"Silence" by Aleister Crowley

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"Of all the Magical and Mystical Virtues, of all the Graces of the Soul, of all the Attainments of the Spirit, none has been so misunderstood, even when at all apprehended, as Silence.

It would not be possible to enumerate the common errors: nay, it may be said that to think of it at all is in itself an error; for its nature is Pure Being, that is to say, Nothing, so that it is beyond all intellection or intuition. Thus then the utmost of our Essay can be only a certain Wardenship, as it were a Tyling of the Lodge wherein the Mystery of Silence may be consummated.
For this attitude there is sound traditional authority; for Harpocrates, God of Silence, is called 'The Lord of Defense and Protection.'

But His nature is by no means that negative and passive silence which the word commonly connotes; for He is the All-Wandering Spirit; the Pure and Perfect Knight-Errant, who answers all Enigmas, and opens the Closed Portal of the King's Daughter. But Silence in the vulgar sense is not the answer to the Riddle of the Sphinx; it is that which is created by that answer. For Silence is the Equilibrium of Perfection; so that Harpocrates is the omniform, the universal Key to every Mystery soever. The Sphinx is the 'Puzzel or Pucelle,' the Feminine Idea to which there is only one complement, always different in form, and always identical in essence. This is the signification of the Gesture of the God; it is shewn more clearly in His adult form as the Fool of the Tarot and as Bacchus Diphues, and without equivocation when He appears as Baphomet.

When we inquire more closely into His symbolism, the first quality which engages our attention is doubtless His innocence. Not without deep wisdom is He called the twin of Horus; and this is the Aeon of Horus: it is He who sent forth Aiwass His minister to proclaim its advent. The Fourth Power of the Sphinx is Silence; to us then who aspire to this power as the crown of our Work, it will be of utmost value to attain His innocence in all its fullness. We must understand first of all that the root of Moral Responsibility, on which Man stupidly prides himself as distinguishing him from the other animals, is Restriction, which is the Word of Sin.

Indeed, there is truth in the Hebrew fable, that the knowledge of Good and Evil brings forth Death. To regain Innocence is to regain Eden. We must learn to live without the murderous consciousness that every breath we draw swells the sails which bear our frail vessels to the Port of the Grave. We must cast our Fear by Love; seeing that Every Act is an Orgasm, their total issue cannot be but Birth. Also, Love is the law: thus every act must be Righteousness and Truth. By certain Meditations this may be understood and established; and this ought to be done so thoroughly that we become unconscious of our Sanctification, for only then is Innocence made perfect. This state is, in fact, a necessary condition of any proper contemplation of what we are accustomed to consider the first task of the Aspirant, the solution of the question, "What is my True Will?" For until we become innocent, we are certain to try to judge our Will by some Canon of what seems ‘right’ or ‘wrong’; in other words, we are apt to criticise our Will from the outside, whereas True Will should spring, a fountain of Light, from within, and flow unchecked, seething with Love, into the Ocean of Life.

This is the true idea of Silence; it is our Will which issues, perfectly elastic, sublimely Protean, to fill every interstice of the Universe of Manifestation which it meets in its course. There is no gulf too great for its immeasurable strength, no strait too arduous for its imperturbable subtlety. It fits itself with perfect precision to every need; its fluidity is the warrant of its fidelity. Its form is always varied by that of the particular imperfection which it encounters: its essence is identical in every event. And always the effect of its action is Perfection, that is, Silence; and this Perfection is ever the same, being perfect, yet ever different, because each case presents its own peculiar quantity and quality.

It is impossible for inspiration itself to sound a dithyramb of Silence; for each new aspect of Harpocrates is worthy of the music of the Universe throughout Eternity. I have simply been led by my loyal Love of that strange Race among whom I find myself incarnate to indite this poor stanza of the infinite Epic of Harpocrates as being the facet of His fecund Brilliance which has refracted the most needful light upon mine own darkling Entrance to His shrine of fulminating, of ineffable Godhead.
I praise the luxuriant Rapture of Innocence, the virile and pantomorphous Ecstasy of all-Fulfilment; I praise the Crowned and Conquering Child whose name is Force and Fire, whose subtlety and strength make sure serenity, whose Energy and Endurance accomplish the Attainment of the Virgin of the Absolute; who, being manifested, is the Player upon the sevenfold pipe, the Great God Pan, and, being withdrawn into the Perfection that he willed, is Silence."

