Gnostic Magick

by Anousen Leonte

Copyright 2014

other works by the author:

Sigil Magick: the Basics

Evocation Through Sigil Magick

Scrying Without Tears

The Art of Magickal Fasting

Introduction

This book is an experimental follow up to my works on Sigil Magick and Evocation, serving as a kind of miniature grimoire of certain Gnostic deities (Spirits) in the Valentinian tradition. I like the idea of "experiment by example", in the sense that anyone who reads this work can actually use it to evoke these Gnostic deities in the way described, but the book can also serve as inspiration of how to evoke other, unmentioned deities, as well as provide some interesting questions about the nature of magick, evocation and the Spirit world itself. In addition to giving the sigils of the different Spirits, I will also be describing some of my theories on the Gnostic tradition and magick in general, but the book is fairly short, and if you want to learn about the theories, teachings and practices of Gnosticism, there are many good books out there to consult. The purpose of this present book isn't to explain Gnostic ideas to you—at least, not in depth—but rather to outline a way in which these ideas may be experienced. In a way, this book is both practical and theoretical, but the practical methods given here are not very complex and I've described them in greater detail in my other books. Yet though the methods are simple, there is no limit to how they can be used. From a few basic instructions, one could theoretically induce an experience of any old tradition.

First I will be describing the Valentinian Gnostic pantheon and some of my theories regarding it, then I will go into a simplified method of evocation using sigils, as we all some of the basic theory behind this method. After that I will lay out two sigils for each Gnostic Spirit, and end the work with a bit more speculation.

Evoking the Gnostic Spirits

The ancient Gnostics were a set of loosely affiliated mystical/spiritual groups in Europe and the Middle East in existence from roughly 200 B.C. to 500 A.D. They were spiritual revolutionaries who were in the habit of re-interpreting prevailing religions to reflect a more inward and deeper experience of life. They were also the main rivals of Christianity. After the Roman Catholic Church took power in Europe, the Gnostics were persecuted in various inquisitions. Islam did the same thing throughout the Middle East. But it is still quite likely that the Gnostics were not entirely eradicated by the Roman Catholic Church or Islam and that they maintained their traditions in different guises throughout the Europe and the Middle East. Some have theorized that the magickal traditions of Europe, in fact, may come from the Gnostics. Orthodox and Catholic Christians often accused them of sorcery and Simon Magus—who many claim was the first Gnostic—was specifically said to be a sorcerer. Though they had set views of the nature of the Spiritual world, they were not nearly as dogmatic and narrow minded as their "Orthodox" contemporaries, and if history had sided with the Gnostics, it is very likely our world would be far different today—and better.

Was Gnosticism an early kind of magickal religion? It would be an over-simplification to say so, as the line between magick and religion was not so sharply defined in most non-Abrahamic traditions. Whereas Christianity, Judaism and Islam have generally frowned on sorcery, the various Pagan traditions of the world actively incorporated magick as part of their religion and sought to interpret the world in a magickal way. We do know that the detractors of Gnosticism accused the Gnostics of sorcery, and we also know that the Gnostics utilized diagrams which are very similar to the seals as found in the old Grimoires (the Ophite diagrams, for instance). It is my personal opinion that the Gnostics did practice magick (or, many sects of Gnostics did, I should say), and that they utilized a method very similar to some of our modern methods. Aside from the works of Christian, Jewish and Islamic heresy-hunters, we only have fragments of actual Gnostic texts, but the ones we do possess leave us many tantalizing clues. For example, the famous "Bornless Ritual", popularized by Aleister Crowley, actually derives from an old Gnostic text found in The Great Magical Papyrus of Paris.

However, the Gnostics did not seem to practice magick with an attitude of simply acquiring material gains. For the Gnostics, everything was about the central idea of Gnosis, or true knowledge. This is different than the Chaos magick idea of gnosis as the point in which a sigil is sank into the unconscious mind. Gnosis in the Gnostic sense refers to a true perception of reality, freeing one from the bondage of mundane existence and increasing one's power in the universe. Of course, we could ask, "What is reality, anyway?" But perhaps this is just it: reality is an artifact of perception, and to see reality is to see the all-pervasivess of perception. That which is perceived is real at the time in which it is perceived, and unreal when it is not perceived. However, real doesn't mean something truly exists, nor does unreal mean that something has no existence. Rather, real is simply another word for a possibility that has manifested, whereas unreal refers to a possibility that is still latent and unmanifest.

