THE HOLISTIC QABALA: A CONTEMPORARY GUIDE TO MAGICK
by Philo Stone (aka Richard and Iona Miller),©1982
BOOK II
Path 32: THE UNIVERSE, Saturn
PATH 32: Table of Contents
PART I. ASSIAH, THE PHYSICAL PLANE
BOOK II: THE UNIVERSE, Path 32 and Extrasensory Perception
1. PHILOSOPHY
a. Transitional Phase: The Tree
of Life, Topological Modeling, and Information Theory
b. Ritual: The Spiritual Hierarchy
and Assuming the Godform
c. Practical QBL: Pathworking;
Inroads of the Imagination
2. PSYCHOLOGY
a. Psychological Model: Archetypes,
Fundamental Components of Daily Living
b. Mythic Correspondence:
(1)
Hera,
the Mating Instinct
(2)
Saturn/Kronos, the Puer/Senex Archetype
3. ASTROLOGY & ALCHEMY
a. The Age Factor in Astrology,
and Transits
b. Saturn, Lord of Boundaries
c. The Nigredo in Alchemy
4. ORIENTATION & EXERCISE
a. Time Perception and Sensory
Filtering
b. 32nd Pathworking: The Personal
Experience of Time; Hypnosis and Time Experiments
c. Life Extension Practices
(Aging, Rejuvenation, and Immortality)
BOOK II: THE UNIVERSE, Path 32
INTRODUCTION
Path 32 bridges the Physical Plane to the Astral Plane. As it is ruled astrologically by the planet Saturn, it has to do with space/time and the propagation of recurrent patterns, (from archetypal manifestations to habits). As the connecting link between Malkuth and Yesod, Path 32 graphically depicts how space/time connects EM fields to matter.
Path 32 is the first path encountered when the aspirant is initiated into the Way of Return up the Tree of Life. It is a path of equilibrium, since it is found on the Middle Pillar. It represents both the beginning and perfection of the Great Work.
1. Physical Plane: This path, the Universe is the subject of all speculative cosmologies, scientific and metaphysical. In human terms, it manifests its Saturnian energy through Melancholy and anxiety with fantasies of regeneration and rejuvenation. Path 32 is the avenue of reincarnation on the descent of spirit into matter. The mind becomes introspective and turns away from the field of sensory perception as a literal (and only) reality. The "well" symbolizes the subconscious, the fountain of Youth, or immortality. Alchemy was originally conceived as a life extension program, which renewed on both psychically and physically (Yesod and Malkuth). Perception.
2. Astral Plane: The strongest image for this path is a descent into the underworld. It is the beginning stage of mystical soul travel, during which one concentrates on development of the astral body. This facilitates the experiencing of reality through psychic senses, which are metaphorical perceptions through agencies of sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. These so-called ESP phenomenon do not require the introduction of a new sense, but only this new metaphorical mode of apprehending through those with which we are familiar. This plane of Path 32 also represents the beginnings of devotional mysticism. Also included is the concept of karma, and the mating instinct. The combination of these two leads to the concept of the soul-mate, who cannot be found until this plane is experienced. Clairvoyance.
3. Causal Plane: The stability conferred by Saturn through this path helps promote concentration, particularly in relationship to images. These images arise spontaneously in the Astral Plane, and percolate through to normal ego-consciousness through this Path, with varying amounts of distortion. Focused concentration eliminates fuzziness. Both magick and psychoanalysis provide the means for focusing and following images through their transformations into an equilibrated state in Tiphareth (#6). Insight.
4. Archetypal Plane: Space/time creates certain limitations or boundary conditions of both human physical and psychic existence. Acceptance of these conditions and the form it produces are necessary for realization. With persistence, it is possible to attain perfection through rejuvenation. There is harmony among the Chakras of the physical body (CNS and endocrines). This produces a cosmic consciousness and a yearning for further experiences of soul travel on the path to God-Realization. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity is relevant.
LADDER OF LIGHTS
Do you hear the music
in the soft silent moving breeze of Vibrants?
Can you see the shifting
energy or manipulate your essence?
Have you ever been caught
suspended in a dream's after-current
to awake with a shock
and find yourself silenced in darkness?
You are potent
to influence sensation
as you climb for ever more heights.
Achieve,
through necessary duration,
and rise upon the Ladder of Lights.
True, it's such a rush, all of a sudden
to find that same "ALL" by your Self.
Chained to your foregone confusion,
Persona clinging to consciousness' shelf.
You are latent
to influence Creation
as you die through your 10 pacts a day;
To find thine spirit's inner relation
the Ladder of Lights is a Way.
XXI, THE UNIVERSE; Path 32 and Extrasensory Perception
Trance is a way of escape. The body is made quiet. The physical mind is in a state of topor. The inner Consciousness is left free to go with its experiences.
-- Sri Aurabindo
The future is my present thought manifested.
--Student Comment, 1976
In Roots of Consciousness, Jeffrey Mishlove describes three basic illusions as being Space, Time, and the Personal Consciousness. In Lawrence Le Shan's The Medium, The Mystic, and the Physicist, four ways of perceiving reality in the clairvoyant state as it differs from ordinary consciousness are described. Sri Aurobindo's comment on the advantages and disadvantages of any trance state remains imperfect. The disadvantage is that trance becomes indispensable and the problem of the waking consciousness is not solved. Le Shan's four ways of perceiving reality are very important aspects to key onto.
The first is that when in a clairvoyant state (related to extrasensory perception), the unity of things is generally felt rather than the individual aspect. In other words, in a clairvoyant state there is a holistic overview of what is happening rather than an analytical view.
The second aspect is that Time is experienced as if the past, present, and future were one; rather than a durational, linear sequence of events.
The third aspect is that value judgments, concerning the goodness or evilness of any event, are generally not considered when in a clairvoyant state. Things are seen only as they are.
The fourth, and final aspect, is that information is gained not by seeing, but by knowing, as one's unity with all things. This clear seeing perception is expressed through the metaphor of visual experience. It is a deliteralization of sensory awareness which allows this inner sight to occur.
Le Shan maintains that whether one travels without or journeys within, whether one goes as a physicist or a mystic, the same unity of experience is seen. Throughout history the single pattern persists with all metaphysical teachings: there is something beyond space, time and the good/evil realities.
As an illustration to ponder, consider a rural railroad that runs through a series of deserted towns in a remote part of the United States. Within each town is a solitary hermit. Each hermit sees this train arriving and leaving, periodically, and watches goods pile up and disappear at the railroad station.
One hermit, in particular, associated the arrival or departure of goods with the train's coming and going. This hermit had never had any kind of contact with anyone or anything, except that in his particular universe he has a train arriving and leaving; and somehow goods of all sorts appear at the railroad station; these goods sometimes appear and disappear but are somehow associated with the train's arrival and departure.
Finally, after a period of time, he decides to explore the station. He finds the schedule of events (arrival and departure times), and he then establishes a rapport with his own universe; he is watching this train's predictable movements. He finds this to be a way he can communicate with the external world. He finds these packages contain food or instruments which he can use in his world to make himself more comfortable. Compared with the hermits in the other deserted towns, he has complete command of his world.
Then, the hermits in the other towns somehow learn of his good fortune. At that point, they make a value judgment as to whether this man is evil, or a really good man. Because he seems to have a rapport with his environment, he has learned to make himself more comfortable.
In this analogy, the conscious mind is the hermit. The railroad station represents the preconscious: everything that is "not me." Now, the universe is divided into two sections: 1. Everything that is the conscious mind, the "me," the hermit. 2. The preconscious (or Collective Unconscious), or everything that is "not me", but is in some way directly related to the ego-consciousness. This is the great treasure trove of the subconscious. The power of consciousness impresses our Will on the preconscious and fertilizes it so that it will produce the situation which is willed.
In other words, each individual is the hermit. Each of us is in the wilderness which is called reality, or the physical plane, closed off from the rest of creation. Eventually, certain patterns in this "reality" are noticed. Ultimately, things can, and will be, perceived through the subdivisions "me" and "not me." Eventually, it is found that this separation is one of the three basic illusions of Reality, Personal Consciousness. As the archetypal dimensions of experience open, one gains access to realms which transcend time/space and personality. The hermit is ready to board the train in an exploration whose goal is unknown and indescribable, from his perspective.
For example, using time as a subjective illustration of an illusion, let us consider extrasensory perception in its relationship to time. This is just one example to provide a framework to take this concept into a proper context.
In parapsychology there are two categories labeled as either extrasensory perception, or psychokinetic phenomena. Psychokinetic phenomena is the term applied to such anomalous occurrences as:
1. Levitation
2. Teleportation
3. Materialization
4. Aportation
This orientation will not deal with these phenomenon, but is devoted to extrasensory perception. In research, ESP is divided into five basic categories:
1. Clairvoyance
2. Telepathy
3. Precognition/Retrocognition
4. Radiaesthesia
5. Astral Projection
In essence, the five categories listed above are various modes of perceiving information. It depends on one's own particular coordinate system of time how any physical occurrence is perceived.
N.A.S.A.'s Apollo 14 Mission studies included an experiment in extrasensory perception. Edgar Mitchell proposed the test to N.A.S.A. The resulting data is quite interesting and revolutionized scientific opinion concerning this type of phenomena.
Basically, the experiments went as follows: Edgar Mitchell was in space, specifically on the moon. The famous medium, Olaf Johnson, was on earth. Though equipped with radio communications via satellite, Edgar Mitchell and Olaf Johnson has a large expanse of space between them. With such a large distance to work with, the time variable was more easily measured. Light travels at a certain speed. Sound also travels at a certain speed; depending upon the substances it is going through, time sequences vary. These can be mathematically correlated. Olaf Johnson - on earth - would do some transmission experiments with geometrical ESP cards. An extremely sensitive clock measured when signals were received. Edgar Mitchell would "guess" which cards Olaf Johnson was concentrating on. They worked on probability curves, calculating how accurate the guesses were, and then related all this to the transmission time lag - the time it took the radio signal to reach earth from the moon.
The same technique was used when Olaf Johnson moved on the face of the earth to see if extrasensory perception deteriorated with increased distances.
The same technique was used again when Olaf Johnson was on the opposite side of earth, with the planetary mass between himself and Edgar Mitchell, using the earth's rotation upon its axis to time this alternate experiment.
The results of these tests were outstanding! These tests proved:
(1) ESP was independent of time. After the calculations of the time lag between earth and the moon, Edgar Mitchell's "guesses" occurred at the same instant that Olaf Johnson was concentrating on the particular card.
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(2) ESP was independent of distance, even though Olaf Johnson's physical position moved further away.
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(3) ESP was independent of mass, even though the earth was between the two men.
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Therefore, a new law is being dealt with: a new law which does not follow the 1/R(2) law, but somehow or another works on a totally different principle, a principle man has never had to understand before.
Using this concept in relation to clairvoyance, it is seen that clairvoyance can be defined as follows: "My physical body is located in a given space. I am located in a given space. I received information about an event or a situation from another location, yet I am still, and have always been located in this same physical space all along. That information was brought to me from some other location. I can visualize it (clairvoyance), hear it (clairaudience), feel it (clairsention), etc. But clairvoyance is the mode examined here.
Any time information is brought from one location to this location, where the individual is physically standing at the present, it is catalogued as clairvoyance. Telepathy is exactly the opposite. This is where information originates in this location and then is moved to another locality. In clairvoyance, information is received. In telepathy, information is transmitted elsewhere. The difference between clairvoyance and telepathy then is strictly the direction of the information flow.
The difference between clairvoyance and precognition/retrocognition is time. In other words, it is the perception of the time element which is there. Again, the information received is in a clairvoyant, clairaudient, or clairsentient form, but somehow the time element is mixed up. It is either seen as the future, or the past, rather than the present. That is the distinctional difference. The information is still the same, but the mode of information perception makes a difference.
The way clairvoyance relates to radiaesthesia is even more interesting. Radiaesthesia could be defined as using external objects to communicate information to the consciousness. Examples of external objects would include pendulums, tarot cards, tea leaves; anything that is of the "not me."
The difference between clairvoyance and astral projection lies only in localities. In astral projection, the physical body remains in the same physical space, yet the consciousness leaves the body and travels to where the information is; whereas, the clairvoyant receives the information from somewhere else. In other words, in a clairvoyant state, information is gathered and comes to the physical body; in astral projection, the consciousness leaves the physical body and travels to where the information is gathered, while the physical body remains immobile.
