The Book of the Dead

E. A. Wallis Budge. Book Jungle 2008, Paperback, 48 pages, $5.07

Changing Into The God Who Giveth Light In The Darkness

“Saith Osiris, the scribe Ani, triumphant: I am the girdle of the robe of the god Nu, which shineth and sheddeth light, which abideth in his presence and sendeth forth light into the darkness, which knitteth together the two fighters who live in my body through the mighty spell of the words of my mouth, which raiseth up him that hath fallen–for he who was with him in the valley of Abtu hath fallen–and I rest. ” – Translation by E. A. Wallis Budge, 1895

The second translation has some key differences, both in terms of using modern English, as well as an updated translation that changes some of the concepts dramatically (“two fighters” and “two companion goddesses”), however the concept of the spell/magic relating to the mouth (and therefore utterance / verbalisation) is still there, with the suggestion that this magical act is uniting these two parts within the body.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead

Eva Von Dassow (Editor). Chronicle Books 2008, Paperback, 174 pages, $15.50

Making Transformation Into A God And Giving Light And Darkness

“I am he who donned the white and bright fringed cloak of Nun which is on his breast, which gives light in darkness, which unites the two companion goddesses who are in my body by means of the great magic which is on my mouth. My fallen enemy who was with me in the valley of Abydos will not be raised up, and I am content.” – Translation by Dr. Raymond Faulkner.

Compare the above sentences with Agrippa’s description in Of Speech, and the vertue of Words, where he states: “an uttered word hath a certain act in the voice, and properties of locution, and is brought forth with the breath of a man, with opening of his mouth, and with the speech of his tongue, in which nature hath coupled the corporeall voice, and speech to the mind…”

Question: Does a magical language have to be vocalised, or could it be purely internal, such as a language of meditation through symbols alone?

Related posts:

1. Of Speech, and the vertue of Words by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
2. Towards a Magical Language
3. Psychosynthesis Notes 6

Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn’s Sourcebook)

Henry Cornelius Agrippa. Llewellyn Publications 1992, Paperback, 1024 pages, $31.83

[Chapter LXX, Of Occult Philosophy, Book I. (part 4)]

That proper names of things are very necessary in Magicall operations, almost all men testifie: For the naturall power of things proceeds first from the objects to the senses, and then from these to the imagination, and from this to the mind, in which it is first conceived, and then is expressed by voices, and words. The Platonists therefore say, that in this very voice, or word, or name framed, with its Articles, that the power of the thing as it were some kind of life, lies under the form of the signification. First conceived in the mind as it were through certain seeds of things, then by voices or words, as a birth brought forth, and lastly kept in writings. Hence Magicians say, that proper names of things are certain rayes of things, every where present at all times, keeping the power of things, as the essence of the thing signified, rules, and is discerned in them, and know the things by them, as by proper, and living Images. For as the great operator doth produce divers species, and particular things by the influencies of the Heavens, and by the Elements, together with the vertues of Planets; so according to the properties of the influencies proper names result to things, and are put upon them by him who numbers the multitude of the Stars, calling them all by their names, of which names Christ in another place speaks, saying, Your names are written in Heaven. Adam therefore that gave the first names to things, knowing the influencies of the Heavens, and properties of all things, gave them all names according to their natures, as it is written in Genesis, where God brought all things that he had created before Adam, that he should name them, and as he named any thing, so the name of it was, which names indeed contain in them wonderfull powers of the things signified. Every voice therefore that is significative, first of all signifies by the influence of the Celestiall harmony: Secondly, by the imposition of man, although oftentimes otherwise by this, then by that. But when both significations meet in any voice or name, which are put upon them by the said harmony or men, then that name is with a double vertue, viz. naturall, and arbitrary, made most efficatious to act, as oft as it shall be uttered in due place, and time, and seriously with an intention exercised upon the matter rightly disposed, and that can naturally be acted upon by it. So we read in Philostratus, that when a maid at Rome dyed [died] the same day she was married, and was presented to Apollonius, he accurately inquired into her name, which being known, he pronounced some occult thing, by which she revived. It was an observation amongst the Romanes in their holy rites, that when they did besiege any City, they did diligently enquire into the proper, and true name of it, and the name of that God, under whose protection it was, which being known, they did then with some verse call forth the Gods that were the protectors of that City, and did curse the inhabitants of that City, so at length their Gods being absent, did overcome them, as Virgil sings,

—– That kept this Realm, our Gods
Their Altars have forsook, and blest abodes.

