Magick and Hypnosis

Ma gick and Hypnosis

by
Ka therine McGow an
Copyright 2009 by Ka therine McGow an
T able of content
For or (P ge 5) ew d a The B sic Business of the Ma a gician (P ge 8) a The Kingdo of God is W m ithin (P ge 10) a Wh t is Hypnosis? (P ge 14) a a Mesmerism (P ge 18) a Psychological Suggestibility or Circula tion of The Force (P ge 26) a Ma gical Opera tions (P ge 36) a E Notes: Ma nd gick and Hypnosis (P ge 44) a C A H PTER TW O:THE SECR T OF THE E D K MIRR AR OR (P ge 53) a
For or ew d
In this article the a uthor tak es the position th t hypnosis is the opera a tive technique of Cer emonial Ma gick. V isions of Spirits a ppearing in the Triangle of Art ar a e ctuall archetypes y ev k o ed fr m the deep-mind via hypnotic o induction. A a pra s cticing ma gician specializing in these methods, she gives an insiders perspective on how Ma gick r eall w k y or s. Ir ecentl r y eceived a letter fr m a man who o claimed to be an investiga tor of p aranormal pheno mena. After a few intr oductory r emar s he k came quickl to the point: Can y demonstra y ou te th t the techniques y a ou practice and tea ar ch e a uthentic and effective, not mer y hypnotic and el illusionary? My r y w s so epl a mewh t blunt: Cer a emonial Ma gick is a v alid art, not a pseudo-science, I wr ote. Certainl its visions ar hypnotic and y e they ar no mor illusionary th e e an ar Jungian e Archetypes in the Collective Unconscious which, in f ct, is wh t they a a a ctuall ar Their e y e. xistence

cannot be pr oved or dispr oved in a high-school physics lab. I posted m answ y er with a sense of sa action, but in the d ys th t follow I began tisf a a ed to r ealize ther w s a gr t deal mor inv ved in e a ea e ol this question th could be answ ed in one clever an er p ara ph. The pr gra esent occul r t eviv h s been al a underw y for a deca a de, but ther ar still onl a e e y few people who a ctuall pra y ctice cer emonial ma gick and this situa tion per sists in spite of hundr eds of differ ent boo s on the subject in k constant circula tion. Why? The r son is th t ea a many, if not most, of our modern occul tists ar e just a nave about the true na e of ma s tur gick a s ws m a y corr espondent. Cer emonial Ma gick is R ITUAL HYPNOSIS. A Dion Fortune put it: s Ma gick is the art of ca using ch anges in consciousness to occur in a ccor ance with the d will T he r son why so few people pra ea ctice ma gick is not th t ther ar so few students of a e e the art -- ther ar thousands but th t onl a e e a y few know the r eal secr et. (1.) Granted, ther ar a number of ma e e gicians

who will grudgingl y concede this hypnotic definition, but in or der to be a successful modern ma gus, I feel y ou should embra the concept! By ce taking such a plunge y ou simul taneousl im ove y pr y our technique, confirm y our r esul ts, confound y our critics and mak an honest per e son of y our self. Dont w orry about betra ying so me gr t tra ea dition; ma gick w s al a a w ys hypnotic. Dont w orry about being scientific, scientists dont know wh t hypnosis is, and most of them a will a mit th t they dont. d a
The B sic Business of the Ma a gician

If ma gick w s al a hypnotic and if the a w ys kabbalah al a ta w ys ught th t the inner micr a ocosm w s the k a ey to per sonal transforma tion, then why, for the p st hundr y s , h ve w been a ed ear a e skipping over, or co pletel m y ignoring, the fund amental principles of ma gick? Lost in a maze of qua si-ma sonic initia tions, and qua si-Fr eudian se xual specula tions, w h ve for e a gotten th t the a ba business of the ma sic gician is to co mmand spirits (i.e. co ponents of his per m sonality). He summons them to visible a ppearance and then co pel m s them to perform ta s for him w sk ell, th ts a wh t he used to do ba in R a ck enaissance times, but our mor r e ecent V ictorian forbear of The Golden s D wn w e not able to r a er econstruct the old method of ma gical evoca tion beca use they r efused to a ccept its hypnotic ba sis. Certainl ther is y e mor to ma e gick th evoca an tion, but th t is wher a e it starts: in the ma gick mirr of Y or esod with the ritual of the Goetia of the Lemegeton. (2.) This hypnotic system, if pr operl em y ployed in the Jungian psycho anal ytic pr ocess of individua tion, can be a corner stone of successful lodge w k. or

Befor w discuss the ch e e aracteristics of ma gical hypnosis, w need to loo a little mor e k e deepl into the historical and philosophical y r sons why this essential principle of the art h s ea a been overloo ed and underra k ted. T he V ictorian and Edw dian ma ar gicians w e er mor e r ctionary ea and super stitious (r tivel ela y speaking) th an their R enaissance counterp arts. They bequea thed to us a lega of cy quaint and whim sical idea about ma s gick. W still e find our ves gra sel ppling with their outd ted a conceptions of secr et chiefs who co me fr m an o a stral w orld th t might a w a s ell be another planet. Hypnosis w s a dirty w d in this a or V ictorian f airyland not beca use it w s scientific, a but beca use it w s subjective. In this ca the a se tendency to objectify ma gical pheno mena is ch ara cteristic of philosophical dualism. It will be r ecalled th t the dualist believes God to be a sep te fr m his cr tions, wher s the monist ara o ea ea holds th t God is pr a esent in all things. (3.)
The Kingdo of God is W m ithin

