There is no ritual admitting to the grade of Practicus. This is probably because the ceremonial initiations are reserved for movement between the four qabalistic worlds as vertical shifts in consciousness, which is not the case here. The Practicus has taken a shift in perspective that can appear quite dramatic, but he nonetheless remains in Yetzirah. The difference is now more of a change in perspective than an entirely new vantage point, the same story of the tower, but a different window. It is worth thinking of the three grades of 2=9, 3=8 and 4=7 as a unit, set as they are in the Ruach below Tiphareth. The Zelator has made the first vertical shift along the path of Tau, the next vertical shift will be via the path of Samekh, which joins Yesod to Tiphareth. These three grades can be thought of as sub sections of Yetziratic consciousness, they correspond to instinctual/territorial, intellectual/conceptual and emotional/sociosexual centres of the initiate.
Hod corresponds to the intellect, the initiate has made his way to the library of the temple. This sphere is ruled by the god Mercury. Once admitted the new Practicus fixes the 48 rayed hexagram, with the eye of Horus, to the hood of his robe.
This is a difficult grade to write about adequately, it's multi-faceted nature makes it shift and change rapidly and it is difficult to pin down, much like the quicksilver of its patron deity. Technically speaking the initiate of this grade has made a shift to the left hand pillar of severity, an unbalanced position, and thus given to extremes of expression if care is not taken. There are three paths to be traversed as part of the work here which all head to Netzach. They are Qoph, going from Malkuth via the path of The Moon, Tzaddi, starting from Yesod via the path of The Emperor, and Peh, going from Hod via the path of The Tower. The tasks associated with these three paths are the mastery of divination, the methods of expansion of consciousness, and the destruction of thoughts.
The central task of the Practicus is: To obtain control of the vacillations of my own being. Simply put, the Practicus must learn concentration, one-pointedness, and singularity of purpose. His greatest aid here is the practice of Yoga, and in particular Dharana and Pratyahara. Much of the reading material prescribed for this grade points in the same general direction. Several instructions can be gleaned from Liber E, but as with the methods prescribed for the previous grade I would advise the Practicus to seek out formal training under somebody who knows what they are doing. In the very least one's supervisor will be able to offer guidance.
The practice designated for the expansion of consciousness is called Liber Batrachophrenoboocosmomachia (DXXXVI). Personally I would start with the simpler meditation of Dharana, and when some proficiency is obtained, start with Liber DXXXVI. For this practice I spent considerable time learning the constellations, using apps and online resources and plotted the paths of the planets so that I could then visualise these clearly. Getting outside under the starts is ideal but care must be taken not to let emotions and thoughts of 'the beauty of Nuith' overcome the mind. Now is a time for rational thought, not flights of fancy! This is clearly a very advanced practice and good results will only be obtained if the prior work in the fundamentals of meditation has been sufficiently rigourous.
At this grade the Practicus is expected to complete his Qabalistic training. The texts given here are Liber 777 and Sepher Sephiroth. If the Tarot has been thoroughly learned then this will be a great help at this point. I would expect the major correspondences for the tree of life; the ten spheres, twenty two paths and four worlds, to be memorised, as well as the values and meanings of the Hebrew Alphabet. More information can be obtained in Liber O. There is a deeper meaning here, which is found in the literal meaning of the word 'Qaballah', which refers to a reception.
Receptiveness is key to this grade, a quality that is signified by the forging of the Magickal Cup, in which a number to represent the universe must be discovered by the aspirant and adequately described. Since a symbol and a word to represent the same have already been discovered by the aspirant the number should be consonant with these. This receptiveness is described in the Japanese axiom, that the mind should be "like the calm smooth surface of the water, that reflects the moon and a flying bird", that is to say, the surface is so still and serene, that no ripple disturbs, and a bird can be readily distinguished from the moon. This means that the movement of the mind does not obscure reality as it is in itself, only then can real reception take place. Success in this task is signified by the cup and its number.
Receptiveness is key to this grade, a quality that is signified by the forging of the Magickal Cup, in which a number to represent the universe must be discovered by the aspirant and adequately described. Since a symbol and a word to represent the same have already been discovered by the aspirant the number should be consonant with these. This receptiveness is described in the Japanese axiom, that the mind should be "like the calm smooth surface of the water, that reflects the moon and a flying bird", that is to say, the surface is so still and serene, that no ripple disturbs, and a bird can be readily distinguished from the moon. This means that the movement of the mind does not obscure reality as it is in itself, only then can real reception take place. Success in this task is signified by the cup and its number.
