A tad sacrilegious question...
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93 all,
I have a question for Jim and anyone else who handles Neophytes regularly that may be a little sacrilegious and hard to quantify. Assume that a young aspirant begins to practice Thelema in earnest at age, say, 23. He'd previously been initiated in a Wiccan coven or two and has had success with thaumaturgic spells, Tarot/I Ching/runes, and the Neopagan sort of astral work. On the mystical side, he has practiced light Zen meditation and takes hatha yoga. He has a bit of school left, works full time but not overmuch. He is not (yet) a formal member of the A:. A:. for many reasons, but is pursuing the work, and the path, independently while attending events at a more fraternal group and pursuing group ritual with his own covenesque group.
How long would such an aspirant, on average, take to attain the various stages: vision of HGA, true success with astral work and control over the body of Light, and ultimately after how many years, on average, does he begin to pursue the task of the Adeptus Minor? I am asking about means and medians, no need to worry about standard deviation as this is only meant as a guide.
Thanks, and blessings. 93 93/93
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@Lykathea said
"How long would such an aspirant, on average, take to attain the various stages"
there's no average in such a task. (and if there was, what it would truly mean for you?)
every star has its own nature and its own path.the important thing is to start going - take the first step, and fot the time being focus only on it.
one can not plan the Great Work in the same sense that one can plan to graduate in time when he/she enters the college, for example. -
@Lykathea said
"How long would such an aspirant, on average, take to attain the various stages: vision of HGA, true success with astral work and control over the body of Light, and ultimately after how many years, on average, does he begin to pursue the task of the Adeptus Minor? I am asking about means and medians, no need to worry about standard deviation as this is only meant as a guide. "
Easy question to answer, but the answer has nothing to do with any of the distinguishing factors you mentioned.
The answer is: Everybody is different, and the difference doesn't necessarily have to do with anything at all that you mentioned.
If someone with the right traits, karma, commitment, circumstances etc. applied themselves uninterruptedly and took each step in the minimal amount of time, they could move from admission as a Probationer to Adeptus Minor in about 2 1/2 years - but that mathematical fact has almost no relation to the time it actually takes any actual person. (Aside from the fact that the "right" traits, circumstances, etc. are not standardized from person to person - the circumstances that favor one Star, on one karmic path, are not the circumstances that favor another.)