[from http://www.egroups.com/files/occultism/OCCULTISM+%28GENERAL%29/crowleymitap.html repeated here for a discussion of its pertinent content.] The text below is from a 1976 edition of Crowley's "Magick in Theory and Practice", Part Three of the Big Blue Brick, and it is particularly suited to the general occultist unfamiliar with his work and uninterested in his mysticism and religion. It would also be attractive to those new to occultism who want to break into Crowley without trying to grapple with his abstruse philosophic and religious terminology (which is omitted here for clarity and because it does not relate to the basics of conventional occultism, regardless to what lengths the author may go to justify it). The sections into which these excerpts are divided do not exactly correspond with the topic headings selected by Crowley and/or his editors, Leila B. Waddell (Soror Agatha) and Mary Butts (Soror Rhodon). They include a small GENERAL comment about how a magician ought treat hir tools, followed by selections on THE BLOODY SACRIFICE, PURIFICATION, CONSECRATION, THE MAGICAL LINK, PROCLAMATIONS, INVOCATION, DIVINATION, ALCHEMY, and BLACK MAGIC. I've _bolded_ and *italicized* what was originally so in the 1976 Dover edition and placed Crowley's notes into CAPITALS within the text below. ___________________________________________________________________ GENERAL _the attitude of the magician to his weapons should be that of the God to the suppliant who invokes Him. It should be the love of the father for his child, the tenderness and care of the bridegroom for his bride, and that peculiar feeling which the creator of every work of art feels for his masterpiece._ Page 66 ___________________________________________________________________ BLOODY SACRIFICE ..._it was the theory of the ancient Magicians, that any living being is a storehouse of energy varying in quantity according to its mental and moral character._ At the death of the animal this energy is liberated suddenly. The animal should therefore be killed within the Circle, or the Triangle, as the case may be, so that its energy cannot escape. An animal should be selected whose nature accords with that of the ceremony.... Pages 94-5 ____________________________________________________ For evocations it would be more convenient to place the blood of the victim in the Triangle -- the idea being that the spirit might obtain from the blood this subtle but physical substance which was the quintessence of its life in such a manner as to enable it to take on a visible and tangible shape. _Those magicians who object to the use of blood have endeavored to replace it with incense._ For such a purpose the incense of Abramelin may be burnt in large quantities. Dittany of Crete is also a valuable medium. Both these incenses are very catholic in their nature, and suitable for almost any materialization. _But the bloody sacrifice, though more dangerous, is more efficacious;_ and for nearly all purposes human sacrifice is the best. The truly great Magician will be able to use his own blood, or possibly that of a disciple, and that without sacrificing the physical life irrevocably. Page 96 ____________________________________________________ The practical details of the Bloody Sacrifice may be studied in various ethnological manuals, but the general conclusions are summed up in Frazer's "Golden Bough", which is strongly recommended to the reader. Actual ceremonial details likewise may be left to experiment. The method of killing is practically uniform. The animal should be stabbed to the heart, or its throat severed, in either case by the knife. All other methods of killing are less efficacious.... [NOTE: YET ONE MIGHT DEVISE METHODS OF EXECUTION APPROPRIATE TO THE WEAPONS: STABBING OR CLUBBING FOR THE LANCE OR WAND, DROWNING OR POISONING FOR THE CUP, BEHEADING FOR THE SWORD, CRUSHING FOR THE DISK, BURNING FOR THE LAMP, AND SO FORTH.] One may remark that warm-blooded animals only are used as victims.... One word of warning is perhaps necessary for the beginner. The victim must be in perfect health -- or its energy may be as it were poisoned. It must also not be too large: the amount of energy disengaged is almost unimaginably great, and out of all anticipated proportion to the strength of the animal. Consequently, the Magician may easily be overwhelmed and obsessed by the force which he has let loose; it will then probably manifest itself in its lowest and most objectionable form. _The most intense spirituality of purpose_ [NOTE: THIS IS A MATTER OF CONCENTRATION, WITH NO ETHICAL IMPLICATION. THE DANGER IS THAT MAY GET SOMETHING WHICH ONE DOES NOT WANT. THIS IS "BAD" BY DEFINITION. NOTHING IS IN ITSELF GOOD OR EVIL.] _is absolutely essential to safety._ ...If you are easily disturbed or alarmed, or if you have not yet overcome the tendency of the mind to wander, it is not advisable for you to perform the *Bloody Sacrifice*. You are ... likely to get into trouble over this chapter unless you truly comprehend its meaning. Pages 98-100 ___________________________________________________________________ PURIFICATION _The first task of the Magician in every ceremony is... to render his Circle absolutely impregnable._ .... The Magician must... take the utmost care in the matter of purification, *firstly*, of himself, *secondly*, of his instruments, *thirdly*, of the place of the working.... It is ceremonially desirable to seal and affirm... {a} mental purity