College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

I am experimenting with SIRP (Supreme Invoking Ritual of The Pentagram) as described in Kraigs "Modern Magick" ..

My question is:
When using the ritual to invoke a single element, I use the active or passive spirit-pentagram first with the appropriate enochian spirit-name and then the hebrew god-name, then I use the invoking-pentagram of the element in question with the appropriate enochian vibrations. I do this in all the quarters.
When I get to the part where I affirm the presence of the archangels (before me Raphael, behind me Gabriel etc.), have I not really evoked Raphael (if I am working with air) in all the quarters? Should I not rather affirm the presence of Raphael (if working with air) in all the quarters ("Before me Raphael, behind me Raphael" etc.), or is there a good reason to stick to the "balanced" configuration of archangels, even if I am working with only one element?

I cannot find anything about this in the descriptions in Kraigs book or through google, so I am hoping to hear other viewpoints, experiences and practices on this point.

Thanks in advance,

Love is the law, love under will.

A passage from Job comes to mind:

The LORD (presumably Adonai) speaks to Job from "out of the whirlwind". Perhaps this is what you are remembering?

esv.scripturetext.com/job/38.htm

@Los said

"
@Katanoese said
"Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Yes, I read the piece on The Will on Erwin Hessles blog today (www.erwinhessle.com/writings/thelp3.ph)."

Just in the interest of clarity, when I first read your post, I thought you were talking about his exceptional essay "True Will" (www.erwinhessle.com/writings/truewill.php). But what you actually linked to above is the "short version" in one of the chapters of the brief "Thelemic Primer" (www.erwinhessle.com/writings/thelp.php).

All excellent (and clear) introductions to Thelema for anyone out there who's getting started."

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Sorry, my bad - I did mean the longer essay "True Will" which was the one I read, yes
www.erwinhessle.com/writings/truewill.ph

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Thank you very much Los! Your efforts in this thread has been immensely helpful for me!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Yes, I read the piece on The Will on Erwin Hessles blog today (www.erwinhessle.com/writings/thelp3.ph).
He seems to have come to the same conclusion as myself regarding Will, but he seems to have gotten there via an intellectual analysis (or maybe that's just how the way he explains it on the blog).

Today I was struck by the aphorism (or zen-koan is it?): "Who is the magician that makes the grass green?" .. And I was reminded of a peculiar experience from the first time this True Self made it's appearance for me .. There was this sense of being very, very intimate with the world around me, the sensations were super-strong, and at the same time - I realized that "I" was in fact very, very far away from this world around me .. There is a long way up the nervepaths, through the brain etc. before the impression of the world reaches the "I" ..

Anyway, today - realizing, in the context of this perceived "distance" to the world, that I am the magician who makes the grass green, I instantly accepted full responsibility for the world I am creating .. (Even though some reactions on the world around me are created "automatically" by instincts etc, they are still made by this creature, and there is no reason why I should not appreciate everything equally) ..

I found that I was able to instantly transform my perception of the world from a world of struggle, worries, fear and disgust, into a world of pure beauty ..

I was eating at a restaurant when this occurred, and my meal was actually transformed into spiritual sustenance! .. (that is - my actual experience of it, not the molecules of the food itself of course ) ..

Now I am experiencing something else I recognize from other major realizations - a sort of irritation, I feel pissed off and dismissive .. About this realization, I am thinking: "So? Is that it!? .. That's all?? .. Oh, for God's sake! - why couldn't someone just TELL me!??" .. .. It feels sort of anti-climatic, but I think this is just the everyday-self sort of sulking .. it knows where this process is going, and so reacts like this .. At least that has been my experience from these realizations in the past ..

Now, I think I've essentially got it .. but the problem I see is that the realization is not very well founded .. I tend to forget, and slip into the "lower" perspective again .. Into identification with the everyday-self I mean ..

"Ah me! but the glory of ravening storm
Enswathes thee and wraps thee in frenzy of form." (AL 1:1)
comes to mind ..

As I see it - yoga is good for opening up to realizations, but maybe ritual is needed to really test out the result in practice .. That's why I was wondering about using it in this context .. As I said - for me at least - ritual compares to psychedelics in that it offers an externalization of the psyche in a controlled environment - like a microscope or looking-glass, it magnifies and amplifies the effects my attitudes, thoughts, actions etc. have on the "astral substance" .. Of course I will continue to pay close attention in day-to-day life as well, but I have a feeling I should balance my experiences with yoga with some magick .. Too much yellow-school can lead to nihilism I think .. be good to get in some white-school-hedonism-action about now ..

