The Stability of the World
Describing the visible world as a product of description of the interaction of energies striving for actualization, the Magical Myth offers a number of significant observations about how to operate in such a world.
It turns out to be possible to alter reality without violating it, and precisely the charge leveled at the Magi throughout history — attempts to violate the “divine design” — proves untenable.
At the same time, it is evident that the picture of the world, although to some degree arbitrary, is nevertheless fairly stable. The Magical Myth explains this stability by two factors: 1) the joint activity of a large number of people in maintaining a particular picture of the world; and 2) the activity of “ministering spirits” — angels — which is also aimed at stabilizing the perceived, that is, the “real,” world.
In the modern magical world, nurtured by New Age surges of awareness, it has become common to regard the contribution of the first factor as more significant. There is a widespread belief that, once one steps outside the bounds of public opinion, the world readily gives ground.
The traditional view is more skeptical. To understand the source of its pessimism, let us recall once more how the Magical Myth describes the arrangement of forces in the world process.
This Myth depicts the cosmos as a field for the development of consciousness, arising to convert the potential Life Force into an actual power of awareness. Such a conversion is effected by “reflecting” each element of the cosmos — its differential energy — into itself. This process is called awareness, since it amounts to the opposition of “subject” and “object”.
Accordingly, the individual elements of this universal process — units of awareness — are beings actualizing their potential qualities.
The Magical Myth divides all bearers of mind into two large groups — Free and Ministering. Free beings exist through the energy of awareness, that is, subject–object interaction, and are therefore “free” to choose the world they live in. Ministering beings interact via attraction and repulsion that exists between separate blocks of energy and thus lack the ability to choose.
These two groups of agents complement one another, but are also in opposition to each other: Free beings, by virtue of their capacity to choose, tend to “destabilize” the picture of the world, whereas ministering spirits, by preserving energy blocks’ stability, stabilize them, thus stabilizing worlds.
Moreover, the Magical Myth states that the ministering spirits are divided into two camps — Evolutive and Involutive — that is, “Descending” and “Ascending.” The former — “demons” — feed on the Ascending flow of awareness, while the latter — “angels” — subsist on the Primal Life Force. In this arrangement the source of the demons’ existence is another’s energy, activated by awareness but not yet converted into it, whereas the source of the angels’ existence is life force in its “pure” form.
It follows that a very important conclusion for Magic: both groups of spirits are hostile to developing consciousness: angels resist the accumulation of power, demons appropriate it.
Since Magic aims primarily at accumulating awareness, it is at the same time directed at the expansion of the world, and thus destabilize it.
It turns out that stepping beyond the ordinary requires crossing the threshold only by breaking the threshold that separates ordinary reality from the seething ocean of contending forces.
The world as people perceive it is rather narrow and offers limited opportunities for development, yet remains fairly safe. Such a picture is the result of a compromise between the actors in the world process — on the one hand, the “ordinary world” still leaves a small possibility for the accumulation of awareness, and on the other, provides abundant sustenance to demons.
The Magus first destabilizes the threshold, and draws upon himself the “wrath” of both angels and demons. In the nature of the former is to impede the flow of energy; in the nature of the latter is to draw energy with all their might.
Therefore the traditional magical view insists that the development of awareness is dangerous. The first thing that destabilizes the Magus is himself, and therefore he becomes extremely vulnerable both to the “punishing” and to the “predatory” forces.
Accordingly, the development of awareness requires great attention, iron discipline and a careful protective strategy.
Enmerkar, thank you for the light and accessible presentation of serious matters.
The article somehow ends unexpectedly…
Nevertheless, although Angels are hostile towards the Mage, they are often summoned in magical rituals. For example, in the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram. Obviously, it is significant that each Angel is opposed by an Angel that is its opposite.
In evocative actions, angels are summoned by the Names of the Most High – they assist the conjurer not out of goodwill towards him, but because he (the conjurer) assumes the functions of a higher instance in relation to them, and they have no choice but to obey if the evocation is conducted correctly.
Enmerkar, please tell me, how can the punishing action of angelic forces manifest during the expansion of consciousness? How do they prevent the flow of energy? If I understand correctly, when consciousness destabilizes the world, allocating attention to energies and activating them, angels influence the very process of activation, trying to prevent it. But what kind of “punishment” awaits the violator?
Is it possible to read about defense strategies somewhere with you?