Heavens Within Earth

Ave, I'd had a discussion a while back with GH Fra LES about movement and magic; we were both of the opinion that the traditions of LVX-centered  movements established by our Eastern brothers (in Qiqong and Tai Chi Chuan) are excellent developmental tools. We're lacking a similar tradition in the West; GH Fra LES has developed his own system, and I'm sure others have as well, but there is nothing I'm aware that reaches back much further. I've become aware  as my own skill has grown (slooooowly) that the awareness of internal energy, and the method of movement found in Tai Chi Chuan is something we use everyday in ritual magic-many of us unconsciously. There is a flowing that comes to your movements when they are centered around movement and manipulation of LVX, and there are no rituals in our repertoire that are effective without that manipulation. The LVX moves like breath and water, not like laser beams. When you have settled into the correct state of mind for...

In my humble opinoin? Discernment. There is a clarity there, an understanding that isn't present when not existing in that state of communion.  Perhaps it's just this way for me, I don't know-it's such an intensely personal process. I've been wondering about how things progress after the initial attainment, as there isn't much reference out there. Folk make it seem as if you have the K&C, and then you're good. There is more to the process then the initial attainment. One useful thing I can tell you-when I'd previously Though I had the K&C, there was a measure of doubt, and a lot of introspection. There isn't any doubt at all when the real thing crowns you-everything is clear. Absolutely, blindingly, heart warmingly clear. In LVX, AIT

Ave, So, I sat in communion a couple of days ago, meditating upon the results of my last scrying of the 29th Aethyr RII, and had a few revelations about it. I saw little because I did not have sufficient understanding. The ring of Angels I saw about the Island where sentries, and would not let me pass. The bland form I perceived of the Governor I invoked was not a true representation of it's form, but was all I would get to see until I came to understanding. My conversation with the Governor GOMZIAM-and the instruction he gave-centered around mental structures, like truth, responsibility....it was based on morality. I meditated on this for some time, and examined my own moral structure. Turns out, there wasn't really any to speak of. Not that I'm ammoral-I aim to do the right thing in every circumstance...although I often fail...but I discovered that, as my consciousness and understanding have expanded over time I've discarded much of the structure that had been...

Ave, Mathematics is fascinating, and an excellent way to experience the mental plane. I've been studying Euclid's Elements in order to understand Geometry; in the Golden Dawn, one of the first things we do in beginning our study is meditate upon geometric figures. These figures are a doorway into certain mental states; unfortunately, this line of work isn't pursued with any real depth (at least, not in the Outer Order). I get the feeling that this is the case with most modern Western Magic, and that's a shame. You'd be hard pressed to find entrance into the old greek and egyptian schools without it. Geometry was a deeply important tool for growth of the mind and understanding in both Greek and Egyptian mystery schools-a quick bit of research will make that clear to any who wish to look-and with good reason. There are few better tools for gnosis of and development within the mental plane. The geometric figures are doorways to this plane; contemplating first the f...

I performed the invocations as normal, although I experienced some strangeness doing so. The incantations were having a more-intense-than-usual affect on me; its a bit difficult to describe. It was as if I were holding a firehose, and had turned up the water pressure beyond the norm.....the incantations wriggled and thrashed about in my grasp. The moon was full-perhaps that is the cause of this. My previous Aethyric scryings were done fairly early in the moon's cycle. I'll just have to keep tracking, so that I san put this to use in the future. I invoke the Governor, and he appears immediately in the orb. I ask him his name and he gives it. He appears like a classic angel, robed in white and winged and crowned. It had six stars floating about it. I asked it about RII, and received no answer. I asked if it had something to teach me-it told me that I needed to practice a broader sense of responsibility-that I should view all things that occurred in my life as being rooted in m...

OK. So-most of what I thought I knew of the HGA was completely wrong. Not entirely, but my understanding only went so far. Tonight, on the full moon, I prayed my heart out. Then, I turned my gaze inward....and click. Something Happened....haha. A wonderful awareness.  A beauty, a state of awareness, an understanding. To be absolutely frank, Peregrin's understanding of this was more true, more insightful than my own.  The forms I perceived and communed with were a necessary step for me, but they weren't complete in nature.... because they had forms at all. I was still looking Outward-instead of experiencing inward. Those forms-the perception of them-are a layer of separation... This is not coming out right, but I don't have the words. I want to live my entire life with the understanding I had for those 10 or so minutes. This was an amazing evening-I wish I could describe it in a way that makes sense.