Since the Apollo 14 studies showed that extrasensory perception is independent of time, distance, and mass, it is safe to state that clairvoyance and astral projection are identical. The coordinate system used determines the way Reality is seen.
Information is a fundamental quantity. There is a uniform potential - or medium of potential - which has a data field. In other words, information is everywhere. it is absorbed in a subjectively chosen manner; then the hallucination manifests, perceived as a personal reality.
Using today's computer-chip technology, if one has enough information to ask a coherent question, one also has the information to answer it. Depending on how one accesses and assimilates that information, receiving an answer is quite simple, or extremely difficult. The answer is contained within the question. If the information is assimilated properly, the answer is clear. The more detail put into the question, the more data there is to work with.
Information is everywhere, and is independent of everything known today. It is like a data field that transcends the concepts of time, space, or distance. Traditionally, energy has been a function of distance (1/R 2) but, in actuality, it is a function of time (a variable for dissipation and an unknown "X" factor. the integral of this is equal to the information and is, itself, independent of distance, time, and that "X" factor. Energy is not independent. Energy is being manipulated and controlled by information; it is a way of transmitting information.
Basically, all of the above are perceptual hallucinations. Extrasensory perception information is only brought into consciousness via some form of perceptual metaphor: it is either "seen, heard, or felt". In actual fact, consciousness is literally everywhere, permeating the field of information. It all depends upon how one wishes to view it.
The following postulates tie together all the information given earlier. It is postulated that:
1. Consciousness is everywhere (now-here). In ordinary states of consciousness, one is limiting his perception of what is actually occurring through limiting the way one is receiving the information (sensory filtering).
Examine this concept under the definition of Time. It will be found that Time is nothing more than the "duration of consciousness". From an Information Theory point-of-view, tomorrow is occurring right now, and each of us is simply not consciously aware of it yet. What someone tells you today is already affecting what you will do and think "tomorrow". It is possible to have this awareness. However, it requires an altered state, which is where extrasensory perception occurs. Altered states of consciousness are discussed in greater detail in later chapters.
2. Since extrasensory perception is independent of time, the phenomena - Time - is basically an illusion. In other words, the way one perceives what is going on is totally optional, and one may learn to control Time with various forms of hypnosis.
Student Comment: How did we get to the future if you are still talking about the "now?" The future hasn't happened yet.
Answer: What is being said right now is already programming the future. For example: "Tomorrow, I want you to meet me at ten o'clock because I have more data about hypnosis for you." Certain options, or avenues, are now open for you to act upon.
Scientists have found that many cultures work on a different time duration concept: the Hopi Indians, the Trobinder Indians, the Bhuddists. Time does not work in terms of duration, which is the way we have been socially programmed to view it. In fact, social programming does change in hypnotic states, where you change your experience of information. That is exactly what occurs in precognition. You are allowing yourself to experience it as the now because the boundary conditions which limit ego-consciousness have been suspended.
Student Comment: But the sum consensus of reality...
Answer: That is what this is all about...moving away from consensus as a criterion for reality. When an altered state of consciousness is experienced, there is no consensus which is relevant. It is an altered pattern.
What is defined as "reality" in our culture's consensus opinion is not what the Hopi Indians would call reality. They would say that the closest thing to Reality is the dream state. To the Hopi Indian, the dream state contains more information on Reality than your conscious, waking state. In all essence, consensus is a large subjective view, having nothing to do with defining the gamut of possible experiences, or events, let alone Reality. Sensory perception of consensus reality is always in explicate form. Reality is of an implicate nature, but is - knowable. (1)
Time, as it relates to space, indicates the first Postulate in "The Omega Principle": there is an all-pervasive ocean (or medium) of potential. Everything is simply connected. It is totally subjective: "I wouldn't have seen it, if I hadn't believed it!" This postulate refers to the two-dimensional versus the three-dimensional viewing of time of the three dimensions being simply connected, they way each person temporally connect the events has to do with the way that individual is receiving what is going on, in various levels of manifestation.
The physical body (Malkuth) stops right here. "I am as I am," ego-consciousness. Everything that is contained within this epidural layer of mass was considered "me" and everything outside the skin was the external world, the "not me." The mystical traditions included the aura. Today it is recognized that odor is also a part of the body, as is a verbal area around the body, radiating out. Now the "me" has a periphery around it, all connected to the ego's sense of "me."
The moon also affects the central nervous system activity. It, for instance, starts ovulation, and has a variety of mood controls. It turns on the various endocrine systems. It has so much to do with Man, that actually, Man is connected to the moon. This connection is imagined as Path 32, and all of its correspondences and ramifications. It is just the way one's perception of reality functions which informs us where "me" stops and "the moon" starts. These distinctional differences are the realm of internal topology.
1. PHILOSOPHY
a. Transitional Phase:
The Tree of Life, Topological Modeling, and Information Theory
Active participation in the realm of the imagination is central to psychology, alchemy, magick (QBL), and physics. Many, but not all, of the imaginal modes involve the concepts of topology and topography. Within the context of the topological fantasy, the various forms of ordering (Tree of Life, Isotropic Vector Matrix, planes of consciousness, etc.) provide a comprehensive means of ascertaining the values of any system of experiences. A topological model for going within describes the internal regions in terms of places, and provides a "roadmap" for the soul. However, this map is not the territory.
Topology is the study of a place; in this case the inner regions of the Collective Unconscious, as traditionally described in QBL. Topography informs us of the features of a region. It accounts for the relation of a part to the whole, and the whole to the part. It is one method of describing conditions within the holomovement. Any region (Sphere of the Tree of Life) has inherent characteristics, and also a position within the Whole circuit of the Tree.
Topology has been called the science of separation and connection.
Topology is the science of fundamental pattern and structural relationships of event constellations. It was discovered and developed by the mathematician Euler. He discovered that all patterns can be reduced to three prime conceptual characteristics: to lines; points where two lines cross or the same line crosses itself; and areas, bounded by lines. (2)
The Spheres and Paths of the Tree of Life conform to this definition, representing the entirety of psychic life with a minimal number of graphic elements. In this case, topology offers a descriptive basis for both meditation and exploration of the imaginal realm.
The ancient Hebrew text, Sephir Yetzirah, The Book of Formation, describes the emanation (or unfolding from implicate to explicate) of the ten spheres of the Tree of Life. The spheres are connected to one another by twenty-two paths, which correspond to the Hebrew letters (Path O=Aleph, Path I=Beth, Path II=Gimel, etc.). Together, these bounded regions (spheres) and connecting paths form a map of the Universe. They are sometimes described as 32 Paths, counting the 10 Spheres + 22 Paths, altogether.
Both spheres and paths represent discreet domains which order diverse contents. The contents of any domain are determined by the archetypal dominant residing at the core of the content in question. In general, spheres represent modes-of-being, and paths represent transition stages, or gates between them.
Qabalah presents the individual soul as a Microcosm which is a reflection of the Celestial Man, or Macrocosm. (3) This universal man illustrates the Hermetic Axiom: "As Above, So Below."
INSERT DRAWING TRANSITION PHASES: PATHS OF THE TREE
Thus man has the option of participating consciously in the divine process of creation. The importance of the act of decision for behavior or transformation lies mainly in the fact that by it the individual changes his "position." A "path" is a change of position within a field which otherwise remains sufficiently constant. It is an abbreviated representation of a sequence of situations.
A path permits change between regions. This is both conceptual and physical change. The actions which are represented in the life-space as regions are coexisting manifolds which possess a certain structure and a certain degree of differentiation. These "regions" are the spheres of the Tree of Life.
The imaginal paths of the Tree of Life are linked to the concept of locomotion. They require a journey, or "working" by the aspirant in a process in time. The psychological region in which these processes occur determines the dynamic condition of the individual.
There is pause for consideration in the fact that pathworking is a form of "locomotion". It is O, THE FOOL who makes the journey through the winding paths of the Tree via Tarot imagery. He is nowhere (now-here) because of his ability to make quantum leaps. He is thus gripped by only one story at a time, which contains many images and its own inherent rhythm. Thus, spheres represent "Being", and THE FOOL "Becoming", transformed through his experiences on the various paths.
When one changes position, different loco-motions become possible and impossible. Even when a region is still attainable, the course of the path followed has changed fundamentally because of the new point of departure. This point of departure is "where you are at."
Tree of Life modeling may be used to classify the values of any given mystical experience, psychological state, or emotional bias in terms of its hierarchical system. It may also be used to see how the many relate to the One, using a polytheistic orientation in which consciousness circulates among a field of powers. Each God, or complex, is sovereign in its domain. The linear, developmental approach is monotheistic. In the polytheistic model, there is a circulation in which there are no preferred positions.
In data study, there are many different ways the data field may be represented. The major distinction is between positional codewords (Spheres) and those which are commutive (Paths). QBL is a coded system. The codewords are arrayed within a hierarchy, and the resultant data field takes on a distinctly patterned appearance. This information handling system permits the conceptual co-ordination of several features at the same time. The aspirant conforms to the changing circumstances in which he operates.
There are definite steps in setting up a system of information access:
1. Analyze the questions to be asked. This determines the type of index best suited to information retrieval, which types of items will be programmed, and what modes of access are to be used.
2. Compile a collection of features, or correspondences. If many of these features are unknown, set up an orderly system of listing them as they are discovered (such as Tree of Life).
3. Based on #1 and #2, estimate the number of items and features to be classified. Note rates of growth, change, or removal in any positional category of the index.
All indexes are descriptive in a sense--features and items describe each other--but in some cases the terms of one sort are arranged in hierarchies so as to produce positional codewords which describe the terms of the other. The positional effect is latent the moment a hierarchy is made, and becomes overt when a single set of ordered characters is used time and time again, once in each position available in the codewords it makes. When items are arranged in order by means of a hierarchy of features we have a classification of the items concerned.
Hierarchical indexes form an important part of data study. They can be of use when no mechanism for logical description is available to aid in searches, when positional codewords are needed, and when an index is called upon to reflect the structure of a subject which is itself hierarchical. (4)
In QBL, Spheres are defined by these positional codewords include the names of the spheres, titles, god-names, archangels, choir of angels, planetary attributions, spiritual experience, virtues and vices, and other corresponding symbols. All have a positional slot within a Sphere or Path. Within each Sphere, they are arranged in an array on various planes in a mini-hierarchy. This array of angelic entities functions as the "governing body" or holy ruling order of the internal realm of manifestation.
The continuum of the data field has a relationship to the circuit of the Tree of Life. It has a zero, a place of no information, which can be thought of as a decision point. Above this point, there is the graphic range of subcodes (corresponding colors, perfumes, animals, etc), then the generic point of individual fully generic terms which are irreducible to simpler forms. Then there is the direct range of increasingly complicated descriptive phrases.
The generic term (Sphere name: Kethar, Tiphareth, Yesod, etc.) is described by its own synonyms and describes its structure or function through a word or image which is its coded definition. This generic classification system allows for a variety of integrative levels. In an assembly of these generic terms, order does not matter since they all act together. An ordered assembly is necessary for conceptual clarity. A sphere has the complete set of subsystems needed in order to remain in balance with its surroundings. Its internal environment remains constant in the face of changing external circumstances.
Thus, our personal conceptualizations of the definitions of the various Spheres on different integrative levels affect the homeostasis of the organism we are temporarily inhabiting. The more firmly we conceptualize and integrate the qualities of a given sphere, the greater its ability to manifest in our life in a balanced manner. There is no split between psyche and soma: things, qualities, occurrences and changes appear throughout the set of planes or integrative levels. Furthermore, the qualities of the lower levels persist in the higher regions, i.e. there is a Malkuth of the Archetypal Plane, and there is a condition in which Kether is in Malkuth of the Physical Plane. One's worldview or pattern of meaning has boundary conditions. We select the contents of our data field from the set of all the terms we may ever be called upon to consider.
One's worldview or pattern of meaning has boundary conditions. We select the contents of our data field from the set of all the terms we may ever be called upon to consider. The most effective way of imagining these contents is fundamental to both eastern and western philosophy.
Being and consciousness are arrayed in a hierarchy of dimensional levels, which range from the lowest, densest and most isolated particles to the highest, most subtle unified level. This holistic paradigm asserts that the universe is hierarchically organized through an interconnecting series of planes. The nature of these planes alternates. What is implicate at one level, is explicate on the next lower plane. Each plane is implicate to its predecessor, but explicate to its successor. For example the astral is implicate to matter and explicate to mind.
