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Symbolic Association, Divination and Magic

To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan.magick,alt.divination,alt.astrology.asian,alt.paranormal.spells.hexes.magic,alt.magick,alt.astrology
From: nagasiva@luckymojo.com (nagasiva yronwode)
Subject: Re: Symbolic Association, Divination and Magic (was Astrology and magic)
Date: Fri, 21 Apr 2000 19:59:12 GMT

50000421 IVom

sri catyananda:
>>>Another book that attempted to create a grand database of the 
>>>subject was Aleister Crowley's deeply flawed "777"

nagasiva: 
>>...Crowley agreed that it was flawed.
>>it was not supposed to be "a grand database" (i.e. information),
>>but instead a working system of correspondences for ceremonial
>>magic (i.e. a personal recognition/cypher system).
>> 
>>that is, your criticism of it seems misplaced to me.

sri catyananda :
>Ok, so why did he publish it? 

in order to provide an example from which others could learn 
the methods of ceremonialism. this was apparently his main
focus, departing from the Golden Dawn style and attempting
to construct his own ceremonial system. I have done something
comparable with what I call a shamanic (or spontaneous) method 
(making the symbol-association schema during ritual -- as a 
result of visions and as a type of mandala for meditative 
concentration or bhaktik dedication -- rather than prior to 
these as a tool to facilitate them).

>>>but no matter how many variant systems you absorb, do not quickly
>>>become attached to "one right way" of interlinking the data or you
>>>will end [up?] of rigidifying your mind at precisely the point it
>>>should become more flexible.
>> 
>> with divination systems, flexibility and interpretive breadth can
>> be very important. with both divinatory systems and lattices for
>> ceremonial magic the flexibility of the former and personal
>> knowledge-base of the latter will necessarily limit its usefulness
>> and serve as a convenient target for those who misconstrue their
>> purposes.
>
>...The flexibility of [divination systems] and the personal knowledge 
>base of [correspondence systems] will limit "its" usefulness and serve 
>as a convenient target for those who misconstrue their purposes? What 
>is "it" in that sentence? (the correspondence system database?) 
>...Who is "their" in that sentence ("those" (people)? or databases?) 

'its' should have been 'their'. 'their purposes' relates to the same
two system types (see below).

>Why or how will its usefulness be limited? 

divination systems -- flexibility and interpretive breadth will
 limit usefulness as a clear instruction-device for those who
 have no ability to infer meaning (i.e. it becomes suitable only
 to those with expert skill in divination). beginner systems will
 spell everything out, like training wheels. expert systems will
 leave much more to the inferment or sensitivity of the diviner.

lattices for ceremonial magic -- a personal knowledge-base will 
 limit usefulness as any kind of means to understand the world,
 as well as compose a self-enclosed symbolic language for the
 magician to use to interpret visionary symbols. usefulness is
 thereby limited to the individual making the construction. raw
 material may be obtained in modern comparative religion and
 general overviews of reliable sourcing on subjects like
 symbolism, mythology, and folklore in order to enhance and
 'ground' one's own personal knowledge-base in one's lattice
 (theoretically making it more and more possible to use the
 ceremonial construction of another for one's own rites).

nagasiva
-- 
mailto:nagasiva@luckymojo.com ; http://www.luckymojo.com/nagasiva.html
mailto:boboroshi@satanservice.org ; http://www.satanservice.org/ 
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