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Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.
http://www.buddhanet.net/ans73.htm
What are you looking for? Why do you practice Magick in the way that you do? What are your beliefs?
We all hear these questions, either from others or from ourselves. This is an attempt to clarify myself, who I am, what I’m about, and all the whys I can think of. It’s for others to understand me a little better, maybe see parts of their own journey within mine, and also for myself, as a record in the future of how I might have changed or not.
My latest explorations are in alchemy, more specifically creation of my tinctures. The original purpose was simply to have a tool to increase my magickal workings. In process and research, I am finding so much more to it.
The main goal of the alchemist is either the transmutation of one material into another, as in the search to turn lead into gold, or the evolution of the “raw and unfinished” nature by a process of separation and recombination, sometimes resulting in an “elixir of life” that will cure all disease and extend life indefinitely. Well, this is what I hope to attain! I guess I’m an alchemist!
The raw material to be transformed is myself as I stand this day, in all states of humanity and unfinished roughness. Working through LHP practices to learn and know myself, I hope to bring new understanding of who I am in this world and how I relate to everything around me. It involves a deep look within as well as without, pushing boundaries and experiences so I understand my body, my heart, my soul. Some of this need not be as extreme as others may lead to believe but the work on ones self I feel is an integral part of reaching a relationship with divinity. I don’t necessarily think that aligning with the 4 elements is the way or even enough. Maybe it just isn’t in my case. I am lead and it’s going to take a lot of work to become gold.
Apart from the practice of LHP processes, I do seek a union with the divine but I see having to go left in order to proceed right. Does that make sense to anyone? By separating, establishing and understanding myself as an individual in the universal sense, in the end through recombining with divinity I will be part of the elixir creation. It will be an enlightenment that will connect me to the divine and bestow the knowledge, healing and everlasting life as I come to know all that I am a part of. We are all energy and energy never dies and so of course there is life after death, just not in a more classical Christian kind of way, more of an Einstein conceptual way.
So I am on this journey of discovery and transmutation. With Jung and Yoga, Gurdjieff and the Qabbalah I shall be turned from lead into gold and drinking the Elixir of life from the holy grail!
And now for something completely different….A DISCUSSION POST!
YAY!!! **horns blare, drums beat**
Today a question was posed to me. Can you be Spiritual and an Atheist? After a short ponder, my first answer was I wouldn’t think so, unless you are thinking of the spirit of self then maybe.
I found an lovely post HERE that describes Spiritual as “connections”. Another claims the following:
An atheist can recognize the mystery of life, and marvel at how everything learned deepens that mystery, pushing “final” causes further into the distance. An atheist can recognize his or her own limitations, and seek to grow, perhaps even by developing contact with “higher powers.” This is an atheist spirituality. How is it different from “regular” spirituality?
But how can that be? In MY definition, if you have a belief in a “higher power” you are not Atheist, but Agnostic. You believe there is something out there, you just don’t know or venture to speculate what.
I now open this up to any and all discussion, comments (within reason, I won’t allow stupidity or hate) on this subject. Look into it, and get back to me.
What do YOU think?
Today is the 15th day of the 1st month of the 1st year Anno Luceferi according to the Book of Peter Vaughn. For me, at least, it is a major Holiday. Those who follow a LHP system of beliefs know that Self and the development of is extremely important. It is with this outlook that I declare the 15th day of the 1st month of subsequent years as the Epiphany of Naufragio.
In definition epiphany means:
an appearance or manifestation, esp. of a deity.
a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
And so, being the day of manifestation in this mortal coil 39 short years ago, I think it an appropriate title for the first holiday of the new Era. Be forewarned, 15:1:2 is foretold to be a date of extreme change. More on this later.
As a note: This is the coldest week all winter with below zero (F) temperatures. The snow is piled high.
The snowbank at the local shopping plaza.
Snow last night off my porch.
I have set up a small elemental tarot altar (in hopes of making divination a larger part of my regular spiritual practice). These are the cards drawn today. Sorry for it being so dark, the batteries died in my camera. If I get a better one I’ll replace this one later.
Strength and 10 of Pentacles.
To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.
~Oliver Goldsmith
I ordered my inverted Pentacle a while back. It was not easy for me to find, as I only desire a delicate, not “in your face” statement in my jewelery. I found a nice approx. 1/2 ” charm, only slightly bigger than the regular one I wear. It arrived in time for the full moon. 
