On Duplicity

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

Over the last decade, the O.T.O. and its attendant A.'.A.'. group have gradually taken center stage in Thelemic discourse. Naturally, the O.T.O. is perhaps the largest and best-known Thelemic order today. I was a member from 2010 to 2014 before resigning to pursue my own path.

Around that time, J.D. Gunther began to gain attention, particularly within the O.T.O. It was said that he was the head of the A.'.A.'. and closely associated with senior O.T.O. members, including the O.H.O. This was intriguing, especially for those familiar with A.'.A.'. history. It’s worth noting that discussion of the A.'.A.'. during O.T.O. meetings was generally frowned upon. While this didn't stop us, it did lend a clandestine air to the whole affair.

Gunther authored a couple of fascinating books combining Jungian psychology, Thelemic doctrine, references to various ancient sources, and a concept he called 'duplexity.' This doctrine posited that the A.'.A.'. and O.T.O. function as dual currents, akin to the two serpents entwined on Hermes' rod. I read these works with interest but must admit that much of their content felt tangential to my path. Gunther’s interpretations of the A.'.A.'. seemed idiosyncratic, and I found Crowley’s vision to be both purer and more compelling.

Despite flying in the face of Crowley's assertions in various places that there is no essential connection between A.'.A.'. and OTO, the idea of duplexity, from what I can gather born of the imaginings of the author, was seized upon by OTO people as proof of the validity of the order, to the extent that it is today taken as dogma in those circles. It doesn't take much analysis to see what the idea gained traction, despite being at odds with what Crowley himself said on the matter. (For the record, when it comes to Crowley's legacy, I trust what he himself said, rather than trusting interpretations of later commentators). At the time we lapped up what appeared to be new teachings, and all wanted to join the official A.'.A.'., to meet the elusive 'world teacher', get invitations to his lectures, and generally be in the 'in crowd'. Gunther gave off an air of academic rigour and depth that leant weight to his writings, of course we were all ears. 

Despite contradicting Crowley's repeated assertions that there is no essential connection between the A.'.A.'. and the O.T.O., the concept of 'duplexity'—seemingly a product of the author’s imagination—was eagerly adopted by O.T.O. members as validation of their order. This idea has since been elevated to dogma within those circles. It doesn’t require much analysis to see why this concept gained traction, even though it conflicts with Crowley’s own statements on the matter. For the record, I trust Crowley’s direct words over the interpretations of later commentators when it comes to his legacy.

At the time, we eagerly embraced what seemed like fresh teachings. We were all keen to join the official A.'.A.'., meet the enigmatic 'world teacher,' receive invitations to his lectures, and be part of the 'in crowd.' Gunther exuded an aura of academic rigor and intellectual depth that gave his writings a certain authority—and naturally, we were all ears.

I did some digging into J.D. Gunther—his background and the reliability of the claims surrounding him. The earliest reference I could find comes from James Wasserman (anecdotal, but from a credible source). Wasserman recounted Gunther walking into their shop in New York, claiming to represent the A.'.A.'. Upon learning that they were students of Marcelo Motta, Gunther immediately reached out to Motta and became his student.

From this, two points become clear:

1. Gunther had a history of making questionable claims to authority, as he had no formal contact with the A.'.A.'. prior to this encounter, as evidenced by his subsequent actions.

2. He did eventually become a student of Motta, thereby establishing himself as an A.'.A.'. initiate under a traceable instructor.

To his credit, once confronted with a legitimate link to the Order, Gunther acknowledged it and petitioned for admission. However, it’s evident that the idea of a pre-existing connection was already in his mind at the time. I would classify this connection as a spiritual link, and it’s worth noting that such claims are difficult to dispute, provided the claimant adheres to them. After all, "Success is your proof."

Motta was well-known, even then, for being something of a firebrand. He attempted—unsuccessfully—to claim leadership of the O.T.O., ultimately losing that battle in court to Grady McMurtry and a group of Motta's own former students. These ex-students went on to form the current leadership of the O.T.O. Their ongoing affiliation with Gunther as his students in the A.'.A.'. is, in fact, the true foundation of the concept of 'duplexity.'

I believe that the later introduction of the term itself, along with its apparent significance, is largely a concoction designed to justify their position rather than stemming from any genuine mystical revelation.

It is well known that Motta, a student of Karl Germer, had a contentious history with many of his own students. He was often described as domineering, demanding absolute loyalty, and expelling most of his students for various perceived infractions. My current superior was briefly in communication with Motta, but when faced with the same demands for loyalty, he politely declined.

With the exception of Frater Sphinx (David Berssen), nearly every student or associate of Motta eventually found themselves expelled or severing ties with him for one reason or another. Gunther's case, however, was somewhat different. He wasn’t expelled from the A.'.A.'. by Motta; instead, he chose to resign.

How do I know this? from the hand of Motta himself. In his volume of the equinox (https://archive.org/details/TheEquinoxVol5No4SexAndReligion), he clearly states the following:

"James Daniel Gunther, once a legitimate OTO representative, demoted for planning to murder his hierarchic superior. Withdrew voluntarily from the A.'.A.'. and was expelled from the OTO" (editorial, sex and religion, page 11).

Perhaps this is hyperbole. Motta was, after all, somewhat unbalanced—paranoid, to say the least. So why should we believe him? My reasoning is as follows: the editorial notes in several places that Motta expelled various individuals from the A.'.A.'., clearly demonstrating that he had no hesitation in severing ties with students who displeased him. Moreover, he had no qualms about publicly outing individuals he claimed were falsely asserting A.'.A.'. status.

