The Golden Dawn Page 10

  The above three sections, A. B. G., completed the course prescribed for the Zelator Adeptus Minor, the first sub-grade. The passing of these examinations conferred the qualification for holding the office of Hierophant, that is the initiator, in the Outer Order of the G.D.

  “Part One. C. Psychic. This consists in a written examination in the tattwa system. Its method of use, and an account of any one vision you have had from any card.

  “Part Two. This consists in making a set of tattwa cards, if you have not already done so, and sending them to be passed by the Chief or other adept appointed. To take the examiner on a tattwic journey, instructing him as if he were a student and vibrating the proper names for a selected symbol.

  “Part One. D. Divination. Receive and study the tarot system, making notes of the principal attributions of the inner method.

  “Part Two. Practical. On a selected question, either your own, or the examiner’s, to work out a divination first by geomancy, then by horary astrology, then by the complete inner tarot system, and send in a correlated account of the result.

  “Part One. F. Angelic Tablets. Receive and make copies of the Enochian tablets, the Ritual of the Concourse of the Forces, and the Ritual of the making of the Pyramid, sphinx, and godform for any square. A written examination on these subjects may now be taken.

  “Part Two. To make and colour a pyramid for a selected square, and to make the godform and sphinx suitable to it, and to have this passed by an adept. To prepare a ritual for practical use with this square, and in the presence of a Chief or other adept appointed, to build it up astrally and describe the vision produced. To study and play Enochian chess, and to make one of the chessboards and a set of chessmen.

  “Part One. E. Talismans. Receive a manuscript on the making and consecrating of talismans. Gather names, sigils, etc., for a talisman for a special purpose. Make a design for both sides of it and send it in for a Chief to pass. Make up a special ritual for consecrating to the purpose you have in mind and arrange a time with the Chief for the ceremony of consecration.

  “H. Consecration and Evocation. Subject: A ceremony on the formulae of Ritual Z. 2. Must be prepared before examiner and must meet with his approval as to method, execution, and effect.”

  In the early temples there was also issued a catalogue of manuscripts, enumerating in alphabetical order the documents circulated amongst the Zelatores Adepti Minores.

  A.

  General Orders. The Curriculum of Work prescribed.

  B.

  The Lesser and Supreme Rituals of the Pentagram.

  C.

  The Rituals of the Hexagram.

  D.

  Description of Lotus Wand and Ritual of Consecration.

  E.

  Description of Rose Cross and the Ritual of Consecration.

  F.

  Sigils from the Rose.

  G.

  Sword and Four Implements, with Consecration Ritual.

  H.

  Clavicula Tabularum Enochi.

  J.

  Notes on the Obligation of the Adeptus Minor.

  K.

  Consecration Ceremony of the Vault.

  L.

  History Lecture.

  M.

  Hermes Vision, and Lineal Figures of the Sephiroth.

  N. O. P. Q. R. Complete Treatise on the Tarot, with Star Maps.

  S.

  The Attributions of the Enochian Tablets.

  T.

  The Book of The Angelical Keys or Calls.

  U.

  Lecture on Man, the Microcosm.

  W.

  Hodos Chamelionis, the Minutum Mundum.

  X.

  The Egyptian Godforms as applied to the Enochian Squares.

  Y.

  Enochian Chess.

  Z.

  Symbolism of the Temple, Candidate, and Ritual of the Neophyte grade.

  All the documents from A to Z listed above will be found reproduced in these volumes, though I have not retained that particular order. The sole omissions are the documents lettered H., J., L., and part of M.

  “J.” consists simply of an elaborated commentary upon the Adeptus Minor obligation, written in a florid ponderous style reminiscent of Eliphas Levi-cum-Arthur Edward Waite.

  “H.,” Clavicula Tabularum Enochi, is a more or less lengthy manuscript, turgid and archaic, for the most part repeating, though not as clearly, the contents of “S, The Book of the Concourse of the Forces.” Incidentally, this document is practically a verbatim duplicate of part of a lengthy manuscript to be found in the Manuscript Library of the British Museum, Sloane 307. A good deal of the advice given is typically medieval, and definitely unsound from a spiritual viewpoint, and is certainly not in accord with the general lofty tenor of the remaining Order teaching. It explains how to find precious metals and hidden treasure, and how to drive away the elemental guardians thereof. It is an inferior piece of work—as also is the document “L.,” and so I have decided to omit both.

  “M.” has two sections, the Hermes Vision, which I do propose to give, and the Lineal Figures of the Sephiroth. Because of the extreme complexity of the latter, and because it will be impossible to reproduce the several geometrical drawings in colour which accompany that manuscript, the writer has deemed it sufficient to restate it in a general manner as a note to the instruction on telesmatic images.

  The whole of the above-described material I have arranged and classified in an entirely different way. The contents of these volumes will be found divided up into so many chapters or separate books, each complete by itself. And the material in each book will be seen to be consistent and appertain to parts of the magical technique that are placed with it. The table of contents describes my method of arrangement.