In keeping with this basic idea, Gnosticism spoke of a primordial Chaos as the origin of all things, and depicted the absolute source of existence as something beyond all possible definitions. Yet though it was beyond everything, it still had the potential to become everything, for both its being and its power were one, limitless and unqualified reality. They thus gave an answer to the idea of how magick works, for the root of all existence is not order, but unbounded Chaos. As such, though there are areas where certain things are less likely to occur, it still nevertheless stands that anything can occur. The old Chaos magick epigram (slightly adapted) which speaks of this is "Nothing is true (fixed), everything is permitted (possible)." Our world has laws, it is true, but these laws can be broken. The material world is shut off in many ways from the world of Spirits, but these gaps can be bridged. The reason why certain areas of the universe seem to rigidly obey certain laws is because they are under the influence of a certain power. The power might be blind nature, or a sentient entity, a combination of the two, or something which transcends them both, but so long as power is wielded over something weaker, the weaker thing obeys.

Gnosticism described human life in these terms. Rather than saying a good God created the cosmos, they spoke of a series of emanations or manifestations from a primordial source. These emanations, however, were free, and could act independently of their source. The source did not wield power over them, as it were. Being free, these emanations then had emanations of themselves, who in turn had other emanations, and so on and so forth, until there were countless, independent beings in the cosmos. And some of these beings were the authors of our particular universe. They assigned rigid laws to everything and kept the weaker beings inside this universe in check through these laws—either out of madness, spite, or a rigid sense of justice. However, if the weaker beings in this universe learned how to wield their power and know themselves (Gnosis), they could rise above the cosmic authorities, usurping their power and liberating themselves from all matter. Some spoke of this as a natural process and others spoke of it as a kind of cosmic insurrection, but the basic idea was that we accomplish more by innovation, self-mastery and experience than we do through obedience, dependence and faith. Hopefully you can see already how this basic philosophy underlies most forms of magick already: all magick assumes that we can wield more power than the body and mind normally allow, and all magick assumes that wielding such power is ultimately beneficial. The real question then comes down to what we will do with such power, once we have it.

I will be specifically looking at the Valentinian Gnostic tradition in this book. Of all the Gnostic sects, the Valentinian tradition is arguably the most complex and profound, and it is one in which all many disparate strains of Gnosis were harmonized into a unified system. At the heart of the Valentinian Gnosis is a myth about the origin and structure of the cosmos, as well as its "fall from grace" and eventual redemption. The details of the myth, in a nutshell, are as follows:

The basic idea of Valentinian Gnosticism is found in its idea of Aeons. An Aeon literally means "eternity" or "age", and our English word eon comes from the Greek word Aeon. But esoterically an Aeon constitutes a non-material reality in itself, embodying a philosophical principle as well as a distinct, conscious being. The Valentinians list 30 Aeons beyond the material universe. Aside from the first Aeon, each Aeon emanates from the Aeon above it, and all Aeons are dual in the sense that they have a male and female aspect. This is called a "Szygy", which means a "joining" or "bonding". Thus each Aeon has dual aspects: a dayside and a nightside, activity and receptivity, potential and manifestation, etc. This Szygy acts as a sexual and creative union, giving rise to a new Szygy through a process called emanation, which is a process whereby new realities are continually brought into being. The Gnostics often said that the reason why the current universe is so different from its source is because the Aeons/Szygys become more and more unalike each other as they continue to manifest. Thus after the Szygy emanate, their emanations are similar, though different, and the cycle continues on till the manifestations are almost wholly unalike their original source. This inevitably leads to the material universe, and even in our own universe we have sub-emanations such as human languages and cultures, the internet, political ideas, art, etc.

