A view of the left hand path

[Magus Habilus]

On my forum,I tell my students it is becoming the god you seek and choseing to sit at a throne rather than kneel at an altar,any other opinions?

[Naomi]

I thought about this in the shower

I think about the time I was going through Siva bhakti. I was very much taken up with the saivite mentality and most of all summer during the time when you and Bob and I and the others were talking about the weird groove we were in, I was doing heavy Saddhi meditation in my garden.

I wore nothing but this yellow sarong and wore my hair basically drapy and loose and spent lots of time watering and planting and meditating.

Siva and I have a non-sexual relationship, he is like a real aloof personality to me but he makes me feel really safe, like when I was dealing with a lot of fear after what happened with that demon attacking me (whatever the hell it was - mental/physical) I had to sort of form an alliance with a strong personality of godhead and Siva was definately my first choice then becuase I really admired the god for his infamy in being a sexual icon. I don't think anybody understands that about me but I really just like phallic icons, I always have since I first began in magick. So Siva was a perfect fit at the time for forging a relationship with. I was getting weary of Native American stuff and was at the time returning to my roots in Hinduism and exploring that side of my life again _ i have a lot of different traditions to draw upon.

The feelings I got then were of awe and respect, nothing like you know, I want to bow down and worship Lord Siva but that there was something incredibly cool there and I was relating on some level to Akka Mahadevi's writings even though I didn't "feel" her yet I could feel moved by what she was experiencing. Later Ng showed me that Siva and Vishnu were his sons in this vision which made crystalline sense and still does as a matter of fact, as I explore this truth....of which there are many....

Then last year I went through the Ningishzidda turmoil and boy that was incredible. You could definately say I worship Ningishzidda, but not Siva, not in the same way. With Ningishzidda it's borderline enslavement I am just so riveted by the personality it's practically like yin-yang and there's nothing that could ever sever that link. and I get in my groveling pass out on the floor modes when I think about it and I mean, that is really pathetic I guess but I can't help it I love him and I love that part about me because i have never experienced it before

is that worship? Is that no longer left hand path?

If you're involved with death and doom and darkness and worship fo the infinite is that "RHP"

Like I've said before I don't delineate between right and left hand paths, however, I know some of you do and that's ok...I'm just saying in some ways we all worship the things around us in different ways.

Somewhere I'm yin and the rest of the universe is Yang, then the totality of experience is love

then sometimes I'm alone - there is nothing but I, absolute godhead, I am the ultimate and I am no longer aware of any other being existing. all encompassing and all accepting, I am both finite and infinite at once. and that feels good. At that point I think we are our true selves. But falling back into love is really astonishing and relaxing so I don't go there all the time. I like my divisions, to be clear...

If I sit on a throne, well...there won't be a throne....it simply would not register on my sense of self

[Magus Habilus]

Interesting.

[Amur]

The reason for all kneeling and other kinds of humbling before a god is linked directly to the reptilian braincortex which adjusts the hierarchical system in humans. By humbling before a god one submits ones reptilian brain-cortex before it which makes it possible to transcend that consciousness level into higher levels. The Fear God passages also relate to this thing alone. As when one fears one can submit and let the higher consciousness center take place.

[Darin Hamel]

I think it is also symbolic of the feeling of terror that fills you when you move the energy from the spine into the back of the head. You get the terror and loud crashing noise like a water fall or thunder and in order to pass the energy through the base of the brain you need to surrender and then the noise and fear pass and you get the brilliant light at the end of the tunnel.

I think there is also a time to sit on the throne but I havent moved the energy that far yet.

[Luke Saint]

"The different outlook of tantrism was reflected in its practice, which often utilized elements absent from traditional religious religions. Zimmer stated that tantrism "insists on the holiness and purity of all things: hence, the 'five forbidden things'... constitute the substance of the sacramental fare in certain tantric rites: wine, meat, fish, parched grain, and sexual intercourse." In what are known as the "right-handed" schools these are used in rituals symbolically, whereas in "left-handed" schools they are used literally."
- C.G. Jung

Is that right?

[Naomi]

Yeah, that's right. I tend to go with the opinion that everything is sacred, from fish eggs to puke....just gotta adjust your mind....

There's a really funny passage somewhere on Siva Bhairav, he is the earthly incarnation of Siva, and it says something like "his vomit pleaseth even the gods"

you know, because he gets drunk....

