Consciousness of Vortices

Published on: 27.10.2022

The Hermetic Tradition, as the bedrock and archetype of modern civilization, encompasses two primary bodies of knowledge: ‘metaphysics‘ – the study of the foundations of phenomenal reality, and ‘metapsychology‘ – the study of the laws governing consciousness. Within this Tradition, the Primordial Dualities – Environment and Consciousness – are interlinked aspects of a singular Reality, manifesting within the Self-Knowledge of the transcendental Great Spirit.

In the process of this Self-Knowledge, from within it, the objective and subjective seem distinct, perceived as the supreme binary of Matter (Mother) and Spirit (Father). Their interaction and reflection drive the world process.

This duality allows the distinct study of processes within the Environment and Consciousness, with their absolute interconnectedness in mind.

Tradition posits the vortex as the foundation of any phenomenon, process, or object — a manifestation of potential Environment. Any observed phenomenon, object, or being is a form of the Environment’s movement. Eastern philosophy refers to the universe as the ‘play of Shakti,’ the boiling primordial energy. Magicians are trained to perceive processes and phenomena in their ‘vortex’ essence, with practical training developing the skills to create, form, and tune vortices through volition.

In any goetic, theurgic, or spiritist Ritual, there is both work on the consciousness of the operator, its refinement and harmonization, and a honing of the vortex formation skills, as the manifestation body of any deity or spirit is crafted during the Ritual.

The Tradition’s holistic approach prevents it from falling prey to the fate of modern science, which suffers from a lack of holistic perspective, limiting the evolution of the entire being. Just as Consciousness and Environment are interconnected in the absolute, so too are vortices and personalities in the relative. Any personality relies on a corresponding vortex, and any vortex carries within it a form of personality. This introduces the concept of ‘quasi-consciousness’ in ‘secondary’ carriers —egregores, larvae, psychosomatic elementals, etc. The constant interchange of vortices unifies the world process into a cohesive system, adding depth and integrity to the understanding that even the smallest vortex possesses some consciousness.

During a Goetic or Theurgic operation, when a mage forms a ‘temporary vortex’ for partial manifestation of a world matrix of consciousness, this ‘operation body’ holds the mage’s imprint. Thus, the entity before the operator is a ‘union’ of the mage’s consciousness and the matrix they invoke, whose proportions can vary widely. This is why purification and ‘ritual purity’ are crucial to avoid merely conversing with reflections of oneself, which lacks the transformational potential of a true evocation. Similarly, when a sorcerer crafts a larvae but ignores its budding self-awareness, they risk backlash and unpredictable outcomes. Lengthy rituals like the Abramelin Ritual aim to precisely create a target vortex while preparing the operator’s body and vortex for interaction.

Even achieving ‘visible effects‘ does not guarantee the correctness of a Ritual; one must ensure the purity of created vortices and their minimal contamination by the operator’s mental reflections. The ‘Interrogation’ technique in Goetic ‘modus operandi‘ helps diagnose the vortex, determining the extent to which the summoned entity’s voice is audible.

Given the operator’s tendency to project onto vortices, many Ritual methods defer formation to the Higher Will, invoking a pure Logos to guide the process.

Thus, when a mage asks God to ‘send down‘ an Angel, it typically means requesting the creation of a self-aware protective/educational vortex, a ‘servitor spirit,’ based on Absolute Desire. The ‘Holy Guardian Angel‘ of the ‘Abramelin Ritual,’ is a ‘temporary’ entity, birthed in the Ritual, carrying the consciousness of the Higher Matrix.

For a mage, understanding both the formation of vortices and principles of consciousness, and their integration, is paramount. The expression ‘everything in the world is alive‘ should be taken as ‘everything possesses consciousness to some degree‘, necessitating responsible volition, desire, and energy expression, as these acts create quasi-conscious entities.