Energy, Hierarchy and Relationship
Written by David Bersson
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Now consider of this; it is practical to know when energy is being wasted. I have a will in a certain direction; and goals for that will to be accomplished. I know that Initiation is a magical operation that is going take energy; and that my very sex act will waste that energy unless it too is a magical operation unto Nuit.
Now consider of this; when my students are having an affair; even if that relationship is with another member of the Order; I will try to point out to them that they only have a certain amount of energy to expend; and they must be careful that the relationship does not degenerate into a situation where either party involved is becoming a vampire to either party.
Now consider of this; I have actually seen the situation become so demonic with two students that I have ordered them to cut the relationship short or I would cut with them. I have only seen the need to do this a handful of times; and a simple warning is usually enough for them to adjust the relationship where each party is "aware" of each other. If I have given a hint to one party showing real spiritual aspiration; and the other one is simply oblivious to the others will; I will then warn the one who is simply using the other that I do not like the relationship.
Now consider of this; if the person I warned uses proper introspection and backs away from the relationship; the relationship will naturally adjust itself. Each party will go away from each other with the experience that their attempt to create a Thelemic Relationship did not work. The person who backed away now knows that she or he was a vampire in that union; and should seriously consider mounting the horse again to ride again forth to another relationship.
Having considered the above; consider my first paragraph yet again where I touched upon energy that is wasted in a relationship. I must also touch upon people in authority under me working under the magical strain of a nation. Until the Hierarchy is built properly where the energy suffers no major leak; the person in authority cannot engage a serious relationship without serious damage to his growth. The expenditure of energy will be too much for even the strongest man; and the person will fail miserably to build a movement on a national level. In such a case; the problem is resolved in two ways; firstly by having a casual relationship instead of a serious relationship until the magick is sufficiently strong for the magical strain to be relaxed; and second by having more than one authority building a Hierarchy in that particular nation. From the Supreme Authority's point of view these two guidelines have a very special bonus; for one of the delegated authorities can now be promoted who does the best job building one of the parallel Hierarchies.
Well, I must close this tract by stating that a magical Hierarchy has its rules; and when you adhere to them; it is a very efficient talisman to compensate, direct and naturally balance pure energy.
Verily, so many are there "secrets" to its success that occult fraternities have kept them "sub rosa" and bound by threatening oaths. Although, I am the exception this rule; having no real oaths to keep it all secret; I will still point out that this essay is a mere outer circle hint of wonders written by someone who knows that it would be useless to elaborate further without the hands on experience that will be necessary to manifest and make sensible decisions on the real solutions to energy, Hierarchy and relationship.
Love is the law, love under will
A Message to the Weary Aspirant
Written by David Bersson
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
In another essay I will expound how I happened upon my zealous interest with magick and initiation, and relate the influence of family and tradition, but for this essay I will clarify the consequences of my decisions to will what I have willed and aligned this will to a Greater Will and used this as a Weapon and Banner of what my spiritual life is to be.
So many years have passed now since I first began my Holy Trek into the mystical arts, and magick in particular. I will now expound to the wavering or serious pilgrim how to establish themselves properly with the preliminary work.
Yet, the preliminary work means the will and discipline. This will and discipline cannot be seriously adhered without, firstly the spiritual aspiration and second the proper attitude. When the first and the second are clearly established the proper zeal and motivation for a lifetime of the Great Work can be calmly and with steadfast zeal be established.
So many students simply drop out without any consideration to the above. The main vampire and Guardian of the Threshold is other items and circumstances or ordeal will deaden a perfectly pure spirit from persisting unto to the end, and attaining that so unreal perception that we have come to name "Initiation".
Such a pitfall as the improper person to marry, or the pain and suffering of financial distress or in the case of a Hierarchy, a misunderstanding of the Hierarchic Superior; I have personally seen quite a few aspirants fall from their original honest and clean aspirations.
For those who have read my theories of the origin of magick they will see that the Great Work to return to the magick, and therefore the true initiations which resulted in the evolution of our species as added motivation for the Work ahead.
On a more "opti-mystic" note , (if you'll pardon the pun, and even if you don't), I will state that that it surprised me that many aspirants stay years with the Order to be among those of like blood, and find that they enjoy Our Company so much that they actually participate and grow with a Brotherhood or Sisterhood that takes a direction with their initiation that can only be admired. Such beautiful flowers are ordinarily given positions of authority in Our Temples to assist others to be inspired to the true meaning on the Plane of Disks of "being of us".
