The Ancient Magic - Part 2

Magic and the Probationary Path

For the person who asked about the beginning stages of magic: it does not matter what term is used whether magic, mysticism, metaphysics and so on, the procedure is the same when it comes to genuine initiation.  The Probationary Path precedes the Path of Initiation or Holiness, and marks that period in your life when you definitely work on the side of the forces of evolution, and work at the building of your character, by bringing the elemental forces of fire, air, water and earth into balance.  

You would start off by making a rubric of the positive and negative qualities in your personality and then set about correcting the ones that are lacking or out of balance.  Once you realize which element is out of balance you then seek with diligence to bring your personality under control. The quality of the temperament revealed, that is, according to the predominant element, determiners the basis of your human character.

Once you have discovered where your weaknesses lie, you will begin building your light body with deliberate intent, filling any gaps that may exist, and seeking to make it a fit receptacle for the Christ consciousness which can then channel through your Higher Self.

The immortal destiny of each and all of us is to attain the consciousness of the Higher Self, and subsequently that of the Divine or Immortal Spirit. While you are on the Probationary Path you are taught principally to “know yourself” as was given by the Ancient Ones.

So every time a son or a daughter of man stands upon the threshold of the Probationary Path the Masters’ work is facilitated, for it means that one small stream of life energy is now able to be directed into new channels of higher light frequency, and away from the old stream which tended to feed the negative energy upon the planet and sustain the activity of the dark forces. Every time an initiate is admitted into the Planetary initiatory degrees, it means that a new and powerful agent is available for the bringing down of force from higher levels to aid in the work of integration and for the upliftment for humanity.

When you are a probationer, you receive a great deal of training without really recognizing it consciously. Fault tendencies are indicated to you as you seek to train yourself sincerely for world service, and the analysis of motive when truthfully undertaken, serves amazingly to lift you out of the emotional arena, and into that of the mind. It is in the mental world that the Masters are first contacted; they can only be sought in that manner.

All this time you will probably remain in ignorance of what has happened and you will be unaware of these subjective contacts. You do, however, recognize in yourself three things:

The First one being increased mental activity. This at first will give you much trouble, and you can actually wonder what is going on. You may feel as if you are losing control of your mind instead of gaining control of it but this is only a temporary condition and gradually you will achieve great control.

The second one is increased responsiveness to ideas about the plan of the Planetary Hierarchy. This will make you, if you have not balanced your personality, quite fanatical in the early stages. You may be continually swept away with new ideals, new modes of living, new dreams for race betterment and so on. You may take up with one organization after another, looking for the perfect plan to assist the ailing humanity. However, after a time you will regain your equilibrium, your poise, as you realize your planetary function.

The third one is increased psychic sensitiveness. This is both a side effect of the increased frequencies and at the same time a test. Do not be taken in by the allurement of the psychic powers; don’t be tempted to get off track from your service to the race and into the glamour of psychism and its use for egotistical purposes. As an aspirant, you have to grow in all parts of your nature, but until you can function as a soul-infused-personality, the lower psychic powers must be quiescent unless you wish to do yourself damage. The time will come when you have become more balanced and you will be able to use the powers correctly, but in their higher capacity, not in their lower.

Originally posted on my blog at http://www.MeditationPlusHealing.com

Building Blocks to Enlightenment

A most important part of any undertaking is a positive and trustworthy foundation. This is extremely important in spiritual efforts if you desire to reach the lofty heights. Gratitude, Patience, Humility, and Aspiration are the building blocks of this foundation.

Gratitude is indispensable since all we have and experience are these precious gifts of learning that can be utilized for our ascent. To be grateful for the pleasant and enjoyable things is rather easy, but there is the danger of forgetting the ultimate giver of a gift and that can be distracting.

Most people forget that the trials and tests of life are there to round out the personality, or polish the facets of the beautiful diamond that you are, and then prepare you for the soul merge. Gratitude for every trial and test, for all sufferings and disappointments, is most important in the school of life. Do not bemoan “Why did this happen to me?” At some level of your multi-dimensional being, you set up the test to try yourself and bring your weaknesses to light so they could be eradicated.

These experiences force you very definitely to find the Powers that Be to support and guide you at difficult times. They make you search earnestly for the knowledge about how to get through the test or trial as quickly as possible, and then point you safely to the goal.

The second building block is Patience. It re-enforces Gratitude and minimizes trials by proving them to be important steppingstones in the ascent. Since you are under no time-limit, patience can do its perfect work and awaits serenely for the developing results. Hand in hand with Gratitude, a firm foundation is started and reaches toward the third important point.