I spent five years on rotten.com studying life...raised my threshold for consciousness quite a bit.

You either accept it all, or you don't - there's no other way to transcend duality other than this.

[Luke Saint]

I hear you. Very good advice. Thanks Naomi, peace.

[Naomi]

Ugh, just as an aside, I really did visit rotten.com for the initiation factor. It all got started when I was researching how to do a type of chod from the comfort of my living room, since, you know, sleeping in graveyards is sort of illegal...

It isn't for everyone, well, it is...you have to pass that gate, but you know...I love being in the lead. ;)

What I am grateful for is when I was 15 I used to correspond with this dude who worked at a morgue and he'd send me pictures of dead bodies, like seriously F*ed up shit and i was like woooaaaah, that was enough to get me thinking about life in general and never look back to fake shit again...later it was wonderful because I got to see death from the Tibetan perspective and I found out it was really dumb how death and natural life are treated in the West, it's all so glossed over. I hate that. It's got to be balanced once again. (I was already morbid by then so I was looking for photos of dead bodies, I wasn't being victimized at all, I was asking around for them...)

[Neshamah]

"I tell my students it is becoming the god you seek and choseing to sit at a throne rather than kneel at an altar..."


I see a lot of confusion concerning the nature of the LHP. I'm not singling Magus H. out -- it's just that his post started this thread. ;)

To be painfully specific, the LHP actually refers to the "Sitra Achra," or the Left-Side of the Tree of Life. Specifically, this would include Binah, Geburah, and Hod. Since Geburah embodies the Energy / Force / Realization of the Martian Current, it would follow that Geburah, Negatively, is the Source of all Anger, Rage, War, and the like. In my Qabalistic experience, the Nightside Tree is rooted in the Fighting, Battling, Antagonism, Hostility, etc., that is central to the Ultimate Negative Expression of the Fifth Sephirah (Geburah).

Thus, here in the Nightside Tree rooted in the "Sitra Achra" of the ToL is the TRUE LHP. Samael (and Moloch) rules here. One might want to be a god, but one must first pay homage to Samael and his 4 wives, Lilith, Naamah, Eisheth Zenunim, and Agrat bat Machalath (each one more grotesque and frightening than the one before her), and don't forget Moloch.

I bring all of this up because I think we tend to over-simplify the LHP. If the RHP seems complicated you can bet your a** that the LHP is going to be even more complicated. We may indeed find a throne upon which to sit, but it is a sure bet that that throne will be hotly contested among the other (quite unpleasant) entities that populate the LHP.

If the key to the RHP is Love, as many are wont to say, the key to the LHP must be something akin to Hate (or some raw emotion opposite to Love). Therefore, if one can maintain this Hate constantly then one may indeed find the Path to godhood.

Or, maybe its not like this at all.

Peace.

Neshamah

[m1thr0s]

Or, maybe its not like this at all... I honestly don't think so Neshamah...

Hate is simply not strong enough to stand on an equal footing to Love and I do think we have to look to the balance of opposites in resolving this distinction...such as Yin and Yang for instance...polar opposites but not really in conflict because of this.

Science vs Art works to some extent and also parallels left and right hemispheres of the brain itself. Love is more akin to Will in the sense that it really has no exact polar opposite, so I do not think that the love vs hate formula can withstand the test of time here.

I am also keenly aware of the fact the the LHP and Love are simply not at odds within themselves...despite popular misconceptions regarding the true nature of the LHP...that it's all about focus on the self etc...a notion that only has any real validation in affluent western culture...and even then, more recently.

m1thr0s

[Neshamah]

I was hoping some others would respond, which is why I gave this a couple of days. But, I (almost) totally agree with you, m1thr0s.

Oh, I stand by the 'stuff' I wrote about the Nightside Tree (and if anyone is interested in a thread devoted to the Qliphoth, let me know). But, no way do I think that the basis for the LHP is Love. The LHP is much more complicated than that.

You know how I like to "rattle cages" in order to make people examine (and re-examine) their belief systems -- it is my opinion that those of the LHP should be doing this even MORE often that those in other paths of magick. Why ? Because, that is the very nature of the LHP itself: examine and rexamine, keeping one's mind always open and always "on edge."