The Practicus must memorise the whole of Liber XXVII, Liber Trigrammaton. To understand this book a study of both the I Ching and the Theosophical system contained in the book of Dyzan. The book itself while obscure is short, and should not take long to memorise. I used imagery and visualization to help in understanding the interaction of the trigrams, as you can see below:
Which, while admittedly imperfect, serves to order the mind via the visual cortex by way of a mandala summarising the book..
Liber HHH (SSS) consists of a practice of kundalini yoga. It is not really possible to force kundalini activity, and really this activity can arise without the aspirant being aware of it, being indicated only in its results. I found I started to have occasional activity long before reaching this grade so it is not restricted to the Practicus. Nonetheless the practice here should be carried out and the results noted.
As for the destruction of thoughts, a little to say on this matter. Quite frankly the only way to really destroy thoughts is to commit suicide, since thought continues even in deep sleep, so the literal destruction of thoughts is not indicated here. The study and practice of Liber XVI (Tvrris) is best carried out once proficiency in the practice of Yoga and Liber HHH has been obtained. The Practicus will also have by this point we hope, completed his Qabalistic training, including the excessive use of gematria. We can think of gematria as qabalistic koans, that is paradoxical problems that use the mind against itself, so that the only way out for the hapless aspirant is to overcome the thinking apparatus itself, and thus escape from the ruins, which we will cover now.
The Practicus task goes well beyond the technical qaballah, to the structure of the mind itself. He should, if he is performing his meditations properly, begin to discern this structure more clearly. He will be in a position to see how and where thoughts arise and how his conceptual framework structures his thinking. Once he begins to discern the limits of his thinking, it follows that breaking out of it becomes a possibility, and thus the path of Peh begins. The image of the tower suggests that all could come crumbling down at this point, blasted by the Eye of God, which is in reality his own inner vision freed from conceptual limitations. Old and outmoded patterns of thought begin to fall away, self delusions, sometimes comforting ones that protected him from less pleasant aspects of reality or shore up a wavering ego may also crumble. This may encompass a loss of faith, a loss of certainty, a lack of reliance on assumptions that previously gave some security. This can be quite threatening to the ego invested in these things, thus the Practicus will experience this grade with discomfort insofar as he is invested in his preconceived conceptions.
The negative aspect of this grade is known as Samael, The Litigation or the False Accuser. This can be seen as a negative reaction of the ego to the dissolution indicated above. If the aspirant is stubbornly unable to let go of outmoded concepts, to shun truth that doesn't flatter his vanity, to ignore reality in favour of a comforting falsehood then he has fallen into the Qlippoth of Samael. Another expression of this qlippoth is the wrong use of knowledge. One aspirant described it to me as a harsh coldness with a lot of severity. I will say that Mercury can be rather blunt and logical, inexorably so in fact, and when taken to a qlippothic extreme, devoid of Agape, Samael is the one who comes up with 'final solutions' to problems, with no thought for the human cost.
The transcendental morality of Hod is Truthfulness, (Liber 777 column 50), which is must more than the refusal to tell a lie but encompasses ones whole demeanor and what we communicate to others, as well as the things we tell ourselves. This truthfulness is implied throughout all I have discussed so far, seeing reality as it is, unvarnished, direct perception. I found that personal integrity was also thoroughly tested at this grade. I found myself in situations where I could have lied to save my own skin, or used (misused) logic to free me from responsibility or the need for honesty. The mercurial mind wants to protect itself and keep the ego from being bruised and so is quite capable of weaving a fiction in order to deceive itself and others. There are of course good reasons to lie at times, when doing so thwarts evil, but doing so in order to cushion oneself from reality and responsibility is never anything but a misuse of the mind. The mind is like a sword in the scabbard, it must be kept sharp and rust free, but it must always be used sparingly and is worse than dangerous unless you have it by the hilt. An important aspect of this grade then is the right use of the mind.