In the beginning there was only one Aeonic Szygy, called Bythus/Ennoea, or Depth/Though. This first Aeon is called in all forms of Gnosticism the Alien or Stranger, and is also often called "the Father" or "the Unknown or Unknowable Father" in its aspect as Bythus, and as a primordial feminine or "Mother" force in its aspect of Ennoea. As Bythus, this Aeon is a being that is beyond all possible universes; a being beyond being itself. It is so utterly different than anything we can know, it is spoken of only in terms of what it is not. Thus it is not a mind, not a consciousness, not real or unreal, neither full nor empty, beyond all existence or non-existence. It is a totally unqualified thing—a non-thing, even. Yet though it is so radically different, it is the ultimate source of everything. Thus it is called the Depth ( Bythus), as well as Proarche (the First Beginning) and Propater (the First Father). The feminine side to it, however, is called Thought (Ennoea), and in her is the idea of impulse, will, desire and intent. She is the active force of the Unknown Father—the birth-giver and Mother. She is also called Charis (Grace) and Sige (Silence).

This Szygy of Bythus/Ennoea then emanated other beings from itself, who were also male and female in aspect. The first of these subsequent Aeons were called Nous and Aletheia (Mind and Truth). This, say the Valentinians, is where the Christians got their idea of Jesus being the "only begotten Son", for Nous/Aletheia were the only Spiritual beings which came from Bythus/Ennoea alone.

Nous/Aletheia, in turn, emanated Logos/Zoe (Word/Life), who then emanated Anthropos/Ecclesia (Man/the Collective). This first group is called the Ogdoad (the Eight), and they stand as the highest forms of existence, and form the basis of all existence.

As a reflection of Bythus/Ennoea, though with the power of Nous/Aletheia, the following ten Aeons were then emanated, called the Decad:

Bythius (the Deep)

Mixis (Mingling)

Ageratos (the Undecaying)

Henosis (Union)

Autophyes (the Self-existent)

Hedone (Pleasure)

Acinetos (the Immoveable)

Syncrasis (Blending)

Monogenes (the Only-begotten)

Macaria (Happiness)

Then, as a reflection of Nous/Aletheia, the following twelve Aeons were emanated, called the Duodecad.

Paracletus (Comforter)

Pistis (Trust)

Patricos (Ancestor)

Elpis (Hope)

Metricos (the Measured)

Agape (Love)

Ainos (Praise)

Synesis (Understanding)

Ecclesiasticus (of the Collective)

Macariotes (Felicity)

Theletos (Longing)

Sophia (Wisdom)

Collectively, these 30 Aeons are called the Pleroma, or Fullness. Of these, only Nous/Aletheia could actually behold Bythus/Ennoea. The rest could not see them, and could only see as far as the domain of Nous/Aletheia. If they were to access Bythus/Ennoea, they needed to go through Nous/Aletheia as the mediator. Still, they were all struck by a deep longing to see Bythus/Ennoea in themselves, and they passed on their longing and desire to every subsequent Aeon. None of them did anything about it, however, except for the very last Aeon: Sophia. She went insane with grief seeking to behold Bythus/Ennoea, and in her insanity she emanated a new Aeon without the help of her consort, Theletos. This new Aeon was an abomination, figuratively called the "abortion" (Ektroma). This was the beginning of the material universe, and it threatened the existence of the rest of the lower Aeons. Once Sophia realized what she had done, she repented of it and called to the higher Aeons for their help. In order to keep the "abortion" from infecting the rest of the Pleroma, the other Aeons made a separation wall, as it were, called Horos (the Limit) or Stauros (the Cross). This kept the "abortion" outside of the rest of the Aeons, and the world of the "abortion" was known as the Hysterema (Deficiency) or Kenoma (Void).

Also, when Sophia first made the "abortion", she only gave it the initial form, imparting her essence to it. After that, she made a Demiurge or creator-God to rule over it and craft it, and he, in turn, made seven angels to help him, which are also the classical planets of Astrology—the Moon, Sun, Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. And beneath them were crafted individual worlds, human beings, plants, animals, etc. In a benevolent but rigorously legalistic way, the Demiurge and seven angels ruled over everything, keeping it in check. In this place, conscious beings are threefold: matter, soul and spirit. Their material part corresponded to the Hysterema or Kenoma, their soul corresponded to the mental act of Sophia's repentance, and their spirit corresponded to Sophia's awakening knowledge or Gnosis.

