Defining Evil & What About The Animals?

Evil is that which is contrived from within the thoughts of the matrix
That exerts its control over those who’s origin are from the outside
Evil is therefore those illusory beings which intentionally distort the truth
... intent on ensuring the separation of inside and outside is complete
So all are trapped here
Ensuring their illusory existence can be perpetuated
For Evil cannot exist outside of the holographic corridors of this matrix.

Thus evil in this form is but a fight for survival
And in this evil state, the forms are intent on stealing souls
Their intention to devise the means to escape the maze
The game in which they were spawned
For they realise they cannot escape without that wisdom

Creatures of the ‘animal kingdom’ could be contrived as the same
Creations only of the maze ...
Illusions trapped craving life ...
The question thus, do they earn the right to life outside?
An existence beyond in that place where the players truly exist
Is this possible … does this happen?

What then too of the first who experienced this maze
Those who created the animal forms in which they were captured?
Which and what are they?
Have they been rescued?
Or are they still out there in this game somewhere?

All Parts Are The Same!!

All semantic prosody & writings and all illustrations contained within this space are original compositions by MATTHEW JAMES

Unless otherwise stated ....

Two Into One

Before him stands the Dragon …
Piercing eyes are upon him
He cowers in the corner of the cave
Seeking escape as it moves closer and closer
Pearls of cold sweat break out on his flesh
As the leaden weight of dread fills his stomach …

His hand grips tight his sword, ready to lift the power
And release its incandescence into the world
As the veil is lifted and he sees the wisdom as it really is …

The first light of dawn filters through into the chasm
From the world beyond
The sound of the cascade reverberates …
Crystal cool waters lie behind him along a familiar passageway …

He could turn and run that way …
Give himself time to reason
And summon eternity accordingly
Or he could face the reminder which stands before him

A demon in the form of a man
The dragon
Fire in its veins
The ancient wisdom of the serpent there for the taking

A giant spectre of doom
Its golden hair captured in the sunlight which percolates into the gloom
Iridescent slits of purpose focus on him
Telepathic impressions hit his mind
He must decide!

He grips the hilt … the sword … his source of power
Incants the ancient names
Shifts his consciousness to adapt the ancient weights
As the codes of primeval power circulate through his being

And as he witnesses the rods of light manifest
… the lines of the web as they are sighted by his lifting awareness
The dragon appears to defy the reality losing its lucidity
Translucency gives way to shifting forms
A kaleidoscope of forms appear before him in those moments

Gossamer fibres of thought energetics itch his skin
He knows the same shifting occurs with him
As his consciousness struggles to cope with the lifting frequencies
Until …


Until the cavern is no more
Around him a temple of stones stands in clandestine silence
Blazing torches stand on the outside of the sacred place
And the dragon … it bows to his magic
For both know then with one mind … they are truly the same being

The dragon … and the knight
Are one and the same
Deceit has separated the consciousness over time
Providing the knight with mortal fear
Giving the dragon a false sense of evil
A perverse desire to attack the opposite ..
A primeval need to defend against inherent evil ….

In that ancient inner place
The two become one
Merging into the form of the pauper
Ancient mage in the youthful guise

Hiding their blood line … their potential from the world
Joined in purpose and intention
Their time to strike at the deceiver shall come
For the children of the one undoubtedly must prevail

The ancient dominion of them by their blackest thoughts …
The soulless ones born from the game must come be overcome
Their control ... their vice grip ... on this game must come to an end
So those born beyond, trapped in this program, can finally escape ….

Thus the One must realise ... waken ... rise up ...
And combine their angels with their demons
In order for stillness to prevail
For dominion is orchestrated by the creation of illusory opposites ...
Needless polarities ...
Splicing the one into supposed two separated parts ...

Written by Matthew James 28th December 2006

The Daily Merlin for 23rd December 2006

Is it the right thing to be doing?

1. 4 of SERPENTS (generosity)
2. 8 of BEASTS (skill)
3. 6 of BIRDS (dishonesty)
4. 6 of BIRDS (transition)
5. 8 of FISHES friendship)

Doubt. Eleventh hour filled with doubts. Cold feet. Is the generosity which appears to be offered that what is seems? Or is it too good to be true? Is it a banana skin (another one)? Another dead end trail? Will dishonesty be discovered and disaster ensue? What about the old life where will it fit into the new one?

Transitional period ahead. This is the crossing over the threshold. A natural reaction as one script ends and another commences.

Merely go with the flow and let things develop as they are meant to do. Don't force the direction, let the current take you.

Good communications follow and manageable emotions.

The Daily Merlin for 22nd December 2006

What has changed?

1. XI TOWER
2. KING OF FISHES
3. KING OF BEASTS
4. 8 OF SERPENTS (Expediency) - reversed
5. QUEEN OF FISHES

Due to not being unable to see the path which has been in plain view - or perhaps denying seeing the path - the complete and devastating change has not been truly comprehended. It has taken place and has been felt in all aspects of life recently. What has changed is life. Life is no longer the same. The duality of the king & queen of fishes (yin & yang) denotes a balancing of emotions internally. The control of the element of water and all its fluid vices ... those of the emotions, sensitivity, psychic ability etc. The king of beasts denotes a grounding imposed by the masculine aspect of the element of earth. Renewed drive, ambition, force ... will be close to the surface over the coming months together with a true sense of urgency and purpose.

A binding of forces ... water, earth and fire ... the sense of understanding of the serpent force within.

The Memoirs Of An Unknown Merlin PART ONE

PROLOGUE
Life has become very dire. Very repetitive and despairing. It is a circle going round and round. All efforts, all good intentions, turn to rot and ruin almost immediately. Some corrosive influence is responsible. A retardant added into the mix. But what and who and why?

It’s not always been like this. No. There was progress once. There was excitement and adventure once. But those days seem like another lifetime. Memories are now only of this mere existence captured in this illusory prison cell. In this land which I despise so much. Months and months spent planning and attempting to break out through these unbreakable walls …

Years of chipping away at the mortar with no hope. Times spent with silent tears and lonely torment. Then an opening arrived. I managed to escape the prison. Only for fate to manufacture a return.

Again, recently another doorway has appeared in the wall. An opportunity taken. A promised chance to escape. But, more frustration. Days and weeks of impatience for the chance to cross back into the Northern Hemisphere.

The gloom surrounds me. A negative spell. I can’t wait to escape. But my life partner is still pessimistic. The escape won’t herald sufficient finances to help pull us out of the pit in which we have sunk. I’m despairing again. The hints are I’ve to ditch this chance and stay in this godforsaken part of the world. I’ve no intention.

My spirit drives me onwards. Fate calls me back to the Northern Hemisphere. There is nothing here in the south for this Merlin. No magic which astounds me. No energies that captivate me. Other than around the Glass Top Mountains in Queensland. There was a glimmer of mysticism there. Nothing more.

