Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Content
-Content
-About this Material
-The Magical Intro
1- Me, Myself and I
2- The Essence of Magic
3- The Mindscape of a Magician
4- The Magicians Power
5- Becoming a Magician
-Ending the Endless
Starting with the first chapter, Me, Myself and I, each chapter introduces
the reader to a particular persona or figure the author considers important
for a comprehensive digestion of the content of this material.
Chapter 1 presents a non-verbal construction of Time that may leave the
reader in a state of confusion, allowing him or her to try and piece it all
togetherwith fun.
Chapter 2 presents the reader with a linguistic sleight of hand definition of
Magic that might leave the reader with a misconceived idea of what Magic
actually is. (Pay attention).
Chapter 3 presents the reader with a structure of the internal working of a
Magician that might leave the reader with a sense that the Magician is
Supernatural or Mystical, in some sense.
Chapter 4 presents the reader with a misdirected set of Powers the Magician
wills, leaving the reader with a tricked conception of the Magician.
Chapter 5 presents the reader with the tools with which he or she can, as well,
become a Magician
consciousness. In this material the author intends on creating change in the readers
consciousness, to present Magic in a way that does not simply say to the reader
Magic is such and such. This is an approach the author finds to be quite
repressive. It doesnt leave the reader with enough room to make up his or her
mind about what Magic actually is. While it does provide a certain framework of
reference for Magic, it does leave the reader with the intent freedom to choose.
Do what thou Wilt takes on a different form and could be stated as Choose what
thou wilt.
Choose what thou Wilt,
Shall be the whole of this material
Magic is this Material
Magic under will
The presentation of this material is intentionally unstructured, non-temporal;
intended to create a split between the readers psyche and the readers present
reality-tunnel.
The effect?
Create some form of Metareality-tunnel where fiction and so-called Reality dance
together. What it comes down to is the use of Language to create a link between
the readers Linguistic Self and the readers Pre-Linguistic Self.
While there is or seems to be a certain level of structure in the presentation of
this material (in terms, perhaps, of the overall presentation of each chapter), each
chapter takes the reader on a different linguistic state where Time and Space
become non-dimensional. The author wants the reader to experience the Magic
expressed in this material in all aspects of Life, to experience the different states of
Life. Which are?
Laughter, confusion, inspiration, motivation, passion (maybe), etc
This material is intended to be what the author would refer to as a Hyperspell. It is intended to operate on many dimensions. In other words, this material is
intended to create many different results. The author is confident the material will
do just that. The only thing that is left to do, is for the reader to engage it and to
listen, not to the material (or the words expressed in there), but, to the instinctive
language this material is connecting the reader to. This is an indirect initiation.
will still be the same. Have you bought this material for this reason; Im afraid you
have wasted your money. Yet, it is every bit magical as both of these types of
materials I just mentionedeven more so, I might say.
This material is Magical in the sense that it uses Magic to express ideas
about Magic. This may sound silly to some. But, this material is designed in such
that every line might be an expression of Magic. Its not just about the expression
of these ideas. Its about all the crap this material is trying to get rid of in order to
get the message across.
Truthfully, this material is a Letter. Its a Love Letter from me to
Magic. Its about that deep connection with Magic that shapes, or is shaping my
thinking. Its that thinking that moves me to be Creative everyday. The thinking is
that Magic is interchangeable with the Creative Process. Therefore, Magic follows
the same principle of Creativity. This material expresses this as carefully as
possible.
As I have encountered Magic, I have come to the realization that Magic has
been quite misunderstood by most (including people claiming to be Magicians).
Because of this, I have thought it very important to try and put a change in that.
Magic is not about tricks. Magic is not about entertainment. Its not
about summoning demons. Its not about invoking Angels, invoking Gods and
Goddesses. Its not about serving or being served. Its not about rituals and spells.
Its not about protection and healing. Its not about dealing with the Supernatural.
Its not about sigils and amulets. Its about none of these things. Magictrue
Magicis about much more than that. Its truly about the power of Ideas.
This material youre reading right now has one purpose and only one
purpose, to allow you to experience the True Nature of Magic. Indeed, if you are
willing to go beyond the words, you will find that you too can be a Magician. The
trick (if trick it is) is to understand the nature of Magic and allow that
understanding to flow through you.
Thats all it is!
You will find that, at times, this material can be funny; at times, it will be
silly; at times, this material will be deep; at times, it may be boring; at times, it will
allow you to get out of your Mind. It will break you free. It will deprogram you. It
will disinform you. It will break you out of your Reality-Tunnel and set you free;
free to think and to be whoever you wish to be.
Beyond the performance of Magic, there is its true nature. Beyond the act, beyond
the presentation, beyond the sigils, beyond the spells and rituals, beyond the
amulets and potions, beyond the craft and the Great Work, beyond the Powers and
the Illusions lies the true Nature of Magic: Total Freedom and Creativity such as to
change Consciousness.
This is the kind of Magic that this material provides. It will not only help
you becoming the kind of Magician you wish to be, it will make you a better
Magician than that. My thinking is that True Magic can take you places; not just of
this world, but of worlds unexplored. You, then, get to bring back souvenirs.
Therefore, sit back, get yourself some popcorn or drinks, and enjoy this experience
to the fullest. Remember, though: Look closely.very closelyand see whats not
written, hear whats not said. For this is the way of Magic.
Its October 9, 1988. Nine months ago, a woman just learned she
was pregnant. She told the father. He misread the situation. So did she.
Hethe father that isbrought her something. Its a pill---which she assumed was
for the headache shes been complaining about all day. But, it wasnt the case. She
took the pill and went on for the rest of the day. A long while after, the father came
home. Curiously---and quite innocently, I might add---he asked what happened.
But, she didnt understand.
What is this about?
She thought it was about the headache when he mentioned the pill.
So, she innocently went on babbling about that. But, he stopped her. Thats not
what it was for!, he told her. Then, he explained. She said its still the same.
Nothings changed. He understood, and told her not too try anything else. This
one wants to stay he added. Of course, hes a survivor.
QUITE UNRELATED TO THE TOPIC OF THIS MATERIAL
Nine months later, the kid is born. Its a boy. Hes going to be smart. Twelve
years later, hes reading about the General Relativity for the first time. He
understood it right away. Nothing grandiose here. A few years prior, he was
introduced to Superheroes. While every other kid he knew was interested in
becoming Superman, he wanted nothing to do with that. He wanted to be more like
Batman, because Batman seemed more grounded to his simple mind. Then, of
course, Superman was an Alien. He was not. J
BACK ON TRACK (I DID SAY IT WAS UNRELATED)
Twenty-Seven years and eight months from his birth, this kid is now a
grown man and is writing this material youre reading right now. On top of it, hes
writing about Magic. What can he say about that? What does he know about
Magic? Plus, what kind of Magic is he going to talk about? Can one find anything
consistent in his writing? This material?
First, let me start by saying that its not for no reason that the title of
this chapter is Me, Myself and I. It refers to the trinity in every single living
being. It refers to the Father, the Son and the Spirit; the Mind, the Body and the
Soul; the Conscious, the Subconscious and the Unconscious; the Self, the Ego and
the Id. It refers to the Thought, Word and Action of all creative processes. So, this
is the idea. Its about the creative process as manifested in every single one of us.
Its about the Holy-Trinity of Creativitythe God in you and me. Indeed, its
about the Me, Myself, and I in everyone.
Ive had my share of conversations regarding this material, I can tell you
that. However, the most intimate and inspiring communications Ive had regarding
the nature and the direction of this material have been within my own being. Its
been within these three. Its been about my Thoughts, my Words, and my
Actionsand about looking back at their own interactions. By the definition of
Magic as presented in this material, I am a Magician; and the Magic that shall be
explained here is the same Magic that I intend on expressing in every single line of
this material. The purpose is, as mentioned, to create change in consciousness.
Therefore, Ithat which that thinks itself separate from the wholeintend on
using the essential aspect of this whole (what is referred to as Magic here) to create
that change in what we normally refer to as consciousness. This raises quite a few
questions. As an example, what is consciousness? Does anyone know what
consciousness is? When were talking about consciousness, or creating change in
consciousness, what are we really talking about?
Before this material was, I am. Before you were conceived, I am. Before the
Earth was formed, I am. Not that I was, but I am. This is about something a lot
more essential and a lot more abstract than time itself. This is why, when tested
against the nature of time, it doesnt seem to be making sense. This I is not the
individuated I that thinks it is separate from the whole. This is the I known as
the whole. Its the I before time. Its It.
Bereshit Bara Elohim et Hashamayim vet Haaretz. This is usually translated
as, In the Beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth. However, from a
Kabbalistic perspective, this is not all that its says. Another way to look at this
sentence (among quite a few translations) is, With a Beginning, it created God,
the Heaven and the Earth. Therefore, the first question that comes to mind is:
What is this It that created God? Then, has God been created?
The It is the I. The It that created God is the I of I Am. Its not the
individuated Self that thinks it is separate from the whole, but the one that knows
itself to be the whole. Before there was anything, there is Iteternally existent
and infinitely Powerful. This It, being the only thing there is and eternally
existent, did not experience itself to be anything. Therefore, it was Nothing. And
then, out of this infinite ocean of possibilities came one thoughtwhich was to be
known as The Father. This thought formulated an expression of itself. It
organized this expression into a complex pattern of different broken parts. This
formulated expression came to be known as The Son. In human Language, it is
known as Let there be Light or Big Bang. Of course, these are simply the best
ways the human psyche could conceive of such complexity. Looking back from
here and now, this is what one sees. But, the truth is more complicated than that.
Man misses that.
This expression that we speak of is the Logos. It is God in the most essential
form we can conceive God as. It is the Linguistic configuration of Reality. But, the
configuration alone does not make Reality. It has to be processed to be real.
Therefore, in its design, it included individuated cognitions capable of processing
it. God created minds capable of knowing God as God. This explains With a
Beginning, it created God It created God by creating other than God. For, the
moment there was something other than It, It became God.
MYSELF
The curious child that was born in October 9, 1988 is now a grown man and claims
to be a Writer-Magician (whatever that may mean). This particular material youre
reading right now has been written by this same Writer-Magician and promise
nothing other than Magic. Indeed, it says that this material itself is Magic. While
not a book of spells or tricks, this material claims to contain real Magic, which it
describes as being primarily Mental; ergo, Mental Magic.
Coming to term with the idea of being a Magician has not been an easy thing
to do. Firstly, the Writer had to consider the problem of defining Magic and
defining a Magician. Of course, more of what Magic actually is (from the
perspective of the Writer) can only be found in the chapter that follows. What the
Writer intends on discussing here is what he considers Magic to be and why or
how he came to see it as such.
Should the Writer feel the need to say anything about considering Magic as Art, his
answer would be similar to that of Alan Moore, in the sense that, when he got into
Magic, he realized that hes been doing it all along. Writing has been that Magic.
As a matter of fact, seeing Magic as Art and Art as Magic opens one up to major
consciousness changes. That simple view can expand ones mind to a considerable
amount. I should know because I am that writer.