Theoretical QBL, with its paradigm of the Four Worlds, creates a map or cartography of the higher, transcendental spheres. This is useful as an aid for those aspirants who hat yet seen them. It builds a cognitive framework, by which to classify mystical experiences. The Tree of Life circuit functions as a mandalic map. To test this map in its entirety, you need merely transform yourself enough to experience these realms. This requires an altered state of consciousness, and can never be verified through objective, empirical investigation. The final stages transcend the mind, itself, with all of its conceptualizations concerning "the way things work."
Worldviews may be classified into two main divisions: 1). analytic (or reductive ego-consciousness,) and 2). holistic (unifying, diffuse awareness of anima-consciousness). Both of these represent Reality; they are, in fact, complementary modes, not antagonists. The fundamental quantity which unites these viewpoints is information.
Information Theory defines "information" strictly in terms of a relationship between an input and a receiving device. An information theory model of the Qabalah views the aspirant as the receptor of information. Some occultists like to call themselves "channels", and it is this type of "reception" to which we refer. In order to create a situation where communication is possible, it is necessary to define a channel and level of observation. In QBL, the level of observation is known as a plane, and paths of the Tree function as channels for information flow. Each channel and level has a specific nature or characteristics, and a set repertoire of symbols corresponding to the situation. This repertoire of symbols is the correspondence system, which includes colors, perfumes, animals, God-forms, orders of angels, etc. There are boundary conditions or constraints upon the transmitter's freedom of choice.
The archetype is the transmitter, and because of the constraints on its forms of expression, it manifests with a high redundancy coefficient. The more familiar you are with its characteristics, the more its appearance takes on a chronic aspect, rather than seeming magically synchronistic. In other words, you become used to it, and its message is therefore less original, but more precisely defined as time goes on. The information is more detailed.
Like QBL, the very essence of information theory involves the schematization of reality. It cuts through complexity to the most fundamental intelligible conception. Both QBL and information theory invoke the concepts of code, originality, signification, and redundancy.
The value of learning the QBL correspondence system so it becomes second nature emerges from information theory. QBL organizes the code system which is spontaneously produced by the subconscious. When we learn QBL, we learn to speak this language of the subconscious. This awareness of the inherent meaning in symbols and forms is the basis of psychology's effectiveness. In information theory terms: "Translating the message into a special language adapted to the channel in order to increase the channel's information rate is called coding. Determine the exact nature of information, the repertoire, and the repertoire's elements...A message of maximum information may appear senseless if the individual cannot decode it in order to make it intelligible." (5)
Information theory defines "form" as a message which appears to the observer as not being the result of random events. This definition of "form" is loose enough to account for the perception of entities on subtle planes, where form is not synonymous with matter. And in fact, we find mediums which claim that these "entities" do dispense "information." This information is accepted as an input which leads to a unique adaptation to the environment. Their perception is enhanced through selection of their channel. Thus apprehension of "reality" is conditioned by perceptual selection.
Another tenet of information theory holds that if a message contains too much information, it exceeds our capacity for understanding and creates boredom. From this, we may deduce that there is no way to ever fully integrate any archetype. Any contact with the awesomeness of its potency will eventually generate movement away from it, through growing lack of interest. As more knowledge of it is gleaned, the implicate aspect of the sphere above it becomes more intriguing. So, even though we move up the Tree from sphere to sphere, there is never an exhaustion of transmittable information, at any level.
Absence of structure of internal organization is connected with too large of a flow of information. This chaotic condition is the initial reaction of the ego to the vastness of the transcendental planes of experience. Without a conceptual framework for digesting small amounts of information from these dimensions, they are unimaginable and unintegratable.
Using the orderly pattern of QBL, objects and substances (talismans), events and processes (chronicites, pathworking, and rituals), collective concepts of all types (archetypes), and many other special varieties of terms each have their niche. The information theory approach, and QBL assume a unified study of these, forming a system which operates at full efficiency. Of particular importance is the study of relationships within the data field, including exclusiveness, overlap, complementarity, etc. QBL is simultaneously a monotheistic and polytheistic philosophical system.
Most individuals do not have either the emotional or intellectual capacity to comprehend "God" as an all-inclusive principle. Those who do are known as Masters or Saints. We may, however, differentiate discreet aspects of the psyche through their corresponding states of consciousness. Even a monotheistic view of God posits divine attributes or characteristics.
In polytheistic systems, these are presented in god-forms of various deities. Each is sovereign in its realm, and has the capacity to influence the human body, emotions, ideas, and spiritual experience. Existing independent of space and time, they are equiprobable.
Thus an image is not pre-determined or predictable. It is direct perceptual experience of the unknown, or implicate order. The appearance of a symbol, however, allows us to infer manifestation of corresponding processes which will occur either in space or time (explicate form).
Symbols are useful for transformation because they function as both a primitive expression of the unconscious and an idea corresponding to the highest intuitions of the ego-consciousness.
Symbols are held enfolded in the net of an image. The predictability of symbols and the unique quality of symbols contained in an image shows a relationship between implicate and explicate order. Symbols are an important practical tool for manipulating explicate order. Symbols are an important practical tool for manipulating explicate order, for unfolding it. They are fundamental components in the language of the psyche. Symbols are best catalogued by correspondence with their ruling principle.
Since all parts of the process are inferred, or enfolded, by a symbol, they allow us to predict future occurrences within the framework of probability. Given an elaborate, but limited repertoire of symbols, there is an upper limit to information output. Uniform distribution, or equiprobability, offers the maximum possible choice in constructing a message.
In a mystical experience, there is a communication between a human receptor and a god-form. The archetype makes its presence known through corresponding imagery. To simulate its eternal aspect, it reiterates itself over-and-over in a symbiotic relationship with humanity.
In other words, while we cannot assimilate maximum information which is the archetype itself, we can decode an optimal amount of relative information through the correspondence system. Repetition, or redundancy, increases the possibility that the message will be noticed. One is able to establish a conscious relationship with the archetype. To give it attention is to give it worship.
A message has a degree of predictability which is in ration to its degree of coherence, or regularity. Foresight is enhanced by knowledge of what symbols are component parts of specific archetypal patterns. If one of the symbols presents itself, there is a high degree of probability others with the same theme will follow. The presence of the entire process is inferred from viewing a part of it. This part is the unfolding of a portion of the implicate order.
The concept of information unifies analytic and holographic concepts of reality.
The essential point is that both the analytic and holographic models refer to processes for generating information--and information itself is a holistic concept...In the analytical model information results from the selection of a particular outcome from a set of possibilities. In the holographic model information results from the selection of a particular outcome from a set of possibilities. In the holographic model information results from an analog mechanism that allows two states to interact with each other. Thus, although the analytic and holographic models refer to distinct means of generating information, they both rest on holistic assumptions and can be considered as complementary holistic models. Furthermore, because the analytic and holographic models both refer to the generation of information, information theory is revealed to be an underlying structure that can integrate both the analytic and holographic models...A general theory of consciousness needs to be based on holistic assumptions and needs to utilize information theory...providing a hierarchical structure which can relate the different forms of consciousness to each other. ...Although there is no standard nomenclature of states of consciousness any complete theory must address a wide variety of states of consciousness including sensation, perception, emotion, cognition, intuition, self-awareness and unition (transpersonal consciousness). (6)
It is easy to see that QBL also conforms to this prescription. In fact, the states of consciousness listed correspond directly with features of the Tree of Life: sensation=Malkuth, perception=Path 32, emotion=Yesod, cognition-Hod, intuition=Netzach, self-awareness =Tiphareth, and unition=Kether. Both analytic and holographic models are useful in understanding these states. This means cognitive and experiential development should keep pace with one another for balanced development.
In Buddhism, there is a merging of the Path of Form, and the Path of Non-Form where active invoking of images is balanced by a detached observation/participation in the rising and passing away of phenomena. This is a variation of "rising on the planes." Archetypal topographies define the relationships among archetypes, how they tend to cluster among themselves.
Examination of the variety of such attempts to pattern and group archetypes is itself a valuable exercise in exploring archetypal imagination. What kind of consciousness is it that perceives in terms of organization, integration, and preferred positioning of Gods? Generally, the attempt to discover a unifying wholeness or impose a distinct pattern onto archetypal groupings is a procedure dominated by the archetype of Self. (7)
INSERT DRAWING INFORMATION + CONSCIOUSNESS
The Tree of Life, like the Buddhist Refuge Tree is "not a map of the generalized field of the psyche."
Buddhist psychology has a definite purpose--liberation or transcendence. As such it can be described by the fantasy of growth and goal orientation. I should quickly point out that this is not the totality of Buddhist Mahayana teaching, which also includes the Prajnaparamita, by which such concepts as goals, liberation and so on are declared empty of substance. (8)
This "emptying" is characterized on the Tree if Life as Daath. Bear in mind that Jung warned of the danger in identifying with the image of tree, or the Self. The image of the Tree with its associated topography is a tool which is not to become a deified symbol of wholeness. It is merely a vehicle for exploration. Basically, the Tree represents the moment when individuation culminates in the fulfillment of Kether. It is the conclusion of the evolutional unfolding and enfolding of the soul: a return to the fountainhead of the soul.
The process includes apprehension on the physical, biological, mental, subtle, causal, and ultimate levels.
We can make a comparative analysis of planes of consciousness as described by modern psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists with ancient systems of the perennial philosophy such as Yoga and Magick.
Remember, though, that no study however exhaustive takes the place of personal experience of these planes, and the only means of access to them is via transformation: the transition from one mode of consciousness to another.
FIVE STAGES OF SAINTS:
ALOKH (invisible, unseen); AGAM (inaccessible, unfathomable) ANAMI
FIFTH STAGE: Sat Lok; Sat-Nam Radha Soami; Sach Khand, Fourth Realm (Dimension); Bagpipe sound. Saints and Supreme Saints; Sahj (sehj) state of consciousness. "The fifth fort is the Throne of the Lord; know Him as the true King..." After meeting sahj, the soul goes toward Sat-Nam. Phoenix (Hansas or awakened souls).
FOURTH STAGE: Sohang; Bhanwar Gapha, whirling or rotation cave;Muslim's Hutal Hut; Flute sound. The soul perceives it is in essence the same as the Absolute Lord and proceeds to merge in and become one with Him.
THIRD STAGE: Parbrahm, Sunn, or Daswan Dwar; no trace of matter, gross or subtle, visible or invisible. Soul is rid of matter and mind. Lake of nectar (Anritsar). Light like full moon in a clear sky; Guitar, lute, lyre, harp sound. There are two parts or Parbrahm; the lower one has a downward tendency ahd creates Brahm and through him the lower universe; but upper is connected with Sat Lok and draws us upward. Master joins the souls with the upper one. Pure and chaste souls. Above Sunn is a vast expanse of utter darkness, Maha Sunn (Abyss), where some hidden spiritual secrets are revealed to the soul. Five universes exist here, with their seperate Brahms. ANCHIT DIP is a sort of Spiritual Island here. The extent of this plane is extremely vast; 70x as big as our physical, astral, and causal regions. Pure spirituality ends in Parbrahm; below is mixed with Maya.
SECOND STAGE: Causal World, Trikuti is triangular in shape. Brahm or Om, Matter is present, but in very subtle form, so that it remains invisible. Gurpad, the seat of the Guru. Four petalled lotus (i.e. opened tetrahedron). Seed of all karmas is in causal plane. Root of knowledge of senses and intellect. Memories. Muslim Arsh-i-Azeem; Greek Heaven; Source of the "Word" of revealed books. Krishna. Brahmandi mind. Yogishwars and Gyani Kogis. Shakti emanates from here.
FIRST STAGE: Astral Plane. Alakh Niranjan, Jyoti Niranjan, Jhanjari Dip; Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; E.S.P., entrance is from the 3rd Eye. Sahasdal Kamal (1000 petal lotus), Shiv Shakti, Lakshmi Narayana, Khuda. Prophets, auliyas, yogis. Faquers and saints call it Nij-mana (real mind). Shyam Kanj, Black lotus or center. Big resounding bell sound. Set-Sunn, white, conch sound; Bank Nal (crooked tunnel) situated between Astral and Causal (known in QBL as the Gulf). Pranayam doesn't take one past the astral. Surat Shabd Yoga does, through the 5 melodies of Shabd to Sat Lok, true eternal home of peace and bliss. In the astral, God and matter (Maya-Phenomena) both are manifest and visible.