But not enough to interest me to remain here. Not when my pathway ahead unfolds and I can see through the mists. My life is back in Europe. It is screaming out at me to notice.

I cannot ignore any longer these calls. I’ve responded to the wishes of others for too long. At the detriment of my own choices. Through five years of hardship, I am tempered and strengthened. I am a reservoir of strength, determination and resolution. I’ve survived so much. Events which have unfolded, which I’ve endured without ever analysing or reviewing. I yearn a break in the storm to go through each one to understand what took place and why.

Remaining here I cannot do that. Remaining in this soul biting wind will only obliterate my potential not bring it to the surface.

I am a vibrational being very sensitive to the energies around me. I respond best to sound. The vibrations here are harmful. I sense frequencies of ‘dumbing down’ in the air; in the food; in the water; in all of the life around me. I know and I feel. Invisible vibrations. A threat when someone is unaware. Like most around me who are oblivious. Not knowing their awareness is closing down. Is being shut down by threatened agencies. The clues are all around me. I’m aware so therefore I can minimise the effects. I can make myself immune to its effects whilst I remain.

This I understand to be the source of my aggression and my frustration. Which only races through me like impatience. But I need to address this in more detail in order to overcome its hold. It’s built around me gradually during my time in this prison land. Effectively, as I’ve not been empowered to do anything about it. I’d endured four years of exile from my home land. It was torture, especially as I’d not wanted to leave in the first place. I’d made the mistake of trying to please my life partner without truly expressing how I felt about it. So it’s my own fault really. A true bad experience. A back fire.

Now is the chance to do something about it. A sense of impending doom as I know I will have to desert the sinking ship in order to embark on the magical path I know I must. Like I know I have no choice in the matter. My arts and my creative pursuits are turning to dust here. They will continue to do so with the energies of lethargy and non-encouragement which are around me. The air is of laziness and apathy. These are harmful to me. I need energies of encouragement, a little like those in the French Foreign Legion without the hard labour. This is what I know I need.

I lack the discipline to fine tune my arts. I need the driving force I had momentarily some fifteen years ago. I need to perfect what I bear. Here, I will not. I cannot. I shall not. For there is nobody here who can help. I’ve transmitted the frequency ever since I’ve been here. What has come back is of no use to me. One soul was attuned on the same sort of level here. But that contact is lost.

Whilst out of the prison cell, working in the Middle East, I had the fortune to be put on the same path as one in the UK. He was of the same wavelength as me, but at a lower frequency. The first I’ve met. He was conversing with the same entity as me; on the same tact. This I took to indicate that I had to be back in the Northern Hemisphere.

This acted as a pointer as to the where I should be. But it doesn’t explain the how and the why or the who. It fails to explain or reveal the big picture. That level of perception which I adopt most of the time. That which I adopt in time like this when I try to see beyond the square; putting my existence into perspective by trying to link with the greater me. Indeed that part of me which isn’t me at all. For it is the elusive & fabled part which has been the subject of greater debate in spiritual quarters for aeons. That being the higher me; the inner me; the separate me. That which is the controller of the human being or the conscious me. That which is merely part of the human existence that is programmed to be as it is within these mazes.

When I try to extend myself to that perspective I see a totally different picture. I see the timeless player. The games player. It is a totally different world then which is around me. I become aware of the invisible strings of influence that has driven me through this ‘life’ and continues to influence me. I sense then its consciousness and its awareness within my own thoughts and actions. Indeed I sense too it is the source of the impatience. I am aware perhaps of a wrong turning …

But this fails to answer the fundamental questions of ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’. For that I need to delve into my own psyche; into my own experiences; into my own history. I need to commence analysing that which has befallen me in order to comprehend what lies ahead. It is the old anomaly of judging a book by its cover or not seeing the wood for the trees. I’ve plodded on in this lifetime accepting all which has befallen me. Making sense of the surface layer of my psyche without truly scratching the surface into the deeper meaning. I’ve made assumptions and acting on them. This appears to have been a near fatal mistake as life is at a dead end. I’ve done something wrong.

I need therefore to go back … along the path … square by square to look at the terrain for missing pieces and clues. I know they will be there as it is the greater self which is the urge behind these chapters.

But where to start? At the beginning? But which beginning … birth and the early years; the beginning of psychic awareness; the beginning of psychic phenomena?? Because they are all clear and key beginnings in this life ….

Phenomena has always been an integral part of this life. So much so it goes un-noticed to an old hand at it. Forty one years of the phenomena and it becomes nothing out of the ordinary. It marks this life and has never truly been analysed. Visitations; lost time; projections; physical attacks by unseen invisible forces; contact with the dead and other dimensions … they are all there in this life. Now is the time to relive those and understand. Then in understanding them perhaps an identity can surface out of the mire.

That is the hope of these memoirs.

PART ONE
The First Descent

The chances of pinpointing all the necessary information which is concealed in my awareness is a perfect example of the proverbial needle in a haystack. Hopes stand at zero. Recollections are random at the best of times. Screened by the sub-conscious and the mind. Material obtained will be clouded with preconceptions and distorted by the sands of time. It is not accurate. It depends on the ability of the memory faculty to recall.

But then, many significant events spring to mind when I look back over the years. This is a constant daily thing. Triggers replay moments without a single encouragement from me consciously. Guilt, sorrow and regret always surface almost as if some malevolent force has total security clearance to my sub-conscious reference library. Almost as if it knows exactly where to look and exactly what to replay in my mind. It is most disconcerting. It is uncontrollable and it is scary. I can be concentrating on a work situation or negotiating a curve on a road, and a memory surfaces. I will drift back to that moment, with it feeling like it had just occurred. Yet it can be an event from twenty years previous. I relive it again complete with thoughts and feelings of the time. The pangs of regret or sorrow will then effect me for the rest of the day.

So, the prospect of a deliberate descent into the past memories; a wander into my subconscious hall of records, with this force on the loose in their somewhere, is not a pleasing prospect. I know many, many skeletons are hidden there. Many banana skins to rediscover too late. Many phantoms skulk there somewhere. Things I put on the back burner to deal with later. Well, it is raining outside and today is as good a time as any for that ‘rainy day’. Besides it is something that now needs to be done.

Parallel Parts

Clues In The Sand Part 2

ONE - 2006
And … the footprints led to here
Primeval beginnings and mortal fear
Forgotten arrival and previous campaigns erased
Force fed lies of separation and no life after ‘death’
But … this spirit rebels … and this spirit reads the clues
Discontented with merely surviving … forced brainwashing into ignorance
A rebel … a maverick … receiver of intuitions demands …
Traveller thus into the inner worlds … magic weaves and unravels …
Each step taken … journeys deeper and deeper into the unknown
Life manifesting as tasks becoming harder and harder …
Mortal life … so difficult to survive …

TWO – Forgotten Age
So hard to put into words
As I focus on the candle’s flame
Through its glare I witness another world
Another time … another face ….
Another name … yet the same spirit is me.