— Aleister Crowley, Little Essays Towards Truth

[Ayla]

Layered meaning .. quiet, the absence of noise. Deeper still .. quiet, the act of observation. Descending further .. reflection, peace, thoughts bubble up, fade and scud across the mind. Deepest .. at one, as one, acceptance and unity with all. Present.

[Deleted]

First off I think Aleister Crowley may have been a little insane. But there is a really fine line between sane and insane just like there is a fine line between love and hate. OK so with that said and since this is the philosophical place I will say this. You can't have love without hate. You can't have good without evil. You can't have highs without lows. You can't have yesterday without tomorrow. You can't have today without yesterday or tomorrow, the past and future may not even be real and exist only in your mind. You can't have happiness without sadness and you can't have male without female.

OK so some may say Mr. Crowley was evil and a Satanists But the same God that created me, created Satan. Both resides within me and I can choose to delve into material ecstasies or Spiritual ecstasies. I have the choice to embrace either or. Most people seem to straddle the fence though. I am no different. But good and evil are relative to one another. As a matter of fact all polarizations are relative to one another. Right now in our stage of evolution we can't have one without the other because we need to compare one to the other. Without either there is none in our Psyche.

Disclaimer: This is only my opinion and has nothing to do with any organization or belief system or religion. But we need both Good and Evil in order to choose our path. We need God and the Devil. We need promises and temptations. We need to have hope for rewards and fear of punishments. Without a Devil or an evil entity or a material calling we wouldn't realize a God or a Devine entity or a Spiritual calling. The line between the two is really fine. God created everything. The Creator of the Universe and all in it. So God created Lucifer and Lucifer got a big head and wanted to be God which caused the war in Heaven and he and his angels to be fallen into lower resonances, Cast from higher resonances. But is Lucifer so evil? Hell he will give you whatever you desire if you embrace the lower resonances and material desires now. God has nothing but promises. But we choose. We may even be surprised at the end of our live at the choices we made. "Lucifer" has a job and that is to temp us to fall deeper and deeper in resonance. Everything in the Universe has a resonance or frequency and Theoretical Physicists are hinting on this. Michio Kaku has some mind blowing theories of multiverses which kind of goes along with Albert Einstein's in that every thing is happening simultaneously, the past, present and future. Multiverses may hint on this in the way of time. We may exist on many different levels and that would be all we have which is now or the present. Time is the biggest mystery in the human mind. Linear? Maybe not so much. Paranormal investigating has kind of led me to believe that Ghosts can be from the past into the present, possibly the present into the past and possibly the future when it comes to shadow people with no shape other than a shadowy apparition into the present and past.

OK so what if time is more like a sheet. Einstein had theories of time. I do too but what if time is more flat and spread out with folds where some of the folds, perceived past, future and present touch one another and bleed through one another. We can compare the past with clothing and other subconsciously embedded visions. The future has not happened temporally yet so we have nothing to compare our memories too. So ghostly apparitions from the past in period clothing and so on and shadow people in which we have nothing to compare to because it hasn't happened yet in our memories or pictures.

Don't get me wrong because there is real evil in the world. There is death in the world and it is always a constant when nothing else ever is. But what is death when it comes to an eternal Spirit? And for those that are Athiest and or other religions that don't believe in an eternal Spirit. What is death when all the pain of this world is over and non existence follows? Somehow I can see all sides. Eternal bliss with one life beliefs, reincarnation to perfect the Soul or sweet nothingness. The concept of hell is horrifying. But that is in a book called Dante's Inferno. Christ spoke of the fire pits or lakes of fire but that was like an ancient dump in the area at the time where they burned the trash and refuse from the villages and cities and no do gooders were executed and the bodies thrown in those burning pits. Or the gnashing of teeth and "poking with a pitchfork" is my life. What makes me happy is short lived because there is sadness all around. What makes me sad is short lived because something may come along and make me happy.