BELOW FIRST STAGE: Headquarters of material forces (gods and goddesses) Khat Chakras, includes all physical nerve plexes of Hatha Yoga. Includes entire process of raising the Kundalini. Soul is trapped by five passions: vanity, greed, anger, lust, and attachment. Space/time and matter. Do Dal Kanwal-2 petal lotus in eyes, seat of God. Saints start in their Shabd practice above the eyes from the 3rd Eye, seeing the Master's Radiant Form. Only the practice of the transcendent Name (Shabd) takes us into spiritual planes. Other yoga, occult practices, and religions which promise a heaven after death stop short at Brahm, or before. Only the union of the soul and the sound current takes us to the highest regions.
INSERT TABLE : MYSTICAL STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
INSERT COMPARATIVE DESCRIPTIONS OF PLANES OF CONSCIOUSNESS
b. Ritual: The Spiritual Hierarchy and Assuming the Godform
Both Magick and Yogic traditions assert that the Spiritual Hierarchy consists of galaxies of lords, rulers, creators, and governors of the various heavenly spheres. Each plane, or subdivision, has its governing body. These god-like powers have certain appointed functions and duties. They are, in fact, administrators in the sacred ruling order. All are subsumed ultimately by one supreme, infinite Essence.
Human Beings are related to these governing entities through the quality of soul and archetypal processes. Individuals are imbued with attitudes, functions, and behavior motivated by these various planetary rulers, usually unbeknownst to themselves.
It is not only the Supreme Being that is endowed with creative power. These lords and rulers have the power of creation in their sphere. There are many gods, and their powers and authority varies widely, but the One God is supreme.
Most of the religions of the world worship the creator god of the physical plane, confusing him with the Ultimate. His realm is actually quite limited and his function includes seeing to it that the souls who are still attached to phenomenal experience (including physical, astral, and causal) don't reach liberation, escaping the wheel of birth and death. He is the apparently supreme master of these souls. To mystics, he is the Negative Power, who keeps us hung up in illusory levels through the fascination of the mind. He is not evil, but merely a lesser good, who fulfills his role. Only the absolute represents the Truth of Existence.
The gods exist in a symbiotic relationship with humanity. We serve them and they serve us, providing we learn how to contact them consciously. All souls begin human life serving the negative power of phenomenal manifestation. This is the realm of the five passions: anger, greed, attachment, lust and pride.
Both Magick and Yoga provide remedies which allow the soul to begin its journey home. The Magickal technique begins with the following:
1). Rigorous practice in the development of visualization ability.
2). Thorough study of the characteristic god-forms, powers, functions, and attributes of each sphere. This research is enhanced by outings to museums and art galleries, viewing aesthetic representations of the gods in great paintings and sculpture. Literature makes a wide range of references to the gods.
3). The astral god form is contemplated in creative imagination daily until its radiant form takes on dynamic life to the aspirant.
4). Presuming the rite is absolutely necessary for the aspirant, s/he now proceeds to the ceremony of invocation, the calling of the form into the magickal circle.
5). The aspirant then becomes identified with the force he desires to manifest. Using will and imagination, he pictures the astral form permeating the Body of Light. This coincidence of form transmutes the aspirant, imbuing him with the qualities of the god. They are unified through this vivid realization. For a more detailed account, and examples, see Israel Regardie's Tree of Life.
6). The aspirant moves in an ordered sequence through identification with the rulers of each planetary sphere. Each moves him one step up the ladder of the planes, until he embodies perfect realization of the qualities of all these entities (Kether). He arrives at the One through the many.
The technique of Shabd Yoga is similar, with one critical difference: a perfect, living Master. Since we become one with that which we contemplate, to contemplate the Master's Radiant Form assures reaching the goal, with his aid. All the symbols of the Middle Pillar are incorporated in the form of the Master. He is the image of the Higher Self (or H..G..A..) and the incarnate Son of God, since he is One with God. Contemplation of his Radiant Form is the quickest, safest Path through the planes.
The technique resembles Middle Pillar Exercise in the recitation of God-names with banishings to assure the authenticity of the astral form of the Master. Sometimes lower entities masquerade as higher forms. The soul still meets with banishings to assure the authenticity of the astral form of the Master. Sometimes lower entities masquerade as higher forms. The soul still meets with the governors of the planes (as in magick), asking each how it may then ascend higher. They are Master's representatives who aid the initiate on the Way of Return. He is the King of the sacred ruling order of existence.
Most of the psychological symbols of the causal plane will still manifest in troublesome form through the complexes, and analysis of these is useful for self-realization. However, psychological hermeneutics does not have the power to penetrate past the causal plane of the mind. It interprets the veils of maya with "meaningful" concepts.
An advantage of the Path of the Masters is that a living being is easier to truly love, than a cosmic function, no matter how "real" it may seem in imagination. The Master is a living example of the goal of human life, providing the aspirant with a sense of humility, surrender, and compassion. He embodies the ultimate god-form on all planes of existence simultaneously, a very comprehensive symbol.
The soul gravitates toward the heart's desire. If this is love for the Master, one joins him in Sat Lok. If it is for continued sensate experience, the soul remains attached to phenomena. A Master loosens the attachment to the physical plane.
Magick exalts the senses to the point of satiety. With desire fulfilled, the soul rises to higher planes. The Master also functions in this way as one becomes filled with his presence.
c. PRACTICAL QBL: Pathworking; Inroads of the Imagination
Pathworking is a magickal practice which differs from ceremonial invocation. Instead of calling in a godform into a circle, the aspirant "journeys" to the imaginal location of an archetypal Form. This pathworking is a mediating act which occurs in imagination. The imaginal world lies between the empirical and conceptual realms. This imaginal world is known to psychologists as a realm of psyche, or the soul.
How do we gain access to this realm? Once we recognize imagination as the realm of soul, we require a method through which we can explore the soul through imagination. The paths of the Tree of Life function as metaphorical "in-roads". Their correspondences produce an awareness of soul through its own system of metaphorical language.
All three types of pathworking require a preliminary study of the characteristics and qualities of the Spheres and Paths. Study the correspondence system until its metaphors are second nature, and instantly recognizable as attributes of a specific quality.
The physical aspect of pathworking includes the life experiences which precipitate into daily life as the result of an astral pathworking. These images require metaphorical interpolation into conceptual forms through meditation.
Tree of Life pathworking offers a way of "finding" or "locating" archetypes in imaginal space. Each successive pathworking increases the area of perceptible inner space.
1. At this stage of practice, the elusiveness of the image is exaggerated by the easily distracted attention of the aspirant. Some seek a short-cut to the higher planes through recourse to drugs. These promote trance-like states, and produce hallucinatory perception which is not confused with imagination by the well-informed student. This may in no manner be likened to pathworking, nor substituted in its place. The ego is absent, or incapacitated by the overpowering force of the unconscious. He is overwhelmed in a regression of consciousness. This is known as Prototaxic Mode (Gowan, 1975). It is not an in-road, but a premature invasion by the unconscious forces.
2. The major purpose of a pathworking is to produce a conscious contact with the archetypal powers connected with the particular path. There are active and passive forms of pathworking, but do not let this glib terminology lead you astray. "Passive" in this sense does not imply the ineffective attitude of type 1 experience. Both active and passive styles are required for the aspirant's training. Each is appropriate in a different context.
Active pathworking is analogous to the psychological exercise known as active imagination. This exercise of the creative imagination is an excursion into the astral plane through the faculty known as clairvoyance, a combination of ego-will and imagination. Pathworking produces an imagery state known as the Parataxic Mode (Gowan, 1975). It surpasses sensory information processing, but precedes conceptual lucidity. This is not a trance state where the images transform freely from one form to another. It is an artform. Clairvoyance means seeing the inner world with increasing clarity. This clarity comes through ego's conscious participation. the main use of active pathworking is for introspection. In pathworking, the will forces the image to maintain certain parameters. The "will," in turn, is brought into direct, non-verbal contact with the non-rational. The aspirant is forced into situations which requires immediate reactions through feelings or instincts. The will maintains a sense of responsibility for ego's behavior on the inner planes. Both cognitive and emotional perception are involved. The ego's forceful elaboration helps to ensure the unfolding of a particular imaginative sequence.
An active pathworking traces the routes described in QBL as the transition stages between Spheres. A pathworking begins in one sphere, and culminates in the sphere immediately higher on the Middle Pillar. The peripheral paths join various spheres of the Tree in an orderly pattern. Any time two particular terminals are used, the traveler establishes a contact with both the "place" and the "entities" who are to be found inhabiting the area. With repetition, the imaginal reality of the place is confirmed through personal experience. The aspirant becomes an accepted visitor in these regions.
All pathworkings return the traveler to the point of origin. This is why the ego must be able to maintain concentration and follow through.
It is important to have a well defined intention in any work of this nature. The symbol system to be used as a guide line was that of the 32nd Path of the Tree of Life, for the traditional technique is to start in an imaginary temple representing the Sephirah from which one starts, to picture the relevant Tarot Trump on one side of this temple, to pass through the Trump as into a picture and proceed through whatever scenery and experiences one may find until one comes to a central point, the Hebrew letter allocated to the Path. From thence one continues the imaginary journey until just before the further Sephirah one meets the relevant astrological symbol, and shortly after views the further Sephirah of the Path. One then returns by the way one came, recapitulating briefly all that one met on the way out. This step is most important, particularly in the fact that it is a preparation for more advanced work when the pictures of the visual imagination give way to actual flora, fauna and locations of the objective Astral Plane, when to be lost with no plan of return can be a serious matter. (9)
3. Passive Pathworking is not a contradiction in terms, but indicates that ego-consciousness is present, though it does not calculatingly interfere with the unfolding of psychic imagery. This passive working is actually more advanced because the traveler must employ his creativity or ability to synthesize information. The practitioner requires an ability to deal with opening of the lower, as well as the higher mind.
This form of pathworking uses a doorway of some type to initiate the experience. This might again be a Tarot Card, or an I Ching Hexagram, last night's dream image, etc. The difference is that instead of following procedure instructions on where to go, and what to visualize (from the correspondence system), one allows the pathworking itself to present the images.
This passive pathworking may be likened in some respects to what is termed "archetypal imagination" in 3rd Generation Jungian Psychology. This is an authentic visionary mode of experience. It is a causal level experience which produces keen perception or insight. The distinction between the magickal and Jungian models is that the magickal model employs the Body of Light as the vehicle for travel of the aspirant. This shape must be kept in awareness at all times.
If the main purpose of pathworking is to contact the archetypal power behind it, an examination of the meaning of "archetypal" ought to be firmly established in the aspirant's mind.
Archetypal Theory in modern psychology asserts four general premises:
1. Archetypes are located in the soul.
2. Psychopathology is emphasized.
3. Archetypes are decidedly important and numinous.
4. The ego is desubstantiated in a radical sense. (10)
In archetypal psychology, pathology is recognized as an essential component of the human soul. Therefore, these psychologists explore the divine by insight into the light and dark aspects of the gods. "The dark Gods and the dark sides of all the Gods came to receive special emphasis. For the Greeks, it would seem, have left us a legacy in their varied divine images of darkness, death, and perversion--a means for us to redeem the dignity in much of our suffering."(11) The ego is relativized in this operation, because it comes to understand that the divine forces are so powerful, the ego cannot really "do" anything to them. Ego becomes one archetypal perspective, with no necessity for strengthening or humbling.
Archetypal Psychology recognizes the many varieties of consciousness indicated in QBL by planetary attributions, "freeing individuation from stereotypes of an ego on the road to a Self. By reflecting this plurality and freedom of styles within the structures of myth, the archetypal perspective to experience may be furthered." (12)
Archetypal Imagination is one phase beyond active imagination.
The paradox is that active imagination, though permitting a first glimpse into this extra-personal domain, is not by itself adequate as a means of exploring the entirety of such a domain. The core of active imagining remains, in Jung's words, "a method of introspection for observing the stream of interior images." (CW 9: i, meaning, but to enter the archetypal region itself an archetypal or visionary imagination is required which by its very nature transcends active imagining. (13)
Since there are no procedural constraints in this passive pathworking, just what can the aspirant expect to experience through this awakened visionary mode?
Archetypal Imagination "combines the necessity of specific acts of consciousness with entry into a domain that is extraconscious and even extrahuman . . . it is nonetheless not the most ultimate region of human experience." (14) This is the realm of true inner plane contact. It is through this form of imagination that we come to know archetypes.