A this point the r mantic r der ma be t o ea y e xperiencing so mething of a let-down. Am I sa ying th t angel demons, Goddesses and Gods of old a s, ar onl figments of the individual ima e y gina tion? Certainl not! The Gods ar r y e eal and their pow er is a eso w me. Hypnosis is the k to entering their ey kingdo the Olam Y m, etzirah, or a stral plane; but w must r e ealize th t this other dimension begins a within our ves, in our subconscious mind. If w sel e go deep enough w ventur bey e e ond our own per sonal dr eam into wh t Carl Jung called the s a collective unconscious, th t v st r a a ealm wher e the archetyp Gods abide. (4.) al Mak no mistak about it, the collective e e unconscious is a r eality th t goes bey a ond any ones individual conception of it. It contains the entir e history of the human ra ce and pr obabl the y destiny of mankind a w s ell. It is certainl link y ed to the Anima Mundi, the W orld-Soul-Earth-Goddess of the R enaissance ma gicians. I hold th t its sensitivities a e xtend thr oughout the solar system, and I
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suspect th t it is intrinsicall r ted to the DNA a y ela code. These idea ar philosophicall monistic in s e y a ccor ance with the tea d chings of Hermes Trismegistus and the doctrines of the kabbalah. (5.) When the student full y gra sps the significance of the collective unconscious in r tion to the Hermetic kabbalah, he will not ela need to a such questions a Carlos Ca sk s stened a put to Don Juan: Did I r eall fl y y? The objective vs. the subjective ar gument will no longer invol ve a v alue judgment, but onl a ma y tter of r tive ela perception. This ma be a difficul hur y t dle for so to lea but the r ar ar infinite. me p, ew ds e T he dualist seeking objective pheno menon e.g. photogra able ghosts, a aritions formed ph pp fr m ectopla o sm and the lik is constantl in e y d anger of disillusionment. The mor he tries to e justify his beliefs, the mor antira e tional he beco mes. For him occul tism is a long, down-hill slide a a fr m the intellectual position wy o wher s, if pr ea operl y pur sued on monisticsubjective principles; the study and pra ctice of ma gick should e and xp and e xtend the consciousness, ther eby im oving the intellect. pr
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T r der might a ee with most of wh t he ea gr a I h ve said, and yet still raise the question: wh t a a about Aleister Cr owley? Wsnt he subjective in a his a ppr a o ch to ma gick, and didnt he pra ctice the goetic th uma gy of the Lemegeton? a tur Y es, but even though Cr owley wr ote an e xcellent psychological intr oduction to Ma ther s transla tion of T he Goetia, showing th t he a under stood the subjective na e of the system, tur neither he or his mentor knew the opera tive technique. Cr owley spent many w eary hour s trying to conjur a spirit to visible a e ppearance in smo e over the Triangle of Art. Now smo e is k k pr obabl the w y orst hypnotic focal point any one could ima gine, but a pr etty good medium for an e xperiment in telekinesis; a totall objective y pr ocess. (6.) If Cr owley h d r a ealized th t the a system w s hypnotic, he pr a obabl w y ould h ve used a a crystal or a d k mirr ar or. W ith this pr oper equip ment r esul ts w ould h ve been a a chieved within fifteen or tw enty minutes of w k. or Why didnt he r ealize this? Ma ther s ignorance of the hypnotic f ctor is ea a sier to under stand. He w s a Quixotic mediev a alist who insisted on objectifying everything. He believed th t the Key of Solo a mon w s a a ctuall written y
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by the Biblical monarch him self! How ever Cr owley should h ve known a better.. Even so, I think th t thr f ctor ma a ee a s y h ve co a mbined to k eep Cr owley fr m discovering o the r eal secr et of R enaissance cer emonial ma gick: fir st, the pr ailing opinion of the time in the ev ar ea of pheno menology ran to objective, pseudoscientific ca uses such a the ectopla s sm of the spiritualists; second, Cr owley w s a philosophical a dualist which thrust him tow d objectified ar conceptions even though he w s less cr a edulous th an Ma ther and thir s; d, he w s deepl into a y drugs. Such a gents tend to a ctiv te their own a unique effects, wher s ritual hypnosis is a mor ea e dir ected vehicle, thr ough which the ma gician can pr oduce a desir ed effect in a ccor ance with his d will.
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Wh t is Hypnosis? a
Wh t is hypnosis? Nobody r a eall knows, but y w do know several things about it. One thing e w know: it isnt sleep. In the physical (blood e pr essur etc.) the hypnotic trance is mor lik e, e e the normala ak condition. Putting together w e several modern definitions of hypnosis, w can e co me up with so mething lik this: hypnosis is a e sta te of heightened suggestibility in which the mind is totall center y ed on one idea to the e xclusion of everything el se, including sensory perceptions th t ar unw a e anted or distra cting. By this definition any one who is r eall y concentra ting on so mething, lik r ding a boo or e ea k, even w tching television, ma be said to be in a a y hypnotic trance. T hey certainl ar Gur y e. djieff w ent so f a to suggest th t most people ar ar s a e hypnotized most of the time. To a chieve their potential they h d to beco a me de-hypnotized. The point is th t any r a outine ta can beco sk me hypnotic. Her e in southern California, for instance, w ar all f e e amiliar with the fr eew y a driving trance. Ther ar al e e so musical trances, d ancing trances, etc. Ther ma even be a general e y
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everyd y living trance a Gur a s djieff intima ted. T hese trances ar differ e ent, and they h ve a differ ent level of intensity, and sensory s selection. If a per son is deepl engr y ossed in a boo k he ma not hear the phone ring, wher s if he is y ea listening to the ra dio with one ear, he will hear the phone. Hypnosis is a normal and co mmon condition. It is the unusual beh vior a a ssocia ted with the deeper ca taleptic and so nambulistic m trances th t seem strange and mysterious. a Hypnosis w s known and used in ancient a Egypt, wher e ma gician-priests officia ted a t sleep tem ples in which suffer s of v er arious a fflictions w e cur by visita er ed tions of the Gods most pr obabl while the p tients w e in a y a er so nambulistic m trance. Egyptian ma gicians hypnotized animal such a lions and cobra In s s s. India the occul t hypnotist fir st hypnotizes him self befor opera e ting on his subject. This is a most ma gical a ppr a o ch and very effective. It seem unknown outside of esoteric circles. s Fr m ancient times up into the 1840s the o pheno menon w s thought to be the r a esul of the t manipula tion and transmission of life force: a subtle substance called spirit, or in the Ea st,
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kund alini. T his concept is not a objective, or a s s sim plistic, a it fir s st a ppear s. The gr t ea R enaissance ma gus Mar silio Ficino, theorized th t a the flow of spirit, by the rites of a ological str ma gick, to im ove the heal pr th and intellectual ca abilities of the opera p tor. (7.) Ficino did not e xtend his method to include the influencing of spirit in other which w s ould h ve been a a d anger ous in his time but such a ca ability is p im plicit in his theory. Many mediev and R al enaissance ma solicited gi the intercession of angel and demons in wh t s a D aniel W er call transitive opera alk s tions (for or a gainst other s), but befor w a e e ssume th t a this pra ctice w s entir y dualistic and objectified, a el w should r e emember th t these opera a tor derived s their philosophy fr m the Hermetic Hol Boo o y k known a T s he A sclepius, which plainl ta y ught th t angel demons and gods of the earth spher a s, e w e originall cr tions of man him er y ea self! The ma gicians of the R enaissance knew very w th t ell a such entities w e subjective. W might even call er e their ma gical p antheism a pr oto-Jungian archetype theory in its own right.
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T hey w e al w er so ell a ar of the pow s w e er of f scina a tion, which they a ttributed to ra of ys spirit dir ected fr m the eyes of the ench o anter. T hese ma gicians w e monistic in their er philosophy; subjective visions w e a im er s portant a objective pheno s menon. They can per a h ps be criticized for not caring to differ entia te betw een the tw o. T he crystal ball and the d k speculum ar (mirr or) w e their most im er portant item of s ritual equip ment. Their use w s link to theories a ed of celestial ra ys, planetary sym a p thies and the lik but the a e, ctual opera tions and the effects a chieved w e hypnotic. And yet, in V er ictorian times, Arthur Edw d W ar aite called such techniques minor hypnotic pr ocesses. How little he under stood. (8.)
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Mesmerism
T his spirit theory in ma gick and hypnosis ws r a evived in a differ ent form 300 year a s fter Ficino by the V iennese physician Franz Anton Mesmer. He called it animal ma gnetism. In The A of R son spirit could no longer be dir ge ea ected by the singing of Orphic hym ns under the influence of a ppr opria te planets. The 17 80s demanded a pseudo-scientific a ppr a o ch. Al though Mesmer w s a k a een student of the R enaissance alchemist P aracel sus, and a believer in a ology str theorizing th t the flow of ma a gnetic fluid in the human body w s effected by planetary a positions he succumbed to the 18th centurys p ssion for toot-whistle tink a ering by h ving his a subjects sit with their feet in tubs of w ter a filled with ir filings and bundles of jointed ir on on r ods. W ith a flair for the drama tic and, a ccor ding to his critics, a pench ant for hocuspocus, Mesmer and his fellow ma gnetizer beguiled s Eur ope for the ne xt 50 year with their mira s cle cur and specta es cular demonstra tions of trance induction. Mesmerism h s been co pletel discr a m y edited by
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the medical pr ofession and the scientific co mmunity in m opinion undeservedl Beca y y. use of its im portance in ma gick, w should p use in e a our brief chr onology to tak note of how it e differ fr m modern concepts of hypnosis. The s o curr ent popular notion , still h anging on fr m o medical pr a op gand pr a a ed ting W orld W ar I, is th t the hypnotist h s no pow a a er. He guides a willing su bject into a trance sta te and the suggests th t the subject use his own pow s a er to a chieve wh tever effect is w a anted, pr oviding th t effect is al desir by the subject him a so ed self. Accor ding to this conception, a snak e hypnotizes a bir by fir d st gaining the bir ds confidence. Ne xt he a s the bir to r x sk d ela co pletel He then suggests to the bir th t it m y. d a a ctuall w y ants to beco the snak me es dinner. This ploy cannot possibl succeed beca y use deep down inside the bir knows th t it w d a ants to fl a a y wy fr m the snak . . . And yet snak h ve been o e es a hypnotizing and ea ting bir ds for a good many year The r s. ejoinder th t animal ar differ a s e ent fr m humans is not good enough. The point is o th t ther is a big gra ar a e y ea wher so e me of Mesmers idea ma still be v s y alid. It is im portant to note th t so a me psychologists who use hypnosis do not sh e such out-d ted views on ar a
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its limita tions. Men lik D r. Mil e ton Erick son will frankl a mit th t they dont know wh t they y d a a do or how they do it. Many of Erick sons collea gues r efuse to sh e ak h ands with him out of a certain r eluctance to e xperience his hypnotic touch. I submit th t a ther pr e obabl is a form of life ener y gy th t is a ca able of manipula p tion and even transmission. To totall discount the w k of such sincer and y or e qualified r esearcher a von R s s ichenba (odic force), ch R eich (or gone ener gy) and, mor r e ecentl Thelma y, Moss (Kirilian photogra phy) and the bioma gneticists on this subtle form of ener w gy ould be frankl r ctionary (an ana y ea thema in politics but a praisew orthy a ttitude in science). T he Mesmerists held th t a ma a gnetizer w s a a per son of gr t ener ea gy with a talent for influencing other s. He could a ccumula te and concentra te lar ge quantities of ener gy in his body, pr ojecting it fr m his eyes and his finger o tips. His eyes could f scina and his h a te ands could heal. The p sses which the Mesmerist ma over a de the subject with his h ands w e intended to er manipula te the flow of ener gy within the p tients body. W should note th t Mesmers a e a method invol ved wh t w w a e ould call hysterical
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hypnosis. He br ought his p tients to an emotional a ca ar th sis and so metimes into convul sions in or der to clear a a supposed blocka wy ges to the fr ee circula tion of ma gnetic fluid in their bodies. W e ar r e eminded of tod ys primal scr a eam thera py a differ ent ra tionale but a similar effect. In modern ma gical Mesmerism such violent and im ecise methods of induction ar no longer pr e used. W h ve discover e a ed th t a a ctual conta ct with the finger tips incr ses the effect and ea pr oduces a trance sta te of tr emendous potential. (9.) T he question still posed by Mesmerism is whether hypnosis is onl suggestion opera y ting on the individual nerv ous system, or if it al so invol ves manipula tion and transfer ence of a form of ener gy. Science h s not dispr a oved this fluid theory in spite of all the r hetoric to the contrary. Wh t it did pr a ove is th t hypnosis can a be effectivel induced by suggestion without any y pr etense of transferr ed pow er; but to conclude th t this ther a efor pr e oves hypnosis to be e xclusivel a pr y oduct of suggestion within the closed system of the individual with no transitive f ctor inv ved is p tentl f a ol a y alla cious. Y can pr ou ove th t duck fl but y a s y, ou h ve no a
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right to a ssume, a a consequence, th t they s a dont swim underw ter. a To r eturn to our chr onology: ther is no e doubt th t the Mesmerists w e effective. They a er f scina a ted h alf of Eur ope but they infuria ted the medical pr ofession. Nothing bother a doctor so s much a a healer without a diplo s ma. Even though Mesmer w s an M.D., many of his successor w e a s er la ymen. Al though so me w e rank ch er arla tans, other w e opera s er tor of considerable ability. s Tod ys a performing hypnotists ar e p ale descend ants of those w ondr ous ma gnetizer who s could w alk out on sta ge and knock people senseless with a mer glance or a w ve of the e a h and. In the earl 1800s Mesmerism h d the y a scientific co mmunity betw een the pr overbial r ock and the h d spot. The Mesmerists w e ar er obviousl doing so y mething in a ccor ance with so d me unknown na tural la w, but if their theory about the manipula tion of life force w e to be er a ccepted, then the whole philosophical structur e upon which science w s ba a sed w ould h ve to be a scra pped. T he scientists h d their own form of a dualism, and the inevitable tendency tow d ar objectifica tion th t a m anies it. In the 17 a cco p th
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century the Fr ench ra tionalist philosopher R ene Descartes, h d br k a o en with the mona stic conceptions of the R enaissance to pr opose th t a mind and body w e totall sep te. To carry it er y ara further, he postula ted th t the pr a ovince of human intellect w s sep te fr m the r a ara o ealm of the physical univer se. In higher philosophical circles this idea w s never consider mor th a a ed e an conditional e xpedient (to f cilita a te the a ancement of science and to counterbalance dv the obvious e xcesses of monism ) but, on the engineering level, it became Hol Dogma. Tod y it y a is philosophicall obsolete, but w still find many y e people in the physical sciences clinging to it. If y ou h ve ever w a onder ed why certain spo esmen for k American science sound very much lik other e spo esmen for American r k eligion, y ou consider how much Cartesian dualism and Christian dualism h ve a in co mmon. In our field of hypnotism, this Cartesian m opia y is r esponsible for the pr eposter ous notion th t hypnotic anesthesia is a r eall am y nesia; the p tient feel the p a s ain but for gets it ! T he scientists and physicians of the earl y V ictorian era, r ealizing th t Mesmerism could not a be ignor ed and could not be discr edited a f a s ar s its a ctual effects w e concerned, still found it er
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im possible to a ccept on Cartesian term s. So mehow they h d to h ve a co pr mise. In the a a m o 1840s a Scottish doctor, James Braid, pr ovided it. He coined the modern term hypnosis, and established the modern principles of hypnotic induction. Following the lea of the Abbe de d F aria (1755-1819), who h d been a critic of a Mesmers ma gnetic fluid theory, Braid declar ed th t the motive a a gent in hypnosis w s the a ima gina tion of the subject. No ma gnetic devices, h and p sses or dynamic pow s transmitted fr m a er o the opera tor w e necessary to a er chieve a hypnotic trance and its unique effects. Of cour se this w s true, a Braid and other pr a s s oved. W e cannot sa th t they thr y a ew out the baby with the ba th w ter when they cleaned up hypnosis, a but w can sa th t Mesmerism is a differ e y a ent form of hypnosis, and th t the tw methods a o overla ea other. In this r p ch egar w should note d e th t E a stabr k (1957) cites ca oo s se of hypnotic subjects f alling into hysterical convul sions similar to those Mesmers ma gnetized p tients a e xperienced. I al so think th t ther w s an a e a element of humbug in Mesmerism th t needed a chucking out: the w ter tubs, ir r a on ods, etc.
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Even though Braid and his follow s w er ent to opposite e xtr emes, r educing the a eso w me secr of the ancients to the h et armless sta tus of a verbalized a spirin tablet, their new (?) form of thera py w s, and still is, fr a owned upon by conserv tive doctor and scientists. No ma a s tter how h armless the hypnotist claim his method to s be, he is initia ting a dir ect influence of the mind over the body. T his poses a thr t to Cartesian ea dogma and elicits gut-level a dver r ctions fr m se ea o a lar segment of the scientific co ge mmunity even tod y. a Frankl I am plea y, sed th t hypnosis is still a not a ccepted a a science. This is beca s use it is not a science and trying to conceptualize it in journal-jar gon term is not going to mak it one. s e Braids mono-ideism and V Pel an ts (1957) mor r e ecent units of mind pow er ar onl label e y s for so mething no mor under e stood in term of s physical science tod y th a an it w s in 1840. (10.) a How ever, ther h s been considerable pr ess in e a ogr under standing hypnosis fr m a psychological o standpoint.
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Psychological Suggestibility or Circula tion of The Force

