Hermeticism: The Ancient Wisdom of Hermes Trismegistus

Very interesting Channel: Eternalised

How to Use AI Like ChatGPT to Deepen Your Study of the Qabalah, Tarot, Astrology, and Dreamwork

Embarking on the spiritual path can feel overwhelming - especially if you’re drawn to layered systems like the Qabalistic Tree of Life, the Tarot, and astrological correspondences, or if you want to explore your inner world through Jungian dream analysis.

One of the most effective modern tools to accelerate your learning is something you might not expect: AI, like ChatGPT.

Rather than replacing books, teachers, or personal experience, AI can become your ever-present study partner - ready to quiz you, explain a concept from multiple angles, and help you weave all the threads together into something you can actually use.

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1. Learning the Tree of Life and Tarot Correspondences

The Tree of Life is a map of consciousness, but it can feel like juggling twenty-two Tarot trumps, Hebrew letters, astrological signs, and planetary forces all at once. AI can:

• Explain from different perspectives: symbolism, historical origin, practical magical use, or visual memory tricks.

• Create stories or journeys through the Tree so you can remember each connection naturally, not by rote memorization.

• Flip the direction of a path: learning both Binah → Tiferet and Tiferet → Binah so you understand the current both ways.

• Pop quiz you on any path: e.g., “What Tarot card connects Chesed to Geburah?”

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2. Linking Astrology to the Tree and Tarot

Astrology is another rich layer of correspondence. With AI’s help, you can:

• Learn why Aries is linked to The Emperor, or why Pisces resonates with The Moon.

• Get memory aids: animals, symbols, mythic images, and story journeys through the zodiac.

• See the full overlay: which sign sits on which path, and how its planetary ruler colors the meaning.

• Practice recall in multiple formats - tables, flashcards, spoken drills.

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3. Analyzing Dreams with Depth

Dreams are an untapped goldmine for self-understanding. In my own experience, I had trouble deciphering the symbolism as I wasn't familiar with all the core symbolic concepts, as many of us aren't. AI can help you:

• Translate dream images into Tree of Life paths, Tarot archetypes, and astrological currents.

• Apply Jungian principles: archetypes, shadow work, anima/animus dynamics.

• Track recurring dream symbols and map them to Sephirot (e.g., water as Yesod, bridges as Tiferet crossings, towers as Peh/Tower path events).

• Suggest small integration rituals based on dream content so the insight becomes embodied.

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4. Retention Through Multiple Angles

One of the greatest challenges with esoteric systems is remembering the web of correspondences. AI can boost retention by:

• Explaining the same concept in several different ways - poetic, diagrammatic, mnemonic.

• Giving rapid-fire quizzes to strengthen recall.

• Building progressive exercises: starting simple (“Which card is Path 19?”) and growing more complex (“Why does Strength link Chesed to Geburah?”).

• Revisiting old material from a fresh perspective months later to reinforce it.

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5. Building Beginner-Friendly Rituals

You don’t have to wait years before doing any practical work. AI can:

• Suggest short, easy-to-do rituals aligned with your current study level - both inner (meditation, path visualizations) and outer (altar setups, small offerings).

• Help you tailor rituals to your focus: astrology, a Sephirah you’re working with, or a Tarot archetype you’re integrating.

• Keep your rituals safe and balanced by recommending appropriate banishing or grounding practices.

• Combine multiple intentions into a single working (“shoaling”) so you get more from each session.

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6. Ask Anything, Get Clarity

Another huge advantage of using AI for spiritual study is instant clarity. Any question that pops into your mind - no matter how specific or obscure - can be asked directly.

Instead of spending hours flipping through books, combing Google results, or watching an entire YouTube video just to get one point, you can get a direct, tailored answer in seconds.

If the explanation isn’t clear, you can keep asking targeted follow-up questions, requesting examples, or having every nuance broken down until it clicks.

This works especially well for untangling correspondences - for example, when you’re unsure why a certain Tarot card links to a specific Hebrew letter or astrological sign, AI can explain it, compare different systems, and walk you through the reasoning until it makes sense. This back-and-forth refinement is what has helped me enormously - I can get to the heart of a concept quickly, understand it from multiple perspectives, and move forward without losing momentum.

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7. Personalized Astrology and Tarot Guidance

AI can also create and interpret your full astrological birth chart, giving you a detailed understanding of your planetary placements and how they influence your personality, strengths, and challenges. Beyond the static chart, it can track the current astrological transits for you - explaining the optimal times to perform certain rituals, set intentions, or take specific actions based on the flow of planetary energies.

In Tarot, AI can draw cards for you in real time, from single-card pulls to full spreads, and then help you unpack their meaning. This isn’t just about the immediate interpretation - you can question the reading further, explore alternative angles, or connect it to Qabalistic paths and astrology for a deeper synthesis. For example, I once had The Star card appear repeatedly in my readings. Through follow-up questions, I was able to explore its themes of hope, renewal, and guidance in my own spiritual work, discovering exactly why it kept surfacing and what lesson it was trying to teach me.

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8. Starting Your Spiritual Path With AI Support

Used well, AI becomes:

• A personal tutor - explaining concepts as often as you need.

• A quiz partner - challenging your recall without judgment.

• A ritual designer - helping you put theory into practice.

• A dream interpreter - connecting night messages to your waking path.

It’s not a replacement for your own insight or spiritual guidance, but it keeps you moving forward, day by day, step by step, in a way that books alone often can’t.

