dedicated word processor file or get a blank journal to record your experiments in. You’ll be referring back to this throughout your magical journey, and even more as you progress as an Initiate with EOGD Sanctuary classes. Get yourself a magical journal (check out our reasons for this suggestion in the pages listed on the right-hand column of this page). Write down the exercises you do, how you feel when you do them, and what the results are. Be skeptical and scientifically precise.

Here’s your first magical exercise, if you’re ready:

Every day, as you wake up and as you go to sleep, tell yourself: I am becoming a magician to empower myself to live a truly great life, and to help humanity.

See you soon — and get ready for the most radical transformation you may ever make in this coming New Year!

Mishkan ha-Echad – Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah: The Provenance of John Dee’s Obsidian Mirror

December 23, 2015 by Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila in Enochian Magic, Newsletter, Rituals | Leave a comment

It is widely believed today that the Obsidian Mirror on display in the British Museum was used by Dee and Kelley, a matter that is largely taken for granted, thanks to it being in the same display cabinet as other items linked with Dee, and its attribution to the Elizabethan magician by museum staff.

This Mirror is of Aztec origin, leading some to suggest a possible Aztec link to the Enochian workings. Yet this is all based on the assumption that this device was, in fact, Dee’s, whereas there is no real evidence that this is actually the case.

This assumption is primarily based on a claim by Horace Walpole, who received this item in 1771. The note pasted to the accompanying case, believed to be written in Walpole’s handwriting and initialled by him, reads: “The Black Stone into which Dr Dee used to call his Spirits.” It was not acquired by the British Museum until 1966, where it continues to be labelled as Dee’s “Magical Mirror” or “Magical Speculum,” based solely on Walpole’s unverified claim.

Some even believe this was the object that mysteriously appeared by the window during one of Dee and Kelley’s workings, but this has no basis. The stone that Dee found was described by Kelley as being “as big as an egg: most bright, clear and glorious,” while Dee said it was “roundish, and less than the palm of my hand.”[1] Given that the Mirror in the British Museum has a height of 22cm (including the small handle) and a diameter of 18.4cm, this clearly cannot be the same object that fit in Dee’s hand. Indeed, it is almost as large as the Sigillum Dei Aemeth itself. While Dee later described the stone as being half an inch in thickness, which the Mirror roughly is, the other dimensions simply do not match. I would also argue that Dee’s description of the object he found being “roundish,” and the numerous references to it being a “stone” (and not a “glass”) suggest it was spherical, not to mention Kelley’s description of it being “bright” and “clear”—in other words, a classic crystal ball, not a black mirror.

Of course, Dee had several objects in his possession for skrying, so it could be argued that the Obsidian Mirror was one of these. However, I have yet to find a single reference to this object in any of Dee’s diaries, whereas there are numerous mentions of his various shewstones. One would think that if this Mirror was “used to call his Spirits,” there would be mention of it somewhere, particularly given Dee’s meticulous record-keeping, not to mention its origin in the New World.

The authenticity of this object has also been challenged by several scholars, including Christopher Whitby, who wrote about it at length, stating finally “the evidence connecting the mirror with Dee is very circumstantial.”[2]

Indeed, even the provenance of the crystal ball on display in the British Museum is questionable, and it was not originally associated with Dee by museum staff. It is only one of several devices that have been attributed to Dee over the years.

For example, there is another crystal ball in the Science Museum in South Kensington, which Nicholas Culpeper claimed was given to him by Dee’s son Arthur. Culpeper apparently used this stone, which is of a purplish hue and is contained within a metal frame upon a small chain, until 1651, when he said he encountered within it a lewd and depraved entity. It is difficult to say if this object was genuinely possessed by Dee.

There is also a convex Claude glass in a circular case in the Science Museum that is attributed to Dee and his spirit workings, but this is more likely to be the one that Dee used to display optical illusions to people,[3] including Queen Elizabeth I, if indeed it is Dee’s at all.

We see, therefore, that many people have claimed to have received one of Dee’s magical devices over the years. Indeed, Francis Barrett noted in 1801 that there were as many as seven people purporting to have one of these illustrious heirlooms:

“Although Dee’s manuscripts, and his Magic Chrystal, are to be seen at the Museum, there are six or seven individuals in London who assert they have the stone in their possession; thereby wishing to deceive the credulous, and to tempt them to a purchase at an enormous price.”[4]

Given Dee’s popularity (or notoriety), it is not surprising why people would make such claims, but it does considerably muddy the water in terms of scholarship, not to mention leading to unsupported (though evidently very popular) beliefs like that of Dee’s alleged Obsidian Mirror.

This is important in a practical sense, because there are many people attempting to recreate the process used by Dee and Kelley, employing a similar black mirror instead of the more traditional shewstone. While there is nothing stopping anyone from using any object they desire in their own personal spirit workings, it seems very unlikely that they would actually be emulating Dee in this regard.

Extracted from Enochian Magic in Practice by Frater Yechidah

Footnotes

1 Joseph H. Peterson, ed. John Dee’s Five Books of Mystery, p. 253.

2 Christopher Whitby, John Dee’s Actions With Spirits, p. 141.

3 See Dee’s The Mathematical Preface to Elements of Geometry of Euclid of Megara, where he describes this object.

4 Francis Barrett, The Magus, Book II, p. 196 (footnote).

Source: Mishkan ha-Echad – Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah: The Provenance of John Dee’s Obsidian Mirror

The Gnosis of The Eucharist

December 21, 2015 by Hālau ʻĀha Hūi Lanakila in Energywork, Gnosticism, House of RA, Lessons, Newsletter, Rituals | Leave a comment

Eucharist-Altar

The Gnosis of The Eucharist

by Stephan A. Hoeller

he Mass, or, as it is sometimes called, the divine liturgy or the Eucharist, is the most solemn of all the Christian sacraments. Through it we are led step by step to the purpose of our earthly lives — union with the divine — for at its climax the faithful are made one with God and each other by receiving the body and blood of Christ under the earthly forms of bread and wine.

Although these mystical aspects of the Mass have been known and proclaimed by all the branches of Christendom that have not abandoned the ancient sacramental system (including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and, with some ambiguities, the Anglican), the rationalistic tendencies that have arisen since the Second Vatican Council in the Roman Catholic Church are robbing the Mass of much of its numinosity and psychospiritual utility.

Similarly, many in the occult, metaphysical, and New Age movements have little appreciation for the magic and mystery of the time-honored sacramental system of Christianity and within it for the supreme sacrament of the Mass. The older of these movements bear the imprint of nineteenth-century thinking, which was hyperintellectual, moralistic, and at times materialistic. The groups that have sprung up since the 1960’s are a bit more favorably disposed toward ritual than their predecessors, but their appreciation of the sacraments is still small. Much of alternative spirituality is thus in danger of losing touch with one of the most valuable aspects of the mystico-magical heritage of the West.

To be sure, there are valid objections to ritual. Its practice has often been accompanied by blind superstition. Still, it must be remembered that a lack of consciousness will regularly turn meaningful and transformative practices into superstitious ones. The fault is not with the ritual, but with the practitioner. Ritual, provided it uses authentic symbols, is no more or less than what H.P. Blavatsky called “concretized truth.” This may be covered up by superstition, but the hidden truth is always discernable beneath the covering. Gnostic studies of the sacraments are intended to free the kernel of truth from the accretions of unconsciousness and misunderstanding that have been permitted to obscure it.

In the following we shall deal with several separate approaches to the greatest of the Christian mysteries. Some of these may contradict each other, while others tend to complement one another, and still others will restate truths present in other approaches.

Source: The Gnosis of The Eucharist