Now the verse with which the Gods were called out, and the enemies were curst [cursed], when the City was assaulted round about, let him that would know, finde it out in Livy, and Macrobius; but also many of these Serenus Samonicus in his book of secret things makes mention of.

Although I don’t believe in the concept of things having a “true name” per se, I do recognise the importance of associating a word with the concept that the word represents (symbolises). This fits with the idea that “the map is not the territory” – that is, a word is not the concept it represents – it is only a map (symbol) for that concept. Having a word to describe an abstract concept is a beginning; however, it is far more important to have a clear mental notion of a concept, which may only be represented by a group of words (rather than a name), such as an analogy or metaphor. For example, we may have a concept (or concepts) of God, but it may not be possible to really express in words what God is, or our experience with God. We may have to describe the concept or experience in analogy and metaphor. So it is the connection and strength of association we have between a word and a concept that gives it power. It may be essential to have experience with the concept in some form to be able to truly identify with it. An atheist is unlikely to be able to persuaded to the existence of God without have some kind of experience of God to make a connection and identification with the concept.

This all raises the question: how can words for a magical language be formed? Should they be arbitrary, or should there be some process of ‘divining’ or ‘channelling’ the name in some way, such as through a meditative process. The way in which the Enochian language, alphabet, and angel names were received could offer some clues – although Enochian has been criticised for the fact that it’s grammar is very similar to English, suggesting a certain bias on the parts of Dee and Kelley.

Related posts:

1. Of Speech, and the vertue of Words by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
2. Mantra Meditation
3. Egyptian magic and words

Three Books of Occult Philosophy (Llewellyn’s Sourcebook)

Henry Cornelius Agrippa. Llewellyn Publications 1992, Paperback, 1024 pages, $31.83

[Chapter LXIX, Of Occult Philosophy, Book I. (part 4)]

It being shewed that there is a great power in the affections of the soul, you must know moreover, that there is no less Vertue in words, and the names of things, but greatest of all in speeches, and motions, by which we chiefly differ from bruits [brutes], and are called rationall; not from reason, which is taken for that part of the soul, which contains the affections, which Galen saith, is also common to bruits [brutes], although in a less degree; but we are called rationall, from that reason which is according to the voice understood in words, and speech, which is called declarative reason, by which part we do chiefly excell all other Animals. For λόγος [logos] in Greek signifies, reason, speech, and a word. Now a word is twofold, viz. internall, and uttered; An internall word is a conception of the mind, and motion of the soul, which is made without a voice. As in dreams we seem to speak, and dispute with our selves, and whilest we are awake we run over a whole speech silently. But an uttered word hath a certain act in the voice, and properties of locution, and is brought forth with the breath of a man, with opening of his mouth, and with the speech of his tongue, in which nature hath coupled the corporeall voice, and speech to the mind, and understanding, making that a declarer, and interpreter of the conception of our intellect to the hearers, And of this we now speak. Words therefore are the fittest medium betwixt the speaker and the hearer, carrying with them not only the conception of the mind, but also the vertue of the speaker with a certain efficacy unto the hearers, and this oftentimes with so great a power, that oftentimes they change not only the hearers, but also other bodies, and things that have no life. Now those words are of greater efficacy then others, which represent greater things, as intellectuall, Celestiall, and supernaturall, as more expressly, so more misteriously [mysteriously]. Also those that come from a more worthy tongue, or from any of a more holy order; for these, as it were certain Signs, and representations, receive a power of Celestiall, and supercelestiall things, as from the vertue of things explained, of which they are the vehicula, so from a power put into them by the vertue of the speaker.

Agrippa makes some import comments regarding language, for instance when he points out internal and external (uttered) aspects of words. When thinking of language for magical purposes, the internal aspect is very important. Imagination and imagery are core concepts of magic, and the it is important to understand that uttered words are symbolic representations of ideas; ideas that are often abstract. The spoken word is a physical symbol for the internal concept. In a very simply sense, speech (at least organized speech) is a willed act, and hence a magical act, making non-physical (internal) concepts into a physical symbolic form – which in turn can create change in the physical world (often via a causal chain of events that are set in motion – from hypnosis to commands to initiate a war).

