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THE PURPOSE OF MAGIC (The great work)

  
  

Page: 12(3)

 
 
Bruno
10:03 / 25.06.06
Did some etymological research:

'Genius' in middle English meant 'guardian spirit'
In Roman Mythology it meant 'A tutelary deity or guardian spirit of a person or place.' (American Heritage online)

According to Oxford
16thC'tutelary deity or spirit; demon; characteristic or prevalent disposition or spirit;
17thC innate capacity; person as possessing this
18thC extraordinary native intellectual power.
In Latin it originally meant "attendant spirit; inclination; appetite; (rarely) intellectual capacity"

Genius is probably from the Indo-European root 'gen' meaning 'To give birth, beget; with derivatives referring to aspects and results of procreation and to familial and tribal groups.' In the entry for gen, genius is given as 'procreative divinity, inborn tutelary spirit, innate quality' (American Heritage)


'Daimon' (delta alpha iota mu omega nu) meant 'divinity; spirit' in Ancient Greek and could be used for a number of different kinds of divinities (I am unsure of its relation to 'theos/thea' (god/goddess) which I assume was what was used to refer to deities such as Demeter, Zeus etc). Probably comes from the root 'daiomai' (and originally Indoeuropean root 'da-') meaning 'to divide' or 'to seperate' - because the daimon provided or handed out one's fate. (Or maybe one can see it as a single divinity divided into many divinities/daimons; this interpretation is mine.)
Daimon (demon) was first used in the negative sense of an 'evil spirit' in the New Testament.

Entries on 'Will' here and here. There's a lot of different meanings and interesting connections to be made but I won't copy paste them here.

Ancient Greek 'Thelema' (Theta epsilon lambda eta mu alpha) literally means Will; it derives from the verb root 'ethelo' (epsilon theta epsilon lamda omega) meaning 'to want, to will'. Unknown etymology.

Pretty chaotic as etymology usually is, but there's lots of food for thought if you are so inclined.
 
 
Doc Checkmate
13:42 / 27.06.06
bizznump.

It occurred to me the other day that, for all our talk of refining the soul and crossing the Abyss and platinum-plating our astral grills, we magicians don't seem to be a very enlightened bunch. How effective a tool IS magic for spiritual growth?

(I'm confining my comments to the Western mystery tradition here. I really don't know enough about other systems and their practitioners to keep my foot out of my mouth, and I think I may have stepped in dog shit on the way to work this morning.)

I won't deny magic's power in providing insights into ourselves and the world around us, and of course that will often aid spiritual development. But this isn't so different from being a writer or psychologist, or really any student of human knowledge... the understanding that it brings can, but doesn't have to, translate into a more integrated and healthy individual. My girlfriend's mom is a shrink, and she's not without issues despite her profound understanding of the human mind. Writers dive deep into the human psyche, but they don't all come back as saints. Are we doing any better by evoking entities, floating around on the astral, and all the rest? We're allegedly "reintegrating" the submerged parts of ourselves. Where are these great, reintegrated magicians? Where the fuck is this summum bonum, true wisdom, and perfect happiness? Who actually managed to pull that off?

The leading lights in magic often seem to be a pack of degenerates and bickering parochialists. Brilliant maybe, with impressive magical achievements, but not quite confidence-inspiring about magic's spiritual benefits. The A.'.A.'. is supposed to be some sort of factory for enlightened, omnibenevolent overmen, yet their leader and shining exemplar was Aleister Crowley. Like it or not, Crowley--great magician, brilliant scholar, racist, heroin addict, all-around prick--is Western magic's central figure, its Buddha.

Continuing the compare/contrast here, the system the Buddha refined and taught has produced beings of perpetual joy and staggering compassion. We've got Pete Carroll and Bill fucking Breeze. These are our ascended masters? And if not, where are they? For the love of God, the only big heap magician who seems to be having any fun is Lon Milo Duquette. Think about that.

I'm not questioning magic's ability to enrich the intellect and even the deeper levels of mind. It's already started doing that for me. And, as I've said, I believe that this can help us grow spiritually. I'm a magician and glad to be one. But I'm also a law student, and a musician, and a thousand other things that enrich me and bring me joy without claiming to alchemically transmute my soul into pure gold or whatever. Enlightenment's a lot to ask, but the Western magical canon definitely talks the talk there. It describes a parallel path to the royal road of Eastern mysticism. Does it walk?

I don't have an answer, and I'd really appreciate other people's ideas and opinions. Maybe it's just that the magicians who really walk the path keep quiet about it. I dunno.
 
 
Doc Checkmate
13:53 / 27.06.06
(sorry to multi-post)

The bit about Duquette being the ONLY happy, well-adjusted magical muckitymuck was an unfair exaggeration. I don't know anything about Phil Hine's personal life, just to pick a random example. My point stands, but I was a bit over-the-top about it. My bad.
 
