The Three Aeons
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That was very interesting to read!
"On the other hand, another way to identify these stars was a lunar way: the occurrence, within a particular star field, of the Full Moon."
I had no idea! Were birthsigns assigned according to the full moon (and not the sun) in those days?
As for feedback; in the part about astrology you also talk about science. It would be clearer to me if you perhaps you treat those subjects seperately and add a "Regarding science" part too.
"21st Century physics may have found this in string theory."
You don't give a Thelemic counterpart for this. (Perhaps on purpose?) I would have liked some guidance on this point in the text. I now interpreted it myself (based on the following paragraphs on the three different aeons) as Heru-ra-ha. Is that a correct assumption?
"I need to save that for another time.)
I accept, based on evidence persuasive to me, "
Those two statements, following each other immediately, make me feel lost. I accept that you know what you are talking about, but there is no way for me to make the thought-jump with you to the following concepts. I feel as if I have no stepping stone to follow you to the next ideas. It feels like the stepping stone is either in the story you are not telling me yet, or in the evidence that persuaded you, but that you don't share with the reader.
From that moment in the text I lost grip on the story and I am not too sure what is being said afterwards and how to integrate that with what I learnt previously.I hope the feedback may be helpful. Thank you so much for sharing these chapters. You have a very clear and pleasant writing style, which makes it easy for me to pick up on new concepts.
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Very good basic framework. Captures the fluidity of the idea nicely. Solid prose too.
Your connection of the 3rd to "Superconsciousness" certainly resonated with my Leary/Wilson self. -
@Orione said
"That was very interesting to read!
"On the other hand, another way to identify these stars was a lunar way: the occurrence, within a particular star field, of the Full Moon."
I had no idea! Were birthsigns assigned according to the full moon (and not the sun) in those days?"
Yes. The Moon-sign had enormously greater importance.
"As for feedback; in the part about astrology you also talk about science. It would be clearer to me if you perhaps you treat those subjects seperately and add a "Regarding science" part too."
There isn't a "regarding astrology" part, but, rather, a "regarding astronomy part." Is that what you meant? The actually isn't anything about astrology in that section (though one can draw some astrological inferences, as you did above) - it's all astronomy.
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"21st Century physics may have found this in string theory."You don't give a Thelemic counterpart for this. (Perhaps on purpose?) I would have liked some guidance on this point in the text. I now interpreted it myself (based on the following paragraphs on the three different aeons) as Heru-ra-ha. Is that a correct assumption? "
Actually, I did. I just didn't take it all the way because it's another book. It's the clue aboiut string theory (which I've been intending to write some long articles on for about ten years). The essential points of string theory read like they came straight out of Liber L. - OK, not sure what I'll do with it differently, but I'm taking note of how these parts left you feeling hanging or incomplete. Thanks.
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"I need to save that for another time.)I accept, based on evidence persuasive to me, "
Those two statements, following each other immediately, make me feel lost. I accept that you know what you are talking about, but there is no way for me to make the thought-jump with you to the following concepts. I feel as if I have no stepping stone to follow you to the next ideas. It feels like the stepping stone is either in the story you are not telling me yet, or in the evidence that persuaded you, but that you don't share with the reader.
From that moment in the text I lost grip on the story and I am not too sure what is being said afterwards and how to integrate that with what I learnt previously."Again, useful feedback. Thanks. - Just so you know what I was intending, there was, in fact, no direct step from the one to the other. The parenthetical completely concluded the one section, and the next sentence (next paragraph, in fact) went on to another topic. Would it be better without the parenthetical? There is so much more - pages and pages more - that I could say (and often say in lectures) about the gradual unfolding of the last millennium or so of the Osiris Aeon that I felt I couldn't skip it without me feeling a huge hole, so I meant only to say that there was lots, lots more - then drop the subject and go on.
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"There isn't a "regarding astrology" part, but, rather, a "regarding astronomy part." Is that what you meant? "
Yes, my bad!
"Would it be better without the parenthetical? "
Yes, I think so. I already accept at the start of the chapter that this is a very broad overview of the aeons, so it's okay to not read all the details. It's just that it felt (to me) that something crucial to understanding all following concepts was missing.
