304 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
304 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
Abstracted from "Magick in Theory and Practice" by Aleister Crowley
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I) DEFINITION
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Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity
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with Will.
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Illustration: It is my Will to inform the World of certain facts within my
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knowledge. I therefore take "magickal weapons", pen, ink, and paper; I
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write "incantations"---these sentences---in the "magickal language" ie,
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that which is understood by the people I wish to instruct; I call forth
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"spirits", such as printers, publishers, booksellers and so forth and
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constrain them to convey my message to those people. The composition and
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distribution of this book is thus an act of Magick by which I cause
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Changes to take place in conformity with my Will.
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note: In one sense Magick may be defined as the name given to Science by
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the vulgar.
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II) POSTULATE
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ANY required change may be effected by the application of the proper kind and
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degree of Force in the proper manner, through the proper medium to the proper
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object.
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Illustration: I wish to prepare an ounce of Chloride of Gold. I must take the
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right kind of acid, nitro-hydrochloric and no other, in a vessel which
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will not break, leak or corrode, in such a manner as will not produce
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undesirable results, with the necessary quantity of Gold: and so forth.
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Every change has its own conditions.
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In the present state of our knowledge and power some changes are not
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possible in practice; we cannot cause eclipses, for instance, or transform
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lead into tin, or create men from mushrooms. But it is theoretically
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possible to cause in any object any change of which that object is capable
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by nature; and the conditions are covered by the above postulate.
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III) THEOREMS
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1) Every intentional act is a Magickal act.
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Illustration: See "Definition" above.
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note:By "intentional" is meant "willed" But even unintentional acts so
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seeming are not truly so. Thus, breathing is an act of the Will to
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Live.
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2) Evey successful act has conformed to the postulate.
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3) Every failure proves that one or more requirements of the postulate have
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not been fulfilled.
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Illustrations: There may be failure to understand the case, as when a
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doctor makes a wrong diagnosis, and his treatment injures the patient.
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There may be a failure to apply the right kind of force, as when a rustic
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tries to blow out an electric light. There may be failure to apply the
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right degree of force, as when a wrestler has his hold broken, There may
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be failure to apply the force in the right manner, as when one presents a
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cheque at the wrong window of the Bank. There may be failure to employ
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the correct medium, as when Leonardo da Vinci saw his masterpiece fade
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away. The force may be applied to an unsuitable object, as when one tries
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to crack a stone, thinking it a nut.
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4) The first requisite for causing any change is thorough qualitative and
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quantitative understanding of the conditions.
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Illustration: The most common cause of failure in life is ignorance of
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one's own True Will, or of the means to fulfill that Will. A man may
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fancy himself a painter, and waste his life trying to become one; or he
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may really be a painter, and yet fail to understand and to measure the
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difficulties peculiar to that career.
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5) The second requisite of causing any change is the practical ability to set
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in right motion the necessary forces.
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Illustration: A banker may have a perfect grasp of a given situation, yet
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lack the quality of decision, or the assets, necessary to take advantage
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of it.
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6) "Every man and every woman is a star".
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That is to say, every human being is intrinsically an independant
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individual with his own proper character and proper motion.
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7) Every man and every woman has a course, depending partly on the self, and
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partly on the environment which is natural and necessary for each. Anyone
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who is forced from his own course, either through not understanding him-
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self, or through external opposition, comes into conflict with the order of
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the Universe, and suffers accordingly.
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Illustration: A man may think it is his duty to act in a certain way,
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through having made a fancy picture of himself, instead of investigating
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his actual nature. For example, a woman may make herself miserable for
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life by thinking that she prefers love to social consideration, or vice
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versa. One woman may stay with an unsympathetic husband when she would
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really be happy in an attic with a lover, while another may fool herself
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into a romantic elopement when her only pleasures are those of presiding
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over fashionable functions. Again, a boy's instinct may tell him to go to
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sea, while his parents insist on his becoming a doctor. In such a case he
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will be both unsuccessful and unhappy in medicine.