The revelation that Magic is Art and that Art is Magic comes with the
ability to cut through the crap and go straight to the core of all the definitions of
Magic. As a result, what one find is a more or less absolute definition of
Magicand that definition tends to imply that Magic is Art. As already stated,
more of that will be explored in the next chapter. However, to make sure that the
reader understands the kind of adventure he or she just embarked in, the Writer
thought it necessary to give a little heads-up to his most appreciated companions in
this magical exploration. Needless to say that realizing that Magic is Art and that
Art is Magic comes with a certain sense of Self-Realization to the Writeras it
should to any self-respecting Artist. That realization, however, allows the Artist to
consider Magic and Art as an explorationfirst of the Self, and second, of the
Universe. After all, the Artist work consist of taking of the Energy of the Universe,
channeling it and releasing it back to the Universe as expressed through his or her
Art. There is nothing as Magical as that, I can assure you. On another note,
however, all things come with rules and guidelines. So does Mental Magic.
Therefore, what follows can be considered the rules the Writer has come to learn in
his search and practice of Magic. They are not dogmas but catmas that the reader
may or may not choose to follow.
As a Writer-Magician writing a material about MagicMental Magic...I
have come to realize that I needed a set of guidelines, rules or map that should help
in this exploration. Like all maps, this one isnt absolute. Its imperfect and goes as
far as the Magician as gone. Any Magician whos been further can, therefore, write
his or her own guidelines and draw his or her own map.
THE 7 RULES/PRINCIPLES OF MAGIC
1) Magic is Mental. What that means is that Magic is in the Mind.
2) When the Mind expands, so does Magic. When Magic expands, so does the
Mind.
3) All conjuring starts with an Idea. The Idea of a God is a God.
4) All principles and forces can be Mentally personified for different
operations.
5) The Magicians Power is to create and to transform.
6) The Magicians Power is as strong as his Mental strength.
7) Magic can be used to expand ones Mind.
These rules or principles constitute the map that this entire document is following.
Indeed, Magic itself follows that map. Therefore, the Magician whos found his or
her way to this material is advised to do the same and follow these rules for a better
and more entertaining exploration.
All Artists are creators. They are Magicians. They take ideas and
they manifest them. This is in such we say they are Magicians, because Magicians
do the same. Therefore, Magicians are Artists. Usually, this comes with a certain
act of conscious or willing effort. However, the Unconscious Artist saw
differently.
For the Unconscious Artist, it should be about making no effort. Its about
being in harmony with the workingthe natural working of the Universe. This
does not require conscious effort. It flows naturally. In the same manner, the
Artists work should be naturalunconscious.
The Unconscious Artists name was Austin Osman Spare. Born in
December 30, 1886, Austin Osman Spare was an Artist and an Occultist. He is
considered to be indirectly the father of Chaos Magic, in such that hes theories of
Unconscious Magic and the use of sigils have become a big part of the process. His
focus on the Unconscious-self has been indirectly the generator of Chaos Magic.
So, to facilitate the readers understanding and appreciation of this Magician of the
Unconscious, the Writer shall, now, provide you with some of the quotes of this
Magician.
You remember in your youth the thought "that this world is a curious
place" in the emotion when you felt "why" as to whether this life is a
reasonable development? What was the cause of this and of your summarily
dismissing it from your mind? Again the feeling that the most commonplace
object is magnificently strange and the vague emotion of co-relation
between the incompatible (exhaustive arguments often see this, but always
excuse it); the curiosity and shock with a more intimate association with the
wonders of creation. What is it that prevents you following investigation into
"what exactly is surprise," etc.? What is the cause of your believing more in
God than a dog-fight? Yet you fear dogs more than God! Where is the
difference between yourself choked with disquieting piety, and the innocence
of a babe? Perhaps in these is the cause of ignorance.
If you could truly believe, we should realise the virtue of it. We are not free
to believe . . . . however much we so desire, having conflicting ideas to
first exhaust. Sigils are the art of believing; my invention for making belief
organic, ergo, true belief.
belief, to be true, must be organic and sub-conscious. The desire to be
great can only become organic at a time of vacuity, and by giving it (Sigil)
form. When conscious of the Sigil form (any time but the Magical) it should
be repressed, a deliberate striving to forget it, by this it is active and
dominates at the unconscious period, its form nourishes and allows it to
become attached to the sub-consciousness and become organic, that
accomplished, is its reality and realization. He becomes his concept of
greatness. So belief becomes true and vital by striving against it in
consciousness and by giving it form. Not by the striving of faith. Belief
exhausts itself by confession and non-resistance, i.e., consciousness. Believe
not to believe, and in degree you will obtain its existence.
He who deceives another deceives himself much more. Therefore know the
Charlatans by their love of rich robes, ceremony, ritual, magical
retirements, absurd conditions, and other stupidity, too numerous to relate.
Their entire doctrine a boastful display, a cowardice hungering for
notoriety; their standard everything unnecessary, their certain failure
assured. Hence it is that those with some natural ability quickly lose it by
their teaching. They can only dogmatise, implant and multiply that which is
entirely superficial. Were I a teacher I should not act as master, as knowing
more, the pupil could lay no claim to discipleship. Assimilating slowly, he
would not be conscious of his learning, he would not repeat the vital
mistake; without fear he would accomplish with ease. The only teaching
possible is to show a man how to learn from his own wisdom, and to utilise
his ignorance and mistakes. Not by obscuring his vision and intention by
righteousness.
Sigils are the means of guiding and uniting the partially free belief with an
organic desire, its carriage and retention till its purpose served in the subconscious self, and its means of reincarnation in the Ego. All thought can be
expressed by form in true relation. Sigils are monograms of thought, for the
government of energy (all heraldry, crests, monograms, are Sigils and the
Karmas they govern), relating to Karma; a mathematical means of
symbolising desire and giving it form that has the virtue of preventing any
thought and association on that particular desire (at the magical time),
escaping the detection of the Ego, so that it does not restrain or attach such
desire to its own transitory images, memories and worries, but allows it free
passage to the sub-consciousness.
The Ego is ignorant towards both sigils and symbols, but they both give the
Ego a flow of knowledge from themselves. All knowledge of ideas, gained by
means of sigils, should be re-clothed in pure symbolism to designate and
stimulate its own wisdom. Symbolism is also a means of accelerating and
exhausting by living a belief instead of repressing it by choice rather than of
necessity, which serves its own time. All begging, self-punishment, sacrifice,
etc., is but an attempt to escape the law of reaction or Karma, and by
symbolising the reading of these laws, they hope to take that power from
nature.
The Essence of
Magic
about Perception. What you perceive becomes your Reality. Therefore, should one
gain the ability to change your Perception, what one has actually gained is the
ability to change your Reality. This seems to be one of the reasons why I (the
Writer) think the word Is is overrated. J
2) The Magicians Power is to create and to transform
To create and to transform invoke the idea of Creation and, therefore, the principle
of creation. That principle is presented in the form of the trinity: Father, Son and
Spirit. Of course, in terms of Creativity, this trinity is known as: Thought, Word
and Action.
In the Beginning was the Thought of Creation. But, the Thought itself was
unattainable and inexpressive. Thus, out of the Thought came the Word.
In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was Godnot one thing that was created was created without it. The Word
created everything. Thus, out of the Word of creation came the Act of
creationthe Force of creation.
In the Beginning was the Act of creation, the Force of creationand the
Force of Creation was hovering over the face of the waters. In such, the principle
was complete. Thought, Word and Action; the trinity of creation.
Thoughts of the Magician
I am a Magician. What that means is that I practice Magic. I learned
it, decided to practice it, and called myself a Magician. Magic is the ability to trick
the universe, to use the force of creation, to manipulate the rules and achieve your
own goals. In such, Magicians make their own rules. But, tricking the universe is
not without consequences. Theres always something. You cant have action
without reaction. This is one of the principles of the universe. If you take
something, you must expect to give something in return. But, Magicians think
theyre smarter than everyone else; and there lies the danger. Indeed, being smart
is part of the craft. However, allowing yourself to think youre smarter than
everyone else can make you sloppy. You make mistakes, and these mistakes can
come and bite you in the ass. Strangely enough, Magicians dont screw up a little.
When we screw up, we screw up Big. One of the reasons is because the Universe
doesnt like to be screwed over. You mess with its rules, it will mess with you and
show you the meaning of an eye for an eye.
Its a very simple logic, really. If you fall, you hit the ground. If you
dont, then, something else must happen. The universe will always find a way to
correct itself. If you want to get and effect without a cause, you must be willing to
accept whatever comes with it. Thisis the life of a Magician. The careful
Magician knows this, and act accordingly. The careful Magician learns the rules.
He or she must know the essential principles of Reality in order to perform the
correct Magic. My experience as a Magician consists of my understanding of
Language, Perception and the Nature of Reality. With these three, I can do of it
whatever I wish. As a Magician and a master of Language, I channel the Creative
Principle known as the Logos to achieve my goals. I identify myself with this Logos
and become an extension of it. This relation takes place primarily within my
Psyche. In such that all of Reality becomes an expression of my own psyche, a
Language understood and interpreted by my bio-computermy nervous system.
Ergo, I become the Architect of this Reality.
Reality is a lot more complex than one might be comfortable with.
Although there is a deep, Universal Reality that we all partake in, Reality does not
exist on one level alone. There are many levels to Reality, worlds above the world,
and hidden dimensions. They all exist within the deep, Universal Language, and
can only be access with a change of consciousness. This change in consciousness
is also a change in Reality, or a change in Reality-Tunnel. As a Magician, I have
seen and visited so many Reality-Tunnels. In some, there is a Heaven. In others,
Heaven is fantasy. I have seen angels and demons. I have met aliens from other
Dimensions. But, of all of this, the meeting that changed me was my meeting with
the Logosthe Creative Intelligence. The Logos spoke to me, and I spoke back.
The first conversation was briefnot even a conversation when clearly considered.
But, once I got comfortableDamn did we talk! Most of my magical performances
revolve around the Logos. In a sense, one might say that the Logos has become my
patron. Of course, in my understanding, its more the other way around.
such, I see no reason not to use this art if it gives me results. The fact of the
matter is that everything is what they say they are to some degree. Its really all
about how you look at it. God is good is a true statement depending on how you
look at it. Some might argue that God is the true eviland, depending on their
perspective, they might not be wrong.Thou shall not kill is a true statement that
implies you shouldnt kill under any circumstance. Yet, we see God, time after
time, asking the people of Israel to commit genocide. This could be seen either as
God being indecisive or a complete Demon making himself pass as an Angel. But,
of course, the truth is that God is neither Good nor Evil. God exist---to the degree
that God exists---prior to these concepts. These concepts of Good and Evil are
nothing but part of the new perceptionthat which brought by the world of
physicality. Indeed, one can never really know the whole storyonly part of it.
Therefore, the Writer only speaks about this here, because to speak about the
essence of Magic is, in a way, to speak about the essence of Reality. Magic is
Reality. Reality is Language. Magic is Language.
THE CRAFT
In the Beginning was "It".
"It", that which without Beginning nor End, does not exist...not in the way
existence is understood...for "It"... "It" was the moment before moments.
"It" is spaceless and timeless."It" brought forth the Logos...the Creative Force.
Then, in turn, that Creative Force brought everything into existence. It's Language.
In the Beginning was Language, and Language was with God, and Language was
God. Not one thing that was created was created without Language. This is so that
Language might be a part of everything. Therefore, all can be considered part of
that same Language...individuation of it...singular expressions of that Prime
Linguistic Expression, The Creative Force, Magic.
Magic is the Power of Creation and Transformation, the power to name and to
conjure. It's the Power to bring into existence, to take ideas and to manifest them.