Related posts:

1. Of the vertue of proper names by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa
2. Egyptian magic and words

From an esoteric perspective, metaphor and simile are regularly used to help explain abstract concepts such as God,  the Higher Self, the soul or spirit, etc. The Gospel of Thomas is a good example: (20) “[Heaven is] like a mustard seed…”; (50) “The Father’s kingdom is like a person who has [good] seed. …”; (96) “The Father’s kingdom is like [a] woman. …” While these are similes, a good example of a metaphor is the “dark night of the soul” described by Saint John of the Cross in a poem and follow-up commentary.

The benefit of metaphors is that they bring to mind images and related concepts, if the person reading/hearing the metaphor is familiar with the concept(s) that comprise the metaphor. For example, Assagioli’s Egg Diagram is a visual metaphor for the psyche, which is rich in symbolism. As with an actual egg, the “shell” is permeable t indicate that “stuff” can move between the boundaries, which delimit, rather than act as concrete separators. Some Psychosynthesis authors choose to refer to this diagram as the Oval Diagram, which to me is counterproductive as it removes the metaphorical associations, disempowering the symbol.

So, while I agree that metaphors may be unhelpful for many artificial languages I wonder if  metaphors could be left out of an esoteric language. Obviously similes can be used extensively (“x is like y”), but metaphors such as the  “dark night of the soul” seem so rich, especially when such things have been experienced. When the concept used as the metaphor is common, and likely cross-cultural, then it should be easily recognised. The abstract concept needs a different kind of understanding, often experiential. To me, “dark night  of the soul” is a lot less awkward than “the journey of the soul is like travel during a dark night.”

Related posts:

1. Towards a Magical Language
2. Language as an artificial construct

Occultism and mysticism certainly has a long history of usage natural languages, development of artificial languages, as well various languages with purported divine or mystical origins. The following is a brief list of some known mystical languages:

• Enochian
• Lingua ignota (the “unknown language” of Hildegard von Bingen)
• Language of the Birds
• Langue verte (the “Green language”, mentioned by Fulcanelli and Agrippa)
• Rosaecrucian language (aka Rosae Crucis, from AMORC circa 1918)
• The undeciphered language of the Voynich manuscript
• Tarot (as a language of symbolism)
• Dreams (a language of symbolism, sometimes equated with the Language of the Birds)
• Hebrew (a natural language, central to the Kabbalah)
• Latin (a natural language)

As well as languages there are various magical alphabets that can be used to write almost any language.

• Enochian alphabet
• Alphabet of Desire (described by Austin Osman Spare)
• Daggers Alphabet (Aleister Crowley)
• Alphabet of the Magi (Paracelsus)
• Angelic / Celestial Alphabet (Agrippa)
• Malachim Alphabet (Agrippa)
• Passing the River (Agrippa)
• Theban Alphabet (aka the Witch’s Alphabet)
• Runic Alphabet (Runes / Furthark)
• Ogham

This series of articles will explore various aspects of mystical languages and language in general. Comments, suggestions, and feedback are invited.

Related posts:

1. Metaphor in Magical Language
2. Language as an artificial construct
3. Of the vertue of proper names by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa

Version 1.1

“Therefore I believe that the right procedure is to postpone all intellectual discussions and theories on the subject, and begin by discovering the reality and the nature of the will through its direct existential experience.“
- Roberto Assagioli from The Act of Will, ‘The Development of Man’s Inner Powers’ (Chapter 1)

I’m often asked what books I recommend on various topics, or what I think of a particular author or book. There are so many books out there, often with accompanying blurb or marketing hype saying it is the most comprehensive, definitive or ultimate book on the subject. This can make it difficult to choose a book that will provide you with the information you seek. I find recommendations and thoughts on particular authors to be highly subjective, so there are very few books or authors I actually recommend, although I’m always happy to suggest books I know of if they pertain to the topic someone is interested in. Also, books in the reviews section of Magical Path offer some insight into potential useful, or at least thought provoking, material.

Thoughts on Reading

• Look for particular concepts within the text, such as belief structures, or the author’s sub-personalities.
• Reflect regularly on what you are reading, and how you can make use of it in your life.
• Make notes on your thoughts that arise from what you’re reading, preferably in your journal.
• Don’t be afraid to ‘destroy’ a book by writing in the margins, highlighting or underling concepts.
• Grab a book at random, and open it to a random page. Read from this page, and pay attention to any synchronicity in what you read and what is going on in your life at present.
• Read books that challenge your beliefs, whether occult or other topics. Don’t just look for material which makes you feel good when you read it.
• Read slowly (deep reading / close reading). You are better to read for brief periods, but regularly, to maintain focus and benefit from what you are reading.

