I was recently admonished quite stridently by an acquaintance on the internet when I suggested that the grimoire spirits should be set free and blessed in the name of God. I was called mad. I was warned that there would be horrible repercussions and that I was suggesting letting "all Hell break loose". He also suggested loosing demons into my life but for pity for what it would do to me.
I am not really surprised by this reaction. After all, this person follows a course of occult study based squarely on the Golden Dawn, Thelema, and Franz Bardon. This is the same lineage that views the spirits of the Underworld as demons and evil right off the bat. I try to point out his preset bias to him but he is too deep in it to see these spirits any other way. To him any suggestion that the grimoire and Underworld spirits are anything other than the sworn enemy of humanity is proof that the demons have succeeded in their deceptions.
One thing I've learned about these spirits is that there is a reflective quality to their nature. They take on and reflect back to the magician the qualities that they are expected to have as well as the qualities of the magician themselves. This is why sincerity and purity of heart are so important and, further, why the Confession is part of the process described in the True Grimoire. Sincerity is met with sincerity, belligerence is met with belligerence, and fear is met with fear.
To extend the blessings of God to the demons immediately removes the barrier of demons-equals-enemy that hampers the relationship from the start. It replaces the relationship of adversarial fear with one of respect much more likely to be mutually beneficial. When I make my offerings I will generally extend blessings to the spirits with whom I'm working.
The question of whether or not I have been deceived and I'm going to Hell to spend eternity in torment is irrelevant. The real question is what form my spirituality takes. Do I want to have a practice based in fear and opposition or do I want to spread blessings, even to those unaccustomed to receiving them, strengthening the light of God in the universe? While I walk this earth I get to choose how to live and I choose one of light even when I work with demons.
I happened to come across your blog while surfing the interwebs and randomly clicked on these two posts. One reason I haven't practiced evocation is that element of, shall I say coercion and command, along with dominion and fear, which I have not resonated with. Your idea of blessing the cthonic spirits and freeing them reminds me of a similar thought from a very different tradition: a few of the early church fathers believed in universal salvation, that even the demons in hell would return to G-d. Maybe the spirits do choose us, and then it's up to us how to relate to them.
ReplyDeleteI read an article by a white magickian who had decided to pursue Qliphothic self-initiation despite his strong view of the Sephiroth as both a preference and a default. In this article, the writer casually mentioned that Gabriel had a lot to teach about how to work Qliphothic magick. I only know one other thing about Gabriel: a certain Demonolater, possibly the best psychic I've ever met, told me that Gabriel taught her black magick so destructive that she has sworn never to use it on another human being. This article about the Qliphoth goes on to advise that the magickian face the north, something which thinkers in the Black Lodge have advocated for as well, and also advises that the Infernal Divine (my words, not his) be approached respectfully as legitimate deities-- just with more caution and after more experience than the Sephiroth.
ReplyDeleteThe only divinity the article mentions learning about how to approach the Qliphoth from (I wish I could find that article again) was Gabriel, so the fact that the view of the Qliphoth is this benign is significant. The demons who guide me, on the rare occasion that they commented on my prior endeavors of angel magick, always spoke of angel magick as a useful but unrequired pursuit-- unrequired for my coven and I, that is. I specifically remember Azazel shaping my cigarette smoke into distinct shapes before telling me to trust archangels.
More than one black magickal authority who venerates and pursues the Infernal Divine above any other pantheon has spoken highly of angel magick. While there is indeed rivalry between Jehovah and the Infernal Divine, the significance of this conflict is greatly exaggerated by many traditions. It's another run-of-the-mill conflict between certain deities: it can and sometimes does effect humans but the spirits struggling against each other are not necessarily opposed to cooperating when asked to do so by magickians.