Desiring to liberate the spirit and soul from matter, returning it to the Pleroma, the Aeons emanated two new Aeons called Christ and the Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagios). These descended into the world of matter and taught the trapped Spiritual essences how to return to the Pleroma, along with a host of angels, each of which corresponds to an individual person. Thus when one comes to a knowledge of their "holy Guardian Angel", as the Abramelin Grimoire calls it, they achieve their own personal Gnosis and are able to transcend the physical universe and return to the Pleroma. Thus we see that the Valentinians conceived of all reality as an unfolding drama of Aeonic, spiritual realities, beginning in absolute perfection and then falling into depravity. They conceived of the spiritual path as a process whereby the remnants of perfection in each lesser being can be restored to its original, pure state through a process of progressive illumination and sanctification. It is a more interesting take on the whole Christian myth, and whether you believe it or not is not the point: the point is that someone once believed it, and the ideas they described may have had a real aspect to them which can be contacted and experienced today.

Besides potentially being the basis for an interesting anime, this myth both allegorically describes the desire of human beings to transcend the limits of normal, biological consciousness, as well as gives many tantalizing hints which reveal a fuller understanding of what the later Grimoire literature was speaking of. For example, rather than the common form that he is normally portrayed as, Christ is actually a symbol of alchemical transmutation. The "Crucifixion" is the dying away of old elements in the process of metamorphosis, and the Holy Spirit is the power inherent in consciousness which allows this to occur. The seven classical planets refer to the primary forms of energy which govern this current, material plane, and the Demiurge is a symbol of math/logic itself, which organizes everything into coherent patterns. To return to the Pleroma is a metaphor for regaining our power as beings with the ability to act and travel beyond the physical body, eventually attaining freedom from all limitations. Carl Jung also saw in these myths a subtle explanation of the psychological processes.

Also, within this myth we see an implicit description of a process of initiation which can magickally take place, beginning with the alchemical Christ, moving through the planets and Demiurge, crossing over the boundary into the Pleroma, passing through the various Aeons and finally arriving at Bythus/Aletheia, which is a vision of ultimate reality, severing the ties to all material existence. And perhaps this myth is another way of expressing the underlying system behind the magickal, spiritual and alchemical systems of old. But unless we investigate such things directly, through experience, we will never know.

As a Valentinian epigram states:

"When you dissolve the world

but are not dissolved in yourself

then you are the Lord

of all creation

and all destruction."

Ascension

This brings me to what I think is the most interesting aspect of Gnosticism: ascension. As I hinted at earlier, the Gnostics present a different view of the cosmos than we find in the traditional European grimoires. Normally when you read an old grimoire, a host of rituals and tools are outlined, along with a retinue of Spirits, their sigils and the things they can do for you. There is a lot of emphasis on winning the hearts of fair maidens, finding treasure, keeping the King off your back, etc. Meanwhile, at the same time in Europe, mystics wrote of achieving unity with God, of dissolving the ego, of directly perceiving universal truths, etc. And these two traditions stood in direct contrast. However, a thousand years earlier, the Gnostics seem to have combined the sciences of both magick and mysticism into one, unified discipline. In addition to "mystical" methods, they made use of magick in their ultimate path, and they did not reduce its power to another means of self-gratification. In fact, many of the old Gnostic texts hint at a type of astral projection where one leaves the body and ascends into different spheres in a sequential order, eventually going beyond the boundaries of the known universe. This is what I think the Valentinian myth also hints at: a series of steps which ultimately leads to a central corridor in the universe where knowledge and liberation may be found.

In the Valentinian system, the liberating force is the Szygy of Christos/Pneuma Hagios. When one has been "graced" by this liberating force, then one can cross over the boundary between the material world (Kenoma/Hysterema) and the world of pure Spirit (Pleroma). This boundary is itself its own force, called Horos/Stauros (Limit/Cross), and once it is transcended then one may contact the Aeons and eventually be wedded to one of them (or all of them?) for all eternity—or so the story goes.

Though it is possible to make another religion out of these ideas, what if there is more to it than that? The same ideas as found in the Valentinian Gnostics are found also in the Kabbalah, in some Sufi sects, in European alchemy, in the Christian mysticism of the Pseudo-Dionysius, etc. All follow the central pattern of being given a power to go beyond the Earth, to travel to other worlds/planes, and eventually to reach a new kind of existence. And these teachings were not given to the vast majority of people, but only to those who had been "initiated" into them. Perhaps part of the initiation was where the actual techniques of attaining such were given, and it is especially in Kabbalah where we see the tie in with magick, as some of the oldest Grimoires in Europe were fully Kabbalistic, with very little European-Christian influence. And perhaps here we can find an answer to the question of how to navigate these new worlds, once we arrive at them.