Keep in mind that occult training is more about action and experience. This is far important than knowledge “gained” from reading, or other’s thoughts and experiences. While we can learn from what other’s have experienced or claim to know, it is always much more powerful when we have the experience ourselves.

Books are great for background information, stimulating discussion (ie. as part of a structured training course), or getting the theory for specific skills. They never replace actually making an action. The quote by Assagioli at the top of this page illustrates this idea: the call to postpone intellectual discussions and actually discover things for ourselves. This is vital in magical training, as magical training isn’t an escape from reality; it is a deeper exploring of reality.

All written works, whether theoretical knowledge or techniques, are starting points only. The core concepts are of value, the outer forms that express these values are less important, and are tied to various belief systems whether individual, societal, or cultural.

Currently there is a lot of information available online for free. Many titles are accessible freely or cheaply via websites, online stores, file sharing networks, or traded amongst collectors. I always recommend online works over printed text for the reason that it is keyword searchable. This saves time finding the information you want, and you can scan through various chapters and see if the information is what you’re looking for.

Amazon.com, Google Books, Ebrary all provide the capability to search inside books (where publisher’s and author’s allow). This allows you to quickly cover many books on a topic you need information on. If you really like a book you can still purchase it.

Searching for keywords and concepts, I believe, helps break down some of the intellectualism of a book, and get to core ideas we can work with. It is easy to get lost in the words, and forget that it is the concepts which are important, not the outward forms expressed by the author.

Overall, I don’t consider it so important what you read, or who it is by, as long as it provides something practical that you can apply in your own development. That could be techniques, concepts, or a challenge to your current beliefs. Conflict (correctly dealt with) leads to synthesis and growth.

Specific Recommendations

For people looking for an introduction to the general concepts and ideas within the Western Tradition then a good starting place on recommended books is the New Zealand Alchemist’s Guild Probationer’s Book List.

Many of the commonly recommended authors are worth reading, and exploring their thoughts on various occult subject. There are also many more obscure authors whose may be of interest to those seeking occult wisdom, or esoteric techniques. The authors mentioned below are in no particular order.

Aleister Crowley, love or loath him, has some excellent comments in his book Magick Without Tears. I also found his novel Moonchild to be an enjoyable read, being an occult novel, by an occultist.

Carlos Castaneda, now much maligned as a fraud, wrote about many topics important to the occultist. I believe it is important to read beyond the words though, and consider such things as the relationship between Castaneda (student) and Don Juan (teacher).

Victor Sanchez offers some more practical applications of Castaneda’s teachings in his book The Teachings of Don Carlos. I also recommend his book Toltecs of the New Millennium as it is focused around actually taking part in magical ritual, rather than just intellectualizing the process.

Roberto Assagioli, the founder of Psychosynthesis, provides many important insights into esoteric and occult topics. While he was a Psychiatrist, and schooled in Freudian Psychoanalysis, he was well read, and had studied such subjects as the Kabbalah (see Roberto Assagioli, the Kabbalist by Will Parfitt), Eastern Philosophies, and was a member of the Theosophical Society. His most important book in my opinion is The Act of Will, although his book Psychosynthesis, and any essays by him are also worth consideration. Actually, any book on Psychosynthesis is worth flicking through.

Dion Fortune wrote some excellent novels, including Moon Magic, and The Goat Foot God. Some people say the novels are a little dry and dated in their language, however I found them easily readable and enjoyable.

Israel Regardie is a notable authority on the Golden Dawn. I don’t recommend any specific book by Regardie, but I do recommended reading through some of his writings. He had some good insights, and was perhaps the first occultist to suggest those involved in magical training seek some form of psychotherapy to assist them in their progress.

Julius Evola is notable for being outside of the Golden Dawn tradition. His views offer a good contrast to some of the commonly accepted views of Regardie, Crowley, et al. In contrast to Regardie, he suggested that psychotherapy was not required by men of character.