There is no name for what is now imagined visionarily other than the names given to it -- names that are themselves always plural in form -- in folklore, in classical Greek mythology, in the symbols of dreams. If it is true, as Hillman suggests, that it is "through the imagination that man has access to the Gods", this access is attained only through a genuinely archetypal imagination and, further, the deities reached in this way are named conjointly. To recognize this is not to revert to nominalism, for the names in question convey presences -- they are presences. (15)
There is only a sense of radically shifting modes of awareness as the mind migrates from the nameless and nonfixed nature of conscious imagining, through the singularly named and potently personified contents of passive and active imagining, to the collectively named Names -- to the archetypes, to the gods -- of luminously visionary imagination. (16)
Casey (1974) makes it clear that "a visionary imagination is capable of disclosing a crowded canvas of angels or demons, planetary gods or super-celestial beings."(17)
This mode of pathworking is inherently suitable for Middle Pillar work. If imagination mediates, it does so in a distinctive and irreplaceable manner. This is above all true of an archetypal imagination, which provides a necessary and unique medium within which archetypal realities come to be reflected in the form of vibrant images. Archetypal imagining as a via media is uneliminable insofar as it supplies structure to what is psychically real. As genuinely intermediate, it surpasses sensible particularity while foreshadowing strictly formal or ideational modes of being. It offers both a way out of the snares of sensationalized and a way toward a sphere of being that is ontologically ultimate. (18)
These three methods if interaction with the subconscious forces may be summarized as follows:
1. The ego feels proud in its control fantasy of imagination. When this confident ego meets with the true numinous power of the unconscious, it's image of itself fragments. The "opposites" are now constellated, demanding some form of reconciliation.
2. The stunned ego eventually develops a means of coping with the avenging unconscious. Since synthesis of conscious and unconscious has become an imperative necessity, images of focusing and centering appear. Active imagination is appropriate at this stage. The symbols of the Self constellate to reintegrate the fragmented personality.
3. Finally, one develops a sense of archetypal topography as a means of experiencing an archetypally structured world. This mode of apperception is visionary imagination, an interaction of an individual with divine, immortal Forms.
ACTIVE IMAGINATION EXERCISE
Procedure:
Marie Louise VonFranz has formatted Active Imagination into five major steps. The preliminary phase includes establishing the intent or goal of the operation.
I. First, one must empty one's mind from the trains of thought of the ego.
II. Then comes the second step: It is the phase of letting an unconscious fantasy image enter into the field of inner attention...focus on it, and here one has to look out for two kinds of mistake: either one focuses too much and this arrests the image, fixing it literally so to speak, or one focuses too little and then the inner images are apt to change too quickly - a kind of "inner cinema" begins to run.
III. This consists in giving the fantasy some form of expression; in writing it down, painting it, sculpting or noting the music which one one heard, or in dancing it. In the latter case, the body comes into it which is sometimes very necessary...It often also helps to perform a small ritual like lighting a candle, walking in a circle, etc.
IV. The fourth step is the decisive one where most other modern parallel techniques miss out. It is the ethical confrontation with whatever one has previously produced. Here Jung warns against a most frequent and fatal mistake: namely that one enters the "inner play" with a fictitious ego and not with one's own true ego. (To get the full effect don't just watch yourself doing these things. Be the unique individual you are, interacting with the images of inner space. Once the experiment is begun, the ego is compelled to participate.)
V. Finally, there is one more step...one has to apply whatever is said, ordered or asked for in active imagination to ordinary life. (19)
Dangers:
1) There is the chance of repressed unconscious forces breaking through into daily life, overcoming and usurping the position of the ego. The higher and lower astral plane are opened and the traveler meets terrifying beings or circumstances beyond his ken. These waking nightmares loose one's own greatest fears. Frequently, they center around past trauma. Active Imagination is a means of facing up to and dealing with these shadowy problems.
2) Psychosomatic manifestations, such as changes in blood pressure or heartbeat.
The Western alchemists mostly used matter outside their body, asserting that "our soul imagines great things outside the body" (extra corpus). Paracelsus and his pupil Gerhard Dorn, however, also tried to experiment with "the inner firmament" within their own bodies with some outer magical performances; these had--per analogy--asynchronistic relationship to the matter in the body. Thus active imagination is actually very much concerned with the body but essentially with its basic chemical components and their symbolic meaning. I have often observed strong physical positive and negative reactions in case of a rightly or wrongly conducted active imagination; one analysand even once suffered a severe but purely psychogenic heart-attack, when he betrayed his feelings with an active imagination. A great problem is raised by the strong affects and emotions. In his own experiment Jung sometimes used yoga exercises to master them first, before he could, so to speak, extract an image from them to which he could relate in active imagination. (20)
3) Emotional. The individual experiences euphoria from each pathworking as the ego identifies with the archetypal contents of the event. There will be a reactionary let down, but this shouldn't last long.
4) Occult lore speaks of the Dweller on the Threshold, where old fears are met.
. . . I came into contact with the archetypal forms when an image of the Tarot Old Pan or Devil appeared, unsummoned and unwanted. It was a classic Christian devil with an emanation of "evil" as real as the beneficence I had felt when interacting with the archetype of The Sun. I tried to end the experience by opening my eyes, but I discovered that I was unable to move or perform this simple feat. I was paralyzed. I began to panic. . .The Old Pan entity became even more menacing than before, placing himself in my inner world between me and the stairway to the outer world and safety. . .blocked my every move. . .He did not advance toward me but remained as a moving blockage to any possible exit. Finally I was able to concentrate on my outer body sufficiently to try to move. . .Using all my will and ignoring the Old Pan figure entirely, I managed this feat, and it broke the state in which I had been locked. (21)
5) Ritualistic forms of active imagination constellate synchronistic events. This may be misinterpreted as "magical" effects in one's judgment becomes blurred by excitement. there is a critical distinction between desire or wish fulfillment of the ego and the experience of true imagination.
. . .it is tempting to speak, with Corbin, of visionary imagining as "magical". But if it is magical, it is not merely in Sarte's sense of escaping all causal explanation. Rather, it is a magical act in the spirit of what Paracelsus called "true imagination" (Imaginatio vera), which transmutes gross matter into subtle, immaterial bodies; or in the sense of the hermetic psychology of imagination to be found in Pico della Mirandola, Ficino, and Bruno, for all of whom images were talismanic presences of the demonic. (22)
Guidelines for Practice:
1) There is no rush to experience every Tarot Path via imagination. Work up the Tree, Path 32, 31, 30, etc. Take it slowly, learning, and assimilating each new experience thoroughly before going on.
2) Insure your freedom from interruption through a Banishing or candle rite.
3) Establish a time limit; it is a good idea to have a trusted monitor nearby.
4) Record results in your journal, including physical plane reactions, and synchronicities.
5) Never do an active imagination which concerns living persons (this includes intentional visualization of sexual fantasies). This is unethical as it constitutes an encroachment upon the True Will of others. It is an improper application of the technique.
6) Ground exercises in active imagination by applying the experiences gained in pathworking to daily life.
7) Try to establish contact with your personal "inner guide" who will always offer protection if requested and allowed to do so.
FOOTNOTES
1. Ken Wilber, The Holographic Paradigm, Shambhalla, Boulder, 1982, p53. Quotes David Bohm as saying it is absurd that man cannot know reality. "...reality is whatever man can know, by definition. Reality is based on the res, meaning "thing," and the thing is what is known. You see, the word res is based on the rere, meaning to think, and the thing is what you can think about, essentially. So reality is just what man can know...reality is the implicate order."
2. R. Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth.
3. A. Crowley has suggested "The soul interprets the universe; the universe veils the soul."
4. J.L. Jolley, Data Study.
5. Abraham Moles, Information Theory and Esthetic Perception.
6. Ken Wilbur, The Holographic Paradigm, Shambhalla, Boulder, 1982, p146.
7. Peter Bishop, "Archetypal Topography," Spring 1981, Spring Pub., Dallas, 1981.
8. Ibid.
9. Gareth Knight, et al, The New Dimensions Red Book, "A Guide to Experiments in Astral Magic," (Helios Book Service Publications Ltd.; Cheltenham, Glos., 1968); p. 12.
10. James Hillman, ed., Spring 1975, "Archetypal Theory After Jung," Naomi R. Goldenberg; (Spring Publications, Dallas, 1975), p. 211.
11. Ibid. p. 143.
12. James Hillman, Spring 1970, "Why Archetypal Psychology?" (Spring Publ., Dallas, 1970), p. 21.
13. James Hillman, Spring 1974, "Toward An Archetypal Imagination", Edward S. Casey, (Spring Publications, Dallas, 1970), p. 21.
14. Edward S. Casey, "Toward an Archetypal Imagination", Spring 1974; (Spring Publications, Dallas, 1974); p. 23.
15. Ibid. p. 23.
16. Ibid. p. 28.
17. Ibid. p. 22.
18. Ibid. p. 26-27.
19. M.L. vonFranz, "On Active Imagination", Methods of Treatment in Analytical Psychology, Ed. Ian F. Baker; (Verlag Adolf Bonz GMBH, D-Fellbach, 1980) pp. 88-99.
20. M.L. vonFranz, "On Active Imagination", Methods of Treatment in Analytical Psychology; p. 89f.
21. Edwin C. Steinbrecher, The Inner Guide Meditation; (Blue Feather Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico) 1975; p. 46.
22. Edward S. Casey, "Toward An Archetypal Imagination", Spring 1974; (Spring Pub., Dallas, 1974); p. 22.
2. PSYCHOLOGY
a. Psychological Model:
ARCHETYPES: Fundamental Components of Daily Life
Archetypes are forms or images of a collective nature which occur practically all over the earth as constituents of myths and at the same time as autochthonous (1) individual products of unconscious origin.
Archetypes may be considered the fundamental elements of the unconscious mind. Hidden in the depths of the psyche they are systems of readiness for action and at the same time images and emotions. Indeed, they are its psychic aspect.
--Carl Jung
Depth Psychology has provided a great deal of insight concerning human spiritual or mystical experience. It deals most fully with the individual who may be characterized as a seeker. Alchemy and magick were the psychological languages of the past. They were the means for realizing the quest, or journey into the depths of the subconscious. Today, archetypal psychology shows the efficiency of the old practices, and allows us to improve our own awareness by drawing from its resources.
Psychology provides a technical language which allows us to formulate contemporary definitions for the spiritual experiences which, in the past, were referred to as "the mysteries." The psychological language seems to de-glamorize the occult practices; however, it represents a growing conscious understanding of the dynamics involved.
Jung developed a model of the psyche from empirical observations made during the course of his clinical research. Jung saw man, not as an isolated individual, but as having links with all mankind through a collective unconscious. This unconscious manifests in multiple forms.
Jung observed that archetypes should not be thought of as nouns, but rather as semantic metaphors. They represent an "as if" reality. They cannot be observed on the plane of their existence, directly and finally. However, their existence is inferred through their various forms of representation (imagery). Their areas of influence are fields of potential experience.
Jung used a metaphorical model to describe archetypes. He likened them to dried up river beds, to which the water may return at any time. The waters of life flow in specific patterns which dig deep channels. When the archetypes become activated in an individual psyche, these nourishing waters return, flowing through their predetermined courses.
Archetypes embody paradox. There are certain characteristics of their double existence which we may observe. They may be viewed as uniting apparently irreconcilable opposites through an underlying continuum.
1. They are full of internal oppositions, positive and negative poles, (i.e. they appear as good and evil, sometimes simultaneously).
2. They are unknowable and known through images.
3. They are both instinct and spirit, united in a continuum.
4. They are congenital, yet not inherited.
5. They are purely formal structures and contents.
6. They are psychic and extrapsychic (psychoid, extending further than the limitations of the psyche).
In the past, mankind referred to archetypes as gods and goddesses. It is "as if" archetypes compel our behavior until we develop a conscious relationship with them. In psychological work, their characteristic qualities and effects must be distinguished one-by-one, for instance, understanding the difference between Hera and Demeter, or Zeus, etc. Relationships of archetypes with one another and to an individual ego are related in myth. When one of these godforms interferes in an individual daily life, the manifestation is known as a "complex."
The intentional deepening of conscious relationship with various archetypes is known in Magick as the exercise of Rising on the Planes. Consciousness moves from perception of only the physical world as "real" to recognition and observation of the archetypes on the imaginal/emotional level (astral plane). Later, one learns to perceive their effects on ideas and styles of thinking (causal plane). Look for archetypes in your problems, moods, and ideas. The final change of plane implies union with the archetype one its own plane of existence, beyond force and form (archetypal plane).
Archetypes express themselves through their fundamental patterns of symbol formation. The collective inheritance is not one of inherited ideas, but of inherited pathways. Each archetype has characteristic correspondences. They provide an underlying unity for diverse forms of symbolism. These can include god-forms of different cultures, colors, plants, animals, parts of the body, psychological states, etc.
