Path of Tav
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@aum418 said
"In the A.'.A.'. system, the Path of Tav is tread in 1=10 level, where one obtains mastery of the Astral plane.
The instructions given in Liber O by Crowley are about 2 sentences long. What methods have people used for success?"
The methods in Liber O are several paragraphs long... but admittedly they're short paragraphs.
Others may have something to kick in, but just wanted to say that those instructions (which, actually, include all four prior sections of Liber O as essential elements of preparation) were the exact ones I used to learn to do this.
There are a few additional tricks that can be pretty easily taught in person, one-on-one - but (1) I want to emphasize that they're just "icing on the cake" tricks that smooth the way a little and (2) I'm not sure I could effectively produce them effectively in writing - they really translate best in person.
There are, of course, support tricks. Spontaneous results on various drugs are quite common. This isn't to say I'm suggesting you use drugs instead of mind training, just acknowledging that this is one way that easily produces introductory experiences.
Long experience in meditation helps a lot also! - because most of the body training and mind training that make the transition to non-corporeal Yetziratic consciousness much easier. (If I'd had that sort of training and experience at the start, I'd probably have had success six months earlier than I did - just guessing.) All of the basics of physical relaxaiton, easy posture, rhythmic breathing, etc. are excellent lead-ins.
Another confusion is that a lot of books and discussions confuse the Body of Light or "astral projection" technique with etheric projection - externalization at the most rarified part of physical substance so that the orientation is to the surrounding physical universe. Though that sometimes happens en route to the Body of Light technique, it isn't necessarily a part of the practice and, for most people, occurs much later on if at all.
Does that help?
PS - I'll reproduce the Liber O instructions below. One way the thread might benefit is if you can identify the specific point(s) where you are having difficulty.
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After preliminary instructions in point of view, Qabalistic basics, assumption of god-forms, and the use of the Pentagram and Hexagram rituals, Liber O continues as follows:
"1. Let the student be at rest in one of his prescribed positions, having bathed and robed with the proper decorum. Let the place of working be free from all disturbance, and let the preliminary purifications, banishings and invocations be duly accomplished, and, lastly, let the incense be kindled.
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Let him imagine his own figure (preferably robed in the proper magical garments and armed with the proper magical weapons) as enveloping his physical body, or standing near to and in front of him.
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Let him then transfer the seat of his consciousness to that imagined figure; so that it may seem to him that he is seeing with its eyes, and hearing with its ears.
This will usually be the great difficulty of the operation.
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Let him then cause that imagined figure to rise in the air to a great height above the earth.
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Let him then stop and look about him. (It is sometimes difficult to open the eyes.)
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Probably he will see figures approaching him, or become conscious of a landscape.
Let him speak to such figures, and insist upon being answered, using the proper pentagrams and signs, as previously taught.
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Let him travel about at will, either with or without guidance from such figure or figures.
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Let him further employ such special invocations as will cause to appear the particular places he may wish to visit.
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Let him beware of the thousand subtle attacks and deceptions that he will experience, carefully testing the truth of all with whom he speaks.
Thus a hostile being may appear clothed with glory; the appropriate pentagram will in such a case cause him to shrivel or decay.
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Practice will make the student infinitely wary in these matters.
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It is usually quite easy to return to the body, but should any difficulty arise, practice (again) will make the imagination fertile. For example, one may create in thought a chariot of fire with white horses, and command the charioteer to drive earthwards.
It might be dangerous to go too far, or to stay too long; for fatigue must be avoided.
The danger spoken of is that of fainting, or of obsession, or of loss of memory or other mental faculty.
- Finally, let the student cause his imagined body in which he supposes himself to have been travelling to coincide with the physical, tightening his muscles, drawing in his breath, and putting his forefinger to his lips. Then let him “awake” by a well-defined act of will, and soberly and accurately record his experiences.
It may be added that this apparently complicated experiment is perfectly easy to perform. It is best to learn by “travelling” with a person already experienced in the matter. Two or three experiments will suffice to render the student confident and even expert. See also “The Seer,” pp. 295-333."
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"2. Let him imagine his own figure (preferably robed in the proper magical garments and armed with the proper magical weapons) as enveloping his physical body, or standing near to and in front of him.
- Let him then transfer the seat of his consciousness to that imagined figure; so that it may seem to him that he is seeing with its eyes, and hearing with its ears.
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That part. The split never happens - never comes close to happening, it seems.
Ive had practice with meditation for over a year - I am familiar with many concentration exercises. I can concentrate, it seems, but never astrally split or even scry. I simply dont get it.
- Let him then transfer the seat of his consciousness to that imagined figure; so that it may seem to him that he is seeing with its eyes, and hearing with its ears.
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@aum418 said
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"2. Let him imagine his own figure (preferably robed in the proper magical garments and armed with the proper magical weapons) as enveloping his physical body, or standing near to and in front of him.- Let him then transfer the seat of his consciousness to that imagined figure; so that it may seem to him that he is seeing with its eyes, and hearing with its ears."
That part. The split never happens - never comes close to happening, it seems."
I'm not sure "split" is the right word. (Or maybe it is exactly right because you end up existing in two places simultaneously in a sense.)
Take it step by step. Let's see if we can find the step where this breaks.
Are you able (after your preliminary banishing, other personal preparation, and seating yourself) to imagine an approximate replica of yourself standing before you? (Don't worry about fine points. A robed figure is best because the shape is more amorphous and flowing other than the face, and only the broadest movements need to be witnessed.)
If you get that far, then there's a 'jump' that you have to make on your own - I can't tell you how to do it any more than I could tell you how to lift your arm. But, after making eye contact with the figure, the main thing is to establish your point of view behind its eyes, which are initially closed. Don't worry about also perceiving the room through your own physical senses in your physical body - you're there, too, so it will seem "dual channel" most likely (at this stage of learning). Don't rush. Figure the first time that it's a significant success to spend perhaps as much as half an hour learning to open the eyes of the imagined figure and see the room first to the right and left of your physical body, and then behind it. From the figure's eyes, see your physical body sitting just where it's actually located. If you accomplish nothing more than this the first time, it's a good session.
After a time or two of this, have the figure rotate 180° so that (like your physical body) it's facing east, and then have it perform the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. This has the advantage of fortifying it, and of working off of habit patterns you've probably already developed so that you can better "get lost in it," and of fortifying the astral defenses for anything further.
Don't go further until you have some success in this.