THE FORGOTTEN ONES IN MAGICK
We need Magick to change the world.
Are you satisfied with the way things are--in government, in education, in business, in our dealings with each other, in our laying waste the planet? Do you feel powerless to restore balance and health to the world?
There is a way, composed of many Ways, that an individual can influence and direct the course of history unfolding now. To understand how this can happen, it's necessary to see and comprehend reality from points of view not taught in school or available as common knowledge.
The dense level of reality which our bodies inhabit and which contains all that our senses percieve is like the screen in a TV set, only with more dimensions, sensations, and audience-participation capabilities. What appears on the TV screen comes from elsewhere, and is the result of a number of factors such as power to the set, broadcast or cable or sattelite signals, power to the signal generation, camera shots and audio pickup, electronic processes like computer graphics, sound mixing etc., actors, directors, producers, musicians and writers.
The Magickian uses Magick, the High Art, to enter the different realms that interwork to make images on the screen, thus gaining control of the nature and details of the images.
What appears on the screen of physical reality arrives there by a similar inter-working factors. The factor that "powers the set" in Magick is, in reality, several factors known as the Forgotten Ones.
To explore the realm of the Forgotten Ones, it's necessary to know a few things about it. It's not only the power that runs our reality-set, but also the reception of the signal, the channel-tuning capacity, control of the sound volume, contrast, and color. The Forgotten Ones themselves are sources of individuals' life-force and Magickal power; in control of Will, the Forgotten Ones are good servants--without control, they are bad masters.
To use traditional terminology, the Forgotten Ones are creatures of Yesod. Yesod is the second Sphere from the bottom of the Tree of Life. It's also the realm of the Astral Planes, the Id, the Unconscious, emotions, dreams and nightmares. Yesod translates as "Foundation", and is attributed to the Moon.
The Forgotten Ones are the human survival-instincts: Hunger, Flight-or-Fight, Sex, Clanning, and Altruism. It can be seen that the instincts begin with self-interest and extend to the well-being of others.
The development of the cerebrum layered-over the Forgotten Ones with rational thought, creative imagery and scientific curiosity. The Forgotten Ones continue to operate from below Conscious Mind; when they operate from a balanced dynamic and are appropriately satisfied, they continue to aid survival. If they're off balance, and either starved or glutted, they give rise to a great deal of misery for the individual and others around him/her. If the Forgotten Ones are aligned with one's Will, and are under one's Magickal Control, they provide power and manifest events in physical reality.
The process of understanding and controlling the Forgotten Ones contains some built-in dangers. One arises from the species-wide link of universal participation in the Racial Unconscious. Uncontrolled arousal of a Forgotten One can affect other people adversely; the resonance spreads from one to the next and can generate a mob.
Anotherj danger lies in the resonance between the Forgotten Ones and the Elder Gods. The Elder Gods are entities that consumed their own universe and are attempting to render our edible. They discovered enough similarities between the Forgotten One of Hunger in humanity and their own voracious nature that they were able, for a time, to influence human behavior. Even now, there are those the Elder Gods control, but that's another tale for another time. The point is to be aware that the Forgotten Ones also function as Gateways, that when you begin working with Forgotten Ones, you may not be alone.
A third danger arises if the Ego assumes ownership of or identification with the Forgotten Ones. Examples that come to mind are Caligula, Nero, Hitler, Vlad Tepes, deSade, Stalin, Jim Jones and Charlie Manson. The Ego is the sense of self, a necessary component of Consciousness up to a certain point of Attainment. It is easily imbalanced and inflated, and the Magickian must keep Ego in its proper place and function.
The dangers listed aren't intended as warnings-away from the Forgotten Ones, but rather cautions to be observed in dealing with them. As it may be seen from the nature of these dangers, it would be wise to be well-prepared before beginning Forgotten Ones work.
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Begin by journeying within. Hunt the Forgotten Ones, beginning with Hunger, the oldest and most powerful of the Forgotten Ones. When you find it, study it. Watch its ways. If your physical health permits, fast for a day. Take notes about the experience, on how you feel, what images and thoughts arise, what events happen to you. Not preferences and cravings, avoidances and revulsions in food and drink.
Next, explore the nature of your Flight-or-Fight instincts. It wouldn't be wise to use methods like starting an argument in a biker bar, but there are other ways to experience the adrenaline-rush that lies at the base of this Forgotten One.