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8) A Man whose conscious will is at odds with his True Will is wasting his
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strength. He cannot hope to influence his environment efficiently.
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Illustration: When Civil War rages in a nation, it is in no condition to
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undertake the invasion of other countries. A man with cancer employs his
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nourishment alike to his own use and to that of the enemy which is part
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of himself. He soon fails to resist the pressure of his environment. In
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practical life, a man who is doing what his conscience tells him to be
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wrong will do it very clumsily. At first!
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9) A Man who is doing his True Will has the inertia of the Universe to assist
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him.
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Illustration: The first principle of success in evolution is that the
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individual should be true to his own nature, and at the same time adapt
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himself to his environment.
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10) Nature is a continuous phenomenon, though we may not know in all cases how
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things are connected.
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Illustration: Human comsciousness depends on the properties of protoplasm,
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the existence of which depends on innumerable physical conditions
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peculiar to this planet; and this planet is determined by the mechanical
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balance of the whole universe of matter. We may then say that our con-
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sciousness is causally connected with the remotest galaxies; yet we do
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not even know how it arises from--or with--the molecular changes in the
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brain.
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11) Science enables us to take advantage of the continuity of Nature by the
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empirical application of certain principles whose interplay involves
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different orders of idea connected with each other in a way beyond our
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present comprehension.
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Illustration: We are able to light cities by rule-of-thumb methods. We do
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not know what consciousness is, or how it is connected with muscular
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action; what electricity is or how it is connected with the machines that
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generate it; and our methods depend on calculations involving mathema-
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tical ideas which have no correspondance in the Universe as we know it.
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note: For instance "irrational", "unreal" and "infinite" expressions.
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12) Man is ignorant of the nature of his own being and powers. Even his idea of
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his limitations is based on experience of the past, and every step in his
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progress extends his empire. There is therefore no reason to assign
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theoretical limits to what he may be, or what he may do.
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Illustration: A generation ago it was supposed theoretically impossible
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that man should ever know the composition of the fixed stars. It is known
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that our senses are adapted to receive only a fraction of the possible
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rates of vibration.Modern instruments have enabled us to detect some of
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these supra-sensibles by indirect methods, and even to use their peculiar
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qualities in the service of man, as in the case of the rays of Hertz and
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Roentgen. As Tyndall said, man might at any moment learn to percieve and
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utilize vibrations of all concievable and inconcievable kinds. The ques-
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tion of Magick is a question of discovering and employing hitherto
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unknown forces in nature. We know that they exist, and we cannot doubt
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the possibility of mental or physical instruments capable of bringing us
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into relation with them.
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note: i.e., except---possibly---in the case of logically absurd questions
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such as the Schoolmen discussed in connection with "God"
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13) Every man is more or less aware that his individuality comprises several
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orders of existence, even when he maintains that his subtler principles
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are merely symptomatic of the changes in his gross vehicle. A similar
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order may be assumed to extend throughout nature.
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Illustration: One does not confuse the pain of a toothache with the decay
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that causes it. Inanimate objects are sensitive to certain physical
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forces, such as electrical and thermal conductivity; but neither in us
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nor in them--so far as we know--is there any direct conscious perception
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of these forces. Imperceptible influences are therefore associated with
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all material phenomena; and there is no reason why we should not work
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upon matter through these subtle energies as we do through their material
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bases. In fact, we use magnetic force to move iron and solar radiation to
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reproduce images. 14) Man is capable of being, and using, anything which he perceives, for
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everything which he perceives is in a certain sense a part of his being.
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He may thus subjugate the whole of the Universe of which he is conscious to
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his individual Will.
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Illustration: Man has used the idea of God to dictate his personal conduct,
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to obtain power over his fellows, to excuse his crimes, and for innumer-
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able other purposes, including that of realizing himself as God. He has
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used the irrational and unreal conceptions of mathematics to help him in
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the construction of mechanical devices. He has used his moral force to
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influence the actions even of wild animals. He has employed poetic genius
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for political purposes.