by Ritual, and accordingly the first operation in any actual ceremony is bathing and robing, with appropriate words. The bath signifies the removal of all things extraneous or antagonistic to the one thought. The putting on of the robe is the positive side of the same operation. It is the assumption of the frame of mind suitable to that one thought. A similar operation takes place in the preparation of every instrument.... In the preparation of the place of working, the same considerations apply. We first remove from that place all objects; and we then put into it those objects, and only those objects, which are necessary. ... At the conclusion [of this preparation], it is usually well to pause for a few moments, and to make sure once more that every thing necessary to the ceremony is in its right place. The Magician may then proceed to the final consecration of the furniture of the Temple. [NOTE: THAT IS, OF THE SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE FURNITURE....] Pages 101-105 ___________________________________________________________________ CONSECRATION _Consecration is the active dedication of a thing to a single purpose._ ... _The method of consecration is very simple. Take the wand, or the holy oil, and draw upon the object to be consecrated the supreme symbol of the force to which you dedicate it._ Pages 106-107 ___________________________________________________________________ THE MAGICAL LINK It is... absurd to invoke the spirit of Venus to procure us the love of an Empress, unless we take measures to transmit the influence of our work to the lady. We may for example consecrate a letter expressing our Will; or, if we know how, we may use some object connected with the person whose acts we are attempting to control, such as a lock of hair or a handkerchief once belonging to her, and so in subtle connection with her aura. But for material ends it is better to have material means.... Our talisman must... be an object suitable to the nature of the Operation, and we must have some such means of applying its force to such a way as will naturally compel the obedience of the portion of Nature which we are trying to change. Pages 113-114 ____________________________________________________ The Magical Link may be classified under three main heads; as it involves (1) one plane and one person, (2) one plane and two or more persons, (3) two planes. In class (1) the machinery of Magick -- the instrument -- already exists. Thus I may wish to heal my own body, increase my own energy; develop my own mental powers, or inspire my own imagination.... It is only necessary to inflame the Will to the proper pitch and to issue its commands; they are instantly obeyed, unless -- as in the case of organic disease -- the apparatus is damaged beyond the art of Nature to repair. It may be necessary in such a case to assist the internal "spirits" by the "purification" of medicines, the "banishing" of diet, or some other extraneous means. But at least there is no need of any special device *ad hoc* to effect contact between the Circle and the Triangle.... The second class includes all operations by which the Magician strives to impose his Will upon objects outside his own control but within that of such other wills as are symbolised by means of a system similar to his own. That is, they can be compelled naturally by cognate consciousness. For instance, one may wish to obtain the knowledge put forth in this book. Not knowing that such a book exists, one might yet induce some one who knows of it to offer a copy. Thus one's operation would consist in inflaming one's Will to possess the knowledge to the point of devoting one's life to it, in expressing that will by seeking out people who seem likely to know what is needed, and in imposing it on them by exhibiting such enthusiastic earnestness that they will tell the enquirer that this book will meet his needs. ... But the above practical programme might be a fiasco. One might then resort to Magick in the conventional sense of the word, by constructing and charging a Pantacle appropriate to the object; this Pantacle should then cause a strain in the Astral Light such that the vibrations would compel some alien consciousness to restore equilibrium by bringing the book. Suppose a severer and more serious aim; suppose that I wish to win a woman who dislikes me and loves somebody else. In this case, not only her Will, but her lover's must be overcome by my own. I have no direct control of either. But my Will is in touch with the woman's by means of our minds; I have only to make my mind the master of hers by the existing means of communication; her mind will then present its recantation to her Will, her Will repeal its decision, and her body submit to mine as the seal of her surrender. Here the Magical Link exists; only it is complex instead of simple as in the First Class. There is opportunity for all kinds of error in the transmission of the Will; misunderstanding may mar the matter; a mood may make mischief; external events may interfere; the lover may match me in Magick; the Operation itself may offend Nature in many ways; for instance, if there is a subconscious incompatibility between myself and the woman, I deceive myself into thinking that I desire her. Such a flaw is enough to bring the whole operation to naught, just as no effort of Will can make oil mix with water. I may work "naturally" by wooing, of course.... The Third Class is characterized