If Motta had truly wanted Gunther out, he could have easily done so. This raises an important point: if Motta expelled Gunther from the O.T.O., why did he not do the same with the A.'.A.'.? It suggests that, at least on some level, Motta recognized Gunther's legitimacy within the A.'.A.'. framework, even if their paths eventually diverged.

It's essentially Gunther's word against Motta's, and both men have a track record of making questionable claims—neither seems above bending the truth. So, who should we believe? Personally, I side with Motta. The reason he didn’t sever ties with Gunther was simple: he didn’t need to. Motta, known for his tendency to expel students with relish, would likely have taken great satisfaction in formally dismissing Gunther. He certainly had the authority to do so, as Gunther appeared to regard him as his superior—a lineage that, as far as I know, is still claimed today.

However, expulsion wasn’t necessary. Given the accusations levelled against him, Gunther made the choice to remove himself.

As any Probationer knows, "Only once does the Great Order knock on any one door" (The Preliminary Lection, verse 6). This implies that each individual receives only one opportunity per incarnation—no second chances. Therefore, given that Gunther resigned, as seems likely based on the evidence, his claim to represent the A.'.A.'. cannot hold true.

If Gunther can provide evidence to disprove this, then I’m all ears. So far, though—crickets. I was once told by one of his Probationers that the real magical link was through Krumm Heller. However, since the O.T.O. has consistently stated that they do not recognize this initiate in any capacity, this seems unlikely. Furthermore, I have not encountered this story being repeated.

Given what we know about Motta, I can’t say I blame him for withdrawing, if only for the sake of his mental health. In his position, I’d probably have done the same—high-tailed it out of there—and, like him, continued the work independently. Could he have aligned himself with another initiate? Perhaps. When my own supervisor resigned, I sought out another and successfully retained a formal link to the Order, one that I was able to verify to my own satisfaction.

However, times were different back then; perhaps that opportunity wasn’t available to him. In such cases—which, as it turns out, are not uncommon—someone may lose their direct, flesh-and-blood link to the Order. But that doesn’t mean the quest must come to an end.

Withdrawing from Motta's discipleship does not necessarily equate to withdrawing from the Great Work. By Gunther’s own admission, he subsequently entered a lengthy period of introspection before reemerging in the 1980s as the leader of what was then the most prominent A.'.A.'. group—the one with its address printed in the back of most O.T.O.-published Crowley books.

If we take Crowley at his word that the A.'.A.'. is a sempiternal Order, then it transcends the mundane concerns of interpersonal politics. I fully accept that one can withdraw from discipleship while still maintaining an inner connection to the A.'.A.'., as the notion of an unbroken chain of transmission from the dawn of time seems highly improbable. That idea resembles the fanciful dreams of the Theosophists more than grounded reality.

This leads to a critical dichotomy: either the A.'.A.'. is a sempiternal spiritual order accessible to anyone who genuinely seeks it, or it is a mundane hierarchical organization where membership hinges on a direct, flesh-and-blood link. If the latter is true, we can reasonably conclude that the A.'.A.'. was merely a creation of Aleister Crowley in his more idealistic youth, and the talk of sempiternal orders is little more than decorative fantasy.

 Personally, I side with Crowley and regard the A.'.A.'. as a sempiternal order of the spirit. “The Brothers of the A∴A∴ refuse none. They have no objection to anyone claiming to be of themselves. If he does so, let him abide by it” (Liber LXXI III:24). This means I have no issue with anyone claiming membership. It doesn’t concern me as long as they don’t impose on or interfere with others.

The A.'.A.'. is an immensely powerful thought-form, directly resonating with the highest ideals of many spiritual seekers. In a sense, once you’re in—once you’ve received the brand—you are in for life. I’ve had students who, despite formally resigning, continue to think in A.'.A.'. terms and use the grade system. They are fully aware that their resignation forfeits their right to claim affiliation with the mundane Order, yet they persist in the work.

I don’t blame them for continuing; after all, their commitment to the principles remains. Importantly, however, they aren’t out making claims of authority, nor are they questioning the legitimacy or integrity of those who choose not to operate under the same banner or submit to their authority. For this reason, I choose not to comment.

Generally, I adopt a live-and-let-live approach, but I draw the line at dishonesty—especially when it is used to deceive others and sow division for personal gain. When duplicity arises, I feel a responsibility to speak out.

I know several people within both the O.T.O. and the Gunther-led A.'.A.'., adherents to the concept of duplexity. To avoid unnecessary arguments, I generally keep my peace, as this has little bearing on my day-to-day life. On the whole, good work is being done within that camp. Some valuable books are being published—some less so—but there are a few truly brilliant occultists and writers affiliated with the group whom I hold in high regard, even though I view the leadership's claims to sole authority as spurious.

Gunther continues to remain active on the lecture circuit. The notion that all A.'.A.'. groups, except theirs, are pretenders surfaces regularly. They have honed the art of authoritative assertion to a fine degree—so much so that their air of certainty leaves little room for challenge. At this point, it feels like finely tuned propaganda, almost convincing in its assuredness. Yet, engaging with it is akin to drinking a draft that initially seems pleasant but harbours a hidden bitterness beneath the surface.