The Practicus task goes well beyond the technical qaballah, to the structure of the mind itself. He should, if he is performing his meditations properly, begin to discern this structure more clearly. He will be in a position to see how and where thoughts arise and how his conceptual framework structures his thinking. Once he begins to discern the limits of his thinking, it follows that breaking out of it becomes a possibility, and thus the path of Peh begins. The image of the tower suggests that all could come crumbling down at this point, blasted by the Eye of God, which is in reality his own inner vision freed from conceptual limitations. Old and outmoded patterns of thought begin to fall away, self delusions, sometimes comforting ones that protected him from less pleasant aspects of reality or shore up a wavering ego may also crumble. This may encompass a loss of faith, a loss of certainty, a lack of reliance on assumptions that previously gave some security. This can be quite threatening to the ego invested in these things, thus the Practicus will experience this grade with discomfort insofar as he is invested in his preconceived conceptions.
The negative aspect of this grade is known as Samael, The Litigation or the False Accuser. This can be seen as a negative reaction of the ego to the dissolution indicated above. If the aspirant is stubbornly unable to let go of outmoded concepts, to shun truth that doesn't flatter his vanity, to ignore reality in favour of a comforting falsehood then he has fallen into the Qlippoth of Samael. Another expression of this qlippoth is the wrong use of knowledge. One aspirant described it to me as a harsh coldness with a lot of severity. I will say that Mercury can be rather blunt and logical, inexorably so in fact, and when taken to a qlippothic extreme, devoid of Agape, Samael is the one who comes up with 'final solutions' to problems, with no thought for the human cost.
The transcendental morality of Hod is Truthfulness, (Liber 777 column 50), which is must more than the refusal to tell a lie but encompasses ones whole demeanor and what we communicate to others, as well as the things we tell ourselves. This truthfulness is implied throughout all I have discussed so far, seeing reality as it is, unvarnished, direct perception. I found that personal integrity was also thoroughly tested at this grade. I found myself in situations where I could have lied to save my own skin, or used (misused) logic to free me from responsibility or the need for honesty. The mercurial mind wants to protect itself and keep the ego from being bruised and so is quite capable of weaving a fiction in order to deceive itself and others. There are of course good reasons to lie at times, when doing so thwarts evil, but doing so in order to cushion oneself from reality and responsibility is never anything but a misuse of the mind. The mind is like a sword in the scabbard, it must be kept sharp and rust free, but it must always be used sparingly and is worse than dangerous unless you have it by the hilt. An important aspect of this grade then is the right use of the mind.
For the Practicus, equilibrium in action is key to his task. We know that he must control the vacillations of his being. We can envisage a spinning top which is stable so long as it keeps spinning. So with the mind, it never stops until death, so we must endeavor to make this movement as smooth as possible. The technical methods to achieve this are those of Yoga, but also encompass his way of life which should become balanced and harmonious. Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and proponent of Zen meditation wrote: "Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony". To my mind this is the ideal mode of life for an initiate, and particularly the Practicus whose mind, an increasingly sensitive tool responding to the slightest touch, must like an astrolabe be allowed to find its own balance. The methods of doing this will vary from student to student and each must find his own balance according to his station in life. It will be obvious that this task has much in common with what I wrote above regarding the magickal cup, essentially approaching the same issue from a slightly different direction.
The final strand of work that the Practicus should be familiar with in that of Invocation, that is, bringing outside forces in. There are a number of ways that this can be accomplished, from purely qabalistic using the hexagram rituals, to more obscure methods. It is essentially up to the Practicus. My Supervisor advised Liber Chanokh and the Enochian system. Liber 418 gives an account of Perdurabos' adventures in this area, from which much of Thelemic doctrine is derived. This system deals with beings that we do not fully understand, but loosely refer to as angels, that is messengers. This system is more complex than the Tree of Life system that he will be accustomed to, but can be an interesting foray into paths less trodden. My supervisor also suggested at this point that I begin to work with Liber Samekh, which was designed as an invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel. In structure this ceremony is like an elaborate version of the Greater Ritual of the Pentagram, complete with Enochian calls and signs. I adapted this heavily using my own symbol, name and number to represent the universe, and modified some of the barbarous names of invocation.
The Practicus advances to the next grade at any time that authority confers it. That is, as usual when he has completed his allotted tasks he submits his diary to his Philosophus who then administers any exams. He recites Liber XXVII and signs the necessary paperwork, and advances directly to Netzach on the pillar of mercy.
Love is the law, love under will.
Love is the law, love under will.
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