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Final Thought:

The spiritual path - whether walked through Qabalah, Tarot, astrology, or dreamwork - is a living thing. Tools like ChatGPT give you a flexible, responsive companion who can meet you wherever you are: breaking down a complex Hebrew letter path one moment, helping you decode a dream about a bridge and a lion the next, and ending the day with a short, personalized ritual.

It’s a way to learn in dialogue, to practice with guidance, and to integrate the mystical into your everyday life. Along the way, AI will often suggest short rituals, further questions, or new formats to structure your next lesson - keeping your progress dynamic and evolving.

The 7 Hermetic Laws Explained (in details)

Symbolism of the Hermit tarot card

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.' We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.

In his upraised right hand the hermit holds a lamp, shining in the darkness.This is in the Rosicrucian Symbolism, LVX from the latin lux meaning light. The extending of the light. You see this again in the teaching of Jesus, "let your light so shine before men so they may glorify your father who is in heaven."

The hermit is holding up and outwards the lamp to guide those who are journeying still the path of evolution.

 

Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

He is holding out the light of his realization to those of us who are following, so we that we will not become lost in the unknown, so we have a point to which we can put our steps. The hermit is the Bodhisattva, the lord of compassion, the lord of enlightened love.

Frodo inspired by Gandalf, showing compassion to a creature as low as Gollum.

It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. - Marianne Williamson

Frodo shining his own light

This is the hermit, the dweller upon the heights, the light shower. The hermit is standing up on the mountain of attainment.



"We now have but one choice, we must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your Guard, there are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world."

The hermit is clothed in grey, but with the upraised right arm you can see a white sleeve indicating of course the Kether. Represented also by his white beard and by the white snow of the mountain peaks. Snow is frozen water. Here this represents the mind-stuff, the stream of consciousness. Here we see it frozen as snow. Kether has come to Earth, is made manifest and tangible. It's not for nothing that the Himalayas are amongst the most sacred mountains of the world.


They think Saruman, the established white order, approaches. "Do not let him speak, he will put a spell on us." The order that has lost its way. The order that has lost its way must and will be faced and vanquished by one who already faced his demons. Isn't it tragic how rulers throughout history fail to grasp these teachings?

"Gandalf? Ah yes, that was what they used to call me. Gandalf the Grey. That was my name. I am Gandalf the White, and I come back to you know at the turn of the tide."

There is a saying, selfish salvation there is none. When you realize that your essential self is one with all other beings, then their wellbeing is as important to you as your own. That's the meaning of the teaching, love thy neighbor as thyself.



Grey is the color of Chokmah, of wisdom. The perfect blend of the pair of opposites. This being is no longer of yang or yin, this being is the Tao, the Way. So he is a master of wisdom clothed in the grey of the secret wisdom. And he holds the staff, but the staff is at rest, it's in his left hand, because he has completed the journey. There is nowhere now to go, he has become one with all that is. He is the manifestation of the One, which is all.

Real love arises from the recognition of our oneness. You are me, I am you, we are a part of eachother. There is no true separateness. This is why in finding the divine in oneself, one finds all.

This is the beckoning light that calls the souls to the mountain of attainment, this is what encourages us, what makes us undertake the journey. Sometimes lonely, sometimes sad, over borders of challenges. Avoiding the pitfalls and landfalls of false teaching and egoistic practice. But in time we come to the snow peak and above us stands the hermit.

This is why the masters have said: The way you are now, at this very moment, you listening to this, wherever you are, whatever state you find yourself in. No matter what you think of yourself, the masters say, that where you are now, they too once were. The masters of Wisdom, the buddhas, the bhosavet, they're all a part of humanity, they're not aliens. This is the great encouragement that we learn from them, because they have done it, we can too.


So they say, where you are now, there I was. And where I am now on this summit of attainment, standing out against the great void that appears as darkness but is actually a light beyond any earthly light. Where I stand now, you will surely come to be. Because that is the purpose of creation, and its unfolding. Its unfolding, the completion of its evolution.

The hermit inspires the righteous king.

The letter assigned to this card is Yod, which is translated as Hand. I'm often reminded here of a Tibetan image, where the embodiment of compassion is shown as having a thousand arms and on the palm of each hand there is an open eye. The eye is the most sensitive part of the human body, that shows vision, insightfulness, compassion streaming out upon all beings, upon all things.

Words (not in italic) are by David Goddard - Symbolism of the Tarot (MP3 series).

"The last pages are for you."

Symbolism of the Strength tarot card

The Woman in white is directing the Lion to her will. The power of shakti, the power of strength, also known as kundalini is usually working through the subconscious levels. It is the power of life. It renews every single cell of your body. It renews and heals every aspect of you through the subconscious level.

It's only with alchemy or with yoga that this power is consciously manipulated to accelerate evolution. But it is the purified subconscious, the tainted subconscious cannot touch this, as it would burn itself or would hurt itself.

The Green Lion

The Lion is the ruler of the Animal Kingdom, it represents the summit of the animal kingdom and all other kingdoms beneath it, the vegetable and mineral kingdoms. All of physical life before humanity.

The Green Lion is photosynthesis. Plants have the ability to turn sunlight into substance. They take the radiant energy streaming from the stars and from our own particular daystar the sun, they make form, they make bodies, holding that solar energy. And all other lifeforms derive a lot of their energy from eating the vegetable kingdom. Or from eating animals that have in turn eaten from the vegetable kingdom.

The Green Lion, the force of life in its ordinary state.