Spend the day at an amusement park and note your reaction to heights, speed, fast turns and drops, enclosed spaces and disorienting environments. Take notes.
Go alone on an overnight camp-out. Look down from steep heights of cliffs or buildings. Make several expeditions through city streets at night with the goal of not bein seen by anyone--learn to take advantage of shadows and concealments. Again, take notes on your experiences.
It might seem incongruous to think of Sex as a Forgotten One, but its mystery lies in the extent to which it dominates one's life and deeds. Honesty is important in recording everything you do that is influenced by sex in one way or another.
This can include, but is not limited to, selection of clothing, living quarters, jobs, possessions, where you go to socialize, how frequently you bathe, diet and fitness activities, hair style and adornment, choice of reading material, etc. How many of your activities are for hedonistic enjoyment, and how many are geared to impressing and/or attracting possible sex partners?
Explore the strength of your eroticism and the degree that it's controllable by will. Fantasize, read pornography, play with yourself; how much arousal can you achieve and still be able to deactivate it by an act of will? At what point does it become necessary to have an orgasm for release?
To what extent does sex influence your relationships with other people? In what way? Meditate on the strength of an urge that can persuade people to spend about twenty years of life in the responsibilities of cub-rearing.
Investigate the Clanning instinct. Set aside a week or two for being alone as much as possible. During this time avoid television, radio, tapes and records. Restrict your reading to books on Magick or philosophy, take solitary walks in the woods and spend as much time as possible alone with Nature. Concentrate on writing down whatever thoughts solitude inspires.
Go to sporting events and concerts; seek out situations that draw crowds, especially events with a focal point for the crowd's attention. Make a list of groups with which your loyalties lie. Spend time with family and relatives; analyze friendships and the criteria you use to divide friends from acquaintances. Honestly assess your own feelings about other races, your own race, various religions, political parties, your neighborhood. If you could choose any place on earth in which to live, where would it be? Why?
Examine your own Altruism. Under what circumstances have you been moved to help other people? Why? Do you give money to street people/homeless people/beggars? Why or why not? How do you feel about Welfare or public assistance programs? Have you ever asked for and/or received help from others? How did you feel about it?
Would you put yourself at risk to prevent an assault on someone else, or to otherwise save a life? If you could save only one of two people, what criteria would you use to make the choice? What do you do about nuclear hazards and environmental issues?
This last Forgotten One is rooted in biology. There is not only a mandate to preserve one's own life, but also a DNA-directive to preserve the existence of one's species. We share these double directives with other living creatures; only humanity, it seems, makes an issue out of them through ethics.
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The process of investigating the Forgotten Ones may have changed your original ideas about the world, the changes it requires, and your own viewpoint about responsibility and Magick.
Thoroughly and honestly done, the Forgotten Ones investigation provides an Enlightenment: about yourself, about other people, about the course of human history. All living things, including plants and micro-organisims, seem to share the instincts for self- and species-preservation; perhaps the distinguishing characteristic of humanity lie in our ability to act against our best interests of self-preservation.
Now that you have the perspective of some understanding of our survival instincts, it's time to frame your Magick.
* Intent. Choose a point on which to begin. What one facet of the world as you see it deserves your initial effort? Determine how that facet is reflected locally, within your own sphere of first-hand knowledge, whether it be in a group of people, an institution, or an individual.
It's best to begin the Great Work "at home", then branch out into wider spheres of influence; start small, then work up to larger tasks.
Take care to study your subject thoroughly. What is its ideal function, how did it come to be, what exactly is wrong with it? What is lacking in its present condition? The more precisely you can understand the nature and details of something, the more effectively you can cause it to change.
* Methodology. Traditionally, a Magickian works with certain tools in special
places--i.e., with Wand, Cup, Sword and Pantacle within a Temple, on an Altar. There are many good books available on this, in particular Aleister Crowley's Book Four. Once you understand the principles involved, you can incorporate other tools into your kit. It's beyond the scope of this writing to go into specific details, but it's basic to have one's equipment together, in one form or another.
Several Magickal principles need to be understood and employed in order to make Magick work.
1. As above, so below; as below, so above. What is done on a small scale, as it were, can be reflected at large, if the symbols used are accurate and rightly charged by the Will of the Magickian. This is the principle behind the use of poppets or "Voodoo dolls", and it can be applied in a number of imaginative ways through photographs, sigils, personal relics, etc.