He appeared immediately in the orb. His head was that of a Raven, and he was covered in a thick layer of black feathers, although his shape was that of a man. He wore a breastplate of dark pitted metal (Lead?), and stood unblinking. His gaze was indifferent-neither fierce nor pleasant. I greeted him, and asked for his name. I connected with him, and heard his "voice". I asked him of his nature, and he told me he was of Death and Change, the beginning of Endings. I asked him how his power was manifest macrocosmically, and he said in Entropy, in the fires of decay. I asked him how his power was manifest microcosmically, and he basically implied they manifested the same within as without, burning away dross and reducing things from complication to simplicity. He was almost the opposite of the Venusian Senior of Fire-although they both are intimately connected with Energy, the fire of life. One is the growth and increase cycle, the other is the burning down and decrease. Very in...

Invoked the planetary Serior of Venus of the Fire Tablet, AAPDOCE. She appeared with greenish feathery leaves instead of hair, with bright gemlike eyes and no mouth. She was clothed in the leaf/feathers from her extremities to her torso, which was bare and featureless. When she spoke a ruby red mouth appeared, and the eyes disappeared. This was disconcerting, surreal. I'm not sure what this may or may not mean. She did not have a fierce avian aspect as did the Mars senior, but bore a more human and feminine shape, cloaked in mystery. Her body language was inviting; she felt as if she where always on the verge of embracing me.She was very vibrant and clear in my vision. I greeted her and asked of her name, and she gave it to me. I asked what her nature was, and she said she was the active process of growth and growing, and was especially connected to the natural world-the process and energy of growth that burns in each thing. She was somehow connected with love-passionate love-both...

Ave, V.H.Fra.SR communicated on another blog (Fra.Peregrin's excellent blog at magicoftheordinary.wordpress.com ) about our curriculum, and I thought it would be good to clarify that all my Enochian work isn't part of the curriculum in my current Grade. I'd removed info about my grade a while ago so there wouldn't be that confusion, but as it is generally known that I am a member of the Outer Order, I figured I'd go ahead and state that plain. The Enochian that I am doing apparently is Inner Order work. Just so you know. We haven't moved everything into the Outer, primarily the Greater and Supreme Invoking/Banishing rituals. In LVX, AIT

......was right on target. Made it till 11:00pm, and then out of no-where found myself in a verbal tussle with the lady Wife. The subject matter was quite painful, as well. It would seem that the Mars Senior of the Fire tablet was giving me a predication, rather than just a warning. It all worked out for the  best, as the issue had to be dealt with, and we've moved past it. Turned out it was a good thing we had the argument, as it allowed us to honestly express some things that were rooting around under the water. Interesting how things are interconnected. In LVX, AIT

Ave, Conducted the Invocations, with some substitution of personal Enochian balancing and preparatory rituals for the QC and LBRP. Went shockingly, smashingly well. I suspect mostly because I had to pay attention to what I was doing- and I wonder if I've been magically lazy. I am more than capable of making my own ritual for an established purpose, and have mostly just used what was handed to me regardless of that. I am by no means saying I'd toss out the classics that work wonderfully and are part of our tradition; that would be foolish. I mean that now I am going to look at them with a critical eye, and determine exactly what it is they are doing. Make them personal. The Angel appeared immediately, and his appearance was notable because: 1. He looked like a huge man-bird. 2.He looked combatitive and pissed off. He was a deep purple-so much so that he was almost black. He was mostly shaped like a man. His eyes were a fierce golden color, and he glared at me with his arms...

Ave, The next step in exploring and understanding the forces in the Tablet of Fire, after invoking and communing with the King, is Invocation of the planetary Seniors. Today is a Monday, so the Lunar Senior was up. I conducted the opening rituals and vibrated the Invocations, and then sat down to scry the glass. A moment passed, and then a figure appeared. It was male-ish, lithe in form, and it's skin was a sky blue color. It's hair was feather-like, and a sort of rich purple. It felt very avian. It wore gloves the same color as its hair, and appeared wearing a crown. I verified that it was the correct Angel, and it responded immediately. I asked what it's nature was, and it said simply that it was the power of the moon manifested through fire. Well....yes. Of course-I need to come up with better questions for these entities. It then elaborated a bit, and mentioned being and said it manifested as hidden cause behind actions, as sub-conscious desires blooming into actio...