Our goals are very definite and at the same time we adhere to the "method of science" where at any time We reserve the Right to slightly or greatly alter our Course in accordance with the necessity of scientific discovery or evolution.
So I give this message to the aspirant that is beginning his or her path or the brother or sister who is having that Ordeal which may be crucial for his or her future.
Arise from your Ordeal, o weary aspirant, for the beauty and excitement of the Great Work has flames so strong that it will turn to ashes those moments of doubt.
Love is the law, love under will
POINTS OF VIEW
Written by David Bersson
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.
A quote by Judy Garland
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
A point of view can be as elementary as a casual speculation or as intricate as an entire school of thought. The following quote by the Master Therion shows He encouraged open research and originality. This is from Magick in Theory & Practice; the Chapter on the ASTRAL PLANE. Such a position will only dissuade dogma.
"The Magician must not accept the Master Therion's account of the Astral Plane, His Qabalistic discoveries, His instructions in Magick. They may be correct in the main for most people; yet they cannot be wholly true for any save Him, even as no two artists can make identical pictures of the same subject"
As always, the Book of the Law sets us straight when we are unsure on the Path to take for our will. And the first line of verse 32 of Chapter I exclaims:
Obey my prophet!
We then see that to obey our prophet one can look deeply into the above quote from Magick in Theory & Practice. It tells us precisely how to follow out the ordeals of his knowledge. We are told to follow out the ordeals of his knowledge and then in verse 34 we are not told the ordeals. For everyone who follows his own will follows His Path and unique ordeals unfold.
Those who have read the Master Therion's published and unpublished works for many years will recognize a very interesting pattern. The Master Therion has laid groundwork for a lot of research; but in the direction of His own particular school of thought. As it is turning out, other varieties of Thelemites are beginning to surface. A few do not read the Master Therion at all but accept the Book of the Law without any need for any commentary but those idiosyncrasies of experience that have been awakened from their own private perceptions of its lines.
The Master Therion gives us a lot of information. Some of it completely blinds you toward direct insights from the Book of the Law. And yet, all his material was rather like a commentary of the Law. A lifetime of blinds and magical insights geared for many planes of existence. All of it is groundwork for originality and new points of view.
What are Thelemites like who do not want to follow the Path of the O.T.O. or A∴A∴ and yet claim they have dedicated their lives to the Great Work? Such a question in the seventies registered a blank stare from Initiates. Now we are approaching the hundredth year of the Aeon of Horus, our diversification and variety has surprised and stunned us. Marcelo Motta is an excellent example of a pioneer in new perceptions toward Thelemic thought. The publication of his Commentaries of AL in 1976 e.v. has lead to thought provoking perceptions that dare to show how an entire new school of thought arose from a Master's meditations. One critic tried to state he had ruthlessly edited his version of the Commentaries of AL. This, of course, was written by a jealous rival who could not see the forest for the trees. This person could not see any specific school of thought different from the Master Therions. Did this person fear that change would harm the work? A typical black brother attitude. I see Marcelo Motta's original works and proclaim how his writings can only encourage such innovative research and insight to further our cause for more new, exciting material in the splendid world of initiatic research.
And we have other magical orders springing up on occasion who have different Grade structure, different ritual and a different constitution. All this means a greater variety of points of view where we can abide in an open forest of new possibility.
One insight or concept can eventually lead to the equation of ones point of view. On an individual note, I have been astounded at how lucid an insight will seem to Me that has arisen being it is a natural consequence of my unfolding. At the same time when I reveal such an insight to others the result is surprise and sometimes confusion. My personal point of view comes from fidelity to my Oaths, my Aspirations and my will to inflame & further my Great Work. I recollect, (with no little amusement, mind you), the first time I endeavored to share with others the perception that I had experienced Trances (note upper case T) that the Master Therion did not mention in LITTLE ESSAYS TOWARDS TRUTH (Nor anywhere, I might add). And yet it should be not be such a shock that a list of Thelemic Trances on the Path are going to be quite extensive as the method of science is utilized for our Great Work.