  Clearly from these disclosures there may be drastic results. But the good, I trust, will immeasurably and ultimately outweigh whatever evil may come. That some careless people will hurt themselves and burn their fingers experimenting with matters not wholly understood seems almost inevitable. Theirs, however, will be the fault. For the formulae of magic require intensive study prior to experimental work. And since all the important formulae are given in their entirety, and nothing withheld that is of the least value, there should be no excuse for anybody harming himself. No serious hurt should come to anyone. On the contrary, the gain to those serious students of magic and mysticism who have initiative and yet refuse to involve themselves with corrupt occult orders, and it is to these that I fain would speak, should be immeasurable.

  You are being given a complete system of attainment. This you must study and develop at your own leisure, applying it in your own particular way. The system is complete and effectual, as well as noble. The grade rituals as I shall reproduce them have been tampered with, in some cases unintelligently. Their efficacy, however, is not impaired, for the principal portion of those grade rituals, which teaches the art of invocation, is intact. So that the unwise editing that they have received in the past several years has not actually damaged them—all that has been removed are a few items, more or less important, of Qabalistic knowledge. If the reader feels that these might be value to him, and for the sake of tolerable completeness would like to have them, by studying such Qabalistic texts as the Zohar and the Sepher Yetzirah (both of which are now in English translation), or some such work as Waite’s Holy Kabbalah, he will be in possession of the fundamental facts. It is in other parts of the Order work that injudicious tampering has been at work. Most of this is now restored, and I believe that this book is an accurate representation of the whole of the Order work from Neophyte to Theoricus Adeptus Minor.

  Some portions of the manuscripts have required editing, principally from the literary point of view. Whole paragraphs have had to be deleted, others shortened, sentences made more clear, the redundant use of many words eliminated, and a general coordination of the manuscripts undertaken. Certain other sections—those dealing at length with talismans, sigils, clairvoyance, geomancy, and the Enoc
hian tablets—have been completely rewritten to render them more coherent. But nothing that is essential or vital to the magical tenor or understanding of any document will be omitted, changed, or altered. This I avow and publicly swear. Where personally I have seen fit to make comment on any matter in order to clarify the issue or to indicate its antecedents, or connections in other parts of the work, that comment or remark is so marked by me with initials.

  Let me therefore urge upon the sincere reader whose wish it is to study this magical system, to pay great attention to the scheme of the grade rituals, to obtain a bird’s-eye view of the whole, to study every point, its movement and teaching. This should be repeated again and again, until the mind moves easily from one point of the ritual to another. The synthetic outline of those rituals presented in this introduction should be found helpful as assisting in this task. Let him also study the diagrams of the temple layout, and build up in his imagination a clear and vivid picture of that temple together with the appropriate officers and their movements. Then it will be an easy matter to devise a simple form of self-initiation. It will be simple to adapt the text to solo performance. But a careful scrutiny and examination of the entire system should long precede any effort to do practical work, if serious harm and danger is to be avoided. The language needs first of all to be mastered, and the symbolic ideas of the whole system assimilated and incorporated into the very fiber of one’s being. Intellectual acquaintance with every aspect of the subject is just as necessary as personal integrity and selfless devotion to an ideal. Sincerity is indeed the most trustworthy shield and buckler that any student may possess, but if he neglects the intellectual mastery of the subject, he will soon discover where his heel of Achilles is located. But these two combined are the only safeguards, the fundamental requisites to an insight into the significance of magic. Not only are they the only sure foundation, but they conduce to the continual recollection of the goal at the end, which understanding arises through penetrating to the root of the matter, without which the student may stray but too readily from the narrow way stretching before him. No matter how brilliant his intellectual capacity, no matter how ardent his sincerity or potent his dormant magical power, always must he remember that they matter absolutely in no way unless applied to the Great Work—the knowledge and conversation of the higher and divine genius. “Power without wisdom,” said a poet, “is the name of Death.” And as Frater D.D.C.F. so rightly said of one phase of magical work, but which has its application to the whole scheme, “Know thou that this is not to be done lightly for thine amusement or experiment, seeing that the forces of nature were not created to be thy plaything or toy. Unless thou doest thy practical magical works with solemnity, ceremony, and reverence, thou shalt be like an infant playing with fire, and thou shalt bring destruction upon thyself.” In deviation from these injunctions lie the only actual dangers in the divine science.

  One of the essentials of preliminary work is the committing to memory of the important correspondences and attributions. And I cannot insist too strongly that this is fundamental. The student must make himself familiar first of all with the Hebrew alphabet, and learn how to write the names of the Sephiroth and deity names in that tongue—he will realize their value when he approaches the practical work of invocation. Much time should be spent studying and meditating upon the glyph of the Tree of Life and memorizing all the important attributions—divine names, names of archangels, angels, spheres, and elements. All the symbols referred to the lamens of the officers should be carefully meditated upon, as also the various admission badges, and other symbols given in the knowledge lectures. Above all, a great deal of time and attention should be paid to the Middle Pillar technique and the vibratory formulae of divine names.

