Fragment25

I have some odds, and ends on Magical thinking That I wish to tie up this "Fragment". So let us begin with some terminology. When one practices Magical thinking one is building the Magical mind. This is often called the Astral temple. A better term than "Astral Temple" would be "Astral Mill" . The reason being is that the Magical mind is always active, trying to fit in each new experience, new pieces of knowledge into the chains of correspondences. As Crowley said it becomes a habit after a while. When this happens you have built the Astral Temple. The Magical mind is the ability to think in long chains of correspondences. This is also connected to the Occult teaching of the Long Body. The long body is your mind and body extended through time. It is the history of all the changes your body and mind has gone through from birth to death. An easy way to think about the Long Body is to use the Light Motorcycles in the film "Tron". The Light Motorcycles in the film leave a trail of light or force behind them. As I said the Long Body contains all the changes of mind, body, and place in one's life. When one sets up a system of correspondences (Tarot, Astrology, etc.) one gains access to the Long Body. The Magos gains access to his-her past, and sometimes the future. This is the basis of divination. Magical thinking gives one access to the energies that shape our future. This is also why Magical thinking is so helpful in finding one's true self and true will. It also gives the aspirant protection from the people that are trying to manipulate him-her. The Magos views the energies that have shaped him-her. Thus giving the Magos insight on the way these energies shall affect the future. Remember the future is not determined or one who knows the active energies in their life. This does not mean the Magos never makes mistakes. Even if one has a presentiment of the future, there are all kinds of practical ways to go wrong. The future is the interplay of energies, all is process. There are no nouns, only verbs. The Long Body is the physical, and mental history of the individual extended through time. The teaching of the Long Body is a good way to remind ourselves that we are a process and not a thing at rest. We are always becoming, never finished. When one gains access to the Long Body he-she is powered by one's own energies, instead of relying on energies from outside to power one's thinking. I do not want anyone to think this is easy. It can be terrifying. The Astral Mill releases energies that have been long repressed. It also makes one realize all the lies we tell ourselves. This is why many people get scared when meditating or practicing Magic. The sigils are opened and the energies rise into consciousness. This is the esoteric meaning behind the myth of the Genie in the bottle. The myth of the Genie in the bottle seems to have originated with an old myth about King Solomon. That Solomon summoned demons to help him build the Great Temple. After the Temple was built Solomon imprisoned the demons in containers sealed with a sigil. And when the sigil is broken the Genie or demon is set free.The demons or Genies were imprisoned with a sigil because these energies can be extremely dangerous. This story is an analogy of the repressed and hidden material in our psyche which is also sealed with a sigil. This is of course. why we normally stay away from subjects can open the sigils. Like the myth of the Genie in the bottle these energies can bring great power. Whether they bring great pain, great power, or both the Magos is forced to confront the repressed energies and lies he-she has told them selves. The Magos gains energy in two ways, the first way is access to the repressed energies, and also by freeing up the energy that was used to maintain the regression. When the repressed energies are set free they come forth much like a Genie out of the bottle. The trouble is the freed energies more often resemble the Genie in the film "Wishmaster" than the Genie in "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad". The goal is to integrate these energies into consciousness. Don't expect to come out unscathed. This is also the origin of the Magical trope of trading sanity for knowledge. To conclude I shall offer some practical advice, which can be safely ignored. The purpose of the Magical Mind is to gain content. Only when your spells or ritual have content can they work. In simpler terms to make more and powerful associations. This practical advice shall also be a good example of what I mean by content. We all have our magical tools, the basic four being; the wand, chalice. the pentacle, and the athame (dagger). One can get all to these items from one of the many Occult supply stores. The trouble is most of these items from an occult supply store have no content, and they are not individualized. So what I am suggesting is to pick an Occult tool that has some content for you. An example would be the athame, instead of buying an ornamental athame from a store consider picking a dagger that has some content built in. This can be done in a number of ways. One can pick a knife that has been in his-her family for a long time. Bayonets make great athames. They already have associations with attack and defense. Another suggestion is consider buying a reproduction of a historical dagger. The Roman Pugio would be a good example as it already comes with content. The Pugio was the dagger that was used to assassinate Caesar. And the Pugio has associations with the Roman gods. If one is working with the Egyptian gods, a sickle sword would be a good pick. And for the Greek gods, a Spatha, the Celtic gods,a dirk, and so on. Next "Fragment"shall be a change of subject. Blessed Be!!