Well, I will keep working my way up the A.'.A.'.-system in the regular fashion, and hopefully that will solidify the perspective from Thiphereth once and for all

Glad to see this thread so popular! Thanks to all for engaging so enthusiastically!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

PS: Oh, by the way - something else occurred to me today - what do you think of this: We are all actually already adepts, we're just pretending that we're not .. (?) ..

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

"thinking of the HGA as some kind of goblin that the individual contacts by doing the equivalent of a rain dance, is too ridiculous to even contemplate."

I think some people need the goblin, some need the "Super-self" or whatever .. The Angel can appear in many forms, for instance in dreams or visions. I think there is even an instance of Crowley referring to the HGA as a "dwarf" or something like that ..

@Los said

"In a marriage, the ritual marks the start of the marriage, but it doesn't cause it to happen."

To me, this is just splitting hairs .. How would you have a mark of the beginning of a marriage, without the marriage itself? How would you cause the marriage to happen without marking the beginning of it? .. There might be a distinction in theory, but in practice this is one and the same to me ..

"The day-to-day work of the couple does. If one undergoes a marriage ritual and then goes on living as a single person, then nothing has happened at all."

Not really true - If one undergoes a marriage ritual and then goes on living as a single person, you are still married, only living by yourself.
To get out of the marriage again after the ceremony, you would need an annulment or a divorce I guess ..
You could also decide that you "did not really mean it" and forget the whole thing .. The fact remains that between the time that you left the ceremony, and the time that you decided that you "did not really mean it", you were in a marriage - albeit a very short one ..
The other alternative is to take the ceremony, but "not really mean it" from the start .. that is - realize that it's just a ceremony, and it doesn't really make anything happen .. Well, I think one of the requirements for a successful ceremony is that the bride and groom enter with sincere intentions .. intention is key ..

"You know all those people on a wedding day who run around and make themselves sick thinking, "Oh, it's got to be perfect!!" and nearly passing out over the tiniest details? Those are the people who are waaaay too attached to something that's just symbolic. "

Yeah, hehe .. and it is your duty to get these people to calm down and take it easy?
In my experience, there is a period in ritual practice, when it is like that - everything has to be just perfect .. It's the same with anything I think - learning to play the piano for instance - one is likely to get an obsession with perfecting ones skills at some point .. but then after that, .. once you get it into your blood .. art can start happening ..
Of course, I agree that it is not necessarily the degree of perfect execution of the ceremony / ritual that is crucial .. and I support your efforts in dispelling superstitious notions from these practices .. But that comes with regular practice and reflections on the results I think.

In ritual, I think the intent is key .. intent is what you bring to the ritual .. it's like the (mind)"set" of the "set and setting" of the psychedelic voyager .. what you bring is amplified and shown to you .. it's in a way what you get out of it ..
When it comes to ritual execution not being perfect, I often find these "imperfections" very interesting .. Why was it that I forgot that particular line? .. Why could I not manage to visualize this or that or whatever? .. Why did I react this or that way when this happened? .. What does it tell me about myself and my relationship to my art, to the symbols I am handling in the ritual? .. etc. .. I think rituals are part of a very powerful spiritual technology ..

Do you think I would have better chance of finding my Will if I every day did something (that to me was a powerful action) to mark or renew my dedication to each day look closely at my own reactions to everyday events, and to experience how they are different from the actual reality?

When I do rituals, I use symbolic language to talk to the subconscious .. to tell it - now listen! - this is what is happening! - from now on, every day forward, we will look at everyday events closely, and our own reactions to them .. and we will strive to determine and learn from them how our perception of reality differs from the actual reality .. (Or something to that effect) ..
Only - this talk is not the language that the subconscious understands best .. It reacts much better to symbols .. these symbols have been mapped out by the Adepts of old, and we can now use them for our purposes .. For instance, it would probably be better to declare with a loud voice: "The ways of the Khabs run through .." or something similar .. In this way, you are also saying that you are not talking to the everyday-self, but the "Real self" who understands these "spells" ..

I perceive a large, open vast space that I can "talk" to, or that can "talk" to me .. ("the subconscious" in a way, but not only psychological) I associate this with Yesod, the opening of the perception of this vast "field" I associate with the opening of the path of Tav .. In ritual, I open this special time and space - which is actually beyond time and space - to access this vast domain directly .. When I impregnate this space with certain symbols, certain intents, thoughts, make certain gestures, etc. I get an echo back - the field responds, sometimes at once, in the ritual itself, or later .. but there always is a reaction .. I don't experience this as mysterious or supernatural or anything like that .. it's quite natural .. and very effective imho.

