Esoterica
Hold it right there! It is not my job to explain what others may have said either about me or about Occultism. I do not feel called upon to justify my teachings using anyone else's terms. If I were inviting you to accept what they said or to believe what they stood for, then you would be justified in demanding an explanation. In reality though, I am not competing for your attention and neither am I taking part in the 'Magician of the Year' contest.
backWhy are Occult books difficult?
If a book is hard to understand, it could just be badly written, but then again the fault could lie in the quality of the reader's mind. Of course, the fact that a book is bad need not stop it being popular. Browse in any bookshop and you will see what I mean. We cannot blame the shop-keeper; he does not want his shelves full of stuff that will not sell, so he is happy to stock rubbish if it brings him a profit. But newcomers are appalled at the shortage of books that explain Occultism well, and I hope to go some way toward making amends.
A comedian jibes at an Oxford professor: 'if you are so clever, explain nuclear physics to me', but he is not being fair. Nobody could explain nuclear physics to someone who lacked a good grounding in the subject. Are you being fair to yourself when you struggle to get a good grasp of Occultism? You have to be trained before you can extract the essence from a good book. If you get a glimmer, fine; but if you are left in the dark still, tough luck. Of course, many books try to look impressive by being deliberately obscure. 'Sorry,' they say, 'I am not allowed to say more about that!' They weave an air of mystery and an atmosphere of dread, as if trespassing on forbidden territory.
A deceitful author pretends that he is not supposed to let you in, but he is willing to make an exception in your case; a Master offers you truth without such hints and innuendos. Be on your guard — when reason is too easily overawed, someone may ravish your soul.
backAre we too easily impressed by occult jargon?
Think of Macbeth: what would the witches' cauldron be without a bit of 'double, double, toil and trouble', eh? The human mind seeks authority and therefore it likes to be impressed. When it cannot understand, it feels that it might have found something staggeringly wonderful. In addition to that, it is a normal part of any dedicated pursuit or pastime to know the 'in' terms, the secret language, and the jargon of the fraternity. When we can use it airily, we are showing all the other members that we too belong. I have met many well-known personalities of the Occult world and I never fail to be amused by their habit of toying playfully with the vocabulary of magic. It is the equivalent of name-dropping in the world of theatre, I suppose. Jargon is a form of pretentiousness adopted by occult fops, and it is often 'put on' in order to conceal an appalling lack of in-depth knowledge.
backWhat are your views on Cabbala?
I am not Jewish and I am not a Zionist, so why should cabbala have any significance for me? As an Occultist, I do not appeal to any kind of Judaeo-Christian point of reference. In any case, what is the attraction of a system just because it is foreign to you and therefore exotic? The hushed attitude to Cabbala has its origins in the Middle Ages when it provided a convenient cover-story for Occultists when they bumped into the Inquisition. 'No, no, no! I am not pursuing forbidden practices. I am just studying the Bible in its original Hebrew. That is all.' So far as it is possible to tell, no one has yet found a single 'secret' of any practical value, but this does not prevent scores of books being written on the subject .. and they tend to be among the most expensive.
backIt is an artificial language, first invented by Dr John Dee, a famous courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Since he was also a spy, he was used to codes and ciphers. The objections against this language being 'genuine' are: (1) the gods and spirits in the Beyond have no need of a secret language; (2) this one has letters rather than pictograms and they are unnecessarily complex; (3) it has never once been used in any communication coming from the other side; (4) Dr Dee needed to curry favour by performing acts that impressed his gullible contemporaries. Or to put it all in a nutshell: Enochian is a confidence trick.
backThe gods have never set up their own version of MI5 or the CIA. In contrast to human intelligence agencies, they can understand every language that we have ever invented .. and a few more too. Before we make an utterance, we formulate a concept in our mind, and the gods can detect this. Speech and language are used when humans communicate with other humans.
backWhat about Crowley's 'Magick Voice'?
My father never suggested that the Gods were deaf either, but he did believe that speech, like any other aspect of ritual behaviour, ought to be special and marked apart. He was trying to distinguish 'the sacred' from 'the profane'. He said that when we spoke with the Beyond, we ought not to do so in a manner that was reminiscent of our everyday life, but rather to make it 'special'.
backWhat can be seen in somebody's aura?
A person's aura is not always visible, and even when it is visible, there can be different degrees of clarity, distortion and brilliance. And if we could all see the aura in its full splendour, would we understand it? We think we know what facial expressions mean, but that too is imprecise and we often get it wrong. It is said that the aura reflects the inner condition of the person's mind and soul, as well as indicating his general state of health. When I take the trouble to look, and I do not do it all the time, I can usually detect such matters as worries, aches, and recent sexual experience. In other words, I can tell if he is in a bad way or not. It is almost always possible to discern the wounds and scars of his earlier life too, but it is not my job to act as a judge. Faculties like this should only be used in order to help people.
backAs it is popularly thought of, yes. However, I do accept that there are stars out there and that we have planets circling the sun, and I can accept that there is probably life elsewhere in the universe. Aleister was not deluded by the notions of astrology either but, like many other celebrities of his time, he dressed his 'shop window' in a way that pleased his clientele — and kept his private thoughts to himself.
backSorry, there was no Atlantis! Tectonic plate theory of geology and exploration of the ocean floor by satellite more or less prove this. Neither were there seven root races. The human population was originally extremely small and we may well be descended from something like only seven mothers. Ideas about alien life are a kind of collective 'wish projection' and they can lead to self-delusion or even madness. The thing about remote pre-history is that ideas are difficult to disprove and this allows any kind of crackpot speculation to be advanced as a theory. UFOs and alien abduction is a striking example of this, and thousands of people find crop circles meaningful, despite the confession of the jokers who actually made them. People cling to whatever symbols they have used to represent their hopes. That hope may have little basis, but no one can prove that it is entirely false. These fantastic theories can be viewed as symptoms of rejection and inadequacy, and it is remarkable just how readily the enthusiast will defect or change his allegiance if something more convenient comes along.
backNo. I have a unique set of tarot cards myself that I shall be publishing shortly, but many features of Occultism have been tacked on, like accessories being added to a car or a computer. People are often more drawn by these 'accidentals', and allow their mind to be seduced by 'epiphenomena'. This kind of stuff has no bearing at all on central issues. Once you have decided what a kitchen is for, you can prepare better food and enjoy more delightful meals without cluttering the working-space up with unnecessary gadgets. However, if you find that a particular tool is indispensable to your style of working then by all means use it.
back