What Is a Myth Built On?

The only mode of development available to human consciousness is the detection of relationships between objects and phenomena that consciousness interacts with.

This detection, traditionally called mapping, is essentially an act of creation, because it is by describing the surrounding world that the mind creates that world for itself.

That means the act of perception is an act of the will to become aware, and the primary source of that will is the Great Spirit’s striving for self-knowledge.

Namely, whenever the world is described — that is, when one sustains one’s Myth — the mind is the creator of that world, and the degree of the mind’s perfection is determined by how illusory its description is; specifically, by the relation in that description between objects that generate energy and those that are “empty.”

Moreover, because creating and sustaining a Myth is essentially an act of will, as with any realization, it requires anchor points.

It follows that the effectiveness of a Myth’s chosen anchor points largely determines how effective the Description is: the right anchor determines how well the Myth reflects the interaction of energies arising from their inner nature, and thus how well that Myth can help generate the Power of awareness.

Self-description, being part of the general description of the world, obeys the same rule: the more accurately the mind describes the personalities revealed within it, the more energy it can generate, and therefore the more “authentic” the individual becomes.

What, then, can serve as supports for creating an effective Myth?

First and foremost, as we have said more than once, it is the degree of correspondence or affinity between the categories used in the Myth and the categories with which the mind itself identifies. That is, the Myth the mind constructs for itself must be as harmonious with the mind as possible.

The attractive force that exists between objects in harmony is commonly called love.

Accordingly, love as a driving force is another reliable anchor for creating an effective Myth.

The Magus must be clear which of the key concepts of his Myth are the supports of that Myth, and which are merely secondary details.

And when conflict forces the abandonment of some concept, the Magus must also be aware of what he can do without and what his system cannot do without.

In other words, it is crucial to understand what, under what conditions, and why the Magus might sacrifice.

An important art of the Magus is the ability to find systems within and around himself that generate energy, and to determine the relations between them; each such system can serve as an anchor.

To summarize what has been said: the Magus who seeks to expand his mind must above all strive for the authenticity of his existence — that is, for the most effective embodiment of the Binary of Powers. The fewer arbitrarily conditioned concepts his Myth includes, and the more opportunities that Myth provides for generating awareness, the more effective — and therefore the more “authentic” — existence within that Myth will be.