Aamon: Indifference and Pacifism
One of the principal deities of Ancient Carthage was the solar god Baal-Hammon, the “Lord of the Brazier-Heat” — a fertility god who brings forth on earth both birth and destruction in the form of earthquakes. His chief work was the extraction of the Power arising from the interaction of Heaven and Earth, manifesting as fertility. In other words, Baal-Hammon is the master of the constructive balancing of binaries, which grants Power to manifestation. Since the mind likewise extracts Power from binary interactions, the degree of harmony within these interactions is of decisive significance.
The Power of interaction between the poles of a binary can be expressed in both a creative aspect and an equilibrial aspect. Baal-Hammon expresses the creative action of difference in potentials — as do, indeed, all fertility gods. Yet this Power also has an aspect of “equilibrium”: the interrelation of the poles of the binary, that which holds the binary as a single system.
The direct action of this Power — the Genius Achaiah — engenders patience and endurance. His motto, “The Lord is merciful and good, long-suffering and most gracious,” points precisely to this mode of activity. The Power of this Genius lies in “understanding” in the Zen sense of the word: he bestows patience as the capacity to overcome difficulties through composure and breadth of view.
The distorted force of complementarity — the “mutual forbearance” of the poles of the binary — is personified in the bird-headed Demon Aamon: a spirit that neutralizes dualities until they lose their productive Power, turning into a barren and sluggish “non-resistance.”
The “Lemegeton” speaks of him thus:
“He is a Marquis, endowed with authority and very severe. He appears in the form of a wolf with a serpent’s tail, spewing fire from his mouth, yet at the Magus’ command he takes the form of a man with canine teeth, resembling a raven; or, more simply — a man with a raven’s head and canine teeth… He kindles quarrels and reconciles those who have fallen out…”
J. Weyer adds:
“…he is the strongest of all princes and understands all that has been and is to come…”
The demon’s appearance, in all descriptions, signifies a conjunction of the poles of the binary: wolf (activity) + serpent (passivity), bird (flight) + man (grounding), and so forth.
In essence, the Demon substitutes understanding with the illusion of wisdom. Belonging to the principle of Earth, and also experiencing the influence of the Moon, Aamon replaces direct light (the Sun of Baal-Hammon) with reflected light, creating an illusion of acceptance that in fact gives rise to apathy and indifference toward the world. As part of the retinue of Astaroth, Aamon participates in the creation of a false understanding that extinguishes the impulse toward development.
How often one sees people narrow a “weary” gaze and utter phrases such as: “I’ve seen it all, and life taught me not to bother; you can’t take everything to heart,” and the like. This is a typical influence of Aamon. A person in whose mind the gates of this Demon stand open seems to themself extraordinarily wise and understanding; yet this illusion is merely a cover for passivity, laziness, and flaccidity of mind. The pacifism of Aamon is a refusal of creative energies; it is the one-sidedly assimilated interpenetration of the poles of the binary; it is a refusal of action for the sake of a seeming equilibrium that proceeds only from the absence of will.
Understanding that proceeds from the harmonious balancing of binaries is always, first, creative, and second, compassionate. In genuine understanding there is never indifference, and in genuine acceptance there is never “couldn’t-care-less” detachment. True understanding is the understanding of Leonardo da Vinci, who, while reasoning about the laws of nature and natural selection, would still rescue insects and worms from puddles. The Magus understands that suffering is lawful and inevitable, yet always strives to reduce it by every possible means. The Magus does not fight, but he struggles; he resists evil, and this resistance is born precisely from understanding.
The Magus always understands that the world as a whole is equilibrial, yet this equilibrium is the result of the contention of a great multitude of forces. Acceptance of the unity of the binary — a going beyond duality— signifies not the neutralization of creative activity, but its integration into a volitional impulse. Neither the Pleroma nor nirvana signifies laziness and relaxation. Both are seething, as the virtual vacuum seethes — only in the Pleroma this seething is actual, whereas in nirvana it is potential.
It is vitally important not to admit rot and indifference within oneself; it is vitally important not to lose the capacity for living, active compassion. Only the understanding that allows such activity to be born can be driving and harmonious.
Equilibrium and Indifference
Overcoming Duality
Hagith and Dantalion: Enslaving Bliss
Pitfalls of the Middle Way
The Paralyzed Mind of Ziminiar
Balance and Compromise
The Magus’s Maximalism
Demon of the Abyss
How intelligently, accurately, and beautifully said. I didn’t even notice that I had come to terms with indifference and am decaying. Thank you very much for the article, I will work on it.
Dear Enmerkar, so it turns out that Aamon manifests in the assertion: “All people are mortal, so there is no point in developing, in achieving something,” or “salary according to the principle of equalization, so why strain oneself working honestly.” Is that right?
Well, to some extent. The statements you provided as examples are not yet the influence of a destructive force, but rather a pathway for it. Destruction begins when a person not only thinks in such a way but starts acting based on the conviction that “the main thing is to be happy oneself, while the others are irrelevant, for the world gives everyone what they deserve,” or “this is their karma, and I am all dressed in white,” or: “the world gives everyone exactly what they deserve.” All of these assertions themselves are not erroneous; it is the way of acting – the indifference, the absence of compassion – that follows from them that is erroneous.
You can feel compassion. However, you cannot help a person if they do not want it themselves. Hints, suggestions about their mistakes are usually perceived as jokes or outright nonsense.
To discern the true nature of compassion, one must first go through the difficult path of recognizing one’s own selfishness.
Otherwise, it is easy to mistake patronage and assistance to numerous “poor little ones” seeking compassion for true compassion, doing nothing on their own.
Only the awareness and vision of one’s own selfishness opens the possibility to distinguish “users” from those truly in need.
Why is there a final phase of awareness given, why are there no references to the origins? How can people see and know the Laws, how to know, accept and comprehend the meaning originally laid, where is it?
All the brilliance of reasoning amounts to nothing until a person’s consciousness goes through the path of understanding. In this is a hidden desire of will, like compassion, desire, and knowledge, leading to wisdom. When a person understands that all the beauty lies in self-knowledge, in reading the Book titled “Self-knowledge,” then something shifts.
P.S. I got a certain answer to my question. Thank you.
Listening in a group to lessons from M.S. Lightman and group lessons at the synagogue, I encountered the influence of this demon. He led me to accept the unity of the Creator in Israel at M.S. Lightman’s community of Bnei Baruch, or to undergo the conversion procedure in Moscow at the synagogue. Publications from this blog helped me overcome Aamon’s pacifism.
By the way, I also noticed those notes in Lightman’s words (in general, in the intonations). Most spiritual school leaders suffer from this “disease”!
Just yesterday, I discussed this topic, drawing incorrect conclusions. I was gearing up for indifference because it’s painful to watch what’s happening around and feel a sense of powerlessness. How timely your article is, dear Enmerkar. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.