How fitting that in the “dark” of the full moon (as we have a snowstorm going on so it was hidden) that I did a small personal consecration of my new charm. Power hidden behind clouds of immense beauty affecting thousands positively and negatively depending on their outlook, the reflection of themselves in their attitude, floating peacefully to earth bringing cold satisfaction to melt in my hand like the cold hearts of man melting in the face of the divine. My own power, still hidden, floating out in flakes, some tiny, others great big puffs in squalls and flurries. *
*ok Boleskine, you can stop gagging now, the “fluffy” part is over.
“Why inverted,” you may ask. NO, I’m not a satanist, or evil. I do feel that MY path to spiritual advancement is found in the exploration and understanding of me, myself and I. Id,Ego and Super Ego, conscious and unconscious, flesh, mind, emotion, soul and spirit; it is the growth, knowledge and awareness of these in myself and the ability to see these in others that bring me closer to who I am meant to be. Some may call it my destiny or true will. The single up or down point on the pentacle represents spirit, something I feel is not sought up in the ethers somewhere but down in the material world we live in, within ourselves. That is where we need to seek it, divinity in everything around us and in what we are. Thus, the inversion.
After all, if we all knew ourselves better, our needs, our motivations, our fears and the reasons behind them and how to push past obstacles, wouldn’t the world be a better place? All those self help books out there tell me that people are searching, and it’s not for Jesus.
Not only is enlightenment a conscious state of being, it’s an intrinsic knowledge of one’s self, your true self.
You are the only one who can really know who you are meant to be. No one can tell you. Society, family, peers, can all tel you who they see you as, or who they want you to be in their world, but you are the only master of yours.
Their reality is not your reality. 100 people can all watch the same accident in the street, but each will have a slightly different account based on their reality. Life as you know it, is an illusion. It’s not Little Johnny’s life or even your twin brother or sisters. We all perceive things differently based on our inner selves.
True, there are collective realities that mold and shape and affect your reality, so in essence your reality isn’t 100% what you make it, but only you know what lies deeper in the heart of man…or woman.
“Life” has shaped what we appear to be right now. The question is “Who/What am I?” and the answer is not something new that you learn. It’s something you always knew, you just didn’t know you knew until then. It means owning everything you feel, knowing and understanding your emotions, motivations and actions. If you don’t experience different emotions, situations and push yourself, how can you really know who or what you are?
There are many paths to enlightenment. Some quicker than others, some more “dangerous” than others. There are always emotional, physical and psychological barriers to cross. No path is easy. In the end, it all comes down to this: Do you know you?
This morning I was discussing Magick with Boleskine 93 and maybe it was the fact that I was on my first coffee in 3 days, or the result of all the reflection or reading on different Magical Arts in the dark of the candle-flame,( we have been out of power for several days due to an ice storm) but I made a wonderful statement of my philosophy. In fact, it’s my new tagline. “I am not eclectic in my beliefs, I’m just eclectic in my methods.”
We have had many conversations with many Witches, Magicians, and the like over the subject of “Eclectic” worship of the Divine. Some abhor it completely while others embrace it. I consider myself eclectic…to a point. The argument is made that your Magick will be stronger if you have a close personal relationship with a specific deity or pantheon. By spreading yourself out, you are decreasing focus and energy put out to each work. I DO think that having specific deities can enhance your workings BUT I also feel that there is no reason I can’t worship lwa Papa Legba for my crossroads instead of Hecate and still hail Ra in the East every morning. If the particular service of Bawon Samedi with the drums and dance excite me and thrill my soul, why can’t I hold ceremony to him on his day and still draw down the moon once a month?
This is what I mean by my statement:
I feel there is one overseeing force/energy/deity in the universe. Some of the Gods and Goddesses are clearly archetypes. Aphrodite or Venus, it doesn’t really matter who you call on. Others like the lwa in Vodou traditions are NOT to be considered as such, they are actual spitits (not actual gods, since they are below the “Bondye” and intercede between) that exist. In this I kind of see them as the Goetic entities. They are messengers that can act independently to aid those who serve them.