Magic is the Art and the Science of the Gods. It's the fire of the Gods, stolen from
them and brought down to mankind by Prometheus, the Bringer of Light (Lux
Ferre). That Light (Magic) was first...first in the moment of Creation...an integral
and indistinguishable part of the Logos, Language. Having received that Light
(Magic), mankind learned to mold it, to work with it, to explore it, to understand it
and to use it. This is ironic, because that Light (Magic), being expressed through
All There Is, is being manifested in all individuation, all singularization of its
essence. Therefore, in a sense, that Light (Magic) is looking back at itself. Just like
the Artist, the Writer, the Dancer, the Singer uses its craft to Self-Express, that
Light (Magic) uses all of its individuated part to Self-Express. Each linguistic
entity of this literary work of magnificent rays known as the Universe is, or can be
considered, a tool of expression.
Mankind understood that long ago and, with that understanding, broke the Light
into ten particular categories...ten sephiroth, in fact... that would define the whole
body of that Light. This body, they called: The Tree of Life. First, there is the
Crown. It's the sign of authority, the idea of superiority and majesty. Second, there
is Understanding, the ability to separate "this" from "that" and to make
connections. Third, there is Wisdom. It's the innerstanding, the deep knowing that
comes within and without. Fourth, there is Strength. Is it the brute force? Is it the
ability to resist and to contain? Fifth, there is Lovingkindness. It's right there on the
opposite side of Strength. Is it its negation? Perhaps...! Then sixth, there is Beauty,
a combination of the previous four. It's essence usually lead to the seventh one.On
the seventh position, there is Empathy; a result of the interconnectedness,
perhaps...! Then eighth, we have Victory. But over what? Is this a result of
separation? It's right there on the opposite side of Empathy. Is it its negation?
Could be...! Then ninth, we have Foundation. Things get more tangible. It's the
domain of Science. It's material. Following it is the tenth one. It's called
Sovereignty. It connects the End with the Beginning, a reminder that it's all part of
the same process. Time and Space are not flowing from point A to point B. They
are forever existing as one story. The individual flows through it, read through read
and seems to learn new things, discover new things as if they did not exist before.
It's the illusion of a great work of Art.
Magic, as Mother/Father of Science, has been denied by its progeny. Its theatrical
expression, it's penchant for all the ten categories of the Tree, has failed it, causing
Science (mostly concern with the Foundation) to deny and reject her
Mother/Father, concordantly, considering it as useless and banal. But, this isn't the
case. The Artists, the Writers, the Singers, the Dancers and all the Creative Entities
know this to be not true; and, when allowed to explore that creativity, the working
of it, its internal and external relation, are capable of marvelous expressions. This
marvelous expression is the expression of Magic. It's really Magic...essentially!
The Writer, the Artist---the creative person, really---can conjure an idea...so real
that idea...that it becomes timeless. Some ideas move from mediums to mediums,
from writing to painting and to songs. Some move from painting to stories to songs
and even to people. Indeed, people have embodied some of the most compelling
ideas, entities, spirits (whatever word pleases one). Such is the power of the
Magician, the Artist, or the Writer.
This particular text is of great importance. Therefore, I suggest you take a good
look at it and meditate on its meaningsee what has not been said, and observe
what has not been revealed. Chances are, you will certainly see it again under
different circumstances.
Now, before we move on to other stuff regarding the structure of this book,
the Writer would like to go on and entertain you with more information that you
may or may not have any interest in. However, Id suggest you read it anyway
(whether or not you have an interest in it); because reading it opens you up to more
of the Magical Mindset that both the Magician and the Writer intend on moving
you to. What follows is a very selected build-up of information (magical and
otherwise) intended to inspire You and put you on the Magical Path (or not).
WHO IS THE MAGICIAN?
WHO IS THE GREAT WIZARD?
WHO IS THE SORCERER?
as a Dumbledore-like figure, he had quite a few things to say about Magic, where
some have been presented in comic forms like Promethea, with one other that
will be presented in the form of a much expected Grimoire with the title The
Moon and the Serpent Bumper Book of Magic. However, being the quite amazing
host that I am, I should find it appropriate to share with you some of his thoughts
on Magic and Reality. After allthis is all about Magic, isnt it?
QUOTES OF ALAN MOORE
Reality:
Ancient cultures did not worship idols. Their god-statues represented ideal
states which, when meditated constantly upon, one might aspire to.
Science proves there never was a mermaid, blue-skinned Krishna or a virgin
birth in physical reality. Yet thought is real, and the domain of thought is the
one place where gods inarguably exist, wielding tremendous power.
If Aphrodite were a myth and Love only a concept, then would that negate the
crimes and kindnesses and songs done in Love's name? If Christ were only ever
fiction, a divine Idea, would this invalidate the social change inspired by that
idea, make holy wars less terrible, or human betterment less real, less sacred?
De Abaitua Interview:
I have a more fractal way of working, if you like, it is more like the way most
peoples minds actually work. They dont work in any linear way. When your
mind wanders if you ever pay attention to some of the paths it takes, you
generally find its these paths of association that can link all over the place.
The movements of the mind dont follow any linear pattern, they cant be
explained with a mechanistic, clockwork view. You could find quantum models
of how the mind works that might fit.
All our scientific observations of the universe and quanta can only, in the end,
be observations of ourselves.
Mind has come up with this brilliant way of looking at the world science
but it cant look at itself. Science has no place for the mind.The whole of our
science is based upon empirical, repeatable experiments. Whereas thought is
not in that category, you cant take thought into a laboratory.The
essential fact of our existence, perhaps the only fact of our existence our
own thought and perception is ruled off-side by the science it has invented.
Science looks at the universe, doesnt see itself there, doesnt see mind there,
so you have a world in which mind has no place. We are still no nearer to
coming to terms with the actual dynamics of what consciousness is.
It strikes me that self, not just my self, but all self, the phenomenon of self, is
perhaps one field, one consciousness perhaps there is only one I, perhaps
our brains, our selves, our entire identity is little more than a label on a
waveband. We are only us when we are here. At this particular moment in
space and time, this particular locus, the overall awareness of the entire
continuum happens to believe it is Alan Moore. Over there [he points to
another table in the pizza restaurant] it happens to believe it is something
else.
I get the sense that if you can pull back from this particular locus, this web-site
if you like, then you could be the whole net. All of us could be. That there is
only one awareness here, that is trying out different patterns. We are going to
have to come to some resolution about a lot of things in the next twenty years
time, our notions of time, space, identity.
To me, when we talk about the world, we are talking about our ideas of the
world. Our ideas of organization, our different religions, our different
economic systems, our ideas about it are the world. We are heading for
a radical revision where you could say we are heading towards the end of the
world, but more in the R.E.M. sense than the Revelation sense. That is
what apocalypse means revelation. I could square that with the end of the
world, a revelation, a new way of looking at things, something that completely
radicalizes our notions of the where we were, when we were, what we were,
something like that would constitute an end to the world in the kind of abstract
yet very real sense that I am talking about. A change in the language, a
change in the thinking, a change in the music. It wouldnt take much one big
scientific idea, or artistic idea, one good book, one good painting who
knows we are at a critical point where the ideas are coming thicker and
faster and stranger and stranger than they ever were before. They are realised
at a greater speed, everything has become very fluid.
We are approaching a more fluid state. I have talked about cultural boiling.
The idea of the phase-transition period which, in fractal mathematics, is the
chaotic flux between one state and another. Culturally, and as a species, we
are approaching a phase-transition. I dont know quite what that means, on a
human level.
I dont know quite what I mean by my own metaphor, but I have feeling, it may
bring in an even greater, faster space of fluid transmission, where no
In terms of almost everything, things are getting more vaporous, more fluid.
National boundaries are being eroded by technology and economics. Most of us
work for companies that, if you trace it back, exist within another country. You
are paid in an abstract swarm of bytes. Consequently, the line on a map means
less and less. The territorial imperatives that until very recently have been the
main reason for war start to make way. As the physical and material world
gives way to this info-sphere, these things become less and less important.
The nationalists then go into a kind of death spasm, where they realize where
the map is evaporating, and there is only response to that is to dig their
hooves in. To stick with nationalism at its most primitive, brutal form. The
same thing happens with religion, and that is the reasons behind the
Fundamentalist Christians. If you look at the power of the Church, starting
from the end of the Dark Ages up until the end of the Nineteenth century, you
can see a solid power base there with a guaranteed influence over the
development of society. If you look at this century, it is a third division team
facing relegation. Fundamentalism in religion is the same as the political
fundamentalism represented by various nationalist groups, or in science.
Mental space and its existence is what makes things like remote viewing
possible. There shouldnt be any limit to it. As I understand mental space, one
of the differences between it and physical space, is that there is no space in
it. All the distances are associative. In the real world, Land's End and John
OGroats are famously far apart. Yet you cant say one without thinking of the
other. In conceptual space they are right next to one another. Distances can
only be associative, even vast interstellar distances shouldnt be a problem.
Time would also function like this.
language, and by language I also mean images, sounds. We dress these basic
ideas in language we can understand. Sometimes there are sizable errors of
translation..
The K Foundation are interesting and lively, a good laugh and they mean
it. They are very dedicated to their irrational ideas, which I am wholeheartedly
in favor of. There is an underground again. Probably kill it stone dead to
call it that. But I get the sense that there is an underground again, its not as
self-conscious as it was in the Sixties.
New-age woolly-hat Glastonbury mystics weary me, sometimes, but they talk
about energy, the energy of a place, of a person. We all know what they mean,
but at the same time it has to be said that this is not energy that is going to
show up on an autometer. Were not talking about energy in the conventional
sense that physics talks about energy. To me, energy is information I think
you can make that bold a statement. The only lines of energy that link up
disparate sites in London are lines of information that have been drawn by an
informed mind. The energy that we put forth is information we have taken
in. We will see a work of art and it will give us inspiration, it will give us
energy. Its given us information that we can turn to our own use and put out as
something else. Thats the kind of energy that we and psycho-geography are
talking about.
We are all the aggregate of the ideas about us, including our own ideas about
us. That is all that any of us can be considered as units of information in a
sea of information. When you get to a certain point, there is not much more to it
than information.
We only know the world as we have lived in it. A lot of things we thought were
givens have turned out to be local and temporary phenomena. Capitalism and
communism felt like they were always going to be around, but it turns out
they were just two ways of ordering an industrial society. If you were looking
for more fundamental human political poles, youd take anarchy
and fascism, for my money. Which are not dependent upon economic trends
because they are both a bit mad. One of them is complete abdication of
individual responsibility into the collective, and one of them absolute
responsibility for the individual. I think these will both still be with us, but
fascism becomes less and less possible. We have to accept that we are moving
towards some sort of anarchy.
Take disintegration far enough and you get a new form of integration. I tend to
see all this in neural terms. It doesnt matter how big your brain is, or how
many cells or neurons in it, what matters is the synaptic fusions, the
connections that determine how intelligent you are. As with the individual, so
with the macrocosm. Thats how the kind of society I live in works, me and my
friends and my contacts, we dont work in any hierarchical sense. No one
wants a boss, to be a boss, to work under a boss. The people you like working
with are the people you respect as individuals.
I understand that the word occult means hidden, but surely that is not
meant to be the final state of all this information, hidden forever. I dont see
why there is any need to further obscure things that are actually lucid and
bright. Language and strange terminology to keep them as some private
mystery. I think there is too much darkness in magic. I can understand that it
is part of the theatre. I can understand Aleister Crowley who I think was a
great intellect that was sometimes let down by his own flair for showmanship
but he did a lot to generate the scary aura of the magician that you find these
sad, Crowleyite fucks making a fetish of. The ones who say oh were into
Aleister Crowley because he was the wickedest man in the world, and were
also into Charles Manson because were bad. And we are middle-class as well,
but were bad. There are some people who seek evil I dont think there is
such a thing as evil but there are people who seek it as a kind of Goth thing.