The symbolic content in fairy tales, religions, sagas, and myth are all similar. Importance is not found in the actual symbol, but in what it represents of deeper levels of the psyche. Be careful not to confuse archetypal representations like images, ideas, and gods (which are astral and causal plane perceptions) with the archetype as such, which "lives" on a higher plane of existence.
Archetypes gain life and meaning when the motif is filled out through personal experience. This experience may be apparently mundane. It may also be filled with a sense of the unknown, and a feeling of sacredness. There is a specific feeling-value attached to archetypal experience. The feeling of absolute correctness it brings is often the source of self-deception. Only total experience, not mere intellectual understanding, can convey the individual value such an encounter brings.
The archetype manifests not only as a static image, but also in dynamic processes. The differentiation of a function of consciousness is an example. Perhaps an individual is a "thinking" type, out of touch with his feelings. The Self might then initiate the process whereby he comes to wholeness through experiencing his emotional sensitivity. There is an archetype behind all processes.
As we move toward consciousness of archetypes, our mode of apprehending them alters. First and foremost, they are found in myth, dream and fantasy represented in the form of Gods (often in contemporary dress). They also influence us in less obvious ways; 1) they may be projected to someone in the environment (such as someone you despise carries your shadow qualities), or 2) we may become so fascinated by a powerful archetype that we ourselves become possessed, losing conscious control of our thoughts and behavior. (to return to the example above, possession by the shadow would mean acting out repressed qualities in antisocial or criminal behavior).
When the ego cannot differentiate itself from the archetypes of the unconscious, it identifies with the energy being released through the archetypal experience and becomes inflated. Consciousness regresses into a less conscious state, producing a mirage of superiority. This is commonly known as an ego-trip. In time, the ego gains a less-biased view of itself and comes to a realistic evaluation of its relationship with totality or the Self. The ego learns to understand it does not possess Aphrodite's, or Zeus' powers, and voluntarily assumes a subordinate role in the psychic economy.
When consciousness has developed to the heart level (Tiphareth), light is generated by insight and we see archetypal processes operating in dynamic flux. One sees through projection and possession from a level beyond the ego. One watches the gods as they motivate behavior and cause changes in attitudes, beliefs, and ideas. These are indispensable steps on the path to individuation or coming to wholeness. In this manner we may consciously adapt to our fate, transmuting it into inner experience.
Re-assimilating (or recognizing) projections allows the freed libido to activate a function bridging conscious and unconscious, increasing self-knowledge. This energy which formerly went into maintaining an extroverted illusion now is free to mediate a subtler perception. Gods or archetypes do not appear in isolation; they are always found in characteristic relationships with one another.
Once you perceive archetypal material manifesting in your life, and begin to distinguish one god from another, your mental imagery might be expected to come more sharply into focus. Archetypes on the inner planes produce a quasi- or partial conscious. They behave like independent personalities. The archetypal dominant in a given person's life determines the life-theme most frequently repeated (see Pantheon: Archetypal Encounters in Daily Living). Archetypes produce behaviour patterns. Conscious control of life by the ego is a mere fantasy.
Archetypes are also revealed in art, dreams, mandalas, tarot cards, idiographs, and glyphs. In these cases, the presentational form is not necessarily personalized. One uses a standardized card, for instance, as a medium to communicate with one's self, and moves to the more basic level represented by the symbol content of that card. All forms of art express the collective unconscious of a given culture through symbol.
Symbols always stand for that which is not known. There is always an emotional tone attached to a symbol as well. There is a close correlation between symbol, feeling and color. These analogies go toward building up the representational form of the archetypes (thus, Artemis' color is blue, Aphrodite is associated with green, etc.). They may only be recognized through the effects that they produce upon the self.
Archetypes act like instincts when they shape the conscious contents through motivation and modification. Neumann states, "They are the main constituents of mythology, they stand in an organic relationship to one another and their stage of development succession determines the growth of consciousness." In other words, within his "growth fantasy", Neumann postulates that if one can become adept at perception and cooperation with archetypes, it is "as if" one could consciously advance one's stage of development. One may cooperate with the unconscious, and work in harmony toward the as-yet-unknown psychic goal.
Archetypes, then, can be seen as foci or lenses of the subconscious mind. Using the Tree of Life from QBL as a model of consciousness-development, certain archetypes may be seen as corresponding with different stages of development.
Beginning in Malkuth, the Shadow, representative of the personal unconscious contents, is the first figure to be met and reconciled. The anima and animus are contrasexual figures which often make their appearance projected onto our loved ones (Yesod). Beyond these lie the archetypal images of 'spirit' (Hod) and 'nature' (Netzach); then, the various representations of the Self (Tiphereth) such as the magical child, hero, wise old man or woman, etc.
The images become more subtle as we penetrate the depths of the psyche. Remember, in the developmental model, a firm foundation is built through dealing with the more easily-grasped images. When one image has been comprehended, its energy or libido flows into constellating the next archetype in sequence. This sequence is not fixed, but QBL is a useful tool for study, and orderly progression.
The Shadow, representing the "unlived" side of life, includes not only repressed or rejected qualities, but also the potential for creativity. One simply cannot become whole by rejecting a part of oneself. However, "coming into a relationship with one's shadow" can hardly be used to excuse irresponsible behavior. People who "act-out" their shadow through various degrees of socially unacceptable behavior, without conscious control, may be termed "possessed."
As contasexual images, the anima and animus are often projected to members of the opposite sex. The man's feminine side is represented by his anima. This personal form of anima is conditioned by the totality of his experience with women. A man's consciousness corresponds with the solar principle. His anima, as personification of his unconscious, is lunar. When the anima is operating unconsciously, it can possess the man causing him to become moody, upset, or touchy: all of the negative aspects of the eternal woman.
On the positive side, the anima teaches emotion and relatedness. She is associated with soul or psyche. Anima is the carrier of consciousness in its journey into psyche in both men and women. Identification of the ego with consciousness is the product of a mind under the influence of the hero archetype. Projections of the transcendent anima appear as Magna Mater, Sophia, Isis, Shakti, Virgin Mary, High Priestess, prophetess.
A woman experiences the male aspect of herself through the animus. Her consciousness is characterized as lunar-feminine. Her unconscious is symbolized, not by the sun of day, but by the 'Sol niger' (or dark sun), which is connected with the father-image. When possessed by the animus, a woman is bossy, inclined to make arbitrary statements, and is "always right."
The animus functions logically. Its activation helps the woman to organize her thinking. Animus us representative of the spirit, or logos principle. The animus is projected into the religious sphere as master of wisdom, magician, priest, protector, teacher, etc, or experienced internally as a personified link with the woman's unconscious. Emma Jung states, "what a woman has to overcome in respect to the animus is not pride, but inertia and lack of self-confidence."
When their contents are not projected (and their energetic charge lost), anima and animus form a bridge between consciousness and the unconscious (represented in QBL as the Middle Pillar). They function as filters of the contents of the collective unconscious to the conscious mind. They function very effectively as long as the tendencies of the conscious mind. They function very effectively as long as the tendencies of the conscious and unconscious do not diverge greatly. Anima and animus should be born constantly in mind in evaluating one's interactions. Constant observation pays the unconscious a tribute that more or less guarantees greater harmony.
The integration of the shadow, or the realization of the personal unconscious, marks the first stage of the "descent" into the depths of the psyche. Without it, a recognition of the anima or animus is impossible. The anima or animus is developed through a relation to a partner of the opposite sex, generally. Only in such a relationship do the projections become activated and observable.
There are three basic reasons why one should try to learn to use these projections as operatives: 1) to gain communion with one's contrasexual aspect, 2) to strengthen the link between consciousness and the unconscious, 3) to come into real relationships with others, rather than relating to one's illusory image of them.
The multiplicity of archetypal forms is contained or coordinated in the archetype of the Self. It shows an underlying unity in multiplicity. The archetype presides over the process of psychic transformation or the spiritual quest. Its common images are child, king, or sacrificed god. It has been personified in the Christ, Holy Guardian Angel, and the higher Self.
Reality is contained in many symbols. One can relate them via a system of correspondences. Seeing the signs, hidden meanings, extracting the subjective value builds a structure. Then, we can read the message in the apparently formless flow of events.
Archetypes bring with them a sense of destiny, a certain fatedness. They activate synchronistic phenomena; they are an acausal connecting principle. Through the "vocabulary" of the correspondence system, one may assemble corroborating evidence that particular archetypal patterns are at work in one's life. For instance, falling in love may correspond with some transit of Venus in the birthchart.
The magical correspondence system allows us to consciously choose to produce a certain turn in our psychology. We use the correspondences to create the atmosphere of any given portion of the personality, and later of the individuality. The correspondences speak in a language the subconscious not only understands but also responds to, willingly. The imagination is very important in this archetypal structuring. According to Jung, magic is "the first achievement wrested by primitive man from instinctual energy, through analogy-building."
The imagination, in creating and using the correspondence system, is one of the great pointers for Reality. It is the creative path which enables man to survive, adapt, and progress. A magical ceremony creates working potential for relationship to the psyche. Because of its value it exerts a determining and stimulating effect on the imagination.
By taking imagination seriously, tapping into the level beyond personal fantasy, we may view the images produced and correspond them to a major archetypal pattern (usually determined by their mythical counterpart). This establishes a link of conscious and unconscious. Now, one may simply overlay a system or discipline which one wishes to use, to methodically assimilate some qualities of a given archetype and move beyond unconscious domination by it. The unconscious is too intimidating to encounter en masse. It is, however, possible to relate to a portion of it at a time.
Once a particular way of looking at reality is established, it automatically sets up limitations, or boundary conditions. However, there is great latitude if one has the ability to subjectively choose from many such realities, without falling prey to identification. The whole person participates in the choice, rather than being compelled by unconscious motivation.
This description of archetypes is conditioned by the assumption of a hierarchal/developmental fantasy, which itself is one literalization of the archetype of "The Way." We could have, on the other hand, examined archetypes from another perspective.
When archetypes are seen as existing co-laterally with one another, or in constant, co-equal relationship, the stages-of-development fantasy fades into the background. It depends on one's conditioned point-of-view. Both viewpoints together illustrate the psychic reality. The ability to embrace divergent points-of-view without conflict, leads to the ability to use them both as tools. This prevents a one-sided dogmatism.
The developmental model is monotheistic; it emphasizes the One God seen through many forms. The polytheistic model recognizes the sovereignty of the various gods and goddesses. It is based on relatedness, not goal-oriented development.
Remember, the world appears as you are conditioned to experience it. Different archetypes can cause you to alter viewpoints dramatically. Gods affect our styles of consciousness, and change our point of view.
In conclusion, here are some things archetypes are not: 1) defined or confined by phenomenological studies or lists of their qualities, characteristics, and correspondences; 2) they are not themselves portrayals of concepts which can be mapped out as things or places; 3) nor translatable into scientific terms from other disciplines including philosophy, as they aren't empirically derived; 4) archetypes are not restricted to principles or categories of therapy; 5) nor are they to be considered contents of the unconscious, something contained within something else. The sacred archetype is not separated from the profane image.
None of these methods of amplification define or exhaust the possibilities of archetypal forces. They are means in expanding cognitive and emotional experience of the archetypal region, but the archetypes are cosmic forces spanning a broader continuum of existence than human mind or intuition can comprehend.
ARCHETYPES (2)
An attempt to break down the archetype's course of activity might reveal the following stages:
1. The archetype is quiescent, a structural factor in the psychoid realm of the collective unconscious, an invisible "nuclear element" and "potential carrier of meaning."
1. Through a suitable constellation--which may be conditioned by individual or collective factor---it receives additional energy; its charge is increased, and its dynamic operation begins. The individual constellation depends on the individual's state of consciousness, the collective constellation on the corresponding state of consciousness of human groups.
3. The charge of the archetype is manifested in a kind of magnetic pull on the conscious mind, which, however, is not at first recognized. It takes the form of vague emotional activity, which may swell into violent psychic agitation.
4. Attracted by the charge, the light of consciousness falls on the archetype; the archetype enters the actual psychic area, it is perceived.
