The Tree of Life : A Study in Magic - Global Grey
The Tree of Life : A Study in Magic - Global Grey
The Tree of Life : A Study in Magic - Global Grey
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THE TREE OF LIFE 157<br />
are lost, degenerat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to mere astral " tramps." Let the student<br />
take this warn<strong>in</strong>g to heart. <strong>The</strong> astral must be used either to obta<strong>in</strong><br />
def<strong>in</strong>ite knowledge or to serve as a stepp<strong>in</strong>g stone, a rung on the<br />
celestial ladder to yet more subtle planes ; otherwise there is life-<br />
long stagnation there, overcome by <strong>in</strong>toxication, entangled <strong>in</strong> the<br />
seductive serpent-snares tempt<strong>in</strong>g the unwary and foolhardy. It<br />
is a reflect<strong>in</strong>g world where one easily may get lost, unless the<br />
aspiration is pure and strong. Hours, days, and years even, may<br />
be spent <strong>in</strong> futile vision with as little ga<strong>in</strong> as if one looked for long<br />
hours <strong>in</strong> a mirror <strong>of</strong> glass. " For those to whom <strong>in</strong> their spiritual<br />
evolution these apparitions arise I would say : try to become the<br />
master <strong>of</strong> your vision, and seek for and evoke the greatest <strong>of</strong> earth<br />
memories, not those th<strong>in</strong>gs which only satisfy curiosity, but those<br />
which uplift and <strong>in</strong>spire, and give us a vision <strong>of</strong> our own greatness ;<br />
and the noblest <strong>of</strong> all Earth's memories is the august ritual <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ancient mysteries, where the mortal, amid scenes <strong>of</strong> unimag<strong>in</strong>able<br />
grandeur, was disrobed <strong>of</strong> his mortality and made <strong>of</strong> the company<br />
<strong>of</strong> the gods."l<br />
Certa<strong>in</strong> methods, it must be advised, are extant by which the<br />
<strong>The</strong>urgist may test the accuracy <strong>of</strong> his vision and ascerta<strong>in</strong> whether<br />
he has not been grossly deceived by elementals or the nature <strong>of</strong> his<br />
own phantasy-creat<strong>in</strong>g m<strong>in</strong>d. By these methods also the possibility<br />
<strong>of</strong> gett<strong>in</strong>g lost <strong>in</strong> the maze <strong>of</strong> astral phantasmagoria is precluded.<br />
Assum<strong>in</strong>g the <strong>The</strong>urgist to have obta<strong>in</strong>ed a vision <strong>of</strong> Mercury let<br />
us say, by hav<strong>in</strong>g used the Mercurial seals <strong>of</strong> Henry Cornelius<br />
Agrippa or the Key <strong>of</strong> Solomon the K<strong>in</strong>g, upon return<strong>in</strong>g to his body,<br />
his first task should be to write up the experience <strong>in</strong> a special diary<br />
kept for that purpose. In pass<strong>in</strong>g, it should be made the order <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Magic</strong>ian's life to keep a scientifically entered diary <strong>of</strong> the magical<br />
experiments and visions, s<strong>in</strong>ce this is conducive to order and equi-<br />
librium which is the direction whither his aspiration tends. More-<br />
over, <strong>in</strong> true scientific fashion these visions should be recorded<br />
<strong>in</strong>asmuch as the entry deletes many possibilities <strong>of</strong> ambiguity,<br />
s<strong>in</strong>ce memory is not always fallible or trustworthy after a period<br />
<strong>of</strong> time has elapsed, and lays down <strong>in</strong> writ<strong>in</strong>g the procedure which<br />
may aga<strong>in</strong> be followed <strong>in</strong> the verification and check<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> the vision.<br />
Immediately after each experience and vision the diary should be<br />
attended to.<br />
In the columns <strong>of</strong> Barrett's Magus or Agrippa's de Occulta<br />
<strong>The</strong> Candle <strong>of</strong> Vision. By A. E.