Franz Bardon wrote several books that offer a complete system of magic, based around Bardon’s views on Qabala (Quabbalah). His book Initiation into Hermetics offers a 10 practical steps towards developing the body, soul and spirit.

Related posts:

1. Some thoughts on Esoteric Training

What is interesting in Strieber’s journal entry is the psychological description of the visitors. He suggests that they are partly evolved beings, and partly engineered. He suggests that a likely feature of the visitors brain is a fourth level, most likely genetically engineered, which he terms a hypercortex, whereas human beings have three levels (not taking into account various suggestions that the solar plexus is a type of ‘brain’ also). The hypercortex, Strieber suggests, allows them to experience reality in a way far different than us human beings; something we can perhaps only glimpse in deep meditation. He writes:

“It gives them vastly more access to reality than we have. It provides them with the power to alter reality on the informational level, meaning that, for them, physics is not a set of laws that cannot be changed, but a tool that is easily amenable to manipulation.”

The problem, as Strieber sees it, is not that the visitors pose a physical danger per se, moreso that most humans will experience a primal, visceral fear as they instinctively sense the superior nature of the visitors’ highly evolved psyche.

This entry is worth reading and reflecting on, not just for the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligences, but for the background concepts of advanced psychological development and control and manipulation of ‘reality’, which essentially would appear as magic to us.

Related posts:

1. Spirituality Spot Found in the Brain
2. The Future of Mankind

This is interesting for several reasons, the first being the idea that we live in a binary universe – constrained by polarities. Our brain has the two hemispheres, left and right. So it seems obvious that we have developed an ability to do two, and only two, things effectively at the same time.

However, the second reason I find the study interesting is the possibility that humans are actually capable of doing a lot more than two things at once. Evidence for this is found in Harry Kahne, who could do six things at the same time. An interview (from Strand Magazine, October 1925) and Multiple Mentality Course can be found online at Rex Research.

Whether it is desirable to develop the ability to multi-task in so many things or not is debatable. With magic, it is generally a case of single-minded focus on a desire or outcome, pulling together ‘divided’ parts of the psyche to work together in harmony. However, the ability to develop the mind beyond its current, apparent limitations can also be beneficial. Kahne makes a very important point for anyone involved in any type of self-development: “The day of the analytical mind is past … you’ve got to go beyond mere analysis and on to synthesis, or you will be a galley slave all your life, chained to the System or the Machine!”

Read the BBC article: Brain ‘splits to multi-task’

Abstract for the recent study:

Divided Representation of Concurrent Goals in the Human Frontal Lobes

Sylvain Charron and Etienne Koechlin
The anterior prefrontal cortex (APC) confers on humans the ability to simultaneously pursue several goals. How does the brain’s motivational system, including the medial frontal cortex (MFC), drive the pursuit of concurrent goals? Using brain imaging, we observed that the left and right MFC, which jointly drive single-task performance according to expected rewards, divide under dual-task conditions: While the left MFC encodes the rewards driving one task, the right MFC concurrently encodes those driving the other task. The same dichotomy was observed in the lateral frontal cortex, whereas the APC combined the rewards driving both tasks. The two frontal lobes thus divide for representing simultaneously two concurrent goals coordinated by the APC. The human frontal function seems limited to driving the pursuit of two concurrent goals simultaneously.

Related posts:

1. Spirituality Spot Found in the Brain

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1. How magicians control your mind

Abstract:

We consider the radial geodesic motion of a massive particle into a black hole in isotropic coordinates, which represents the exterior region of an Einstein–Rosen bridge (wormhole). The particle enters the interior region, which is regular and physically equivalent to the asymptotically flat exterior of a white hole, and the particle’s proper time extends to infinity. Since the radial motion into a wormhole after passing the event horizon is physically different from the motion into a Schwarzschild black hole, Einstein–Rosen and Schwarzschild black holes are different, physical realizations of general relativity. Yet for distant observers, both solutions are indistinguishable. We show that timelike geodesics in the field of a wormhole are complete because the expansion scalar in the Raychaudhuri equation has a discontinuity at the horizon, and because the Einstein–Rosen bridge is represented by the Kruskal diagram with Rindler’s elliptic identification of the two antipodal future event horizons. These results suggest that observed astrophysical black holes may be Einstein–Rosen bridges, each with a new universe inside that formed simultaneously with the black hole. Accordingly, our own Universe may be the interior of a black hole existing inside another universe.

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