E stabr k points out th t in Fr oo s a eudian term s hypnosis and a uto-suggestion (selfhypnosis) tend to function lik the earl e y tra uma tic e xperiences in im printing the subconscious mind. Accor ding to his theory, str ong emotional e xperiences of a nega tive na e tur pr oduce co ple m xes and phobia in much the same s w y a post-hypnotic suggestion ca a s uses the subject to r eact to a for gotten (intentionall y suppr essed) stimulus in a manner he cannot e xplain. (E.g., When I sna m finger y p y s ou will sing the Na tional Anthem, vis-a-vis theper son who goes into an hysterical fit a the sight of t ah armless insect.) E stabr k cites several analogies along this oo s line. He lik ens the brain, in this instance, to a photographic pla te on which emotional tra uma s and/or intense hypnotic suggestions mak str e ong over-e xposed im essions th t do not f de out pr a a but continue to fla sh when a ctiv ted by a consciousl y perceived triggering stimuli. This ingenious theory helps to e xplain the a ar pp ent
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dichoto y betw m een ma gick and witchcra ft: the cer emonialists str ess mea ed sur hypnotic conjura tions, wher s the witches f vor the ea a emotionall stimula y ting abandon of the circle d ance and y et both a chieve similar r esul ts. This is beca use both methods im print the subconscious mind with the desir ed im ession, or r pr elea a se specific suppr essed co ponent of the per m sonality to be ca thected or contr olled. If w a e ccept D r. E stabr k theory -- and I oo s do, a f a it goes then w must r s ar s e ealize th t a ma gick and witchcra ft ar e pow erful psychodynamic system even in an e s, xclusivel y subjective, pheno menologicall conserv tive sense. y a The pra ctice of the art and the cra ft is not a d s anger ous a our cr s edulous Christian critics contend, but neither is it a friv s olousl y dysfunctional a s Cartesian ped ants w ould suppose. W ar the inheritor of a gr t ancient e e s ea system of psychology perfected over thousands of y s. It can bring much good and h ppiness to ear a us and our a ssocia tes or, lik any of the ma e jor system of knowledge, it can be misused with s h arm ful effect. In ma gick and witchcra ft, how ever, most malicious transitive opera tions tend to ba ckfir beca e use the w ould-be sorcer er does not under stand the subjective na e of the tur
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art. (11.) A s v aluable and im portant a s the psychological a spects certainl ar let us not y e, for get the force. If y ou dont think it e xists just r emember the la st time y ou w e a a er t sporting event, or in any cr d of people wher ow e emotions ran high. Y ou w e ca er ught up in the e xcitement a y s ou never w ould h ve been sitting a in fr ont of a t.v. Set. Y w er ou er eceiving an interch ange of ener gy fr m the cr d; granted it ma h ve been a o ow y a second ary interch ange via a synchr oniza tion of bio-r hythm but it w s a transitive link-up s, a nonetheless. T nega he tive side of this pheno menon is called mob r ction, wher ea ein otherwise pea ceful citizens beco me violent in the midst of an angry cr d. The bla ma ow ck gick na dir of this syndr me w o ould be Hitlers Nur embur rallies, g with thousands of mindless stormtr ooper s shouting Seig Heil! Hitler fir st hypnotized his subjects, using the pow er of suggestion to open their subconscious minds and mak them r e eceptive; then he raised their emotions to an hysterical pitch, cr ting wh t can best be described a ma ea a s ss-
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Mesmerism. Keeping the Nazis in mind, w w e ould do w ell to consider the d anger of hypnosis and s Mesmerism. People certainl can be hypnotized y a gainst their will, and not mer y by deception a el s E stabr k suggests. Hypnotized subjects h ve oo s a co mmitted mur s and other crimes. The use of der hypnosis in intelligence opera tions is co mmon, and such thriller a T s s he Manchurian Candid te ar a e not a f s anciful a they ma seem. (12.) s y In occul tism w find the villain in the e per son of the unscrupulous hypnotist-guru who is al a on the loo out for th t one per w ys k a son in every dozen with the right co mbina tion of ch ara cteristics to mak him or her the ideal e victim: a na tural ca a p city for so nambulism with m a cr edulous a ttitude and a w eak ego. (13.) One out of every five people can r ch a ea so nambulistic trance sta (the deepest level of m te hypnosis)
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T his ability h s nothing to do with a intelligence or ch ara cter, any mor th e an h ving a r ed h air does, but when co mbined with gullibility and an under developed sense of identity, w e h ve the psychological pr a ofile of the true believer. These people ar the na e tural pr ey of the occul S t vengali. W can never full pr e y otect them fr m such e o xploita tion, any mor th e an w e can elimina te poverty or crime, but w can e substantiall r y educe the pr estige of the sh dy a opera tor who pr s ey on them by establishing a genuine w estern m ystical tra dition with r ecognized stand ds. ar Appl ying Hypnosis in R itual Ma gick H ving a established th t ma a gick is a hypnotic pr ocess and h ving e a xamined the theories underl ying th t a pheno menon, w ar r dy to consider pra e e ea ctical a pplica tion and technique. Fir st y ou h ve to a establish an under standing of the subjectivehypnotic na e of ma tur gick with y our students and lodge member I str s. ongl a y dvise a gainst initia ting any one who r efuses to a ccept this concept. In or der to underline this point, I will a mit to h ving ma the mistak and finding out d a de e th t ther is no convincing such a per a e son a fterw d to abandon his objective view. Y ar ou will onl succeed in convincing him th t y ar a y a ou e
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poor ma gician beca use y ar unable to mak the ou e e floor bur st open and spill forth the legions of T artarus in cinema scope and ster eophonic sound. In this ca r y on a good pr se el eliminary scr eening test ra ther th informal questioning. In cocktail an p arty ch tter such a per a son my seem sophistica ted, mentioning Jung and Cr owley glibl y, but then turn out to be a semi-litera barbarian te in lodge. Be w arned! If y ar full honest about the hypnotic ou e y na e of ma tur gick, y ou cannot a void ethical considera tions. All conjura tions, p th-w king a or scenarios, and invoca tions should be known and stand dized. ar T he mor tra e ditional they ar the better. e Every one opera tes and every one r eceives in turn. Ther must be a ca e of a e dr depti, but their job is to tea ch other to be opera s tor A such they s. s should opera onl with member on their own te y s level, or for instructive purposes. In cer emonial ma gick every one should h ve their turn a taking a t every r ole in tem ple rites, sea sonal cer emonies, and initia tions; otherwise a ma gical lodge beco mes a cul in the w t orst sense of the w d. (14.) or T e her is a s much self-hypnosis (a uto-
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suggestion) invol ved in ma gick a th t dir s a ectl y induced by an opera tor: in f ct self-hypnosis ma a y be consider the pra ed ctical k to developing the ey ma gical trance sta te. The Or der of the Tem ple of A starte (O.T.A.) insists th t neophytes a ma ster self-hypnosis a soon a possible. W s s e r mmend Leslie M. LeCr eco ons Self-Hypnotism: The Technique and Its Use in D y Living a a ba ail s sic te xt. Frankl y, no one h s any business a p articip ting in a ma a gical opera tion (with the e xception of sea sonal cer emonies) who is not ca able of putting him p self into a trance sta te and maintaining it. It is this ability, which can be a cquir onl thr ed y ough training and pra ctice, th t a enables the ma gician to carry out the co ple m x maneuver r s equir ed in a formal opera tion, and still be able to hold his trance. He can quickl y deepen the sta te, or bring him self up to near normal consciousness when necessary. The r der ea ma be thinking th t y y a oga students and Zen sitter can al do this, but I w s so ould not a ee. gr Their trance sta tes ar closel a e y ssocia ted with sedentary a sana positions, and induction of the trance is less contr olled and dir ect. It is, in f ct, a a by-pr oduct of the medita tion ra ther th the an principle effect. I do not mean to im y th t y pl a oga techniques
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ar not im e portant in ma gick, or th t y a oga and ma gical hypnosis ar not interr ted. One of the e ela fir techniques the ma st gical student h s to learn a is the pra ctice of tra takam, the fixed gaze. This is a hypnotic f cet of y a oga medita tion wher ein the student develops the ability to star a a fixed point, or symbol, for long e t periods of time without blinking or letting the eyes ch ange focus. T his ability is absolutel y essential to futur e Alma del and Goetia opera tions. A noted anthr opologist once wr ote th t a sh amans could be r ecognized by their a gita ted manner and shifty glance. If he a pplied this to ma gicians, he could not h ve been mor wr a e ong. A ma gician loo s right thr k ough y ou and never blink s. No one can star him down e e xcept another ma gician. Befor going any further w should dispel e e the idea th t ma a gical hypnosis im plies a similarity to the post-hypnotic demonstra tions of sta ge hypnotism. If th t concept a a pplied, an opera tor could hypnotize his subjects and then instruct them a in the analogy of the fellow singing s the Na tional Anthem to see a spirit in the Triangle when he sa ys the k ey w d, or
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Tetra gramma ton! Granted, such a pr ocedur e w ould pr obabl w k, and might h ve so y or a me v alue in an e xperimental sense, but it is not the w y a the Art is pra cticed. It w ould be a gimmicky a ppr a a best, and a w st, it w o ch t t or ould raise serious ethical questions. Wh t I am sa a ying is th t ritual ma a gick is a type of hypnosis in its own right. It h s been my a observ tion, h ving opera a a ted, r eceived, and otherwise a ssisted in several hundr ed such cer emonies, th t the ma a gical trance sta te is unique. In clinical hypnosis it is supposed th t a a so nambulistic sta is necessary for visions to be m te seen and v oices to be hear by a hypnotized d subject. In Goetia ev tion, how oca ever, a trained ritualist-r eceiver can quickl dr y op fr m a light o (hypnoid al) trance down into a r eceptive mood wher he can a e ppr ecia the manifesta te tion of an entity in a speculum, co mmunica with it, allow te it to speak thr ough him; and al so answ er an opera tors questions in his own per sona. His own r emar s will be inter k spersed with the entitys co mments (depending upon who the opera m tor a ddr esses: the r eceiver or the entity) and the ritualist can do all this while standing up a an s a ctive p articip ant in a gr oup cer emony. It is im portant to note th t such ritual do not a s
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depend on the use of drugs or hysterical d ancing pr eliminary to the e xperience. Befor any ma e gical w king is undertak , or en ther e should be a period of pr eliminary medita tion. T his is al a hypnotic pr so oceeding, usuall led by the opera y tor for the co ming opera tion. It is best done outside the tem ple in an ante ch amber with a suitable a tmospher and e dim lighting. In the O.T.A. w lik to sit in a e e circle ar ound a candle set upon an a ppr opria te mand ala. W hold h e ands and establish a r hythmic br thing p ttern in unison; then the ma ea a gus lea ds us into a r everie wher ein w absorb the ima e gined light of the kabbalistic sephira (spher or psychic e center) in which w will be w king. (15.) When e or this e xperience r ches its peak, w rise and move ea e into the tem ple, maintaining our set, or trance. This pr eliminary medita tion serves several purposes: it a cts a a vital transition sta s ge betw een the mund ane w orld and the sa ed cr dimension of the inner sanctum within the tem ple, and, in a tem poral sense, it lea ds smoothl fr m r y o eal time into dr eamtime. It r eestablishes wh t w think of a the gr a e s oup mind of the lodge. In this r espect it ma be said y to be Mesmeric, in th t an e ange of ener a xch gy is initia ted and pow is raised. er
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Ma gical Opera tions