5. When the archetype as such is "touched by consciousness,: it can manifest either on the "lower" biological plane and take form, for instance as an expression of instinct or as an instinctual dynamism, or on the "higher", spiritual plane as an image or idea.(3) In the later case the raw material of imagery and meaning are added to it, and the symbol is born. The symbolic guise in which it becomes visible varies and changes according to the outward and inward circumstances of the individual and the times. The encounter with the consciousness of a collectivity and its problems gives rise to collective symbols (e.g. mythologems); contact with an individual consciousness and its problems gives rise to individual symbols (as, for example, the image of a witch with the features of one's own mother).
6. The symbol acquires a certain degree of autonomy in its confrontation with the conscious mind.
7. The meaning with which the symbol is "pregnant" more or less compels the conscious mind to come to terms with it. This may occur in the most diverse ways--either spontaneously, through contemplation, representation, interpretation, etc. or in analysis.
8. The symbol may
a) be brought closer to the conscious mind by understanding and be felt and recognized in some degree belonging to the ego, but without being wholly fathomed, so that it continues to be "alive" and effective;
b) be completely fathomed and explored. Then it seems wholly integrated with the ego and assimilated by the conscious mind, but it loses its "life" and efficacy, and becomes mere allegory, a "sigh" or a conceptually unambiguous content of consciousness;
c) not be understood at all; it may confront the ego consciousness as an expression of a complex hidden, so to speak, behind it, as a hostile foreign body, split off from it and causing a dissociation in the psyche. It then becomes an autonomous splinter psyche, which can make itself felt in the form of "spirits," hallucinations, etc., that is, in all kinds of neurotic symptoms.
b. Mythic Correspondence
(1). HERA
All Homage to Hera, stately equal of Zeus.
Her power and position are put to great use.
Hera embodies the feminine portion of the transpersonal authority, the Self. Inner contact with this archetype for a woman is an experience of the core of her being. To be in harmony with herself, she must serve this inner dynamism. This might be seen as a modern "worship" of Hera.
A neurotic or under-developed man would have to come to terms with the authoritarian aspect of the mother complex. A man involved in developing his "feminine" side would serve Hera over and against the logos principle. this is generally a stage in the psychic life of men, whose quest for the Self culminates in the Puer/Senex reunion with masculine symbolism.
Curiously like many royal couples, Hera and Zeus are both siblings and mates. This symbolism of brother/sister love represents the restoration of bisexual totality. The fulfillment and wholeness of Zeus and Hera consists of a dyadic relationship. She wants to be in the presence of her beloved, because she derives her fulfillment through involvement. This involvement is not always pleasant.
Hera is a goddess distinguished by her great antiquity. It is interesting to note that the very first temple at Mt. Olympus was that of Hera. It dates from the second half of the 7th Century to 1000 B.C. She is also the official patroness of the Olympic Games, which were started by her muscular hero, Herakles. The fact that his twelve labors were in service to her is shown by his name being derived from hers.
Hera is, first and foremost, the wife of Zeus; if you will, wife of the Chairman of the Board of Directors. She is as potent of a directing force as he is. But in a patriarchal society her powers tend to appear in negative forms. Managerial ability can become an urge to control and direct those closest at hand--the family.
There is a great deal of animosity directed at Zeus and his mortal and immortal paramours. This must have kept Hera pretty busy, and emotionally aroused, since the number of Zeus' liasons is legendary. But Zeus had no immunity against the onslaughts of Hera! the masculine principle, as represented by Zeus, is far from omnipotent when challenged by her powerful contrary principle.
Hera is repeatedly the victim of her own powerful emotions. The volcanic quality of her animus (inner masculinity) is embodied in Hephaistos, her lame son. This product of parthenogenesis was conceived without a father, from her brooding. As such, he came to rule volcanic activity, physical and emotional. When moody, Hera is capable of veritable explosions of strong emotions.
Hera is outspoken and she has a scolding tongue. But she is not always so overt in her attacks. Despite her moral indignation at the behavior of others, she is more than willing to manipulate the feelings of others to suit her own needs and desires.
The Hera personality is seen in the grande dame type of woman. She is given to largesse or charitable activities. She has an aristocratic aura which assumes a right to command, both activity and attention. She is born-to-order and scarcely questions this destiny as anything other than her rightful position in life. She may express herself through becoming a patron of the arts, or an administrator (for example, a Dean of Women).
As the result of her strong social concerns, she pays special attention to keeping herself attractive. She is always fashionable and publicly appropriate. She has a strong sense of honor and duty. Many find these qualities present in First Lady, Nancy Reagan. Before her, the personality of Jacqueline Kennedy fascinated the nation.
Hera prefers to grapple with concrete details, rather than muse on intellectual theories or abstractions. This can be valuable in coordinating one's estate, after all, when there is much to be done. Even though she is a bit eccentric, her innate feel for social awareness allows her to integrate and maintain acceptance by those of all social levels. Her mores will invariably reflect those of her surrounding culture.
Hera has never been psychologically far from our thoughts, but recently she has enjoyed a graphic, and rather amusing resurgence! Hera presides over the dominion including marriage, wifehood, motherhood and--the rights of women. The increasing political clout being amassed by the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) is becoming a significant power, even if the amendment itself remains to be added to the Constitution.
It is interesting that Hera was known in past times as Era. Thus, she is the underlying archetypal dominant of the E.R.A. All those wives and mothers proclaiming their equality in the paternal society are devotees of Hera. Women also seek an "equal pay for equal work" situation in the job market. Working women have been severely discriminated against, and are now "venting their spleen."
The stories and rites surrounding Hera indicate an instinctual background as the mating instinct. The antiquity of the goddess shows the instinctual nature of her origin. This instinct seeks fulfillment of a particular sort which will not be sublimated to other goals. If forced to deviate from its goal, it will instead turn negative.
The wifehood of Hera seeks as her essential mode-of-being the required marital union with her spouse on several levels. She is not concerned merely with his physical fidelity, or his ability to be the father of her children. She is driven by a compulsive necessity to be perfected through conjugal union. She seeks a multi-level, intimate relationship. She wants to know the ins and outs of her spouse.
INSERT PICTURE HERA JUNO
Hera cannot abide having a "token spouse" or an official husband who periodically checks in while he carries on his life elsewhere. His proximity and commitment to her are critical. She embodies the desire for the archetypal hierosgamos or sacred marriage which occurs between male and female on the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual planes of experience. You bet, she wants to stay abreast of his business dealings. What if he should die and she needs to take charge! Hera would probably prefer to have Zeus all to herself, if her secret wish were known. But, in time, this would no doubt prove quite troublesome.
Hera wishes to experience depth of relationship with Zeus. To her, marriage is no abstract institution. She does not wish him to assert his independence from wedlock with her. She doesn't even wish him to turn inward on his own resources. If he follows his own inner feminine voice and becomes too introverted, she feels thwarted in her fulfillment.
The fact is, Hera and Zeus are interdependent on one another for fulfillment of this basic drive. This is the daily confrontation of married life, merely being in one another's presence. Having meaningful interaction requires renewed concern for the "now." It makes marriage an arena for individuation of the partners through the mutual give-and-take of everyday life. The sacred marriage is no final act but requires periodic renewal. This cyclic renewal is intrinsic to the Hera cult. She was symbolically purified and renewed her commitment to Zeus in recurrent wedding ceremonies.
These multiple weddings indicate a return to the condition of unconscious, original identity. At the time of the wedding, Zeus and Hera are truly one through the process of identification or participation mystique. But, inevitably, another crisis situation creates a critical atmosphere, but it is a necessary prelude to conscious realizations. And the cycle goes on...
Since the state of the minds of the partners are not identical, there are usually differences in adjustment to marriage. Differences in tempo, and in the degree of spiritual development are typical causes of difficulty, according to Jung. One partner is generally more psychologically complex than the other. This partner is frequently capable of much faster personal growth, but may be erratic.
The spouse who is grounded in a positive relationship to the parents can generally adapt better. They are not hindered by a deep seated unconscious tie to the parents, and are therefore more mature. A complex nature has many facets and seeks to realize many of them. Versatility has a certain charm, but it can mask an underlying impulsiveness.
Jung thought that woman's spiritual life was contained in her relationship to her husband. Conversely, a man is contained emotionally in his wife. This may have been the case in his day. However, the alternative lifestyle movement has produced many spiritually oriented persons with commitments outside the Dyad. For example, a woman devotee of a spiritual Master obviously in not wholly contained spiritually by her husband. Likewise, a man involved in intensive social action such as counseling, has a vigorous emotional life outside the home.
These divided loyalties are actually healthier than the all-or-nothing proposition of having no essential obligations or binding interests outside of the marriage. Nevertheless, the simpler spouse has the advantage of undividedness. The other spouse can envy this condition, feeling himself outside the marriage. This can become problematical, as it awakens longings in him for that particular bliss. His many-facetedness may fragment creating a crisis to bring conflict to ahead.
INSERT PICTURE HERA AND ZEUS
He or she seeks the completion and contentedness the other seems to wallow in. When he begins to squirm, her insecurities are painfully aroused. The specter of rivals begins to appear on the horizon. Driven inward by disappointment the spouse may become desperate or violent, exploding in a spasm of rage and manipulative tactics. Forced to turn in on herself, she may even be lucky enough to find an inner self sufficiency.
As the possibilities of inner integration become apparent to both spouses, they have the possibility of achieving the experience of an undivided self. This is a quantum leap in consciousness...a metamorphosis. This stage cannot come without confrontation of the anima/animus. The constant animosity depicted in the Zeus-Hera configuration has a telos or goal.
Every phase of life has its particular psychological goals as well as physical changes. One can always hope to be surprised in marriage by having one's own complexities answered by a corresponding diversity. But, progress may also be arrested at any stage of development with no further breakthroughs. Consider the divorce rate. Individual capacities for adjustment vary. Remember, Hera marries Zeus over and over again. You might think she is trying to get it right.
There is much pathology associated with this archetype including tragedy, yearning, jealousy, vindictiveness, and shrewishness. Hera is shrewd. This behavior, though inherent in her nature, is motivated by the attitude and behavior of her roaming spouse Zeus. He never seems to settle down, content with the domestic routine. When he persecutes her, through neglect of his affairs, she is distraught. She reacts so strongly that she becomes self-destructive.
In her negative phase Hera is possessed by her animus reactions. In the myth, she gave reactionary birth to many monster children, conceived by herself in the lonely brooding of her rejection. She projected this rejection by Zeus into a form of her own son, Hephaistos. His birth as a separate entity means she lost the possibility of developing her own deeply introverted creative processes. If she could only have gotten a meaningful job! She winds up rejecting her son as Zeus rejected her.
With Prometheus, another son, she gave birth to her rebellious opposition to the dominion of Zeus, meaning she expelled her ability to gain in ego-consciousness. Prometheus later has his own rebellious acts and conflicts with Zeus.
The combative Ares was the embodiment of her bloodthirsty rage, her egotism, and her jealousy. Ares warlike nature is an instinct which has wreaked havoc with mankind ever since. Finally, Hera goes really psychotic and expels the monster Typhaon. As this reptilian beast, she bursts all fetters and runs amok. With no limit to her destructive capabilities, who knows what she might do.
At this point, one can only hope for mitigation, not litigation. Perhaps it is time for another purification and transformation through a renewal of the sacred aspect of marriage. In the Argive legends, Hera was known as "the goddess of the yoke." The meaning of yoga is 'yoking' or 'union'. And in this sense, marriage may be considered a yoga, and an arena for spiritual development. On the plus side, Hera was also Mother of the Charites (Faith, Hope, and Love), gaining thereby her affinity for charitable work.
Cultural Correspondences: Juno (Roman);Lakshmi, Radha (Hindu)
Further Reading:
1). Zeus and Hera, bu C. Kerenyi
2). "Hera: Bound and Unbound" by Murray Stein in Spring
3). The Meaning of Aphrodite by Paul Friedrich
4). Marriage: Dead or Alive by Adolp Guggenbuhl-Craig, Spring Publications
5). "Marriage as a Psychological Relationship" by Jung (CW)
6). The Twelve Olympians
2. Saturn/Kronos, the Puer Senex Archetype
Chronos, the Ancient, SPACE/TIME in one.
It is he, who chronologically devours all suns.
Chronos is known as the Lord of Form and Boundaries. He was the offspring of Uranus and Rhea, archetypal grandfather and grandmother. Rhea mad a scythe and talked Chronos into using it to overthrow or emasculate Uranus. When Uranus became impotent, Chronos liberated his siblings who procreated further. Chronos and Rhea mated and produced
Hestia Hades Demeter Poseidon Hera Zeus
An oracle had predicted that Chronos would be overthrown by one of his sons so he promptly swallowed them up. Rhea tricked him into disgorging the children, whereupon Zeus cast Chronos into the depths of the universe. In other words, Chronos became enchained in matter and SPACE/TIME entered phenomenal existence.