by the absence of any existing link between the Will of the Magician and that controlling the object to be affected. (The Second Class may approximate to the Third when there is no possibility of approaching the second mind by normal means, as sometimes happens).... All such Magick demands the utmost precision in practice. It is true that the best rituals give us instructions in selecting our vehicles of force. In 777 [Crowley's proferred correspondence system] we find "correspondences" of many classes of being with the various types of operation, so that we know what weapons, jewels, figures, drugs, perfumes, names, etc. to employ in any particular work. But it has always been assumed that the invoked force is intelligent and competent, that it will direct itself as desired without further ado, by this method of sympathetic vibrations. The necessity of timing the force has been ignored; and so most operations, even when well performed as far as invocation goes, are as harmless as igniting loose gun powder. But, even allowing that Will is sufficient to determine the direction, and prevent the dispersion of the force, we can hardly be sure that it will act on its object, unless that object be properly prepared to receive it. The Link must be perfectly made. The object must possess in itself a sufficiency of stuff sympathetic to our work. We cannot make love to a brick, or set an oak to run errands.... There is thus some justification for the assumption of previous writers on Magick that the Link is implicit, and needs no special attention. Yet, in practice, there is nothing more certain than that one ought to confirm one's will by all possible acts on all possible planes. The ceremony must not be confined to the formally magical rites. We must neglect no means to our end, neither despising our common sense, nor doubting our secret wisdom.... Pages 116-122 ___________________________________________________________________ PROCLAMATIONS The third operation in any magical ceremony is the oath or proclamation. The Magician, armed and ready, stands in the centre of the Circle, and strikes once upon the bell as if to call the attention of the Universe. He then declares "who he is", reciting his magical history by the proclamation of the grades which he has attained, giving the signs and words of those grades. [NOTE: THIS IS NOT MERELY TO PROVE HIMSELF A PERSON IN AUTHORITY. IT IS TO TRACE THE CHAIN OF CAUSES THAT HAVE LED TO THE PRESENT POSITION, SO THAT THE OPERATION IS SEEN AS KARMA.] ...He consequently pauses to cast a last glance around the Temple to assure himself of the perfect readiness of all things necessary, and to light the incense.... The Oath is the foundation of all Work in Magick, as it is an affirmation of the Will. An Oath binds the Magician for ever.... ...unity of purpose... is essential above all else. Pages 124-125 ___________________________________________________________________ INVOCATION In the straightforward or "Protestant" system of Magick there is very little to add to what has already been said. The Magician addresses a direct petition to the Being invoked. But the secret of success in invocation has not hitherto been disclosed. It is an exceedingly simple one. It is practically of no importance whatever that the invocation should be "right". There are a thousand different ways of compassing the end proposed, so far as external things are concerned. The whole secret may be summarised in these four words: "Enflame thyself in praying." The mind must be exalted until it loses consciousness of self. The Magician must be carried forward blindly by a force which, though in him and of him, is by no means that which he in his normal state of consciousness calls I. Just as the poet, the lover, the artist, is carried out of himself in a creative frenzy, so must it be for the Magician. It is impossible to lay down rules for the obtaining of this special stimulus. To one the mystery of the whole ceremony may appeal; another may be moved by the strangeness of the words, even by the fact that the "barbarous names" are unintelligible to him. Some times in the course of a ceremony the true meaning of some barbarous name that has hitherto baffled his analysis may flash upon him, luminous and splendid, so that he is caught up unto orgasm. The smell of a particular incense may excite him effectively, or perhaps the physical ecstasy of the magick dance. _Every Magician must compose his ceremony in such a manner as to produce a dramatic climax. At the moment when the excitement becomes ungovernable, when then the whole conscious being of the Magician undergoes a spiritual spasm, at that moment must he utter the supreme adjuration._ One very effective method is to stop short, by a supreme effort of will, again and again, on the very brink of that spasm, until a time arrives when the idea of exercising that will fails to occur. [NOTE: THIS FORGETFULNESS MUST BE COMPLETE; IT IS FATAL TO TRY TO 'LET ONESELF GO' CONSCIOUSLY.] _Inhibition is no longer possible or even thinkable, and the whole being of the Magician, no minutest atom saying nay, is irresistibly flung forth. In blinding light, amid the roar of ten thousand thunders, the Union of God and man is consummated._ ... _The subsequent invocations, the gradual development and materialization of the force, require no effort._ It is one great mistake of the beginner to concentrate his force upon the actual stated purpose of the ceremony. This