We must be ready for any point of view. It is essential that we view new approaches to the Path with calm, clear scientific expectations. It must not startle the aspirant if a stranger emerges from the wilderness of the experience of his Path and explains to us a perception where he sees our perception of the Holy Guardian Angel as too Daoistic in essence for his particular nature. What of a Thelemite who refuses to see Adonai as anything but clever Apep attempting to maneuver mankind into bringing His Cult back into being. Or another who might see a Royal Family emerge from the insights in the Book of the Law? Verily, the future will show us points of view that have as yet not even been conceived of; in this unique and beautiful time we call the Aeon of Horus.
Therefore listen carefully to your brother Thelemite's insights of the Path. His strange insight, which you are tempted to snicker at today, may be tomorrow the tip of the iceberg of an entire school of thought that enhances and enlightens the entire Thelemic Community.
Love is the law, love under will
O my beloved
Goddess, I love Thee. I am the winged secret flame unto Thee.
Bend Upon thy servant and impart Thy kisses
I am always Unto Thee, Nuit. Let me awaken to Thy ecstasy; that I might
know the omnipresence of your Body.
Let the world
be regenerated; for I love you Nuit, my beloved Goddess!
The Dawn of Magick
Written by David Bersson
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
Before beginning a synopsis of this theory let me first state that I do not necessarily agree that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is complete. I challenge scientists to prove that the following theory of evolution is either more valid or should be given serious consideration of being assimilated. Selection as Darwin set down his theories creates a more efficient animal, granted, but it does not necessarily create an intelligent life form that can balance perception on many planes of existence.
My theories on magick and cave man are now outlined for the world to ponder. Let scientists in all walks of life be challenged by a new perception which if even partially proved correct will change the direction of scientific research and evolution forever.
No doubt, a cave man who had clairvoyance would be alerted to danger quicker than the cave man who did not and therefore would survive. Yet proof of the existence of clairvoyance itself is still viewed as mere superstition. My essay on MAGICK AND MACHINES was not only meant as a warning but an inspiration to others to continue scientific research along the lines of magick. Apparently, I have not as yet been able to make clear my point of its importance to the proper people.
I must further point out, no other members of the animal kingdom evolved into the equivalent of homo sapiens. My theories of early man's use of magick seems to be the only factor that can reasonably support such rapid evolution.
I am deducing from the present how the distant past looked. This theory may only be proved by magicians (who are also scientists) who have stepped upon and gained initiation on the Western Esoteric Path. I realize this statement may be viewed on with extreme disenchantment. Yet the fact remains that the lens must be made clear before the specimen can be viewed clearly on the microscope. How can a profane see anything such as this when initiation has not occurred. I present this theory knowing that very few scientists are formally trained in magick.
In the dawn of time, when man was not yet man, meaning his ruach, nephesh and neshemah had not yet been altered by racial initiation man-creature lived in the caves to avoid the predators. He drew sigils, coherent and incoherent in the sand, the rock and on animal skin. In time, a man-creature created a drawing of an animal. No one can say whether this drawing was in the dirt, sand, animal skin or cave wall. All we can deduce that the motive for the drawing was a product of hunger or desire or even idle play. Herein was the beginning of talismanic magick. The deer ( we'll say for hypothesis sake) was drawn in the dirt to make that deer appear in the hunt. Of course, the man-creature would focus on the deer, kill the deer and bring it home. The man-creature would come home to the cave, see the picture of the deer, look at the deer he had captured and killed. He would be very pleased that his new strong magick had worked. Of course, the man-creature had no way of knowing that the forest was filled with deer and it wasn't the deer he had drawn but his skill as a hunter. Nevertheless, the man-creature REPEATED it thinking it was working. And he did this and other forms of magick over THOUSANDS, perhaps millions of years.
The hunter had become the sorcerer using his magick to get his prey. Now lets go 50,000 years further in time. (once again, we do not know that it was 50,000 years, it may of been more. Yet we can deduce thousands of years of primitive magick in many directions established a difference in the manner which the man-creature viewed the planes of perception.) Now consider of this, if you repeat something often, the general rule is you will become good at it. In fact, you will develop "byways" or pathways within your being to make it occur to perfection. (The game of pool is impossible for the novice and a matter of warming up for the expert) Therefore it is no longer a matter of whether magick is real, the question is how many times do I have to repeat the ritual before I acquire that knack and the energy begins to flow. How many thousands of years did man-creature do magick over and over and over? What changes did this create in his being?
The man-creature had become a homo sapiens with the same basic environment. Why did the man-creature evolve and not other creatures around him? Why does the man-creature no longer need all fours?