This point is Humility. It can be trusted to eliminate weakness and danger through attack because it cannot be deceived or hurt since it is immune to negative influences. It stands firm under pressure and has naught in common with destructive elements. Humility is the natural result of true Gratitude for everything that happens in your lifetime experiences. When it combines with Patience, it knows that right thought and right action always may be trusted to achieve its purpose.

The stimulating and exhilarating fourth building block is Aspiration, with its constant deep desire and earnest effort to support and strengthen the base of spiritual building, so that it may rise securely to those heights where all four points draw closer together in Divine Unity and form the final point of achievement as One with the All That is.

Seemingly slow progress need not concern you if you have laid the right foundation.  This foundation is your security. Eventually, the all-satisfying pinnacle is within reach and Aspiration will inspire you to reach towards enlightenment or Cosmic Consciousness.

This post was originally posted on my meditationplushealing website

For further information please see http://www.EsotericCollege.org

Spiritual Quote
Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it.
Bitterness paralyses life; love empowers it.
Bitterness sours life; love sweetens it.
Bitterness sickens life; love heals it.
Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.
Henry Emerson Fosdick

TESTS ON THE PATH

Some have asked why, when walking a metaphysical Path, that life seems to become a series of frustrations instead of being full of “love and light” as others proclaim. This depends purely on where one is situated on the ladder of evolution and the level of spiritual maturity that one has attained.

An aspirant’s advance is determined by how rapidly he can meet and conquer the forces of his own nature and by the speed with which he may be tested by the destructive elemental forces of the planet. If he manages to pass and conquer the first onset of these forces, he progresses rapidly. If, however, he does not manage to completely conquer the problem, he is tested again and again through the years until he feels he is beset by troubles and frustrations, as indeed he is. He is tested until he overcomes the problem. It is similar to passing a test at school to see if the student is fit enough to go up to the next grade.

The greatest test on the Path is usually one of doubt. If doubt can be cast aside as he strides forward, he will find the reality of the Path, and his resolve will be strengthened. He does not fight because there is no need to fight; he sees beyond the physical. But if he is overcome by doubt, then faith flies out the window, and his struggle can become quite intense as he searches for meaning in his life.

The next greatest test is personal love. Love must become purely unconditional. This is one of the hardest tests along the Path. When a man turns his face to the solitary Path of Discipleship, and he does not do that unless he had heard the call, he must leave behind the mortal ties that bind him to Earth. This does not mean to say that he must leave those he loves but that he must cease to lean upon them or to rely on them. So it becomes that he walks with his loved ones, assisting them through the earth plane phase of their journey, instead of dominating or trying to posses them.

His focus of interest must change, and the one dominating purpose of life, the fulfillment of Universal Law, must order his thought. As he continues to practice unconditional love in all his earthly affairs, he will naturally become more unselfish as he gives all and seeks nothing in return. This also is a hard test and naturally changes his point of view. No longer does he feel that he has the right to posses; indeed, he feels it a privilege to love, to give and to serve. This is the spiritual meaning of the vow of poverty. It does not mean giving away all your earthly goods; it means not having an attachment to them because they are only transient. They are not the things you can take when you pass through the veil. The only thing you can take with you is love. Love is an energy—not an emotion.

Another test on the Path is that of anger or hatred. The disciple must learn to receive betrayal or injustice without anger or hatred; to do so merely causes an imbalance in his energies. It should not be his concern what others may do to him for the Law has its own way of working out and will bring justice to all concerned. What matters most of all is whether attacks by destructive forces through human vehicles can stir destructive forces within him. It matters not about the attitude of others towards him; it is his attitude to others that determines his progress. You only have to look at the great Ones to see how they handled their lives.

We live in difficult times, faced with uncertain circumstances, so live and enjoy each moment that you have.

In relating this short discourse, I am sticking to the dictum of using the masculine gender for both personalities to save the tiresome repetition of constantly writing his/hers, she/he, him/her, man/woman etc.

THE MAGIC OF MERLIN CLASS UPDATE

The Magic of Merlin Class was a huge success. A lot of information about the true identity of Merlin was channelled through and some of the strangeness about the mystery surrounding Merlin was explained in a manner that modern students could understand. This information was relevant and was in agreement with the teachings of the Sirian Mystery School.

The true meaning of some of the tarot cards also came to light; especially the Magician, and the Fool. We discovered that Merlin played the part of both Magician and Fool. The Path of High Magic represented by the two Paths leading from Kether on the Tree of Life.

We also noted his association with the Goddess energy, also represented on the glyph of the Tree of Life in the form of the Empress and the High Priestess, and noted the association between the polarities of wisdom and folly signified by the Empress being balanced by the High Priestess as she sits on the Pillar of Equilibrium.

