Naomi
07-14-2007, 03:47 AM
Some bastard shut down my internet access all day so I spent most of today wandering the neighborhood taking photos and stirring through my occult documents folder, I happened to find this little gem by my dead pal Bob Hendricks, he was some sort of Dragonology freak and he was right about practically everything.
It's a good reminder for Chaoticians.
Q:How many Ceremonial Magickians on OF actually practice this Magick without all of the metaphorical ceremony? Does anyone actually take the working techniques and strip them of their symbols, deities, demons, angels, etc.? How literally do you take these things? I have never claimed to be a Ceremonial Magickian, but I have drawn great inspiration from Crowley and some others in this field and I definately have a Thelemic ethic. As a matter of fact I am very Thelemic in Life. I am just curious and not trying to slight anyone's personal paths in any way. I had a recent conversation with a friend about Thelema being the "true religion" of Chaos Magick and this is what has prompted me to ask these questions. I am not sure about anything being a "true religion" of anything, but I do think I understand that analogy for the Chaos persuasion, as an ethical model.
I AM:
As a short answer, no ceremony is NOT necessary. However, when working with CM it is VERY advisable especially in the early years of practice.
Many of the Entities that we call are too dangerous for us to handle without protection. That is part of what ritual is for. To protect us as we grow. Notice that I said that is PART of what ritual is for. Ritual also develops within the Magickian, in a structured methodology, personal power. AS this power grows so does the True Magickal capability of the Magickian.
To explain, when we summon we often use the Magickal capabilities of the Entity we are summoning to achieve our ends. As we grow the need for external Entities diminishes. We can achieve our desires DIRECTLY. However, to get to this point SIGNIFICANT growth has to occur. The RAW power of the Entities is also OUR power once we learn to master it. That is part of what summoning is all about.
I DO NOT recommend that beginning magickians pursue this line of thought if summoning entities. When you are ready you will know.
I do not mean to sound arrogant in any way. However this is the answer to your question based on my experience.
Humbly, I AM
I want to caution that the symbolism of CM as well as the rituals ARE important and NOT FLUFF.
In martial arts, you must learn to crawl and walk before you can run and it takes years to truly master the art. It is the same in Ceremonial Magick. In fact, it is the same in ALL Magick.
I have stated before in my BH posts (Before Hacking) that Ritual was the vehicle not the destination. However, it is an important vehicle that should not be arbitrarily discarded.
While there are many paths to Magick, the CM path DOES NOT only unlock personal power but also promotes personal growth as well. The methodology of CM assists us in exploring ourselves in a direct way very deeply and allows us to gain control over facets of ourselves that we would be unable to access directly in any other way.
This is difficult for me to put into words but I will try. I liken CM to climbing a ladder. In the first few steps of the ladder we realize we are aware of more and can see more and most of us realize that the ladder is very high. As we progress up the steps of the ladder more of the REAL world becomes known to us and USABLE to us. What was scary and perhaps unsafe we have now mastered and have control over.
However, in my experience, there is no top to the ladder. Our progression up the ladder enables us to experience things that we could not even dream of while on the lower steps of the ladder. The higher we climb the more we realize that the lower steps were unimportant BUT NECESSARY TO GET TO WHERE WE ARE. The higher we climb the more we understand that the Universe is VAST and the wonders of that Universe are without words. We are able to experience what others have to share as well as see the World for what it really is.
There is no end to growth...only new beginnings. There is no top, there is only more. I do not think that any, in one lifetime, can hope to see and learn all that there is to know.
Can we do magick without ritual or methodology? Certainly. Should we? I do not think so. The very methodology of Magick, in ANY PATH, is necessary to fully experience the wonders that await us. There comes a time when the Magickian no longer needs ritual. That is because the Magickian fully understands the methodology and has climbed high enough up the ladder to truly understand the Magick that is being practiced. In a sense the Magick has become the Ritual and its reverse is true as well.
At each step of the ladder As Above, So Below and As Within, So Without is true. AT EACH STEP. And, like any ladder, at each step it is possible to fall.
In order to the Magickian to perceive the WITHOUT at each step the Magickian has to have grown WITHIN to enable this perception. The vibration within has to equal the vibration without before what is there can be perceived. This is true in ALL true Magick but especially true in CM. This single SIMPLE truth is also the most important truth. The Vibration Within has to Equal the Vibration Without in order for perception to occur.