Crowley wrote, to paraphrase, that the hallmark of the Black Brothers is their exclusivity: "We are the men," "ours is the only way." When I look at the Gunther-led A.'.A.'., this is precisely what I see. Not only is the claim to be head of the Order—by my assessment and in the opinion of his superior (who ought to have the final say)—most likely false, but the group’s claims of exclusivity are also highly suspect. It’s worth noting that no other known A.'.A.'. individuals make such claims, even though much stronger assertions could arguably be made by others. This, to me, is a significant red flag.

The projected air of authority from this group feels brittle, like a cracked vase—it appears polished on the surface, but when tapped, it emits a hollow, false note. A little digging into readily available archives quickly reveals the underlying deception. To be clear, I’m not accusing them of being 'Black Brothers' outright, but they certainly display traits commonly associated with that type and may well be heading down that path.

This approach also leans heavily on an anchoring bias among new recruits. People naturally tend to rely on the first piece of information they receive on a topic when evaluating subsequent evidence. Most of us encounter this particular A.'.A.'. group first—often through references in the backs of books. Impressed by its aura of gravitas and lacking any immediate reason to question it, many, at least subconsciously, measure all other claims against this initial impression. I must admit, if you overlook the crucial fact of Motta’s testimony, their presentation is quite convincing.

My (now resigned) superior fell into this pattern, as have some of my students—and I did as well, for quite some time. Simply put, I didn’t know any better until I started examining the evidence.

In any case, it will persist. There is nothing I can do to stop it, and that’s alright. History, after all, is written by the victors—just ask the Catholic Church. My own path with the mundane A.'.A.'. is nearly complete; you could say I’ve passed through Crowley’s system and emerged in clearer waters.

It is only the lingering attachments of my lower self—formed during my time as an aspirant in a small lineage of the A.'.A.'., coupled with my strong aversion to dishonesty, especially in spiritual matters—that make me sensitive to these issues.

Love is the law, love under will.

Martial arts in relation to the A.'.A.'. path

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

I have been fortunate in my life to have been exposed to the martial arts relatively early on. I always had an interest in the martial arts, I practiced a Korean art for about a year in my mid-teens, then at 19 I met a practitioner of Karate, Batto-jutsu, and Tai chi chuan. My interest at the time was largely in the Japanese sword. I remember after discussing this with him he showed me how to cut. Then, handing me a suitable sized stick, told me to go and practice cutting before heading off for a beer. This I did, for hours, and continued to learn from him for years. For the next few years the bokken (wooden training sword) was a constant companion. In fact even after I joined the British Army a couple of years later, except for basic training, I carried a pair of bokken wherever I travelled, even overseas at one point, and trained with whoever was available. 

I also took up the practice of Yang style Tai chi chuan, the longer form consisting of 108 steps. I have now practiced this for over 20 years. 

I have had an interest in Thelema since my teens, and formally affiliated with the A.'.A.'. ten years ago this month. Less than a year after that I also began training in Shinshin-toitsu Aikido (Sometimes called 'Ki Aikido'). I remember one autumn Sunday morning when I had only recently started, sitting seiza in the dojo, the instructor reading from the shoku-shu (book of sayings and readings), "The Universe is a limitless circle with a limitless radius. This condensed becomes the one-point in the lower abdomen which is the centre of the Universe".......I was hooked.

Later exploration revealed to me that Koichi Tohei, the student of O Sensei who went farthest in exploring the ki (氣) aspect of aikido and founder of ki aikido, didn't simply come up with the system by himself, but in addition to intensive training in Zen meditation and the ascetic misogi practices of Ichikukai, started by the Zen master and swordsman Yamaoka Tesshu, inherited a lot of his knowledge from Nakamura Tempu, the Japanese espionage agent who, after contracting tuberculosis travelled the world in search of a cure, obtaining a medical degree in the process and finally winding up in the Himalayas, practicing raja yoga under the semi-mythical guru Kariappa. Tempu on returning to Japan, eventually went on to formulate the system he called shin shin toitsu do. (The way of mind-body unification, sometimes called 'Japanese yoga'). Tohei Sensei was a student of this system, which enabled him to understand and put into practice what he was learning under O Sensei as a student of aikido. 

Tohei eventually went on to start his own organisation promoting shin shin toitsu aikido (aikido with mind-body unification), a merging of the two systems, essentially aikido with raja yoga and misogi training built in. In this system, students practice aikido, and in a parallel track practice shin shin toitsu do. The two systems are tested together, for example you have to pass sets of ki tests at 5th, 3rd and 1st kyu in order to be allowed to test for the relevant aikido grades. This also continues up through the dan (black belt) grades. 

Throughout my own A.'.A.'. path, ki aikido has been a constant companion. My Zelator exams were passed by virtue of the mind-body unification practices taught in the dojo up to sho-kyu (5th kyu aikido), and having recently passed my shodan exam, 9 years after starting, you could say that the art is central to my path. While it is not necessary for A.'.A.'. students to enroll in their local aikido club, It is without reservation that I would recommend such training as a viable and robust training system which meets, and in most instances surpasses the testing requirements of the 2=9 and 3=8 grades, with higher level training even meeting the requirements of dhyana for a Dominus Liminus. The A.'.A.'. path is largely solitary, and one thing lacking I feel is adequate testing. Students could be doing the wrong thing, having bad posture or incorrect breathing, potentially for years without correction, going on to pass these mistakes on to subsequent students. 