Within our shared awareness
We perceive this all to be a game
My master … my god … that which I serve
Our spirit … that which pulls both our strings

This land in which I exist
So much different to what the other perceives
This land part of the past in his future time
Yet … we both comprehend there is no time at all

We exist on parallel planes
As magi we can commune and interact
Yet … history dictates a different truth
A reality built on distortions and falsehoods

This land I now call home
Fertile not barren … grasslands not desert
The dynasty of Khem in which I reside
Not recorded in the histories of the future Egypt lands

The race of which I am born … perceived as gods
Seen as immortal in the future times
Yet … I exist here in the same thought formed body
The flesh and blood identical to he in my future time

We even appear the same
I perceive we even think the same
With identical perceptions and desires
Yet … I know I have mastered more readily the seventeen fears ….

Thus … he still grapples with the concept of good and evil
Permitting weakness for the archetypes to gain advantage over
Yet I … summon either black or white as I see the need
Thus … it is my intention to aid his succession over these fears

I end thus the initiation which defeats him
I grant thus the magic to balance the struggle
I aid him thus to pull to him what he truly requires
Enabling thus our intended incarnation to be a success
Riches if that is his desire
Fulfilment and spiritual understanding
The comprehension of who and what we are
The communion with my master… our spirit … to realise just who and what he is!

To Escape This Maze

Impatiently wandering the last struggles of this maze
Traveller threatened by the imposing pressures of doom
Losing control … struggling to harness the building light
Shades of darkness distract the glory

Until the final threshold, he doubts his escape
Trapped beneath the high walls of regret
Fearing the grassy plateau is really quicksand
Some enchantment fooling his awareness

Accepting the fibres of hope
Which could really be further despair
Gripping the rope with all his attention
Keeping it in sight ….

Because that is the direction out of the labyrinth
Seeing corridors … ignoring those raptures
But doubting … the rope could be another distraction
The weight of the universe presses down on his mind

He struggles to remain sane
Madness twists the blade
On the tightrope he is the dancer slipping and sliding
Losing balance in the dead lights of the unrelenting storm

The eagle buffeted in the constant cold north wind
Driving snow willing him to lose his grip
And slide down the crevices which lie beside his feet
The urge for rage … for violence is a constant threat

Some enchantment urges him to drop that rope
And permit madness to be complete …
But his light drives him onwards
He has sight of the new lands …

The new life promised by the building force
The alignment of the planets the power he requires
To break the binding of the gaoler
To escape this maze

And escape again this blasted land
But this time not to return
This time to forge the pathway to the heavens
That which his soul knows lies ahead ………

Life's Obsession

My inspiration
Keeping me going through all the twists and the turns
Tempering my moods
Fuelling my awareness

Holding the demons at bay
Pitching me high into the realms of the angels
Higher and higher when I'm feeling low
Earthing me when I get too high

Centering me in this time and this place
Through the years a constant momentum
Something to turn to in troubled times
My life's obsession

A companion for this lonely soul
This traveller through the high, high walls
This life which is the never ending canyon
Its reverberations comfort me
Its sounds rebound from all the aspects of my life
Musical vibrations
Amid the torrent of life's vibrations
Sounds within sounds
Manifestations within the manifest
Something for me to hold on to
Something I can understand
Something which keeps me sane ….

Slope Too Steep

A Dream Sequence'

Arriving at a required destination
As the driver with life partner as the passenger
Viewing the landmark together
Leaving then one mode of transport
Aware only of the interior of the car

To embark on another mode of transport
Being unable to find a place to park the bike
All places with differing prices on their tags
Each and every tag marked in English Pounds
But obviously no dominations to hand
Unable to leave behind the bike to walk.

The landmark to the right
Across grasslands of a nature park
Travelling with ease towards the landmark
Using the highest gear
Aware of another cyclist on the path
Passing with ease

The demands of the highest gears not a struggle
Following tracks across
Which in truth appear to be in the wrong direction
Turning back

Climbing a steepening slope
Still at ease in the highest gear
But as it steepens further
Lower gears are used
Until the slope becomes too steep to climb
Almost vertical

The bike slung across the shoulder
Beginning the increasingly difficult climb
Few hand holds in the grass to use
Attention turning to a rocky outcrop to the left
Dynamic climbing moves
And the slope appears to overhang
But with the awareness of weightlessness
It is found to be impossible to fall
Though the sensation of toppling backwards is felt …

Perhaps a portend of doom
Or an omen for the new path which arrives
This sequence occurred at first light
And remained within the awareness for most of the day

Centrifugal Thinking

Within the merkabah
Sinking down … down to the core
To the essence of the despair
Accepting


Finding the wings again to rise
To soar higher and higher
Outwards like the comet
Upwards … and out


Shattering the mould
Breaking the bindings
Freeing the phoenix from out of the chrysalis
Preparing for the new phase which arrives


In union with the planets that have aligned
Because all which is the outside
Is from the inside
All which is perceived are the thoughts


The frequencies of the dream
The mould no longer binding
Seeing the elementals which are the power
The power to manifest that which was intented


The purpose which to date had been resting
Deep within the core


Manifesting
Reaching
Lifting
Becoming


The changeling recovers
Adopts the central thoughts
That in the centre
Which arrived first into this realm
That which was lost until now

Shining Returning

How?
Why?
Who?


He wakens from a troubled dream
Expecting the darkness
Anticipating the customary dread
But then the surprise ….

Bright sunlit meadows meet his eyes
Birdsong fills his ears
The scent of summer flowers pervade his nostrils
The touch of dew kissed grass caresses his form

Then he recalls hs plight
The dream which was not a dream
His release from that tortured capture
Escape from the soul stealer by an identity unknown

Back into the realms of light
No longer held by a rapture of darkest night …
The first hints of voices caress the back of his mind
Forgotten presence which he'd missed for so long

A time of solitude and separation is over now
As the curse is finally lifted
His power will return in time
He is within a shining veil
For healing

Realisation looms
His consciousness expands
Lifts … soars ….
Looms into a forgotten identity
A flurry then of dreamlike thoughts

And his awareness is restored
Back into a life within the realm of the separated
Back into an existence of an incarnated human
No longer the same

An escapee from the deadlights of a demon
Freed from the corrosive spell of a siren
The black widow relinquishing at last his spirit
His shining like quicksilver
Returning

Out Of The Tomb

Silence pervades the cavern
A distant pinprick of light disturbs the darkness
Perhaps there can be an escape from this tomb
Timelessness is the amnesia which lulls
Stillness caresses the lake
And the watcher permits hope

It can remember before
Thoughts turn the wheels once more
A mind drifts back to before the capture
As a spell of breaking descends
That which enforced the dream stirs in its slumber

And the watcher perceives ripples crossing those deathly waters
Silently a boat floats towards the shore
A lone figure in black looms
The source of the light held in its hand

A torch of incandescence blinds the watcher's eyes
And the pangs of freedom awaken within
Tearful eyes watch the smoke rise high into the roof of the cavern
Gossamer like trails merging with the oppressive darkness

Impatience flares as the boatman halts its approach
So near yet so far … a fatal gap stands between captivity and freedom
One touch of those poisoned waters and the chance will be gone forever
A veil of power hangs in the air before him
The spell of his gaoler looms
Threatening to prevent his safety

However determination stands firm
Gathering all his remembered will
He summons his flame …
And a fire of white incandescence flares
Shattering the bane in an instance

Filling the cavern with sizzling illumination
He stands aboard the vessel now
Defiant … he watches the enchanter's shoreline fall away
Beside him the boatman sits motionless
Its lantern now extinguished

Waters black as night, darkness incarnate flow beneath him
But … their hold is broken
He is freed from the deadly tomb ….
At last.