That just adds to the murk to what to me is a very lucid and flourescent
subject. What occultism needs is someone to open the window, its too stuffy
and it smells. Lets get some fresh air, throw open the curtains I cant go for
that posturing, spooky guy stuff. When they wanted me to do Fortean TV it
became apparent that they wanted me to be Spooky Bloke. But Im not actually
trying to look spooky. I dress in black because it makes me look less fat, its as
simple as that. Its not a gothic flourish. I dont want to be thought of as a
figure of mystery or a master of the occult, surely this is about illumination,
casting light on things. Im an illuminist, thatd do for me.
The more I look at most of the art movements, its all occultism, when you get
down to it. The Surrealists were openly talking about being magicians.
Annie Besants book where she put forward the idea that theosophical
mystical energies could be portrayed as colors or abstract shapes was
practically the invention of abstract art. A lot of artists rushed out and read it
and suddenly thought, oh God you could, you could portray love as a color, or
depression as a color All of a sudden abstract art happens, a flowering out of
occultism.
What I would prefer to have is to have a kind of magic where we say, "OK,
were going to do a magical performance on this night, at this time. You come
along, if you dont think its magical, thats fine. Well show you. Well show
you what we mean, and you judge for yourself." Thats only fair. So a lot of the
magic we do tends to gravitate toward the practical end, toward something that
is tangible. Where youve got a record at the end of it, a performance at the end
of it, a painting at the end of it. Youve conjured some energy, some idea, some
information from somewhere and put it in a tangible form. You conjure
something into existence in a literal sense. A rabbit out of a hat. Something
out of nothing. Thats one level to it, but theres a lot of background to that.
Thats the stuff that people see, thats the end result of the process. But we also
do a lot of ritual work purely on our own.
There has always been a dance element in my mysticism. We just think why
not. Music is imposing a state of consciousness by its very nature. If what this
Tree of Life is is a hierarchy of different states of consciousness, would it be
possible to simulate and stimulate those states of consciousness in the listener
by producing the right sorts of music. Is it possible? We dont know, but were
working on it.
The reason I got into magic was that it seemed to be what was lying at the end
of the path of writing. If I wanted to continue on that path, I was going to have
to get into that territory because I had followed writing as far as I thought I
could without taking a step over the edges of rationality. The path led out of
rational confines. When you start thinking about art and creativity,
rationality is not big enough to contain it all.
If you take the idea of God in the Bible as a metaphor for any nascent,
formative just-created intelligence, is that not how we all create the universe.
We divide the firmament up from the waters of the abyss, and the key to how to
do this is in the first line: in the beginning, there was the word. By giving sky
one word, the ground into another, we break the universe down into
manageable things that we can interact with through language.
In the beginning, there is just universe. There is no us. There is just God in
His or Her universe. Then we separate God from the universe until we are
trapped in it, in the universe we have created.
The traditional definition of magic and I think this comes from Crowley who
laid down a lot of the ground rules he defined magic as bringing about
change in accordance with the will. Im not sure about that. Its certainly part
of it, but to bring about change in the universe in accordance with your will
seems to me to be misunderstanding the relationship between the individual
and the universe. In my relationship with the universe, I do tend to see myself
as very much the Junior Partner. I dont want to impose my will on the
universe, Id rather the universe imposed its will on me. I would rather that
what I wanted was more in tune with what the universe wanted. So my
definition of magic is a bit less invasive and intrusive. Its more exploratory
with me. I see magic as a vantage point from which one can look down on the
rest of consciousness. Its a point outside normal consciousness from which
you can look at normal consciousness, its a point outside beliefs from which
you can look at beliefs. All beliefs are reality tunnels, to use Anton Wilsons
phrase. There is the Communist reality tunnel, the Feminist reality tunnel, all
of which seem to be the whole of reality when you are in the middle of them.
The whole universe is based on Marxist theory if youre an intent
Marxist. Magic is having a plan of all the tunnels, and seeing the overall
condition in which they all work. Being aware of different possibilities.
I might do a work to put me in contact with the god Mercury. If the information
I get from that is valuable to me, and new enough, it doesnt really matter
whether the god Mercury is there at all, does it? There is a channel that I have
called the god Mercury, some sort of information source I have named.
In my own experience and this is where we get into the complete madness
here I have only met about four gods, a couple of other classes of entity as
well. Im quite prepared to admit this might have been a hallucination. On most
of the instances I was on hallucinogenic drugs. Thats the logical explanation
that it was purely an hallucinatory experience. I can only talk about my
subjective experience however, and the fact that having had some experience of
hallucinations over the last twenty-five years or so, Id have to say that it
seemed to me to be a different class of hallucination. It seemed to me to be
outside of me. It seemed to be real. It is a terrifying experience, and a
wonderful one, all at once it is everything youd imagine it to be. As a result
of this, there is one particular entity that I feel a particular affinity with.
There is a late Roman snake god, called Glycon, he was an invention of
the False Prophet Alexander. Which is a lousy name to go into business under.
He had an image problem. He could have done with a spin doctor there.
A god is the idea of a god. The idea of a god is a god. The idea of Glycon is
Glycon, if I can enhance that idea with an anaconda and a speaking tube, fair
enough. I am unlikely to start believing that this glove puppet created the
universe. Its a fiction, all gods are fiction. Its just that I happen to think that
fictions real. Or that it has its own reality, that is just as valid as ours. I
happen to believe that most of the important things in the material world start
out as fiction. That everything around us was once fiction before there was
the table there was the idea of a table, and the idea of a table before tables
was fiction. This is the most important world, the world of fictional things.
Thats the world where all this starts.
I can deal with functionality on a practical level. And I still have this
relationship with this imaginary snake. My imaginary pal. If Im going to be
dealing in totally imaginary territory, it struck me that it would be useful to
have a native as a guide. So I can have my imaginary conversations with my
imaginary snake, and maybe it gives me information I already knew in part of
myself, and maybe I just needed to make up an imaginary snake to tell me it.
I can understand why magicians have such a high insanity rate. We dont
end well, most of us, it has to be said. Paul Daniels might escape the worst
effects, but the rest of us are pretty obviously doomed. Once you step over that
line, you are in danger from a lot of stuff. Delusion, obviously, being the main
thing.
If I realized the power of magic to worry and terrify people before, then I
certainly would have used it before. Everyone freezes before it for different
reasons perhaps because it means madness to them, or because it means
opening the door to a whole lot of stuff that the Age of Reason should have
firmly bolted the door upon. A lot of concepts that we got rid of a long time ago
that would be a bit creepy to have them back.
The schizophrenic has had their window kicked in, the magician has got a
body of law probably most of it bollocks, it doesnt matter. The magicians
got a system into which the alien information that will be pouring into him or
her will be fitted. Theyve got a filing cabinet, like the Qabalah, which is a
filing cabinet for ideas. It divides the whole universe up into ten drawers. Any
experience can be passed into one of the drawers. The schizophrenic is
probably having exactly the same experience as the magician but has no
context in which to understand it. The schizophrenics I have known, the
most evident thing about it is the interconnectedness of everything. Thats
standard lunacy, its also standard magic. But with one of them, it is
uncontrollable, you are lost in a world in which everything is obviously
connected by symbolic threads. That is what the magician is seeking, to see
these threads that connect things up. If youve got a system even if its a
completely made-up bogus system then youve at least got a filing cabinet to
sort this stuff into, you dont have to get crushed under it.
on top it, you wont be hurt. It is counter-intuitive, the impulse is to run away,
but the right thing to do is to plunge into it deliberately, and be in control when
you do it. Magic is a response to the madness of the twentieth century.
I dont distinguish between magic and art. When I got into magic, I realized I
had been doing it all along, ever since I wrote my first pathetic story or poem
when I was twelve or whatever. This has all been my magic, my way of dealing
with it.
There are books that have devastated continents, destroyed thousands. What
war hasnt been a war of fiction? All the religious wars certainly, or the fiction
of communism versus the fiction of capitalism ideas, fictions, shit that people
make. They have made a vast impression on the real world. It is the real world.
Are thoughts not real? I believe it was Wittgenstein who said a thought is a real
event in space and time. I dont quite agree about the space and time bit,
Ludwig, but certainly a real event. Its only science that cannot consider
thought as a real event, and science is not reality. Its a map of reality, and
not a very good one. Its good, its useful, but it has its limits. We have to
realize that the map has its edges. One thing that is past the edge is any
personal experience. That is why magic is a broader map to me, it includes
science. Its the kind of map we need if we are to survive psychologically in the
age that is to come, whatever that is. We need a bigger map because the old
one is based on an old universe where not many of us live anymore. We have
to understand what we are dealing with here because it is dangerous. It kills
people. Art kills.
In the bardic tradition, art was understood as magic, the guy who could paint
on the cave wall, he was a magician. The idea of representation was a magical
idea. Then something happened, and then we all started to believe we were
entertainers, and it was just a job, an aesthetic Thatcherism was imposed and
we all thought oh shit, there isnt an art union and were lucky to have a job.
We better accept that were just the court jesters, and all we are here to do is
keep the masses happy, write some more pot-boilers, we are magicians, we are
not gods. Which in fact we are. We just forget that. We forgot our searing
power and lost it, as a result. This is not a searing power coming from an elite
of artists that Im talking about, this is an inherent human power that all of
us have the possibility of contacting.
If you look at early shamanic texts and cultures, the magical powers that the
shaman hopes the gods might give him, flying, turning into animals, invisibility,
poetry as if poetry was a magic power. As if it was the equivalent of turning
into a dog or flying. As if. What does this tell us? Maybe there was a time when
we could legitimately ask the gods for it as a gift. But we know there arent any
gods, and that they cant give those gifts, so the best thing we can do is go to
church, listen to the lesson and hope we dont burn. Have no direct contact
with whatever form of god we choose to worship. Its like the magical or
spiritual equivalent of the big flaw in Marxism. Karl Marx, lovely geezer, very
humane, a bit middle class but well gloss over that, but his big flaw was that
when he said The reins of society will inevitably rest in the hands of those who
control the means of production didnt take into account middle management.
All the people who get between those with the means of production and the
society. That translates onto a spiritual level as the shift from our earliest
beliefs, which are all shamanic.
Organized religion has corrupted one of the purest, most powerful and
sustaining things in the human condition. It has imposed a middle
management, not only in our politics and in our finances, but in our spirituality
as well. The difference between religion and magic is the same as what we
were talking about earlier I think you could map that over those two poles
of fascism and anarchism. Magic is closer to anarchism.
The Magicians
Mindscape
In the Beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with God, and the Logos was
Godnot one thing of all the things that were created was without the Logos.
The Logos is God and has created everything. Not one thing of all the things
that were created was without the Logos. In such, the Logos is expressed through
and in all of creation. The Logos is expressed in and through the Writer. The Logos
is expressed in and through the Magician. The Logos is expressed in and through
the audience. The Logos is expressed in and through You who are reading this
material right now. Indeed, you are no exception. There isnt one thing in all of
Reality through which the Logos isnt expressed. If such a thing were to be found,
the Logos wouldnt be God.