While I can't speak of other arts, in ki aikido, asana and pranayama are taught and tested right from the start. You can't progress through the early grades without demonstrating proficiency, and this continues through the higher levels. Most aikido techniques don't work without these fundamentals in place and the uncoordinated practitioner is left with only a hollow shell of the art, which without proper coordination is just an inferior, dance-like form of ju-jutsu. Successful aikido implies successful yoga. The learning and practice of kata (forms) and waza (techniques) requires intense Dharana (concentration) and dhyana (unification) training, leading the aspirant naturally to a unified state required of the A.'.A.'. initiate up to and beyond the adeptus minor level.

Some A.'.A.'. instructors may refuse such things, insisting on using Liber E as the basis of training. That is their prerogative, but personally, if a student goes through a rigourous system like this, which specifically teaches and tests in the requirements of the A.'.A.'., albeit under a different format, I would have no problem with accepting this as evidence for the relevant grades. My yardstick in such matters in not so much adherence to form for it's own sake, but simply practicality, does it get the required results?

Of course there are a lot of other requirements for an A.'.A.'. aspirant, the system is extensive and each must be armed at all points, both for their own training and for teaching others, which is a key part of the system. I consider that yoga is core practice, yet sadly degraded and downplayed by many students who are more interested in other aspects of the system that are more obviously 'occult', while the difficult, rigourous and often unnoticed disciplines of yoga, and their fruits, are forgotten on the bookshelf.

Love is the law, love under will.

When it gets uncomfortable

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

November is here and winter is breathing his cold winds. It is a few degrees above freezing in my apartment when I wake up and there is little I would like more than to lay in bed. Various things are coming up that make it harder to settle down into meditation or any sort of formal practice. Today I have an important pre-test for aikido, in which the senior instructor will determine if we are ready to progress to the next grade and thus be allowed to participate in the formal examination. I have a piece of writing that was five years in the making, winnowed down to a mere six pages in the hope that a publisher will see fit to allow it to go to peer review. The outcome of this, whether I can get a first author publication, will determine the direction of my career and I have to stop myself from constantly checking for updates. A recent health check requires me to have an issue examined further, and while probably nothing there is always the spectre of potential complications. Don't even get me started on the state of the world, politics, the environment.

I know full well that a meditation instructor would probably say, 'just sit'. And I do just sit, but it's not comfortable. after a few minutes I notice the mind has wandered off into speculations, daydreams, playing out worst and best case scenarios. Gone are the physical issues with meditation, years since. After meditating fairly solidly for nearly 10 years now the body quickly settles into zazen mode, itches and aches quickly subside into the background. It's as if the body knows this cross legged posture and knows that it means to relax, to melt into the cushion, spine strait, muscles lengthened, just rest. Still occasionally there are times when just sitting is the hardest thing. The mind is also usually fairly good at this game. Once the slow, tidal ebb and flow of the breath starts, the gentle counting from 1 to 10, a well worn groove, a well trodden synaptic pathway which time and repetition have reinforced to the point where it can quickly dominate the awareness.

Yet still, occasionally, mornings like this. The sense of so many things pending. Short term and long term goals just around the corner, success or failure. Doors closing and opening. In a way this is always going on, although there are crux points where it all seems to converge. It is at these points, where 'just sitting' becomes most important, that it becomes most difficult. At such times all we can do is redouble our determination. Go out for a walk or something, find ways to alleviate excess stress, avoid falling into cyclic internal dialogues or fruitless speculation. In practical terms, do all we can, practice what can be practices, send off that application, submit that paper, attend to your health. But finally, the results are out of our hands. The secret of magic is to perform the ritual and then forget it, go on with life, trust it, and know that in the greater scheme of things it doesn't really matter. There is nothing left to do but sit.

Love is the law, love under will.

Simplicity and regularity in daily practice

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

The idea to write this entry came to me this morning, as I thought it would give a glimpse into the simplicity and regularity which has become a staple of my life in recent years, to show that despite the complexities of the A.'.A.'. as a system, at some point all that gives way to something quite different, if the initiate in question is constituted that way at least.

All the way through the Outer College grades I worked hard at each task, spending hours on it most days, memorising texts and readings, writing and performing complex rituals and trying my best to stick to a rigid routine of ceremonial and Raja Yoga based meditation, and I don't mind saying that it was an uphill slog that took years to complete. I rarely do anything like that now, and quite possibly the most outwardly occult thing I get up to is daily meditation, which I like to make more or less formal.

(Frater Pertinax in zazen)

Daily routine

I usually first stir around 4 or 5 in the morning, depending on the time of year. I get up, have a wash, make a cup of tea, before putting on the robe and settling down into zazen. My method is simple, a four-fold breath for perhaps 5 minutes, perhaps 4 or 5 seconds for each inhalation, exhalation and pause between the two. After the body has relaxed and the mind quietened down I will then count the inbreaths through the nose in cycles of ten breaths, usually between 3 and 5 sets, taking anything between 10 and 30 minutes, although I am not strict about this. The first few cycles I focus my attention on counting the inbreaths, feeling the cool of the breath on the inhalation, and may then switch to a focus on the outbreath for the final couple of cycles. By that time the mind and body are nicely unified and relaxed, I am wide awake and utterly calm. I usually finish up with the first sip of tea (just out of shot).

Following this, most recently my routine has been to perform a star ruby (Liber XXV), and Liber Resh, and may then read for a while, often one or another Holy Book; perhaps the Thelemic canon, Hindu or Buddhist, even Christian texts, usually the more mystical ones and I also enjoyed reading from the desert fathers recently so occasionally dip in to the sayings and stories of those old hermits.