mistake is the most frequent cause of failures in invocation. Pages 129-130 ____________________________________________________ ..._every object soever is a talisman_ for the definition of a talisman is: something upon which an act of will (that is, of Magick) has been performed in order to fit it for a purpose. Repeated acts of will in respect of any object consecrate it without further ado. ... It is, of course, very important to keep such an abject away from the contact of the profane. It is instinctive not to let another person use one's fishing rod or one's gun. It is not that they could do any harm in a material sense. It is the feeling that one's use of these things has consecrated them to one's self. Pages 136-137 ____________________________________________________ After a ceremony has reached its climax, anti-climax must inevitably follow. But if the ceremony has been successful this anti-climax is merely formal. ... Page 139 ___________________________________________________________________ DIVINATION At every stage of a Magical Operation it is necessary to know what one is doing, and to be sure that one is acting wisely. _Acute sensitiveness is always associated with genius;_ the power to perceive the universe accurately, to analyse, coordinate, and judge impressions is the foundation of all great Work.... It is therefore useful to possess an art by which one can obtain at a moment's notice any information that may be necessary. This art is divination. The answers to one's questions in divination are not conveyed directly but through the medium of a suitable series of symbols. These symbols must be interpreted by the diviner in terms of his problem. It is not practicable to construct a lexicon in which the solution of every difficulty is given in so many words. It would be unwieldy; besides, nature does not happen to work on those lines. The theory of any process of divination may be stated in a few simple terms. 1. We postulate the existence of intelligences, either within or without the diviner, of which he is not immediately conscious. (It does not matter to the theory whether the communicating spirit so-called is an objective entity or a concealed portion of the diviner's mind.) We assume that such intelligences are able to reply correctly -- within limits -- to the questions asked. 2. We postulate that it is possible to construct a compendium of hieroglyphs sufficiently elastic in meaning to include every possible idea, and that one or more of these may always be taken to represent any idea. We assume that any of these hieroglyphics will be understood by the intelligences with whom we wish to communicate in the same sense as it is by ourselves. We have therefore a sort of language. [An] analogy [can be made] between the conventional signs and symbols employed by mathematicians, who can thus convey their ideas perfectly without speaking a word of each other's languages. 3. We postulate that the intelligences whom wish to consul are willing, or may be compelled, to answer us truthfully. Let us first consider the question of the compendium of symbols. The alphabet of a language is a more or less arbitrary way of transcribing the sounds employed in speaking it. The letters themselves have not necessarily any meaning as such. But _in a system of divination each symbol stands for a definite idea._ It would not interfere with the English language to add a few new letters. In fact, some systems of shorthand have done so. But a system of symbols suitable for divination must be a complete representation of the Universe, so that each is absolute, and the whole insusceptible to increase or diminution. It is (in fact) technically a pantacle in the fullest sense of the word. Let us consider some prominent examples of such system. We may observe that a common mode of divination is to inquire of books by placing the thumb at random within the leaves. The Books of the Sybil [sic], the works of Vergil, and the Bible have been used very frequently for this purpose. For theoretical justification, one must assume that the book employed is a perfect representation of the Universe. But even if this were the case, it is an inferior form of construction, because the only reasonable conception of the Cosmos is mathematical and hieroglyphic rather than literary.... ... The principal means of divination in history are astrology, geomancy, the Tarot, the Holy Qabalah [i.e. using the Tree Life Glyph], and the Yi King. There are hundreds of others; from pyromancy, oneiromancy, auguries from sacrifices, and the spinning-top of some ancient oracles to the omens drawn from the flight of birds and the prophesying of tea-leaves. It will be sufficient for our present purpose to discuss only the five systems first enumerated. ASTROLOGY is theoretically a perfect method, since the symbols employed actually exist in the macrocosm, and thus possess a natural correspondence with microcosmic affairs. But in practice the calculations involved are overwhelmingly complicated. A horoscope is never complete. It needs to be supplemented by innumerable other horoscopes. For example, to obtain a judgment on the simplest question, one requires not only the nativities of the people involved, some of which are probably inaccessible, but secondary figures for directions and transits, together with progressed horoscopes, to say nothing of prenatal, mundane, and even horary figures. To appreciate the entire mass of data, to balance