If this framework does apply to Valentinian Gnosis—and it appears that it does—then it would follow that that the order of evocation should begin with Christos/Pneuma Hagios, then Horos/Stauros, then up the ladder of the rest of the Aeons. And after ascending, one may descend.

I speak of all of this theoretically not because I'm just theorizing, but because I think no person should be an authority for another person, and everyone should find out for oneself whether something is true or not. It is far better to give the reasons and techniques of an idea rather than state the idea outright and ask someone else to believe it. I have given the general outline of my thoughts on the subject, as well as enough references so one can go do their own research, but the real test of such ideas has nothing to do with what I say about it, but what you, the reader, do with it.

Beyond evoking the Aeons as philosophical/cosmological principles, there is also a psychological level to them. The mythological drama of the fall of Sophia can be looked at as a description of how the mind interacts with reality/unreality, as well as its basic functioning when it comes to all types of desire and fear. Therefore, once an Aeon is evoked, you may request a knowledge of these three aspects (philosophical, cosmological and psychological). What is revealed here is that these three aspects all mirror eachother, and that the basic process of the cosmos repeats itself in us on the individual level. Magick is a way of expanding or quickening this process, perhaps, but the process is inevitable—for now, at least.

Thus the ascent in Gnosis therefore applies to all three levels: our awareness is our being, the cosmos is our location/space and our mind is time. In ascending (and descending) through these various aspects, we arrive at greater power and insight.

The Method of Evocation

To evoke a Spirit or Aeon, we must have a means of contacting it, a means of "clearing the air", or banishing extraneous forces from the ritual area, and a way of centering ourselves, opening us to the possibility of Spirit contact.

As I've written in my other books, I recommend crafting a sigil as the means of contact with an Aeon. A sigil is a seal of the Spirit in question, and serves as a non-representational point of focus for the evocation. You may take the letters of the Spirit's name, for example, and overlay them upon each other, or you may reduce the Spirit's name to numbers and make an image based upon this. You may also make a series of random lines or squiggles and then "assign" it to the Spirit. The way the sigil looks or how it is made is not important; what is important is that it does not convey the idea of something in the material world. If you make your sigil look like a polar bear, for example, the ritual will not go very far.

Sigils can even be a string of random numbers. This was what the United States government used when conducting experiments in "Remote Viewing", which is a type of psychic spying that the Military engaged in during the 70s, 80s and early 90s (officially). Without going into too much detail, a typical remote viewing session would involve a random series of numbers given to a person to "view". These numbers represented a real-time target, which was object or place somewhere in the cosmos (usually on Earth). The viewer had a paper and pen before them, and would then draw an abstract, automatic design by placing their pen to the paper and letting their hand make a few random movements without consciously thinking of them. This would act as a kind of abstract representation of the connection between the mind of the viewer and the target, and the viewer would then begin to perceive different images of the target.

This is an oversimplification of the process, but it gives the general outline and shows us that the same principle is involved. The sigil, in an evocation ritual, acts as both a representation of the target and a point of focus which allows the magician to "connect" to the Spirit. By gazing at the sigil, and blocking out all other thoughts, a line of communication is established between the two. I will be providing sigils for all the Aeons later.

The sigil should be made prior to the ritual, and it should only be used during the ritual itself. As it is the main focal point, it should be in the middle of the altar, or somewhere else in the center of view.

Because Aeons are multifaceted, different sigils should be used for different purposes. They can be evoked as pure philosophical/cosmological principles or as individual, conscious entities, and each of these different aspects must have their own sigil to avoid confusion. Thus if we want to evoke an Aeon in terms of what it means as part of a universal process, we use a particular sigil made for this purpose, and if we want to evoke it as an individual, conscious being, we use another, specifically different sigil.