Once the body has warmed up I will do some exercise, single person exercises for Aikido, some Tai chi (Yang style). If the weather is mild I will head outside for this, but often I will practice indoors. These are really moving Yoga so can be regarded as an extension of meditation.

Following that, breakfast, another cup of tea, checking the news, emails etc., and getting ready for work. I try to maintain a meditative and attentive attitude throughout the day, for which Aikido and Resh are perhaps the most useful tools for regular re-centering and focus.

In the evenings things are pretty normal, a couple of days per week I might go out to the park with wooden weapons and practice sword and staff (bokken and jo) forms for an hour, maybe more Tai chi, before coming in to make dinner and probably watch something on Netflix or Youtube, I prefer a good horror film, albeit the supernatural, creepy kind rather than slashers which I don't see the point of. I will also make time through the day to study, play violin or engage in either vocation or hobby related activities. I may have a drink or two on the weekend, or rarely during the week and very rarely to inebriation, I find it best to be moderate about this.

The day is usually finished with a walk in the evening, around sunset, more meditation, reading for leisure before bed at about 8 or 9 at night. As for diary entries, I reserve this for occasional reflections on the path or for interesting turns of events. Mostly daily life is quiet, rhythmic, uneventful, and not worth writing about so I may go weeks between entries. I am not looking for 'results' from my practice, I do it these days only because it is in my nature to do so, and not in order to obtain some result. My main 'task' at the moment is the harmonising of the gunas, and this kind of quiet, focused life suits that aim well enough. Meditation has become like brushing my teeth, it's just something I do in the mornings and I don't feel quite right until I've sat, even for a short period.

The key here I find is regularity, harmony and rhythm, as a car runs best on a smooth road with a measured hand steering, so in life, no impatient revving, pumping the brakes, or other disruptive behaviour from the driver, and as much as possible a clear road and clean windscreen. 

I don't have much in the way of rules, mostly it is just a case of being natural. One rule however is that I don't use any sort of social media between 6pm and 6 am, and don't use any internet at all after about 9pm. This means that the night hours up until dawn are hours of silence, rest and reflection. Before I instigated this I found it was much too easy to disrupt the silence and recollection by checking for messages or emails. Anything from the world that I feel has no place in contemplation and should be limited to the hours of normal human interaction. The result here is that rather than automatically going online and getting lost for hours scrolling through inane material, which was sometimes a problem before, I now simply get up and get on with the morning routine. Once my morning meditation is done, then I allow myself other pastimes.

And there it is, utterly mundane and stripped of all mystical pretense. No grand mystical experiences, no ecstasies or visions, no astral work and no profound spiritual insight, and I am not writing books on occultism or teaching. I just sit on my mat and breath, or else get on with my life in as quiet a way as possible. So, what's the point you might ask? Now there's a secret I don't quite know how to articulate.

Love is the law, love under will.

 

Results magic

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

In this post I want to talk a little on an aspect of the work that I don't really give much attention to. Eagle eyed readers will have noticed that in my title I have (mis)-spelled 'magic'. leaving out the k in Magick. There is a simple reason for this, to me, results magick is not the same thing as Magick. Some will doubtless disagree with this, or misunderstand what I mean, which is perfectly ok. But this is my opinion based on my experience over the last nearly 30 years of messing around with both magic and Magick, and I seek only to express rather than persuade.

My very first experiments at spells were probably at the age of about 10 or 11, when I recall finding a small booklet of spells for an old AMIGA game (not old back then in the early 1990's) of the sword and sorcery type. It had various spoken spells to make it rain, light fires, and other things that I forget. I remember shouting these simple bi-syllabic words at the heavens with my brother, and appearing to have some success in which we both marveled at the apparent power were had tapped, although looking back it was just as likely coincidence and I don't regard this as a result as such. This probably piqued my interest in the occult. Later, on discovering Wicca at about 13, whilst charms and spells are all part of that system, I cannot say I had any real success with them. I remember being a love lorn teenager petitioning the Goddess to make the girl I was in love with reciprocate, which she did after a fashion but not as I wanted, which in hindsight is just as well for both of us. In any case even at that point I had the sense that these things were really only window dressing and not really what the system was about. There was the Goddess and the horned God behind it all, quietly ruling over nature. Wicca has a distinctly religious aspect of the animistic type and somehow messing around with poppets to gain love or money seemed a bit vacuous compared to the great tides of nature. 

Crowley was at pains to separate his system of Magick from the parlour tricks kind of magic that we call results magic, or low magic. That's not to say that one should not ever do results magic, but that it should always be results "Magick". This is to say, that it should be in line with ones True Will. To paraphrase from memory, any other sort of magic (other than the Great Work) tends towards black magic, and to deliberately work towards anything other than the Great Work is black magick by definition. Of course, this means that the first and foremost task of the magician should be the that of discerning the True Will, which in the A.'.A.'. system stats with the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, although we need not confine ourselves to that label.