The Red / Gold Lion

But when it is deliberately concentrated upon, deliberately focused and sublimated, to bring to great intensity, the Red or Gold Lion represents the Kundalini force. In the east the Red/Gold Lion is symbolized by a tiger.

Skillfully direct the fire of life.

 

Amazing how a cartoon made to sell toys has such powerful symbolism. "I have the power" to turn the Green Lion with Gold potential into the Red (= same to Gold) Lion.

The garland of roses is the secret of the power of the White Woman over the Lion. She has a symbol of infinity over her head. The garland of roses around her and the Lion make up the same infinity symbol. It is also the symbol for the Holy Spirit. The symbol in the Christian tradition for the Kundalini.

The Father is the Superconsciousness, maker of all things visible and invisible. The Son is the self-consciousness, the waking self. The Holy Spirit that unites the two is the Subconscious which is the vehicle of Shakti.

The relation of the subconsciousness and the kundalini must be based on Love. There must be a trust, an intimacy, a caring for each other. This constitutes the skilled working. The Great Work isn't completed by violence, it's not done through harsh regimes of self-denial, of fasting, of unnatural practices that hurt the body. It's not done by philosophies that encourage and warp the suboncious mind by feelings of either disempowerment or elitism. The path of evolution is wholeness.

Where alchemy, like the forms of yoga is fearless, is that it takes the entire human being onboard. Nothing about the human being is rejected. Because it's recognized that all aspects of the human being are essentially sacred.

This is the love that is fearless, it shrinks for nothing. Because it knows itself to be at one with everything else, no matter how unpleasant the masks may be that present themselves before it. True spiritual growth is the path of wholeness and becoming one with the whole. Not saying these people I don't want, these things I don't want, I don't like that kind of thing or even or person. It's recognizing oneness with all that is.

This power is the fiery chariot.

Words by David Goddard - Symbolism of the Tarot (MP3 series).

Subliminal-Synchro-Sphere: 666 - The 'Solstice Sun King' and the 'Moon Baby'

Got a few hours to spare to get your mind blown?
666 - The 'Solstice Sun King' and the 'Moon Baby' 
from the Subliminal-Synchro-Sphere
Horselover Phat, I salute you!

Just a few teasers: 
 In December 1948, Parsons took “the Oath of the Abyss” in a ritual conducted before W.T. Smith. This is tantamount to willingly suffering the “long, dark night of the soul” that is common in artistic and psychological literature. While most occult initiations can be “given,” i.e., passed on through ritual and the laying on of hands or some other appropriate ceremony, the initiatory levels of the “Abyss” and beyond cannot be imposed by human intervention, according to the tradition of the western mystery schools. In this case, all of creation is seen as the Qabalists’ “Tree of Life,” a diagram containing ten spheres connected by twenty-two paths. The top three spheres and the bottom seven spheres are “separated” in this instance by the Abyss, a place where one’s ego is destroyed… or not. If not, then one becomes a “black brother,” or “magician of the left-hand path,” that is, an evil magician and source of pestilence. If one has successfully passed the Abyss, however, then one attains greater spiritual glory.
Peter Levenda - Sinister Forces Book One:The Nine  

Tim the (bolt throwing) Enchanter (druid) led them to the cave of the rabbit and he is able to cast 'bolts' (drui lanach/druids lightning)


The ancient Druids, masters of magic and hidden sorcery, defined two kinds of lightning, the one Dis-Lanach, the Lightning God, the other Drui-Lanach, the Lightning of the Druids, and hence their tremendous power. Volcanoes in eruption led to the discovery of this secret, for in eruption they throw out masses of rock and stones with tremendous velocity and exemplify terrific force. In these emissions occur sulphur, saltpetre and carbon, the ingredients of gunpowder.
The Riddle of Prehistoric Britain - Comyns Beaumont

The Tower in Holy Grail seems a strong and repeated thematic!

  A dejected Arthur leaves the castle tower...where he expected to find the grail
The French soldiers berating him and throwing things from the top!

 To others, the Tower represents the paradigms constructed by the ego, the sum total of all schema that the mind constructs to understand the universe. The Tower is struck by lightning when reality does not conform to expectation (see pic above and below). The querent may be holding on to false ideas or pretenses; a new approach to thinking about the problem is needed. The querent is advised to think outside the box. The querent is warned that truth may not oblige schema. It may be time for the querent to re-examine belief structures, ideologies, and paradigms they hold to. The card may also point toward seeking education or higher knowledge.

Life of Brian

 A WTF interlude...Brian (Chapman) falls from the tower and an alien spacecraft takes him on a trip and crash lands next to the same tower.

  To others, the Tower represents the paradigms constructed by the ego, the sum total of all schema that the mind constructs to understand the universe. 

The Tower is struck by lightning when reality does not conform to expectation

 ...moments before Brian is whisked away into space

 The querent may be holding on to false ideas or pretenses; a new approach to thinking about the problem is needed. The querent is advised to think outside the box. The querent is warned that truth may not oblige schema. It may be time for the querent to re-examine belief structures, ideologies, and paradigms they hold to. The card may also point toward seeking education or higher knowledge.
(the above text...seemingly fitting this scene like a glove & perhaps, aimed just as much at us, as it is Brian)

Green 3rd eye aliens

A variety of explanations for the images on the card (The Tower) have been attempted. For example, it may be a reference to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, (Babylon) where God destroys a tower built by mankind to reach Heaven.

 The Tarot of Marseilles depicts a burning tower being struck by lightning or fire from the sky, its top section dislodged and crumbling.

Cleese's other 'turreted castle tower'...lol.