Being still new to my “path” there is a lot I am unaware of and a lot of options open wide to me as a solitary practitioner. Being somewhat an intellectual, self knowledge and development are a strong interests, goals and aspirations. If I find it by a dedication to the darker arts in a Satanic ritual, then calling Mama Bridget and bargaining for her aid in a particular matter, and performing the LBRP daily all feel right to me and I get results then why not? I can still have an alter to Mama Bridget and have a relationship with her, as well as any other lwa I feel connected to but also worship Lugh in the proper time of year. I can have a relationship with these forces and spirits in the same way a Celtic Witch can have a relationship with Cernunnos, Alaunus, Nodens, Damara, Arianrhod, and Rhiannon. All are different entities, seperate in their realm of influence and their manner. The only thing linking them is a common cultural history.
By braking these bonds of culture and history, I am opening myself up to spirits and archetypal symbols that reflect my own individual soul and desires. It expands my ritual repertoire to include actions that light fires in my soul unlike any in one practice or another singly and thus help bring me CLOSER to communion with that ultimate higher energy in the universe. My belief in these spirits and archetypes remain constant as does my belief in that higher power. It’s only the methods I choose to reach and connect that vary out of a single tradition. I can form relationships with the few whom I serve and who serve me. There is my strength and my cohesion. I don’t need to follow Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, Wiccan, Judea-Christian pantheons individually to attain my spirituality.
It’s like a collage where tiny unrelated images fit together and make a larger complete image. And so in saying that, Hello, My name is Naufragio and I am an eclectic practitioner of the Magical Arts and I am not about to change.
Where do I begin on the greatest work of all time? To some, the great work involves K&C with the HGA. Perhaps I too shall one day meet mine, but not today. My great work involves a more left hand approach to my “salvation” and enlightenment.
I have come to the doorway of a great house. Once I step inside, I want to know which room to enter first. There are many and all need to be visited, from the dusty sun-striped attic to the dark, damp crevasses of the cellar. Each room holds a part of myself, good or bad, fearful or strong, a fun house where you never quite know what each step will bring to you. I am currently working on a map and a plan of action.
To know what rooms there are, I need to look deep into the mirror of my mind, heart and soul. I need to peek at just what it is that I’m afraid of and name each and every fear, weakness and folly, assigning them rooms of their own. I have to strain and glimpse those parts of me that are sitting in the dark, curled on the floor and hardly seen by the unaided eye. To these I will need to bring light and turn up the volume, no longer content to let them wither away in the corners, unseen and unheard.
During my visit I will laugh and dance, other times I will break down and cry but through it all my greatest hope is to feel. It is something I have hidden from and swallowed consciously and unconsciously for such a long time. I’m not cold, I’m not aloof, I’m afraid. So many things, so many times, so many people. It is time for me to be able to feel and do without being overwhelmed and overcome. It is time for me to know what pleasure is, it has been denied for far to long. It is time to know how to feel without it cutting like a knife. There is a balance I need to learn.
This is my new beginning… and ending. When I emerge, heck even as I navigate from room to room, I shall be forever changed.
So I’ve been reading this book, “Origin of Satan” which really is a historical/socio-political placement of the Gnostic texts and sprinkles in the “demonized” comparison of this group or that group, but I did find some very interesting passages from those Gnostic documents that kept ringing LHP to me. What do you think?
Gospel of Thomas Re: How should you find a path where YOU are before others in “the kingdom of God.” Sounds like within you is the answer here:
Jesus said, “If those who lead you say to you,’Lord, the kingdom is in the sky,’then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you,’It is in the sea,’then the fish will precede you.”
Also a state of self-discovery and the divine spark within?:
Rather, the kingdom is inside you, and is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living father.
Jesus said, “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”
Christians can dismiss these documents as false but the age of the documents are fairly accurate. The FACTS are that these ideas and thoughts are coming forth this early in the division of the Judaic society after the wars and around the same time as Christianity. Scholars argue that Thomas PREDATES the gospels of the New Testament. Could it be an actually more accurate representation?