I spend a fair amount of time using the internet and haunt a few occult, spirituality and Thelema based groups and forums. I often see posters asking for a spell for this, a charm for that, or advice on how to summon some demon from the Goetia. I've even seen people asking how to invoke the Virgin Mary and Christ! These people want spirits, up to and including God himself to manipulate reality on their behalf in order to obtain some secular end that they have been unable to secure for themselves. If God doesn't perform as they ask, they ask Satan or his demons. Others will try to use spells to effect changes in society, make politicians see sense or influence the ruling of high-court judges, and while these desires may be laudable in themselves, only a Magister can really claim to understand the universe, only a Magus has the Wisdom, and for the rest of us the use of magic to effect such things is I think presumption at best. Only one time have I managed to raise a significant amount of energy using results magic, for a protective spell for a friend going to a dangerous part of the world. The result was a backfire, resulting in a near mental collapse on my part and a withdrawal from the occult lasting several years, and however well intentioned my efforts I clearly didn't understand what I was dealing with. Far better to keep things on their respective planes, if you want a better world, work towards it in the usual, pragmatic way, but first, work on yourself, to quote Gandhi: 

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.”

The use of results magic to enact changes to the external world may be labelled as 'spiritual', but in my opinion there is nothing spiritual about it, it is entirely secular in its methods and objectives, and stems from the view of magical powers as a sort of supernatural Swiss Army knife to obtain ends more or less arbitrarily, with no consideration as to whether such things are proper to their nature or to the course of events. In fact, such people don't care about their real nature, their True Will, and are in reality only a collection of wants, justified with one or other label of spirituality.

As I have gone on in life, and with initiation, I have found more and more that I cannot perform even the simplest results magic, such is not in line with my Will. I understand the technical methods, and could probably put together a recipe for such a working well enough, but I lack to energy, the drive, the will to pull it off. On the other hand, not long ago I performed a working using four sigils for four spirits which I evoked directly as part of my current grade work. This was a directly willed task related to and supporting the ultimate end of the work of an Initiate, and instead of the halting, forced and artificial atmosphere of results magic, this was profound, intuitive, simple and effective, and entirely in line with the above quote, in that the subject of the required change was myself, to better express the universal will, not vice-versa. The results started almost immediately and those four forces, which had always been active in my life, now being named and recognised became much more obvious, and thus easier to control, which was the intent of the working. This has led to greater self-awareness and control in my daily life on the one hand, and unexpectedly, greater peace, trust and equanimity in my interior life. A deeper silence has opened up beyond the silencing of the internal dialogue, as a stream opens to a deeper lake, so the superficial silence of interior words has given way to a deeper interior quietude beyond a simple absence of words. 

The reason for this difference is clear enough I think. Results magic is based on exterior wants, the desires of the senses, it is focused on secular ends, on that which arises and passes away. Magick conducted as part of the Great Work, under the direction of ones Holy Guardian Angel, is interior, spiritual, of universal scope whilst also being entirely human and in harmony with our basic nature. The effects on ones outer life are not arbitrary, but are the result of a greater harmonising of the outer and the inner. Another way to put this would be to say that when what you really want is in harmony with the Tao, when ones personal life is in sync with the way of the universal, the True Will, or the Will of God, then magick becomes a natural expression of life rather than a device for fulfilling wishes, and the magician is then no longer a mere 'occultist', but a magician in the true sense, a being more powerful and yet simpler than the pseudo-spiritual type of occultist who wears his spirituality as a sort of posture. Nothing can stop you when you have the momentum of the universe behind you! 

Love is the law, love under will.

 

Inner Order Grades 1: Adeptus Minor 5=6

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

The grade of Adeptus Minor is both the heart of the Great Work and the Heart of the tree of life. It is the summit of the Outer College grades and the focus towards which the aspirant has been aiming all through the preceding work. To get here she will have endured challenges on the physical, mental and emotional planes, have been proven time and again, and finally admitted, after a period of close scrutiny as an Dominus Liminus, to the grade of Adeptus Minor without. 

In truth, this is the furthest anybody can directly lead another, and all subsequent grades must be claimed by the aspirant as part of her ongoing work as a member of the Order of the Rose Cross. While grade papers do exist for these grades, they were written post-Crowley by an unknown successor and are not strictly necessary for advancement, which is not formal, but actual. 

This grade is situated in Tiphareth, the central point of the whole Tree of Life system. In terms of initiation this central point is the apex of the pyramid formed by the four grades of the Outer College, just as a pyramid was constructed by the Neophyte from the four powers of the Sphinx. This pyramid represents the alignment of four aspects of his being in Yetzirah, being the physical, emotional, intellectual, and socio/sexual aspects of the adepts exterior person, harmonised during the period as a Dominus Liminus, precipitating the dawning of the light of the Rosy Cross. 

Adeptus Minor (Without)

There is no set ritual to admit to the grade, although there are guidelines and the oath paper as per previous grades. Formally speaking the Adeptus Minor wears the robe of a Probationer, but with one important difference; within the pentagram on the breast is a symbol, which can vary between Adepti, but which will sum up the attainment of that Adept. I had though that this was a personal adaptation of my own, but began to notice that others were doing the same, thing, so I suppose some traditions arise naturally. My choice is a burning heart girt with a serpent, familiar from readers of Liber LXV. My take is to leave the choice of symbol, or no symbol at all, up to each initiate.

