Basic Magick Concepts.

while i will say Gardner founded Wicca, there are many others with similar views, or just follow a path of Witchcraft that can be looked into and talked about. Cochranianism [Cochrane Craft] is the closest, but you could also take a page from any number of people if you wanted to look into ways to practice, or become a better witch. look into Doreen Valiente, she's called the mother of modern witchcraft and she's studied many different branches of witchcraft [starting out with Gardner and eventually becoming a solitary practitioner] in my opinion, no one person is right, so you should find the methods that work best for you. that being said, i feel you much research and learn all you can if you want to become a great witch, so while Gardner was the first Wiccan, he wasn't the first witch, so look into other branches and people to figure out what's best. [course if you want to follow directly Wicca then just read about that one path]

in regards to the ways to connect with magic, they can all harbour results, some more drastic than others, but they are strong states, which is why they were chosen. many cultures believed when they were in drug induced states or great pain [like sundancing] they would see the divine, and Gardner based much of Wicca on ancient practices, so i see why all these things were there.

I believe there has always been a seperation between magick and religion. You do not need to be Wiccan, Druid, or anything else to practice the craft. Different religions use different means to connect with magick. But all magick comes from the same source whether you practice Voodoo, Kundilini, Sex magick, or whatever. And yes there are different methods in the process. Also it is always good to study and read up on the major players of the craft in general and your choosen path. This includes your deity's. Some in the last post Ive never heard of.

Ok, let's talk aboiut Crowley...

First, let's talk about Crowley the Magician. I think that Crowley was a very gifted magician. After 23 years of studying with the G.D., there are times when I read parts of Book 4 and scratch my head going "What was that?" The man was clearly extremely intelligent, well educuated in all matters occult, and had the potential to be one of the best magicians ever turned out by the G.D. However, knowing and doing are two different things.

When Crowley was accepted into the G.D. by Mathers, he had impressed Mathers with his level of occult knowledge before being initiated. It is believed that Mathers saw Crowley as a "golden child". Crowley was rushed through the grades of the G.D. in under a year. Here begins the downfall of Crowley the Magician. You see, the grades of the G.D. are not just to teach you the foundations of magic. They are designed to fully balance the elemental energies which play on the psychological makeup of the magician. Any repressed issues will be brought up so they can be dealt with and, if you will allow the expression, the "temple is prepared for the Holy Spirit." The minimum time to go through this process the way the G.D. did it is 3 years, and many take longer. It is myopinion, and take it as just that, that Crowley never balanced those psychological issues and energies. When you move on to the higher teachings unprepared, it can have disasterous results.

Crowley eventually left the G.D. His rapid promotion caused waves of conflict which eventually caused the downfall of the G.D. Crowley and Mathers had a falling out and, while he always respected Mathers, he published that mathers had lost his way and lost connection to the Secret Chiefs. Crowley later went on to join the OTO (he did not create it as many believe) and become its chief adept.

Magically, Crowley's work had high and low spots. The worst of which was in 1909, the North African desert, where Crowley attempted to travel through the 10th Aethyr of the Enochian system. That Aethyr, whose name I will not repeat here, is a dark and accursed place and was even called so by John Dee when he recorded his information that became the foundation for Enochian Magic. A great entity of that realm, who shall again remain nameless, took control of Crowley and attempted to kill his assistant, Victor Neuburg. Only through using various incantations and exorcisms was Neuburg able to contain that entity. The psychological damage to Crowley, however, was already done. Had he been better prepared psychologically, Crowley may have had a better experience. Doing things like that before you are ready is dangerous.

Now, Crowley the Man. We all have issues. Every one of us is given challenges to overcome in our life that we must work through to grow, learn and improve ourselves. What is worse, the more advanced or more potential you have, the bigger and more intense these challenges are. Crowley had some big challenges. I will refrain from going over all of them here, but I will comment on a few. Crowley's childhood was plagued by parents who did not understand him. He was treated with insensitivity at the best of times, and loathing at the worst. He had a gret respect for his father, who was a leader in the Plymouth Brotheren sect of Christanity. His mother constantly referred to him as "The Beast". (One wonders if his home had lead water pipes in it...)His father died when he was 12. He went to school and college. He could master any subject that he set his mind to, but if it did not interst him he would not apply himself to it at all. By all accounts, he refused to take his final examination for his B.A. degree because he claimed he knew more than those conducting the examination. Here, we see signs of impatience and a lack of humility, although at this point I believe it was not a fatal flaw.

Throughout his life, he had many bad habits. He loved sex, and was bisexual in a time when it was considered a sin of the highest caliber. (I do not mean to say that any sexual preference is a bad habit. I refer here to the cultural interpertation at the time and, partially, how Crowley saw himself.) He was a drug adict. Most references say his poison of choice was heroin, but I have heard references to cocane also. That he indulged in all manner of physical vices can not be disputed. giving in to such such vices rather than overcoming them points, in my opinion, to not mastering the physical nature and lower desires. Again, things that should have been addressed in the elemental grades of the G.D.

Crowley liked to shock people, something that I personally find fun about him. He loved many of the stories written about "The Evilest Man In The World" and in fact encouraged the rumors. He did not participate in black mass, worship Satan or drink the blood of children. Many things in his writings are exactly that. Many are also code for something else.