And perhaps you can even do without the first part of the next line, and make it:
"At some point around the start of the 20th Century humanity entered a third developmental phase. It is comfortable to me to accept that this is the Æon of Horus that Crowley said began in 1904, because that label and approximate timing match what I can observe from other channels."Now that I know that I wasn't missing important information, it was easy to read and understand the rest of the chapter.
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very interesting I've often wondered about the jump from sub-consciousness to consciousness myself; would you care to elaborate on what you think caused the shift?
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@Orione said
"And perhaps you can even do without the first part of the next line, and make it:
"At some point around the start of the 20th Century humanity entered a third developmental phase. It is comfortable to me to accept that this is the Æon of Horus that Crowley said began in 1904, because that label and approximate timing match what I can observe from other channels." "Thanks for the suggestion but, in this case, I'm leaving it alone. That sentence is extremely crucial to the entire piece (not to mention setting the exact tone necessary for full intellectual honesty.)
Thanks again.
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@_aLL_seEIng_eYe_ said
"very interesting I've often wondered about the jump from sub-consciousness to consciousness myself; would you care to elaborate on what you think caused the shift?"
I'd only be guessing. I think it was basically a natural evolutionary process unfolding potential already present in our DNA map. That tends to be the best theory, I think, of spiritual progress in general, that everyone has "super powers" encoded into them and certain practices and patterned external triggers set them off kin what appears to be an outright mutation - something understood better with 21st Century knowledge of how RNA throws the switch on active vs. inactive genes.
Environmental pressures can accelerate or impede these stages, of course.
Bottom line, I regard almost every single thing we do in initiatory occultism as part of natural pohysiological and psychological development - it's all "developmental psych."
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_potentiation
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) is currently receiving the most attention as the function by which learning occurs (according to my education so far...)
"In neuroscience, long-term potentiation (LTP) is a long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from stimulating them synchronously.[2]"
"LTP improves the postsynaptic cell's sensitivity to neurotransmitter in large part by increasing the activity of existing receptors and by increasing the number of receptors on the postsynaptic cell surface.[4]"
What they have not included in this brief description is the fact that this phenomenon occurs because DNA triggers are activated within the cell. The latent potential in the DNA of a particular cell is activated, improving its sensitivity (as well as the strength the "new pathway" being developed in the brain). This is the main process in the brain associated with learning and memory (so far) from a biological standpoint.
Regardless of what can or cannot be said for certain about how and if memory is actually stored in the brain, to my mind, at very least, it does provide a biological rationale for the development and strengthening of brain pathways that already exist (in potential) within the logical architechture of our DNA.
Such processes also underly the theory that entheogens chemically awaken latent pathways in the mind (instead of through the effort of training and meditation alone) and lay the groundwork for an understanding of the the strengths and weaknesses of each method as it is implemented to expand the mind.
As new pathways (circuits) are developed, new ways of thinking are achievable, though disorienting at first - as anyone who has ever "tripped" in one way or another knows. To the extent that these new ways of thinking are made compatible with living in the world of time and action, genius is activated and achieved.
So... all that to say... What stimulates the change? In my humble opinion... large scale re-synchronization of thought that causes one metaphor (circuit pattern?) to be superceded by the next higher level of functioning...? Specifically in our generation, instantaneous global information and communication - as well as the new meme of electricity and computers...
Also... before, we only had DC. Now we have AC.... Which is a new layer...
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Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
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Awesome stuff, Jim
As usual, I only wish I could read more of what you had to say.EXCEPT - I think you missed a question mark at the end of this sentence in the last paragraph:
@Jim Eshelman said
"Should not our purpose, then, be to awaken these faculties within ourselves, and encourage it in others."
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@AvshalomBinyamin said
"Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
"I'll leave that for someone else. If I had another life handy to live right now, I'd probably go into social anthro; I'll need to let someone else live that life and report on it.
I tend to agree it would be interesting. OTOH I'm not quite sure we'd find much. Part of my premise is that the old-view sort of "ages" don't actually line up that way. But it would be worth really trying to discern that mapping. In particular, I'd like to know how close the hunter-gather shift to personalized farm plots relates to this shift. I'm certain there is no way that "my land" could emerge as a concept without a sense of ego-differentiation from the herd, but it's a critical shift-point when matrilinearity shifted to patrilinearity.