YOU ARE IN CONTROL
CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION
YOU ARE IN AN ILLUSION
Most people already know this about Stage Magicians and most Stage
Magicians insist on that fact when performing their Magic. The things you are
about to see are tricks and illusions. We do not imply in any way that we possess
Supernatural power. Its all the result of a perfect execution of knowledge and
skills. In other words, everything that is being performed on the stage is a big
illusion. Of course, what that also implies is that the Magician is in control of the
illusion. The things you see in a performance of Stage Magic are all part of the
Magicians design. He or she wants you to see what youre seeing. If there was
ever anything you saw that was not part of the Magicians plan, it means that
Magician is either a shitty one or a not so good one. Your pick!
This is a very interesting dance. The dance, as you may or may not realize,
is between Control and Illusion. This is, of course, similar to Order and Chaos (in
quite a few ways). The Stage Magician performs for the audience alone. The
Ceremonial Magician performs firstly for himself or herself. In both cases, it
always comes down to a dance between Illusion and Control. The most
interesting part is that both Control and Illusion are manifested ideas. Needless for
me to mention that everything starts with an idea.
When the Stage Magician performs Magic, the Magic that he or she performs is
only for the audience. In such, the illusion that the Magician is casting does not
deceive the Magician. However, when the so-called Ceremonial Magician
performs his or her Magic, that Magic is also being performed for the Magician.
The Magician is not immune to the illusion that he or she is casting.
The totally convinced and the totally stupid have too much in common for the
resemblance to be accidental
One of the most interesting of the Magician (as you may get to see later) has been
the Skeptic. The Skeptic has become one of the most important aspects of the
Magicians life.
All statements are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some
sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and
meaningless in some sense, true and false and meaningless in some sense.
dance of bringing ideas into existence, in which (both) the Stage Magician and the
Ceremonial Magician perform by manifesting ideas, ergo creating Reality/Illusion.
Simply put, the Magician is all about manifestation. Of course, this is what the
Writer says here about the Logos, which is distributed over all of Reality. What
that would suggest is that everyones mind is similar, in terms of being extension
of that Logos. However, you may or may not notice that the Magicians entire
living is about Creation/Manifestation. What that entailsor, at least, seems to
suggestis that the Magician has a more constant connection with that Logos. In
the light of this, the simple thing to think would be that understanding the structure
of the Logos amount, in some sense, to understanding the mindscape of the
Magician. While some will miss this point, I am sure that the careful reader will
not. In case you feel like the opposite of the careful reader, I suggest you take
another look at this chapter again and apply the very advice I gave you at the
beginning of this material: See whats not written. (The fact of the matter is that
not all information can be put into words).
WHEN IDEAS HAVE SEX
some sort. It pours it into the next, the second one. This, in turn, becomes an idea
grown enough an independent enough to bring fourth new ones. It pours out its
essence...its seed...into the next one, the third one. This third one does the same. It
grows. It expands. It becomes something large enough, powerful enough to
influence and create new ideas. It has an essence. It pours it out into the next one.
The process continues...
It may come that this third idea meets the first one somewhere along the road (in
what we will simply refer here as "The Idea-Space"). Of course, this meeting place
is quite theoretical at this stage. But, the syntactic nature of both "Space" and
"Consciousness" (whatever it may imply..."Awareness", most likely) seems to
suggest some sort of Reality to all of this. The ideas interact (both within the IdeaSpace and this space of physicality). John was inspired by the work of Paul. Paul
said something that got John thinking a little deeper. John discovers something
new. Peter meets with John occasionally. They talk. They converse. Out of that
conversation came a few new ideas. Concordantly, all the way to the other side of
the Globe, Andrew is working on the same idea (unknowingly to Paul, Peter and
John).
What does it come down to, at the end?
It comes down to ideas essentially merging with each other, exchanging their seeds
with each other and creating new essential ideas. From an evolutionary stand point,
this can be the most expressive nature of Reality. It comes down to interactive
expansion...a Synergistic Energy eXchange (SEX) aiming completely at the
complexity of Novelty.
An Unnecessary Explanation
This little text youve just read was a very quick attempt in painting the
(perhaps) metaphysical working of creativity. Following this reasoning, I would
certainly suggest that you keep an eye on it. Chances are, you may have to read it
again during the rest of this trip (exploration).
But, of course, before I move to more or less important stuff regarding
the nature of this material, let me entertain you (or not) with a few information on
the Pope himself.
Not the Pope you might think, Im afraid.
Im talking about the one and only Pope Bob! Be warned, however, for his ideas
and thoughts are not for the weak. If weak is your middle name, this may not be
your cup of tea. In fact, it may not even be your place of brunch at all.
Born in January 18, 1932, Robert Anton Wilson was an American Author,
Novelist, Essayist, Editor, Playwright, Poet, Futurist, Psychologist and selfdescribed Agnostic Mystic. In short, Robert Anton Wilson (which Id rather call
Pope Bob) was a fucking Wizard. He died in January 11, 2007 (and although some
of you reading this may be tempted to make some connection between his being
born and dead in January, Id advice against that). As a self-described Agnostic
Mystic, hes main goal of work was to put everyone in a state of total or General
Agnosticism. Not just agnosticism about God; but, Agnosticism about everything.
This is something that is quite obvious in this statement:
"Is", "is." "is"the idiocy of the word haunts me. If it were abolished, human
thought might begin to make sense. I don't know what anything "is"; I only know
how it seems to me at this moment.
Robert Anton Wilson, The Historical Illuminatus Chronicles, as spoken by
Sigismundo Celine.
This could, as well, explain the intent of, both, the Writer and the
Magicianin some sense. The idea, really, is that there are or seem to be a variety
of Realitiesexpressions of them, thereofinterpretations of a Universal or
General Language (The Logos). The plan, therefore, is to create some kind of
Hyper-Reality or Meta-Reality in which one can experience (or bring together) all
or simply many different realities, sometimes refer to as Reality-Tunnels. (This,
in some sense, explains the particular kind of verbiage or wording the Magician
and the Writer have decided to work withhopefully).
THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY
QUOTES OF ROBERT ANTON WILSON
delaying action, because the utilities still haven't figured out how to put a meter
between us and the sun.
I'm using myself as a typical 20th century model as I'm trying to make
sense out of the world around me typical in the sense of being one of the
damn good models around these days. I am typical in the sense that ...a lot of
people are on the same wave length as me. I get fan mail from people that are
absolutely stunned that there's somebody else besides themselves who thinks
this way. So, we're a minority, but there are a lot of us. On a planet this
overcrowded, a minority can have a few million numbers. More scientific
than religious. More open than dogmatic. More optimistic than pessimistic.
More future oriented than past oriented. And more humorous than serious. I
really dread serious people. Especially serious, dogmatic people. I regard
them as sort of what Reich called the emotional plague. I regard them as
very dangerous.
Well I sometimes call myself a libertarian but that's only because most
people don't know what anarchist means. Most people hear you're an
anarchist and they think you're getting ready to throw a bomb at a
building. They don't understand the concept of voluntary association, the
whole concept of replacing force with voluntary cooperation or contractual
arrangements and so on. So libertarian is a clearer word that doesn't arouse any
immediate anxiety upon the listener. And then again, libertarians, if they were
totally consistent with their principles would be anarchists. They take the
position which they call minarchy, which is the smallest possible government...
The reason I don't believe in the smallest possible government is because we
started out with that and it only took us 200 years to arrive at the czarist
occupation of government that we have now. I think any government is
dangerous no matter how small you make it. Instead of governments we
should have contractual associations that you can opt out of if you don't
like the way the association is going. Religions fought for hundreds of years
over which one should dominate Europe and then they finally gave up and
made a truce, and they all agreed to tolerate each other at least in this part of
the world... But I think government should be treated like religion,
everyone should be able to pick the kind they like. Only it should be
contractual not obligatory. I wouldn't mind paying tax money to a local
association to maintain a police force, as long as we need one. But I hate like
hell paying taxes to help the US government build more nuclear missiles to
blow up more people I don't even know and don't think I'd hate them if I did
know them. A lot of anarchists had a major roll in influencing my political
thinking, especially the individualist anarchists. Benjamin Tucker and Lysander
Spooner especially. But I've also been influenced by Leo Tolstoy's anarchopacifism. And I find a lot of Kropotkincompatible even though he was
a communist anarchist. Nothing wrong with communist anarchism as long
as it remains voluntary. Any one that wants to go make a commune, go
ahead, do it. I got nothing against it. As long as there's room to
the individualist to do his or her own thing.
All phenomena are real in some sense, unreal in some sense, meaningless in
some sense, real and meaningless in some sense, unreal and meaningless in
some sense, and real and unreal and meaningless in some sense.
Existence is larger than any model that is not itself the exact size of existence
(which has no size...)
There is absolutely nothing that can be taken for granted in this world.
The creative faculty, the god-power, is not used here with anything less than
literalness. When beauty was created by a godly mind, beauty existed, as surely
as the paintings of Botticelli or the concerti of Vivaldi exist. When mercy was
created, mercy existed. When guilt was created, guilt existed. Out of a
meaningless and pointless existence, we have made meaning and purpose;
but since this creative act happens only when we relax after great strain,
we feel it as 'pouring into us' from elsewhere. Thus, we do not know our own
godhood and we are perpetually swindled by those who assure us that it is
indeed elsewhere, but they can give us access to it, for a reasonable fee. And
when we as a species were ignorant enough to be duped in that way, the
swindlers went one step further, invented original sin and other horrors of
that sort, and made us even more 'dependent' upon them.
Comparative religion and philosophy show that the Thinker can regard
itself as mortal, as immortal, as both mortal and immortal (the
reincarnation model) or even as non-existent (Buddhism). It can think
itself into living in a Christian universe, a Marxist universe, a scientificrelativistic universe, or a Nazi universe among many possibilities.
As psychiatrists and psychologists have often observed (much to the chagrin
of their medical colleagues), the Thinker can think itself sick, and can even
think itself well again.
The Prover is a much simpler mechanism. It operates on one law only:
Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover proves.
To cite a notorious example which unleashed incredible horrors earlier in
this century, if the Thinker thinks that all Jews are rich, the Prover will
prove it. It will find evidence that the poorest Jew in the most run-down
ghetto has hidden money somewhere.
Whatever the Thinker thinks, the Prover will prove. And if the Thinker
thinks passionately enough, the Prover will prove the thought so
conclusively that you will never talk a person out of such a belief, even if it
is something as remarkable as the notion that there is a gaseous vertebrate of
astronomical heft ("GOD") who will spend all eternity torturing people who
do not believe in his religion.
"Mind" is a tool invented by the universe to see itself; but it can never
see all of itself, for much the same reason that you cant see your own
back (without mirrors).
Mind and its contents are functionally identical: My wife only exists, for
me, in my mind. Not being a solipsist, I recognize the converse: I only
exist, for her, in her mind. Lest the reader exclaim, like Byron of
Wordworth, "I wish he would explain his explanation!", let us try it this
way: If I am so fortunate as to be listening to the Hammerklavier sonata, the
only correct answer, if you ask me suddenly, "Who are you?" would be to
hum the Hammerklavier. For, with music of that quality, one is hypnotized
into rapt attention: there is no division between "me" and "my experience".
religion.Those who insist you must accept their dogma fervently and
renounce all others as devilish errors, correctly see this Masonic
tendency as inimitable [sic] to their faith.
As you can see, I could go on and on about the Pope and his thoughtsshowing
you the Archetype of a good (relatively speaking) Pope. However, keeping on
going like this wouldnt be fair for the up coming chapters. There must be time for
a break. You need to take a breath and recharge. What follows is what you need to
understand about being a Magicianthe Powers that you hold (or will soon
enough) and the meaning of your craftThe Craft.