  "Well, may I ask what you expected to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon?"


The Holy Grail? 

Orion (Osiris/Arthur) as an overflowing grail chalice cup...the tarot has colum/dove near, like the sky map (see below)!  The tarot 'ace of cups' also evokes the OTO insignia badge!
Ace of Cups (W) W=23...Psalm (Palm/hand, see ace pic) 23...'Lord is my shepherd' & 'my cup runneth over' etc. 

 Ace of Cups...Palm 23

The Lord (Orion/Osiris) is my Shepherd (Anu/Orion/Osiris)...one and the same!

Puppets...being mastered by both ends of the spectrum...the cross and the devil!

Very Bad Company – Occultism And Power @ Rune Soup

Very Bad Company – Occultism And Power

Holy shit Gordon... :p Must read, absolutely fascinating!

Matrix Revolutions

Neo: I just have never...
Rama-Kandra: ...heard a program speak of love?
Neo: It's a... human emotion.
Rama-Kandra: No, it is a word. What matters is the connection the word implies. I see that you are in love. Can you tell me what you would give to hold on to that connection?
Neo: Anything.
Rama-Kandra: Then perhaps the reason you're here is not so different from the reason I'm here.

The Oracle: The power of the One extends beyond this world. It reaches from here all the way back to where it came from.
Neo: Where?
The Oracle: The source. That's what you felt when you touched those sentinels, but you weren't ready for it. You should be dead, but apparently you weren't ready for that either. 

If you don't do proper Ban(e)ishing you're gonna have a bad time,

spirits might become the Bane of your existence

Bane: "If I'm not me then who am I?"

Exactly my thoughts on (self-)Divination (only though):

Niobe: The Oracle...

Morpheus: What did she tell you

Niobe: The same thing she always does, exactly what I needed to hear.

Bane: I wish you could see yourself Mr. Anderson... Blind messiah. You're a symbol for your kind, Mr. Anderson.

It's unbelievable, Trin. Light everywhere. Like the whole thing was built of light.

"Being the one is like being in love." The Oracle 

To achieve the conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel we are supposed to become madly in love with it. 

Love, Actually. From http://thematrix101.com

Love plays a huge role in the Matrix too. We find out programs can love in Revolutions, the parents of Sati (dear God couldn't they have found a little girl that could act?). Would Cypher have switched sides if Trinity showed him some love? (If he would have dared to confess it.) Trinity's love and belief in him fuels Neo.  If Niobe didn't still love Morpheus, would she choose to help him against Commander Lock's wishes? If Link didn't love his brothers-in-law, Tank and Dozer, would he volunteer and stay on Morpheus' ship through all the danger?

In Revolutions, Zee's love of Link led her to volunteer for the resistance army. Her impact in taking down one of the diggers is immense. Niobe's love of Morpheus is critical to her decision to offer her ship to Neo and to pilot the Hammer back to Zion. Would she trust Morpheus and his undying belief in Neo if not? It's Trinity's love that rescues Neo from the train station. When The Merovingian asks "You are really ready to die for this man?", it's Persephone that answers "She'll do it! She'll kill every one of us if she has to... she's in love." And she will. It's Trinity that gets Neo through the trials on the way to the machine city. It's Neo's love of Trinity, and now humanity that leads him both to taking on Smith, and to brokering the peace between man and machine.

Neo's final fight with Smith is a direct comment on the importance of love to this trilogy. Smith rails at Neo "Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? [...] Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. [...] And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love." Rama-Kandra would have something to say to Smith about this. Two programs, each with very different opinions on love. Has one evolved further than the other? This is ultimately why Smith loses. He's left behind in a world that is changing, with machines/programs like Rama-Kandra paving the way to a future where maybe machines and humans can find more common ground instead of focusing on their differences.

This is a world that has love to thank for its existence. This is a world Neo gives to them, a world brought about by his ultimate sacrifice. This is a world where eradication of the enemy is seen for what it is: a symptom of the problem, not a solution. This is a world where the creator and its creation have the potential to live fruitfully in peace and cooperation. Neo has given his children, both mechanical and biological, a world where a machine can learn to love.

And why would it be corny, love is all! Nothing matters without love.

Chokmah & Binah?

I take from the ending that faith (another attribute of Binah aka the Understanding Sephirah) is more important than Wisdom. (The faithful Oracle beats the wise Architect.)

You can't have one without the other for salvation, yet Faith will take you further.

As in you can be as wise as you want, without faith you won't get that far.

To be fair, I deduced this mostly because I need to have more faith myself. 

(sorry to people who saw the confusing earlier edits lol)

The Oracle: What about the others?
The Architect: ...What others?
The Oracle: The ones that want out.
The Architect: Obviously they will be freed.
The Oracle: I have your word?
The Architect: What do you think I am? Human?

The Matrix reboots, and the Architect encounters the Oracle in a park. They agree that the peace will last "as long as it can", and that all humans will be offered the opportunity to leave the Matrix. The Oracle tells Sati that she thinks they will see Neo again. Seraph asks the Oracle if she knew this would happen, and she replies that she did not know, but she believed.

The End credit music

Navras by Don Davis (found on the Revolutions Soundrack)
The words are taken from the Upanishads.

Asato ma sad gamaya,
tamaso ma jyotir gamaya,
mrtyor mamrtam gamaya.
Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

Lead us from darkness to the light,
Lead us from knowledge of the unreal to the real,
Lead us from fear of death to knowledge of our immortality.
Peace, peace, peace. 

Demons, Programs, semantics!