A most r der know, ther ar thr ba s ea s e e ee sic types of ma gical opera tions: ev tion, wher oca ein the opera tor call forth the spirit fr m his, or s o his r eceivers, subconscious; inv tion, wher oca ein a supernal pow is called down to in-dw in the er ell subconscious; and inner-plane pr ojection (p th a w king, soul-tra or vel, etc.) wher ein a journey is ma into the r de ealm of the subconscious in this s ca se the collective unconscious. Healing, the building of telesma tic ima ges, the ch ging of ar talismans, and even divina tion ar v e aria tions on these ba themes. sic T he grand opera tions ma be said to be y dir ectl hypnotic, wher s the lesser w kings y ea or tend to be post-hypnotic. Of these grand opera tions, ma gical p th a w king is the most overtl hypnotic in its or y induction technique. Her the opera e tor induces a trance in much the same w y a a doctor w a s ould hypnotize a p tient in his office. The p tha a w k s lie on the floor of the tem or er ple, with their hea ds on pillows, in the center of the
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ma gick circle. They loo up a a symbolic focal k t point over hea while they ar told to r x d e ela and mak them ves co fortable. Once their e sel m hea vy eyelids close in hypnotic sleep, the opera tor conducts them, via a descriptive narra tion, on a tour to the sephira of the kabbalistic Tr ee of Life, along one of the subjective p ths lea a ding fr m Malkuth upw d. o ar The tra ditional symbolism of these p ths and a spher es is set forth in Gar eth Knights A Practical Guide to Q abalistic Symbolism (1965), (16.) but r emember, this is a r efer ence boo not a k, manual on p th-w king. For an e a or xam ple of a p th-w king scenario y a or ou ma consul the same y t a uthors New Dimensions R Boo (edited by B sil ed k a W ilby, 1968). The method is to cr te a ea consistent, r ealistic f anta sy land which will include all the symbolism w wish to encounter e --so mething lik visiting Alices W e onderland. One of the most co mmon mistak ma es de by w ould-be opera tor who h ve written their own scenarios s a is to tak us all along the p th, showing us e a everything, a a if w w e on a ride a s; s e er t Disneyland. T his amounts to little mor th an e an entertainment and r eall cant co pete with a y m good movie. T he purpose of w king a p th is to learn or a
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mor about it and y e our self, th t will bring a so mething up fr m y o our subconscious th t will a help y ou along the r a to individua od tion. The w y w do this in the O.T.A.s p th-w king a e a or system is to establish a ttention points. (17.) T hese a ttention points ar e situa tions, objects, or entities th t w ar instructed to a e e question individuall and priv tel or otherwise y a y, co pr m ehend. W ar told to r e e emember the special knowledge w h ve r e a eceived. La ter, in the critique which al a follows any ma w ys gical opera tion, w e ar a ed to r e sk ecount wh t w h ve e a e a xperienced. So me of these r evela tions ar r e emar kable and often confirm our contention th t the a collective unconscious is trul a trans-per y sonal dimension. A long a w stick to tra s s e ditional symbolism in p th w king w ar towing the mar in the a or e e k ethics dep artment, but if w ventur off into e e r ealm of our own ca s pricious devising, taking our hypnotized lodge member along with us a w s s e e xplor the d k r e ar egions of our own subconscious, w ar abusing their trust and e e e xposing them to unpr edictable d anger A oid the ma s. v gus who h s a cr ted his own r ea evealed system for it will inevitabl r y eflect the p articular imbalances of his
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own per sonality. T e is a mor subtle d her e anger which ma be encounter y ed even in tra ditional w king. The opera or tor him self is in a light sta te of trance (a he w s ould be in any ma gical opera tion) and is subject to im o ptu visionary pr m e xperiences. He should not inv ve his gr ol oup in such a pheno menon and should banish it, or e xtrica te him self, a quickl s y and quietl y a s possible. If the scenario is pr operl written and y r ehear sed this should not be too much of a pr oblem. Al a r w ys emember in ma gick th t the general a la ws of hypnosis a y. Keep y ppl our narra tion sim ple and car efull sequenced so th t y y a ou will not pr ema el tur y ev k o e a vision th t y a ou will contra dict with a subsequent description. For e xam ple Denning and Phillips published a p th a w king script which contained the following or p ssa a ge: So me little distance ahea of us stands d a solitary arch, buil of flints by men in so p st t me a a ge. The k eystone of this arch is of p ale granite, sp kling with m ar yria points of transient white d fir and carved deepl into this k e; y eystone is an emblem, the curling horns of a ram. T his is bea utiful symbolism, written in a fine literary style, but a a hypnotic scenario, it is s
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im operl sequenced and confusing. A soon a the pr y s s opera tor sa So distance ahea of us stands ys: me d a solitary arch. . . , his subjects ar quickl e y constructing arches gothic arches, cla ssic arches, megalithic arches all of which will h ve to be a torn down and r ebuil t a the description s continues. I dont think w h ve to belabor this e a point. R mantic poetry and elegant pr o ose ar e e xcellent medium for ev king ima s o ges in the light level of the r ding trance, but when w go ea e down into so nambulistic depths, w h ve to m e a k eep out instructions sim ple and dir ect. T hus f ar w e h ve discussed hypnotic a techniques in r tion to tra ela takam, ev tion, oca pr eliminary medita tion and p th w king. It a or r emains for us to consider inv tion. This type oca of w k is usuall done on the double-cube al or y tar in the center of the gr t circle with a crystal ea orb a a focal point. In our Lemegeton system w s e derive Inv tion R oca itual fr m the boo Alma s o k del. In the inter est of ma ximum p articip tion, w a e f vor a r a ound-r obin sequence of invoca tions. Ea ch member of the circle r ecites his or her own r endition of the invoca tion. W ith trained ma gicians this gr oup-w king or a ctuall intensifies the r y esul even though ther t; e
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is a teeter-totter effect in the trance depth a s ea one rises fr m p ssive to a ch o a ctive p articip tion a in turn. T his should underline the necessity of hypnotic training. (18.) In this article I h ve tak off my ma a en gicians clo ak and talk ed to y ou the r der in a ea s straightforw d a manner a I can about a ar s subject very few people under stand. Of those who ar mor th e e an ca suall inter y ested, so me can never be enlightened beca use, quite frankl they y, dont w ant to be. I am not concerned with them, e xcept to put them on notice th t w ar a e e going to mak our high art of ma e gick into a cul tural e xpr ession w can be pr e oud of, and if they try to im pede us in this pr ocess, w will e not hesita to discr te edit them And yet ther is e a d anger in too much dissembling. W can beco e me so intellectual and sophistica ted th t w lose a e our sense of w onder, dimming the light of intuition th t lea us on. I hope th t I h ve a a ds a a t lea hinted a the philosophical k to a oiding st t ey v such a tra the grand Hermetic monism of the p: R enaissance ma If w emula them in a a gi. e te ud city, vision and style, w sh e all sur y delight childr el en of all a ges especiall the child th t dw s y a ell
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within us: our subconscious.
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W should establish canons of ma e gick in term s of kabbalistic philosophy, Jungian psychology and hypnotic practice for these ar e the thr ee pillar upon which the art stands s tod y. W need to develop ma a e gick a the bright, s cutting edge of a new r mantic movement to o r ejuvena our cul te tur e. T e is no pla in such a sublime endea her ce vor for the ch arla tan or the mystic dema gogue. Ma gick should develop the ego and the willpow of ea er ch individual who pra ctices it. Beco ming dev otees of a guru ma be a v y alid Ea stern pra ctice, but it is the antithesis of the Gr t W k her in the W ea or e est. If hypnosis is our opera tive method, then w must insist on the e highest stand ds of integrity in ma ar gical pra ctice. The pow er is a eso w me and the r ar is a ew d s infinite a man ma conceive for wh tsoever he s y a envisions usuall co to p ss. y me a
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E Notes: Ma nd gick and Hypnosis