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15) Every force in the Universe is capable of being transformed into any other
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kind of force by using suitable means. There is thus an inexhaustible
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supply of any particular kind of force that we may need.
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Illustration: Heat may be transformed into light and power by using it to
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drive dynamos. The vibrations of the air may be used to kill men by
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so ordering them in speech so as to inflame war-like passions. The
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hallucinations connected with the mysterious energies of sex result in
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the perpetuation of the species.
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16) The application of any given force affects all the orders of being which
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exist in the object in the object to which it is applied, whichever of
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of those orders is directly affected.
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Illustration: If I strike a man with a dagger, his consciousness, not his
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body only, is affected by my act, although the dagger, as such, has no
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direct relation therewith. Similarly, the power of my thought may so work
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on the mind of another person as to produce far-reaching physical changes
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in him, or in others through him.
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17) A man may learn to use any force so as to serve any purpose, by taking
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advantage of the above theorems.
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Illustration: A man may use a razor to make himself vigilant over his
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speech, by using it to cut himself whenever he ungaurdedly utters a
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chosen word. He may serve the same purpose by resolving that every
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incident of his life shall remind him of a particular thing, making every
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impression the starting point of a connected series of thoughts ending
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in that thing. He might also devote his whole energies to some one par-
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ticular object, by resolving to do nothing at variance therewith, and
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to make every act turn to the advantage of that object.
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18) He may attract to himself any force of the Universe by making himself a fit
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receptacle for it, and arranging conditions so that its nature compels it
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to flow toward him.
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Illustration: If I want pure water to drink, I dig a well in a place where
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there is underground water; I prevent it from leaking away; and I arrange
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to take advantage of water's accordance with the laws of Hydrostatics to
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fill it.
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19) Man's sense of himself as seperate from, and opposed to, the Universe is a
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bar to his conducting its currents. It insulates him.
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Illustration: A popular leader is most successful when he forgets himself
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and remembers only "The Cause". Self-seeking engenders jealousies and
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schism. When the organs of the body assert their presence other by silent
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satisfaction, it is a sign they are diseased. The single exception is the
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organ of reproduction. Yet even in this case its self-assertion bears
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witness to its dissatisfaction with itself, since it cannot fulfil its
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function until completed by its counterpart in another organism.
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20) Man can only attract and employ the forces for which he is really fitted.
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Illustration: You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. A true man
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of science learns from every phenomeneon. But Nature is dumb to the
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hypocrite; for in her there is nothing false.
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note: It is no objection that the hypocrite is himself part of Nature. He
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is an "endothermic" product, divided against himself, with a tend-
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ency to break up. He will see his own qualities everywhere, and
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thus obtain a radical misconception of phenomena. Most religions of
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the past have failed by expecting nature to conform with their
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ideals of proper conduct.
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21) There is no limit to the extent of the relations of any man with the
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Universe in essence; for as soon as man makes himself one with any idea the
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means of measurement cease to exist. But his power to utilize that force is
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limited by his mental power and capacity, and by the circumstances of his
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human environment.
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Illustration: When a man falls in love, the whole world becomes, to him,
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nothing but love boundless and immanent; but his mystical state is not
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contagious; his fellow-men are either amused or annoyed. He can only
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extend to others the effect which his love has had upon himself by means
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of his mental and physical qualities. Thus Catullus, Dante and Swinburne
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made their love a mighty mover of mankind by virtue of their power to put
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their thoughts on the subject in musical and eloquent language. Again,
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Cleopatra and other people in authority moulded the fortunes of many
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other people by allowing love to influence their political actions. The
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Magician, however well he succeed in making contact with the secret
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sources of energy in nature, can only use them to the extent permitted
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by his intellectual and moral qualities. Mohammed's intercourse with
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Gabriel was only effective because of his statesmanship, soldiership, and
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the sublimity of his command of Arabic. Hertz's discovery of the rays
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which we now use for wireless telegraphy was sterile until it reflected
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through the minds and wills of the people who could take his truth and
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transmit it to the world of action by means of mechanical and economic
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instruments.