 
Bruno
15:54 / 27.06.06
Doc Checkmate, my impression is
that Crowley's idea of Enlightenment actually involved all the nasty things about him, that Enlightenment brings within it all the contradictions, that there is no good without evil, something like that.
When you're not enlightened it's difficult to know what enlightenment would entail.

As time goes by I find myself more and more distanced from Crowley. I think he was a reactionary and in many ways trapped within his time (and within his class).

I'd also like to echo what others said,
that enlightenment is not a final goal but part of an ongoing process. So don't expect to ever meet anyone who is 'completed'.
(except me of course.)
 
 
Bruno
16:08 / 27.06.06
from the first paragraph of that link by Crowley
"It struck you naturally enough that on the surface there is little distinction between the New Law and the canon of Anarchy; and you ask, "How is the Law to be fulfilled in the case of two boys who want to eat the same orange?" But since only one boy (at most) can eat the orange, it is evident that one of them is mistaken in supposing that it is essential to his Will to eat it. The question is to be decided in the good old way by fighting for it."

Well what about just cutting the orange in half Crowley?
 
 
LVX23
23:30 / 27.06.06
I don't thik the goal is necessarily to find true happiness. A bit more happiness, sure, but I think we're also seeking meaning and context in the face of what often appears to be a very unfeeling and nihilistic experience of life. The western esoteric canon is a set of maps and structures built upon the myths of our history. The languages, godforms, and glyphs have guided people like us for millenia and continue to offer paths towards self-discovery that are arguably far more important now than they've ever been.
 
 
Professor Silly
04:09 / 28.06.06
Near as I can tell, the only way to judge the success of another magician is by the product of their work. Successful magicians that are writers (most of the names listed above) find themselves published sooner or later. If one is able to achieve transcendence/cosmic conciousness, then they will have opened the divine inspiration floodgate.

Comparing Crowley's early poetry to The Book of Thoth or Liber Aleph, it's obvious that something happen that changed him...because his early poetry SUCKS but the stuff he wrote towards the end seems utterly brilliant. (I only pick Crowley for this example because I'm familiar with his work).

I'd be willing to bet that most of the big names throughout history were magicians of some type or another--Newton, Pythagoras, Leonardo. This is the only measure I can imagine when judging other magicians--the successful ones will be successful in whatever they do. The proof is in the pudding, so to speak.
 
 
EvskiG
14:26 / 28.06.06
How effective a tool IS magic for spiritual growth?

Crowley suggested that when it comes to spiritual growth Western magic takes the scenic route through each of the sephira, while some (but by no means all) Eastern spiritual practices take a more direct route to the Crown. No surprise that plenty of Western practitioners get lost before the end, or decide to make their homes in one of the lower spheres off the Middle Pillar.

Where are these great, reintegrated magicians? Where the fuck is this summum bonum, true wisdom, and perfect happiness? Who actually managed to pull that off?

If they aren't writers or publicity seekers, why would anyone outside of their immediate circle know about them?

The leading lights in magic often seem to be a pack of degenerates and bickering parochialists. Brilliant maybe, with impressive magical achievements, but not quite confidence-inspiring about magic's spiritual benefits.

Maybe the people you're thinking of aren't magic's leading lights.

I'm not sure how you measure magical achievements, but I'm more impressed by someone who has used magic to achieve and maintain a happy, fulfilling, and interesting life than someone who can make it rain on cue -- if anyone can.

The A.'.A.'. is supposed to be some sort of factory for enlightened, omnibenevolent overmen, yet their leader and shining exemplar was Aleister Crowley. Like it or not, Crowley--great magician, brilliant scholar, racist, heroin addict, all-around prick--is Western magic's central figure, its Buddha.

The A.'.A.'. isn't the be-all and end-all of western magic, and I'm not sure that Crowley is the central figure of western magic. Hermes Trismegistus, Frater Albertus, Pico Della Mirandola, John Dee, Eliphas Levi, the Golden Dawn crew, Dion Fortune, Israel Regardie, and even Starhawk, to name just a few, have had pretty substantial influences.

Continuing the compare/contrast here, the system the Buddha refined and taught has produced beings of perpetual joy and staggering compassion. We've got Pete Carroll and Bill fucking Breeze. These are our ascended masters? And if not, where are they? For the love of God, the only big heap magician who seems to be having any fun is Lon Milo Duquette. Think about that.

Well, people who practiced Western magic of one sort or another in addition to having successful careers in other, relatively public fields include W.B. Yeats, Carl Jung, and David Bowie. But I'm trying to think of Buddhist "beings of perpetual joy and staggering compassion." The Dalai Lama? Richard Gere?

Enlightenment's a lot to ask, but the Western magical canon definitely talks the talk there. It describes a parallel path to the royal road of Eastern mysticism. Does it walk?

Have to admit, I think yoga and Buddhism have the edge on Western magic here. Of course, post-Crowley Western magic often attempts to incorporate yoga and Buddhism . . .

Maybe it's just that the magicians who really walk the path keep quiet about it. I dunno.

Makes sense to me. Know, dare, will, and keep silent.
 
  

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