My deduction has no other logic to follow. The use of magick by the man-creature made him evolve into another species. We call that species today the homo sapiens. Intriguing how initiation and evolution are exchanged as concepts. For it is true. Man-creature created a talisman that developed a dramatic ritual, that of himself creating the scenario of succeeding in his hunt, energizing it and following through with it. The abstraction of symbol manifested into the plane of disk reality. The abstraction of two realities created the union of energy that began the early ruach. Neshamah was created by the man-creature thanking the Gods by looking up. The man-creature was manifesting energy by the talismanic magick and looking upward to see if the energy wasn't a gift from the Gods. The man-creature's polarity shifted when trying to attune upward to stellar radiation and to tap into his Gods. This manifested energy made man begin to walk upright. This would mean what we have named "Kundalini" is a left over manifestation of excess energy from that very process of evolution that our distant ancestors experienced with the Great Initiation of evolving into homo sapiens.
I further profess that magick will evolve homo sapiens into the next species.
I call upon scientists who have studied and practiced magick from the point of view of "the method of science" to study the above theories as a unique and important direction of research.
Love is the law, love under will
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law
The persistent problem magically which will arise with its dark and pessimist head is the problem of the Animadversion towards the Aeon. The symbol corresponding, by the way, was devised by the Master Therion-- and is the Sun Wand Pyramid which esoteric symbolism is only apparent to those who have aligned themselves properly to the 93 Current, so called and know magically what to do not making errors on documents while re scribing our more Holier Documents.
You must understand, that to be ''of us'' is to be more than intellectually acquainted with our writings; you must ignite those fires from the constant practice of Liber V to develop that spiritual awareness of Our existence.
Many intellectuals have come to us and have failed miserably by the lack of spiritual awareness magically of this vital point; and I do warn such aspirants directly that we cannot be fooled for long or easily.
Meditation on this vital point; shows us how reason is a lie from a different plane; but how intellectuals have such a tough go of it when they realize someone in the Order is magically superior to them; and yet intellectually inferior. Meditate on this intriguing point, that someone in the Order might observe another to be artistically advanced but magically incompetent. Meditate on this bizarre perception that someone might find someone in the Order that is incredibly talented in a direction that is impossible for other than genius and yet can't find a decent paying job. Of course, with the first observation mentioned this is completely ego based; whereas every man & every woman is a star; and if they persist the intellectual will learn to look deeper into the worth of that brother or sister who-- at first-- seemed so unworthy compared to his or her educational background. Yet nothing observed will fit your immediate, bias perception of what an Initiate is going to be like who has become aligned with Our Magical Current & armed at all points for the battle of his or her true will. For the true will of each person might be something you cannot deduce without the real communication that is possible among such Adepts – and they really have no particular motive to expound it all to you unless you are teacher or student as a direct Immediate Superior or Immediate Inferior.
Be that as it may, you can tell by magical signs (most of the time) whether this or that person has the magick of the Aeon manifested & those impulses that would cause error from improper alignment will be clearly shown over time.
Such psychological projection among intellectuals is a common obstacle; where the ego is actually a cloud to the truth of a star's grade and worth. Well, there is no particular practice for this problem aside from the one hinted at above; and experience takes time and concentration. In addition, there are those who are not of us; no matter how much magick they work; nor how much they study Our Holy Books. In such cases, they have deep scars in the depths of their being from childhood torture; or karmic handicaps or even being in the wrong part of the universe at the right time & aligning themselves to a magical current that ''resembles'' us but is not quite of us.
As I explained to a brother at a Summer Solstice Feast; there are those who have ''issues'' and only need to work out the ordeal in short time; and there are those who have ''psychological nightmares'' who may not work there problems out in this lifetime.
Thus far; have I lectured on the subtle problems associated with the '' Animadversion towards the Aeon'' and this essay should be read in conjunction with my essay on the magical motto.
Love is the law, love under will
After meditating carefully on this essay I realize I should relate an interesting event that occurred in Nashville Tennessee. An aspirant of the Order who it is best not to name names was working on putting together the magical gesture of publishing and had found out to have made some errors in his duties as a scribe with regards to copying the text as the text was written. This aspirant wrote Mr. Motta back apologizing for his error and exclaimed that he would use Liber III to attempt to show a greater discipline. Mr. Motta's letter surprised us. He told this aspirant that Liber III would do not good since this involved a problem with the Animadversion towards the Aeon. This was an extremely important lesson for me.