Everyone had a great visual experience as we pulled down the "Globes of Light" and errected the psychic barrier to strengthen the merkabah before invoking the dragons. Everyone could perceive the dragons as they came forward quite readily, and full of curiosity during the dragon attunement and the meditation that followed.

The Celtic symbols we were given for the Merlin Master attunement were exceedingly powerful healing symbols and everyone enjoyed giving and receiving a treatment.

We then enchanted the wands I made to make them "magical wands." Everyone enjoyed using the wands as part of the healing process as well.

Overall, itwas a great day, and we managed to take some photos showing the spirit guides in the aura.

The wand on the left is before enchanting - the wand on the right is after enchanting.

http://EsotericCollege.org

THE MAGIC OF MERLIN CLASS

On Sunday, 12th November, I will be running a Magic of Merlin Class where we will be considering Merlin's association with certain key Tarot cards, the Magician and the Fool. The Magician Trump shows the mastery of the four elements, while the Trump of the Fool, if you are on a deep metaphysical path, shows an allegory of magical power. The beautifully turned out figure steps, not blindly, but knowingly to where he wishes to go. The Fool is the essence of magic, its actual power; while the magician is aware that every act is a magical act. Possessing that knowledge separates him from his ordinary peers.

We will also be considering the analogies between the four elemental principles of fire, air, water and earth. Another allegory we will be considering is that of the Garden of Eden. This allegory is graphically illustrated on the Trump of the Lovers.

The course is a very practical one and we will be experimenting with many magical powers, such as pulling down globes of light, and erecting psychic barriers.

This will allow us to make a connection to those magical, mystical creatures, the dragons. Dragons are real, and make excellent guardians and friends and can communicate telepathically. So we will be using a meditation to call forth the dragons from their lair.

There will also be an attunement to Celtic Druidism so that the Celtic symbols can be used in a healing manner while creating an enchanted story. The symbols are magically powerful.

We will also be looking at Merlin's association with the Tarot Trumps of the High priestess and the Empress and how the Goddess energy signifies both wisdom and folly. Druids were great respecters of Mother Nature and enjoyed her many gifts and blessings. We can do the same in this day and age.

I have made Druid Wands for the course and we will be enchanting them to make them magically powerful. They can be used in ceremonies, for activating symbols and runes, for charging water or for channelling the vital life force. Their uses are many and varied.

In my next blog I will give some examples of our experiments.

SYMBOLS AND ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS

I would like to give you some information on how symbols may be used in mystical exercises and how the symbol may serve as an instrument in the technique of initiation. The aim of all initiation is the integration of an entity’s personality and the elevation of consciousness. There are techniques that assist an integration and elevation of consciousness and how it may be facilitated. At all times since humankind has been on the planet the symbol has served as a powerful tool in that technique. Consider it now from that viewpoint.

The subconscious mind, when permitted to speak through the personality, will express itself in the language of symbols during dreams, visions, or psychic experiences. Such symbols will always emerge spontaneously and unannounced. Usually they will appear quietly, almost casually; at other times, they erupt into consciousness with great force. Most of them are enigmatical and possess multiple meanings. This is one of the many ways the Higher Self has of getting information through to the conscious mind.

These images or symbols must be extensively contemplated, their hidden meaning deciphered, until their concealed message has been comprehended and understood.

But the converse aspect of the situation is of importance also. Inasmuch as the symbol is the language of the subconscious mind, it is also the language which this mind can understand and by means of which it may be reached. Thus, symbols may affect the subconscious mind and arouse it into activity. When used in this manner, the symbol may serve as a powerful tool to stimulate the subconscious mind. Sometimes information will come into the subjective mind, which seems to lie between the subconscious and conscious minds, and this information can then be retrieved through the process of meditation.

It follows that a consideration of the use of symbols in meditation has two aspects: first, the action of symbols upon the subjective mind; second, the proper assimilation of those symbols, which emerge from the subjective or subconscious mind.

Consider the first. It is well known that symbols may be used to awaken realizations that lie dormant within the subjective mind. A Neophyte of the ancient mystical initiation was provided with a symbol and required to contemplate it in solitude, in silence. During a state of contemplation, the objective mind of the candidate was subdued and the subjective mind made receptive to inconiing impressions. Contemplation of the symbol exerted an influence upon the subjective mind through association and suggestion.

Inasmuch as the subjective mind reasons deductively only, the chain of associations awakened by the symbol through resonance stirs into action certain forces, and may arouse ideas or realizations that have lain dormant for several incarnations.

However, in order to unfold, and this is of great importance in modern day meditative training, the seeds of such realization must already have been sown, perhaps in previous incarnations.