Sorry to ramble Illuminess. But I think Aleister Crowley got a bad rap. I think he fell into a trap of thinking this or that and not everything that may be possible. I don't think he was as much Evil as misunderstood. Hell even Thomas Edison before he died was working on a communication device to talk to people that had passed away or the spirit world or the dead. But it won't be through a technological device but through a Psychological event.

OK So everyone can now say Jamie is insane.  Hell I will own it because the line between insanity and genius is also a fine one. I may even be an insane genius or geniusly insane. Or maybe just genuinely insane. The latter is probably the most plausible explanation.  

But I love love love the song Mr Crowley by Ozzy. With Randy Rhoads of course.  

So now we see just how insane Jamie is on this one.    

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=G3LvhdFEOqs

BTW thes are the lyrics. OZZY and Rhoads. Wow what a freaking combo. One made the other. Randy actually played with Quiet Riot but Ozzy made him like he made Ozzy. RIP Mr. Rhoads.

"Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head?
Oh, Mr. Crowley, did you talk to the dead?
Your life style to me seemed so tragic
With the thrill of it all
You fooled all the people with magic
Yeah, you waited on Satan's door

Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure?
Mr. Alarming, in nocturnal rapport
Uncovering things that were sacred
Manifest on this Earth
Conceived in the eye of a secret
And they scattered the afterbirth

Mr. Crowley, won't you ride my white horse?
Mr. Crowley, it's symbolic, of course
Approaching a time that is classic
I hear that maiden's call
Approaching a time that is drastic
Standing with their backs to the wall

Was it polemically sent
l want to know what you meant
I want to know, I want to know what you meant, yeah

I don't really think a lot of people knew what Mr Crowly meant."

But he was new age in his time.

I kind of would like to know what he meant too.

[Deleted]

Aleister Crowley was a deeply spiritual, adventurous and liberty-driven individual who believed in challenging the status quo and encouraged one to fulfill their lives without being prisoners to social expectation and without living by the delusion of moral relativism. He was a radical for his time; a "shock rocker", so to speak. He refused to placate to people's beliefs and opinions about him, and would often play them up for his own amusement (which was not one of his best moves, clearly). Many would (and still do) read his works at face value, having no insight to his metaphoric vernacular well understood by his students, and make outrageous claims about what kind of person he was. People today still believe he was a child molester, a murderer and a black magician, but none of it is true.

He did experiment with drugs and sexuality, but he didn't force anyone into anything. That kind of behavior goes against the ethics and philosophy of Thelema which is that every man and every woman is their own sole arbiter, responsible for their own lives and spiritual evolution (True Will). For one person to interfere with the True Will of another is an act of terror ("the word of sin is restriction"). Thelema is a philosophy (and a religion, more or less) of individual liberty and spiritual attainment. It doesn't condone intrusive or hostile behavior ("for we are infinitely tolerant, save of intolerance").

Crowley was no saint, but he was not a man of ill-intent. He indulged in various forms of physical pleasure, but never at anyone's expense. So, he did end up with a very bad rap, and much of it was his own fault for not pandering to public opinion. He just let people believe what they wanted, because he didn't feel he had to prove himself to anyone. Many great people have bad reputations for the same reason. All anyone has to do is immerse themselves in his literature and teachings to understand that he wasn't at all "the wickedest man in the world."

In 1907, he and fellow adept of The Order of the Golden Dawn, George Cecil Jones, started the order of the A∴A∴ which is a degree-based system of spiritual attainment designed for the individual as they felt the communal orders of G.D. and O.T.O. created far too much political drama. One of the first documents created for the Student called "Liber Librae" (or "The Book of Balance") is one of the most enriching and motivating lists of moral practice:

"Thou then, who hast trials and troubles, rejoice because of them, for in them
is Strength, and by their means is a pathway opened unto that Light."

"A man is what he maketh himself within the limits fixed by his inherited
destiny; he is a part of mankind; his actions affect not only what he
calleth himself, but also the whole universe."