(1.) In the intervening 20 year since this article s fir st a ppear ed this situa tion h s not a im oved a much a w h d hoped. I am left pr s s e a to a ssume th t those who mak the a e mar eting decisions a the occul publishing k t t houses h ve determined th t hypnosis is a a a nega tive selling point with an essentiall y cr edulous custo mer ba But w ar slowl se. e e y gaining gr ound. My collea gue, Philip H. F aber h s written a f scina a a ting p per on the a subject, Hypnosis and R itual Ma gick for P digm Ma ara gazine. This can be accessed on F abers w ebsite: http://member ol.co s.a m/discor 23/hypno. d htm
(2.) T his is corr ect in a kabbalistic sense, Y esod being the ga tew y to the Y a etzirah, or forma tive, dimension. How ever, fr m a o standpoint of a ctual pra ctice, w r e equir e the student to inv k the four Arch oe angel s of the quarter s, a pr s otective and balancing psychic co ponents, m befor e
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undertaking Goetic evoca tion. (3.) A curr entl y annota ted ver sion of Nega tive vs. Positive G nosis will be posted on our w site a so futur d te. eb t me e a (4.) In r ecent year a counter-r ction s ea a gainst Carl Jungs idea s h s beco a me f shionable. A dirt-digging biography by a Frank McL ynn a ttem pts to discr edit Jungs position in the history of W estern Idea s ba sed on his e xtramarital a dventur es ( which p ale to insignificance in co p m arison to Bill Clintons ). A former Jungian a mir d er, and a vid pr moter of Jungian idea R ar o s, ich d Noll, e xperienced a sudden ch ange of heart (not unco mmon among cul devotees) and t wr ote tw boo s sca o k thing the life and w k of his mentor with yellowor journalistic fervor. Both these a uthor h ve s a ca pitalized on the unfortuna te f ct th t a a Carl Jung, lik Pope Pious, did not lie down e a oss the tra s of an on-rushing Nazi cr ck train befor and during W e orld W II. ( For ar an e xtensive, and corr ective, critique of these anti-Jungian w k or s see R obin R obertsons r eview in G nosis ma gazine, W inter 1998. For a clear per er spective on
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Jung and his idea see The Undiscover Self s ed and Modern Man in Search of a Soul.) (5.) T he biologist R upert Sheldrak (1981) e h s stirr a ed the ant-hill of mech anistic biological dogma with his r olutionary ev Morphic R esonance T heory. A the risk of t a v st over-sim a plifica tion, let us sa th t y a Sheldrak purposes so e mething similar to Eliph s Levis idea of The A a stral Light in which all things, and life pr ocesses ar e r ecor ded. T his dovetail with Pla s tonic, Neopla tonic and kabbalistic conceptions of pr e-form on a higher plane of emana s tion (the Olam Y etzirah). Sheldrak e is sym a p thetic to Jungs Collective Unconscious theory, but he disa ees with Jung th t its gr a co ponents ar necessaril inherited. This m e y Morphogenic Field is not thought to be an ener gy-driven pr ocess, but ra ther an im print, or tem te, which e pla xerts its influence thr oughout the univer se, and can be a ccessed via the deep-mind. Sheldrak es e xperiments with ra in mazes is his primary ts h d evidence for the Morphic R ar esonant Fields e xistence. T his is al corr so obora ted by the f amous 100 Monk ey e xperiments in primea tology.
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(6.) Fifty y s pr ear evious to this, Eliph s a Levi (who Cr m owley claimed a a pr s evious incarna tion) a ttem pted a similar e xperiment to summon the sh de of Apolonius of Tana. a y Quite pr operl he used a mirr y or a a s conjura tion device, but he mistak y enl thought th t smo e on the al a k tar w ould pr ovide a substance for the spirit to use in building a visible form. He w s successful, a a t lea st in the visualiza tion, but banished befor a e ttem pting co mmunica tion. Tod y w a e use smo e befor the d k mirr k e ar or a an s olf actory corr espondence, and a mood enh ancer. Concentra tion sta on the mirr ys or, not the smo e. k (7.) A co p m arison to T oist theories of a Qi (Chi) co to mind. The manipula me tion of this life-force ener thr gy ough the body via medita tion and a cupunctur techniques is e now widel known, but such pra y ctices w e er not known to Eur opeans until the 20th Century. (8.) T his sta tement needs so me clarifica tion. Actuall W y aite w s a ar of a w e the hypnotic na e of ma tur gical visions and
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said a much. Wh t he did not under s a stand w s the im a portance of d k mirr s and ar or crystal a hypnotic conjura s s tion devices (see The Boo of Bla Ma & of P k ck gic acts ). (9.) In this ca se I am r eferring to the O.T.A.s A ssum ption of God/Goddess Form method of conjura tion in which the r eceiver lies under a d k mirr while being ar or lightl ma ged by the opera y ssa tor and his a ssistants. For a detailed description of this pr ocedur see Ch pter Ten of The e a Boo of Solo k mons Ma gick by this writer. (10.) How ever, ther h s been considerable e a r esearch on trance sta tes (Alph a, Beta, Theta, etc.) and sleep-sta R te EM (ra pid eye movement) r eceptivity, etc. along with the bio-feedba system develop ck ments and the new Neur o-Linguistics discipline but all this w k, a v or s aluable a it ma be, mer y s y el r efines our ability to em ploy a pheno menon w still dont under e stand. (11.) T his is especiall true if the opera y tor uses our f cial r a eflection/distortion d k ar mirr method of spirit ev tion (see The or oca Boo of Solo k mons Ma gick ). The r son is ea
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im plicit in the micr ocosm/ma ocosm cr Hermetic model of the human psyche. W e ar all differing r e eflections of the same primor dial A am (or Eve) and lightning will d strik the near e est tar get. Fr m a strictl o y psychological point of view w can surmise e th t or a dering a r eflected a spect of y our self, no ma tter how distorted, to r ch out and hurt another per ea son w ould r esul in r ted colla t ela teral d ama closer to ge ho me. (12.) T his sta tement needs to be car efull y qualified. T he idea, popular in the 1950s, th t any one can be br k a o en and r epr ogrammed via brainw shing which a derived for P vlovs stimulus-r a esponse e xperiments in R ussia, and B. F. Skinners Beh viorism in the U.S. -- came in for a a sound drubbing by structural linguist No am Cho sky. Cho sky demolished Skinners m m theory th t the brain w s a blank sla a a a te t birth, and th t all human knowledge a a cquisition w s stimulus-r a esponse driven. He pr oved th t ther w s an inna structur a e a te e for grammar born in all of us. Brainw shing a of the North Kor ean P aks P ce ala (Manchurian Candid te) v a ariety will onl y
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w k with bor or derline per sonality subjects, and it is no mor r e eliable th the bor an derline per sonalities them ves (who, by the sel na e of their condition, ar subject to tur e sudden sna pping, or r ever sal of a ffections, co mmitments, etc.) Al though no longer consider ed pra ctical for bla ck covert opera tions, brainw shing is still d a anger ous in the h ands of cul lea s who seek out t der bor derline per sonalities. Cul ma t ss-suicides ar a grim testimonial to the lega e cy of P vlov and Skinner. How a ever, Cho sky did m not esca pe fr m sp wning a new and mor o a e subtle form of mind-manipula tion which is not limited to special per sonalities. Tod y a Brainw shing h s given w y to the f mor a a a ar e perv sive (or if y pr a ou efer: insidious) Neur olinguistics. (13.) I am not a ar of any studies w e suggesting a link betw een na tural so nambulism and bor m derline per sonality syndr me, and I am not suggesting th t such o a a connection e xists. (14.) T he most pointed e xam ple of this one-sided S vengalism, w s a student of mine a who absolutel r y efused to enter a trance
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sta him te self, but w s most ea a ger to use our d k mirr ar or Goetia technique to beguile other (especiall y s y oung w men). In 1972 he o left the O.T.A., and w ent on to establish a r eputa tion a a sorcer s er-a t-lar ge. Since th t time several of his students h ve a a found their w y ba to the original fount a ck of his knowledge. (15.) T he O.T.A. w s the fir a st (1977) W estern occul lodge to a t dopt its own full y functional kabbalistic ten-spher e vertical ch akra system. This essential a spect of high ma gick, so im portant to Ea stern practice, h d been denied to a Eur opean practitioner a a r s s esul of their t obsession to objectify and concr etize spiritual r ealities. How the T ibetans must h ve pitied us! They h ve a differ a a ent ch akra system for ea tantric entity. For a brief ch description of the O.T.A. Hermetic Ca duceus, see T he Boo k of Solo mons Ma gick, Ch pter Nine. a (16.) When w sa tra e y ditional w mean e Golden D wn tra a ditional. Al though ba sed th on a Rabbinical structur the 19 century e, G.D. system incorpora tes T ot symbolism, ar
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and P gan m a ythological archetypes. It h s a beco me stand d for most students of ar W estern ma gick. (17.) T O.T.A. system w s inspir by the he a ed soul-tra vel methods of Sikh-Sant guru Kerpol Singh (al so the mentor of P ul a T witchell who developed E kankar.) W e kabbalized the a ttention point p tha w king method. W or ith a monist philosophy and a subjective a ppr a o ch, Ea stern ma gical methods transla te ea y and effectivel sil y into W estern pra ctice in most ca ses. (18.) In angelic Alma del opera tions it is not necessary to a ctuall see a per y sona or ge symbolic vision in the crystal. A ra diant glory on the al tar top and a sense of spiritual pr esence is follow by ch ed anneling (the entity speaking thr ough the r eceiver), or subjective knowings th t ma a y be pr ofoundl moving. y
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The Secr et of the D k ar Mirr or

