The purpose of occultism – including such arts as Manifesting, Creating Your Reality, Tarot, Astrology and Divination – is found in a classic axiom of Hermetic Magic: “Know thy will and do it.”
This essential ability of the Magician is what we strive for in every spiritual endeavor. We want to know what our true Will is – that course of action that will give us the greatest sense of peace, meaning and fulfillment – and how we can make our lives an embodiment of this essential purpose.
How do we do this? The occultist’s answer is by aligning the lower self with the Higher Self. The Higher Self, also called the Individuality, Soul or “Holy Guardian Angel”, is the eternal aspect of an individual – the essence of ‘you’, in non-physical form.
When we are aligned with the Higher Self, we experience ‘flow’ feelings such as joy and a sense of meaning, because we are enacting our True Will. We receive inspiration and enlightenment from areas beyond ordinary consciousness, as if a Third Eye is open through which we can see the truth clearly, even if this truth is not immediately apparent in the physical environment.
We also manifest what we desire on the physical plane, because alignment with the Higher Self ‘opens the door’ for the power of the infinite Soul to enter and act on the material world.
Lift up your thoughts
The basis of all esoteric doctrines is that the physical world is more like mind than matter, and it is for this reason that changes in the consciousness of the individual actually create changes in the world of form. The increase in consciousness influences an improvement in conditions – and so it is the increase in consciousness that does that all metaphysical practice is focused on, from the most elaborate ceremonial ritual to the most modest daily gratitude list.
In order to manifest the Higher Self through brain consciousness, the personality must be ‘tuned’ to the same frequency as the Higher Self. The Higher Self is like the sun that shines brightly in the sky, whether we see it or not. It always shines. The human personality is like the moon, which allows this solar light to manifest wholly, partially, or not at all.
The main task of any magician, manifestor or spiritual seeker is to learn how to facilitate the flow of power from the Higher Self – or perhaps more precisely, to learn how to Stop blocking and slowing the flow of these tides. We must subdue the lower levels of consciousness to the higher ones, and condition the personality so that it is a vehicle through which the Higher Self can operate unhindered.
The more control we have over our own psyche, the more powerful we are to create a world that reflects our desires. The mind should be like a powerful but well-trained horse that responds immediately to the subtle cues of its rider. The senses must not deceive and the passions must not blind. In this way attention can be focused and maintained on that which is essential, without interference from the non-essential, and without an internal struggle against the carnal nature.
Let’s look at the different ways a magician increases his psychic powers by training the powers of attention.
Practicing pure consciousness
In magic we learn how to control the subtle, invisible forces that lie behind the world of form. One must be able to free one’s mind from its bondage to the material world, while at the same time retaining control over one’s mind so that one can direct it to one’s own understanding.
A magician must therefore be able to consciously remain present in a state of ‘pure’ consciousness – that is, without any words, actions, emotions or sensations to which the mind can cling. We can only raise consciousness to a higher level if we can successfully suppress the thoughts of the modes of consciousness of all levels below.
If we cannot separate the mind from matter, stimuli from the senses send it our way. Our attention is naturally drawn to thoughts with the greatest emotional charge – a fact of human consciousness on which the media and advertising industries are based!
If we do not cultivate the ability to turn the mind’s eye away from emotions, our creative power will be dragged away by whatever stray dogs come through our psycho-emotional field. We will manifest haphazardly and accidentally, rather than intentionally.
Meditation builds the strength of the ‘muscle’ of consciousness. Practices like Vipassana or Presence Meditation help train the mind by bringing stillness to the mind while staying alert. We need to be able to withdraw from our environment without “checking out.” Through meditation we can free the mind from the world of form, while at the same time keeping it under our control.
Visualization: training the imagination
Once we gain authority over the creative power of attention, we can use it to create the world we want to live in. A magician creates change on one plane of reality by taking psychic action on the corresponding level of consciousness.
The mind’s image-forming faculty creates the astral matrices that give rise to the physical form. “Seeing is believing” is a common expression that conveys a profound magical truth! The better you paint a picture of what you want in your head, the faster this picture will manifest itself in the outside world. Therefore, to be a great magician, you must become a great visualizer.
You can improve your visualization skills by practicing seeing simple shapes in your mind’s eye. Start with a square or triangle. Look at each side. What color is it? How big is it? Try zooming in and out. Try to hold this image clearly and steadily in your celestial eye for a minute.
Then choose an image that you know well. It could be a landmark, like the Eiffel Tower, or your grandmother’s house. Practice seeing it in your mind in explicit detail. Fill the image with any color and texture. Try to keep the whole picture in mind for a minute without losing it.
These exercises will help you with creative visualization practices. When you can see what you want in your mind’s eye, in as vivid detail as if it were actually in front of you, it will soon happen. shall be for you!
Dedication: activating the emotional capacity
The Magician may not be dominated by the tides of emotion, but that does not mean that emotion is excluded from magic. On the contrary: a prayer that is not deeply felt has no effect at all. An affirmation must touch the heart if it is to have any manifestation power.
So magicians cultivate a very subtle emotional sensitivity, taking note of those things, situations, people or environments that have a major impact. The magician builds a ceremony from colors that delight, music that uplifts, poetry that enchants, and people with whom there is a natural sympathetic resonance.
The seas only these are included because the state of being they induce in the Magician indeed makes the ritual effective. A magician may have the most advanced knowledge of signs, symbols, planetary correspondences and metaphysical laws, but without the strengthening power of true devotion the actions will be sterile.
Through this training a person aligns the mind, mind, and heart, and through the union of this trinity he gains control over the forces that shape his destiny.