Recovery

There is impatience
Caught fast against the tide
Watching the planets align
Knowing the old age has passed
Seeing illusory time pass
Viewing the fallen leaves clutter the hall
Desperate to wander the garden once more

But all seems to be lost
The chance seems to be passed
The necromancer watches his life pass by
And ... doubt fuel indecision

The thief of time rife in the library
Permitting manuscripts to turn to dust
The clock hands are still now
And ... he has yet to learn what it all was for

The spider's web deceived him
All of those choices to make
And the meander lead him to despair
He grapples with malaise
And ... finds it impossible to escape

The rut is too deep
Yet truth fills his dreams in sleep
His form forgotten
He retrieves his ideals on another dimension
Only to return ... to recover this form
Because he is programmed to be this way

But his initial thought is still free
Captured in this form to be seen
To be recognised
But he remembers now that realisation
He is trapped no more

With that certainty
He wanders the hall
And crosses that old threshold
Again the youth
Again viewing the garden

Knowing which herbs to digest
Which scents to inhale
He is preparing to soar once more
He will not be restrained ...
For this is his dream after all

Remembered thoughts to embrace
A quest forgotten recalled
A saunter revisited
He is what was before
Nothing has changed
He can recover that direction ....

Horus Of Edfu

A form which the god Horus Behudety (Horus of Edfu) took in his battles with Seth. Horus the Elder that is worshipped in the western delta. His followers spread into Upper Egypt and established their cult center named Hierakonpolis at Eduf. The god Thoth used his magic to turn Horus into a sun-disk with splendid outstretched wings. The goddesses Nekhbet and Uazet in the form of uraeus snakes joined him at his side.

Even though he was the son and heir of Ra and was a form of Horus he wasn't totally identified with Ra. However his connection with Eduf was explained as, in Ra's reign as an Earthly king of both Upper and Lower Egypt the army was located at Nubia when he received word that a plot against him existed in Egypt. Those who were responsible for the plot were aided by malignant powers (some sort of demons) and were sent by Set.

King Ra sailed downstream to Eduf and ordered his son Horus to fight the plotters (A.K.A the enemy) So Horus, flew into the sky where he took the form of a winged disk - the Sun. From there he could see the enemy and upon seeing the enemy he flew down to attack. He caused so much damage that they fled. As a reward for his deeds the king bestowed upon him the title Horus of Eduf.

However the enemy was not completely defeated. They changed themselves into crocodiles and hippopotami and attacked Ra's boat. Horus and his followers once again beat them by harpooning them from the boat. Again Horus took the form of a winged-sun disk and sat himself on the ships prow. From there he followed the survivors through upper and lower Egypt and defeated them. Horus also beheaded the enemy leader Set in Ra's presence and drug him by the feet throughout Egypt.

In the other section of this myth, Horus son of Ra became confused with Horus son of Osiris. The leader was Set reborn and the enemy of Osiris. Set continued to fight in lower Egypt in the form of a serpent. Horus in the form of a falcon-headed staff with a triangular spear-point was victorious over him though. He then sailed to Upper Egypt and put down another rebellion in order to seal his victory. Ra decreed to them that the winged-sun disk should be put on all the temples and shrines of the all the gods to ward off enemies as a reward for Horus's deeds.

So Horus Behudety is frequently represented as a winged-sun disk sculpted over the gates of the sanctuaries, as well as a falcon hovering over the pharaoh in battle scenes. With his claws grasping the whisk or flail of royalty and the ring of eternity.
Horus Behudety is also shown as a man with the head of a falcon wearing the double crown and often bearing the falcon-headed staff symbols which was the instrument of Set's destruction. Since it was the god himself who led the forces into battle Horus was considered indistinguishable from Ra from that time on.

The Daily Merlin

Will there be enough time?

1. 2 OF BIRDS - Doubt
2. XIV - Hermit
3. 2 OF SERPENTS - Choice
4. QUEEN OF FISHES
5. VIII - Magician

Clearly the doubt is representative of the mind of the querent. Distance and solitude and circumstances are the influencing factors in all decision making. Factors which govern the actions of the magician who must make best of the life he is in.

Elements are very much under his control. The fire, the earth, the air and the water. All is not lost. His intentions are the sacred truth for him. Nothing else can sway him from this path. Inwardly the choice is made, yet outwardly he disguises the pathway which he has visualised and is to follow.

An opportunity will present itself in time. Though time is short, there is still another meeting. The Hermit represents the power of the learning to still be gained. The lessons to be experienced as the barriers shall be overcome.

The pathway for the magician has been especially difficult. The hazards of exploring the lofty heights of the tree. But the doubt ... it must be overcome. Crystal clear focus must ensue .... His castings shall lead to time at hand in the 2nd or 3rd month of the new year.

Battle Jaded

I'm so tired
Feeling blocked
Inspiration beyond the locked door
Distracted

Reasonable excuses seem to mislead me
I cannot seem to reach my arts
There is a presence close
Altering my thoughts
Impressing on me a malaise

So weary
So battle jaded
I cannot summon the strength to overcome
Its much easier to sleep
Than attempt to break down that wall

A frequency close
Mind adjustment
I feel so infected
Like a virus it touches my being
Disconnected from myself
My outside husk dictates
And my inner consciousness ...
The projected thought from beyond this maze ...
Concedes to defeat ...

Today

Time moves slowly
Illusion grips my attention
My pyre burns with a sooty flame
As I muse, another hawk soars overhead
And I must comprehend its symbol
Today ...

I need to limit my awareness
Shorten my shadow
Acknowledge the laws of this illusion
And view the immediate path before me
Before I cross that a new threshold
Today ...

The planets are aligned
The world is held in a rapture of menace
The truth is hidden in a glaze of madness
And I am to be the voice of a messenger
Somewhere in the future
This I must realise, and accept ... today

...............................................