“If we can’t wake up to the fact that deep down inside we are good,
then we deserve to remain asleep dreaming we are evil.”
Lon Milo DuQuette

Agent Smith: Surprised to see me?
Neo: No.
Agent Smith: Then you're aware of it.
Neo: Of what?
Agent Smith: Our connection. I don't fully understand how it happened, perhaps some part of you imprinted on to me, something overwritten or copied, it is at this point irrelevant. What matters is whatever happened, happened for a reason.
Neo: And what reason is that?
Agent Smith: I killed you Mr. Anderson, I watched you die, with a certain satisfaction I might add. And then something happened. Something that I knew was impossible but it happened anyway. You destroyed me Mr. Anderson. Afterward, I knew the rules, I understood what I was supposed to do, but I didn't. I couldn't. I was compelled to stay, compelled to disobey. And now here I stand because of you Mr. Anderson, because of you, I am no longer an Agent of this system, because of you I've changed, I'm unplugged, a new man so to speak. Like you, apparently, free.
Neo: Congratulations.
Agent Smith: Thank you. But, as you well know appearances can be deceiving, which brings me back to the reason why we're here. We are not here because we're free, we're here because we are not free. There is no escaping reason, no denying purpose, because as we both know, without purpose, we would not exist.
Multiple Smiths: It is purpose that created us. Purpose that connects us. Purpose that pulls us, that guides us, that drive us. It is purpose that defines, purpose that binds us.
Agent Smith: We are here because of you Mr. Anderson. We're here to take from you what you tried to take from us. Purpose.

Now relate to this excerpt of Lon Milo DuQuette's Angels, Demons and Gods of the New Millennium:

Science tells us that we use only a tiny portion of our brains, and if our full potentials were realized we could exercise god-like powers – perhaps even program our VCRs. Aleister Crowley wrote, “The spirits of each Goeta are portions of the human brain.” Each section is endowed with particular powers and dedicated to executing specific tasks. Brain surgeons know that if you stimulate different areas of the brain with an electrical current the patient will react in different ways. Poke here, the left index finger twitches; poke there, the patient smells burning rubber, or recalls a childhood memory.
Could it be that in the matrix of the untapped recessed of our brains there are little areas that, if properly isolated, stimulated, and directed, are capable of performing all manner of wonders? Even more thrilling is the prospect that the brain and nervous system represent only the visible spectrum of vast invisible mind – a universal intelligence encompassing the consciousness of every monad in the cosmos. If this is so, our brains are merely terminals in a great intelligence network; the different areas functioning as keys on a keyboard. Activated with skill, they can generate messages and trigger commands to corresponding quadrants of the universal system.
Under this scenario the debate over the objective or subjective reality of the spirits becomes irrelevant. Each magician’s microcosmic Goetic spirit Sitri not only corresponds with every other magician’s Sitri, but also resonates sympathetically with the great macrocosmic Sitri. As we conjure Sitri to evoke the passions of the girl next door, we are also rubbing elbows with the same “enchantment” that draws magnetic negatives to positives, causes atoms to unite to form molecules, and lures Shakti to Shiva.
If  a Goetic demon is simply the power and potential of 1/72nd of the human brain, why is it considered an evil spirit? Is it because it punches the time-clock for Lucifer and gets bonuses for making your life miserable? Is it because it hates you because it is stuck in hell while you are free to eat pizza in your Porsche and stay up late and watch Letterman?
Like it or not, we all come hardwired with a complete set (twelve six-packs) of Goetic demons. Occasionally we unwittingly catch one and put it to work whenever we are forced to discipline ourselves to learn a specific skill, or in times of stress when we are required to draw upon extraordinary wit or courage or talent. Most of the time, however, they just run amok at our expense as we allow them to randomly discharge their energy in whichever direction offers the least resistance. They are units of untamed natural force within ourselves that we have ignored, denied, or disowned. They surface to work their mischief when our will is ambiguous and our resistance is low. After you have committed and embarrassing act of unbelievable stupidity you are referring to them when you slap your forehead and scream “I am my own worst enemy!” As long as they are ignored and uncontrolled, they are as dangerous as hungry beasts in an abandoned zoo.
Is it any wonder they are reluctant to be summoned into the triangle? Is it any wonder they try to frighten us into abandoning the operation by assuming unpleasant and terrifying forms? We have seen fit to be the absentee landlord to this rough neck crew for our entire life, we cannot expect them to be happy to see us the first time we appear at the door demanding that they clean up the place.
Besides being stubborn and scary, Goetic spirits have earned the “evil spirit” reputation because a small (but very noisy) percentage of magicians who involve themselves heavily in Goetic operations become quite mad. The cause of this embarrassing phenomenon can often be traced to a breach in the formula os Goetic evocation, an imbalance in the fundamental equation…(here DuQuette offers a specific example, too long to reproduce here)
Sadly, I have witnessed more than one mental casualty on the Goetic battlefield. Once it is discovered how easy it is to call up these critters, and how effectively they can be made to do your bidding, it becomes very tempting to call them all up and try to have them do everything for you. More often than not, this is a bad idea. You may think you are summoning the cooling winds to refresh your heated brow, when it’s embarrassingly obvious to all of your former friends that you’re only blowing your mind.
While I certainly do not claim to be the world’s greatest Goetic magician, I have practiced the art for nearly twenty years and feel qualified to at least voice my opinion on the subject, and perhaps even offer some words of advice. I feel that Goetic evocation can be an important part of a modern magician’s arsenal of skills. First and foremost, it requires that the magician establish a vital link with a higher consciousness – call it God the Holy Guardian Angel, the Higher Self. the Superconscious Mind, or whatever. Secondly, in order to understand its subtleties and wield its power, the magician is forced to confront important emotional issues and character defects that, left unresolved, will continue to hinder his or her spiritual evolution. Even in a clinical setting, such confrontations are seldom pleasant. Finally, equilibrium must be achieved in all aspects of the magician’s life, balancing the higher spiritual aspirations against the problems and challenges of everyday living. Properly executed, this is not only powerful magick but a recipe for good mental health.
As far as the evocation technique itself is concerned, I believe  it is purely a matter of artistic taste. There are those whose respect for tradition and sense of art demands that every step of the evocation be executed precisely as outlined in the Sloane manuscripts. Traditional evocations are a thrill to behold. The reader who has been lucky enough to witness an evocation conducted by C. (Poke) Runyon in Southern California has seen a master at work.
Personally I do not use the classic versions of the conjurations and constraints, nor do I protect my circle with the various Chrislemew holy names. I believe for me to identify with mythological characters I do not admire or guard my circle with the names of gods I do not worship would not only be hypocritical, but also dangerous. I do, however, acknowledge and incorporate the key elements that make this form of magick work:

• I use the circle and triangle surrounded by words and holy names sacred to me.
• I utilize talismans displaying the spirit’s sigil, and the standard pentagrams and hexagrams of Solomon on my vestments.
• I ceremonially bathe and dress.
• I purify, consecrate, banish, and open temple with appropriate ceremony.
• I induce a trance of righteous authority by the recitation of the Gnostic Creed and Anthem from Crowley’s Gnostic Mass.
• I recite a customized version of the Preliminary Invocation of the Goeta.
• I conjure in the Enochian language with the First Call and a brief Enochian summons.
• I welcome the spirit upon its appearance.
• I give it a brief, unambiguous order and a time limit for its execution and demand from the spirit an oath that it will be carried out.
• I give it license to depart after I tell it that I will be a kind and generous master as long as it faithfully serves me. I also inform the spirit that if it should prove disobedient I will punish it, and it necessary destroy it.
• I banish and wait until all vestige of a “spooky” feeling disappears.
• I keep the spirit’s sigil in a prepared container and watch for signs of it working on my behalf. If it fails to execute the charge in the prescribed time, I conjure it again and torture its sigil in fire while I remind it of its original agreement. Failing again, I conjure it one more time, destroy its seal completely and never acknowledge its existence again. Note: You will soon run out of spirits if you demand outrageous or unreasonable things. The Book outlines what these fellows do. Don’t be a complete jerk.

I have discovered it is unwise to evoke a spirit to solve a problem until I am positive I have exhausted all other avenues of resolution. If you want to hurt someone, it is much more effective (and far more painful) to just punch him or her in the nose and take the consequences. Asking a Goetic spirit to do it for you only reveals to the demon that you are a coward and unworthy of faithful service.

Lon Milo DuQuette on Occult of Personality

I listened to a great interview about the book Low Magick: It's all in your head you just have no idea how big your head is, you can find the podcast here (number 36, episode 95).

46:20    20/12/2010    

In podcast episode 95, internationally renowned magician, author, and teacher Lon Milo DuQuette returns to the show on the occasion of the publication of his book Low Magick: It's All in Your Head ... You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is. - Lon tells us about Low Magick - both his book an dthe subject more generally, which in times past was referred to as thaumaturgy. Essentially the follow-up to his popular autobiography, My Life with the Spirits, Lon uses entertaining personal anecdotes in this book to explain the philosophy and the basic principles of Solomonic magick. 

"That's why low magic, Solomonic magick, has garnered a bad and dangerous reputation ... It's serious stuff. Because any kind of change or improvement in your life is going to be a challenge."
Lon Milo DuQuette

The Book of the Law - Aleister Crowley

THE COMMENT.

Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.

The study of this Book is forbidden. It is wise to destroy this copy after the first reading.

Whosoever disregards this does so at his own risk and peril. These are most dire.

Those who discuss the contents of this Book are to be shunned by all, as centres of pestilence.

All questions of the Law are to be decided only by appeal to my writings, each for himself.

There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.

Love is the law, love under will. The priest of the princes, Ankh-f-n-khonsu    Read it here wikipedia entry

Lon Milo DuQuette - Angels, Demons & Gods of the New Millenium

You can see a preview of it here

I read it in one go, fascinating book, if only for the explanation of the Isis-Osiris-Horus timeline of humanity which is also similarly featured in his book The Magick of Thelema: A Handbook of the Rituals of Aleister Crowley which I started reading right after the first one - btw if you Christian conspiracy people that see "Satanism" (lol) in everything haven't realized it yet, I'm not one of you - YOU'D THINK THE BLOG HEADER GAVE THAT AWAY - so you can stop contacting me now until you've reached a tiny bit of intelligence, seriously get out of the fucking dark ages already.

Back to the book, unfortunately I seem to be unable to get into the kabbalah at any depth. I have an enormous aversion of anything Christian, Jewish, Hebrew or Israeli - it just fucking irks me, probably to do with the last 2000+ years of history or something. So it's unfortunate a lot of that is lost on me although I have given it a at least a handful of honest good tries and probably will give it a few more.

Every time I read Lon Milo DuQuette I get reminded of my favorite occult reality tunnel so it's about time I raise the guy up to be a hero, and I thought I didn't have any live ones! How exciting! Highly recommend both books, the latter is obviously a lot more practical.