Barren soil cannot give growth to rich fruit. Symbols can only reawaken that which is lying asleep. For every mind there will exist certain symbols that will not evoke any response. When this occurs, the effect of a symbol is not that of reawakening, it is the beginning of a new acquaintanceship. In this event, the symbol—so to speak—sows the seeds which may take some time to mature.

Those meditators who have trouble perceiving the required symbols in meditation are therefore asked to consider that they may have to ponder the given symbol for a longer period of time to allow resonance to build and the mind to accept the new information.

A powerful ancient traditional method of permitting a symbol to penetrate required the meditator to draw or paint a prescribed set of symbols with most painstaking care, and to do so in color. This activity forced the symbol to impress itself profoundly upon the subjective mind, and drew it into active participation. In ancient times symbols were also painted upon temple walls or were made part of the architecture. Intensive contemplation upon a symbol enables it to become effective. The ancient mystical philosophers knew this well.

By following the Ancient Wisdom, the method to be used in order to make a given symbol effective should now be patently obvious. First, the student should draw and colour the relevant symbol or symbolss, and do so with most painstaking care, so that the meaning may be absorbed during that preparation time. The symbols thus prepared must then be contemplated: Only ponder one symbol at a time until each symbol has activated.

The student must assume a borderline state or an altered state, simultaneously opening his mind to the power of the symbol. He must be patient. He must permit the symbol to speak to his inner self. Such exercises when faithfully pursued will reap their ultimate reward. Meditation will not be hurried, regardless of whether the student thinks that the symbol should appear rapidly or not.

Next, consider the second aspect of the usefulness of symbols; namely, the permitting of symbols to arise from the subjective mind or even the subconscious mind. The technique of properly accomplishing this is the subject matter of much deeper esoteric instruction which will not be elaborated upon here, except to add a few comments.

All students of mysticism know that during what is known as a borderline state, or an altered state of consciousness, the subjective mind will reveal its symbolic messages as visions or as psychic experiences. Such symbolic messages generally belong to two classes; their nature may be impersonal and reveal a universal law or cosmic truth, or a universal symbol that has been instructed by the teacher of meditation. Or, on the other hand, they may emerge to convey a personal message, relevant to the student's psychic development, for the purpose of guidance.

In each and every case the symbolical message will be cryptic, and it must be deciphered through extensive meditation and contemplation. When finally the symbol has been properly understood and assimilated, then it must be made to react upon the subjective mind and evoke from it a subsequent message.

Permitting the subjective mind to speak, interpreting its symbolical message, and finally allowing the symbol to react upon the subjective mind, results in a state of harmonious cooperation between man's two minds, resulting in an expansion of consciousness and a state of happiness.

The ability of any particular symbol to evoke a response depends largely upon the mental attitude and spiritual maturity of the observer. Any sign may transform into a symbol, provided its observer is in a receptive state of mind. Of this important fact the mystical philosophers were fully aware. The traditional ceremonies of initiation contain elaborate formulae for the express purpose of placing the Neophyte into a receptive state of mind during which the proffered signs could undergo a psychological metamorphosis into mystical symbols.

Only a mind possessed of a firm conviction that life possesses a deeper meaning than that exhibited by external appearances can be receptive to such stimulation. To such a mind, the physical world is like a cloak that covers a hidden treasure. A candidate for esoteric initiation must undergo extensive training to open his mind to this fundamental realization. On the other hand, the mind of one to whom appearance is reality, and to whom there is no distinction between shadow and substance, will be insensitive to the power of the symbol. A mind that functions rationally only will receive only intellectual stimulation from a symbol. The symbol, if sufficiently arresting, may evoke an intellectual or an aesthetic response, if it stimulates at all.

It follows that a given symbol may induce different reactions: it may appear alive to one person, it may be dead to another. Its influence will depend upon the onlooker's attitude toward life. But even then the symbol will evoke no response if there are no seeds that can unfold and mature.

The effectiveness of a symbol depends also upon its universality. Certain symbols seem to affect practically everyone. They contain a basic common denominator, essentially unconscious. They represent a universal human experience, an experience shared and comprehended alike by everyone, formulated in a most evolved, differentiated expression.

A mystical symbol is a living symbol. Symbols are fundamental tools in practical mysticism. The subjective mind speaks in symbols; symbols speak to the subjective mind. The proper use of the symbol facilitates a cooperation between man's two minds and enables him to attain a state of balance or perfect harmony.

Contemplation and meditation, when applied to symbols, serve a dual purpose. a) they permit the symbols to emerge and b) they permit them to act within provided a receptive attitude is maintained in an altered state of consciousness.

NB Tarot Image from "Wheel of the Year" Tarot Deck from Tarotopia.