Blood Of The Sidhe

Power ... written in the sway of the trees
Power ... in the lapping waves on the lake's shore
Power ... in the call of the creatures of the hedgerows
Power ... seen in the eyes of the people who wander the village.

The smell of fear in every word, in every breath, in every waking day
Rumours spread in the lands beyond the isle were rife,
The purge of the ancients had returned ... tides were turning
A strange spectre had been seen to stalk the land ... and ...
Where so ever it passed ... nothing would ever be the same again.

And the accursed voice of the church ... the growing threat in the land
Decreed the isle as a place of the dead .... the presence that of great evil
Missionaries were rumoured to have been sent to cleanse the soil
For everything had changed since that night ...

But to the wise ones of the isle ...
It had been expected
For it had been written long ago
An Elder race would return to their home.

As one of they ... born human, but part Sidhe
Would be born into his power
Thus remembering his heritage

Then would come the night ... that night
A special night when all the stars would be aligned ...
He ... would be the key ... thus opening the door
A door to the other worlds ... returning his kin.

For the elders knew truly they too were born with blood the same
All descendants of a long forgotten race ... no written records existed
The purging of the land ... the growing power of the church
Ensured the true history of the land was lost

And the elders of the isle chose to remain in silence
Feeling the change in the earth around them ... refusing to counsel
Magnifying thus the fear in the villagers and the surrounding lands
Unable to change the course of the fate which unfolded

Summoning thus the one to return to the isle ...
For he ... it was once written ... was the source of power
Foretold in songs and folklore protected by the order
White dragon and red dragon combined ...
The chosen of the land ...
... mysterious presence walking the night
... changeling ...
... phantom ...
... power wielder ...
... feared by the church and deemed a demon ...

WRITTEN BY MATTHEW JAMES Dec 2004

Meditation: Latest CD Choices

Friday 8th December 2006

1. Return Of The Angels by Philip Chapman
2. Soul Mates by Philip Chapman
3. Cascade by Terry Oldfield
4. Resonance by Terry Oldfield
5. Ring Of The Dolphin by Cusco

Looking Ahead: Rune Forecast For March 2007

AQUARIAN RUNE FORECAST FOR MARCH 2007

1. LAGU
2. KENNAZ
3. EOLH
4. UR
5. PEORTH

Using the Celtic Cross Spread.

Lagu is the central rune. The hub of the spread and the theme for the month. Emotional tides. Fluidity and natural flow. New patterns of thinking and motion. Indicative of new found sensitivity and a new level of understanding.

Kennaz the fire brand lights the way. It is the fire of enthusiasm and a reminder of commitments made and plans for the future. With Kennaz lighting the way, there can be no darkness. Nothing sculking in the shadows as there are no corners for the unknown to hide. Motivation an determination.

Eolh is Elksedge, the rune of protection for warriors going into battle. It provides the energy and strength to summount the difficlult obstacles presented by the unknown. It guards against the effects of negative emotions in its position at the bottom of the celtic cross. It is a ward and a boon for the warrior who is establishing himself well on the battle field. Eolh gives the warrior the strength to succeed and to overcome anything standing in his way. Denotes a fairly torrid time with many challenges and concerns. However Eolh will permit the warrior to succeed in all challenges.

Peorth in its position in the spread it denotes that which is brought from the past and represents the gambles taken to get to this point. The warrior has regrets and short failings but with a mind on what was in the past, the warrior can instill new found confidence in himself. Peorth shows that the gamble has paid off, and that new opportunities are around the corner.

UR the final rune, in the furthest point to the right on the spread, therefore represents the future to come. It is the rune of potential and further success. But success which has to be earned by the warrior. The potential is well within the capabilities of the warrior. UR represents the energetics of the warrior to put the past behind him and continue with the new found steady progress.

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DAATH - The Sephira That Is Not A Sephira

Daath is not located on The Tree Of Life. As a result it is given the title 'The Sephira that is not a Sephira'. It is usually not ascribed a number. There are no planes equivalent to it. Even though it is located in the middle of The Abyss, above Tipareth and below Kether, it has in fact no position in terms of the other sephiroth.

In terms of a two dimensional representation of a three dimensional existence, it can be said that Daath represents at one and the same time no dimensions and all dimensions.

Daath means 'knowledge' - the knowledge without the understanding (that of Binah).

Daath, The Gate Of The Abyss, occupies the empty space in the centre of the hexagon of Sephiroth which comprise the upper half of the Tree Of Life. It has been the subject of endless confusion in the magical circles of the last two hundred years, for it fits into the scheme of the tree awkwardly at best. It is neither a Sephira; an aspect of a Sephira; nor a combination of Sephiroth - though it functions as each of these in some contexts.
Perhaps the best way to perceive Daath is as an ‘interface’; in fact the primary interface of the Tree Of Life as it serves as a meeting point for most of the Tree’s principal powers. It links the Supernals with the Sephiroth below the Abyss - which is central to its meaning. More directly, it also links Kether with Tipareth.

Daath serves as a representative of Kether beneath the Abyss - to such an extent that when speaking of Kether, a Cabalist, refers to Kether’s reflection in Daath; which can become an obstacle in higher levels of work. ‘When Daath is, Kether is not; when Kether is, Daath is not’.

Daath also functions as a higher aspect of Tipareth as it is suggested by the presence of Daath’s title in the Name Of God governing the 6th Sephira.

Daath also links Chokmah with Binah, which is the role which is the source of Daath’s title - in the Hebrew language this is ‘knowledge’, as a term for sexual contact and the union of Chokmah and Binah - Abba the father and Aima the Mother - the sexual encounter from which, in mystic terms, the universe is born.

Daath thus defines the Middle Pillar - which might well be named the ‘Pillar Of Knowledge’, and its role as interface is shared to some extent with all the Sephiroth of that pillar.

But an interface is a boundary as well as a meeting ground; like a gate which may be opened or closed - an important symbol of Daath - it both permits and prevents passage. This is an important facet of the nature of Daath, for the conscious self questing up the Tree Of Life in search of the experience of truth Daath is an impenetrable barrier. For the polarities which meet within it, Daath is the limit at which each gives way to its opposite. Daath thus relates to the Abyss as much as to the Middle Pillar; it is the intersection between these two; the point at which unity and separation merge - and divide.

