Part One: The Middle Pillar - iPage

Introduction to the Second Edition xxvii
So it is that, at a time when the planet seems to be rocking
beneath our feet, I derive great pleasure from writing an introduc-
tion to a new edition of The Middle Pillar. It is that pillar which
stands dependable and relatively changeless as the sphinx,
between the extremes of Mercy and Severity, the two outer pillars
of the Qabalah's Tree of Life.6 Equally important, it also provides
basic principles of magic whch can speed the student on his way
to blessed release from the necessity of the accursed wheel. Once
he has gained this new understanding, the student, it is to be
hoped, will gradually but steadily progress until he has completed
the Great Work. In so doing, not only will he help himself by step-
ping up his own evolutionary processes, but to that degree will he
have raised the frequencies of hs fellow man and even the planet
itself, since all that is, is one.
Frances G. Wickes in The Inner World of Choice points out that
we must "accept the experience that will bring to birth a latent
potential," and be willing to dare the leap into the unknown, div-
ing deep into the unconscious "in search of the other unborn or lost
potentials of the self."7
The Middle Pillar should prove a trustworthy guide on this
search. It involves several distinct methods, each of which has been
designed for a specific purpose, yet all work together to accomplish
the ultimate goal, to erase the barrier between the conscious self and
the unconscious, and to enable the student to find within the self,
the Great Self who is in reality the only saviour he will ever have.
The use of the Qabalistic Cross, as described in an early chap-
ter, serves as an ideal means of aiding the ego to undergo an enor-
mous expansion, to open up consciousness on a voluntary ordered
level to the dictates of the unconscious. The so-called Banishng
Ritual of the Pentagrams is a vital techruque designed to eliminate
undesirable elements from the psychc sphere, and thus to permit
the process of consciousness expansion to proceed without harm or
hndrance. The use of the archaic exercise referred to as the Middle
Pillar will increase the field of attention, aid in the achievement of
balance and equilibrium, and unfold to the aspirant a completely
new and remarkable sphere of power and spiritual perception.