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.