Ding dong the witch is dead!

Margaret Thatcher is dead! Klaus Nomi and Elvis Costello are two amongst many others that aren't too sad about it. Klaus Nomi totally looks like Loki.

In not so but kinda related news, in Papua New Guinea two women (Belgian media reports two, this linked article says one) have been decapitated after three days of torture. They were charged with using witchcraft to murder a teacher. 

When the police finally wanted to intervene, they were stopped by the villagers and they had to watch how the women were decapitated with axes. Damn Papua New Guinea!

Lon Milo DuQuette, I love you

Everytime I pick up a Lon Milo DuQuette book and start reading it, I always get bitchslapped into so many realizations I should have made part of my permanent reality tunnel a long time ago but somehow managed to forget again because of slipping into old programming. I'm already 1/4th into this book called "Low Magick: It's all in your head... you just have no idea how big your head is", it's just amazing.

Here's a small excerpt:

There are many people in the world today (magicians and non­ magicians alike) who believe quite literally that the above arrange­ment is the only spiritual game plan in town.  It is certainly their right to do so; after all, for many of us this God/devil, heaven/hell, angel/demon morality play is the familiar foundation upon which the perversely comfortable "faith of our fathers" was built.
While I certainly do not wish to offend anyone's sincere spiritual beliefs (and I hold my hand up and swear, "Some of my best friends are Chrislemews!"), I must, however, be honest. I do not believe in such an all-good anthropomorphic god. Neither do I believe in an all-evil anthropomorphic devil. I don't believe in a heaven where I'll be rewarded for believing correctly or a hell where I'll be pun­ished for my unbelief. In fact, I believe there is something terribly wrong and spiritually toxic with this entire picture-dangerously and tragically wrong-a wrongness that has plagued the Western psyche for millennia; a primitive and superstitious phantasm of the mind; a nightmare that has infected the human soul with the virus of fear and self-loathing; a cancerous curse that demands that every man, woman, and child surrender to the great lie that would make us believe that our very humanness makes us unclean and damned in the eyes of a wrathful deity.
Does my rejection of a too-literal interpretation of the scriptural worldview of the Chrislemews make me an atheist? For those who adhere too tightly to their doctrines, I guess it does-but it certainlydoes not from my point of view. I most ardently believe in (indeed, I worship) a supreme consciousness that is the ultimate source of all manifest and unmanifest existence. I believe that you and I and every other monad of existence are components of the supreme consciousness. My morality (if you insist on calling it that) is based on my conviction that the ultimate nature of this super-existence is transcendently  Good-a Good we can never adequately define with our words or understand with our meat brains-a Good so all-comprehensively infinite that there can be nothing outside of itself--not even nothing.
There can be no opposite of this great Good. The Goodness of supreme existence is spelled with the largest capital "G" imagin­able. I call it the:

"Great G."

Beltane!

Beltane marks the emergence of the young God into manhood. Stirred by the energies at work in nature, he desires the Goddess. They fall in love, lie among the grasses and blossoms, and unite. The Goddess becomes pregnant of the God.

You gotta hand it to the Neo-Pagans at the Edinburgh Fire Festival, they really know how to celebrate! With boobs and FIRE! If I get the chance I would love to be there next year.

The Symbolism of World of Warcraft

On the one hand World of Warcraft, like any other MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game), is a bottomless abyss of a time-vortex that is designed to keep players hooked, on the other hand though if you can see through the obvious ways to keep you playing continuously - people who study game-design get classes in psychology that focus on getting people as addicted as possible: leveling up characters, releasing new gear and rewards periodically, (daily) quests, weekly rewards for dungeons and raids, professions to level, 'farming' for gold, achievements, etc and sombunall MMORPG players are genuinely addicted - it's wonderful fantasy with rich storytelling and symbolism inspired by many different mythologies.

 The elements:

The elements of water, earth, air and fire are represented in many ways. In the last expansion Cataclysm the elements received their own zones and instances as well.

Earth: Deepholm aka Deephome aka The Elemental Earth Plane.

  Therazane, the Earth Mother. Seemingly inspired by the Venus of Willendorf.

Water: Vash'jir

The Sunken City of Vashj'ir is located in a complete underwater zone, a heavy nod to Atlantis. Azshara, once the proud capitol of the Night Elves was submerged after her visor's arrogant experiments with magic unleashed the demons of the Burning Legion, exploding the Well of Eternity which submerged the city and was the end of one era and the beginning of a new one.

"The water spirits were called undines. These beings were thought to be larger and more graceful than the earth spirits, with beautiful bodies and lascivious minds." Jan Fries' Visual Magick

The Naga - Serpent People of Vashj'ir

Fire: the Firelands & Mount Hyjal

Air: Uldum & Vortex Pinnacle

Deathwing: the former Earth Aspect who went mad through "whispers of the Old Gods".
As anyone might go mad by being taken over by the primitive and/or darker aspects of their consciousness or ancient invoked gods without proper banishing or such.

His minions are part of a deranged cult called the Hour of Twilight who walked around major cities in "end is nigh" mode

High Priestess Azil and 99 (3x33) cult followers kneeling in front of her.