"Do good unto others for its own sake, not for reward, not for gratitude
from them, not for sympathy. If thou art generous, thou wilt not long for
thine ears to be tickled by expressions of gratitude. Remember that
unbalanced force is evil; that unbalanced severity is but cruelty and
oppression; but that also unbalanced mercy is but weakness which
would allow and abet Evil. Act passionately; think rationally; be Thyself."

hermetic.com/crowley/equinox/i/i/eqi01004.html

It always breaks my heart when I hear all the slanders against him, because despite all of his debauchery he never once in his life willfully harmed another soul whether man, woman or child. He cherished life and believed in living it to its fullest. He was a human being just as prideful, and vulnerable, and subject to temptation as the rest of us. One of the biggest tenets of Thelema is to recognise one's Ego, to face it, and to destroy it. It is called "The Crossing of the Abyss"; because there can be no true moment of illumination if Ego is present.

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Also, the pronunciation of Crowley is "CROW-lee", not the way Ozzy says it.

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Here is an excellent overview of Crowley and Thelema presented by Mark Passio:

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The Thelemic maxim: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law; love under Will."

People often only quote the first half of it and interpret it to mean "do as you wish", but that's wholly incorrect.

"Again: 'Thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that and no other shall say nay. For pure will,
unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.'

Take this carefully; it seems to imply a theory that if every man and every woman did his and
her will — the true will — there would be no clashing. 'Every man and every woman is a star,'
and each star moves in an appointed path without interference. There is plenty of room for all;
it is only disorder that creates confusion. 

From these considerations it should be clear that 'Do what thou wilt' does not mean 'Do what you like.'
It is the apotheosis of Freedom; but it is also the strictest possible bond. Do what thou wilt— then do
nothing else. Let nothing deflect thee from that austere and holy task. Liberty is absolute to do thy will;
but seek to do any other thing whatever, and instantly obstacles must arise. Every act that is not in
definite course of that one orbit is erratic, an hindrance. Will must not be two, but one."

lib.oto-usa.org/libri/liber0002.html

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"Black magic is not a myth. It is a totally unscientific and emotional form of magic, but it

does get results — of an extremely temporary nature. The recoil upon those who practice

it is terrific. It is like looking for an escape of gas with a lighted candle.
As far as the search goes, there is little fear of failure! 

To practice black magic you have to violate every principle of science, decency, and
intelligence. You must be obsessed with an insane idea of the importance of the petty object
of your wretched and selfish desires. I have been accused of being a 'black magician.' No
more foolish statement was ever made about me. I despise the thing to such an extent that I
can hardly believe in the existence of people so debased and idiotic as to practice it."

Aleister Crowley

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I know Arin. I know the occult and the cults. I know the normal and the paranormal, I know the natural and the supernatural. Without the polarities we all would be neutral. How can you judge evil without good and vice versa? How can you judge darkness without light? We perceive what we know through polarity. So since this is the philosophical thread I won't hold back. Good and evil are the same. God and Satan are the same just like we and God are the same. We were all created for a reason. Lucifer's job is to tempt us into the lower resonances. To tempt us into more material realms of thinking. That lowers our vibrational levels consciously. God, if there is one loves all of It's Creations. Even Lucifer. Let that sink in a little.

So what is Evil? Aleister Crowley? Anton Szandor Le Vey? Is there really any evil in a Spiritual sense. Or does Evil just exist in a physical sense? We can choose to embrace the spiritual or material. The choice is ours. Not Satan's or Lucifer's or the Devil's but our own choice.

So I ask you a question. When it comes to Aleister Crowley or anyone else, what is Evil? Yeah there is good and bad but actual Divinity and Evil though? How can you judge it?

My honest answer is that we can't unless we judge ourselves because we all have a dark evil side to us. I like the raw animalistic urge of sex. I like the so called perverted sex that Christians would call homosexual sex but I ain't homosexual because my Spirit is female. I love the coupling of male and female in a spiritual sense. Regardless of whether I have a vagina or not. It isn't about the sex or physically connection but the mental/spiritual connection. It is more than tapping the "tight hole" or more than oral. It is more about how we react and interact wit one another. I am female and he is male. Regardless of genetalia. Some may call us abominations. I ain't an abomination. I am exactly what I was created as. I found a way to be comfortable with myself and my lovers without shame or guilt. I just wish everyone else could make peace with themselves like I learned to do. How? I don't really know. I just did or die.