Invoked the king of the Fire Tablet, so that I could begin working it. He appeared quickly and within the crystal. He was unsuprisingly fiery in appearance, with dusky reddish skin, hair the color and shape of flickering flames. His eyes where a flat white. He didn't wear any clothing, or a crown. I asked him about that, and he said he was "crowned by his nature." I took that to mean that the positions of Angels are determined automatically by their nature-that a King couldn't be any other than a King. Interesting. I asked if I could connect with him, and did so at the heart feeling a strong rush of energy. I asked him if he would initiate me into Fire, and he said "Certainly, but it may be painful." I saw a small flickering flame travel up the connection we had made, and when it reached my heart it created an intense sensation. Not unduly uncomfortable. I asked him to show me where my understanding of fire was lacking in my life, and he showed me how my ...

Ave, The above picture is of my Avatar and the temple I've made in Second Life-on online world where one can own land and interact with others. I made this primarily to interact with my students. The vast majority of my students live at long distance from me, and the majority of our interactions have been through email and other somewhat impersonal media. This has been fine for the most part as far as lessons go, but it didn't foster a sense of connection. It was also difficult to communicate some things using the written word alone. In Second life, there is are visual representations of people that can be worked with, giving it a huge advantage over less interactive distance teaching methods. My students have a sense of place when they meet to receive instruction via lecture at the temple, or to ask Questions. They also have a sense of connection  to myself and their peers that plain was not there before I started working with this method. It has proven to be an ...

Ave,  I've had a realization of sorts about the the role morality plays in life, and it threw me off my game for a bit. I had suspended completely one of my (admittedly few, but earnestly practiced!) vices upon the recommendation of my HGA. It has been over a month, and I had completely removed this habit from my routine, despite regular and seemingly insidious reminders (perhaps from my subtle and cunning Daimon, perhaps by chance). I was thinking about the morality of the vice, and realized that I had come to see the vice as wrong and evil. I spoke with my HGA about it, and he was shockingly indifferent, with no condemnation of the actual vice....and then it hit me! I had needed to see the vice as Evil in order to act against it, and gain control of the habit. When it was simply undesirable, I made no progress in mastering it.  I asked my HGA about the vice and he made it clear that the Vice itself wasn't the issue-it held no intrinsic positive or negative value outside ...

Ave Fraters et Sorors...... Here she is. Print, laminate, glue to board and get down to business. Click it for the large image. Fire board is on it's way, and then I'll post up the pieces. I hope the day finds you all well. In LVX, AIT

I don't know anymore. The entities I have invoked and communed with have been powerful, and BIG. My mind has been opened-I just don't know if working with them has lifted my spirit. I have an idea that these entities are more useful for expansion than evolution. What Dee was praying for when he received his messages wasn't necessarily spiritual growth, but Wisdom. Working with these entities has broadened and expanded me, but it hasn't refined me. Every conversation and Invocation I perform with the Enochian entities leaves me with more understanding-I feel increased, but......it's strange. I feel more complicated. More aware, like a young man who learns the ins and outs of interpersonal politics, and realizes that sometimes a smile is not a smile. There are layers and complications to things that I never noticed before. This is not necessarily good. There is a clarity to simplicity that is useful. None of this increase of wisdom has left me feeling any better,...

Ave, I've had an incredibly active dream life of late-in fact, since I started working on communing with my HGA. My most recent dream of note involved an invitation into the Portal.....now, what Portal it was and who was inviting was anyone's guess. It was quite strange-I'm a magician of the Golden Dawn tradition, but the entities in my dream about the Portal where not robed in our fashion. There were no Nemysses, or Sashes, or even wands about. There were three figures, each tall and fair. They were robed in white, a sky blue, and a pink-ish red respectively. They called me be my given name, and asked if I would come through the Portal. I remember not being confused, but also not knowing anything. There was none of the background info one gets at times when dreaming of a strange situation; the backstory wasn't filled in. The area we were in was incandescent and white, but plain. They seemed very simple, these folks. Clear is probably a better term. They also seemed t...