Before the Dragon that went mad through the Old Gods, the Lich King was the main villain:

The Lich King was sent to Azeroth through the Great Dark Beyond, landing in Northrend where the ice that encased him formed into the shape of a throne, The Frozen Throne. Here, he would begin the formation of the Undead Scourge and in the process weaken the world in preparation for the Burning Legion. This new army would not fall victim to the petty infighting that had caused the orcs to fail in conquering Azeroth earlier. Sent to watch over him were the dreadlords, led by Tichondrius himself. Within the Frozen Throne, the Lich King experimented with his psychic powers and enslaved the local indigenous life forms. The plague of undeath that came from the Frozen Throne transformed each of them into his undead servants. Thus, using his psychic and necromantic powers, he was able to conquer much of Northrend. As he devoured more and more souls, he only grew in power as the individual undead under his control gave him "much needed nourishment". (Some conspiracy theorists believe the Cabal that run the world have sealed a demonic pact and have to offer a steady supply of death to feed their masters.)

Before the Lich King, the Burning Legion, an army of demons led by the fallen Titan Sargeras.
One of his Generals, Archimonde performs an act of destructive magick:

The Dark Portal, a portal between Azeroth and Outland through which the Burning Legion tried to invade Azeroth again:

One of the Burning Legions Champions (or is he): Illidan Stormrage:

Illidan sacrificed his reputation and his life to infiltrate the Burning Legion in order to save his people. I like to equate him with Aleister Crowley who sacrificed his reputation and did tons of good for humanity too (like liberating and inspiring tons of new great inspirers), just like the Dark Knight. Telling symbolism: When he infiltrated the Burning Legion, his 'master' burnt out his eyes and gave him Magical Sight instead. Illidan in the end was banished by his people because he drank from the Well of Eternity and through pouring 3 vials into a lake in Mount Hyjal started a new Well of Eternity which the people feared. In some vague way this could be some kind of reference to Crowley's Boleskine House antics at Loch Ness.

Documentary: Aleister Crowley - The Other Loch Ness Monster

The next Expansion will focus on Eastern Themes, the new class will be the Monk, and the new race the Pandaran, a laid back yin-yang brewmastering windwalking mistweaving Panda-bear!


Some class-specific symbolism
The warlock: A warlock controls several demons and can also turn into one through Metamorphosis. A warlock who wants to train new spells in the city of Stormwind, has to go to the basement of the tavern the Slaughtered Lamb to find his warlock masters.


The mage can spec either Frost (with a Water Elemental), Fire or Arcane (playing with the very fabric of time and space.) Mages and warlocks obviously use Staves, Wands, Athames, Grimoires, Magic Lamps and more!

Druids are able to shapeshift into Bears, Panthers, Owlkin/Moonkin, Trees, Jaguar or Stag (soon), Sealion or Orca (soon) and Birds. They control the element of Air (Hurricane and Typhoon), and nature energy.

A druid's Hurricane, like many other spells, is cast by placing a Magic Triangle within a Circle reticule on the floor:


Shaman use Totems of each Element and can shapeshift into a Ghost Wolf. Some noteable spells: Healing Rain, Lightning Bolt, Earthquake, summon Spirit Wolves, Earth & Fire Elemental.

A priest uses holy spells, Chakra and becomes a Guardian Spirit for a while after dying. They can heal through the talent trees Holy or Discipline, but they can also become Shadow Priests with the ability Vampiric Embrace.

Paladins are knights of the holy light, who wield holy power. Some of their spells are Consecration which emits a holy energy on the floor, or Divine Shield which is similar to the Energy Cocoon of Reiki practitioners.

A warrior in WOW uses Berserker Rage. From Jan Fries' Visual Magick: In times of war, some Fylgia would overwhelm and possess their human friends. 'Going beserk' refers to the old and honourable custom of being possessed bya Fylgia in fighting rage. In such trance-states, ordinary human consciousness would be flooded in a tide of beasdy rage and violence, leaving no space for the squeaky little ego to doubt, despair or flee. Berserkers (meaning 'in bear skins') were famed for their wildness, their 'inhuman' reflexes and their ability to endure severe wounds without noticing them.

Another excerpt of Jan Fries' Visual Magick: In the philosophy of the Greeks, starting with Empedocles (c.500-430 BCE), the world was considered as a blend of the four elements earth, water, fire and air. Quite naturally these elements had their spirits. Earth spirits were known as dwarves, gnomes, earth people and sometimes as giants. These beings were said to be the sentience of the earth, the consciousness of heavy, strong, formed and fertile matter. Some even considered the quartz crystals to be dwarves; the word 'quartz' comes from querch, which is a form of 'zwerch' or 'zwerg' meaning 'dwarf.  (Image: An Earthen Dwarf.)

The Vrykul are heavily influenced by Norse mythology.

Of course there are tons of different types of dragons in world of warcraft too.

Professions in WOW include Scribes who make Glyphs. Enchanters that can charge equipment and weapons with power. Jewelcrafters who can cut citrines and other gems. Alchemists who make potions. Tailors who make flying carpets, etc.

The old and current glyph systems.

The Symbol of the Kirin Tor.

The magocrats in WOW formed the Kirin Tor as a specialized sect that was charged with cataloging and researching every spell, artifact, and magic item known to mankind at the time. The Kirin Tor became Dalaran's (a floating city) ruling power. The Kirin Tor’s headquarters was the Violet Citadel, an impressive building so named for its stone walls which gave off a faint violet light. The ruling council, six members in all, met in the Chamber of the Air, a room with no visible walls — the gray stone floor with its central diamond symbol stood beneath an open sky that shifted and changed rapidly, as if the time sped past within the chamber.

So that's just a short overview of some of the Symbolism of World of Warcraft! I'll leave you with the infamous & hilarious South Park episode: Make love, not Warcraft.