For some time now I have been musing on the ideas of Left Hand and Right Hand Paths. If you look it up on wikipedia (NOT a great source by the way but one EVERYONE goes to first it seems) It gives you a glossy basic description. In short it comes down to this:
- Advancement of self vs. advancement of spirituality
- Seeking material or “terrestrial” goals vs. observance of strict moral codes of deprivation
- Becoming “akin” to Gods vs. blind faith and obedience to a higher power
- Exoteric- leading to flexible moral codes vs. Esoteric beliefs in divine retribution, karma, 3-fold law
- You are your salvation, here and now vs. belief in divine salvation for the worthy and damnation for others
The history given of the use of the terms is basic and incomplete and although mentions the Hindu Tantric history, doesn’t go deep enough into the concept of “Varma-Marga” (Left-Path) where there is a clear definition and not the watery connotation “Left-Hand Path” has developed in Western practice. It is an approach to and liberating force of spiritual awakening that dates back for over 2000 years.
Stephen Flowers in his book entitled “Lords of the Left Hand Path” describes the “criteria for becoming one of those Lords:
This first criterion will be seen to have four distinct elements: 1) Self-deification—attainment of an enlightened (or awakened), independently existing intellect and its relative immortality. 2) Individualism—the enlightened intellect is that of a given individual, not a collective body 3) Initiation—the enlightenment and strength of essence necessary for the desired state of evolution of self are attained by means of stages created by the will of the magician, not because he or she was “divine” to begin with. 4) Magic- practitioners of the left-hand path see themselves as using their own wills in a rationally intuited system or spiritual technology designed to cause the universe around them to conform to their self-willed patterns.
Initiation is through the deliberate violation of social and internal taboos to separate one from normal values and extend one’s experiences and expand one’s inner power and strength. It is about BECOMING. Becoming you to your full ability, awakening the unconscious within yourself and understanding what drives you. It is going against the orthodoxy which in itself is that heard mentality and not needing to think. I love the statement by the Schrecks in their book “Demons of the Flesh” :
“In this sense, the left hand path represents deliberate heresy against the dominant culture of the practitioner.”
It is seen as dangerous to social control and religious dogma and so has been frowned upon because it leads you to question, to explore, to reach into and beyond yourself and everything around you. Yes, it even is seen as “Evil” for these same reasons. I’m not saying that there aren’t other reasons that lead the left to be seen as the bad side. The classical world has long considered the left side as unlucky. In fact, there is a linguistic connection between the “left” and “sinister”. Long in the Arab world, the left hand would be used to wipe after deficating (since the right hand was the primarily dominant hand) and it would be discusting to eat or shake hands with that hand. The right hand was considered the “clean” and therefor more Godly hand.
As for the ultimate goal of the follower of a left hand path religion and how it differs from right hand followers, it is a matter of being or blending. The right hand follower believes that each individual will merge within the cosmic whole and become part of it. “All is one”. The Left hand believer however seeks to seperate themselves from the universal mish mash and stand above.
One of the control mechanisms which has been used on thetans is that when they rise in potential they are led to believe themselves one with the universe. This is distinctly untrue. Thetans are individuals. They do not, as they rise up the scale, merge with other individualities. They have the power of becoming anything they wish while still retaining their own individuality. They are first and foremost themselves. There is evidently no Nirvana. It is the feeling that one will merge and lose his own individuality that restrains the thetan from attempting to remedy his lot. His merging with the rest of the universe would be his becoming matter. This is the ultimate in cohesiveness and the ultimate in affinity, and is at the lowest point of the Tone Scale. One declines into a brotherhood with the universe. When he goes up scale, he becomes more and more an individual capable of creating and maintaining his own universe.
-L Ron Hubbard, Scientology 8-8008 ©1989
This “sinister current” as it is sometimes referred to seeks to evolve humanity to the next level and the next. Because of the individualistic nature, this path is not suited for everyone. It does not work well for those weak in character or fearful of confrontation in most cases. Everyone has a different disposition and nature. Then, of course, you have to be brave enough to break out of that heard animal mentality and question everything and confront it. Embrace life, your body, your environment, the world as the means to illumination.
Here is my own personal stumbling stone with the left hand path. I’m not sure I have the fortitude to persist and break those taboos that chain me to the ground and keep me from rising above. I’m not a confrontational person. Not that I’m not dangerous in my own right if angered, don’t think for a second that I’m a puff ball, but I know I will have roadblocks that will be difficult for me to pass through. I suppose if it were easy then the path would suit any namby pamby that wanted to come off as a “Baddy” to others. I know of many methods I want to try and actually have thought about crossing those lines many times before, just haven’t had the availability of assistance. I’ve long known that the only way to progress personally is to experience and push boundaries. Maybe I will fit in just fine.