As Michael Ford says in Liber HVHI:

Left Hand Path -- The Antinomian (against the current, natural order) path which leads through self-deification (godhood). LHP signifies that humanity has an intellect which is separate from the natural order, thus in theory and practice may move forward with seeking the mastery of the spirits (referring to the elements of the self) and controlled direction in a positive area of one's own life -- the difference between RHP is that they seek union with the universe, nirvana, and bliss. The LHP seeks disunion to in perception and being, strength and power of an awakened mind. . . To truly walk upon the Left Hand Path, one must strive to break all personal taboos and gain knowledge and power from this averse way, thus expand power accordingly (Liber HVHI, page 192, empasis added).

I can certainly find agreement with much of what he states here; especially after my little stint in "la-la land." But, that's another story for another time . . . :o_O:

Peace, or not.

Neshamah

[m1thr0s]

intellect which is separate from the natural order???

good luck with that!!! :cool:

Michael Ford's little paragraph comprises about 1/2 dozen internal contradictions, just at a glance...possibly more than this. At least his perspective has evolved beyond the Blavatsky/Crowley stigmata, though it still carries much of the same "black brotherhood" connotations. Difficult as it may be, I do not think we can ever get anywhere useful building upon this deficient foundation.

I have argued before (and probably will again) that we really have to look to the eastern schools to sort this one out correctly, from which the term was actually borrowed to begin with.

I would agree that the the LHP is not about Love per se...but I am also not convinced that the RHP is either. Then again, it depends a great deal on what we define as Love. Those who feel that Work is the measure of Love, for instance, may be justified in arguing that the LHP is "about love" at least as much as the RHP. I will not press this argument personally, though I think it has its merits.

Moreover, I do feel that the whole idea of skepticism and scrutiny tend to belong on the left side of the equation, but again, we are talking about strategies here...

not core values so much at all.

m1thr0s

[Neshamah]

Actually, what I meant to type is that "in no way do I think that the basis of the LHP is Hate," as I stated in my first post in this thread. My typing is lousy these days -- some kind of 'disconnect' between my head and my hands. Very frustrating sometimes. :yes:

I don't know what civilizations you include in the "eastern schools" that you mention. If you include Babylon and Sumeria I definitely agree with you. The whole idea of the "Sitra Achra" arose out of the dualism that Hebrew philosophy encountered in Babylon. Judaism claims to be strictly monotheistic -- no Trinity, no Devil, etc. But, their Mystical beliefs do point to a dualism in the two sides of the Tree (which can be further dvided into groups of two several more times).

It is difficult to find a good book on the Qliphoth (I would rate Ford's so-so). He spends too much time on one or two spheres and not nearly enough time on the rest. He also tends to stretch his whole'deification' schema against the Zoroastrian mythos, which doesn't work all that well. But, as I said, there are so few books on the Qliphoth.

It is almost as though you are speaking of political parties when you speak of LHP and RHP systems. You are right that the RHP political party is definitely against skepticism. :laugh:

Peace.

Neshamah

[m1thr0s]

I don't know what civilizations you include in the "eastern schools" that you mention.well, yogic tradition mainly I guess, through which the tantric has generally come to be regarded as left...of Bhakti (devotion) in particular...yet really is no less *devoted* to its own priorities and practices. It's just that those priorities are rooted in verifiable proofs and direct personal experience. In more extreme cases we do find this whole pattern of running against the grain...of indulging in things generally considered taboo among devotional camps etc but the overriding difference seems more to be a question of analysis & experimentation vs faith & elaborate ritual observances of many kinds...

Either side can turn sour...either side can produce both successes and failures at the level of individuals, which is why I think our definitions need to be better honed on this since there has been a persistent tendency of each side to line up angrily against the other like adolescant gangs defending their colors...

In the final analysis, it mainly seems to boil down to a difference of strategies and there is no certain right or wrong on this...both sides ultimately need the other and indeed...all individuals are better off to arrive at a balance between the two paths internally I think.

m1thr0s

[Neshamah]

No question that either side can turn sour. I've seen both extremes and both are extremely ugly.

I agree completely about "balance" being the key to it all. This is the Middle Pillar, being able to identify the RHP and LHP in one's self and walk the fine line that finds acceptance for both. It's not about walking "between" them; or walking in such a way so as to be separate from both the LHP and RHP. The Middle Pillar is finding that precarious "balance" which celebrates both sides of the Tree in one's life.

Light, Life, and Love.

