On vertical and horizontal relationships in A.'.A.'.

 Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.

Teacher/student relationships of any kind are inherently unbalanced, the teacher appears to have authority, and the student is obliged to reveal themselves in ways which are somewhat unnatural in order for assessment to take place. This places great responsibility on the teacher, which is why my supervisor advocates that nobody of lower grade than 5=6 take on students.

In principle, I agree with his opinion. Unfortunately however this seldom works in practice for practical reasons, essentially not enough Adepti to go around. To deal with this issue we select students of at least one grade higher, but the higher the better, than their prospective students, who in theory should be able to take on the responsibility. In some ways this experience is part of the test of their grade, and at the very least is likely to give them a reality check.

These relationships are tricky enough as it is, but when you throw romance and sex into the mix, things can get messy quickly. I have seen more than one promising initiate founder on this particular rock, and so, while we cannot outright forbid such relationships, we in no way condone them. For a start, it's highly unprofessional, as much as, if not more so than if a professor were to sleep with their students, and more than one spiritual group has come apart at the seams due to these sorts of relationships, so this is a known risk and we'd be fools to ignore it.

In the Neophyte grade we hear of the Vampire ordeal. We should be aware that this can take any form and occur at any grade. The 'vampire' may also be as much victim as the vampirised, especially in a Probationer/Neophyte situation where both are relatively new to the system and comparatively untested, their vulnerabilities not fully uncovered. This mutual parasitism may at first appear sweet. Where each is delighted not only that their carnal desires are being satisfied, but that their paramour seems to share so much, even the path itself!

Such couples might last, and may settle into something workable, so are not to be entirely denied. But there is strong potential for real progress to stop right here as the couple direct their energies to one another, the Great Work becomes an afterthought, or little more than a pantomime, with sex as the real object.

The more common situation is eventual breakup. The relationship is inherently unbalanced, and being conducted between two essentially unbalanced individuals (initiation is an unbalancing act, by definition it upsets the status quo). Then, when the rupture comes, it affects not only the romantic, but the professional relationship with which it has become entwined. One or the other, but usually the junior member of a pair, is cast adrift, and both may suffer damage.

This is not just theory, I've seen it on more than one occasion and this lineage nearly fell apart about a decade ago for this exact reason, when a relationship at the heart of things fell apart, so did the lineal secession as the junior member, who happened to be my superior, resigned from the Order and was never heard from again. Therefore I can only recommend that teachers maintain professional integrity, so those who swear an Oath to attain by the methods of the A.'.A.'., and who recognise that their attainment is based on service to their inferiors, should really take this to heart, and think twice before taking a student to the bedroom.

Love is the law, love under will.

The Blood of the Lamb

Every thought, word, deed, is a sacrifice of sorts. To whom and to what we sacrifice matters, and in the Path, this is critical.

As practitioners, our ritual acts can be carried out in the wrong way of the right way. Magick often seems to be aimed at achieving a goal, so it is ultimately transactional. If you sacrifice a goat for better crops, you are down one goat, and chances are the weather will remain as it is. If you meditate to get enlightened, then you are in effect doing little different from the tribesman sacrificing his goat, hoping that in exchange for your time doing meditation you will 'get' something. Your practice is then transactional, you have not even begun to understand sacrifice.

In ancient Hebrew religion the sacrifice of the lamb was transactional, of given in thanks for some boon from YHVH, or else something like the goat given to Azazel as 'blood payment' for the sins of the tribe. In Christianity this morphed into human sacrifice, the Lamb of God being Christ himself, or God incarnate. Here, mystically speaking, we have the sacrifice of self to self, since God is sacrificed for the sins of man, a blood offering to God Himself of Himself. This is closer to my conception, since it is not really transactional, what does God get by sacrificing Himself to Himself? The Christians teach only that in this way the sins of the world are paid for. But this is easy to misconstrue, and these days is aped daily by the church whilst the real sacrifice is hidden and unknown. Most never even approach that alter, let alone make the sacrifice, so I will attempt to clarify.

The Blood of the Lamb is us, our lives, our very being. Every moment we act, or refuse to act (which is itself an action), and so every act is a sacrifice. The Blood of the Lamb flows continually, but at what alter? What God to we truly worship? 

Many sacrifice at the alters of profit and gain, making money, obtaining riches. They give their life's blood to that end, and when the end comes, though richer in gold, they are as poor as anyone. A rich corpse is as much a corpse as a poor one. We can also sacrifice in a million small mindless ways to our habits and impulses, our compulsions and petty desires. These too, though we don't realise, are our Blood Sacrifice. What alter does your lamb bleed on today?

Or we can sacrifice on the meditation seat, in practice, training the mind and body. Often meditation is boring because we are not really meditating, but waiting for the bell to ring so it will be over and we can say we did it. A sacrifice grudgingly given is no sacrifice at all. Magical ritual performed for the sake of being seen as a magician, or for the sake of getting something out of it is not real ritual, only the sacrifice can really be called ritual, although it can take many forms it is of a singular essence. 

The sacrifice must be of the most virgin white Lamb if it is to be a sacrifice at all. 

Therefore, when we give our lamb to the sacrifice, it must be the best of the flock. When we sit in meditation, we sit completely for the sake of sitting. Ritual is for the sake of ritual, "work, and be our bed in working" as the book says. This alone is the Blood of the Lamb, and when we sacrifice in this way the blood is truly acceptable.