the elements of so vast a concourse of forces, and to draw a single judgment therefrom, is a task practically beyond human capacity. Besides all this, the actual effects of the planetary positions and aspects are still almost entirely unknown. No two astrologers agree on all points; and most of them are at odds on fundamental principles. [NOTE: NEARLY ALL PROFESSIONAL ASTROLOGERS ARE IGNORANT OF THEIR OWN SUBJECT, AS OF ALL OTHERS.] This science had better be discarded unless the student chances to feel strongly drawn toward it.... ______________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Also see other essays on Astrology by Crowley at: As Evangeline Adams: http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/000aypsun.txt Fragment: http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/536astrpref.txt ______________________________________________________________________ GEOMANCY has the advantage of being rigorously mathematical. A hand-book of the science is to be found in Equinox I, II. The objection to its use lies in the limited number of the symbols. To represent the Universe by no more than 16 combinations throws too much work upon them. There is also a great restriction arising from the fact that although 15 symbols appear in the final figure, there are, in reality, but 4, the remaining 11 being drawn by an ineluctable process from the "Mothers". It may be added that the tables given in the handbook for the interpretation of the figure are exceedingly vague on the one hand, and insufficiently comprehensive on the other. Some Adepts, however, appear to find this system admirable, and obtain great satisfaction from its use. Once more, the personal equation must be allowed full weight.... ______________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Also see this Essay on Geomancy by Crowley: http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/000ahgeomancy.txt ______________________________________________________________________ The YI KING is the most satisfactory system for general work.... The Yi King is mathematical and philosophical in form. ... It is in some ways the most perfect hieroglyph ever constructed. It is austere and sublime, yet withal so adaptable to every possible emergency that its figures may be interpreted to suit all classes of questions. One may resolve the most obscure spiritual difficulties no less than the most mundane dilemmas; and the symbol which opens the gates of the most exalted palaces of initiation is equally effective when employed to advise one in the ordinary business of life.... A further advantage is that the actual apparatus is simple. Also the system is easy to manipulate, and five minutes is sufficient to obtain a fairly detailed answer to any but the most obscure questions.... There is, on the surface, no difficulty at all in getting replies. In fact, the process is mechanical; success is therefore assured, bar a stroke of apoplexy.... ______________________________________________________________________ NOTE: Also see this interpolation of I Ching by Crowley: http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/216yiking.txt ______________________________________________________________________ [A common problem readers experience is] when one receives a perfectly true reply, but insists on interpreting it so as to suit one's desires. The vast majority of people who go to "fortunetellers" have nothing else in mind but the wish to obtain supernatural sanction for their follies. Apart from Occultism altogether, every one knows that when people ask for advice, they only want to be told how wise they are. Hardly any one acts on the most obviously commonsense counsel if it happens to clash with his previous intentions. Indeed, who would take counsel unless he were warned by some little whisper in his heart that he was about to make a fool of himself, which he is determined to do, and only wants to be able to blame his best friend, or the oracle, when he is overtaken by the disaster which his own interior mentor foresees? ... It is impossible in practice to lay down rules for the interpretation of symbols. Their nature must be investigated by intellectual methods such as the Qabalah, but the precise shape of meaning in any one case, and the sphere and tendency of its application, must be acquired by experience, that is, but induction, by recording and classifying one's experiments over a long period; and -- this is the better part -- by refining one's ratiocination to the point where it becomes instinct or intuition, whichever one likes to call it. ... There is a peculiar frame of mind necessary to successful divination. The conditions of the problem are difficult. It is obviously necessary for the mind of the diviner to be concentrated absolutely upon his question. Any intrusive thought will confuse the oracle as certainly as the reader of a newspaper is confused when he reads a paragraph into which a few lines have strayed from another column. It is equally necessary that _the muscles with which he manipulates the apparatus of divination must be entirely independent of any volition of his. He must lend them for the moment to the intelligence whom he is consulting,_ to be guided in their movement to make the necessary mechanical actions which determine the physical factor of the operation.... [The diviner should] _allow the question entire freedom to make for itself its own proper links with the intelligence directing