(...) General theories about the nature of the being Choronzon are completely meaningless. By following them you are just led further away from what needs exploring. All they do is to put another label on top of an existing one - and thus seal away the actual experience even further. — I’d like to hope that for Crowley Choronzon wasn’t a label - but a living seal that expressed and summarised his personal experiences in the Abyss. It was the ‘you’ that he encountered on his journey into this darkest of places. If we really have to, then I’d encourage all of us to find our own Choronzon, our own ‘you’s as we explore the magical realm.
Read More"Magic and training? Are these two not contradictory and incompatible concepts? Are the two terms not mutually exclusive? Can you be trained in something that according to the general conception and representation is a discipline of self-responsibility, of active self-awareness and thus a process of self-knowledge par excellence, that defies any specified instructions or even preconceptions?" -- Agrippa
Read MoreWhenever the topic of magical titles or grades comes up I felt pretty divided. On the one hand I couldn't care less about symbols of hierarchy invented by humans and labeled onto other humans. At the same time, the way my mind worked for the first decade of magical training I really needed something that acted as milestones to map out the magical path I was following. At IMBOLC we used the classical 10° system mapped onto the Tree of Life. I remember the first three years, practicing daily for at least an hour and probably having done about 16 practical and theoretical exams before I was granted the grade 1°=10 Zelator... -- So what does it mean to me today, if someone calls me an Adept? Is this a title I should accept or refuse?
Read MoreOver the course of our exploration into the history and teachings of the order we were able to identify a few clear lines of transmission that came together and were united within their teaching. Especially important to identifying these lineages were the works of Gershom Scholem, Karl R.H. Frick and Jakob Katz. The below synopsis represents a highly simplified overview on the most important influences on the documented teachings of the Asiatic Brethren (...)
Read MoreLet’s begin by calling out that anything we are about to hear in this chapter we were never meant to hear. The Asiatic Brethren were founded in 1781; in 1701 the 15 year old maidservant Dorothee Tretschlaff had been the last victim of a German witch-trial and was beheaded in public. Of course 80 years later the executive power of the Catholic Church had further diminished and the struggle for the Age of Enlightenment had captured large parts of society. (...) So naturally we have to assume that the Asiatic Brethren took according precautions. The most obvious and secure of which obviously would have been to establish two streams of transmission: one in writing, and a second, more closely guarded of individual oral instructions.
Read MoreLike any good occult order the AB strived to provide a founding myth leading back into an ancient lineage. This was particularly important as we see highlighted in the order’s name, the aim was to establish a particularly strong connection to Asian occult traditions. The term ‘Asia’ in this context, however, is a vague reference to Asia-Minor. Thus it indicates a tradition that doesn’t stem from the European mainland, but from the Orient instead. Secondly, the term aimed to function as a name-tag which in the 18th century marked a tradition that was equally - or possibly more - ancient than the established Roman Catholic and Jewish orthodoxy.
Read MoreThis is the second chapter in our exploration of the order of the Asiatic Brethren. During the first chapter we undertook an excursus into Sabbatianism. However, in order to prove a direct influence of Sabbatai’s teachings on the Asiatic Brethren, we still need to bridge more than hundred years from Sabbatai’s death in 1676 to the founding year of the order in 1781. A second, maybe even more magical excursus on our Western Mystery tradition will therefore lead the way and quite easily guide us over this bridge.
Read MoreSo what is it that makes this short-lived order stand out from the crowd of other secret societies of its time? Why has it been hailed - rightly or wrongly so - to be one of the critical forerunners of the Golden Dawn and many its descendants - as well as to be an influential force on so many of our ancestors such as Eliphas Levi, Papus, P.B. Randolph, Frederick Hockley or Kenneth R. H. Mackenzie?
Read MoreIn spring of the same year Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa was born - 1486 - a mysterious scholar, forgotten by the Western Magical tradition and remembered only by academic history, explained the key concepts of Jewish Kabbala to a young Italian philosopher and squire. The latter was called Pico della Mirandola and became world-renowned as the founding father of Christian Kabbala and remembered until today as a pivotal force in the emergence of Renaissance philosophy and Hermetic magic. The former, however, vanished with little traces into the mists of our Western occult memory...
Read MoreWhat I am about to share here and for the first time in English language is one of the finest gems of their collections. It is the transcript of a lecture given in 1933 by a German Jewish magician and lodge member by the name of Brother Leonardo. In fact it is the second lecture of his in a small series. I will share the speech without any long introductions. For whatever it is worth to other people, this lecture in my eyes deserves to stand on its own, to speak for itself and to find ears that can hear wherever you may life.
Read MoreWell, I should warn you - this might be the most foolish post I shared yet. For one, because the two reports of magical experiments from the 1920s which I have translated for you don‘t shed a very positive light on our art and ancestors. In fact, they are probably amongst the worst examples of how to practice magic. As so often the anonymous magician involved seems to have held sufficient half-knowledge to be dangerous - dangerous all at the same time to himself, to his scryer, to the beings he worked with as well as to his own cat.
Read MoreVolker Lechler’s biography of Heinrich Tränker opens a profound new perspective on our magical past as it emerged in the early 20th century. Based on the life and work of Tränker as its central hub the book paints an equally broad and incredibly accurate and detailed picture of the origin stories of many of our current magical orders and how they were formed by the personalities and human weaknesses of their founders.
Acquiring such knowledge and understanding of one’s own tradition’s history is so much more than satisfying academic or historic curiosity. It enables today’s students of magic to consciously realise the human errors woven into the tapestry of tradition they learn from.
Read MoreTo see the three luminaries from Natura Naturans people had traveled for long distances into town, sought for sleeping places over night and of course paid 250 EUR ($330) in advance. Unfortunately five minutes into the seminar I had my doubts wether making all that effort had been a smart decision...
Read MoreReading and writing about the works of Emil Stejnar opened a fascinating door into a new magical paradigm for me. Yet, at the same time my own magical practice is strongly influenced by the techniques and inner pathways Josephine McCarthy lays out in her seminal works.
Read MoreAs the fifth book in the series of the Books of the Master Emil Stejnar published a volume called ‘Magic with Astrology - The Genetic Code of Spirit and Soul’. What follows is my personal review of the first edition of the book in German language.
Read MoreEmil Stejnar (* 1939) is an austrian born gold- and silversmith, a hermetic magician as well as a famous author and astrologer in many German speaking countries. He is known as the spiritual successor to Franz Bardon and has worked with, corrected and expended Bardon’s works for more than fifty years.
Read MoreIn the previous chapter we explored the nature of poison, its relation to magic and the concept of transformation. In this post we will return to our first assumption and explore its relation to the magical chalice specifically.
Read MoreReading Daniel Schulke's VENEFICIUM is a bit like talking a walk early in the morning, when the fields are still covered in fog. It's the time when it is most easy to loose your way and much of the beauty of the land is still hidden behind clouds of mist. It can be a beautiful walk or it can really piss you off if you are trying to get somewhere.
Read MoreHere is the third and almost final part of a truly magical tale. Because it's been a while since we started this journey let me share a bit of context. Alternatively, feel free to skip the next paragraphs and jump right into it...
Read MoreSome people asked me why I burned the rosy-cross. I guess that’s a fair question? My initial answer was it is a personal matter and so it is indeed. But on pondering about it, I realized there are actually a few things I can share about it. So should you be interested to learn about the use of mesas in ritual magic, here are some thoughts...
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