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Thank you for that brilliant post, Los!

Yes, we seem to have a mostly similar "Vision of the Holy Guardian Angel" ..

Some comments:

"If you can locate one -- just one -- instance of your mind doing this, and feel the distance between your True Self and your mind's idea of yourself"

Yes, this is the task for me now .. catching myself in real-time-distortion as you say and getting to know how that feels and works ..
Then using these observations to bridging this Abyss, this distance between the "True Self" and the day-to-day-self .. (This distance is quite apparent to me) ..
I also somehow think that this is not quite enough, though .. It feels like a language to communicate with the "True Self" ..
Ref. the story of Exodus, and the role of the ten commandments as a means of bridging the abyss between the hebrews and their god ..
Another method is through artistic expression, and this works very well for the individual, but can give highly idiosyncratic expressions that are meaningless to other than the artist himself (and his Angel) .. Other than the ten commandments, the kaballah and the tarot seems like the traditional symbol-systems for this purpose ..

"Eh, I've never found that "thinking backwards" -- what a ridiculous idea -- does anything practially to help"

Hehe .. no, I see what you mean .. Perhaps it was just meant as a way of getting used to the idea of looking at the "timeline" of ones existence from outside of causality .. Today we can probably get much the same effect just by watching a video-clip playing backwards .. I think pretty much everybody today in the modern world has no problem with this "thinking backwards" ability ..
"Liber ThIShARB" seems pretty thorough and detailed to me btw .. The "past-life-stuff" is there I guess for people who like that sort of thing .. even they should be able to get a feel for the fact that their everyday selves are not running their lives ..

"Experience the world and yourself without thought/emotions."

I know how to do this - no problem .. And even without the sense of "identity" .. It happened spontaneously the first time, and I have since learned with the help of a guide, to do it on purpose .. It was quite scary the first few times, but not anymore

"You don't seek it, per se. You clear away the crap from your perceptive faculties, and you wait for it to come."

Exactly what I said. And in addition to clearing away the crap, it could also be useful to learn a language that is more in accord with actual reality .. such as the kabbalah or the tarot, in order to facilitate communication w/ the Angel ..

I am still looking for a good method of "clearing away the crap" .. "Sample Ritual #9" still looming on the horizon ..

I see you are sceptical of ritual, Lon .. I don't really see the distinction between "marking the start of something" and "causing it to happen" though ..
If I was to get married for instance, how would I do that without "marking the start" of the marriage in some way? ..
Even though I could argue that marriage is really about doing the day-to-day work, and this is what actually "causes" the marriage to happen, I have a feeling the way one chooses to start the marriage (if it's a grand marriage with vows said in earnest for instance, or a sham-marriage with meaningless vows on the other hand) will influence to a large degree, if not outright determine, the course of the marriage itself ..

Are you sure this distinction between "starting" and "causing" is really a necessary one? .. Or is it perhaps an example of "the crap" that needs to be cleared away from ones perceptions? ..

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Hello again guys! Glad to see this topic spurs debate!

Yes, another update!

Last night I was reminded of something very interesting:
There is a part of me that goes around during the day - the conscious part that is in connection with the world around me, that goes around and does stuff, thinks and makes decisions etc.

There is also another "part of me", that operates on another level.
This is evident in a lot of ways, and last night I went through in my mind lots and lots of things that have happened in my life so far.
It turns out there are loads and heaps of evidence for the existence of this other "part of me".

(Btw. "Liber ThIShARB": www.sacred-texts.com/oto/lib913.htm
is - as I understand it - Crowleys primary recommendation as a method for dis-covering the Will. It deals with stimulating the memory and looking at ones life in a broader perspective).

The point is - I recognize the fact that there are lots and lots of events, twists and turns in the course of my life, that I could never, ever have planned with the part of me that manages day-to-day activities, which is the part that I usually identify as "me". When I look at the course my life has been taking, I can see certain evidence of another "faculty" let's call it - that makes and shapes events in a purposeful and structured way. There is also microcosmic evidence of this "faculty" - for instance in art that I have worked on.
(Now that I think about it, this is probably one reason why the orders tend to include study of divination as a subject in their curriculum ! ).

Between these two "parts" of me, there is no doubt as to who has the "upper hand" - it is of course the part that is actually shaping and making what is turning out to be my life, not the part that manages day-to-day (or year after year as it were) activities. It is the genius behind the scenes that is actually running the show.

