Path: news.bjt.net!news.vaultline.net!news.infinex.com!news3.crl.com!nntp1.crl.com!holonet!colossus.holonet.net!news5.dearborn.agis.net!newspeer.dearborn.agis.net!news.mxol.com!news.tbcnet.com!wetware!news.sgi.com!howland.erols.net!infeed2.internetmci.com!newsfeed.internetmci.com!supernews.com!Supernews69!kudonet.com!not-for-mail From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva) Newsgroups: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,alt.magick.order,alt.consciousness.mysticism,alt.mysticism,talk.religion.misc,talk.religion.newage,alt.pagan.magick Subject: Various: AC, Yoga and Magick Date: 21 Jul 1997 17:15:12 -0700 Organization: KudoNet On-Line Services Lines: 120 Sender: tyagi@kudonet.com Message-ID: <5r0u2g$88i@kudo20.kudonet.com> Reply-To: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nagasiva) NNTP-Posting-Host: 28335@165.227.52.9 X-Newsreader: NN version 6.5.0 (NOV) Xref: news.bjt.net alt.magick.tyagi:869 alt.magick:5879 alt.magick.order:149 alt.consciousness.mysticism:1132 alt.pagan.magick:875 [from thelema93-l@hollyfeld.org: Tim Maroney ] >My summary impression over years of reading >A.C.'s stuff is that (with certain exceptions) he regarded magick and >mysticism/yoga as different paths, with somewhat different results. The >student was expected to master both, but not necessarily to combine them, >or to view one as leading to the other. Liber Samekh - a magical ritual whose instructions include samadhi. Liber HHH - MMM: a yogic meditation ending in a magical ritual; AAA: a yogic meditation to be undertaken in a ceremonially opened circle and combined with ceremonial invocation of Apollo, Isis, Jupiter or Serapis. Liber O - a course of magical ritual, the preconditions of which are "fair mastery of asana, pranayama and dharana"; dharana as the basis of the ritual practices of the assumption of divine forms and the drawing of symbols in the air; asana as the basis of astral projection; rising on the planes "merges into a form of dharana". Liber Astarte - a ritual method of invocation involving the use of mantra and samadhi. Liber Ru - a yogic breathing practice which is elaborated into ritual through dance. Liber Yod - four methods of acquiring the same goal: one ritual, four yogic. This does not cite every case in which a mixed yogic-ritual practice such as the assumption of divine form or rising on the planes is employed as part of some other ritual or meditation. Yoga and ritual magic are woven together intimately in the A.'. A.'. system from the Probationer work onward, and frequently used together. -- Tim Maroney tim@maroney.org http://www.maroney.org =========================================================================== ~From: Tim Maroney >I welcome correction/commentary and am still interested in knowing, >if I haven't made a wrong turn at Albequerque, whether he was the >first to associate yoga with ceremonial magick or others such as >those of the Golden Dawn did so before him. Crowley's mentor, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteya or Allan Bennett, was doubtless the direct influence on Crowley's fusion of Western magical and Eastern meditative disciplines. H. P. Blavatsky went through three main phases, the spiritualistic, the hermetic/Rosicrucian, and the Eastern. Some features of all these are present in all her later writings. She will not infrequently place a commentary on, say, Eliphas Levi in the mouth of a supposed Tibetan adept, described as both Hindu and Buddhist, who would also use language suggestive of yoga. Blavatsky however was not strong on practice of any type other than trance possession and prestidigitation. She mostly dealt with speculative philosophy, so it would be more accurate to say that her work combines (her version of) Eastern and Western spiritual _ideas_ rather than yogic and ceremonial practices. The Golden Dawn system does include some practices attributed to Eastern sources, most notably the tattva meditations. Claimed East/West fusions could probably be found in Randolph and the HBL, though none spring to mind from memory at this odd hour. Esoteric Freemasonry in the 19th century voraciously integrated every tradition it could find. However, courses of practice not easily adaptable to its ritual form were not generally taken up, and I don't know of any attempts to practice yoga per se -- as opposed to scattered references to Eastern mythological figures -- within the milieu. -- Tim Maroney tim@maroney.org http://www.maroney.org ========================================================================= ~From: llauer@smc.edu (Leroy Lauer) 93 >>My summary impression over years of reading >>A.C.'s stuff is that (with certain exceptions) he regarded magick and >>mysticism/yoga as different paths, with somewhat different results. The >>student was expected to master both, but not necessarily to combine them, >>or to view one as leading to the other. > >Liber O - a course of magical ritual, the preconditions of which are >"fair mastery of asana, pranayama and dharana"; dharana as the basis of >the ritual practices of the assumption of divine forms and the drawing >of symbols in the air; asana as the basis of astral projection; rising >on the planes "merges into a form of dharana". AC had the typical colonialist's view of the Empire: Mastery & acquisition. He picked up techniques that resulted from centuries of development and "Mastered" them, all in a few short months. He then went on to the next one. Obviously, if the Wogs could do it, a member of the Master Race could quite easily pick it up with a little practice. It is interesting to note that Crowley never "mastered" a musical instrument, or excelled as a painter. He merely dabbled in the arts, and, with the exception of his very uneven poetic talent, he never showed evidence of mastery of much at all, except self-promotion. He preferred instead to acquire people who could do things and order them about. I wonder if he ever learned to use a hammer. 93, 1 LeRoy EOF -- (emailed replies may be posted);join the AMT syncretism!!;call: 408/2-666-SLUG! see http://www.abyss.com/tokus; "Clement of Rome taught that God rules the world with a right and a left hand, the right being Christ, the left Satan."