131 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
131 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
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BAPHOMET XIø
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Liber DCXXXIII
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{Book 633}
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De Thaumaturgia
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De Thaumaturgia enlarges on the ethical basis of the magical praxis
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for initiates-in-training, and underscores an important principle that
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is all too often overlooked. It first appeared in The International
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(New York, February 1918).--H.B.
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Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
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IT IS NOT POSSIBLE for the Master, o my brethren, who has fought so
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long with those things within Himself which have hindered Him, to
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expect that if toys be given to children they will not play with them.
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But watch may rightly be held lest they injure themselves therewith;
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this paper therefore, as a guard.
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O, My Brethren, even as every dog is allowed one bite, so let every
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wonder-worker be allowed one miracle. For it is right that he should
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prove his new power, lest he be deceived by the wile and malice of the
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apes of Choronzon.
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But with regard to the repetition of miracles the cause is not
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similar. Firstly cometh forth the general magical objection. The
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business of the aspirant is to climb the Middle Pillar from Malkuth to
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Kether; and though the other Pillars must be grasped firmly as aids to
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equilibrium, he should in no wise cling to them. He aspires to the
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Knowledge and Conversation of his Holy Guardian Angel, and all other
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works are deviations. He may however perform miracles when necessary
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in order to carry out this main work; thus. he may perform a
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divination to assist him to discover a suitable house for the purpose,
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or even evoke a planetary spirit to guard him and aid him during the
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time of preparation, if it be necessary. But in all such works let him
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be well assured in himself that his sole object is really that
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Knowledge and Conversation. Otherwise, he has broken concentration,
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and the One work alone being White Magick, all others are Black
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Magick.
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Secondly ariseth a similar objection derived from considerations of
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Energy. For all miracles involve loss; as it is said ``she perceived
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that virtue had gone out of him.'' The exception is therefore as
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follows, that such miracles as tend to the conservation or renewal of
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Energy are lawful. Thus the preparation of the Elixir of Life is
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blameless; and the practices of the IXø of O.T.O. in general, so far
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as they have for object the gain of Strength, Youth, and Vitality.
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It may further be considered just to perform miracles to aid others,
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within certain limits. One must consciously say: I deliberately
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sacrifice Energy and my own Great Work for this Object. Therefore the
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Magician must first of all calculate whether or no the object be
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worthy of the sacrifice. Thus, in the first year of the Path of the
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Master Therion, he, with V.H. Frater Volo Noscere, evoked the Spirit
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Buer to save the life of V.H. Frater Iehi Aour; saying in themselves:
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The life of this holy man is of vast importance to this Aeon; let us
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give up this small portion of our strength for this great end. The
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answer might have been made: Nay, nothing is ever lost; let him rather
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work out this evil Karma of ill-health, and die and incarnate anew in
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youth and strength. It is hard even now to say if this had been
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better. The holy man did indeed recover, did attain to yet greater
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things, did awake a great people to aspiration; no operation could
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ever have been more successful: Yet still there remaineth doubt as to
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whether the natural order of things had not conceived a finer
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flowering.
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But this is a general objection of the sceptical sort to all miracles
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of whatever kind, and leadeth anon into the quagmire of arguments
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about Free Will. The adept will do better to rely upon The Book of the
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Law, which urgeth constantly to action. Even rash action is better
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than none, by that Light: let the magician then argue that his folly
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is part of that natural order which worketh all so well.
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And this may be taken as a general license to perform any and every
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miracle according to one's will.
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The argument has therefore been swung to each extreme; and like all
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arguments, ends in chaos.
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The above concerning true miracles; but with regard to false miracles
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the case is altogether different.
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Since it is part of the Magick of every one to cause both Nature and
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man to conform to the Will, man may lawfully be influenced by the
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performance of miracles. But true miracles should not be used for this
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purpose; for it is to profane the nature of the miracle, and to cast
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pearls before swine; further, man is so built that he will credit
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false miracles, and regard true miracles as false. It is also useful
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at times for the magician to prove to them that he is an imposter;
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therefore, he can easily expose his false miracles, whereas this must
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not be done where they are true; for to deny true miracles is to
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injure the power to perform them.
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Similarly, none of the other objections cited above apply to false
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miracles; for they are not, properly speaking, magick at all, and come
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under the heading of common acts. Only insofar as common acts are
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magick do they come under consideration, and here the objection may be
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raised that they are, peculiarly, Error; that they simulate, and so
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blaspheme, the Truth. Certainly this is so, and they must only be
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performed for the purpose of blinding the eyes of the malicious, and
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that only in that peculiar spirit of mockery which delights the
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initiates in the Comedy of Pan.
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The end of the matter then is that as in Comedy and Tragedy all things
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are lawful, live thou in Comedy or Tragedy eternally, never blinding
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thyself to think Life aught but mummery, and perform accordingly the
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false miracles or the true, as may be Thy Will.
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Love is the law, love under will.
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