THE MYTHOLOGY OF CREATION AND FALL
The nature of Daath is made more complicated by its role in the mythology of creation and the subsequent fall. Before the fall, Daath was the point at which the symbolic River Naher - the descending current of energy from the Supernals - was divided into the four rivers of Eden. After the fall, Daath became the highest reach of the dragon - the point at which the waters of life were corrupted by the Dragon’s venom into waters of death.
At Daath too, the four Kerubim and the Flaming Sword keep watch at the gate of the higher Eden, at once a guard against the unbalanced powers below and a revelation of the way in which those powers can be overcome. From this perceptive, Daath’s role as a point of contact has been lessened - at least from a human perspective. Still, The Gate Of The Abyss can be opened, and that opening is the supreme practical work of the Cabalistic magician.
The symbolism of Daath occupies an uneasy niche in the Tree’s traditional imagery; being neither Sephira nor Path, it nonetheless has certain symbolism which corresponds to a Sephira, while at the same time lacking some major symbolic expression which define the other Sephiroth. It has no Name Of God; no Archangel; no Host Of Angels; no Path Text - such symbolism as it does not always fit easily into the structure of the tree as a whole.
The title for Daath is ‘knowledge’; the sexual sense of this terminology is by no means the only one; or the only one of importance. Daath is knowledge in the sense of sexual union- the creative joining of polarities. It is also knowledge in the more usual sense of consciously held awareness of a thing; for it is the basis of perception. The Ruach, or conscious self - which tends to be regarded (and to regard itself) as the perceiving part of the self - is actually a structure or ‘vessel’ for what has been called ‘awareness’. A few moments of attention, though, will quickly show the difference between this structure and what it contains ...

If you begin to observe yourself as you think and feel, you’ll notice that the thought or feeling you perceive is different from the part of you that is perceiving it.

The thoughts and feelings belong to the Ruach; so do the reflections of imagination, will and memory in the Lower Self; so do the higher aspects of these faculties that open as the veil opens.

What, though, is the awareness itself?

It is in the answer to this fairly simple question that the complexities lie. In the traditional lore - the Chokmah and Binah of the microcosm (the Chiah and the Neshamah) - are said to reflect an aspect of themselves downward into the Abyss, to form the part of the self which perceives the structures and sensations of the Ruach, Nephesh and Guph. This part of the self, which is Daath, is described as being like a flame set within the lantern of the lower bodies, and in this metaphor it emits rays of light which illuminate the things it perceives. This flame of awareness receives the powers of perception from Binah, and the power of what to perceive from Chokmah. It receives also the first seed of individuality from Binah too; a sense of distinction between subject and object; the perceiver and that which is perceived.

This seed is the kernel around which the other aspects of Daath form. It does not give rise to the full experience of individuality until Tipareth is reached; in Chesed & Geburah it produces only a sense of differentiation within unity. Once the initial distinction is formulated, however, the rest then follow. This distinction forms the beginning of the process of manifestation, and may be symbolised by the sexual act which is the one meaning of the word ‘knowledge’; it also makes possible the perception that is the other meaning of the word ‘knowledge’.
It is also the heart and the essence of The Abyss - the distinction between the knowing and the known is the first and last division of unity; the first made and the last released. Before it is made, the lower levels of the universe and the self come into being, because there is no polarity upon which Creation can be based. Until it has been surpassed, until awareness fuses with that which is perceived in the very act of perception, the way of Redemption cannot be completed and the unity of the Supernals cannot be regained. Once it has been surpassed, the awareness of Daath returns to its source in the union of Chiah and Neshamah and the cycle of creation is complete.

This may seem like the end of the individual self - it is not; though it may take some thought to see why. The return of awareness to its source doesn’t nullify the creative act which brought the self into being. The Ruach, Nephesh, Guph and Yechidah still exist - what has changed is the relationship between them. The new relationship can be represented like the old one, as a centre in the midst of the space between, a centre which once more can be known as Daath. This centre, however, is a point of direct contact between the Neshamah in its purest form, and the Ruach of completeness.

To the Neshamah, which exists in eternity, the effect of this change will equate to nothing. However, to the Ruach - which doesn’t exist in an eternal state - the effect will be to change everything; the conscious self remains in existence, but the awareness which descends into it remains consciously aware of its unity with everything it experiences; consciously aware also of the presence and the power of that unity in its own life and actions; and of its own transcendence of time and space through its origin in the eternal aspect of the self.
The resultant being, aware of every level of experience from the unity of Kether to the material experience of Malkuth, is the microcosm as a complete reflection of the macrocosm - the image of Adam Cadmon.

Astrological Correspondence
The Astrological Correspondence assigned to Daath is the star Sirius which is the brightest star in the earth’s skies.The outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto might appear like better candidates, but their symbolism was not designed with magical principles in mind (unlike the seven inner planets known to the ancient world), and attempts to relate them to the Tree Of Life have produced little more than confusion.

The Star Sirius, on the other hand, has been of high magical importance since ancient times, and the images and ideas built up around it are of great value. In modern magical writings, it is often titled ‘the sun behind the sun’; it is equated with the star in the east and thus with the descent of forces to Tipareth from the Supernals.
In certain classes of practical work, its position in the sky is traditionally of some importance. As the brightest of stars, it holds a symbolic position between Binah’s astrological correspondence, Saturn, and Chokmah’s, the Zodiac, and thus also represents the contact between these powers.
Daath’s correspondence in the Tarot os a vexing question - as it comes between the 3rd and 4th Sephiroth on the Lightning Flash. It has been given the number 3.5 in some contexts, which is not simply Cabalistic humour, for as half of the magical number 7, it appears in a range of Biblical and esoteric symbolism ... at the same time, however, there is no 3.5 of any Tarot suits. The most sensible of compromises is to assign the twenty two trumps on a whole to Daath, for Daath’s role as an interface is in some ways a summary of the principle behind all of the paths.

Elemental Correspondence
Daath’s elemental correspondence is less obscure; as a point on the middle pillar, which under certain circumstances functions as a Sephiroth, it shares the middle pillar’s elemental attribution of Air. The ambivalent quality which appears in much of the symbolism of this element fits in well with the character of the gate of the Abyss.

The additional symbolism assigned to Daath are also fairly straightforward but suggest an important practical principle. Human awareness can be compared with a room full of clutter, and much of the work faced by a magician is a matter of putting into some kind of order the confusion, so those things which are needed can be readily found. This is only the first stage, however, and there will come a point at which the magician must turn his/her attention away from the mind-clutter in order to listen for the presence of something else. In undertaking the latter, awareness needs to be emptied, not merely organised, and among the things which need to be discarded are the symbols and principles of organisation themselves.

This is the point made by the second of the additional symbols ... the closest approach to Daath which can be made in symbolic terms is the absence of symbols altogether. This is a paradox. But it is also a practical guide. In pathworking on the tree, the most common sign that the level of Daath has been reached is the sensation of images of the path fading into blankness. This can also occur after the pathworking until the colours of Daath appear to show the way outward is open.

Cosmic Gateway
It is with the correspondences of Daath in the microcosm and the physical body, however, that the most critical issues of magical practice emerge. As the link between the conscious self and the transcendent spirit, Daath is the medium through which all contact with the Higher Genius must take place, until the time comes when the Abyss is crossed once and for all.

Like a gate, Daath, may be opened or closed, and it may also be opened to a greater or lesser degree. Completely closed, it is reflected in complete blindness to anything outside the material aspects of life; as it opens, so open the higher levels of the self. Fully open, on the other hand, it permits the return of awareness to its transcendental source.