the answer,_.... [an example of Geomancy] ...in the judgment [of the Geomantic result], the diviner stands once more in need of his inmost and utmost attainments. _He should exhaust the intellectual sources of information at his disposal, and form from them his judgment. But having done this, he should detach his mind from what it has just formulated, and proceed to concentrate it on the figure as a whole, almost as if it were the object of his meditation._ One need hardly repeat that in both these operations detachment from one's personal partialities is as necessary as it was in the first part of the work.... The concluding operation is therefore to _obtain a judgment of the figure, independent of all intellectual or moral restraint. One must endeavour to apprehend it as a thing absolute in itself._ ..._It must be allowed to impose its intrinsic individuality on the mind_, to put its fingers independently on whatever notes it pleases. The student will observe from the above that _divination is in one sense an art entirely separate from that of Magick; yet it interpenetrates Magick at every point._ The fundamental laws of both are identical. The right use of divination has already been explained; but it must be added that _proficiency therein,_ tremendous as is its importance in furnishing the Magician with the information necessary to his strategical and tactical plans, _in no wise enables him to accomplish the impossible._.... In estimating the ultimate value of a divinatory judgment, one must allow for more than the numerous sources of error inherent in the process itself. The judgment can do no more than the facts presented to it warrant. It is naturally impossible in most cases to make sure that some important factor has not been omitted. In asking, "shall I be wise to marry?" one leaves it open for wisdom to be defined in divers ways. One can only expect an answer in the sense of the question. The connotation of "wise" would then imply the limitations "in your private definition of wisdom", "in reference to your present circumstances." It would not involve guarantee against subsequent disaster, or pronounce a philosophical dictum as to wisdom in the abstract sense.... _The Magician ought ... to make himself master of several methods of divination; using one or the other as the purpose of the moment dictates._.... We have now mapped out the boundaries of possibility and propriety which define the physical and political geography of divination. The student must guard himself constantly against supposing that this art affords any absolute means of discovering "truth", or indeed, of using that word as if it meant more than the relation of two ideas each of which is itself as subject to "change without notice" as a musical programme. Divination, in the nature of things, can do no more than put the mind of the querent into conscious connection with another mind whose knowledge of the subject at issue is to his own as that of an expert to a layman. The expert is not infallible. The client may put his question in a misleading manner, or even base it on a completely erroneous conception of the facts. He may misunderstand the expert's answer, and he may misinterpret its purport. Apart from all this, excluding all error, both question and answer are limited in validity by their own conditions; and these conditions are such that truth may cease to be true, either as time goes on, or if it be flawed by the defect of failure to consider some circumstances whose concealed operation cancels the contract. In a word, divination, like any other science, is justified of its children. It would be extraordinary should so fertile a mother be immune from still-births, monstrosities, and abortions. ... Divination is no more than a rough and ready practical method which we understand hardly at all, and operate only as empirics. Success for the best diviner alive is no more certain in any particular instance than a long putt by a champion golfer. Its calculations are infinitely more complex than Chess, a Chess played on an infinite board with men whose moves are indeterminate, and made still more difficult by the interference of imponderable forces and unformulated laws; while its conduct demands not only the virtues, themselves rare enough, of intellectual and moral integrity, but intuition combining delicacy with strength in such perfection and to such extremes as to make its existence appear monstrous and miraculous against Nature. To admit this is not to discredit oracles. On the contrary, the oracles fell into disrepute just because they pretended to do more than they could. To divine concerning a matter is little more than to calculate probabilities. We obtain the use of minds who have access to knowledge beyond ours, but not to omniscience.... To-day it may sound impossible for inanimate objects to reveal the inmost secrets of mankind and nature. We cannot say why divination is valid. We cannot trace the process by which it performs it marvels.... We know only that by doing certain things we get certain results, and that the least error on our part will bring our work to naught. Pages 155-175 ___________________________________________________________________ ALCHEMY ...the word alchemy is an Arabic term consisting of the article "al" and the adjective "khemi" which means "that which pertains to Egypt". A rough translation would be "The Egyptian matter". The assumption is that the Mohammedan grammarians held