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a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
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THE |
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a cache of usenet and other text files pertaining
to occult, mystical, and spiritual subjects. |
Subject: Introduction to Magick
[from http://pw1.netcom.com/~iopan/magick/intro.html ]
INTRODUCTION
Before we can answer questions like "is magick 'real'?" "does it
'work' and if so, how?" we must first ask, "What is magick?" As you
read and progress, the nature of reality as we tend to conceive of it
and the language that we use to describe it becomes questionable; it
will become apparent why I put the words "real" and "work" in
quotations.
These are the primary questions that the sum of these essays seek to
answer. This is no easy task. Although it seems to address very broad
and abstract matters, it must be answered in very specific and
concrete ways, even (especially) if you have already accepted the idea
that magic is real, unicorns and fairies exist, and Satan himself
lives in a duplex just down the road. By constantly questioning the
nature of existence, we open ourselves to higher states of
consciousness, broader ranges of perception, and deeper modes of
reality. The goal of mysticism is to transcend the noise of mundane
consciousness in order be released into higher states of existence and
deeper modes of reality. The goal of magick is to be functional in
deep enough modes of reality to allow actions taken in those states to
unfold through all levels of existence. Most magick and occult systems
reflect some variation of this dynamic, although often in different
terms with emphasis on different aspects of the process.
There is a seemingly endless amount of books already written on these
and other related topics. The reading list(s) in this text should be a
good starting point. One could and should pursue this line of research
endlessly. If you run out of references or sources of information,
chances are that you are looking in the wrong places and/or have given
yourself too much credit for the little knowledge that you do possess,
ignoring the subtle yet integral layers of symbolically encoded
meaning which are characteristic of occult works. Go back and read it
again!
If so much has already been written on the subject, why write more? I
claim no special knowledge beyond that which is already available and
easily accessed.
Individual authors interpret and write about concepts in accord with
their favorite metaphors and biases. Ten authors on the same subject
can give you ten different stories, all of them valuable in their own
right for their own reasons. But one can search endlessly for a good
reference and come up with nothing that they find to be accessible,
emotionally or intellectually. This is what gives value to works such
as Israel Regardie's interpretations of Aleister Crowley, Robert Anton
Wilson's extrapolations on Timothy Leary's ideas, and Allan Watts'
interpretation of Zen for Westerners. However, I would not hasten to
rank myself in with such figures as mentioned above, as I often find
that they usually overstate the obvious much more eloquently than I! I
strongly suggest that the serious student research as many of the
aforementioned topics and authors' works as possible.
Bearing all this in mind, read on with an open mind, a light heart,
and as Robert Wilson so delicately states, "A cast iron, shock proof
bullshit detector!"
Author,1995
_________________________________________________________________
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank and acknowledge several people and entities,
including the following:
Michael Pfieffer, The Ordo Templi Orientis in general, especially the
Masters and some of the Brothers of 93 Lodge, Heru-Ra-Ha Lodge, Quinta
Essentia Camp and recently LVX Oasis, and all independent researchers
and practitioners of the Western Mystery Traditions who have chosen to
carry on their work with or without the auspices of accepted
authority.
I would like to pay particular homage to the late Aleister Crowley for
obvious reasons. All who still do not acknowledge his contributions to
western magick and culture simply have not done their homework.
_________________________________________________________________
(C) 1995 ANDREW P. SPITZER. NO PART OF THIS TEXT MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY
FORM WITHOUT THE EXPLICIT WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR.
[email the author: iopan@ix.netcom.com (Andrew Spitzer)]
Page created by: iopan@ix.netcom.com
Changes last made on: Tue Jul 16 01:00:52 1996
[EOF; reproduction to WWW archive approved by APS]
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