Adam & Eve may have a brief cameo in my discussion of the Abyss.
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@Ash said
"Awesome stuff, Jim
As usual, I only wish I could read more of what you had to say.EXCEPT - I think you missed a question mark at the end of this sentence in the last paragraph:
@Jim Eshelman said
"Should not our purpose, then, be to awaken these faculties within ourselves, and encourage it in others."
"You're right. I did. Thanks
And... "more of what I have to say" should be available in January when the book comes out. The section right before this one is a summary of Qabalistic psychology; the section right after (also written yesterday) is called "Light & Night," and discusses the L.V.X./N.O.X. relationship.
The Intro has gotten so large that I'm thinking of breaking it up into an Intro and five successor chapters. Here's what that would look like at the moment:
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INTRODUCTION
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THE PLAYERS
Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)
Victor Neuburg (1883-1940)
John Dee (1527-1609?) & Edward Kelley (1555-1597) -
QABALISTIC & MAGICAL CONCEPTS
The Four Worlds
The Functional Basis of Astrology
The Tree of Life: The Ten Sephiroth
The Tree of Life: The Hebrew Alphabet & the Paths
Qabalistic Psychology
The Three Aeons
Light & Night
Grades in the Golden Dawn & A.'.A.'.
The Angel & the Abyss
Choronzxon -
ENOCHIAN MAGICK
The Enochian Alphabet
The 30 Enochian Aethyrs
The Call of the 30 Aethyrs
Enochian Gematria -
[VISION WORK - title not finalized]
(Discussion of the nature & method of vision work)
(Discussion of factors observable as affecting the vision contents, including quantification of the extent to which astrological and other factors were responsible for the vision contents) -
SOURCE MATERIAL FOFR V&V
[might not be chapter title, but it's the first part of contents]
[how to use the book most effectively]
[wrap-up of Introduction section]
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@Jim Eshelman said
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@_aLL_seEIng_eYe_ said
"very interesting I've often wondered about the jump from sub-consciousness to consciousness myself; would you care to elaborate on what you think caused the shift?"I'd only be guessing. I think it was basically a natural evolutionary process unfolding potential already present in our DNA map. That tends to be the best theory, I think, of spiritual progress in general, that everyone has "super powers" encoded into them and certain practices and patterned external triggers set them off kin what appears to be an outright mutation - something understood better with 21st Century knowledge of how RNA throws the switch on active vs. inactive genes.
Environmental pressures can accelerate or impede these stages, of course.
Bottom line, I regard almost every single thing we do in initiatory occultism as part of natural pohysiological and psychological development - it's all "developmental psych.""
it is interesting to note that you mentioned the infantile stage as being equally subconscious and synonymous with the Aeon of the Mother; using that comparison it would seem reasonable to assume that the onset of consciousness coincides with the onset of "memory" since most of us do not remember anything in our first years of existence(my first memory is the birth of my younger brother when i was 2yrs old) likewise non-domestic animals memory also seems instinctive. Memory to me then seems somewhat synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time, or one event being consecutive to another. In my last post i was about to ask whether you thought that consciousness was synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time but refrained when i considered you mentioned in the first Aeon that they may have been aware of the lunar cycle which would indicate memory of consecutive events but it seems a valid consideration? At what period would you put the Aeon of the Mother? and can you say what type of calender or time tracking devices did they use then?
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@AvshalomBinyamin said
"Very interesting read, and quite solid.
It might not fit within the parameters of what you are doing with the new book, but I'd love to see some mapping of these aeons and stages of consciousness to events in civilization and mythology - tool use, agriculture, adam & eve, etc., etc...
"you might be interested in Ralph Abraham's article "Chaos and the Millenium" which does that from the standpoint of a bifurcation theorist.
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%2392.Millennium/millennium.pdf
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The introductory chapters seem pretty intriguing! I hope to get this book, just as soon as I get your other two main ones
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memory... hmm...
Would written language and history count anywhere? The exteriorization of the memory function?
