It
has been a while since my last Blog entry, this has been due to many reasons
but, I am back now, and I am pleased to announce that I now have a piece of my
writing published by Nephilim Press. This came about from a little over a year
ago when I was approached by Michael Cecchetelli, a well-known occult author
whose published works include, Crossed
Keys and The Book of Abrasax. He
asked me if I wanted to contribute a chapter for a book he was putting together
about the HGA (Holy Guardian Angel). I felt extremely privileged to of been
asked by such a prominent figure in the occult world, so I gladly and very
willingly accepted his kind offer. This resulted in me becoming one of the ten
authors that have contributed to the book, which is called “The Holy Guardian
Angel.” The book is available from Nephilim Press. Link to it is below, which
includes the blurb, the names of the authors and the title of their chapters. http://nephilimpress.com/store/product.php?productid=17701&cat=0&featured=Y
My
chapter is the first one in the book and is called “A Solar Spark of Light and
Fire.”
Luce
Opus Magicum
Fire
The
ritual mentioned here is connected with the practice of breathing, which is
executed according to the formula 2n (inspiration), n (retention), 2n
(expiration), n (retention) in an early phase; and 2n, 4n, 2n, n in a later
phase. The ritual can be performed in the first phase, too. This will be
discussed later on. For now it is enough to know the meaning of the spirit,
assumed in concentration and in silence, which, as an animating and sustaining
essence of man, is symbolized by breath. Breath is necessary to bodily life,
just as fire is indispensable to any form of physical life, hence "the
breath of fire" in various symbolisms. This is mentioned here as a guide
in experiences that sometimes have various simultaneous aspects. Lying down,
after achieving the perfect rhythm of breathing in the above- mentioned phases,
so that this organic function may continue with absolute spontaneity and
without requiring any particular attention, one descends to the roots of being
through "concentration" and "silence." When one reaches the
supreme phase and frees the spirit, this is realized as a small flame burning
in one's heart. The body must be experienced as pervaded by a wave of subtle
warmth, flowing through the veins and the nerves. The flame burns, stating:
"I AM!" The heart will feel as if it is burning and will be dissolved
in the element of the magical Fire. In this process, the greatest difficulty
(if "difficulty" is the most ad- equate term in relation to such an
act of the spirit) consists in the consciousness's, the spirit's, or the Self's
descent into the heart. In fact, we are very accustomed to feel and to
experience ourselves in the brain. Some- one may even feel himself in a sense
organ, when the perception is of such an intensity and violence that it
attracts every attention toward a given point of the body. Thus, one
momentarily feels like sinking, wherever the sensation of pain or pleasure has
arisen. The process of descent into the heart is analogous to this, although
none of those sensations is felt. (16) Let us recall the spirit's "sense
of infinity and unconditional freedom," which is the last state of ritual
silence. There should be no difficulty there in operating perfectly, causing
the spirit to concentrate and to coagulate any- where it wills. However, the
habit of the consciousness tied to an organ like the brain is such that the
spirit is almost automatically attracted wherever it finds its habitual
dwelling place. It is therefore necessary, in this case, to realize and to feel
oneself as a mass of light consistency that descends from the brain, through
the centers of the larynx and pharynx, down to the heart, slowly, following an
ideal rather than a physical line, gently and effortlessly. The spontaneity
itself is actualized in the magical action and in its most perfect and complete
form. As warm and vaguely bright silence (the body, as the spirit determines
itself, acquires a bituminous consistency, the limits of which cannot be
determined in space), the spirit becomes denser, bright, warmer. Despite the
absence of the perception of bodily space, the spirit is aware of finding its
place in it (a wave of warm, fluctuating light). The body becomes denser as the
spirit turns toward the heart (a conscious act: "I am in the heart, I feel
it, I live it"). One becomes aware of it as a new wonderful immensity, of
which few people are aware: it is no longer restricted to the usual physical limitation,
extending its igneous mass to the utmost darkness. And now a clarification that
needs to be deeply understood: man's life is ordinarily such that his action
does not assign to itself its own objects, but rather receives them through the
physical senses, as being imposed on it by them. So, in reality, man comes to
