Isis Thoth 93

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  Self- initiation requires honest 'self' evaluation followed by honest and courageous 'self' work pryor to it's attempt. The personal mind must be in a state where it can view it's own contents and be willing to take up the task of dealing with what it sees.  The age-old axiom that a true aspirant on a spiritual quest should be 'pure of heart and mind' should be understood as meaning so much more than mere sexual chastity. To be pure of heart and mind is to be liberated from our false emotional and mental perceptions.

 

  The Themis/Maat  meditations help to achieve a mental and emotional state that resonates with Truth, Ballance, Justice and order and they help to form a solid foundation for the Work to follow.  To skip or gloss over them  would be a  big mistake for the student who is attempting the Ciceros' self initiation course.  The most likely person to make this error is not the beginner but the student who already has done a good deal of Magickal work and study.  It is not "good enough" to already know how to visualize and relax, perform the LBRP and know the attributes of Themis/Maat.  The student with pryor Magickal experience must submit to the discipline of these excersices to achieve good results with this very well thought out system.

 

  "We suggest that the student perform these meditations daily for a period of four months pryor to self-initiation into the Neophyte grade."  Self-Initiation Into The Golden Dawn Tradition Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero.

 

  These are the words of the Adepts who designed this course, plain and simple.  They do not say everyother day or when you find time.  The obvious objection would be "I've done the meditations so many number of times and I 'get it'. What's the point in doing it daily for four months when I could be moving on?"  This is a booby trap one should avoid.  The answer to this objection is that the effects from doing the meditations daily for four months far outweigh four years of intellectual study and contemplation.  This is not something the Ciceros' just thought up to fill up the introduction and keep students busy.  All true systems start with the focusing of the mind on the goal for a period of time. The techniques of repetition and daily devotion have profound effects on all levels.

 

F.H.O. 

                                                                 

 

                                                  

 

  "Many students attempt the pursuit of occult science by virtue of intellectual qualifications alone, but these, on the one hand, can never hope to penetrate it's deeper mysteries, wherein the occult powers lead up to the mystic revelation ; and on the other hand, are liable to certain very serious pathologies of the psychic life, among which hypertrophy of the ego is one of the commonest.

  There is only one true path to Initiation, and that is the path laid down by immemorial tradition and beaten by countless feet. This path in it's earlier stages is different for each of the great races of mankind, but these converging paths finally unite into one broad highway after the Outer Gate is passed. This Way of Initiation is not a mundane organisation, but is a psychic method leading to spiritual attainment. No society or fraternity has a monopoly of its teachings, neither has any of them power to convey the full range of its Initiations. Mundane organisations vary enormously in both their power and their purity. They can never be more than a means to an end, an association for mutual help and comradship. We make a vital mistake if we look upon any system of training as confering Initiation ; only the Great Initiator, Whoever or Whatever that may be, can confer Initiation, and all human systems, whether of training or ritual, can only prepare consciousness for His coming.

  We choose our occult school in the hope that it may give us guidance and protection on the Path, and we affiliate ourselves thereto with ritual in order that we may become partakers of the ancient Mystery Tradition. This tradition is of very great value, but it is not indispensable ; and while it is in the power of occult Orders to convey it, it is not in their power to withhold it, for it is possible for the seeker to rise in consciousness to the Temple not built with hands and there to receive Initiation while out of the body. Such an achievement is rare, and the training and comradship afforded by a worthy fraternity are of the greatest value to students."  Dion Fortune -   Sane Occultism

                                                                          

 

                                                                    III                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                    

                                     CONCERNING THE LESSER RITUAL OF THE PENTAGRAM

 

 

 

   "Those who regard this ritual as a mere device to invoke or banish spirits,  are  unworthy to possess it. Properly understood, it is the Medicine of Metals and the Stone of the Wise"  Aleister Crowley

 

 

                                Notes On The Ritual Of The Pentagram

                                           by Aleister Crowley

 

    " You are supposed to be standing at the intersection of the paths of Samekh and Pe.  You are facing Tiphareth ( the Sun), thus on your right hand is Netzach (Venus) on your left hand Hod (Mercury), and behind you Yesod ( the Moon).