Since I now know this, the sensible thing to do, is to arrange it so that the day-to-day part of me starts to cooperate with the part of me that is actually controlling my existence. Now - there might be some reason why the intentions of this "genius" is not known to "me" consciously .. Perhaps it is not useful for me to know the true intentions of the "genius" .. maybe I would just make a mess out of things if I did know .. This is my intuition anyway - there is some good reason why I do not know ..

What I CAN do, is try and better myself. I can simplify the functions of the personality, work to strengthen my faculties by placing them in alignment with how the world actually works .. In so many different ways, I can strive to make myself attractive to the "genius" as a conscious co-operator in this grand project that is my existence.
(I think - whether or not I am consciously cooperating or not, makes little difference, as the "genius" seems able to manipulate things as it wants anyway .. still I want to be and I am sure the "genius" really wants me on the team as a conscious co-operator too, as it will undoubtedly make things work smoother and more effectively, pluss it will be another level in life - a joy for both parties involved ) ..

The need for this "simplification" and strengthening of the day-to-day part of the personality is what I think spurred my interest in "Sample Ritual #9" from 776 1/2 that I mentioned.

The way I believe that rituals work, btw. is the same way that I have experienced initiation works - they start certain processes in ones life. The trick would be to start the processes that lead you in the right direction.

In addition to entering the process of dropping illusions, "simplifying" the perceptions, strengthening the ego and generally making one self more fit for a conscious co-operator, I think it will not hurt to also try and look deeper into the structure of my life in order to see if I can see some pattern there ..

Although I am still not sure about using "Sample Ritual #9" .. I will probably know in a while what to do

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Thanks guys! .. I tried this, and it is working great for me so far

I think stimulating the higher chakras is less problematic if I balance it with stimulation of the lower at the same time .. So - while working on the Ajna chakra, I also work on the Svadhisthana-chakra in order to easier keep the balance ..

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

A quick update -
After a bit of research, I came upon "Sample Ritual #9" in 776 1/2, which resonated strongly with me, and seems to describe a procedure I can benefit greatly from in my situation .. That is - purifying the personality and perceptions, prompting the Khabs to flow out and purify the Khu / aura, and thus hopefully the True Will can not only shine forth and become perceptible to the consciousness, but also become more effective in my life through the more effective and attuned Khu ..

I now plan to start preparations for this performance by procuring the necessary ingredients and instruments.
I also think it will be a good idea for me to practising "Liber ThIShARB" for a time before the actual ritual as a preparation.

Please share your informed opinions on my plans, and any experience you might have with this procedure that you think will be useful

On my way to the "Treasure House of Images"!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

@Los said

"The “discovery” of the will (the dis-covering of it) consists of catching your mind distorting impressions in real time, during your day-to-day life – catching your mind attempting to substitute its preferences for the real preferences of the True Self – and course-correcting in the moment, allowing the actual inclinations (i.e. the “True Will”) to “pour through the veil,” as it were. Doing this is a skill, and like any other skill – say, like driving or playing a musical instrument – it takes time and practice before it starts to become second nature."

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Spot on!
I think this is essentially what others here have been pointing to also .. except your description seems more concrete, practical and useful to me
Thank you!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

@Jim Eshelman said

"Interesting your comment about meaningless work.

One could reasonably say that, in karma yoga, an expected result is that all work becomes meaningless, i.e., there is no differentiated value between one kind of work and another. One goes forward into it solely the sake of work itself.

My most significant breakthrough in conscious knowledge of my True Will came unsought as a consequence of a kind of magical retirement. The key of the retirement was recognizing that the much disliked boss who "expected unreasonable devotion" was, in fact, the perfect object for devotion. I understood at the beginning that it was all service - that any devotion, however unreasonable and disdainful the object, was nonetheless devotion. From pursuing the next three months in that fashion, I had a significant breakthrough.

In that spirit, I wish you nothing but meaningless work. "

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Yes, I think I understand, Jim
I associate your comment on karma yoga with the two last sentences of AL 1:22.

Now that I think about it - yes, I can see how this approach can lead to a breakthrough ..
When the kind of work itself becomes meaningless, what is there to do but "fill it" with the Will, and in that way becoming conscious of it, right? ..

I will keep this in mind .. not only regarding work, but other things as well .. To not prefer anything rather than something else .. To see the opposite perspective in all things ..
All this, and a lot of other stuff that's happening now (such as the control of the intuition and general equilibration) seems very Dominus Liminis to me .. Although I feel all the time that I am missing something from the preliminary grades .. I will continue working and I will check and see what I can find out .. Thank you very much! Much appreciated!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

@kasper81 said

"trust your intuition

there are means and ways"

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

Thanks

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

Thank you so much, guys!