traditionally that the art was derived from that wisdom of the Egyptians which was the boast of Moses, Plato, and Pythagoras, and the source of their illumination. Modern research (by profane scholars) leaves it still doubtful as to whether Alchemical treatises should be classified as mystical, magical, medical, or chemical. The most reasonable opinion is that all these objects formed the pre-occupation of the alchemists in varying proportions.... The literature of Alchemy is immense. Practically all of it is wholly or partially unintelligible. Its treatises, from the "Asch Metzareph" of the Hebrews to the "Chariot of Antimony" are deliberately couched in hieratic riddles. Ecclesiastical persecution, and the profanation of the secrets of power, were equally dreaded. Worse still, from our point of view, this motive induced writers to insert intentionally misleading statements, the more deeply to bedevil unworthy pretenders to their mysteries. We do not propose to discuss any of the actual processes. Most readers will be already aware that the main objects of alchemy were the Philosopher's Stone, the Medicine of Metals, and various tinctures and elixirs possessing divers virtues; in particular, those of healing disease, extending the span of life, increasing human abilities, perfecting the nature of man in every respect, conferring magical powers, and transmuting material substances, especially metals, into more valuable forms. The subject is further complicated by the fact that many authors were unscrupulous quacks. Ignorant of the first elements of the art, they plagiarized without shame, and reaped a harvest of fraudulent gain. They took advantage of the general ignorance, and the convention of mystery, in just the same way as their modern successors do in the matter of all Occult sciences. But despite all this, one thing is abundantly clear; all serious writers, though they seem to speak of an infinity of different subjects, so much so that it has proved impossible for modern analytic research to ascertain the true nature of any single process, were agreed on the fundamental theory on which they based their practices. It appears at first sight as if hardly any two of them were in accord as to the nature of the "First Matter of the work". They describe this in a bewildering multiplicity of unintelligible symbols. We have no reason to suppose that they were all talking of the same thing, or otherwise. The same remarks apply to every reagent and every process, no less than to the final product or products. Yet beneath this diversity, we may perceive an obscure identity. They all begin with a substance in nature which is described as existing almost everywhere, and as universally esteemed of no value. The alchemist is in all cases to take this substance, and subject it to a series of operations. By so doing, he obtains his product. This product, however named or described, is always a substance which represents the truth or perfection of the original "First Matter"; and its qualities are invariably such as pertain to a living being, not to an inanimate mass. In a word, the alchemist is to take a dead thing, impure, valueless, and powerless, and transform it into a live thing, active, invaluable and thaumaturgic. ... _We are now in a position to understand what alchemy is. We might even go further and say that even if we had never heard of it, we know what it must be._ Let us emphasize the fact that the final product is in all cases a living thing. It has been the great stumbling block to modern research that the statements of alchemists cannot be explained away. From the chemical standpoint it has seemed not "a priori" impossible that lead should be turned into gold.... But even though the advanced chemist might admit the possibility of transmuting lead into gold, he could not conceive of that gold as other than metallic, of the same order of nature as the lead from which it had been made. That this gold should possess the power of multiplying itself, or of acting as a ferment upon other substances, seemed so absurd that he felt obliged to conclude that the alchemists who claimed these properties for their Gold must, after all, have been referring not to Chemistry, but to some spiritual operations whose sanctity demanded some such symbolic veil as the cryptographic use of the language of the laboratory. ... ...The "Elixir" must possess the activity of a "nascent" substance, just as "nascent" hydrogen combines with arsenic (in "Marsh's test") when the ordinary form of the gas is inert.... We may summarize this thesis by saying that _Alchemy includes as many possible operations as there are original ideas inherent in nature._ Alchemy resembles evocation in its selection of appropriate material bases for the manifestation of the Will; but differs from it in proceeding without personification, or the intervention of alien planes. It may be more closely compared with Initiation; for the effective element of the Product is of the essence of its own nature, and inherent therein; the Work similarly consists in isolating it from its accretions. ... To consider the classical problems of Alchemy: The Medicine of Metals must be the quintessence of some substance that serves to determine the structure (or rate of vibration) whose manifestation is in characteristic metallic qualities. This need not be a chemical substance at all in the ordinary sense of the word. The Elixir of Life will similarly consist of a