Initiation Into Hermetics
Summary of Exercises of Step VI
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- Step VII Magic Mental Training (VII)
| Summary of Exercises of Step VI I. Magic Mental Training: 1. Meditation on the own spirit 2. Becoming conscious of the senses in the spirit II. Magic Psychic Training: 1. Preparation to master the akasa principle 2. Deliberate induction to trance with the help of the akasa 3. Mastering of the elements with the help of an individual ritual from the akasa III. Magic Physical Training: 1. Deliberate creation of beings a. Elementals b. Larvae c. Phantasms (shadows) d. Phantoms End of Step VI Step VII Magic Mental Training (VII) In Step VI the scholar learned to become conscious of the own spirit, to act deliberately in the body as a spirit and also to use his senses consciously. In this stage he will consciously pursue the properties of the spirit or of the mental body, and use them as well. Here, of course, just like anywhere else, the analogy of the elements is to be considered. It has been mentioned before that the fire element can be transformed into light and conversely. Without light there would never be any reception of color for the eyes; consequently, we could not sue our eyes without the existence of light. From this point of view, it is quite obvious that the sense of visual perception is analogous to the fire element. This element, related to the spirit, shows a specific property of the Will. The mental property belonging to the air element is the intellect with all its aspects, and it is imputed to the hearing. The water element of the spirit is expressed in the feeling or life. These three elements of the spirit, fire, air and water together produce the earth principle of the spirit, which shows itself in the specific quality of consciousness. The akasa principle, in its simplest form expresses itself as conscience. The magician will at once understand the great importance of this analogy if he has already developed so far as to achieve the magical equilibrium in the astral body by means of introspection. The next ask he will be asked to fulfill is to analyze his spirit and to find out which of the elements is predominant in his spirit. In the case of people having a very strong will, which does not mean stubbornness, the fire element will of course be predominant in his spirit. If the intellect or the intelligence with all its aspects is prevailing in the magician’s spirit, the element of air is supposed to be the stronger one. In case the magician should be above all an emotional character, the water element will play the main part in him. If he has a weak memory, the consciousness will be affected very often, and one can take it for granted that the prevailing element is that of the earth. This classification serves to establish the efficiency of the elements in the spirit and to arrange the development so that the weaker elements are balanced by suitable concentration exercises and deep meditation. The magician must neither allow the fire principle, nor the water, air or earth to prevail, and has to know how to classify his exercises in such a manner that the intensity of his work will neutralize the elements. Let me explain this problem in detail in the light of an example. Suppose the magician’s intellect to be on a very high level, his will being weak and not quite up to the maturity of his intellect; then he must try to strengthen his volition by suitable concentration exercises that bring out the fire principle in the spirit. He should mainly select exercises that train the eyes, exercises of optic imagination, considering that the eye corresponds to the fire element. But if the magician has a strong will and a weak intellect, we shall come to the conclusion that he has to give his keenest attention to the hearing by imagination exercises, i.e., he has to choose concentration and meditation exercises that fully engage the ear. Should the magician own a strong will and a very good intellect, but his emotional life or his feelings somehow lag behind, then he will have to render his spirit more emotional, which he can accomplish through such imagination and meditation exercises that influence the feeling very strongly. If the magician notices that his astral body as well as his mental body incline mainly toward the earth element, which is to say that his thoughts come very slowly in his spirit and that he gets depressed, that indicates that the earth element prevails and that first of all he must train his consciousness with the help of suitable exercises. The magician has to develop his spirit to perfect harmony with regard to the elements, and to choose exercises corresponding to the elements and at the same time to the senses, so that the will or volition (fire), the intellect (air), the feeling (water) and consciousness (earth) are enhanced and developed evenly. The outcome of this description is the following schedule which I will quote for the sake of a synopsis: Element: Fire Air Water Earth Akasa Sense: Eyes Ears Perception Taste/Smell All in all Quality: Will Intellect Feeling Consciousness Conscience Exercise: Optic Acoustic Emotional Expand consc. Realization The akasa principle developing from concentration, there is no need of descending to particulars. It is also superfluous to quote single exercises of concentration and meditation, according to the specific qualities of the elements prevailing in him; the scholar can easily compile them. He will select imaginations of objects, pictures, etc., for his concentration exercises if he has a weak will. After all, he went through these exercises already in Step II of this course. The above harmony schedule is a signpost, so to speak, a compass to find out which element is preponderant and which exercise has to be taken up more intensely. As a result of success with this hermetic classification, the akasa principle will reveal itself to him. Download 0.49 Mb. Share with your friends:
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