by
Arch angela Antonioni Cor elli

Copyright 2009 by Ka therine McGow an
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Know th t the Jinn which mighty Solo a mon Did conjur in the Triangle of Art e W e formed in the r er eflection of his f ace For they wer the a e spects of his soul, Each a eeing unto a Qua gr drant, A planet and a metal ther eof Which when burnished did r eflect Even a a mirr s or And when thou holdest the lighted tapers In thine own h ands And thou dost gaze deep into thine own eyes Know th t thou dost perform The Art a In the very manner in which it w s trul done a y
fr m The Boo of A o k starte by Fra ter Aleyin (Th abion)
C A H PTER TW O: THE SECR T OF THE D K E AR MIRR OR

MY ILLNE AND MY QUIXOTIC a SS ttem pt to cur it thr e ough hypnosis h d driven me into the a sh amanic tra dition of m ancestor -- and, a the y s s
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sa ying goes, when the student is r dy, the ea tea cher a ppear s. In this ca the tea se cher came in the form of a boo My fir k. st intr oduction to W estern Ma gick still stands a the best survey s w k written on the pra or ctical a spects of the subject: The Black Arts by R ar Ca ich d vendish, published in 1968. Using Ca vendishs e xcellent bibliogra phy I quickl a y cquir ed W aites The Boo k of Black Ma & P gic acts along with the Ma ther sCr owley Goetia, Ma thers The Key of Solo mon the King, and Francis B etts The Ma . arr gus T he mediev Key of Solo al mon pr ovided an a uthentic h andboo for making ma k gical r egalia, im plements and talismans but it w s the mor a e notorious Goetia of the Lemegeton, the socalled Lesser Key of Solo mon, th t w s the r a a eal wizar ds Liber Spirituum. T Goetia (pr he onounced Go-EY-sh ca a) taloged and described 72 r ebellious spirits th t, a a ccor ding to a T almudic legend, old King Solo mon h s im a prisoned in an ench anted Bra ss vessel submer ged in a lak in B e abylon. This r d lik ea e a f abulous tale fr m T o he Arabian Nights but in m irra y tional sta te I w s convinced th t ther a a e w s a hidden truth behind the f a anta stic story. Lik Ala e ddins w onderful lam or Ali B p abas Open Sesame ther w s a Secr e a et Key to calling up those mighty princes of the Jinn th t Solo a mon
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h d im a prisoned so long a and I w s determined go a to find it. Y s la ear ter, when I w s doing gra a dua te studies in cul tural anthr opology I r ealized th t a ba ck in 196 I h d cr 9 a ossed over into a r ealm of divine ma dness th t few Anglo-Americans h d a a ever e xperienced. I h d gone thr a ough a true sh amanic initia tion, th t mortal illness and vision a quest th t brings the sh a aman in touch with his gods and gives him the pow er to pra ctice his cra . . . ft It w s during th t sea a a son of my ma dness, when a gony al terna ted with ecsta sy, th t I h d a a discover ed, or mor pr e operl r y e-discover ed, the lost secr of the ma et gical Art and I wr ote The Boo of A k starte fr m which the k pa ge th t o ey ssa a hea this ch pter is dra ds a wn. (see Note 1.) I h d studied the writings of the ancient a and modern ma gicians. They h d filled their boo s a k with the most detailed instructions on how to build, inscribe and decora te all the necessary equip ment, all the signa es of the spirits and tur even the hour in which to summon them but s the most im portant element, th t method by a which one could mak the spirit physicall e y
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a ppear, w s al a missing fr m the old grimoir a w ys o es and not e xplained in the r ecent te xts, I knew th t over a dozen ancient and a modern writer on ma s gick could not be invol ved in one big, long-standing conspira to suppr cy ess this final secr et, so it seemed obvious th t a so a t me time a fter the 17 th century and befor the e middle of the 19th century the pra ctical k eys to the ma gical ev tion and invoca oca tion pr ocesses h d been lost. a T his turned out to be true. The ancient writer h d hidden the secr s a ets in plain sight a s y ou will see when w e e xamine the old te xts but the V ictorian a ge ma gicians of the Golden D wn school, with their phobia a a gainst hypnosis and their co mmend able distrust of p ssive a spiritualist medium ship, h d deem a a ph sized the a ctual methods of r enaissance evoca tion and invoca tion in f vor of a W a estern T antra in which ima ges ar car e efull buil up in the ima y t gina tion and then allow ed to pr ovide psychic feedba ck. Instea of the tra d ditional crystal and d k s ar mirr s for visionary w k, they pr or or eferr to use ed abstra ct color ed symbol to stimula s te the ima gina tion. These methods ar differ e ent in conception and technique fr m the sh o amanic
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calling down or summoning up of spontaneous visions fr m th t gr t stor o a ea ehouse of ima ges r enaissance ma gicians knew a The W s orld Soul and w now r e efer to a The Collective s Unconscious. If I h dnt been touched with divine a ma dness a ty the time I pr obabl w y ould h ve a a ccepted the V ictorian r econstruction of ma gick and put a side m yearning to a y ctuall conjur y e spirits to visible a ppearance in Solo mons Triangle of Art. I w ould h ve a eed with critics lik a gr e Pr ofessor Eliza Butler th t those who a practiced out of the old grimoir w e cr es er edulous and self-deluded. How ever Arthur Edw d ar W aite, who w s al a ruthless critic of the Art a so Ma gical, h d conceded th t they h d a a a a chieved r esul ts. In the intr oduction to his 1898 Boo of k Black ma & P gic acts he wr ote: It w ould, how ever, be unsa fe to a ffirm th t all per a sons making use of the cer emonies in the ritual w s ould f to obtain r ail esul ts. Per a in h ps the ma jority of ca ses most of such e xperiments ma in the p st w e a de a er ttended with r esul of a ts kind. To enter the p th of h a allucina tion is lik y el to ensur h e allucina tion, and in the pr esence of hypnotic and clairv ant f cts it w oy a ould be
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absur to a d ssume th t the seeering pr a ocess of ancient ma gic which w e many did not er pr oduce seer ship, or th t the a a uto-hypnotic sta which much ma te gical ritual w ould obviousl y tend to occa sion in pr edisposed per sons did not fr equentl y induce, and not al a w ys in the pr edisposed. To this e xtent so me of the pr ocesses ar pra e ctical, and to this e xtent they ar d e anger ous. T his p ara ph w s one of the clues th t gra a a set me on the trail to discovering the secr of et Solo mons Triangle. It should be note th t I h d a a fir r d all the a ailable 16 st ea v th and 17 th century ma terial befor I got into R e egar die and the Golden D wn. Ther a efor m original per e y spective w s, and a still r emains, th t of a r a enaissance ma gician ra ther th a V an ictorian occul tist (even though I will be the fir to concede our tr st emendous debt to the Golden D wn). I think it is im a portant to mention this beca use ther is a na e tural tendency for people to be hea y influenced by their fir vil st im essions in any field of endea or. pr v T his w s especiall true in my ca given my a y se near-terminal illness and al ed sta ter te of consciousness. I literall dev y our the boo s listed ed k above with the obsession of a r eligious f tic. ana
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But even in the grip of a toxic psychosis, I h dnt a lost m intellect. Ma y dness is known to stimula te genius. I w s on the ver a ge of discovering, or r ediscovering, an e xtra dinary secr or et hidden in these quaint, and a ar pp entl whim y sical, boo s of k for gotten lor e. I knew ther h d to be a w y to mak e a a e Solo mons tra ditional opera tions a ctuall w k y or without r esorting to drugs, f sting or endless a conjura tions to pr oduce h allucina tions thr ough hysteria and e a xh ustion. A century a go Aleister Cr owley h d tried a to conjur one of the Lemegetons Goetia demons e out of incense smo e. He h d very little success k a a fter a gr t deal of effort. A a self-ta ea s ught hypnotist this did not surprise me. Trying to form an ima ge, or co mmanding a spirit to pr oduce an ima out of curling, twisting smo e w s mor ge k a e of an e xperiment in telekinesis th an a scrying pr ocess. Cr owley obviousl did not know the y technique but he certainl y under stood the philosophy. He sta teed it clearl in his 1904 y edition of The Goetia: But can any of the effects described in this our boo Goetia be obtained, and if so, can k
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y ou give a ra tional e xplana tion of the circum stances? Sa y so? y ou I can, and will. T he spirits of the Goetia ar portions of e the human brain. T heir seal ther s efor r esent e epr (Mr. Spencers pr ojected cube) methods of stimula ting and r egula ting those p articular spots (thr ough the eye). T he names of God ar e vibra tions calcula ted to establish: (a) General contr ol of the brain. (E stablishment of functions r tive to the subtle ela w orld.) (b) Contr over the brain in detain. (Rank ol or type of spirit.) (c) Contr of one special portion. (Name of ol the spirit.) T he perfumes aid this thr ough smell. Usuall the perfume will onl tend to contr a y y ol lar ge ar ea; but ther is an a e ttribution of perfumes to letter of the alph s abet enabling one, by Q abalistic formula, to spell out the spirits name. I need not enter into a mor p e articular discussion of these points; the intelligent r der ea can ea y fill in wh t is la sil a cking. If then I sa y,
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with Solo mon: The spirit Cimier tea es ches logic, wh t I mean is: those portions of my brain which a subserve the logical f cul a ty m be stimula y ted and developed by following out the pr ocess called The Evoca tion of Cimier es. I h ve quoted the above p ssa a a ge a so t me length beca use it ma such a str de ong im ession on pr me when I fir st r d it. It is certainl not ea y r mantic or artistic; in f ct it is downright o a anal ytical lik wiring a ballet d e ancer with electr onic sensor so w can get a scientific r ds e ea out on S an Lak but it serves an absolutel w e y necessary purpose. Cr owleys sta tement pla ces Solo mons Ma gick squar y within the p el arameter s of a psychological system. Solo mons spirits ar portions of the e human brain. But the human brain is onl the h dw e y ar ar for the gr test co puter system ever designed: ea m The Human Mind. A modern h ck a er-ma gus w ould sa w run our Solo y e monic Ma gick pr ogram on an opera ting system designed by Carl Jung using a langua called A ge gripp 777. a For those who ar e not yet ma gical
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cyberna uts th t needs so a me e xplaining: Cr owleys conceptions of Ma gick pr e-d ted Carl Jungs a Archetypes in the Collective Unconscious theory. Cr owley knew th t ma a gical manifesta tions invol ved al ed sta ter tes of consciousness and could pr oduce psychoso tic effects but he ma ma y not h ve been a ar th t entir p a w e a e antheons of ancient Gods and Goddesses, choir of Angel and s s, hor des of demons might e xists in the deepest r ches of every ea ones mind. Actuall the theory w s not very modern. y a Ar ound 200 A.D. Hermes Trismegistus, the m ysterious founder of Hermetic Philosophy, h d a written in his A sclepius th t: The Gods of the a Zodia ar eternal but man cr tes his own lesser c e ea gods. The im plica tions of this sta tement ar e a eso w me. If w cr te gods, then w contr e ea e ol them! And if w can contr them, ar w not e ol e e Gods our ves? (E Tuo Tem sel n plo, Tu E Deus!) s This is why the la te W arbur Institute scholar g Francis Y tes called The A a sclepius The ch ge of ar dynamite behind R enaissance Neopla tonism. Echoes of th t e a xplosion r everbera in the te w ds of Heinrich Cornelius A or gripp written in a 152 7:
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Such things ar deliver e ed and writ by gr t and gra ea ve philosopher whose tra s, dition who d e sa ar f se? Na it w e im ar y e al y, er pious to think them lies: onl ther is another meaning y e th an wh t is writ with the bar letter W a e s. e must loo for the principle of these grand k opera tions without our ves; it is th t internal sel a spirit within us which can very w ell perform wh tsoever the monstr a ous ma thema ticians, the pr odigious ma gicians, the w onderful alchymists and the bewitching necr mancer can effect. o s In the 1920s Jung declar th t benea and ed a th bey ond the per sonal subconscious mind ther e flow ed a v st, deep sea of dr a eam ima ges and for gotten lor he r e eferr to a The Collective ed s Unconscious. T his m ysterious psychic ocean w s a not the e xclusive pr operty of any individual human being. It w s a dimension sh ed by us all! a ar Her one might discover the gr t Archetypes of e ea m ythology: the her oes, the bea utiful courtesans, the martyr ed saints and monstr ous villains of our p st. Her w e the mysterious man-cr ted a e er ea gods which Hermes Trismegistus h d written a about so long a go. Her w s the W e a orld Soul of the R enaissance ma gicians. Her w e the demons e er of Solo mons Bra V ss essel.