The Adeptus Minor has a single task, to "attain the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel". There are any number of options that the adept may use to complete her task. Liber Samekh can and has been used both as it is and adapted to suit the individual, which is what I did. The call of the 8th Aethyr provides another model, a streamlined version of the Abramelin ritual that only takes half the time to complete. But these are all really fingers pointing at the moon, certainly useful, they create the right mood in the Adept, but they themselves will not cause the Knowledge and Conversation. The thing is, and this should have been apparent for some time, the Adept cannot decide exactly when and where Knowledge and Conversation will take place, you can't simply will it into existence as if you could pull yourself up by your bootstraps! This seems to be a truism in all systems of attainment, and while the aspirant has been in relative control of her advancement through the previous grades, which were really a series of tasks that she could complete in sequence, entrance to Tiphareth is not something that can be forced. You can set the scene, light the incense, put on the soft music, but you cannot force the Holy Guardian Angel to pay you a visit, you cannot force success. There is every chance that the adept will not know success when he sees it if he thinks of it in terms of baking a cake, a little salt here, a dash of Abramelin oil, repeating barbarous words day in day out until like the postman, one's Holy Guardian Angel makes an entrance and solves all of one's problems, telling you to go write a book or start a new religion. Such thinking is doomed to failure. This step requires a different approach, a different mindset entirely, one of grace and a great deal of humility.

All through the Outer College grades, the magician has taken an active role, worked his way up the tree of life, accepted challenges and braved ordeals. He got here largely through grit and determination and by now will be a well honed and disciplined individual. But now, all that is done with, a switch has to occur. Instead of the masculine role, the feminine must be assumed. This is what is meant when it is said that the Holy Guardian Angel is always male. Biological gender here is immaterial, we are not dealing with biological matters, but spiritual ones, and here more than ever the magician must become mystic. The active must become receptive, a sense of Holy expectancy pervades the life of the Adept. For this reason, I tend to regard those who insist that their Angel is female, usually young men, as fantasists mistaking their fetish for illumination.

So, the Adept must set the scene, prepare themselves, truly make themselves fit, and then......wait, and watch. In a way the description of this stage as a sort of marriage is misleading. This waiting cannot be the impatient waiting of a bride for her groom. In a sense it is not even waiting for anything in particular, since such a psychological stance like a cat awaiting the mouse, or a runner awaiting the pistol shot, would create intolerable tension and soon tire. Boredom sets in, and with it stagnation.

Instead life goes on. The adept knows that she is waiting, and what she is waiting for, and thus vigilant awareness is required. Along with this, perhaps for the first time in years, there is nothing else to do, and aside from the routine of the operation and whatever ritual or practices this might involve, life takes on a very ordinary aspect. The adept is a very different person to Probationer who entered the Outer College, perhaps years before: the star in sight is overhead, a sense of knowing is there that was absent before; trust, faith even. Not the faith of 'belief in things which we know to be untrue' of the cynic, but the living faith of one who knows that dawn is approaching, and that the glimmer of pink on the horizon will soon bloom into the first golden rays of dawn.

Adeptus Minor (Within)

Descriptions of the Knowledge and Conversation experience vary. Some are poetic in expression, ecstatic even, while others are more reserved, but they are notable for their paucity, leading to the common conception that it only happened to Crowley, and perhaps a handful of others. I don't know whether this paucity is because the event is rare, or because it is so personal, and people don't want to put their experience on display for fear that somebody will come along and tell them they are dreaming. I propose a third option, that of embarrassment! A light show was expected, flashing words writ across the sky and a voice of thunder declaring the True Will to the enraptured Adept. Quite the opposite seems to be the case. The Adept may even think she has failed, and it may take a while to realise that anything has changed, because in a certain sense, nothing has changed, the Knowledge and Conversation was there all along.

The Adept will have already had the 'Vision of Adonai', and will notice the difference. In my case the vision consisted of waking up one morning to light inside myself, brighter than the light of the sun when I opened my eyes, and a clear, lucid consciousness that what I was waiting for (as a Neophyte at that point) had occurred. The result of this was fresh confidence based on the knowledge that there was something to all of this business of attainment, and the long term effect was a kind of confirmation of the path, which is why, I believe, that a Zelator (2=9) is considered to be on the path for life, whether they like it or not. Reports vary, and it has been described as a 'kiss' of the angel, but I am not an emotional type, and there was no sense of love or eroticism, simply light and awareness that the source of that light was the very heart of my being.

The key difference between this and the Knowledge and Conversation, is the aspect of communication. While one effect of the K&C is the continued purification and refinement the lower sephirah, the real benefit is that inner certainty, trust in life, that even while I don't understand it, and sometimes it is unpleasant, there is a process going on which I am a part of, and that part is ultimately worth it, even though the why is beyond my comprehension. This is Knowledge. While the vision assured me that I was on the right track, the K&C gave specific marching orders, a path which I was to take in life, nothing beyond the realms of probability, no earth shattering revelation of things I'd never considered, but acts that I'd put off for years through fear of failure and a desire to be sensible, to do the right thing in the eyes of others, all of which doubts have since been kicked into the long grass. That was five years ago now and I have followed out the task as given almost to its completion. Not that I think that is an end to it, simply that I have no idea what comes next, and I don't need to know. The path continues.

Some thoughts on the nature of the Holy Guardian Angel: the Holy Guardian Angel is not 'a being', it is being itself, intuited in the mind of Man, and thus taking the form of that mind. However this is illusion, as it must be as an Atziluthic force descending into Briatic, archetypal consciousness with only the vaguest expression in the Yetziratic, astral plane. The Knowledge and Conversation is not an event in time, like a conversation with a person, it is ongoing conversation and communion with pure being. I have read descriptions of flashing lights and unearthly visions, rapture and ecstasy, but I tend to view such descriptions with a degree of scepticism, they are too flowery, they try too hard to make something special out of it, they are full of astral 'noise', the emotional and intellectual content of the perceiver, and to my mind this detracts from the utter simplicity of the event. I am inclined to the opinion that the shock of a vision is in inverse proportion to the readiness of the recipient, as a stone dropped perfectly into a pool leaves no ripple, so the final union is consummated in silence.