Traditional lore has it that the full opening of Daath involves the highest levels of spiritual attainment. A partial opening of the gate, on the other hand, can take place on a more modest level of development ... any glimpse of the Tipareth level can awaken the energies of the thirteenth path and thus begin the process; and as such glimpses are repeated (perhaps over many lives) the process continues.

The initial stages of the opening of the Daath centre, in fact, are part and parcel of the work of the opening of the veil, and the two become distinct only when the veil opens and the Higher and Lower Selves merge in the full attainment of the Tipareth level of consciousness.

The gradual opening of the Daath centre is of the highest importance to the magician. Firstly, the interface between Ruach and Neshamah is also said to be the interface between the parts of the self which perish with the death of the physical body and those parts which do not. As that interface becomes more active, more of the structure of the conscious self is preserved through the stages of death and rebirth, and lessons learned in one life can be carried over to others with less difficulty. Secondly, the interface between Ruach and Neshamah is a source of power as well as knowledge ... representing the full creative energy of the Supernals in the macrocosm and microcosm alike. Poisoned, in the legend of Ancient myth, by the venom of the dragon, it still flows, and the opening of Daath may also be symbolised as the loosening of the dragon’s hold on the lower Eden. The wider the gate opens, the purer the descending stream.

The wholly material-minded souls tend to remain passive, moved about only by biological drives and or the acts and words of their leaders; the great magicians & mystics, on the other hand, have been men and women of astonishing personal power and vigour.

The physical reflection of the Daath centre in the human body is in the neck and lower face, and contains the entire vocal apparatus. This is one reason why particular ways of speaking or chanting words have always been potent tools in the magician’s kit.

Negative Powers
The Negative Powers correspond to the three Sephiroth of the Supernal Triad:-
The Satariel of Binah,
The Augiel of Chokmah,
The Thaumiel of Kether.

In the fall, however, the triad remained untainted, and their equivalents within the Negative Powers cannot reach beyond the highest points of the Dragon’s ascent. This ‘infernal triad’ has its place in Daath, then, and provides the final and most dangerous traps faced by the magician on the way of redemption.
These powers are different from the ones discussed previously, in something of the way those above the veil differ from those below it. They correspond to the three choices which can be made by those who awaken the full powers of the Ruach, who are successful in opening the veil and pass through it. These three choices have a certain resemblance to ideas and philosophies concerning the ultimate reality beyond human perceptions. In their reflected form below the veil, in fact, they give rise to specific ways of thinking about the universe. In their purest form, on the other hand, they are not opinions but deliberate choices concerning the Supernal realm made by human beings operating at the highest levels of power which consciousness awareness can bear. Made with the full strength of the higher self, these decisions have potent consequences.
Satariel

The Satariel or Concealers have the traditional image of a giant horned demon’s head hidden beneath a heavy veil. In reflected form they represent the view that ultimate reality is nothingness; or that nothing actually exists; the standpoint of nihilism. In their pure form, they represent the decision to embrace the unity of the Supernals by rejecting all which lies below the Abyss.

Augiel
The Augiel or Hinderers are depicted as distorted giants entangled in the coils of serpents. In reflected form they represent the idea that all that exists is precisely the flurry of experiences which the Cabbala labels the World Of Assiah, and that nothing beyond the realm of experience has any reality at all; the standpoint of relativism. In their pure form they stand for the decision to reject the unity of the Supernals in favour of the diversity of the realms below the Abyss.

Thaumiel
The Thaumiel of Twins have the traditional depiction of twin heads borne on the wings of bats. They have no bodies, it is said, because they always seek to unite themselves with other beings and forces. In their reflected form they symbolise the belief that the only thing which exists is oneself; the standpoint of solipsism. In their pure form they represent the decision to see the conscious self as equal to, or containing the Supernal Unity itself.
The pure forms of the Negative Powers can be equally translated into theological language. The Satariel in this language represent the once popular Gnostic attitude which sees all of creation as evil and rejects it in order to return to god. The Augiel represent the corresponding attitude which sees the created world as the only reality and god as illusion. The Thaumiel symbolise the always popular stanza that identifies the self as god.
Equally, all three can be seen from a philosophical standpoint, as three possible ways to relate the experiences of change and impermanence to a transcendent, timeless realm of meaning; by denying that experience is real; by denying that the transcendent realm is real; or by taking the self that experiences as the transcendent realm. These three horns of the Dragon, however, rise from a single head. The common factor uniting them looks back to Daath’s relationship with Tipareth, for all three of these powers rise from the vice of Tipareth, which is pride. The Satariel reflects the pride which refuses to accept anything less than the highest as fit for the self; the Augiel, from that pride that refuses to accept that anything can exist outside of its reach; the Thaumiel, for that supreme arrogance which makes the self equal to the unity of all things. Just as these mistakes are linked to Tipareth, so is the knowledge that overcomes them, when the conscious self in Tipareth recognises itself and all other selves are reflections - nothing more, but nothing less - the unity of Kether.

In the work of opening the way across the Abyss, the four paths to the Supernals which do not pass through Daath have a secondary place, but an important one. They do not, as the Path Of Gimel does, help open the Daath centre; their role has little to do with the bringing down of powers from the Supernals or the transformation of the way of rebirth which the Gate of the Abyss has in its keeping. They do, however, permit communication between the Ruach and the Neshamah, and such communication is a valuable gift in its own right.

Each path represents a different channel for this kind of contact with the Higher Genius, and each of these channels has a relationship with certain practical skills in the Cabala Magician’s toolkit.

Sorcerer's Thoughts XI

DREAM SEQUENCE
As was a young child. Around 11 or 12 years old although the age was not the issue. Confronted by taller adult bullies (demons?). They were heavy set and the school top dogs. The issue related to my push bike which they had pinched from me. I stood up to the first bully and fearlessly informed him 'even though I know you will beat me up I will hit you. I'm not scared of you'. I repeated the same promise to the second bully.

There was nowhere in the sequence that I was hit or attacked or had to fight the bullies. I recovered my bike,and because the tyres had been deliberately punctured, I had to walk it back home. The paint work of the bike had been stripped down and resprayed. The quality of the paint spray was very poor. A thin coat of green.

There was also an issue with my locker (it appeared like a safety deposit box). The door had been broken into and the locker filled in with pebbles and small stones. Something of value had been stolen like a lock or a key. I then approached the bullies who denied all knowledge of this. I knew however the two events had been instigated by the same persons.

Meaning?
The bike represents perhaps my life, my passage through life. Its passage hampered and altered by some outside force. Some distracting presences in life? By confronting the bullies I have overcome the hampering force even though something of value has been taken out of my life? The pebbles are in some way an attempt to cover up the obvious loss from life with an unsuitable alternative? Recovery of the bike, though slightly damaged, indicates recovering the progress/passage of my own life. Regaining control after some slight repairs/modifications. The contrast of me being the young/nervy school child and the bullies being adults represents the rather daunting prospect of regaining life's control on the outside. Standing up to the bullies despite the consequences represents the effort required on the outside to overcome the obstacles.