Ave, I know this is obvious to some, but Incantation is more than just Vibration. It is not enough to deeply vibrate the words to make them an Incantation; including the other senses involved in the words of Power used-be they Qabalistic, Enochian, or otherwise-is key. Incantation can serve as the entirety of a magical ritual, if it is approached and understood  correctly. Franz Bardon delves into this some in his "Key to the True Qabalah". Each letter in a magical language has layers of meaning and a full understanding of these layers-brought about through gnosis of each letter-is essential to powerful and meaningful incantation. For example, look at the Greater Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. In our Order, we intone the Enochian call related to the Element involved to further power the ritual. The entire point of the pentagram-drawing and symbol drawing involved in the ritual is to create layers of meaning within which the invoked force can manifest energetically. We s...

During yesterday's prayer session, I spoke with my HGA. He appeared without all of the angel-y robes, with blondish hair and a long moustache. He appears German, and is wise and a bit dry. I spoke with him about the orders I gave to my gaurdian daimon. I ordered the daimon to direct the lower energies toward my wife, and web design; I want to invest my passion into these things. He can spend his energies there, instead of wasting them tempting me.  My HGA was split at first, saying that the energies should all be directed toward my development. I told him that I thought this was part of my development-being passionate about people (my wife) as opposed to only abstractions, and creating a career that would allow to love my work. He thought a moment, and agreed-saying that this was fine for now, but that those energies should be directed ever upwards. He then did something that startled me-he put a golden collar and chain about my neck, and asked me if I "would enslave myself to...

Ave, So....it would seem that the HGA has a partner of sorts. A darker fellow, who is intimately connected to Desire, Hunger, Sensuality, and a certain defensive fierceness. A fellow who likes to lurk about at the edges of your mind during prayers. A fellow who is not particularly pleased when one reigns in certain habits and unthinking ways of being. A fellow who can be sly for sometime, and subtle, but who has little in the way of patience and is brash enough to undo himself by making himself known. I've encountered this gent before. Last time, I attempted to banish him, thinking he was a larvae of some sort lurking about during my rituals. I've stabbed and burnt this fellow a number of times (in vision), and he just keeps coming back. He obeys when told to leave, but he doesn't actually go far. He can't be traveling far-he never waits long before he comes back! The God-Names don't fill him with fear-he isn't afraid, he is obedient. He isn't evil, but ...

This invocation was very successful! I performed the standard incantations, and then invoked EXARP. I asked the great Angel if he were present, and he said yes. I saw a bright image of him within my minds eye-I asked if he would appear in the orb, and he agreed. His face was bright white, and his hair an ever undulating golden-brown. He had the air of the jester about him-a certain playfulness, a joyfulness. His eyes were rectangular and where pupil-less. Just blank white. His clothing was yellow-gold and billowing. I asked him what his nature was and he spoke-first in my mind, and then from my mouth! What?! I've done a number of invocations in my day, and the entities have never spoken through me. I asked him why that was, and he said I was "one of his children".-reffering to my elemental makeup. While speaking through me he said " I am the differentiating force, I am the invisible forces that hold the universe together, and keep it apart. I am gravity and the repu...

Ave, Performed the incantations, then invoked and requested an audience with the Angel HCOMA. Immediately had images of the open sea-not suprising, but not enlightening either. I asked if HCOMA was present, and got a "yes". Usually the visions take off a bit on their own, but not this time. I vibrated her name again to get a better connection. I asked her if she was there and got a yes again. The problem was with me, it seemed. I asked her what her scent was, and I smelled the ocean, pregnant with salt. I asked for her sound, and I got a dull roar-the ocean again. I asked for her form and I received an image of a golden eye afloat in black space....and still have no idea what that means. I asked again, and she said that she had no form; that she was formless in nature. I asked what her function was, and she said meaning. Context. Experience. She also said that my makeup-that I was all Earth and Air, with very little of water-made it difficult for me to receive her and commun...

Ave, Goodness. Sometimes being a magician sucks. Since I began all of this prayer and work for communion with the HGA, I've taken some rough rolls of the dice. Things have arisen that are not only tests of character, but seem to be decision-making tests.....as if I am determining who I am, and being forced to make certain decisions, instead of being shaped by the tides. Thing is, it isn't all super pleasant. I've been forced through a series of life-issues to make decisions and take stands about things that matter-  I am usually a laid back kind of gent, but after certain events this weekend, I've been pulled very strongly toward the center. I've had to step outside and beyond what were once my moral bounds. I've had to leave behind a certain milk-water niceness that is not serving me well. That is not to say that I've become a cruel person; only that I've been overly hesitant to exert my own will if it inconveniences others. This is a weak, imbalanc...