All of these steps are valuable as well as necessary. This has been my experience. How one climbs them are up to the Magickian. However, failure to climb the steps leads to falls. Failure to climb hides the Universe from the Magickian.
Humbly, I AM
It's a good reminder for Chaoticians.
Q:How many Ceremonial Magickians on OF actually practice this Magick without all of the metaphorical ceremony? Does anyone actually take the working techniques and strip them of their symbols, deities, demons, angels, etc.? How literally do you take these things? I have never claimed to be a Ceremonial Magickian, but I have drawn great inspiration from Crowley and some others in this field and I definately have a Thelemic ethic. As a matter of fact I am very Thelemic in Life. I am just curious and not trying to slight anyone's personal paths in any way. I had a recent conversation with a friend about Thelema being the "true religion" of Chaos Magick and this is what has prompted me to ask these questions. I am not sure about anything being a "true religion" of anything, but I do think I understand that analogy for the Chaos persuasion, as an ethical model.
I AM:
As a short answer, no ceremony is NOT necessary. However, when working with CM it is VERY advisable especially in the early years of practice.
Many of the Entities that we call are too dangerous for us to handle without protection. That is part of what ritual is for. To protect us as we grow. Notice that I said that is PART of what ritual is for. Ritual also develops within the Magickian, in a structured methodology, personal power. AS this power grows so does the True Magickal capability of the Magickian.
To explain, when we summon we often use the Magickal capabilities of the Entity we are summoning to achieve our ends. As we grow the need for external Entities diminishes. We can achieve our desires DIRECTLY. However, to get to this point SIGNIFICANT growth has to occur. The RAW power of the Entities is also OUR power once we learn to master it. That is part of what summoning is all about.
I DO NOT recommend that beginning magickians pursue this line of thought if summoning entities. When you are ready you will know.
I do not mean to sound arrogant in any way. However this is the answer to your question based on my experience.
Humbly, I AM
I want to caution that the symbolism of CM as well as the rituals ARE important and NOT FLUFF.
In martial arts, you must learn to crawl and walk before you can run and it takes years to truly master the art. It is the same in Ceremonial Magick. In fact, it is the same in ALL Magick.
I have stated before in my BH posts (Before Hacking) that Ritual was the vehicle not the destination. However, it is an important vehicle that should not be arbitrarily discarded.
While there are many paths to Magick, the CM path DOES NOT only unlock personal power but also promotes personal growth as well. The methodology of CM assists us in exploring ourselves in a direct way very deeply and allows us to gain control over facets of ourselves that we would be unable to access directly in any other way.
This is difficult for me to put into words but I will try. I liken CM to climbing a ladder. In the first few steps of the ladder we realize we are aware of more and can see more and most of us realize that the ladder is very high. As we progress up the steps of the ladder more of the REAL world becomes known to us and USABLE to us. What was scary and perhaps unsafe we have now mastered and have control over.
However, in my experience, there is no top to the ladder. Our progression up the ladder enables us to experience things that we could not even dream of while on the lower steps of the ladder. The higher we climb the more we realize that the lower steps were unimportant BUT NECESSARY TO GET TO WHERE WE ARE. The higher we climb the more we understand that the Universe is VAST and the wonders of that Universe are without words. We are able to experience what others have to share as well as see the World for what it really is.
There is no end to growth...only new beginnings. There is no top, there is only more. I do not think that any, in one lifetime, can hope to see and learn all that there is to know.
Can we do magick without ritual or methodology? Certainly. Should we? I do not think so. The very methodology of Magick, in ANY PATH, is necessary to fully experience the wonders that await us. There comes a time when the Magickian no longer needs ritual. That is because the Magickian fully understands the methodology and has climbed high enough up the ladder to truly understand the Magick that is being practiced. In a sense the Magick has become the Ritual and its reverse is true as well.
At each step of the ladder As Above, So Below and As Within, So Without is true. AT EACH STEP. And, like any ladder, at each step it is possible to fall.
In order to the Magickian to perceive the WITHOUT at each step the Magickian has to have grown WITHIN to enable this perception. The vibration within has to equal the vibration without before what is there can be perceived. This is true in ALL true Magick but especially true in CM. This single SIMPLE truth is also the most important truth. The Vibration Within has to Equal the Vibration Without in order for perception to occur.
All of these steps are valuable as well as necessary. This has been my experience. How one climbs them are up to the Magickian. However, failure to climb the steps leads to falls. Failure to climb hides the Universe from the Magickian.
Humbly, I AM