  The student can easily adapt any fair-sized room to the exigencies of a temple. The writer has worked in one hardly larger than a long cupboard, about ten feet long by six or seven wide. All furniture from the center should be cleared away, leaving a central space in which one may freely move and work. A small table covered with a black cloth will suffice for the altar, and the two pillars may be dispensed with but formulated in the imagination as present. He may find it very useful to paint flashing angelic tablets according to the instructions found elsewhere, as well as the Banners of the East and West, placing these in the appropriate cardinal quarters of his improvised temple. If he is able to obtain small plaster casts of the heads of the Kerubim—the lion, eagle, bull, and man—and place these in the proper stations, they will be found together with the tablets to impart a considerable amount of magical vitality and atmosphere to the temple. What actually they do bestow is rather subtle, and perhaps indefinable. They are not absolute essentials, however, and may be dispensed with. But since magic works by the intervention of symbol and emblem, the surrounding of the student’s sphere with the correct forms of magical symbolism, assists in the impressing of those symbols within the aura or sphere of sensation, the true magical temple. This may be left to the ingenium and the convenience of the student himself to discover after having made a close examination of the documents involved.

  Another matter upon which brief comment must be made concerns the instruments. It would have given me great pleasure to have had illustrations of these reproduced in colour, for only thus can one appreciate their significance and the part they play in ceremonial. But this unfortunately has not been possible. Thus they are given only in black and white, which obviously cannot impart anything but the merest fraction of their actual beauty and suggestiveness. And I impress upon the serious student, even implore him, to betake upon himself the trouble of making these instruments himself. They are very simple to fashion. And the results obtained, to say little of the knowledge acquired or the intuitive processes that somehow are stimulated by that effort, are well worth even a great deal of bother. To adopt temporarily part of the terminology now current among analytical psychologists, and identify the latent spiritual self of man with what is known as the Unconscious, then be it remembered that this vast subterranean stream of vitality and memory and inspiration can only be reached by means of a symbol. For the latter, states Jung, “is the primitive expression of the Unconscious, while on the other hand it is an idea corresponding to the highest intuition produced by consciousness.” Thus these weapons and magical instruments are symbolic representations of psychic events, of forces inhering within the potentiality of the inner man. By means of their personal manufacture, magical consecration and continual employment they may be made to affect and stimulate the dormant side of man’s nature. It is an interesting fact that in his practice, Jung encouraged his patients to paint symbolic designs that sometimes were comparable to the Eastern mandalas. It seems that the effort to paint these designs had the effect of straightening out stresses and knots in the unconscious, thus accomplishing the therapeutic object of the analysis. And not only were they thus means of self-expression but these designs produced a counter-effect of fascinating, healing, and stimulating to renewed activity the hitherto unmanifested psyche.

  With the exception that the ordinary magical student is not neurotic or psychopathic, the techniques are rather similar. For the magical tradition has always insisted upon the routine to be followed by the aspirant to that art. He was required to fashion the implements himself, and the more laborious he found that task, with the greater difficulties thrown before him, by so much more were those efforts of spiritual value. For not only are these instruments symbols or expressions of inner realities, but what is infinitely more of practical worth, their actual projection in this way from within outwards, the physical fashioning and painting of these instruments, also works an effect. They bring to life the man that was asleep. They react upon their maker. They become powerful magical agents, true talismans of power.

  Thus, the lotus wand is declared in the ritual to have the colors of the twelve signs of the zodiac painted on its stem, and it is surmounted by the lotus flower of Isis. It symbolizes the development of creation. The
wand has ever been a symbol of the magical will, the power of the spirit in action. And its description in the instruction on the lotus wand is such that it is seen to embrace the whole of nature—the Sephiroth, the spiritual aspects of the elements, and the action of the sun upon all life by a differentiating process. Even as the whole of nature is the embodiment of a dynamic will, the visible form and vehicle of a spiritual consciousness. The lotus flower grows from the darkness and gloom of the secret depths, through the waters, ever striving to open its blossoms on the surface of the waters to the rays of light of the sun. So is the true magical or spiritual will secreted within the hidden depths of the soul of man. Unseen, sometimes unknown and unsuspected, it lies latent though the whole of life. By these rites of magic, its symbols and exercises, we are enabled to assist its growth and development, by piercing through the outer husks of the restricting shell, until it bursts into full bloom—the flower of the human spirit, the lotus of the higher soul. “Look for the flower to bloom in the silence … It shall grow, it will shoot up, it will make branches and leaves and form buds while the storm continues, while the battle lasts. It is the flower of the soul that has opened.” Note, moreover, the description of and the comment made by Jung to a symbolic design brought to him by one of his patients, evidently a design like to the lotus wand, for he says: “The plant is frequently a structure in brilliant fiery colors and is shown growing out of a bed of darkness and carrying the blossom of light at the top, a symbol similar to the Christmas tree.” This is highly suggestive, and students both of yoga and magic will find in this curious indications of the universality of cogent symbols. Magical processes and symbols are, in short, receiving confirmation at the hands of experimental psychology. It remains for the reader to benefit thereby.