The only dogma of magick is: there is no dogma.
Magick is an intensely personal practice and the consequence is that truth for one is never truth for another. Each individual has a very unique and specific journey to the core of themselves. Subsequently, magick, as a spiritual path, is incredibly broad. It incorporates any number of practices and traditions and its ends and aims can be just as diverse. I will suggest, however, that there are definite truths, many guiding principles, and a plethora of well-developed tools and paths that have been tried and perfected and which, if mastered, can have transformative results.
I believe that all magick is intended to be used for the psycho-spiritual growth of the individual and humanity on their paths to enlightenment. Instead, what most like to focus on are the (apparently) miraculous results that can and do come from magical practice. This focus, however, is a distraction. In the Yoga Sutras Patanjali lays out the path to enlightenment which he calls Ashtanga or the eightfold path; these eight parts could also be thought of as steps or tools. These practices steadily peel away more and more of the distracting elements of life and self until you come into contact with the inner divine. On the approach to Samadhi, or enlightenment, Patanjali talks about the concept of Sidhis, this is the Sanskrit word for supernatural powers but the sutra is clear, even the Sidhis are also themselves distractions. It is interesting to note that from my own personal experience, the pursuit of Sidhis and the practices involved in their attainment, we mature spiritually, bringing us to the understanding of the temporal and entraping nature of the powers. (Download a copy of the Yoga Sutras here!)
If you would like to learn more about this ancient and foundational path in esoteric practice, definitely read the Yoga Sutras. I also recommend the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which gives a thorough course in the practices and disciplines of the body and mind work that is the yogic path.
I will suggest that the Buddhist and Hindu traditions are correct when they assert that our objective, as incarnate beings within this reality, is to leave the wheel of karma and reincarnation and subsequently be born into a higher reality. How do we do this? Why, magick of course! This physical manifestation is a second womb, to borrow an idea from Hall. This incarnated body is a place where our souls grow and mature until they are ready to leave the reincarnation cycle and fully ascend. In the meantime, however, it is our task to prepare our souls for that gateway into the next stage of consciousness.
One of the key truths of spiritual practices is that of the experience of the divine. For some, this experience is external as they cast themselves before the throne of god. For others, this is an internal experience as they quiet themselves and awaken to the divine within. These practices can vary, but key among them is the experience of union, a moment when we have an actual experience of the union or oneness of all things. It is in this state that opposites are annihilated, and the individual themselves is dissolved into the substance of the universe (or divinity, as the case may be). Coming back from this place brings with it the absolute certainty of the union of all things, having experienced it. This is Gnosis, the experiential knowledge of the divine.
Magick is meant to bring us to the experiential knowledge of the nature of the universe. The objective, then, as individual practitioners and aspirants is to find a set of practices and traditions that allows us to form within ourselves a synthesis of ideas and beliefs (to borrow language from Joseph Lisiewski). We must all form within ourselves our own unique magical universe that allows us to understand the realities that our practices unfold to us. This synthesis destroys apparent paradoxes and opposites, expanding the esoteric mind and revealing truths about the nature of existence in the process.
Next time, I will talk more about magical routines and go over some practices that could be helpful for those among us who want to expand our magical universe in pursuit of ascension.
Keep well and keep growing!
In your service,
Frater Hiliel
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