The Way as a Fundamental Category
Whenever we mention the notion of the “Way” as a mode of existence for the Magus, we primarily mean the aggregate of interrelated, ordered actions by which awareness develops.
At the same time, we have also said that the Way denotes the very state in which a developing mind finds itself.
There is no contradiction between these two approaches; on the contrary, they complement one another, for the Way is the general designation of the mode of existence of the mind that replaces the vicious fixation of the gilgul with spiral and then with linear movement of development.
The concept of the Way arises when the mind shifts from goal-setting to existing in continuation.
Ordinarily the existence of the mind is, in essence, discontinuous: the mind, as if from one sleep to another, moves from role to role, from state to state, from place to place, without maintaining a unified flow. Manifestations of the mind — its subpersonalities — change: in some circumstances they are one thing, in others another; with some people one mask interacts, with others a different one; and the mind leaps from one state to another, sometimes scarcely remembering who it was a minute before.
The mind is usually “focused” only at the start and end of action. First, it sets a goal, more or less clearly plans the ways to achieve it, becomes entangled in hopes for the outcome and fears of failure, and then, when moving into action, it seems to “zone out,” losing clarity until the goal is achieved to some degree. This is like a ride on public transport — a person uses it merely as a “means,” as some “intermediate state” where they hardly live. People are generally fairly self-aware at work and at home too, but in the “intermediate” — as if one “falls out” of the flow of clarity, diminishing the intensity of awareness. The same pattern is observed in most actions — people often perceive action only as a “path to a goal,” constantly thinking not about the action itself but about the future goal, restlessly shifting their weight: “when will the goal arrive?, hurry up!” — and so they lose large portions of life due to diminished awareness.
In other words, the category Way arises when the mind begins to perceive the space of its existence as a continuum of equally significant moments, continuous states, when in this space there is no “important” beginning and “anticipated” end, but each moment in time, each act of realization, is as important as the initial and terminal points.
This is summed up in well-known expressions: “the Magus does not to have done, but — to do“; “the Magus goes not to arrive, but — to go.” The same is expressed by the famous assertion of the necessity of being “here and now,” which implies not the absence of strategy and not the forgetting of the past, but the full presence of the mind in the present moment, supported by previous experience and with an orientation toward the next direction of movement.
One can say that the Way is characterized by three components:
- its impulse, — each moment contains within it the result of all previous actions and choices; Magic calls this characteristic the Magus’s Authority. A Magus’s Authority is greater the more he has witnessed and drawn lessons from his victories and defeats. One could say that Authority is refined experience.
- its “mass“, — the capacity to maintain a state unchanged under the influence of external stimuli; this characteristic is traditionally called the Magus’s Power. A Magus’s Power is greater the more unyielding his movement and the less it depends on factors beyond his control. One could say that Power is the ability to be oneself.
- its vector — the direction of movement; this characteristic is usually called “fate,” or, more precisely — the Magus’s “Orlög“.
Accordingly, the existence of the mind, its development and realization are more effective when first, the Magus fully learns from the past — the greater their Authority; second, the more successfully the Magus finds ways to maintain their identity — the greater their Power; and third, the more their Wyrd matches their Orlög — the more they actualize their potentials.
Thus, if the mind attains a continuous flow, if it flows smoothly and continuously from one state to another in its entirety — life becomes a Way, and the self — rather than an accumulation of discrete, loosely connected masks, thoughts, emotions, and states — becomes a reflection of the infinite.
Philosophy has a conditional relationship with magic. Magic begins when you start encountering the incomprehensible and dangerous. When you start to think deeply and solve the mysteries of consciousness, not only your own but also of other beings in our world and neighboring ones. Individuality + determination + search + acceptance of risk, when a wrong step can lead to total erasure. Not death and subsequent reincarnation but total erasure. When there is no hope, only reality. When you can speak beautifully for a long time, as I am now, but to no avail because you need to act, not to chat. In general, I wish Travelers a successful road. Good luck!
Philosophy is, after all, the love of wisdom, the striving for deep understanding of the essence of things, the ideas that we follow in the process of activity. Philosophy is the mother of all sciences, including magical arts, esteemed Numen.
Aha.. so that’s how it is. And I was racking my brain trying to figure out what this bird called Philosophy is 🙂 Thank you for the clarification. Allow me a small clarification to better explain what I wanted to convey. Excerpt from Wiki: ‘Among the main philosophical questions are ‘Is the world knowable?’, ‘Does God exist?’, ‘What is truth?’, ‘What is good?’, ‘What is Man?’… But unlike a philosophical-hypothetical view of the essence of things, the magician knows the exact answers to these questions. And if I don’t know, I will make every effort to learn and understand.
I think that there are no uniquely correct answers. Because the world is mysterious and often unpredictable… and what seemed like a correct answer yesterday might not be one today… There are no such precise answers to which one could rely on a hundred percent in life, activity, or when reacting to external stimuli… Sometimes the right decision comes from Silence in a fraction of a second, and… it may be directly opposite to the knowledge you had before… Essentially, you can only rely on yourself… On the inner structure of your own consciousness, in the core of which are the key Ideas that determine the way of responding in unpredictable and dangerous situations.
Tavita Shauta: Dear Tavita Shauta, Numen. The information presented in this post is accessible, concise, and !ACCURATE!…
How beautifully the thoughts are expressed and conveyed. Thank you, Master.