And purification, as we saw some time ago in our discussion, consists in separating the soul as much as possible from the body, and accustoming it to withdraw from all contact with the body and concentrate itself by itself, and to have its dwelling, so far as it can, both now and in the future, alone by itself, freed from the shackles of the body.
—Plato, Phaedo, 67b-d
Let the student be at rest in one of his prescribed positions, having bathed and robed with the proper decorum. Let the Place of Working be free from all disturbance, and let the preliminary purifications, banishings and invocations be duly accomplished, and, lastly, let the incense be kindled.
Let him imagine his own figure (preferably robed in the proper magical garments and armed with the proper magical weapons) as enveloping his physical body, or standing near to and in front of him.
Let him then transfer the seat of his consciousness to that imagined figure; so that it may seem to him that he is seeing with its eyes, and hearing with its ears. This will usually be the great difficulty of the operation.
Let him then cause that imagined figure to rise in the air to a great height above the earth.
Let him then stop and look about him. (It is sometimes difficult to open the eyes.)
Probably he will see figures approaching him, or become conscious of a landscape. Let him speak to such figures, and insist upon being answered, using the proper pentagrams and signs, as previously taught.
Let him travel about at will, either with or without guidance from such figure or figures.
Let him further employ such special invocations as will cause to appear the particular places he may wish to visit.
Let him beware of the thousand subtle attacks and deceptions that he will experience, carefully testing the truth of all with whom he speaks. Thus a hostile being may appear clothed with glory; the appropriate pentagram will in such a case cause him to shrivel or decay.
Practice will make the student infinitely wary in these matters.
It is usually quite easy to return to the body, but should any difficulty arise, practice (again) will make the imagination fertile. For example, one may create in thought a chariot of fire with white horses, and command the charioteer to drive earthwards.
It might be dangerous to go too far, or stay too long; or fatigue must be avoided.
The danger spoken of is that of fainting, or of obsession, or of loss of memory or other mental faculty.
Finally, let the student cause his imagined body in which he supposes himself to have been travelling to coincide with the physical, tightening his muscles, drawing in his breath, and putting his forefinger to his lips. Then let him “awake ” by a well-defined act of will, and soberly and accurately record his experiences.
It may be added that this apparently complicated experiment is perfectly easy to perform. It is best to learn by “travelling” with a person already experienced in the matter. Two or three experiments will suffice to render the student confident and even expert. See also “The Seer,” pp. 295—333.
The previous experiment has little value, and leads to few results of importance. But is susceptible of a development which merges into a form of Dharana—concentration—and as such may lead to the very highest ends. The principal use of the practice in the last chapter is to familiarise the student with every kind of obstacle and every kind of delusion, so that he may be perfect master of every idea that may arise in his brain, to dismiss it, to transmute it, to cause it instantly to obey his will.
Let him then begin exactly as before; but with the most intense solemnity and determination.
Let him be very careful to cause his imaginary body to rise in a line exactly perpendicular to the earth‘s tangent at the point where his physical body is situated (or, to put it more simply, straight upwards).
Instead of stopping, let him continue to rise until fatigue almost overcomes him. If he should find that he has stopped without willing to do so, and that figures appear, let him at all costs rise above them.
Yea, though his very life tremble on his lips, let him force his way upward and onward!
Let him continue in this so long as the breath of life is in him. Whatever threatens, whatever allures, though it were Typhon and all his hosts loosed from the pit and leagued against him, though it were from the very Throne of God Himself that a Voice issues bidding him stay and be content, let him struggle on, ever on.
At last there must come a moment when his whole being is swallowed up in fatigue, overwhelmed by its own inertia.* Let him sink (when no longer can he strive, though his tongue be bitten through with the effort and the blood gush from his nostrils) into the blackness of unconsciousness; and then on coming to himself, let him write down soberly and accurately a record of all that hath occurred: yea, a record of all that hath occurred.
* This in case of failure. The results of success are so many and wonderful that no effort is here made to describe them. Theyare classified, tentatively, in the “Herb Dangerous," Part II., infra.
The technique of Magick is just as important as that of mysticism, but here we have a very much more difficult problem, because the original unit of Magick, the Body of Light, is already something unfamiliar to the ordinary person. Nevertheless, this Body must be developed and trained with exactly the same rigid discipline as the brain in the case of mysticism. The essence of the technique of Magick is the development of the Body of Light, which must be extended to include all members of the organism, and indeed of the cosmos.
The most important drill practices are:
*The Aspirant should remember that he is a Microcosm. Universus sum et Nihil universi a me alienum puto should be his motto. He should make it his daily practice to travel on the Astral Plane, taking in turn each of the most synthetic sections, the Sephiroth and the Paths. These being thoroughly understood, and an Angel in each pledged to guard or to guide him at need, he should start on a new series of expeditions to explore the subordinate sections of each. He may then practice Rising on the Planes from these spheres, one after the other in rotation. When he is thoroughly conversant with the various methods of meeting unexpected emergencies, he may proceed to investigate the regions of the Qliphoth and the Demonic Forces. It should be his aim to obtain a comprehensive knowledge of the entire Astral Plane, with impartial love of truth for its own sake; just as a child learns the geography of the whole planet, though he may have no intention of ever leaving his native land.