CEREMONIAL MAGIC

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CEREMONIAL MAGIC

Practitioners of ceremonial magick are usually called occultists and are said to be students of the surviving wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus. (Mythological blend of Egyptian god, Thoth, who governed mystical wisdom, writing and other disciplines, and the Greek god, Hermes, personification of wisdom, patron of magick, the swift winged footed messenger god who carried a magick wand, the caduceus.) According to myth, both Thoth and Hermes revealed to mankind the healing arts, magick, writing, astrology, science and philosophy. Neo-platonic philosopher, lamblichus, credits Hermes with the authorship of thousands of books, as does Manetho, Egyptian priest, who wrote the history of Egypt in Greek. Hermes provided the wisdom of light in the ancient Egyptian Mysteries.

Ceremonial magic varies. Usually groups are called Lodges or Orders; the study is called Hermetics. The key purpose is to pursue the 'Great Work', which is to obtain control of the nature and power of one's own being. A notable occultist of this century was Dion Fortune, student of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, author of many books, and founder of the Society of Inner Light.

In ceremonial magick, the student becomes a 'priest' or channel for the unseen forces, (contacts on the inner planes) and commits himself to the 'work' which is regeneration of himself and the planet. Generally speaking, the function of the advanced initiate is to act as a pioneer in the march of human evolution. The point of meditation is to try and pick up energies, communications or symbols that are pertinent to the ritual task at hand. Leaders of some of these groups, go through years of training, and are usually called adepts. Applicants must take lengthy complex correspondence courses, which are marked regularly before they are admitted as candidates. Those who join such groups, must be willing to combine personal power with service, under the command of adepts. They agree to a disciplined course of study, and are willing to tolerate a fairly strict hierarchy.

Some of the texts include Christian elements, such as establishing a closer relationship with Jesus. Much of the practice is rooted in Kabbala, a Jewish mystical written and oral tradition based on the Tree of Life. During the Renaissance, Christians converted unveiled components of Kabbala into Christian magickal orders, including Rosicrucian societies and Freemasons. Unfortunately, as we are to see next, they ignored the scrupulous Jewish moral criteria for the study of Kabbala.

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