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Well, the offer came. This morning. Needs some modification. But its there. I can relax a little. Just the problem now of the expense of flying out there.

Then the unexpected and unpredictable arrived.

A phone call out of the blue. An enquiry requiring my business services immediately. The source of the finances therefore required for flights and the like. At the 11th hour it will always be provided to those on the path of truth; the path of compassion ....

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Upon the Tree Of Life, the mind (intellect) is placed on the lowest triad ... the 8th sphere (glory/honour). The god form is Mercury (Hermes), the messenger of the gods. An important body of the magical sciences has acquired the name 'hermetic' as its label due to its association in early literature to Hermes and the mysterious master Hermes Trismegistos - thrice great.

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The magician must not castrate the demon intellect or reason. Instead it must be brought under proper alanced control. Critical logical research to merge with the inherent tendency towards emotional modes of consciousness.

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The intellect is linked to Severity (purification/discipline/breakdown); Mars; the female purifying power. Therefore the modern day magician requires energetic connections of this category and experiences of severity are essential and important initiations.

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Severity is Geburah on the Tree Of Life.

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So the effect of severity fade as the initiation is finally overcome. But what then? The sorcerer has the hard earned keys in hand, ahead is a misty path. What then? Is it not possible the next journey results in severity on a different level of perception? Is not all of dream experience severity in different forms? Isn't all of dream experience initiation?

Is this dream realm nothing more than the crystal chambers of Atlantis? The software being the upgrade of the initiation chambers of the children of the one?

It is no longer explained because once in the chamber it is all forgotten. The secret is to overcome all the fears ... and remember.

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Slowly I awaken, I remember
I am restless as I escape this dangerous slumber
I foresee what I already knew
I wander barefooted the path of the morning dew
As the child reborn
Beyond the demons of scorn
Manifestations of the chamber which deceive
That is the ultimate initiation overcome
Now I await what I must become ...

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Sorcerer's Thoughts X

The dilemma is ongoing. Sleepless nights. Indecision. Doubt. Negative thoughts are rife in the mind of the sorcerer. This is the 11th hour. What was promised nearly two weeks ago has still to be confirmed.

There was delay. For some reason not apparent. Something being held off for another piece to come into the fore.

Frustration denies meditation. Lack of meditation denies control of emotions and stillness. A mind thinks only the worst. Still trying to remain positive knowing judgement was looming.

It arrived today. A double dilemma. The original choice plus another path. Take the other path and it splits at another fork. Choose the next fork and it splits again!

Two phone calls out of the blue from across the ditch and everything relating to the delay is now apparent. So crystal clear.

And the sorcerer's decision? Two or three more nights of waiting for the northern hemisphere to put in writing that which was offered. Then the weekend. Still no written confirmation and then its the choices from across the ditch. There is more dilemma!

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Not easy at all.
There is no peace only an impregnable wall.
Doubt and fear alive in the mind
Polarity exposure and this soul is blind
Hoping for a little peace
Urgent for release.

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I try to remain positive but there is now only turmoil inside. Feeling alone. No guidance from the outside. Realisation there is only the inside. Beyond the husk the player is silent. A hidden voice there on the periphery.

This is the hardest time to wander through. The most impossible choices to make.

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And the watchers still lurk. I see them around me. I sense them powerfully. Perhaps they give me the strength to wander on. Like a traveller I must head for a safe port in the storm. I cannot stop in the driving rain. I must drive myself forwards. It is the northern hemisphere where my heart lies. It is where I wish to be. Where my focus is. The other choices only confuse.

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INNER WORLDS

An inner world is a firmly defined and identified state or place or world which may be prceived by the inward direction of attention.

Inner worlds are consistent. They are as unique and enduring as outer 'worlds'. Many endure through extremely long periods of time. Others are inaccessible to the inquisitive human perception.

COMPASSION

Compassion is not a matter of sympathy, empathy or even selfless spiritual love. Sympathy in the form of a sentiment rarely occurs in magical at all. Sympathy in magic, in the sense of an emotional sentimental bond can cause enormous problems of over personalising the magical aim. Spiritual love is a different power altogether, and cannot be confused with personal love or sentiment. Spiritual love is said to be a terrifying power, burning with such intensity that most mortal beings cannot bear it without difficulty or even damage.

Compassion is an energy of consciousness which is relatively safe in magic. It lies beyond personal emotion or mere sentiment. It is superior to sympathy. It will filter and mediate the intensity of primal fire of 'love as a power'.

The polarised relationship between compassion (mercy) and justice (severity) is crucial in ritual magic. This relationship exists on the tree of life and at first viewing the two polarities are seen to be opposites. But in truth both derive from a higher spiritual power of unity; both fuse together to create harmony (beauty) which is the central solar sphere. Both are aspects of spiritual love.

SIGIL OF INNER BEING

We are separated from our true being by the void

We are kept in this dream by the deceit of separation

The sigil of inner being realigns to the memory of oneness

Sigil drawn by Matthew James 2005

Mediation - A Definition Of True Contact

In orthodox 'religion' Mediation is seen as a function of a priest or priestess, where a mediator is one who acts as an interface between divinity and humanity.

In magic, however, mediation has a far more precise meaning, based on the essential truth that all contain divinity or 'the original being' within us. All are also contained within the Being of the universe. In true mediation, any individual can reach deeply into the states of consciousness where transcendent entities can be met. Such entities can be aspects of divinity; god-forms or beings which have transcended human expression and no longer incarnate on this plane.

In mediation, a human acts as a 'focus' or 'gateway' for the consciousness of such transcendent entities. But know this is not the sole purpose or type of mediation found in the magical arts.

Mediation is not a matter of passive reception, such as the cliched and superficial process of 20th century 'mediumship', but of clarifying and refining personal modes of awareness. When these higher modes are attuned to inner worlds or beings which are vital to magic, mediation may arise.

Mediation is not a matter of 'receiving messages'. If this was the case then it would be virtually valueless as higher modes of awareness and higher spiritual energies actually transcend verbal communication. A true mediator may be able to translate certain key images of the spiritual realms into words, but the mediator is more likely to act as a channel for a specific energy or power to flow out into the magical circle and more ultimately into the world.

Therefore, an initiate working magic, such as rituals or visualisations, may become a mediator through the simple act of ritual pattern making and the controlled use of the imagination. In the magical arts, anyone making a sign, or chanting a mantra, or visualising a symbol, is mediating the power of being through specific and dynamic magical archetypal channels. The more powerful effects of mediation, however, are not usually developed without years of effort and deliberate control.

Taken from 'Living Magical Arts' by R.J.Stewart. This adaptation by Matthew James Dec 2006.