Chronos' role as a Devouring Father is examined by Murray Stein in Fathers and Mothers:
Kronos, whose name means "time," brings in an essential aspect of ego-consciousness. Unlike Ouranos, who is the eternal, infinite sky, Kronos underlies our perception of past-present-future, our orientation in time. His castration of Ouranos, therefore, means the end of eternal blind reproduction, of purely instinctual fecundity, age following age endlessly, driven on by unself-conscious spirit. After the castration of Ouranos this kind of creativity is no longer possible. Genius enters the stage of time-and self-consciousness. The castrating instrument of Kronos becomes the scythe of Father Time.
...Whereas the strategy of Ouranos is to keep his potential rivals, his children, unconscious through repression in materia, the strategy of Kronos is to incorporate them and thys to spiritualize or psychologize them, thereby severing them from their instinctual origins. ...This act of splitting positive and negative, spiritual and instinctual, creative and destructive is Kronos swallowing his children...under Kronos all the children have to be incorporated in spirit.
The brooding conservatism of Chronos manifests in the psychological complex known as the Puer/Senex. It represents the polarities of Eternal Youth and Father Time. In Latin, Senex means old man, but may also be applied to an old woman who exhibits certain traits.
We can take a small mental journey through time, analogous to the magickal operation of Rising on the Planes, where the mind moves from the physical earth-reality out to the reaches of the universe. Actually both of these operations take place in the seamlessly welded relative reality of spacetime...to go or look further away is go seemingly backwards in time.
Duration Ages or Periods
In Seconds Of Time
10(25) Unknown Outer Limits of Time
10(20) Possible Age of the Universe
Age of the Earth (5 Billion Years)
One Revolution of the Sun Around the Galaxy
10(15) Age of Younger Mountain Systems
Duration of Human Race (A Million Years)
Written History
10(10) Age of a Nation
One Revolution of the Earth Around the Sun (A Year)
One Revolution of the Moon Around the Earth (A Month)
10(5) One Rotation of the Earth (A Day)
An Hour
A Minute
10(0) A Second
Blink of an Eye
Vibration Period of Audible Sound
10(-5) A Flash of Lightning
Duration of a Moon Particle
Time for Light to Cross a Room
10(-10) Vibration Period of Radar
Time for an Air Molecule to Spin Once
Vibration Period for Infra-red Radiation
10(-15) Vibration Period of Visible Light
Vibration Period of X-Rays
10(-20) Vibration Period of Gamma Rays
Time for a Proton to Revolve Once in the Nucleus of an Atom
10(-25) Unknown Inner Limits of Time
DIAMETER OBJECT EXAMPLES LINEAR DISTANCES
(Meters)
10(27) Possible Universe
Spherical "Horizon"
of Knowledge
10(24) Group of Supergalaxies One Billion Light-Years
Supergalaxy
Minor Group of Galaxies One Megaparsec
10(21) Large Galaxy One Million Light-Years
Small Galaxy
Galactic Satellite Cluster One Kiloparsec
10(18) Globular Cluster of Stars One Thousand Light-Years
Distance to Regulus
Distance to Nearest Star One Parsec
10(15) Multiple Star System One Light-Year
Inner Reservoir of Comets
Orbit of Pluto
10(12) Orbit of Jupiter One Billion Kilometers
Orbit of the Earth
Outer Corona of the Sun
10(9) The Sun (An Average Star) One Million Kilometers
Jupiter (A Large Planet)
The Earth
10(6) Average Moon One Thousand Kilometers
Large Asteroid
Medium Asteroid or Mountain
10(3) All Mankind (Cubic Kilometer) One Kilometer
Great Pyramid
Whale
10(0) Man (Cubic Meter) One Meter
Grapefruit
Cherry One Centimeter
10(-3) Grapeseed (Cubic Millimeter) One Millimeter
Flea or Grain of Sand
Ovum or Dust Particle
10(-6) Bacterium One Mioron
Virus
Protein Molecule
10(-9) Sugar Molecule One Millimioron
Atom One Angstrom
10(-12) Inner Atom One Thousand Fermis
10(-15) Atomic Nucleus
Elementary Particle One Fermi
10(-18) Possible Field Entity One Millifermi
10(-21) One Microfermi
10(-24) One Nanofermi
10(-27) One Picofermily
10(-30) One Kilo Wheeler
10(-33) Cell in Primal Foam One Wheeler
The qualities of the Senex or Chronos personality are the same as those which fall to Saturn in astrology: melancholy, depression, anxiety, sadism, paranoia, anality, and obsessive memory are among the most prominent.
Personifcation of this figure include the old wise man, elder, counselor, hermit, priest, cripple, etc. Saturn is concerned with the Law, dry data, the cold, hard facts. He is cynical and likes intellectual abstraction and principles of order. As ruler of Space/Time he has interests in geometry and astronomy. Saturn lies behind scientific systems of measurement and all hierarchical systems of philosophy and government. He oversees the process of spiritual discipline which requires isolation and inwardness. He governs self-control and extends this mania for control to others. He provides realization through time and material manifestation.
Saturn figures prominently in every individual's cycles of becoming. The end of the process of maturation and the beginning of the aging process occurs at approximately age 30, the time of 'Saturn Return,' (when Saturn returns in the natal chart to its position at birth). This cycle is linked to attitude development and cycles of structural form. In the first 28 years of life we are conditioned by parents and culture; they program the structure of personality. In the second 28 years there is, theoretically, an individual self-expression and creative downpour until the spiritual identity crisis at 56-60, which creates the transformed cultural identity of spiritual power and self-realization. Important in this timing process are fate and genetic patterns.
Saturn rules habit, counting and remembering. There is a relationship between the Senex and a disease characteristic of old age, senility. Vasopressin is the remedy normally prescribed in these cases; it is a hormone secreted by the pituitary gland which actually restores damage done to nerve connections in the brain. Another important component in the memory process is the enzyme choline acetyltransferase. Both of these are produced less as the body ages.
Saturn is the personification of the alchemical operation known as coagulatio. This process was considered as making things stick and hold together, so that they became more solid, dense, and immobile. We find this image occurring in the aging process where it is known as cross-linkage in protein and connective tissue. During youth, there is a moderate amount of cross-linkage tying the connective tissue together so it is quite elastic. With increased age, the cross links are formed, the tissue hardens, and movement becomes restricted or painful. Chronos reminds us that we are "running out of time" by bringing an omnipresent awareness of death, (GRIM REAPER).
It is not surprising that among the fascinations of Chronos are time management programs and longevity or life extension programs. In fact, he has a program to manage or organize just about every facet of life. Chronos appears as both profane (clocktime) and sacred time. Saturn unfolds manifestations of all the gods (disgorges his children) when sacred time appears as the multiple recurrence of archetypal patterns, (Chronic reappearance).
A primary manifestation of Chronos is his tendency to depressive brooding and philosophical pessimism. He can't escape the tendency to thoroughly dissect and examine his own thoughts and feelings, and actions. This torments him. He is austere, and blocks the spontaneous out-flowing of the will. In other words, his influence is to inhibit. He is a workaholic and tries to block the urge toward transformation in his offspring. He experiences guilt, separation, and stagnation until he unites with his opposite, the Puer, and becomes the unified symbol of the Self.
The generation gap occurs because both the puer and senex project their shadows upon each other. They see in one another's mode of consciousness all those things which are anathema. Actually, the ideal lies in a balanced combination of these styles of awareness and values. This union is shown in the Tarot by the fact that there is the affinity of Beginning and End in the cards O, The Fool and XXI, The Universe, which represent the puer and senex, respectively. In the Diamond-Body model of the Self these two paths are congruent at the nexus or center of the causal body. Saturn governs exits (like death) and entries; he therefore rules the process of initiation. Path 32, The Universe is the first stage of pathworking up the Tree of Life, beginning in Malkuth.
We are all, in a sense, prisoners in time and phenomenal existence. Saturn ruled over prisons and prisoners...he is the archetypal warden of the realm of form. The prisoners pay homage to Saturn by "doing time," or "serving time." Other clichés show the close affinity between money and time, such as "time is money," and "spending time."
Chronos has a relationship to ENTROPY. The Senex/Puer complex is the psychological manifestation of the Order/Disorder paradox. No wonder the senex is so fanatical about order: it is his radical form of self-defense:
The ego has been forged in an aspect of "profane time"; it has emerged through history as an ongoing process. The ego has related to this history with directed thinking, which cannot and must not be discarded. If sublimation is truly to mediate the order-disorder paradox, then a full experience of "profane time" is required, else entropy and disorder will not be truly included. Thus "directed thinking" must be rounded with "primitive thinking" to aid the constellation of the middle path.
Because the ego has a "linear segment" of irreversible time in its ordering acts, it inevitably will experience disorder. The more it experiences 'new values' of the objective psyche the more it must tolerate its created disorder. The order-disorder paradox becomes the main river along which the ego moves, if it is to aid in achieving psychic completion . (5)
THE PERCEPTION OF TIME (6)
SENEX
(continuous, linear time) |
PUER
(discontinuous, quantized time) |
The experience of the Puer/Senex reunion is an experience of the male Self. It is the equivalent of the feminine experience of the reunion of Demeter and Persephone in the mother/daughter mysteries.
In alchemy, Saturn is the nigredo. This is a depressive phase at the beginning of the process. There is value and meaning in depression; it is necessary to relate to the senex; it slows down the puer impulsiveness. When we are overextended, the senex make us turn within to renew our resources. One reconnects to the well-spring of being, connecting with the deeper values of the Self. Failure to connect to introversion and entanglement in life commitments can lead to nervous collapse.
And one meaning of the experience of depression is that our wholeness, our individuation, the Self can no longer wait while we follow egotistic ways or even seek for legitimate ego fulfillment, and so the Self brings us, drives us, into the wilderness of depression, for God waits in that place, and communication between earth and heaven is even then about to be revealed to us, if only we will attend to the vision. (7)
Of course, no one likes to be "depressed to death." There are suicides who do not make it through this dry wilderness of the psyche. James Hillman has proposed a solution to this problem in "The Negative Senex and a Renaissance Solution." Consider that order itself is a form of madness, which contains its own inherent possibility of transcending its "excessive tension" or stress. This unique solution comes through time from the past and resolves a question of how to resolve the struggle with the negative senex in ourselves and our culture.
A history of Ficino in relation to the psyche of the Renaissance is yet to be written. Nevertheless we cannot refrain from drawing lessons from the movement in his psyche. He arrived at the place where transmuting melancholy comes abut through communication with one's genius in its depressive weakness, through its woundedness. The orientation of this movement was generally governed by avid intellectual curiosity, by imaginal contemplation mainly in terms of the classical ideas and Gods, and by a particular devotion to Eros and to soul. The net which held his ideas was Neoplatonic, that is, his personal survival depended upon the Platonist fantasy of the psyche. This fantasy and these dominant themes which it interwove are also propensities of puer phenomenology. (8)
There are many modern examples of the Senex personality from right-wing Republican Ronald Reagan, the Ayatollah Khoumeni with his religious fanaticism, etc. Examples of the transformed Senex are harder to find. The spiritual father of the Surat Shabd Yoga sect, in India is an example. His name is Charan Singh, and he is considered God-Realized. He is a Param Sant Sat Guru, which means he is the highest kind of Saint, a Perfect Living Master, and a Teacher as well. He teaches a conservative, ethical philosophy; but this yogic path of the union of the soul and the sound current (the Word) liberates one from the karmic wheel of birth and death.
FOOTNOTES
1. autochthonous: native to a place, indigenous; aboriginal.
2. Jolande Jacobi, Complex/Archetype/Symbol in the Psychology of C.G. Jung, (Princeton University Press, 1971); pp. 119-121.
3. Form = physical plane; image = astral plane; ideas = causal plane; myth = archetypal plane manifestations.
4. Burt Webb, The Faces of Time; (Seattle, 1977); pp. 6-18.
5. "On the Coupling of Psychic Entropy and Negentropy", Nathan J. Schwartz and Sandra Ross Schwartz
6. Malone, Michael, Psychetypes, Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, N.Y. 1977, pg. 31.
7. "The Value and Meaning of Depression", M. Esther Harding, Publ by the Bulletin for the A.P.C. of N.Y.
8. "The Negative Senex and a Renaissance Solution", Spring 1975, James Hillman, p.75
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Continue to Path 32, part 2