In my opinion, Crowley's biggest flaw was not controling his ego, which I believe eventually grew into meglomania. In Liber al vel Legis, he is given the title "The Harbringer of the New Aeon of Horus". I believe that he took this title to his head rather than his heart, and became intoxicated on himself. Crowley is an excellent example of what we can achieve as students of magic, and is also an excellent example of what awaits us when we do not apply ourselves to the basics, take the time to do the boring things, and learn to balance the energies and control the ego.

Now, with any opinions I have voiced or any assumptions I have made are purely my own based off my study of Crowley. As I was writing this I was checking dates to make sure I provided the most accurate information I could.

LVX,

Shawn.

Wow that is excellent! I never knew a lot of that stuff but I heard a little. Two questions from me. Please elaborate on the harbinger of the age of Horus and what you think of this hidden code in Crowleys writing you spoke of.

As I understand the Age of Horus, it is the new age, what we commonly call the Age of Aquarius. It is a new age and time of spiritual growth. You may not know this, but the G.D. is also an order of Egyptian magic. All of the officers are representations of Egyptian deities. Also, whe Crowley and Rose Kelly channeled the Liber Legis, they were in Cairo. The old Egyptian gods have centuries of energy pumped into them, and are quite potent.

As far as being the Harbringer, I think Crowley was being told that he was going to be one of the people who would have an impact upon the opening of that new age, and I feel he has. Gardner was a student of Crowley for a time. In many ways, Crowley's teachings have touched all of us in one form or another. He was supposed to bring change, to introduce new ways of thinking and to open up the mysteries as people are ready to recieve. The same way you don't give a child a loaded gun, you don't give people teachings they aren't ready for yet. In my opinion, and take this for what it is worth, Crowley was a Harbringer of the Age of Horus. But he wasn't the only one. Of course, he also had his issues, which I discussed earlier.

As far as the code, well, that is more difficult to describe. The challenge with Crowley is figuring out what is "fluff", to use our term, and what is real teaching. You see, the old magicians wrote in code so that their secrets would be safe. One fine example is Alchemy. Alchemy was not a physical science. It did, however, use the terms of physical science to describe a spiritual process. However, if you had not been initiated and taught what the terms mean, you would read it and think that it was only a work of science. Of course, many alchemists made great scientific discoveries. Magic is everything, after all. It's a two way street. Magic helps science, science helps magic. Crowley made extensive use of this symbolism in his writiings, disguising his meanings to confuse the uninitiated and those not yet ready.

But you can figure it out. I would suggest starting off reading the first three books of Book 4. When you get through that, you should be able to figure out most of the codes.

LVX,

Shawn.

So to be clear for some does this age of Horus have anything to do with what's supposedly going to happen this year?

Again, this is my opinion for what it is worth.

Nothing is going to happen this year. The Mayan calendar doesn't end, it starts over. No mass ascention, no socio-economic upheavel (That we are not already moving towards. I think that has little to do with the new age and more to do with people being fed up with politics. Ben Franklin perdicted a civil war every hundred years or so. We are overdue. But, this is a topic for another post.), and no great global, world destroying event. What I do think is people are going to begin shifting to a more spiritual state of awareness. This state is open to everyone now. It's already here. As we move into it, there is a great danger that people will take the wrong turn and move not toward a spiritual place but towards a more material place. That would certainly cause bad things to happen. Next thing you know, Nero is playing his fiddle...

The Age of Aquarius, the Aeon of Horus, is already here. We're at the front of it. For everyone of you who reads this, you have a responsibility to learn correctly, so that you can train those who follow. The time of ego is past. The time for selflessness is here. This is a time when we will not be governed by laws. We will not have a list of do's and dont's given to us by a priest, politician or anyone else in power. We will be governed by our understand of the laws of the Universe, and our own morality and ethical judgement. That morality and judgement is shaped from a higher will ("Do what Thou wilt". Notice the "Thou" is capitalized. It is referring to a specific will, a spiritual source. There is a lesson continied therein.). So, in that sence, yes, I do think it has to do directly with what will be happening this year.

Of course, I could be wrong, and the world could end on Dec 21st. If so... Yipee! An extra day off from work! If it is going to happen, it will happen. I'm not going to worry about it. As a Zen saying I read once states: "Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and cary water."

Again, this is all my opinion, not meant to offend anyone, and I reserve the right to be completely wrong and change my opinion at any time. :)

LVX,

Shawn.

I don't think the world will end in December. I do however agree that there is a new age of enlightenment apon us. I think we are leaving the era of closed mindedness and entering an era of new age thinking. More and more people are finding themselves lost in our world of science and social norms today. Not Downing or disrespecting anyone here but the term emo and bullying are proof that this occurs. Magick is all about finding yourself. An ancient Chinese master once told me "You must lose yourself and find yourself again." So that's why I do what I do. Not for friends, family, or to look good. And certainly not to get chicks.

I started my path as a Druid. I still am a Druid. Ive only practiced the practical side of magick for a year and a half now. I also follow eclectic Wicca. If I wanted too Id call myself first degree because Ive put in the required year and a day of study. I love to learn and in that I'm finding myself. I also study Shaolin Kung Fu as well as yoga.

I agree. It is a new age of enlightenment. Hopefully everyone will join us there. I would hate to think that we won't grow and advance, and then be stuck her for who knows how long until the next opportunity comes along. Lol!

Yes I agree. I think we all can learn.