Love is the law, love under will.

Knowledge and Conversation is only the beginning

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

The A.'.A.'. path from Neophyte to Adeptus Minor is a long slog. The amount of time, dedication and study required, the tests needing to be sat, the diaries written and submitted, and the plethora of other ancillary tasks to be completed is truly daunting, and many people seem to just get stuck chugging away at one or another grade for years at a time, never mind the ordeals. However, what people fail to realise is that all of this is preparatory and should probably take no more than five or six years. 

Now, I enjoyed my Outer College years immensely. Never in my life had I so systematically studied and practiced the magical and mystical arts. However, once you get to the Inner College you realise that this was all just practice and preparation, essential groundwork but still only preliminary. The Outer College curriculum is designed on one hand to begin working on breaking down mental, emotional and physical limitations, and to give the individual a full suite of techniques to meet any circumstances, a veritable Swiss army knife of occult knowledge, on the other. It has to be like this since as the aspirant has not yet attained knowledge and conversation he has no real idea of what he is and what he should be doing, and so he is trained as comprehensively as possible in all of the classes of methods of attainment. 

It all changes at the Adeptus Minor grade (without). While as an adept in the A.'.A.'. he must be armed at all points, he will now be in a position to select the most suitable tools for his particular job. At the same time his knowledge puts him in a position to teach others. This is essential because one key component of A.'.A.'. membership is the will to teach. Even if, of all the tools available, he himself only requires one or two fine tuned to his own needs, he still has to be able to offer instruction and testing in the full curriculum of the Holy Order if he is to authentically claim his grade.

The Adeptus Minor (within), having attained to the knowledge and conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel, and newly awake to briatic consciousness, has received his marching orders so to speak. A new sense of purpose awakens in him, and although he may not know the ultimate goal of his orders, he knows where to start and intuitively begins the necessary adjustments. If the Outer College is like the private soldier receiving his basic training (an extremely thorough training I might add), and the Adeptus Minor (without) is his commission, this next stage (5=6 within) is akin to his receiving orders from high command (K&C), via the path of Gimel. He may not know the overall strategic mechanism in play and can only guess at his ultimate role in the operation, but he at least knows what to do next and has the necessary tools and training to do so.

While 5=6 may entail a period of repose, it typically shifts gear quite quickly. It is this switch from knowledge to action that constitutes the shift from 5=6 to 6=5. Without trying to cover every detail of either grade, the Adeptus Major not only has his orders, but is actively implementing them, even though he may not know the full meaning of his acts. This is what is meant when it says (One star in sight) that the 6=5 has full magical power, but without comprehension. If will stops and asks why, etc.....he does not need to ask, but he must act, he must follow his orders, the will of his angel.

The Adeptus Exemptus is a much more complete individual. Having learned to discern the will of his angel (5=6), he was given command and told to act (6=5), the act complete and, as is often the case, understanding his role in hindsight, he then comes to understand the deeper strategy, not just what the Angel requires, but what it means (7=4), he knows more fully who he is and what his place in the overall scheme of things is. The adept at this stage is one who has come into his own in life, the captain of his ship, the professor in his college, he then formulates his attainment in his thesis, and only then can he, understanding his role in the action, be in a position to firstly, accept the curse of the next step, and willingly walk into the abyss. He can only offer all that he is to the cup of Babalon if he knows what that all consists of. Further than this, it is not just knowing what one has to offer, but the work and awareness attained in getting to this stage make the next step the only conceivable action when one's life is seen in its proper context in relation to the universal life. I would hazard to say (I'm not a 7=4), that anyone who cannot easily and definitely take this next step has not really attained to the maturity of this grade. If you are ready it's not a jump, but a step, a natural progression. If you are not ready nothing at all can force the issue and failure, possibly even insanity await those who presume to do so. The risk is not that the abyss is inherently dangerous, only that in failing to understand oneself the unprepared adept will not be able to make the jump, and if he insists that he has done so when he hasn't then all of his acts and words will be based on a false premise. This is by definition insanity.

We can see then that the Outer College grades are really preparatory for the step taken at 5=6, and of these the most important is probably the step up from 1=10 to 2=9, the step at which most people stop, unable to attain a genuine interior awareness they remain mere 'occultists', rather than magicians in any real sense. They may bring with them shifts of awareness that seem amazing to the magician traversing these grades for the first time. He will be tempted to hang around and enjoy the view, and this is fine in itself, each to their own. But the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation is only the first real step. The Inner College grades are where the True Will of the Adept is carried out, where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. While success of any given 1=10 is anybody's guess, I would recommend, that each aspirant of the first yetziratic triad (2=9, 3=8, 4=7) makes every effort to complete their Outer College grade work as quickly as possible, without skipping any steps or skimming over anything, but not spending too much time procrastinating and trying to get everything perfect (since you are not an adept, how can you know what 'good enough' is, let along perfect?). Even once these things are done the operation to invoke the Holy Guardian Angel is still ahead, and beyond that, the Great Work awaits.

Love is the law, love under will.