depend on everything that is external and extraneous to him, on everything that
is not himself. Not even the complex functioning of nervous reflexes is
sufficient to affirm his own true freedom. From this state of affairs derives
the fundamental notion of impurity, which, according to the classical rituals
of various initiatory systems, must be resolved into the original purity of the
burning of the secret flame, before the neophyte can acquire the knowledge and
use of magical power. The fire of the spirit is thus initially directed to the
catharsis of those dark elements that until now have ruled uncontested; to burn
in the supreme act of a perfect "knowledge" everything that is
"ignorance"; to penetrate into the bowels of the "Earth"
and to purify "metals" from various drosses; "Gold," which
through the help of "Sulfur" raises the inferior elements up to its
dignity; Sperm, which mingled with the menstruum of the Whore, generates the
Divine Child. (17) Ritually speaking, once the spirit has been established in
the heart (which appears as an igneous mass), waves and bright flashes surface
in the consciousness, beyond the boundaries of darkness, as symbols and mediums
of the formless passive life. In the heart the spirit creates a small flame,
turning its essence into the latter's essence. Let the flame burn, by itself,
without any other support than its own wonderful power—a light shining in the
red cavity of the heart. This is a timeless moment. Then, let the
flame-spirit-consciousness grow by itself, slowly and gradually growing bigger
and more intense, more tenacious, alive, and vivid, harder than a diamond . . .
More and more. Let it burn and consume beyond the limits of the heart, expanding
until it pervades the entire bodily nature, dissolving it into itself.
The
purification of the elements is thus fulfilled, and the spirit gradually
acquires the immediate control, the conscious perception of each organ, of each
smallest part of the physical body. Having reached and fixed the last state,
one needs to proceed backward and return to normal consciousness, following the
spontaneous succession of phases, analogous to the previous ones, until one
gets to the form of a small flame in the heart. Then suddenly end the ritual,
remaining in this state. After some time it will be easy to move rapidly to the
heart and to arouse a flame in it. This flame will eventually remain burning as
an inner act throughout the day; it will also be easy, starting from the heart,
to penetrate any part of the body and to live in its complex functions. Thus,
consciousness, once definitely reinstated in its natural seat, will be able to
experience states that are very different from the past habitual ones, and to
operate in consequence, realizing what has been expressed in the symbols of the
inextinguishable flame. The ritual should be performed in the middle of the
day, when the sun is at its zenith.
16.
In this regard, we find useful the following instructions found in an ancient
codex of a monastery of Mt. Athos, attributed to the abbot Xerocarca: "Sit
by yourself in a corner. Pay attention to what I say. Close the door and raise
your spirit above every vain and temporal thing. Then lower your chin on your
chest and with all the strength of your soul open the perceiving eye which is
in the middle of your heart. Restrict your exhala- tions, so as not to breath
too easily. Try hard to find the precise site of the heart, in which all the
energies of the soul are destined to dwell. At first you will find darkness and
experience resistance of impenetrable masses; but if you persevere day and
night, you will eventually experience an inexpressible joy. As soon as you find
the heart's location, the spirit sees what at first it was never able to see.
It sees the air, between itself and the heart, shining clear and being
permeated by a miraculous light." (Note by UR)
17.
The "Whore" in several alchemical and Gnostic texts symbolizes the
humid principle, above all in its expression of yearning, passivity, and
openness to receive indifferently any form. Once this is assumed and acted upon
by the initiatic fiery principle, it becomes transformed and fixed, giving rise
to the nature of the regenerated ones. Then it corresponds to the symbol of the
"Virgin," who has under her feet the lunar and serpentine symbol
(representing her original nature), and who holds in her arms the Divine Child.
(Note by UR)
This
practice is an excellent example of the inner work that is needed to be carried
out, not just for contact and communion with one’s HGA, but also for all ritual
workings. One has to ignite this inner fire, and once it is kindled it will
serve as the fuel to energize all magical acts, whether they be for mundane or spiritual purposes.
Bibliography
Evola, Julius & The UR Group. Introduction to Magic Rituals and Practical Techniques for the Magus. United States. Inner Traditions. 2001.