So reading from ancient text. Read it with an open heart. I don't need to be justified. I don't need to be justified. I am me. If I have o burn in a hell for eternity afterward then I had the courage to be me. I just don't think that is the case though.

Mr. Crowley was ahead of his time. Even Thomas Edison was working on a communication device to talk with the dead. Good and evil is relative. An evil person could kill me tomorrow. What would that do? End my fucking suffering. So that person would be my sweet angel of Death. We all have to die. We will never get out of this hell alive. Even cis are dealt the blow of life. Life sux. Life is sad. We lose loved ones to death. We worry so much about death. We feel sorry for those that die when they should feel more sorry for us that are left in this hell we call life. Their suffering is over. Believe me. everyone suffers for something. We hurt because of who we are. What we are. But even cis hurt because or who they are and what they are. So life is no different. I just sux that we are perceived as different. But death has no discrimination. There are cis people that take their own lives just like we trans do. When we die we die. What happens afterward, I don't know. It's not in my realms of judgemenent. Its not in my realm of opinion. It is way beyond me. It is beyond you and everyone else.

I know this was all drawn out. Sorry if I didn't make much sense.

[Deleted]

Without the polarities we all would be neutral. How can you judge evil without good and vice versa? How can you judge darkness without light? We perceive what we know through polarity. So since this is the philosophical thread I won't hold back. Good and evil are the same. God and Satan are the same just like we and God are the same. We were all created for a reason. Lucifer's job is to tempt us into the lower resonances. To tempt us into more material realms of thinking. That lowers our vibrational levels consciously. God, if there is one loves all of It's Creations. Even Lucifer. Let that sink in a little.

It all comes down to Hermetic philosophy, really. That's the origin of all occultism. Everything exists on a spectrum. Darkness and Light are just polar opposites of one frequency. That's why the prime objective in true occultism (not those religions that proclaim occult status when they prefer to anchor themselves on one side or the other) is to reconcile the opposites; to achieve Equilibrium. We call it The Great Work. We first attain the balance within ourselves so that we can apply that mastery to the rest of the world and to the universe.

One of the ways we do that is by correcting imbalances in understanding such as the belief that Lucifer is The Adversary. The name "Lucifer" was mentioned only once in The Bible, and was in reference to a fallen king. You could even interpret it from an astro-theological perspective which is that Lucifer was actually a planet. The name is still applied to the planet Venus. It was a pope that associated the name to Satan. The point is, the relativity of the accuracy of a "fact" is minimal, because the truth is ultimately symbolic. Lucifer and Jesus are the same avatars of illumination; "the morning star". Satan is the polar opposite of Lucifer/Jesus, and yet neither are truly enemies, because they are both meant to serve us on the path to enlightenment. A "Son/Daughter of God" must endure the temptations of the mundane in order to appreciate the temperance of Self-Mastery. Light and Dark are counterparts for a greater clarity. It's when we anchor ourselves in one or the other that we begin to miss the point.

So what is Evil? Aleister Crowley? Anton Szandor Le Vey? Is there really any evil in a Spiritual sense. Or does Evil just exist in a physical sense? We can choose to embrace the spiritual or material. The choice is ours. Not Satan's or Lucifer's or the Devil's but our own choice.

I like to look at it this way: Darkness and Light are part of the Macrocosm, and Good and Evil are part of the Microcosm. Goodness is our ability to obey and cooperate with Natural Law; to align ourselves with the purpose of Order. Evil is our ability to disobey and to refuse cooperation with Natural Law; to align ourselves with the purpose of Chaos. Goodness is an act of Will. Evil is an act of will. See what I did there? Darkness and Light are simply tools towards self-discovery, self-mastery and the grand initiation of our spirits into higher cause.

