“To be initiated, in the magical sense of the word is to recognize that you are moving through a threshold of change – that you are in a period of transition. The key to understanding initiation is recognizing consciously what is happening, rather than simply wondering what the hell’s going on. For many magicians and pagans, the recognition of moving into a period of initiation is marked by a ritual or magical retirement. Thus in this context, an Initiate is someone who is intensely aware of his or her condition, and is surfing the crest of the wave, rather than struggling to hold it back. Initiation is a time of letting go. It is a time of ‘loosening up’ – when habits, beliefs, attitudes and self-identifications suddenly (or gradually) seem to be less concrete than they were previously. One’s grip on ‘normality’ may be temporarily lost, only to be eventually (one hopes) regained, but not quite the same as it what before. Dealing with this loss of certainty, and the necessary confrontation with self, can be difficult at times. Some never manage to go the distance, and instead opt for fantasies wherein they are mighty adepts rather than simply accepting their own humanity, which necessitates a degree of humility, to say the least.”
— Prime Chaos: Adventures in Chaos Magic, Phil Hine
“The esoteric system is all based upon the ultimate motive. Ultimate motive is the service of truth itself, a complete dedication to the service of the realities of existence.”
“The Traditional Craft is the Nameless Way of the Arte Magical. It is the Path of Wytcha, the heart’s calling of avocation to Cunning Man and Wise Woman; it is the Hidden Circle of Initiates constituting the living body of the Elder Faith. Its ritual is the Sabbat of Dream-made-Flesh. Its mystery lies in the Land, below the feet of Those who tread the crooked track of Elphame. Its scripture is the way of wort-cunning and Beast-charming, the treasury of lore re-membered by Those who revere the Spirits; it is the gramarye of ear-whispered knowledge, beloved of Those who hold sacred the secrets of the dead and entrusted to They who look ever onward… If any ask about the Traditional Craft, their answers lie in its native land: the Circle of the Arte of Artes!”
– Andrew D. Chumbley, What is the Traditional Craft?
“Magic in its earliest form is often referred to as The Arte. I believe this is completely literal… Indeed to cast a spell is simply to spell, to manipulate words, to change people’s consciousness…. In latter times I believe artists and writers have allowed themselves to be sold down the river. They have accepted the prevailing belief that art and writing are merely forms of entertainment… they’re not seen as transformative forces that can change a human being… they are seen as simple entertainment. Things with which we can fill twenty minutes, half an hour, while we’re waiting to die.”
– Alan Moore
“Within every man and woman is a force that directs and controls the entire course of life. Properly used, it can heal every affliction and ailment we may have.”
“Everybody has a little bit of the sun and moon in them. Everybody has a little bit of man, woman, and animal in them. Darks and lights in them. Everyone is part of a connected cosmic system. Part earth and sea, wind and fire, with some salt and dust swimming in them. We have a universe within ourselves that mimics the universe outside. None of us are just black or white, or never wrong and always right. No one. No one exists without polarities. Everybody has good and bad forces working with them, against them, and within them.
“An old alchemist gave the following consolation to one of his disciples: “No matter how isolated you are and how lonely you feel, if you do your work truly and conscientiously, unknown friends will come and seek you.”
And the exploration of yet another Tunnel of Set ends.
There is this funny thing that happens to me with magick. No matter how long I’ve been into it and even into this work of exploring the Tunnels of Set one-by-one, there are moments in which my skeptical self takes control and thinks “Maybe it was all a coincidence and the visions were meaningless. Probably nothing more is going to happen”. Then reality kicks my ass and something huge turns my life upside down again.
Like meeting a fascinating existence that shouldn’t be alive to begin with. And this event had perfectly synchronized with the Characith working.
I also suspect when this all ends I won’t even be living in my country anymore. And probably with 7 tunnels remaining I can’t begin to suspect how different my life will be when it all ends.
I would get personal but I don’t like getting personal through words in Tumblr. I prefer the subtleness of the images and reblogs. Its more comfortable and it lets me express myself deeper, even though it looks like I’m not saying anything very specific.
In Characith I learnt a bit more on how magick works and on how reality reacts to your innermost beliefs about it. If I want my music to go anywhere I have to believe I am a musician, and to do it deep enough that I become unconscious of such belief, “its just who I am” (then again, is such a belief worth burying in the unconscious?). And the same goes with any other aim. Yet there remains the really important question here, and I guess this might be related to the Zamradiel tunnel I am now opening. Which aims are really worth? Aren’t personal aims sort of wasting the potential of magick? I need to re-learn how to think big. In the end sometimes it feels like magick flows stronger when your vision gets wider and your aims become more relevant not just to your petty desires but to the society and culture you’re living in.
Occult Aspects 