The Strength of Barriers
For any Magus, choosing a direction of movement is the most important task.
And yet, very often — both at the beginning of the Way and after its sharp turns — determining the next step can seem impossible.
Where do you go? This question rises before every Magus with relentless regularity. Too many approach it ineffectively, because they do not clearly grasp the essence of the situation.
In such moments of choice, it seems the Magus is surrounded on all sides by an equally insurmountable wall, with no crack, no loophole, no passage.
To resolve this, recall how the Magical myth describes the alignment of forces in the world process.
The universe is said to have arisen in order to realize potencies (of the Absolute, the Monad) — to translate them into actuality, and thus accomplish self-knowledge.
This means the Magical myth does not treat the universe, in its bounded reality, as accidental or hostile. It describes it as an infinite field of potencies.
At the same time, the process of actualization — or, in other words, the emergence of concrete blocks of energy, of worlds and objects — became possible only through a difference of potentials: the duality of the giving and the taking. Power moves only from one point to another: one must give, and another must receive. Thus arose the principle of predation, which later became a defining feature of a universe divided into predators and victims — while the victims of some predators usually become predators in relation to other beings.
Traditionally, this course of the universe’s development is called its “fall,” though it is plain that it followed directly from the very idea of actualizing the unmanifest.
However, the Magical myth also insists that beyond the medium of universal mutual devouring stands a primordial striving for development, the engine of the world process —Epinoia. Despite its implicit position, this striving is more fundamental than the principle of consumption; therefore, the world receives its evolutionary extension in time.
How does this relate to choosing the Way? Directly. Two groups of forces act upon the mind of the developing Magus. On one hand are predators that feed on him: they obstruct the accumulation of Power and awareness in every possible way, because his growth threatens them with the loss of control over their food. On the other hand, Epinoia —Beneficent Providence— creates the potential field on which development itself can occur.
In other words, the wall that surrounds the Magus in motion — especially at points of choice— is not of a single nature.
In some directions, the wall blocks movement because it is not beneficial for the development of the mind and would lead only to dissipation.
That is, certain obstacles are created by the very nature of the being, to secure its correct and sequential development.
From this it follows that in other directions there is no wall — there is an open Way —Orlög. Put differently, the very idea of Orlög rests on the fact that some possibilities for a being are open and beneficial, while others are useless and meaningless. “One’s own Way,” then, is precisely the set of possibilities that are open and beneficial for the evolution of a given being.
Then the predators move. They make every effort to “mask” the exits from the dead end. They cannot build real barriers, so they rely on cunning: they force the being to pace in place, to miss the exit, and to bleed Power away. The wall, in some places, is brick; in others, paper — paper meticulously disguised as brick.
The search for the Way thus reduces to one question: which barriers before the Magus are created by the meaning of his Way, and which are raised by predators and parasites. The answer is just as stark: barriers whose overcoming demands that one violate one’s nature are “real” barriers; those whose overcoming demands only that one shatter an illusion are made by predators.
Therefore, the search for a way out is the search for the “weak spots” of the Magus’s current position — and for the destructors that disguise the exits at those spots. This act is called the Hunt for Power.
Blocking of Power
Obstacles on the Way
The Battle for Self-Identity
Face to Face with the Enemy
Effortless Effort
Pitfalls of the Middle Way
Adeptship and Enlightenment
Entrances and Exits
…trying to break through the barriers of the “system” I felt the hardness of the wall… only desperate heads can break through it… and those who try to break free from its nets only get further ensnared in it…
I found a way out for myself… I changed my perspective, looked not at the system but at myself… who am I in it? What am I doing with it? Everything changed… and now it is I who am the bone in its throat and not vice versa… it is I who am the splinter under its nail… and the thorn in its backside )) haha)) now it will not be able to break free from my hands ))… now I hold its throat in my right hand )) and the system is subdued… I am free from it… nothing is impossible for the traveler seeking glory in the subtle worlds for many timeless eras )) and not on sinful planets… ))
What is wrong with me, Enmerkar?