So I ask you a question. When it comes to Aleister Crowley or anyone else, what is Evil? Yeah there is good and bad but actual Divinity and Evil though? How can you judge it?

Anyone can proclaim who they serve, but it will always be reflected in their actions. Pat Robertson claims Goodness, but he does not practice it. So, we judge based on whether or not someone is contributing towards the purpose of Order or the purpose of Chaos. But then, how do we know which is which? It all must fall back on Natural Law, not on Man's law. What is Natural Law? It has nothing to do with what we believe to be natural. It has everything to do with letting Nature alone. We have no place to decide what it wants to do, how it wants to create, or how it chooses to reveal the truth to us. Goodness gives Nature a clear passage. Evil attempts to carve its own passage.

My honest answer is that we can't unless we judge ourselves because we all have a dark evil side to us. I like the raw animalistic urge of sex. I like the so called perverted sex that Christians would call homosexual sex but I ain't homosexual because my Spirit is female. I love the coupling of male and female in a spiritual sense. Regardless of whether I have a vagina or not. It isn't about the sex or physically connection but the mental/spiritual connection. It is more than tapping the "tight hole" or more than oral. It is more about how we react and interact wit one another. I am female and he is male. Regardless of genetalia. Some may call us abominations. I ain't an abomination. I am exactly what I was created as. I found a way to be comfortable with myself and my lovers without shame or guilt. I just wish everyone else could make peace with themselves like I learned to do. How? I don't really know. I just did or die.

The animalistic urge is part of our nature, and there's nothing wrong with it. Rising above it is certainly ideal, but avoiding the experience is only detrimental to self-mastery. We have to go through the Darkness, to accept it as part of us, and then ascend from it. It's like the story of Jesus where he descends into Hell before rising into Heaven. It's all just a parable of Man becoming God. Instead of looking to the sky for salvation, we have to look within.

"The Kingdom of Heaven is within." — Luke 17:21

So reading from ancient text. Read it with an open heart. I don't need to be justified. I don't need to be justified. I am me. If I have to burn in a hell for eternity afterward then I had the courage to be me. I just don't think that is the case though.

Amen to that.

An evil person could kill me tomorrow. What would that do? End my fucking suffering. So that person would be my sweet angel of Death. We all have to die. We will never get out of this hell alive. Even cis are dealt the blow of life. Life sux. Life is sad. We lose loved ones to death. We worry so much about death. We feel sorry for those that die when they should feel more sorry for us that are left in this hell we call life. Their suffering is over. Believe me. everyone suffers for something. We hurt because of who we are. What we are. But even cis hurt because or who they are and what they are. So life is no different. I just sux that we are perceived as different. But death has no discrimination. There are cis people that take their own lives just like we trans do. When we die we die. What happens afterward, I don't know. It's not in my realms of judgemenent. Its not in my realm of opinion. It is way beyond me. It is beyond you and everyone else.

Crowley was, indeed, ahead of his time, and I will close this response with a few quotes of his on the topic of Death:

"The joy of life consists in the exercise of one's energies, continual growth, constant change,

the enjoyment of every new experience. To stop means simply to die. The eternal mistake

of mankind is to set up an attainable ideal."

“The soul is beyond male and female as it is beyond Life and Death. Even as the Lingam

and the Yoni are but diverse developments of One Organ, so also are Life and Death but

two phases of One State. So also the Absolute and the Conditioned are but forms of THAT.”

"Only when we consciously attain to the enjoyment of life as a sacrament, only when the

universe is understood as being a vast replica of our own nature, do we accept the cross,

and hail death as the culmination and prize of life."

"The Universe is Change: every Change is the effect of an Act of Love; all Acts of Love

contain Pure Joy. Die daily! Death is the apex of one curve of the snake Life: behold all

opposites as necessary complements, and rejoice!"

[Deleted]

I put together a "Thelema 101" package for anyone interested in learning
about it without having to go through all of the cerebral literature the way
I did. The text is still a lot to absorb, but the language isn't archaic.

I also included the two-hour overview of Thelema by Mark Passio
(with accompanying slides since they might be difficult to see in the video),
and a list of books for further study.

