Degrees of astral projection mastery
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At what grade of the AA one is supposed to master the projection to the point of being able to visit friends on the physical plane like Crowley did?
At what grade one is supposed to be able to master lucid dreaming?
At what grade one is supposed to master full astral projection in every way possible(mastery of planes, worlds(?)) within the projection?
Could you write the degrees of astral projection mastery in the right order and their correspondances to the AA grades?
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This pertains to the work of the Neophyte. "
"The Neophyte is charged with the task of attaining "control of the nature and powers of [his] own being." This is prosecuted through the acquisition and use of the technique of Rising on the Planes, i.e. by acquiring perfect control of the Astral Plane."
Various techniques for the mastery of the astral plane are included in Magick in Theory and Practice.
Mastery of the Body of Light seems to be a particular stumbling block to students, I've discovered. This is probably due to the fact that there are so many vagaries to the work. Astral travel is much different from active imagination, lucid dreaming, and scrying--though students seem to confuse these to no end, often out of a lust to advance in the discipline. Initiation of actual astral travel, at least in my experience has a very distinct sensation associated with it, akin to being sucked out of one's etheric skin by a cosmic vacuum cleaner--rather uncomfortable the first few times. I discovered how to travel in this fashion while under the influence of ketamine, which otherwise is a rather useless compound for most purposes. I was more or less able to "reverse engineer" my way to the brain stem where I learned which buttons to push to activate various parts of the central nervous system. The mind is a profoundly interesting realm.
At any rate, after you've figured out how to clench your psychic sphincter, remember to go up, not down.
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Thanks... i will look into that book in detail.
Concerning Neophyte work, it surprises me a lot you phrase it that way.
Is a Neophyte supposed to master ALL forms of astral work, including those i mentioned???
Because the "test" required to advance to zelator, as i understood it, doesnt seem to involve full projection, nor changing planes once projected, nor visiting friends on the physical plane...
The test is using symbols you're not supposed to know, and as far as you gather relevant information concerning them, you're supposed to master sufficiently the astral plane for that grade.
So, you're "guided" by the symbol, and there's no imperative on the degree of projection involved as far as you get right information...
That would be a huge difference.
Also, if you master completely the astral plane like you imply, as a Neophyte, then you should be able to perform much more advance yoga as well, no?
I thought it took samadhi to master all forms of astral work actually.
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@Frater Horus said
"At what grade of the AA one is supposed to master the projection to the point of being able to visit friends on the physical plane like Crowley did? "
That's not tested at any point. (The goal is spiritual awakening, not manifesting phenomena.)
"At what grade one is supposed to be able to master lucid dreaming?"
I don't think the technique had been articulated in Crowley's time. In any case, it's not in the curriculum. (It's a lighter weight version of what the Neophyte has to master.)
"At what grade one is supposed to master full astral projection in every way possible(mastery of planes, worlds(?)) within the projection?"
Rising on the Planes is tested in 4=7, if that's what you mean.
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@Jim Eshelman said
"Rising on the Planes is tested in 4=7, if that's what you mean."
Yes, that's what i remember from your book...
Also, there's no timperative written on the degree of projection for the Neophyte as far as he gets right information concerning the symbols.
And concerning visiting friends... i know it is not tested. I just wanted to know if there's a correspondance to a grade, so i can get better the whole picture.
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@Frater Horus said
"Also, there's no timperative written on the degree of projection for the Neophyte as far as he gets right information concerning the symbols. "
From One Star in Sight: "He is tested in “the Spirit Vision” or “Astral Journeying” by giving him a symbol unknown and unintelligible to him, and he must interpret its nature by means of a vision as exactly as if he had read its name and description in the book when it was chosen."
"And concerning visiting friends... i know it is not tested. I just wanted to know if there's a correspondance to a grade, so i can get better the whole picture."
Nope.