2. Magick works through Magickal links. This extends the idea of personal relics. Any two objects that were once in contact retain a connection even though they're separated. A photograph of a person retains a connection with that person via the image of "trapped" light reflected from the person's face and preserved on film. A letter in a person's handwriting qualifies as a link, as does a printed quotation of the person's words. This was known formerly as "the Law of Contagion."
3. That which resembles another thing can affect change in a subject. As an example, if someone is too "cold" emotionally, keeping a link of that person near a flame (but not close enough to burn) could "warm him/her up". This principle, the "Law of Similarity". Is somewhat simplistic and should be applied sparingly.
4. The Law of Threefold Return derives from Wicca, and states that whatever one projects will return to the sender three-fold. This is a special application of the law of Karma. Everyone who acts in the world will reap the results of action sooner of later, in this life, or another; those who use Magick, however, can expect an instant rebound. It keeps ethics firmly within the realm of enlightened self-interest.
* Execution. By the time you've investigated the Forgotten Ones, and assembled your tools, and by the time you've acquired sufficient knowledge of some principles of Magick, you'll be able to understand what follows.
The key to Working with the Forgotten Ones lies in their ability to combine and join forces. You evoke the necessary ones within your conscious mnd; use the species-specific, "group" of Forgotten Ones (Clanning and Altruism) to interface with the Macrocosm; use the individual-specific ones (Hunger, Sex, Fight-or-Flight) to interface with the Microcosm.
Focus your Will on the talisman of your subject. Prepare before ritual the Forgotten One(s) of the Microcosm by creating a charge within it/them. Design your rite to bring the force of Will within its focus; engage all your senses, attention and concentration. Participate with your whole self: dance, drum, chant, gesture, invoke No*, Laroo and the Cosmic Forgotten Ones.
Call to mind-vision the sigil you've prepared that is the formula of the change you intend in your subject. Blend the sigil of the formula of change with the subject-talisman in your mind-vision. Release the energy of the Microcosmic Forgotten One(s), after its/their own fashion.
Becaome Naught with the release--you are a tube, not a container.
After you re-assemble, charge the talisman with the Elixir and destroy it by element, or, preferably, by eating it.
Meditate; contact the Macrocosmic Forgotten Ones. They will have contacted their counterpart terminals of the subject--human or situational--through the Racial Unconscious (see Karl Jung). Feed the subject's Forgotten Ones with the Magickal Current by vibrating the Words of Power:
ABRAHADABRA IPSOS ALIM
Seal your exit from the Astral with the words LUTIS NITRA.
Return all bodies in balance; earth yourself; close Temple. Forget it.
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I realize that there are probably a number of Adepts among the readership; please realize that many other readers haven't even heard of true Magick before encountering Psychick TV or TOPY.
Have I done something unwise or dangerous with what I've written? No. If you re-read the text, you'll realize that considerable time, learning and experience must happen with each stage. No one can execute the Operation without the necessary understanding. This piece is meant to be re-read when necessary, but the reader who opts to pursue Magick will find his/her own inner voice for guidance. If you are an Adept, you already know this.
To those who choose the Path(s) of Magick, I give you greeting. Herman Hesse, in Steppenwolf, describes this sign: "Welcome to the Magic Theatre: the price of admission: your mind."
Not only your mind, but your bodies, your soul, your life must be dedicated to the Great Work. Magick is not a hobby. Remeber always that you are the primary talisman of your own Magick. If you would banish violence from the world, deal with it first in yourself. Stop making excuses for yourself, blaming others, whining. Be ruthlessly self-honest. If you don't like what you see when you look within, change it.
Seek and find your True Will, and do it.
Magick is a lifetime practice and study; there are many sub-branches and byways of it. Eventually you invent your own after you understand enough essences. Read everything you can get your hand on by Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Kenneth Grant, Denning and Phillips, Israel Regardie, Carlos Castenada, Halevi. Experiment--and keep a Magickal Record. Write down what you do and the results. Track weird phenomena.
By learning to Work with the Forgotten Ones, we gain control over reality's TV set. We can clear up reception, rectify color, contrast and brightness, focus the photon-stream and keep the power steady.
Of course there's more to Magick--a lot more. Go for it. Being afraid of the Forgotten Ones, or any denizens of Magick, for that matter, is like being afraid of the skeleton of your own body.
Please let TOPY-US know if this piece is useful to you.
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