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When Jung discussed his theory with his f amous collea gue, Sigmund Fr eud, Fr eud w s a horrified. Carl! he whisper ed. If y r ou eveal this to the public y ou will r elea a bla flood of se ck occul tism! How ever it w ould tak mor th e e an just a theory to r elea the flood of occul se tism Fr eud fear ed. Theories by them ves do not pr sel oduce r esul ts. For r esul ts the ma gician still depends tod y, a he did thousands of year a a s s go, on methods and techniques. Since time immemorial ma gicians h ve pla a ced them ves and other into sta sel s tes of trance during which visions and ora cles w e r er eceived. W now know th t this pr e a ocess w s hypnotic a and th t all the pheno a mena w h ve co e a me to a ssocia te with modern hypnosis w e in f ct er a known and practiced by ancient sorcer s under er the guise of f scina a tion, spell-ca sting and ench antment. T he pow erful hypnotic effect a chieved thr ough a fixed gaze a a r t eflective surf ce is a the r son why the crystal ball, or shewstone, ea and the d k mirr (the speculum), w e used by ar or er wizar of olden times a their spiritus locii, the ds s
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a ctual pla wher the angel and spirits could be ce e s conjur to visible a ed ppearance. This w s and still a is a hypnotic pr ocess. . . How ever the final secr et of how to use these ma gical aides w s al a a w ys missing. W ith all the philosophy, the a tmospher e, the p araphernalia, the pow erful conjura tions and the hypnotic techniques, such spontaneous visions in a crystal or in a d k mirr ar or, still depended upon so me special psychic talent. To mak it r e eall w k one h d to be a na y or a tural medium Now, with all m hypnotic e y xperiments and m toxic fever dr y eam I h d certainl beco s, a y me a mystic . . . but not a clairv ant. oy T his is a very im portant point. Medium s, psychics and clairv ants h ve do oy a mina ted the m ystic arts for centuries beca use most of us h ve a a ssumed th t they ar the onl ones gifted with a e y the abilities to see and hear the spirits. This situa tion w s so perv sive th t even gr t a a a ea ma gicians lik Abramelin the Ma e ge, D r. Jo hn Dee, Count Ca gliostr and the la o ter Fr ederick Hockley thought they h d to em a ploy speciall talented y scryer or gifted childr s en to do the a ctual r eceiving for them. If I h d been in a full ra a y tional sta of mind a the time I pr te t obabl w y ould h ve a a ccepted this historicall established h y andica p but obsessed genius knows no bounds.
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I w s convinced ther h d to be a w y, a a e a a method by which any one with the desir and the e determina tion could sum mon spirits to visible a ppearance and conver se with them. This w s a wh t Solo a mon h d pr mised and lik the a o e indef tiguable ama a teur arch eologist Henrich a Schlieman, who h d a a ctuall discover y ed Tr oy right wher Ho e mer said it w s I w s sur th t a a e a the mediev Solo al mon w s telling the truth. a I could pla ce a crystal ball into the triangle, but then if I stood ba inside the ma ck gick circle, a the opera s tor w s supposed to do a a ccor ding to the ancient te xts, even a 60mm ball w ould a ppear the size of a door knob but I knew so mething h d to be pla a ced in th t triangle: a so mething f scina a ting, so mething hypnotic, and so mething lar ge enough to pr ovide a viewing surf ce.Obviousl a y the speculum, the d k ar mirr or.And wh t better entrance into th t a a r ealm the m ystic poet Coleridge h d called: a Ca verns mea eless to man. sur It h d to be the d k mirr a ar or! But how to use it? How to mak it a e ctuall w k, I a ed y or sk m yself then so mething I h d r d the year befor a ea e jogged m y memory so mething I h d r d a ea so mewher about the use of d k mirr s in the e ar or
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F Ea ar st.? T a all-im ht portant clue h d been sitting a right ther on m boo shelf! The secr w s in a e y k et a w k called T or antra, The Y oga of Se by Omar x Garrison published in 1964. In this boo the a k uthor e xplained an ancient Oriental method of conjuring up ima ges of pr evious incarna tions fr m the o r eflection of ones own f ce..in a d k a ar mirr or.flank by candles! ed A I r ea this p ssa in Garrisons boo I s e-r d a ge k fel a shiver of e t xcitement. I w s e a xperiencing the same tingling e xhilara tion th t an arch eologist a a must feel when he brushes a a the sand and wy loo s down a the unbr k seal of an ancient k t o en r al to oy mb! I tried Garrisonss e xperiment and found th t it w k a or ed with r emar kable effectiveness. If a per son in a d k ar ened r m oo star for several minutes into a mirr es or flank ed by candles, a strange pheno menon will almost al a h ppen: the f w ys a amiliar r eflection will f de a out and disa ppear. T mirr will go bla and, he or ck when the ima ge r eturns, it will be the f ce of a so meone or so mething el se! T his e xperience is usuall a m anied by a y cco p pr ofound sense of other-w orldl pr y esenceIt
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w s obvious th t this pheno a a menon must h ve been a discover ed long befor e any concept of r eincarna tion. It pr obabl w y ent ba a f a the ck s ar s p aleolithic when stone-a ge people star ed f scina a ted a their r t eflections in d k, still pool ar s of w ter, seeing the strange transforma a tion occur and being convinced they w e in the er pr esence of their Gods! I suspected th t in a ritual setting, using a tra ditional conjura tions and symbol s, specific spirits and even ancient Gods and Goddesses might be summoned fr m the Other Side.This o might w ell be the ancient secr et behind th t a strange p ssa a ge in the Bible th t r ds: God a ea f shioned Man in His own ima a ge. It w s certainl the r son why Solo a y ea mon h s a us co mmand the spirit, often described a a s monstr ous hybrid, to Appear in f air and human form and speak unto us in a clear, intelligible voice in our mother tongue. After this discovery the use of the ma gick mirr in an elev ted triangle seemed obvious. Our or a th la te 17 century Lemegeton manuscript, Slo ane 2 1, clearl shows a lar 73 y ge bla ck-filled circle in the center of Solo mons Triangle.
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Note th t the instructions written ar a ound the Triangle sa T o foot off fr m the Circle y: w o and thr ee foot over.) Not Thr ee foot a oss, a the published ver cr s sion h s it. The a Triangle w s intended to be raised up to eye a level. . . . T his is clearl shown in a dra y wing fr m a o 17 th century manuscript by the mysterious D. Tho s R ma udd, which depticts a mirr on a stand or with Solo mons Secr et Seal fr m the Goetia of o the Lemegeton clearl r y ender ed on the r ever se side. . . (See figur 2.) e W know th t polished obsidian mirr s e a or w e used in the neolithic Middle Ea er stern city of Ka tal Huyuck a f back a nine thousand years s ar s a go befor the Gr t Flood. And la e ea ter, in the time of Solo mon, the Egyptians and Canaanites ma de mirr s of polished copper and of sil or ver, metal a s ttributed to the planet V enus and the Moon. Let y our mind tra vel ba to those ancient ck times and ima gine wh t might h ve h ppened when a a a a priestess sitting befor her mirr e or, putting her mak e-up on in the dim light, sa her f ce ch w a ange and beco me T Goddess! Per a she w he h ps ould call
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the high priest to witness the transforma tion. They w ould both be f amiliar with possessions and trance sta tes and w ould be quick to see the possibilities. Now I am certain th t so a me of my ma gical collea gues will cluck in their bear and sa W ds y: ell R uny on developed an effective system but its modern. T hey will cite the f ct, alr dy a ea mentioned, th t Ca a gliostr o, Dee, Hockley and other h d to em s a ploy scryer to do their s visioning. If these w orthies h dnt know the a r eflection secr et, then who h d known? a My answ er is th t the mediev a al Arabian ma gicians pr obabl knew it a these quotes fr m C. y s o J. S. Tho pson indica m te: Accor ding to Arab tra dition, ma or sihr, gic which means to pr oduce an illusion befor the e eyes w s r a evealed by tw angel in B o s abel, named H arut and Marut, who instructed mankind in this art . . . When a mira cle w s deemed a sihr it w s a a r egar ded a an optical illusion or due to an illicit s dealing with demons . . . T he use of the ma gic mirr which w s ma of metal or gla with a or a de ss polished surf ce for seeing spirits, w s known to a a the Arabs a an earl period. The ima w s said t y ge a
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to Appear in a cloud or v por flo ting betw a a een the medium used and the gazers eye. . . Ceco d A scoli, D r. Tho s R ma udd and other s ma very w y ell h ve known but k a ept it secr et. The method w s so sim a ple th t ther w s no need a e a to write it down. It could h ve been p ssed fr m a a o mouth-to-ear (and y et the hints in the Slo ane 2 1 Goetia ar almost too obvious). W should 73 e e r ecall th t the Goetia w s not a system ma a a gicians fel co fortable writing about ba in the d ys t m ck a of the Inquisition. And they did not need Carl Jungs subjective psychological theories to justify using their own r eflection a a focal point. Ther w s a h unting s e a a Orphic m yth about Dy onisus being entranced by his own r eflection in a mirr or, ca ught by the T itans and torn to pieces, his p arts r escued by Zeus and given to Apollo to plant in the earth fr m which he r o ose r econstituted and r evived. Her w h ve the modern psychological e e a concepts of fra gmenta tion, r eintegra tion and individua tion of the per sonality; w al e so h ve a our seventy-tw all-enco p ssing spirits let out o ma and put ba into T Bra V ck he ss essel. The ancients did not cr te such f ea ables for idle amusement.
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But m most telling ar y gument sits in every grammar school cla in the country. Along with ss pla ying hopscotch on The Tr of Life, childr ee en h ve a game called Bloody Mary (Clive B k a ar ers Candyman ) which they h ve been scaring ea a ch other with a long a ther h ve been mirr s to s s e a or loo into. Any modern ma k gician who think his s pr edecessor s didnt discover this same pheno menon a ges a go and ma de use of it doesnt hold them in very high r egar but to those who d still insist th t this method of ma a gical evoca tion is modern, I will be most h ppy to a a ccept cr edit for it. (See Note 2.) In the w eek following my r emar kable discovery (or r e-discovery) m illness overcame me y to such a degr th t m doctor w s co pelled ee a y a m to conduct a mor thr e ough e xamina tion. A th t t a he discover ed the truth and a dvised me th t a onl an opera y tion could sa my life but th t I ve a w s too debilita a ted and inflamed to under the go sur gery. I a ed the Arch sk angel Ra a to heal me ph el and Prince B aal to give me str ength then (beca use the Gods help those who help them ves) I w sel ent out and found another doctor. When I r ecover ed fr m my sur o gical opera tion, heal th and sanity quickl r y eturned but I r emember wh t I h d learned during my a a
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sabba tical in T artarus and, to my surprise, I discover ed th t Solo a mons Ma gick w s still a a s effective and even mor so when contra e sted with m otherwise ra y tional sta of mind. te To m even gr ter surprise, I found th t y ea a this ancient system w ould w k for any sincer or e per son who could concentra te on a fixed point long enough to a chieve a light hypnotic trance. Ie xtended m e y xperiments to include other s and I soon discover th t the pr ed a ocess w s just a a s effective if I a the ma s gician stood behind a p ssive r a eceiver who w ould onl need to hold y the candle stick and concentra on the mirr s te or. A th t time I w s a ba t a a chelor in my thirties, living in a bea ch-side Southern California a artment and riding a motorcycle. This put me in p a position to r ecruit y oung w men willing to o transform into the Goddess A starte. These e xperiments, h armless a they w e, ma s er de me notorious. Accor ding to one published a ccount one of m A y startes disa ppear ed off the f ce of the a earth and y et I sa w her sociall a w y eek following the opera tion.
7 4