The Magicians
Power
4) All Principles and Forces can be Mentally personified for different Operations
Magician and the Writer that the most, perhaps, acceptable figure that would
express these ideas with more ease and authority should inevitably be the
Magician. Therefore, the seemingly in-depth exploration of the Magicians Power
that is to come will be led by the Magician.
But, before he does that
the Writer wishes to express to you the nature of that dance between the Writer
and the Magician. Obviously, giving that this is a book of Magic, you should not
put your hope too high and expect everything to be explained here.
Id rather you dont!
Instead, take everything with a little bit of skepticism and do your Own damn
work.
Most people like to theorize and build model of Reality. Not many wish to
put the effort and do the Work. Yet, the work is what makes the Magician.
The Magician is a Performer, and as such, must be performing. The Work is the
performance of the Magician.
WHO IS THE MAGICIAN WHO MAKES THE GRASS GREEN?
This suggests, in some sense, that there is a Great Magician making the grass
green. This also suggests the Great Magician is actually doing something: Making
the Grass Green. Even more so, the Great Magician is doing the work. If, then, the
Great Magician is putting some work, why should you not?
MAGICAL WORKING
What am I?
A Magician?
Sure. But, what do I do, as such?
What does it mean to be a Magician?
What does it mean to create Magicgenuine Magic?
To create and to transform, is what we say the Power of a Magician consist of. At
least, this is the experience of Magic that Ive had. What am I supposed to do? Lie
to you?
I cant.
I dont think I should.
I dont even know you. So, why should I lie to you now?
Of course, Im a magician and my job, as such, is to trick you, to change your
perception. After all, this material is magical. But, even if I was to trick you, I
dont think this is the way Id go about it. I dont think it would be that obvious.
Beside, Im quite frank about the fact that I want to change your perception.
However, I dont want you to just fall into another type of reality-tunnel. I want
you to experience what I would refer to as Metareality-tunnel. In other words, I
want you to move from reality-tunnel to reality-tunnel at will. Therefore, I and the
Writer want you to be free.
What happen when youre free?
You become Limitless. In fact, is this not what this book says its about?
When you become free, you become free to navigate the Web of Life, the Tree of
Life. You hold the Power to go up in Heaven and down in Hell (when you really
understand what this entails).
No limits.
No worries.
Youre free!
When I first became a Magician, the experience wasvivifying. I suddenly
became fully aware of Myself and my environment. In a sense, I also become fully
confident. It was as if a part of myself have been captive for the better part of my
life, until this steps changed everything. Everything became brighter. I started
evolving very quickly.
Of course, it did not all happen at once. It was a process. But, it was quick. I
was suddenly aware of my imperfections. I was also aware of the perfection of the
process itself. All of Reality became alive. I was breathing information, as if
everything was talking to me.
I still experience that, I can assure you. Its an ever growing process; one that
does not stop. It goes to infinity. The wind, the rain, the Sun, they all speak to you.
Heckeven time had something to say. As a Matter of fact, it doesnt shut up. It
never does. Your heartbeat speaks to you. Your breath does.
You pain.
Your dreams.
Your Nightmares.
They all speak to you, and you become aware of their voices in your Life. Now, you
actually listen. Its not that they dont talk to other people. The truth is they talk to
everybody. The problem is not in them not talking to everyone, but in not everyone
listening. The problem is very few people actually listen, and very few people
actually talk back.
I do!
I do because Im a Magician.
I do because this has become my experience of Magic.
Stranger things have happened, I assure you! Reality is a lot stranger than you
think.
Heckits a lot stranger than you can think!
WHO IS THE MAGICIAN WHO MAKES THE GREEN GRASS?
While this statement may, at first look, seem to be the same as the previous one,
the Writer would like to suggest that theyre not.
You see, while the first statement Who is the Magician who makes the grass
green simply suggests the Magician made the grass green (and not that he or she
made the grass), the second statement Who is the Magician who makes the green
grass suggests otherwise. It says, not only that the Magician made the Grass
Green, he or she also made the Grass.
FORMIDABLE NAME OF REVERENTIAL DIGNITY
While this little Linguistic exercise above shows how just by changing the wording
of a statement, the Linguist/Magician can change its reality, it does not limit the
Power of the Magician to just this. The Master Magician has access to a Collective
Intelligence that may be as large/vast or as small as the Magician wishes. If the
Magician wishes this Collective Intelligence to be as vast as an Organization like
the CIA or the FBI, the Collective Intelligence will follow as such. If the Magician
wishes this Collective Intelligence to be as small as the equivalent of a five-people
group, the Collective Intelligence will follow as such. For, this is the Power of the
Magician in all its grandeur.
As for the Formidable Name of Reverential Dignity mentioned before, what is this
name?
For those of you, dear readers, who are quite new to this Metareality-tunnel, the
magnificence of this name may be lost in you. Therefore, I shall not say more
about it at the moment. I leave it to the sensible minds to uncover its meaning. Im
sure the initiated in the Secret Arts will figure it out (or have already done so). But,
in case neither of you (initiated and non-initiated) have managed to decode its
secret, I urge you to keep reading this material. The answer will be present in the
next chapter, I promise.
Practical Intelligence is something that comes with the Art of Magic.
Yes, you will be versed in Bookish knowledge. But, you also will be quite filled
with practical knowledge as well. This is something that, both, the Writer and the
Magician agree on.
6) The Magicians Power is as strong as his or her Mental Strength
Indeed, the Magicians Power depends entirely on his or her Mental Strength. Its
all about how strong the Magician is mentally, or as weakeventually.
Admittedly, the Writer is hardly trying not to openly reveal any Magical work or
process. He wishes the reader to decode his message on his or her own. Hes trying
to depict a very imperfect map for the reader to navigate the magical web. Just like
the Magician, he knows the wisdom that comes with personal investigation.
He wants the reader to be a forceful investigator.
He wants the reader to be a Map Maker; not a follower.
He wants the reader to be a cartographer of the Creative Process.
LEARN FROM SELF-INTELLIGENCE HOW TO MAKE THE GRASS GREEN
LEARN FROM SELF-INTELLIGENCE HOW TO MAKE THE GREEN GRASS
The Techno-Shamans
Then, came another free thinker, another disturber of the system. Then,
came another Prophet of Transpersonal Cognition, an explorer of the psychic
realm. Then, came another Techno-Shaman. He was an Evolutionary Agent. He
was a Mage of the Information Age. His message was that of Exploration. It was
that of Mapping the Psyche; to connect the Internal with the External. His mission
was to de-condition the cultural psyche. Born in November 16, 1946, Terence
Kemp McKenna was a Psychonaut (that is an explorer of the psyche) who died in
April 3, 2000.
In light of allowing the reader to get a sense of the messages of both
Techno-Shamans, the Writer tend on following the same method of the previous
chapters and entertain the reader with some quotes of, both, Timothy Leary and
Terence McKenna respectively.
We always have urged people: Don't take LSD unless you are very well
prepared, unless you are specifically prepared to go out of your mind. Don't
take it unless you have someone that's very experienced with you to guide you
through it. And don't take it unless you are ready to have your perspective on
yourself and your life radically changed, because you're gonna be a different
person, and you should be ready to face this possibility.
I have always considered myself, when I learned what the word meant, I've
always considered myself a Pagan.
Throughout human history, as our species has faced the frightening, terrorizing
fact that we do not know who we are, or where we are going in this ocean of
chaos, it has been the authorities the political, the religious, the educational
authorities who attempted to comfort us by giving us order, rules,
regulations, informing forming in our minds their view of reality. To think
for yourself you must question authority and learn how to put yourself in a state
of vulnerable open-mindedness, chaotic, confused vulnerability to inform
yourself.
A psychedelic experience is a journey to new realms of consciousness. The
scope and content of the experience is limitless, but its characteristic
You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind.
In the information age, you don't teach philosophy as they did after
feudalism. You perform it. If Aristotle were alive today he'd have a talk show.
Why not?
At one point consciousness-altering devices like the microscope and telescope
were criminalized for exactly the same reasons that psychedelic plants were
banned in later years. They allow us to peer into bits and zones of Chaos
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is ostensibly a book describing the experiences
to be expected at the moment of death, during an intermediate phase lasting
forty-nine (seven times seven) days, and during rebirth into another bodily
frame. This however is merely the exoteric framework which the Tibetan
Buddhists used to cloak their mystical teachings. The esoteric meaning, as it
has been interpreted in this manual, is that it is death and rebirth of the ego
that is described, not of the body. Lama Govinda indicates this clearly in his
introduction when he writes: "It is a book for the living as well as the dying."
The book's esoteric meaning is often concealed beneath many layers of
symbolism. It was not intended for general reading. It was designed to be
understood only by one who was to be initiated personally by a guru into the
Buddhist mystical doctrines, into the pre-mortem-death-rebirth experience.
These doctrines have been kept a closely guarded secret for many centuries, for
fear that naive or careless application would do harm.
this universe. One has transited into the eternal mode. One is then apart
from the moving image; one exists in the completion of eternity.
What we call imagination is actually the universal library of whats real. You
couldnt imagine it if it werent real somewhere, sometime.
Trialogue #24: The Heavens Esalen, California (1992)
History is a set of nested resonances with each epoch being shorter than the
one that preceded it. This event horizon is like a series of ghost horizons, and
once you enter into history, you enter into the outer shell of the temporal field
of the attractor or the concrescence.
Approaching Timewave Zero Magical Blend Magazine (November 1994)
I've been thinking like this since 1968, talking about it like this since 1980, but I
never knew what... how it would come or what it would be. In the last few
years, with the rise of a technological, a cultural artifact like the internet, I now
see how it will make its way into the world. We are building the nervous system
of the human oversoul. We are individual units operating under social rules
that are pushing us ever closer toward dissolving our societies... societies
human groups run by rulesinto telepathic collectivities of some sort. ... We
have come to the end of our sojourn in matter. We have come to the end of our
separateness.
Light of the Third Millenium Chicago, 1996, 50m09s
My notion of what the psychedelic experience is, for us, that we each must
become like fishermen, and go out on to the dark ocean of mind, and let our
nets down into that sea. And what you're after is not some behemoth, that will
tear through your nets, follow them and drag you in your little boat, you know,
into the abyss, nor are what we're looking for a bunch of sardines that can slip
through your net and disappear. Ideas like, "Have you ever noticed that your
little finger exactly fits your nostril?", and stuff like that. What we are looking
for are middle-size ideas, that are not so small that they are trivial, and not so
large that they're incomprehensible. Middle-size ideas we can wrestle into our
boat and take back to the folks on shore, and have fish dinner. And every one of
us when we go into the psychedelic state, this is what we should be looking for.
It's not for your elucidation, it's not part of your self-directed psychotherapy.
You are an explorer, and you represent our species, and the greatest good you
can do is to bring back a new idea, because our world is in danger by the
absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of
consciousness. And so to whatever degree any one of us can bring back a small
piece of the picture and contribute it to the building of the new paradigm, then
we participate in the redemption of the human spirit, and that after all is what
it's really all about.
A lot of people pass through the thinking I'm a guru and take enough trips to
understand that no, I was just a witness. I was just a witness.