Yes, I think I need to choose - but I need to choose from the right motivation, like you say Patrick - I need to trust my intuition and be honest with myself and my choices. Also, there is always the option to change my mind quicker so I don't have to fear getting stuck in the same situation I was before

I already feel much better about this I was feeling frustrated and pressured into making a quick decision about the money-work .. I will continue doing The Great Work, of course, cultivating my intuition and self-honesty, and putting a lot more stock in those factors than before when making decisions ..

Then I will make my choices joyously

I think you are right - I have all the tools I need .. This will be sweet

Thanks again. Your kind encouragement and support is very much appreciated.

David S - Yes, my money-work is a series of deadlines, very stressful, time-consuming, and I certainly learned a lot about communication, social interaction, about myself, life, and others .. The work itself is producing mind-numbing entertainment for the masses, which is good for a laugh I guess, but not a very healthy or helpful product (in my opinion).
The worst part is that it takes a lot of time and energy, and sort of drains me to the degree that it's hard to even have the energy or focus to look for "ways out" or research other alternatives ..
I actually do think you have a good point - it's definitely a good thing to be able to "pay ones own way". And it's true that you have the opportunity at least to learn a lot of interesting stuff about life when this goes on .. This is how I used to justify my job to myself anyway ..
However, after almost 20 years of this, with me turning 40, mid-life crisis approaching, body deteriorating etc, it's finally time to pursue my own interests in more depth, at least for a while, before it's too late. I don't care if others are paying my way for the moment. I will give back to them later. I think this project is well worth it, both for me, and for society, and I place more trust in my own decision about that, than I would what other people who would think it was "not fair".
As I see it now, this was a very good decision for me.
Hopefully in time, I will be able to contribute something much more valuable than reality-television

Thanks again!

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,

I am happy to report that I am at last living the dream!
This year, as of January 1st, I have gone on the dole, and I am now using all my time to pursue The Great Work.
I have gone through initiation in both the local O.T.O. body, and luckily, I have now also become a probationer of an A'.'A.'.-lineage. My dream is happening, and I can honestly say, I have never been happier in my life

Today, however my old job called and wanted to hear if I could come back this autumn to continue working for them. I told them it was a little early in the year for me to decide, but I felt the pressure to decide; rather sooner than later ..
I was planning to use my year off also to look for alternative ways of earning a living, but perhaps I will have to come up with some new strategy for that sooner than I thought.

My question is about the "True Will" ..
Namely - how do I find it!? ..

What little advice I get from the O.T.O. community, has to do with focusing on "Pure" Will, rather than "True" Will. (That is - as I drop more and more things I discover to be NOT my Will, the "Pure Will" gradually becomes visible)

As I understand it, The Great Work is a lot about working with perspectives, and is more of a tool for discovering the True Will, than it is a candidate for the True Will itself? .. I think the reason why I enjoy doing The Great Work so much, is because it prompts me to move towards the discovery of my True Will, and not because "this is it", as they say (?) .. (Or perhaps it is? - I don't know) ..

Even though I enjoy something as much as this, how do I know if it's really my "True Will"?

Is the True Will something I discover, or something I choose?

The way I hope this could work out is:

• I discover my True Will.
• I get the "momentum of the Universe" at my back.
• I continue doing my Will, which would necessarily include continually finding progressively more optimal synthesis of earning a living and at the same time doing my Will more and more strongly and effectively ..
• Ideally, I would never have to do meaningless work (as in work only for the money - selling my time on earth like a common whore .. ) again, without this work at least having at least some connection to me doing my Will in some way ..
• I would like to be the source of my activities (which would of course include procuring money in some way), rather than a "hand for hire" of some other Will.

Then there is the question about accepting money for spiritual advice .. Over time, I could perhaps set myself up as a guru of some sort, but I think it would be a bad mistake to do this "for a living" ..

Sorry for the long post and scattered questions..

I guess what it boils down to is this:
I am feeling so free, so lucky to be able to structure my days and my work myself .. I feel like something is beginning to pouring out from inside, rather than me just reacting to forces shaping my existence from the outside ..
I dread the prospect of taking a step back again this autumn, and I am desperately looking for a way to take control over my life, to be the source of the happening, rather than the receiver. I imagine - if I could find out the Truth about my existence, I would be able to take the step up and remain in this mode of life, even in the face of the necessity of earning money ..

As always, any advice is highly appreciated.

Love is the law, love under will,
Frater Katanoese