Thelema 101 download: we.tl/SS08tm4ziB

---

But, for this deep devotion to the path of occult (esoteric) wisdom
 there requires somewhat of a disclaimer:

"Occultism is not for the weak-minded, the easily offended, the typically misguided,

the emotionally unstable, the unimaginative, the impatient, the simpleton, the quick-

to-judge, the egotistical or the impervious of being. The occultist sees the poetry and

insight of all religions, but also has the discerning power to separate the philosophical

value from the dross of man’s ego. He/she has the keen ability to see the hidden meanings

between rather than taking the surface parables as definitive truth. There is more to a

word than its definition, and far more to a collection of words than the stories they tell."

— River Arin Laurie

“Occultism is not fool-proof; it makes heavy demands upon the spiritual stamina of those

who elect to study it, but if pursued under the right conditions it can be productive of Good

without any inevitable alloy of Evil. It is no pursuit for either the weak or the timorous,

however pure their intentions may be, neither is it a wholesome interest for the immature;

as maturity is a matter of individual development... Balance is the keynote of all true esoteric

training; to the ill-balanced nature the higher wisdom is nothing but a danger; stability is

as necessary as purity upon the Path.”

— Dion Fortune

I should also say that in no way am I asserting that the occult path is the "true way"
for any spiritual attainment or higher living, but it's a damn good one; especially
if the simplicity and basic structure of organised (exoteric) religion is unsatisfactory.
It's definitely not for everyone, and that is perfectly okay. We're all experiencing life
in our own stages and levels of consciousness; one not any less important than the other.

I think that notion is one of the things that sets apart the esoteric from the exoteric:
the understanding that all paths unite unto the same destination: Illumination.
We have no desire to convince or convert; only to provide the candle and keys.

I write passionately about it, however, because it has been my great ship
in the tumultuous oceans of this life (and probably past ones). I understand
its language, its symbolism, its great purpose. It's where I feel at home.
And as we all do when we feel that kind of joy, we do our best to spread it;
and we do so without judgment or condemnation when others refuse.

So, these posts I make are not from any agenda to preach or proselytise,
but to promulgate the secret teachings of all ages and to give passionate
cause to their study, because I believe anyone can benefit from them
if it be thy Will to do so.

---

Sometimes I think my writing style comes across as far removed from "feminine" because I rarely write very informally. I am such a language geek that writing with an informal style too often eludes me. I have to be as expressive as I can, because it's just more fulfilling. But if you read the works of Dion Fortune or H.P. Blavatsky — both women who have written numerous tomes on occultism — you will see nothing but formal style, and that comforts me. I even use British spelling most of the time like "recognise" rather than "recognize". It just looks prettier that way.

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I'm probably more upset that language has to be gendered to where I have to be bothered by how my writing is judged. This was never an issue in the earlier part of the 20th century. Everything has been dumbed down so much since then that if you're not writing in a specific tone and vocabulary then you're categorised accordingly.

Plus, I developed my writing style during the period of living [miserably] as male for most of my life; trying to approach everything from that perspective even though I never truly embraced it. Now that style is being applied to an honesty that I never allowed of myself. I definitely don't have a problem with it; I just don't want it to make people think a dude is writing. If anyone spent five minutes with me they would realise how not a dude I am.

My house mate Erica told me, "Your writing is above me and sometime I have to read it several times to make sure I understand. And I do not mean conversationally, but your articles or blogs. But that doesn't mean it's wrong or bad; it's wonderful. I'm just not quite smart enough sometimes."

I told her this: Don't think of my writing as "above you". Think of it as "currently unachieved". Everyone is fully capable of being adept in language. It's just a matter of wanting to be. Not having a scholarly proficiency in language doesn't mean anyone lacks depth, passion or intelligence. We all have our own unique ways of expression, and one is not greater nor lesser than the other. My way just happens to bore the shit out of people.

If only I was as proficient in my speech instead of having constant blockage. It takes me forever to write a blog or an article, but at least you can't tell how many times I've had to sit here trying to find the right words, references and expressions.