In addition to the sigil, incense and colored lighting can also be used. Though there are neither traditional color or incense correspondences with the Valentinian Aeons, you can evoke an Aeon for the first time without them and, during the evocation, ask the Aeon what colors and incenses you should use for future evocations. I would have listed what colors and incenses I use, but I think part of the interest that is involved with evoking these beings is that they uncharted territory, and there is no established rule book for what they do and do not correspond to. Nonetheless, the use of colored light and incense can increase the intensity of the ritual dramatically, and if you want to use it during your initial evocation you can use seven colored lights simultaneously. Then once the Aeon(s) informs you of what color it wishes to be evoked with, you can apply that color to future evocations. The Aeon may sometimes tell you its color by suggesting you put out all the other colors before going further, or by removing all but two. Because there are over thirty different Aeons, it is my experience that two colors per Aeon is more effective than making over thirty different colored lamps. Incenses are easier to deal with, but for do not use them for your first ritual. The Aeon, if it comes, will tell you want type of incense it wants for future evocations.

Since each of the Aeons works as both a unit and as two, individual forces, two sigils may be used simultaneously during a ritual to evoke two Aeons at once, and two-to-four colored lamps and/or two types of incense may also be used.

As for the banishing, you may use a traditional Western method like the "Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram", or you may recite a special prayer you have found or written for the occasion, meditate for a few minutes, or a whole host of other things which help to center your mind on the ritual itself. If you are just beginning in magick, the longer and more intense your banishing ritual is, the more intense the evocation will be. You must remove everything else from our mind but the ritual itself—as much as possible, that is. This is especially important when you are receiving specific information from a Spirit, as it is at times difficult to tell the difference between a Spirit's voice and one's own internal dialogue. A banishing ritual both "clears the air" in the sense that it signals to any Spirits who might be in the room to leave, and also signals to your own mind that it now has a single task and, to accomplish such a task, must have a single focus. Everything else must be quieted and sent away.

I am not entirely convinced that there are Spirits hovering around in every room waiting to ruin a ritual, but I know for a fact that the mind is a difficult animal, and unless it is coaxed into silence, it will fight silence with all it has. This is why colored lighting and incense are so beneficial, for they tame the mind into a docile and receptive state, just like a Church, Mosque or Temple can do for the religious. In addition to the ambiance of the room, you may also use a mantra or prayer to recite to contact the Spirit.

Once you have made contact, you simply sit there, spending time with the Aeon/Spirit. Scrying is especially helpful during this process. You may receive images from it, or new feelings and impressions, and you may talk to it in an actual dialogue (it is rare to physically hear them), but at a certain point it will be clear it is time to end the ritual. You can then bid the Spirit adieu, thanking it for its time with you, and once it is gone you can put out the lights and incense and clean the area.

I go into more detail about sigils, evocation, fasting and scrying in my other books, but these instructions should give you a very rudimentary idea of how to do it. But the Aeons shouldn't be the first Spirits you evoke anyway. Spirits of the planets, I think, are the best for beginners, or the Spirits of the elements. The Aeons are very subtle and obscure, and unless you know what you are doing they may not arrive at all.

Aeon series 1: The Ogdoad

Aeon 1-2: Bythus and Ennoea

The sigils of Bythus

The sigils of Ennoea

Aeons 3-4: Nous and Aletheia

The sigils of Nous

The sigils of Aletheia

Aeons 5-6: Logos and Zoe

The sigils of Logos

The sigils of Zoe

Aeons 7-8: Anthropos and Ecclesia

The sigils of Anthropos

The sigils of Ecclesia

Aeon series 2: The Decad

Aeons 9-10: Bythius and Mixis

The sigils of Bythius

The sigils of Mixis

Aeons 11-12: Ageratos and Henosis

The sigils of Ageratos

The sigils of Henosis

Aeons 13-14: Autophyes and Hedone

The sigils of Autophyes

The sigils of Hedone

Aeons 15-16: Acinetos and Syncrasis

The sigils of Acinetos

The sigils of Syncrasis

Aeons 17-18: Monogenes and Macaria

The sigils of Monogenes

The sigils of Macaria

Aeon series 3:The Duodecad

Aeons 19-20: Paracletus and Pistis

The sigils of Paracletus

The sigils of Pistis

Aeons 21-22: Patricos and Elpis

The sigils of Patricos

The sigils of Elpis

Aeons 23-24: Metricos and Agape

The sigils of Metricos

The sigils of Agape

Aeons 25-26: Ainos and Synesis

The sigils of Ainos

The sigils of Synesis

Aeons 27-28: Ecclesiasticus and Macariotes

The sigils of Ecclesiasticus

The sigils of Macariotes

Aeons 29-30: Theletos and Sophia

The sigils of Theletos

The sigils of Sophia

After Sophia comes the boundary-line between the material universe (Hysterema/Kenoma) and the divine world (Pleroma), named Horos/Stauros:

