On the contrary, the amount of energy that is released through spiritual technologies is proportionate with the extent that the magicians' personality has been sacrificed for higher purposes. "The art of the magician lies therefore in aligning himself with cosmic force in order that the operation he desires to perform may come about as a part of the working of cosmic activities. If he be truly purified and dedicated, this will be the case with all his desires; and if he be not truly purified and dedicated he is no adept, and his word is not a word of power" (Dion Fortune;118)*
True magicians
whose purposes are aligned with the Will of God have unlimited
possibilities as they are no longer on their own. Egoists doing
black magic won't get very far. Working with this kind of technology
is obviously "a spiritual suicide mission for the personality"
(Wang ;35). Mystecism
and Magic are two sides of the same coin, the Mystic seeking
universal transcendence and the Magician expressing his individuality
in this world in conformity with the will of God, drawing energy
from the potential into the actual. Both are to pay the same
price. Don't
even try
if have not yet built a strong personality to throw away.*The results of healing magic can never be forecasted: Even though any ritual is carrried out with the intention of a desired result, the only certain effect is the clearing of channels between spirit, soul, personality and body. What the ego-personality desires - or even the soul - may be different from the will of spirit. Earthly suffering may sustain if it is the condition is a conscious choice of the soul or of spirit, even though, of course, the ego disagrees. Healing can lead to good health, more money and betteer sex, but not neccesarily so. You never know what energy will do when it has its way. The term 'spiritual technology' could signify this intuition.*
our symbolic capacity
The symbols of our chosen spiritual system will not provide us with true mental descriptions of the spiritual phenomena but serve as links to remote energy resources - just as the icons appearing on the user interface of your computer is not a "true" representation of that which takes place through the circuits and the network. Robert Wang says: "The universal energies are actually formless, yet we perceive them in the guise of our chosen system (...) When the question is asked 'Does the system work', it means: 'Is the symbolic structure of the system representative of universal truths sufficient to carry one beyond the system itself" (...) a symbol is charged with the force it is intended to represent". (Wang ;4). Several spiritual systems, including the qabalah, will provide you with access to the same energies through very different sets of symbols.*
This principle also goes for immaterial beings that appear and communicate with us in consciousness during astral visualisations, rituals or meditation. They seem to have an energetic existence of their own, but their forms are constructed symbolically by the human mind while being perceived. Will Parfitt provides a general definition of immaterial beings: "Any being or entity outside of yourself and/or part of yourself that you may choose (consciously or unconsciously) to view as being 'outside' of you" (...) "the validity of the experience is never in doubt. It is only in interpretation that the psychologist, magician and mystic will differ" (...) "what does matter is that in practical terms they appear to exist and contact can be made with them" (...) "this seems to be nearest to the truth" (Parfitt;191). Compare this with Dion Fortune's definition of angels: "An angelic force may be defined as a cosmic force whose apparent vehicle of manifestation to psychic consciousness is a form built up by human imagination" (Fortune;68).*
rituals of hermetic qabalah
The first ritual in the table below is a general formula of healing magic in seven steps, that is recommended for any type of religious / magic / healing process. The other rituals are examples of the seven-formula being applied in practice, using the symbolic language of the hermetic qabalah. The rituals concerning the Qabalistic Cross, the Middle Pillar, Pentagrams and Hexagrams have been formulated or developed by the Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn that made a vast contribution to hermetic qabalah during the late 19th and early 20th century.*
| ritual | summary |
| The Seven-Formula of Magic | The universal formula of magic, healing, prayer, ritual, spiritual invocation. |
| The State of Meditation | A warmup exercise to magic, leave behind your body, emotions and mind. |
| The Qabalistic Cross | The basic exercise that any qabalist should do, before and after rituals. |
| The Middle Pillar Exercise | Connect with the backbone of the tree, circulate your life-energy. |
| The Lightning Flash | A creative connection with all ten sephiroth, may be the strongest exercise. |
| The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram | Cleans up and seals your magical lab and you. |
| The Supreme Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram | Activates the four elements balanced by spirit. |
| The Ritual of the Hexagram | Meet the planets, sephiroth and zodiacal Signs, the Microprosopos. |
| A Pathworking Ritual | climb the tree exploring the sephiroth, paths and corresponding beings. |
| Qabalistic Tantra | desire, sex and relationships as the urge towards healing re-integration (explicit!) |
| Psychic Self-defense | put a stop to astral attacks, etheric projections and artificial beings. |