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22) Every individual is essentially sufficient to himself. But he is
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unsatisfactory to himself until he has established himself in his right
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relation with the universe.
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Illustration: A microscope, however perfect, is useless in the hands of
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savages. A poet, however sublime, must impose himself upon his generation
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if he is to enjoy (and even to understand) himself, as theoretically
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should be the case.
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23) Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one's conditions. It is
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the Art of applying that understanding in action.
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Illustration: A golf club is intended to move a special ball in a special
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way in special circumstances. A Niblick should rarely be used on the tee
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or a brassie under the bank of a bunker. But also, the use of any club
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demands skill and experience.
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24) Every man has an indefeasible right to be what he is.
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Illustration: To insist that any one else should comply with one's own
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standards is to outrage, not only him, but oneself, since both parties
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are equally born of necessity.
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25) Every man must do Magick each time he acts or even thinks, since a thought
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is an internal act whose influence ultimately affects action, though it may
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not do so at the time.
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Illustration: The least gesture causes a change in a man's own body and in
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the air around him; it disturbs the balance of the entire Universe, and
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its effects continue eternally throughout all space. Every thought, how-
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ever swiftly suppressed, has its effect on the mind. It stands as one of
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the causes of every subsequent thought, and tends to influence every sub-
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sequent action. A golfer may lose a few yards on his drive, a few more
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with his second and third, he may lie on the green six bare inches too
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far from the hole, but the net result of these trifling mishaps is the
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difference between halving and losing the hole.
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26) Every man has a right, the right of self preservation, to fulfill himself
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to the utmost.
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Illustration: A function imperfectly performed injures, not only itself,
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but everything associated with it. If the heart is afraid to beat for
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fear of disturbing the liver, the liver is starved for blood and avenges
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itself on the heart by upsetting digestion, which disorders respiration,
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on which cardiac welfare depends.
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note: Men of "criminal nature" are simply at issue with their true Wills.
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The murderer has the Will to Live; and his will to murder is a
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false will at variance with his true Will, since he risks death at
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the hands of Society by obeying his criminal impulse.
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27) Every man should make Magick the keystone of his life. He should learn its
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laws and live by them.
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Illustration: The Banker should discover the real meaning of his existence,
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the real motive which led him to choose that profession. He should under-
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stand banking as a necessary factor in the economic existence of mankind
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instead of merely a business whose objects are independant of the general
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welfare. He should learn to distinguish false values from real, and to
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act not on accidental fluctuations but on considerations of essential
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importance. Such a banker will prove himself superior to others; because
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he will not be an individual limited by transitory things, but a force of
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Nature, as impersonal, impartial and eternal as gravitation, as patient
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and irresistable as the tides. His system will not be subject to panic,
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any more than the law of Inverse Squares is disturbed by elections. He
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will not be anxious about his affairs because they will not be his; and
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for that reason he will be able to direct them with the calm, clear-
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headed confidence of an onlooker, with intelligence unclouded by self-
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interest, and power unimpaired by passion.
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28) Every man has a right to fulfill his own will without being afraid that it
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may interfere with that of others; for if he is in his proper place, it is
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the fault of others if they interfere with him.
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Illustration: If a man like Napoleon were actually appointed by destiny to
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control Europe, he should not be blamed for exercising his rights. To op-
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pose him would be an error. Any one so doing would have made a mistake as
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to his own destiny, except insofar as it mught be necessary for him to
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learn the lessons of defeat. The sun moves in space without interference.
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the order of nature provides an orbit for each star. A clash proves that
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one or the other has strayed from its course. But as to each man that
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keeps his true course, the more firmly he acts, the less likely others
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are to get in his way. His example will helpthem to find their own paths
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and pursue them. Every man that becomes a Magician helps others to do
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likewise. The more firmly and surely men move, and the more such action
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is accepted as the standard of morality, the less will conflict and con-
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fusion hamper humanity.
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