Its sigil:

And, finally, we have the duo of Christ/the Holy Spirit (Pneuma Hagios):

The sigils of Christ

The sigils of Pneuma Hagios

Conclusion

In evoking Gnostic Spirits—or Spirits from any dead tradition—we could, theoretically, evoke with some material gain in mind. But what would be the point, considering that there are a number of other Spirits who do this and who have been evoked fairly consistently (at least since the Middle Ages)? True, it is possible that an old, relatively forgotten Spirit might be better at accomplishing a particular task, but I think this misses the real beauty of the work I propose. The goal of evoking old Spirits through sigil magick is to experience them. It is not to ask, "What can you do for me?" but, rather, "Who are you? What do you feel like?" It presents a kind of experimental spirituality, where rather than believing in someone else's set conclusions, we can experience these realities for ourselves. If conclusions are to be drawn, we can do so, or we can remain open minded, in blissful uncertainty. This is very different from organized religion, just as it is also different from many magick traditions. It is an "open path". The magician, in this case, is as free to evoke Spirits of old Gnostic religions as they are to evoke Kabbalistic angels, the Norse and Egyptian pantheons, or even the Gods of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It isn't to grovel at their feet and hope for a better tomorrow, but to be a Spirit among Spirits through interaction and mutual experience.

Of course, it is true that a devoted follower of a traditional religion will have a far different relationship with a Spirit than one who evokes and engages many Spirits. Every choice we make removes other choices, by definition. We can't know Allah or Hashem in the same way an observant Muslim or Jew knows them, but, simultaneously, they cannot know Hathor, Bel and Kali the way we can know them. It all depends what you want out of life, I suppose. . .

Also, a practice such as this brings power back to the individual. We are all familiar with so called "channellers" and "mediums", who act as if they can speak with any Spirit at will. But rather than showing people how to actually do this, many of them say they have a special gift, and that such a gift is beyond the capacity of most people. While I think the majority of them are frauds, there may be a few genuine practitioners among them. Even so, if they can't show people how to repeat the same experiences, they are not very different from organized religions who act as if religious experiences are given only to the few, leaving the rest to take it on faith.

Also, I think a new understanding of magick is emerging—an understanding which builds upon the ideas of Chaos magick from a technical point of view, but which possesses, also, a new viewpoint on what Spirits are, incorporating both traditional and modern ideas of them. Many recent magick theorists have expressed the idea that Spirits are objectified, internal realities, and that when they are summoned the magician is really summoning various aspects of themselves into a more direct manifestation. The old paradigm was that Spirits had an independent existence and were semi-immortal beings. If one knew their names and symbols and observed the proper rituals, one could call them up. There is little if any emphasis on the inner world of the magician in old grimoires (pre-1800s) except for the usual prescriptions that a magician should be pure, holy, dedicated, etc.

But what is the truth? A post-modern understanding of magick would argue against the idea of truth itself, but on what basis can you argue against anything, if not some sort of truth? Every analysis we have of anything implies that there is a truth to things at some level. It is safe to criticize and doubt everything, but the safest roads are almost always the least fulfilling.

This brings us to this question: What happens when we evoke beings that have not been evoked for centuries and centuries? Or, even better, what happens when we evoke beings who we have no prior familiarity with? Do the experiences which arise from evocation indicate that the Spirits in question are internal or external to ourselves? Are we imagining it, or have we come into contact with an objective and independent mind?

If we want to simply achieve effects from magick, these questions may not matter. But if we have become bored with merely making things happen and want an insight into the nature of magickal reality itself, I think we must experiment. When I first came upon the idea of using Chaos-magick style sigils to evoke long forgotten Spirits (of whom no prescribed rituals remain), I really had no idea what the practice would lead to, or to what extent it would bend and change my mind—but it has. I have now come to some definitive conclusions about the nature of the magickal world, and of what the human soul is, but it wouldn't do any good to simply list conclusions. The question is not what conclusions we can come to, but how do we come to them, and all my books on magick are written with that central idea in mind. How can I express to someone else what I did, so they can see what I saw? But hopefully with some of these techniques you will see even more than I have, thus far. . .

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