living organism capable of growth,at the expense of its environment; and of such a nature that its "true Will" is to cause that environment to serve it as its means of expression in the physical world of human life. The Universal Medicine will be a menstruum of such subtlety as to be able to penetrate all matter and transmute it in the sense of its own tendency, while of such impartial purity as to accept perfectly the impression of the Will of the Alchemist. This substance, properly prepared, and properly charged, is able to perform all things soever that are physically possible, within the limits of the proportions of its momentum to the inertia of the object to which it is applied. It may be observed in conclusion that, in dealing with forms of Matter-Motion so subtle as these, it is not enough to pass the Pons Asinorum of intellectual knowledge. Pages 183-189 ___________________________________________________________________ BLACK MAGIC, DEMONOLOGY, CLASSES OF MAGIC It is ... always easy to call up the demons, for they are always calling you; and you have only to step down to their level and fraternize with them.... Nevertheless, every magician must firmly extend his empire to the depth of hell.... ... These powers of "evil" nature are wild beasts.... ... The operations of Magick art are difficult to classify, as they merge into each other, owing to the essential unity of their method and result. We may mention: 1. Operations such as evocation, in which a live spirit is brought from dead matter. 2. Consecrations of talismans in which a live spirit is bound into "dead" matter and vivifies the same. 3. Works of divination.... 4. Works of fascination, such as operations of invisibility, and transformations of the apparent form of the person or thing concerned. This consists almost altogether in distracting the attention, or disturbing the judgment, of the person whom it is wished to deceive.... 5. Works of Love and Hate, which are also performed (as a rule) by fascination. These works are too easy; and rarely useful. They have a nasty trick of recoiling on the magician. 6. Works of destruction, which may be done in many different ways. One may fascinate and bend to one's will a person who has of his own right the power to destroy. One may employ spirits or talismans.... ... 7. Works of creation and dissolution, and the higher invocations. There are also hundreds of other operations; to bring wanted objects -- gold, books, women and the like; to open locked doors, to discover treasure; to swim under water; to have armed men at command -- etc., etc.... It should be added that all these things happen "naturally". [NOTE: THE VALUE OF THE EVIDENCE THAT YOUR OPERATIONS HAVE INFLUENCED THE COURSE OF EVENTS IS ONLY TO BE ASSESSED BY THE APPLICATION OF THE LAWS OF PROBABILITY. THE MASTER THERION [CROWLEY] WOULD NOT ACCEPT ANY ONE SINGLE CASE AS CONCLUSIVE, HOWEVER IMPROBABLE IT MIGHT BE. A MAN MIGHT MAKE A CORRECT GUESS AT ONE CHANCE IN A MILLION, NO LESS THAN AT ONE IN THREE. IF ONE PICKED UP A PEBBLE, THE CHANCE WAS INFINITELY GREAT AGAINST THAT PARTICULAR PEBBLE; YET WHICHEVER ONE WAS CHOSEN, THE SAME CHANCE "CAME OFF". IT REQUIRES A SERIES OF EVENTS ANTECEDENTLY UNLIKELY TO DEDUCE THAT DESIGN IS A WORK, THAT THE OBSERVED CHANGES ARE CAUSALLY, NOT CASUALLY, PRODUCED. THE PREDICTION OF EVENTS IS FURTHER EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE EFFECTED BY WILL. THUS, ANY MAN MAY FLUKE A TEN SHOT AT BILLIARD, OR EVEN MAKE A BREAK OF A FEW STROKES. BUT CHANCE CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR CONSISTENT SUCCESS, EVEN IF MODERATE, WHEN IT EXTENDS OVER A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. AND THE ABILITY OF THE EXPERT TO "NAME HIS SHOT" MANIFESTS A KNOWLEDGE OF THE RELATIONS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT WHICH CONFIRMS THE TESTIMONY OF HIS EMPIRICAL SKILL THAT HIS SUCCESS IS NOT CHANCE AND COINCIDENCE.] Perform an operation to bring gold -- your rich uncle dies and leaves you his money; books -- you see the book wanted in a catalogue that very day, although you have advertised in vain for a year; woman -- but if you have made the spirits bring you enough gold, this operation will become unnecessary. [NOTE: THIS CYNICAL STATEMENT IS AN ABSURDITY OF BLACK MAGIC.] ... Necromancy is of sufficient importance to demand a section to itself. It is justifiable in some exceptional cases. Suppose the magician fail to obtain access to living Teachers, or should he need some especial piece of knowledge which he has reason to believe died with some teacher of the past, it may be useful to evoke the "shade" of such a one, or read the "Akasic record" of his mind. ... The utmost care must be taken to prevent personation of the "shade". It is of course easy, but can rarely be advisable, to evoke the shade of a suicide, or of one violently slain or suddenly dead.... Pages 193-198 ______________________________________________________________________ The entirety of the text of "Magick in Theory and Practice" may be found at the following URL: http://www.luckymojo.com/crowley/004mitap.txt ______________________________________________________________________ CONTENT COPYRIGHT OTO INTRODUCTION AND FORMATTING COPYRIGHT © 2000 NIGRIS (333) nagasiva@luckymojo.com ______________________________________________________________________ this file is an excerpt of a web page originally at: http://www.luckymojo.com/esoteric/occultism/crowleymitap.html EOF