 

You take one step with the right heel in the hollow of the left foot towards Tiphareth and vibrate the Divine Name as given in the ritual.  You then carry round the point of the Wand towards Netzach, then take a step again (always recovering after each forward step so that you remain in the centre) and vibrating the Divine name as before.

 

Continue the process facing Yesod and vibrating; then Hod, and vibrating; but carry the point of the Wand round to Tiphareth so as to complete the circle.

 

As you vibrate the Divine Name the angels, as given in the ritual, appear, (note well that they should appear and if the ritual is properly performed do appear).

 

You are thus standing in a Column which is protected by your microcosmic invocation.  The consequent result, being macrocsmic response, is that without any effort on your part the hexagram or sixfold star appears both above and below you. (Note the equilibration 5 = 6.)

 

In this way you are completely shut off from the outer and Qliphotic parts of the universe.

 

Get well into your mind the realization of this Column with its surrounding pentagrams and its hexagrams above and below you.  Continuous practice is essential if you are to perform this ritual as you should.

 

It is particularly important not to slur any part of it; to visualize clearly and cleanly the forces invoked, with the exception of the Divine Being, who will not appear, in the ordinary course of events, for such slight cause.

 

You can figure out for yourself the forms of the angels, or rather archangels.  For instance, Raphael commencing with an "R" will have a head of solar glory and the Pe which follows shows that the rest of him is martial: the "Al" which concludes the name (in the case of most angelic beings) indicates that they wield the sword and the balance."  Aleister Crowley

 

 

              

   For any student taking this path, the importance of practicing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram on a daily basis can not be over stated.  It should not only be practiced every day but also studied and contemplated often as well.  Don't let it's beautiful simplicity lull you into thinking you have mastered it.  Even several years after first learning this ritual, new insights into it's performance and meaning wil come to you. Many times these insights will be subtle yet profound.  I would strongly recommend that ANY time you come across a description of it, instructions on how to perform it or commentary on it READ and STUDY it.  Even though they are describing the same ritual, different authors descriptions will vary on certain points. 

   When I first read Crowley's Notes On The Ritual Of The Pentagram, the first thing I noticed was that no where else had I seen a description of the magicians position on the intersection of the paths of Samekh and Pe.  Contemplation on this and his elaboration on the hexagram opens up a whole new understanding of the ritual and amplifies the positive effects of its performance tremendously.  F.H.O.

                                                                                 

                                                                          

 

                                               IV.

              Concerning The Weighing of the Heart In The Hall of Judgement

 

 

 

      The ancient Egyptians believed the heart to be the seat of consciousness.  This should be considered when contemplating the weighing of the heart in the Hall of Judgement. Our modern Western minds see the heart as being the seat of emotions and inspiration. From this modern Western perspective, it is easy to misinterpret the weighing of the heart especialy since it seems to make sense poeticaly when approached from that perspective.  We should keep in mind that within the context of ancient Egyptian thought, what is being weighed against the Feather of Ma'at is the consciousness and not the "heart" as we tend to think of it. (At this point it is interesting to note that in the Middle Pillar ritual the Divine Name YHVH El-oh-ah V'daat "God made manifest in Mind" is vibrated at the heart center and not the head.) When approached in this manner, the symbolism of the beast waiting to devour the heart if it is not in balance with the feather (Truth) becomes clearer. Again, the modern Western mind is likely to misinterpret  Egyptian symbolism because it seems to coincide with symbolism it is used to. In this case it is easy to misinterperate the crocidile headed beast as a punisher much like the devils of the Western idea of Hell. The imagery of this beast has the Nile written all over it. The cycle of life for the ancient Egyptians was dependent on the Nile.

   So what at first appears to be a scene depicting: Examination and Judgement followed by either punishmet or reward is actualy a scene of Examination and Judgement followed by either recycling or forward advancement. What at first appears to be the symbolic imagery of a superstitious, animistic culture actualy starts to parallel Yogic philosophical thought including Buddhism!

                                                                                    F.H.O.

 

                        

                       ISIS

                       

 

                                                  Soror LeMD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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