I'm reminded of the High Priestess holding her scroll of the Law.
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"it is interesting to note that you mentioned the infantile stage as being equally subconscious and synonymous with the Aeon of the Mother; using that comparison it would seem reasonable to assume that the onset of consciousness coincides with the onset of "memory" since most of us do not remember anything in our first years of existence(my first memory is the birth of my younger brother when i was 2yrs old) likewise non-domestic animals memory also seems instinctive. Memory to me then seems somewhat synonymous with an awareness of the linear passage of time, or one event being consecutive to another. "
aLL_seEIng_eYe, the way I learnt this (but I learnt it as a matter of fact and not really as a theory, so I don't know where these facts come from and how well-researched they are) is that children under the age of 2.5 to 3 have not yet developed a sense of self. As babies they consider themselves as part of the whole of existence and only slowly begin to differentiate between themselves and the world. Only after a few months will they understand they are not the same entity as their mother and will get seperation anxiety, for example. Kids up to the age of 2.5/3 also refer to themselves in the third person. "Mike wants milk" not "I want milk". Only at the age of 2.5/3 do they start to see themselves as real selves and from then on they will start to collect self-related memories. It is also the age at which kids start to understand their gender-identity.
It's not that kids younger than that don't remember things - they do. And it is even likely that those baby memories are stored somewhere. For example - abused kids do sometimes have mental scars from the abuse of the time before 2.5/3 but will not be able to tell a coherent story about it. We can't relate to these 'memories' in the way we can relate to our other memories, so it is difficult and different to 'remember' them.It's very interesting to relate this to the aeons!
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Some readers of your book will be taking for granted a common view that the Aeons of Isis, Osiris, and Horus correspond respectively to the astrological ages of Aries, Pisces, and Aquarius. Even Crowley, though he was vague about the matter, seems to have believed that an "aeon" was a 2000-year affair. You might want, at least in a footnote, to acknowledge that view and state that you disagree.
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@Orione said
"aLL_seEIng_eYe, the way I learnt this (but I learnt it as a matter of fact and not really as a theory, so I don't know where these facts come from and how well-researched they are) is that children under the age of 2.5 to 3 have not yet developed a sense of self. As babies they consider themselves as part of the whole of existence and only slowly begin to differentiate between themselves and the world. Only after a few months will they understand they are not the same entity as their mother and will get seperation anxiety, for example. Kids up to the age of 2.5/3 also refer to themselves in the third person. "Mike wants milk" not "I want milk". Only at the age of 2.5/3 do they start to see themselves as real selves and from then on they will start to collect self-related memories. It is also the age at which kids start to understand their gender-identity.
It's not that kids younger than that don't remember things - they do. And it is even likely that those baby memories are stored somewhere. For example - abused kids do sometimes have mental scars from the abuse of the time before 2.5/3 but will not be able to tell a coherent story about it. We can't relate to these 'memories' in the way we can relate to our other memories, so it is difficult and different to 'remember' them.It's very interesting to relate this to the aeons!"
Yes Orione we are effectually saying the same thing; I equate "separate-self" and"self-relatedness" to the "linear-mind" since the self is now the "point of reference"(Hadit as opposed to Nuit). and yes i am just a little less than 2.5 years older than my brother,so the theory seems valid, I came to the same conclusion without being aware of it. often wonder whether that is actually a lower state of consciousness though?? sometimes i think the contrary is true.
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@gmugmble said
"Some readers of your book will be taking for granted a common view that the Aeons of Isis, Osiris, and Horus correspond respectively to the astrological ages of Aries, Pisces, and Aquarius. Even Crowley, though he was vague about the matter, seems to have believed that an "aeon" was a 2000-year affair. You might want, at least in a footnote, to acknowledge that view and state that you disagree."
Thanks. I'll think about that one.
The relationship is so far and so distant that I've been preferring to handle it by ignoring it completely - not even planting in anyone's mind that there could be a relationship. But you may be right concerning those in whose minds this already exists. I'll think about that.
(Oh, I just remembered where it's somewhat quietly covered: In the glossary!)
Yeah, I'll probably add a footnote at the point where I used "ages."