I remember the very, very first time that I smoked DMT. It was sort of a
benchmark, you might say, and I remember that this friend of mine that always
got there first visited me with this little glass pipe and this stuff which looked
like orange mothballs. And since I was a graduate of Dr. Hofmann's, I figured
there were no surprises. So the only question I asked is, 'How long does it last?'
and he said, 'About five minutes.' So I did it and... [long pause, audience
cheers]there was a something, like a flower, like a chrysanthemum in orange
and yellow that was sort of spinning, spinning, and then it was like I was
pushed from behind and I fell through the chrysanthemum into another
place that didn't seem like a state of mind, it seemed like another place. And
what was going on in this place aside from the tastefully soffited indirect
lighting, and the crawling geometric hallucinations along the domed walls,
what was happening was that there were a lot of ahhbeings in there, what I
call self-transforming machine elves. Sort of like jeweled basketballs all
dribbling their way toward me. And if they'd had faces they would have been
grinning, but they didn't have faces. And they assured me that they loved me
and they told me not to be amazed; not to give way to astonishment. And so I
watched them, even though I wondered if maybe I hadn't really done it this
time, and what they were doing was they were making objects come into
existence by singing them into existence. Objects which looked likeFaberg
eggs from Mars morphing themselves with Mandaean alphabetical structures.
They looked like the concrescence of linguistic intentionality put through a kind
of hyper-dimensional transform into three-dimensional space. And these little
machines offered themselves to me. And I realized when I looked at them that if
I could bring just one of these little trinkets back, nothing would ever be quite
the same again. And I wondered, Where Am I? And What Is Going On? It
occurred to me that these must be holographic viral projections from an
autonomous continuum that was somehow intersecting my own, and then I
thought a more elegant explanation would be to take it at face value and realize
that I had broken into an ecology of souls. And that somehow I was getting a
peek over the other side. Somehow I was finding out that thing that you
cheerfully assume you can't find out. But it felt like I was finding out. And it
felt.. and then I can't remember what it felt like because the little selftransforming tykes interrupted me and said, "Don't think about it. Don't
think about who we are... Think about doing what we're doing. Do it! Do it!
DO IT NOW!!!"
And what they meant was use your voice to make an object. And as I
understood, I felt a bubble kind of grow inside of me. And I watched these little
elf tykes jumping in and out of my chest; they like to do that to reassure you.
And they said, "Do it." And I felt language rise up in me that was unhooked
from English, and I began to speak...
The real secret of magic is that the world is made of words, and that if you
know the words that the world is made of you can make of it whatever you
wish.
The view of science is that all processes ultimately run down, but entropy is
maximized only in some far, far away future. The idea of entropy makes an
assumption that the laws of the space-time continuum are infinitely and linearly
extendable into the future. In the spiral time scheme of the timewave this
assumption is not made. Rather, final time means passing out of one set of laws
that are conditioning existence and into another radically different set of laws. The
universe is seen as a series of compartmentalized eras or epochs whose laws are
quite different from one another, with transitions from one epoch to another
occurring with unexpected suddenness.
What you see, I think is the morphogenetic field. The invisible world that
holds everything together. Not the net of matter and light, but the net of
casuistry of intentionality, of caring, of hope of dream of thought. That
all is there, but it has been hidden from us for centuries because of the exorcism
of the spirit that took place in order to allow science to do business. And that
monotonous and ill-considered choice has made us the inheritors of a tradition
of existential emptiness but that has impalded to us to go back to the jungles
and recover this thing. The question is, can we dream a dream that is
sufficiently noble that we give meaning to the sacrifices that have been made to
allow the 20th century to exist I am convinced that if there were no
shamanic pipeline, there would be no higher life, as we know it, on this
planet. We are all cells of a much larger body, and like the cells of our
own body it is hard for us to glimpse the whole pattern of the whole of what is
happening, and yet we can sense that there is a purpose, and there is a
pattern...
problems you thought were insoluble can be framed differently. And there's a
way to take the world apart and put it back unrecognizably. We don't really
understand what consciousness is at the really deep levels. With some of the
tryptamine hallucinogens, you see into possibilities where questions like, 'are
you alive?' 'are you dead?' 'are you you?' seem to have been transcended. I
think people have a very narrow conception of what is possible with reality,
that we're surrounded by the howling abyss of the unknowable and nobody
knows what's out there.
Because the fact is, what blinds us to the presence of alien intelligence is
linguistic and cultural bias operating on ourselves. The world which we
perceive is a tiny fraction of the world which we can perceive, which is a tiny
fraction of the perceivable world, you see. We operate on a very narrow slice
based on cultural conventions. So the important thing, if synergizing progress
is the notion to be maximized (and I think it's the notion to be maximized), is to
try and locate the blind spot in the culture the place where the culture isn't
looking, because it dare not because if it were to look there, its previous
values would dissolve, you see. For Western Civilization that place is the
psychedelic experience as it emerges out of nature.
What blinds us, or what makes historical progress very difficult, is our
lack of awareness of our ignorance. And [I think] that beliefs should be put
aside, and that a psychedelic society would abandon belief systems [in favor
of] direct experience and this is, I think much, of the problem of the modern
dilemma, is that direct experience has been discounted and in its place all
kind of belief systems have been erected... If you believe something, you're
automatically precluded from believing in the opposite, which means that
a degree of your human freedom has been forfeited in the act of this
belief.
Our ability to destroy ourselves is the mirror image of our ability to save
ourselves, and what is lacking is the clear vision of what should be
done...What needs to be done is that fundamental, ontological conceptions
of reality need to be redone. We need a new language, and to have a new
language we must have a new reality... A new reality will generate a new
language, a new language will fix a new reality, and make it part of this
reality.
I believe that liberation, or let's even say, decency as a human quality, is an
actual resonance and anticipation of this future perfected state of
humanity. We can will the perfect future into being by becoming
It's strange you know, the Net is denounced as austere, the product
of the engineering mentality, so forth and so on. It's the most feminine
influence that Western civilization has ever allowed itself to fall under
the spell of. The troubadors of the fourteenth century were as nothing
compared to the boundary-dissolving, feminizing, permitting, nurturing
nature of the Net. Maybe that's why there is an overwhelming male
preference for it, in its early form, because that's where that was needed.
But it is Sophia, it is wisdom, it is the penetrating archetypal
female logos of the world-soul, leading us away from what was very
sharp-edged and uncomfortable and repressive to our creativity and our
sexuality and our relationships to each other and to the Earth.
Virtual reality is a fairly new concept to us; but once you grok it, it
seems clear that any civilization that was capable of starflight and
longevity extension, and so forth and so on, would also have a full VR
toolkit under control. Well then, that means that when we go looking for
the extraterrestrial, what will be the footprint? Perhaps vanished races
are all around us, but downloaded into solid-state matrices that we
have only recently come to the point where we could even recognize
that possibility.
The Writer really hopes that this would constitute enough information/quote
for the reader who, perhaps, isnt familiar with either of these Techno-Shamans
mentioned here to get a clear picture of some of their subjects of interest.
On another note, if (perhaps) the reader isnt exactly a newbie in this regard, it can
never hurt to refresh your mind with some of the verbose expressions of Wisdom
and Intelligence found in these quotes.
In the end, all that it comes down to is a sense of Cosmic
TriggerIntelligent urgedirected at putting the reader in a phase/state of
Cognitive dissonance (perhaps), and permit or allow a better exploration of the
Otherthe creation of a Metareality-tunnel.
Becoming a
Magician
Constantine once said to Alan Moore (his creator) about the ultimate secret of
Magic: Any Cunt could do it.
Five words that describe everything you wish to know about Magic. Any cunt
could do it.
I wish I knew that a long time ago. This would have saved me quite a load of time.
But anyhowthis, I assume, is the lot I had to go through.
You dont.
Assuming this is the first material of Magic youve had access to, you dont have
to go through all the unnecessary pain of learning Magic Harry Potter-style. All
you need to do is simply declare yourself a Magician and start doing the damn
work.
HOW TO BE A MAGICIAN
In the same Pop Magic! material, Grant Morrison went on telling you how to
become a Magician, in the section titled, HOW TO BE A MAGICIAN.
He wrote, Simple. Declare yourself a magician, behave like a magician, practise
magic every day. Be honest abut your progress, your successes and failuresThe
magician dives into the Immense Other in search of tips and hints and treasures
s/he can bring home to enrich life in the solid worldRead lots of books on the
subject to get in the mood. Talking about magic with non-magicians is like talking
to virgins about shagging. Reading about magic is like reading about sex; it will
get you horny for the real thing but it won't give you nearly as much fun.
WHO IS THE MAGICIAN WHO MAKES THE GRASS GREEN?
WHO IS THE MAGICIAN WHO MAKES THE GREEN GRASS?
The answer to this question above is, in case you wish to be that, You.
You are that Magician, the moment you decide to be him/her. Verily, I say unto
you, if you declare yourself to be a Magician, in this moment, at this time youre
reading this material, in the place you are (right now), and without a doubt, so shall
you be. By declaring it, you have put it into actuality. All that is left for you to do,
now, is to practice it. You have to do the work. You dont simply become the
Magician who makes the Grass Green by simply declaring it. You have to actually
make the Damn Grass Green. You dont simply become the Magician who makes
the Green Grass by simply declaring it. Yes, this is the first step. But, you have to
actually make the Damn Green Grass. Without that, youre not the Magician.
Youre just someone whos aware that he or she has Magic with him/her.
The Magician is someone who Practice Magic.
Go out of your way. Take your craft. Start doing the work. The whole world is
waiting for you.
In the spirit of practicing Magic, from one Magician to another, let me
ask you a few questions, if you allow me to.
So, do you? (By the way, thats not part of the questions).
You dont have to answer them right away. But, I think if you spend some time
with them, you might get some clarity on what to do next.
1) Who are you?
I mean, reallywho do you see yourself as?
2) What do you suppose youre doing here? Not here, reading this book. Here
on Earth. What do you suppose youre doing here?
3) What got you to read this material? I mean, what were you looking for that
led you to it?
4) What exactly do you wish to do?
5) Whats your Magic?
6) Whats your medium of expression? How do you express yourself better?
7) What is Magic to you?
These questions, I think, are the defining circle of what your Life as a Magician is
going to be. If you spend some time with them, I can guarantee that they will
define your craft for you.
Dont haste.
Take your time. (Its your time, after all)
Really spend a few, meditative, time with them, and youll see results.
Admittedly, some of the questions might feel a little disoriented. But, I dont think
they really are. Of course, the connection may not click in your head yet, if you
dont explore these questions in relation to all youve read so far in this material.
If you do, youll see the connection, youll understand.
START PERFORMING
This whole material insist on using verbiage and wording attributed to Arts and
performance. It treats Magic as an Art, and insists that the Magicians spell or
ritual (or whatever) is a performance. Not to say theyre not real. Far from it. The
intent is that, as Alan Moore so eloquently put it, There is a certain level Sham in
Shamanism. So, when the Magician says what he or she is doing is an Illusion, he
or she isnt so far from the truth. The reality of it is that All of Reality is an
Illusion
YOU ARE IN CONTROL
CONTROL IS AN ILLUSION
YOU ARE IN AN ILLUSION
Most people fail to understand and see that. But, you know better, dont
you? Having been through all of this material, I could hope, by now, there is a
surge of uncertainty that is rapidly finding its way through your psyche, allowing
you, therefore, to reconsider everything youve once held true. If this isnt the
case, it means that you have not been paying attention.
All of Reality is a big, fat Illusion being performed in front of you. God
showing off for your nervous system, you might say. Armed with the Power of
Magic, you have become an Intellectual Jedi whos not easily fooled, but has
become the trickster.