It did a ppear th t w men ma the best, or a o de per a h ps the most enthusia stic, r eceiver but for s the most p art m female volunteer w e not y s er clairv ant. Those few who w e na oy er tural psychics w ould r eceive their vision off-f ce a a fter the mirr or bla ed out. Non-psychic ck r eceiver (most of us) will see a differ s ent f ce a r epla ce our f amiliar r eflection. How ever, it is im portant to note th t rthis transforma a tion pr ocess for non-psychics is, if anything, a mor e intense and consciousness-al tering e xperience th an the mor f e amiliar visioning pr ocess the psychic under goes. So I h d the secr a et. Lik D r. Frank e enstein, I h d learned how to do it but even though I ma a y h ve been just a obsessed a the fictional V a s s ictor Frank enstein, I didnt w ant to mak his mistak e e. Befor I opened the Bra V e ss essel and r elea sed these spirits into the w orld a gain, I w anted to under stand the philosophy and the spiritual significance behind a pr ocess th t h d been k a a ept such a closel guar y ded secr et for thousands of year I h d to a m s. a sk yself, w s it possible ther a e w e slumbering demons fr m our p st th t a er o a a s the la How d Phillips Lovecra h d suggested te ar ft a might better be left un-a ak w ened? How and why h d the bea a utiful Goddess A starte and her
75

h andso me consort, Prince B aal, the Thunder God, beco me demons in the forbidden boo s of k mediev balck ma al gick? . . . I found so me of the answ s to these questions in the long-lost er Biblical Boo of E k noch . . . Notes on Ch pter T o: a w 1. This p ssa ma be f a ge y amiliar to so me occul t students outside of the O.T.A. The Boo k of A starte (Liber A starte) h s been pira a ted and circula ted in the occul ted under ound gr since 1979 even though it w s copyrighted a under m pseudonym by a ma y jor univer sity in 197 6. 2. In a ctual f ct the method h s beco a a me so popular th t one of m former students a y priv tel too cr a y k edit for it and started thr ee mini-lodges of his own. Another O.T.A. defector offer ed a typescript e xpose of the mirr or-r eflection Goetia technique in 1979 then in 1988 a popularizer of of ma gick a mittedl dr d y ew on the earlier e xpose for a ch pter on a Goetia ev tion in a boo issued by a ma oca k jor publisher. He and his publisher followed this up with a sim plistic ma ss-mar eted k
7 6

ph phlet on the Goetia D k Mirr am ar or method in 1994. T his finall pr m y o pted us to go into pr oduction of The Ma gick of Solo mon video and T he Boo of Solo k mons Ma gick to pr esent the r eal story behind modern Goetia/Alma del ma gick and tea ch the pr oper methods of pra ctice. Other Ch pter in T a s he Boo of Solo k mons Ma gick include: Hypnosis and Y oga, F allen Angel s and P gan Gods, The Secr a et of the Hol y T able, The Kabbalah of W izar dry, Arabian Origins of Ma gick and W itchcra ft, and Solo mons Se Ma x gick, and mor . . Ther ar e. e e numer ous r oductions epr fr m o ancient manuscripts, including all of the original sigil of the Goetia spirits, the sigil of the s s Shemh amephora sh Angel and the Demon s Kings of the Quarter The boo contains s. k tw full color pla o tes showing the Four Gr t Arch ea angel of the Quarter and The s s Solo monic Ma ster Mand ala.
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