It’s nothing, it will pass 🙂
Eugeny, if you found a way out, then why are you asking what’s wrong with you?
If I were a predator, behind the paper wall I would additionally hide another labyrinth, just to have a complete trap…. just like a feast for the whole world)
It seems to me that not everything is that simple. It is initially difficult to say which of the barriers are those for overcoming which one needs to force nature, and which need only to be dismantled the illusion. Since initially a person is squeezed within some description, some Personal History, some images of their Ego. And they look at themselves and the World in accordance with these descriptions. As Crowley wrote about the danger of Ceremonial Magic, that a person begins to call upon what they already have in abundance – as a result, distortion and hypertrophy towards something singular. In this regard, it would be correct to work out what causes clear rejection from the point of view of the Ego (roughly speaking, if you love blondes – get yourself a mistress who is a black woman 🙂 ) Therefore, determining what nature itself places barriers requires going beyond their self-description. Otherwise, when viewing the situation from the perspective of an hypertrophied image of their Ego, formed by a Personal history, it would turn out that the person, by their true nature has a tendency towards Shamanism, but begins to engage, for example, in Enochianism. And then they are surprised why it is, from their perspective, they should have passed through all the Ethers from the Thirtieth to the First, yet they haven’t even learned to open the Watchtowers by now. And precisely because they are caught up, they formed a hypertrophied image of their Ego – “Mage practicing Enochianism”, which they are trying in every way to realize, although this image does not correspond to their true nature at all. And thus, it turns out that a person ended up with a substitution of a different kind. They did not take the paper wall for a brick wall but rather accepted the brick wall as a paper one and are trying to break through it with their forehead. And they are surprised why their head hurts while the brick won’t budge. And someone, for instance, may well be ready and feel inspired by the Magic of the Golden Dawn, for example, and be predisposed to it. But at the same time, they are constantly stuck in place, precisely due to their innate laziness; they find it burdensome to carry out the cumbersome rituals of the Golden Dawn (the mere consecration of the Tools is something). And because of their laziness, they start looking for ways to circumvent these difficulties, searching for simpler directions. And then, again, they are surprised why things aren’t advancing.
I didn’t quite understand what all this was written for? “He did not take the paper wall for a brick one, but on the contrary, he took the brick wall for a paper one, and is trying to break through it with his forehead.” Indeed, that was what was stated in the topic.
The topic mentioned that destructors strive to present the paper wall as a brick one. I said that the opposite variant is also possible. And as for what this is all written for – see the beginning of the reasoning – to show that it is not so simple to separate that which the path is closed by nature from that which the destructors seek to close the path to.
On one hand, indeed, it’s not simple at all. And the danger of accepting “the brick wall as a paper one” also exists. But “difficult” does not mean impossible. And correct differentiation has always been the most important activity of magicians. Now regarding “blondes and brunettes” – I fundamentally disagree. If a person is really inspired and has the Power in the Magic of the Golden Dawn, then they must engage in precisely that, rather than hoping to “supplement what is missing” in other paths. And if “natural laziness” hinders them – then they are a poor mage, and their fate is defeat. Versatility is, of course, a good quality, but only up to a certain limit, after which it turns into superficiality. And if “a person has a true nature inclined towards Shamanism but begins to engage, for example, in Enochianism” the problem specifically lies in the fact that they haven’t found their way out, but have engaged in what “was at hand”. This is a very common approach – to be satisfied with little and not strive for the clouds. But common does not mean effective. A person who has a tendency towards shamanism is called by Power into shamanism, and not into Enochianism. And if they confuse the call of Power with the voice of predators – this is very bad. Magic is not for the weak and deaf. Magic is the Path of the strong, the sighted, and the attentive.
“…And the answer to this question is also very simple – those obstacles for overcoming which one must violate their own nature are the ‘real’ obstacles…”
“…to violate one’s nature…” What does this mean?
Thank you, I understand.