College of Thelema: Thelemic Education

Greetings of Peace. Seeing that this thread has become sidetracked toward the consideration of scientific objectivity, I would like to take the opportunity to restate my last questions in the hopes of eliciting a response.

Are there more or less objective criteria that a prospective candidate may use for exercising discernment prior to joining an initiatory order. Is there such a thing as "orthodoxy" and "orthopraxy" in occultism or are the standards of judgment entirely subjective and relative?

It is a much repeated axiom that initiation is for the few rather than for the masses for whom, in the words of the introduction to the Temple of Thelema, "conventional religions are provided". What criteria, if any, are used by occult orders to determine who belongs to this few? According to occultism, are there any intellectual or moral qualifications for initiation?

Finally, although aspirants possess diverse motives for pursuing initiation, what is the purpose of initiation as determined by the occult orders? Also, how does the fruit of initiation manifest itself within the life of the initiate (or within your lives for those of you who are initiates?

In Peace,
Philalethes

Greetings of peace. I was referring to initiatory orders, specifically to the legitimacy or 'effectiveness' or 'actuality' of their initiation. I suppose that according to the previous discussion it is natural to say that if one of the aims of initiation is to establish inner plane contacts, then the possession of such contacts is a necessary criteria for the effectiveness of the order in conferring initiation legitimately. My primary question is if there are more or less objective criteria that a prospective candidate may use for exercising discernment prior to joining such a group. Is there such a thing as "orthodoxy" and "orthopraxy" in occultism or are the standards of judgment entirely subjective and relative?

Having secured a preliminary overview of initiation in answer to the questions What? and How?, I would like to follow this with an inquiry as to Who? and Why?. It has been said that initiation is for the few rather than for the masses. What are the qualifications for initiation and how do occult orders determine which people are of the select few? Also, although the purpose of initiation is communicated to a degree by its definition, what is its end? People undoubtedly possess various motives for pursuing initiation but where does the path ultimately lead? What is its fruit and how does it manifest within the life of the initiate?

In Peace,
Philalethes

Greetings of Peace. Thank you for your clarifications and recommendation of the Magical Battle of Brittain. I perused this volume several years ago and if I remember its contents correctly, it is very likely the one you had in mind. I will make an effort to track down a copy and examine it as time permits. In the meantime, would you mind describing precisely what a Third Order or Inner Plane contact is (if these designations are in fact synonymous)? Also, would this be considered a criterion of legitimacy, i.e. whether or not an order is contacted in such a fashion? If so, is it possible for a person approaching an initiatory order to determine if it possesses such contacts or is this simply a matter that must be accepted at the outset on faith alone?

In your latter comments you discussed the notion of a current that was transmitted from the Prolocutor, through the temple chiefs, to the ordained Hierophant. It would seem that an initiate participating within group convocation would undoubtedly be exposed to this current regardless of their degree, but that in certain circumstances it is mobilized and specifically directed to effect an alchemical transmutation within the initiate - you mentioned the magical act of the eight degree as an example of this. I would like to inquire as to what this current is and where it originates? Do different orders employ different currents?

I wish to thank you for your responses thus far and although I hope that you do not find my many questions cumbersome, please understand that I rarely receive such explicit and straightforward answers to inquiries of this kind.

In Peace,
Philalethes

Dear Jim, Greetings of Peace, and thank you for your prompt response. I originally studied magick with you at a College of Thelema course over ten years ago. As I recall, you possessed a mastery of your subject, were very courteous toward your students, and gave generously of your time. This is part of the reason why, when choosing to re-examine these subjects after such a long hiatus, I chose to submit my questions here.

I was very satisfied with your reply because I had in mind particularly those forms of initiation based upon a qabalistic model. From what you have suggested it would seem that initiation into those schools based upon this model is very similar, the key stages of initiation being those associated with the lower three sephiroth of the middle pillar.

Looking over the introductory chapter of The Mystical and Magical System of the A.'.A.'. I noticed that you have provided what may serve as a provisional definition of initiation as applied to the Order A.'.A.'. (and I am assuming to the phenomenon of qabalistic initiation in general) when you wrote, "the Tree of Life also serves as the perfect scheme for plotting the stages of progressive initiation; that is, of progressive unfoldment of aspects of expanded consciousness."

In addition to this progressive unfoldment, you have identified two primary aspects of initiation within the context of the Temple of Thelema including linkage to the inner powers overseeing the work and imprinting the pattern of the order within the subconscious. Concerning the former, and without asking you to divulge privileged information concerning your order specifically, does this generally refer to the cultus of an order such as the Thelemic Pantheon or the Aurum Solis constellation of the worshiped? If so, what would the analogous inner powers be that are associated with the Golden Dawn, for instance, which includes in its work an vast pantheon of Egyptian deities? Concerning the latter, is it safe to assume that in the context of qabalistic initiation in general the pattern in question is the qabalistic tree of life or perhaps is it something more specific to the cultus such as the Aurum Solis Five-fold House of Sacrifice, or both depending upon the idiosyncrasies of the particular group?

In describing the mechanism of initiation, you have described several different possibilities. If we are to focus on qabalistic initiation specifically as represented by the Golden Dawn, Aurum Solis, and analogous orders, is the phenomenon of initiation simply a matter of psychological imprinting, that is, of imprinting a pattern on the subconscious? As you mentioned the possibilities of exposure to the aura of a senior initiate or direct conveyance of an inner connection to the guiding powers, I am wondering to what extent these are necessary to the process, if at all. Is the form of the ritual and the pattern imprinted upon the subconscious sufficient to effect initiation as you have described it here or is an additional transmission of power from an advanced initiate also necessary?

Thank you for considering my inquiries.

In Peace,
Philalethes

Greetings of Peace,

Several years ago I ceased the practice of occultism for the investigation of its analogue within the esoteric traditions of Orthodox Religions. Looking back upon my time devoted to occultism, I realize that there are many things that I pursued without fully comprehending them or the explanations that are given by occult teachings. One of these is the phenomenon of initiation. By way of rectifying my previous error, I would like to ask some very basic and foundational questions (to be followed by more precise questions) with the intention of identifying this phenomenon, comparing the occult teachings with what I have learned from orthodox perspectives, and ultimately exercising discrimination and judgment between the two. I would appreciate any assistance that you may have to offer in this matter. My preliminary inquiries are as follows:

What is initiation?

How does it work?

Is the occult perspective concerning initiation generally the same throughout different occult schools or does it vary?

Thanks,
Philalethes

@h2h said

"Fulcanelli’s Mystery of the Cathedrals refers to the “language of the birds”, a secret or green language by which Adepts would communicate with each other as well as being considered a divine language ... If anyone has researched this topic before and can point me toward sources, that would be much appreciated."

The following is an article by Rene Guenon on the symbolism and meaning of the Language of the Birds:

www.worldwisdom.com/uploads/pdfs/28.pdf

"...this conquest essentially implies the reintegration into the center of the human state, that is, into the point where communication is established with the higher states of the being. It is this communication which is represented by the understanding of the language of the birds ..." -Rene Guenon

I am about to embark on a reading of two books on the phenomenon of Initiation written by Rene Guenon called Perspectives on Initiation (www.sophiaperennis.com/guenon_perspectives.html) and Initiation and Spiritual Realizaition (www.sophiaperennis.com/guenon_spiritrealize.html). I am curious if anyone else has experience with these books or possibly others by this author and would be willing to comment on or provide opinions of them. Thanks.