Its almost like Grant Morrison put it in his Pop Magic!, Some people like
to dress up as Egyptians or monks to get themselves in the mood, others wear
animal masks or Barbarella costumes. The use of ritual paraphernalia functions as
an aid to the imagination only. Of course, its really as the Writers been painfully
trying to tell you throughout all this material: The Stage Magician performs for the
audience alone. The Ceremonial Magician performs for himself or herself as well.
The Ceremonial Magician is also part of the audience.
Somewhere in the chapter, The Essence of Magic, the Writers shared with
you a text titled The Craft, and has told you to take a good look at it and meditate
on its meaning because you might have to come back to it again.
Wellthis is that time.
The part the Writer wishes you to consider is the part in which it is explained
the relation of Magic to the performerto performers of all sorts, in fact.
Magic, as Mother/Father of Science, has been denied by its progeny. Its theatrical
expression, it's penchant for all the ten categories of the Tree, has failed it, causing
Science (mostly concern with the Foundation) to deny and reject her
Mother/Father, concordantly, considering it as useless and banal. But, this isn't the
case. The Artists, the Writers, the Singers, the Dancers and all the Creative Entities
know this to be not true; and, when allowed to explore that creativity, the working
of it, its internal and external relation, are capable of marvelous expressions. This
The Beast.
The Antichrist.
He was born in October 12, 1857 and naturally died in December 1, 1947.
Unlike Christ, he was born of a Mother and a Father. He was Humansolely
human. The Beast that he was defined as was a Symbol, a representation of
something of the Other. Like Christ, he soon realized what he was and what his
purpose was. Unlike Christ, he didnt speak the truth, nor did he speak lies
(although, he did write a Book of Lies). He was not God becoming flesh. He was
flesh becomingsomething Other, A symbol, perhaps?
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Love is the Law
Love under will
The words of the Beast were not that he had the truth, follow him. He didnt claim
to be the truth, nor did he claim to possess it. His claims were Find your own
Damn truth! and Do what thou wilt.
In a sense, one could argue that he was the exact representation of how the
Theatrical aspect of Magic (or Magick, as he preferred) could fail someone, in the
face of those who have eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear. They
are entities of no understanding. To them, the Beast was a charlatan (which,
perhaps, he was). To them, the Beast was a Devil worshiper (which, perhaps, he
was), although he did not believe in this Devil they speak of. This Man-Beast
spoke of a few things. He had quite a few things to say, and say them he did!
His name was Aleister Crowley.
What follows is a list of quote of Aleister Crowley the Writer thought would be
sufficient to give you (if youre not already familiar with him) a certain perspective
of the Beasts Mind.
I was in the death struggle with self: God and Satan fought for my soulthose
three long hours. God conquered now I have only one doubtleft which
of the twain was God?
The best models of English writing are Shakespeare and the Old Testament,
especially the book of Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song
of Solomon. In writing English the most important quality that you can
acquire is style. It makes all the difference to anyone who reads what you write,
whether you use the best phrases in the best way.
Then saith the prophet and slave of the beauteous one: Who am I, and
what shall be the sign? So she answered him, bending down, a lambent
flame of blue, all-touching, all penetrant, her lovely hands upon the black
earth, & her lithe body arched for love, and her soft feet not hurting the
little flowers: Thou knowest! And the sign shall be my ecstasy, the
consciousness of the continuity of existence, the omnipresence of my
body..
This book is for ALL: for every man, woman, and child.
My former work has been misunderstood, and its scope limited, by
my use of technical terms. It has attracted only too many dilettanti
and eccentrics, weaklings seeking in "Magic" an escape from reality.
I myself was first consciously drawn to the subject in this way. And it
has repelled only too many scientific and practical minds, such as I
most designed to influence. But MAGICK is for ALL.
ALL may understand instantly that their souls, their lives, in every
relation with every other human being and every circumstance,
depend upon
MAGICK
and the right comprehension and right application thereof.
The Magician must be wary in his use of his powers; he must make
every act not only accord with his Will, but with the properties of
his position at the time. It might be my Will to reach the foot of a
cliff; but the easiest way also the speediest, most direct least
obstructed, the way of minimum effort would be simply to jump. I
should have destroyed my Will in the act of fulfilling it, or what I
mistook for it; for the True Will has no goal; its nature being To
Go.
A parabola is bound by one law which fixes its relations with two
straight lines at every point; yet it has no end short of infinity, and it
continually changes its direction. The Initiate who is aware Who he
is can always check is conduct by reference to the determinants of
his curve, and calculate his past, his future, his bearings, and his
proper course at any assigned moment; he can even comprehend
himself as a simple idea.
The Inmost is one with the Inmost; yet the form of the One is not
the form of the other; intimacy exacts fitness. He therefore who
liveth by air, let him not be bold to breathe water. But mastery
cometh by measure: to him who with labour, courage, and caution
giveth his life to understand all that doth encompass him, and to
prevail against it, shall be increase. "The word of Sin is Restriction":
seek therefore Righteousness, enquiring into Iniquity, and fortify
thyself to overcome it.
There is little danger that any student, however idle or stupid, will
fail to get some result; but there is great danger that he will be
led astray, obsessed and overwhelmed by his results, even though
it be by those which it is necessary that he should attain. Too
often, moreover, he mistaketh the first resting-place for the goal,
and taketh off his armour as if he were a victor ere the fight is
well begun.
It is desirable that the student should never attach to any result
the importance which it at first seems to possess.
The following is an attempt to systematize alike the data of mysticism and
the results of comparative religion.
The skeptic will applaud our labours, for that the very catholicity of the
symbols denies them any objective validity, since, in so many
contradictions, something must be false; while the mystic will rejoice
equally that the self-same catholicity all-embracing proves that very
validity, since after all something must be true.
Fortunately we have learnt to combine these ideas, not in the mutual
toleration of sub-contraries, but in the affirmation of contraries, that
transcending of the laws of intellect which is madness in the ordinary man,
genius in the Overman who hath arrived to strike off more fetters from our
understanding.
Here again, there is no tabulation; for us it is left to sacrifice literary charm, and
even some accuracy, in order to bring out the one great point.
The cause of human sectarianism is not lack of sympathy in thought, but in
speech; and this it is our not unambitious design to remedy
The Writer certainly hopes this list of quotes would allow the reader to,
at least, get a certain understanding of the mind of the Beast (or, part of it, thereof).
In case, of course, that the reader has managed to, against all odds, find a way to
completely miss everything that was said here, and (at the same time) not
understand the message (or the idea) the Writer is trying to convey, the Writer only
feels the need to say, Until next time, then or Read that shit again. Of course,
the Writer means the whole shit.
The Promised Explanation
There was a promise made somewhere in the previous chapter. Being the
undeniable gentleman the Writer knows himself to be, he wishes to keep that
promise. What follows, therefore, is an explanation of what was meant, then, by
Formidable Name Of Reverential Dignity.
It would probably be of a surprise to the reader to learn that he or she has
already seen this Name before somewhere in this material (prior to this mention of
it the Writer is trying to explain)---that is, of course, assuming that the reader
hasnt managed to understand the meaning of it yet. Because, in case the reader has
already managed to figure it out (which, hopefully, he/she hasnt yet), there would
be no point in burping out these words, and the whole thing would turn out to be
some form of Intellectual Masturbation. Not that there is anything wrong with it.
As it turns out, the Formidable Name Of Reverential Dignity is not really a
name but a word. Its a word the Magician would say contains hypnotic power. Of
course, the Writer would have other things to say about it. (FNORD)
The Word was coined in 1965 Kerry Thornley and Gregg Hill in the Principia
Discordia (basically the Bible of all Discordians). It entered the popular culture, in
some sense, after appearing in the Illuminatus! Trilogy of satirical and parody
conspiracy fiction novels (perhaps, describing the same Universe in which the
Magician resides) by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson, the Pope. In these
novels, the word FNORD gives Hypnotic Power (that the reader can either confirm
or deny) over the Unenlightened and children in grade school were taught to be
unable to consciously see the word FNORD, where every appearance of the word
subconsciously generated some feeling of uneasiness and discomfort.
The Writer will leave it to the reader to assess this statement. (FNORD)
The Writer could also say that this FNORD, with a bit of stretch, is a
substitute for WORD, like Hashem (meaning The Name) is used to refer to
the Name of God, giving that Gods name is not to be pronounced. In the same
manner, the Writer could argue (for better or for worse) that FNORD---the
Formidable Name Of Reverential Dignity---has been put as a substitute for the
actual WORD of hypnotic Power, mainly because one simply cannot see such a
WORD. But, again, all of this would be simply speculations that the reader alone
can assess and either confirm or deny. In case the reader wishes to do just that, a
particular email will be added to this material, so the writer can be contacted and
receive feedback regarding all that has been and is being said here.
of models and reality-tunnels, without necessarily building any personal theory; or,
if there is any theory, the Writer made sure not to share these theories in a
dogmatic-type of way. The approach of the Writer seemed to have been more of a
catmatic, zen-like and fictional approach, revolving around the Formidable Name
Of Reverential Dignity (FNORD)---which has been more or less explained in the
material.
Why did the Writer refuse to share any personal theory?
Because theyre just that: Personal theories.
The Writer felt like it was more important that the reader build his or her own
theory than to learn and (instinctively) follow the Writers. This has been the lot of
all religions and philosophies. Ironically, perhaps as a result of using words, the
content of this material itself may also fall into the category of Philosophy. But, I
would tend to disagree.
There are terms in this material that the Writer has not considered
explaining; not because the Writer assumed or supposed the reader was already
familiar with these terms, but because the Writer intended on creating a sense of
curiosity in the reader. Each chapter has introduced the reader to a (either historical
or contemporary) figure the Writer considered important for the reader to construct
an intelligent vision of modern magic.
The Magician calls it a hyper-spell, because it is a spell intended to create
more than one effect. In a sense, one could say that it is a multi-purpose spell.
Magic, the Magician considers, is a work of incredible Intelligence. To work with
Magic is to work with Creative Intelligence; something the Magician assumes to
be in all individuals. If, therefore, to work with Magic is to work with Creative
Intelligence, it follows that the reader interested in the work of Magic should
creatively come up with his or her own construct of what Magic is or isnt
(including what Magic does or does not). It is in this respect that, both, the
Magician and the Writer have conspired to not reveal any practice of Magic
involving anything other than boosting the readers own sense of creativity.
It was a blast!
or isnt has been presented in it; not even in the chapter titled The Essence
of Magic.
8) The only reason you may not be a Magician yet is because you still havent
decided. To choose to be is to be.
9) Magic isnt something you find somewhere in a monastery or a temple. It is
everything and, therefore, everywhereespecially in you. The Kingdom of
Magic is within you.
10)
Choose what thou wilt shall be the whole of this material. Magic is
this material; Magic under will.
Through the process of writing this material, something occurred to me: I could go
on and on without ever feeling satisfy with what Ive got. True Magic is endless.
Its about total creativity and, therefore, does not hint at a reaching point, an
endgame. This is why it is left to the reader to continue this exploration with
Intelligence. Its really like Robert Anton Wilson put it, which I may be
paraphrasing here, Once you reach a certain point, Life is a process of Initiation.
In this sense, we certainly hope the reader will continue this process of initiation.
All that is asked of the reader can be summed up as such: 1) Do not take yourself
too seriously, 2) Do not take anything said in this material too seriously. Simply
engage them, and play with them. The Mysteries of Life, God and the Universe
shall be revealed to you.
E-mail: writermagician23@gmail.com