Neshamah

[m1thr0s]

thanks for referencing the Sitra Achra, btw...I hadn't encountered that one before now.

I also don't really understand why it seems so impossible to find anything on Qliphoth, other than makeshift allusions to inconclusive documents etc...from a purely alchemical perspective I would have thought we might want to grok this better since...in theory at least...the entire second generation universe is ultimately built upon these "shells".

That would hardly seem to render them irrelevant...:o_O:

In general, understanding why some things cannot hold the light while others can would seem to be informing us of much that is amiss in the human condition. And, in any case, the Mind gravitates to these shells, these *shards* as it were...prevalent in almost all spiritual constructs the world over, whether the Ancient Ones from Sumerian mythos to the Titans of ancient Greece, Giants of Norse legends and so on down the line...

m1thr0s

[Neshamah]

And then I heard a faint voice which seemed to get louder as I stopped to listen...

The Battle of the Ants
That is not which is.
The only Word is Silence.
The only Meaning of that Word is not.
Thoughts are false.
Fatherhood is unity disguised as duality.
Peace implies war.
Power implies war.
Harmony implies war.
Victory implies war.
Glory implies war.
Foundation implies war.
Alas! for the Kingdom wherein all these are at war.
The Book of Lies, page 19

For some reason this just seemd appropriate. ;)

Light, Life, and Love.

Neshamah

[rzk]

First of all. The Left Hand Path is a spiritual practice, and thus you will find that the practices of the Left Hand Path is centered around opening up doors to travel to other spheres of reality aswell as nurturing hidden forces within ones own body-soul-spirit.
The Left Hand Path is the radical idea and practice that to reach full enlightenment, one cannot shut out and turn a blind eye to aspects of reality that goes against moralistic feelings or codes and values.
In a culture centered around materialism and right and wrong (aswell as "fun" and "boring", which might be even more trapping for people), the LHP-adept goes against the grain in esoteric antinomianism and seeks out worlds of existence hidden, without letting morals or the feelings and thoughts that he/she has seen as him/her own, as a part of the self, stop him/her from doing so.
Also, the LHP is a spiritual practice that say that you need to be in haste, the goal is to be reached within one lifetime. Thus an enormous need for discipline and steadfast initiation.


The Left Hand Path, within a qabalistic system, is a system that work not only with the Sephiroth, but also with the Qliphoth, the Sitra Ahra.
The Left Side of the Sephirothic Tree is definately connected to the Qliphoth in many qabalistic systems, but mostly so because the creation of the Qliphoth is thought to have been due to Geburah (or sometimes Binah) wreaking havoc when there is an unbalance in the sephirotic systems: sometimes attributed to the fall of man, where the snake and the first humans conspire to become like gods..



Image from www.ajnabound.com (http://www.ajnabound.com/)
The publishinghouse that published Thomas Karlssons book "Qabala, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic".


http://www.theajnaoffensive.com/ajnabound/images/p088.gif

[Neshamah]

I'll be discussing the "Sitra Achra" in the new thread I've started. Please take a look if you have time (The Deeply Personal Nature of the Qliphoth).

I'm not sure I understand why you say that those that practice the LHP "need to be in haste" because it all has to be done in one lifetime. Can't you be LHP and believe in reincarnation?

Peace, or not.

Neshamah

[rzk]

It is very usual that LHP-adepts believe in reincarnation, but there is a sense of urgency in the system. You find it in most LHP systems.
I think even one of the primary names of tibetan left hand path is somehow related to the idea of it as a one lifetime system.

[Ci Celli Ddu]

In more extreme cases we do find this whole pattern of running against the grain...of indulging in things generally considered taboo among devotional camps etc but the overriding difference seems more to be a question of analysis & experimentation vs faith & elaborate ritual observances of many kinds...

It's interesting that in Irish and Welsh mythology, the 'Otherworld' and its inhabitants only appear when a taboo is broken. Breaking a taboo is the central element of every one of these legends, to the extent that if you don't break whatever the taboo happens to be, you don't get to see the Otherworld or the entities related to that taboo. Effectively a kind of summoning it would seem.

Of course, whoever breaks the taboo has to make good for doing so, but that's just part of the whole process. In short:

X breaks Y's taboo; X must then make good to Y for having broken taboo; Y rewards X (X gains power/knowledge)

That sounds pretty antinomian to me.