Ave, I've been striving actively to develop the connection with my HGA-and have experienced some interesting understandings. Firstly, that one's development does not necessarily fit into the nice ordered tracks set out by an Order's curriculum. I know this is obvious, but the stair-step nature of the grade system-which should look more like a  pool, and less like a road, in my opinion-can close off and prevent accurate understanding of what's going on in one's life and magical practice.  It really has come to the front for me lately, as my actual practice has outpaced my "official" grade level. Not in all ways-there are times when I've had to backtrack and re-approach energies balanced in a previous Grade for new understanding. None of the energies within us exist in a vaccuum, and as one grows, old lessons need to be dusted off and re-approached to prevent imbalance.  Again, I know this is obvious to those of us who are adept at magic, but a begin...

Ave Fraters et Sorors, Here is the Air Board. I'll post the Water and Fire when they're completed-I hope the day finds you all well! In LVX, AIT

Ave Fraters et Sorors, I sat down after vibrating all of the incantations, and then making my formal invitation to and Invocation of NANTA. Saw a plain, with a dark, starry sky. The quality of the light was that of just before complete sunset-there was a thin ribbon of light wrapping the peaks of blue-purple mountains in the distance. The sky itself began as orange-purple at the mountain peaks, and darkened almost immediately to a deep black from which stars shone.  NANTA stood before me, and there was no mistaking her/it. It was huge, so large that I couldn't quite perceive it-I would focus on it and see parts of it, but it seemed the actual shapes of the Angel were beyond me. It was a huge, towering thing. It was as if I were a 2 dimensional entity trying to perceive something that was 3 dimensional. NANTA spoke to me, and it's voice was solid and very cold. I asked it what it's nature was, and it said simply "form." I was expecting it to say that I couldn...

Ave Fraters et Sorors, Once again, Theurgy has changed my life for the better. My conversation and connection with BITOM has resulted in a very specific correction in my life-that of career direction and life-focus. I've always thrived as a creative person...but as I've grown older (and frankly abused the Fiery energies, miss-spending them with embarrassing abandon) I've found that use of my skills and creative powers has fallen off to almost null-my passion for Magic is the only thing that kept that dull fire lit. Before my work with the Water forces in Practicus I was also very insensitive...I didn't sense/feel enough of what was going on to notice and understand what was happening. Where once I burst with ideas and toiled to manifest them on this plane (which is a creative desire rooted in Elemental Fire), now they remained in Yesod, lacking the Fiery component necessary to energize them and bring them into existence. Nothing is done in a vacuum-misusing any of the...

Wow.wow.wow. I performed the invocation after preparing the temple, and vibrating the first, second, and sixth calls. I raised energy before doing so, and I'm glad I did. The incantations were strong, and I felt the change in mental "tuning" almost immediately. I sat before the crystal, held the tablet whilst touching BITOM, and requested an audience. At first I saw a red diamond, and then some abstraction which I can't put into words properly. The diamond became a red angel with a sword, which rose up and pierced a sun; after this a shower of orange and red fell from the sun downward. Very interesting-I need to meditate upon this for meaning. I vibrated BITOM again, and was whisked along a stream of red energy with golden sparks within. This energy was BITOM. I was traveling with the angel around what appeared to be the cosmos, into and around all things, passing through and invigorating/enlivening all it contacted. I asked him what his nature was ,and he told me I ...

Ave, Thanks to a youth misspent almost entirely by reading fantasy and sfi-novels, my internal idea of what a wand should look like and the reality of the Golden-Dawn style wands are quite different. In the GD the wands are quite plain and direct in their symbolism...the only wand that has struck me as "beautiful" is the Lotus wand. The rest of them make sense to my symbologically but just plain do not speak my soul artistically. They feel like tools, plain and simple. That isn't necessarily bad....I'm just of the opinion that the perception of something as being full of beauty makes it easier to sacred-ize it, to coin a horrible term. I've made a few for use in hoodoo/spirit work and energy work that I'd like to share (wands were not used frequently in traditional Hoodoo...but this is a living tradition,a birthright of sorts..... and hoodoo is mine to do with as I will. So, now there are Wands. You're welcome.) Hoodoo has always had a practical Spirit...