I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net
I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net
I. VAMA MARGA Foundations Of The Left-Hand Path - staticfly.net
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abstract symbolism of words. One particular combination of words can<br />
literally open infinite doors of opportunity for the speaker, while the same<br />
exact words uttered in another situation might guarantee that the speaker is<br />
murdered.<br />
What is true in an exoteric sense, is confirmed in esoteric teachings<br />
from all quarters of the world. As we have seen, the Tantric left-hand. path<br />
teaching maintains that the universe can be controlled through a precise<br />
magical technology of sound manipulation related to words uttered by the<br />
gods to create the worlds, the science of mantra. Very similar is the Nordic<br />
lore of the runes, especially the magical and mystery-veiling verbal vibration<br />
said to be released by the proper utterance of the runic staves. <strong>The</strong> Biblical<br />
Book <strong>Of</strong> John, plagiarizing a much older Mesopotamian text, famously states<br />
that "In the beginning was the Word" or Logos. <strong>The</strong> Memphite <strong>The</strong>ology of<br />
ancient Egypt also contends that the creation of the world was implemented<br />
by the spoken word of a divine being – the <strong>net</strong>er Ptah. <strong>The</strong> left-hand path<br />
magician recreates the universe in part by taking on the god-like role of<br />
uttering the hidden words of power.<br />
Despite this overwhelming and universal importance of words to the<br />
creation and ordering of reality, the majority of humans misuse these<br />
potentially sorcerous tools with exasperating inexactitude, creating realities<br />
for themselves that are profoundly disordered and chaotic, because they<br />
literally don't know what they're saying. <strong>The</strong>refore, the magician is well<br />
advised to become proficient at the application of words to the manipulation<br />
of reality. Not all magical skills are learnable; this one is. Many a magician<br />
will protest that they don't need words to perform their magic. This is very<br />
147<br />
often true, and obviously in the ecstatic and physical techniques of erotic<br />
magic, words are often superfluous and even irrelevant to the objective.<br />
Nevertheless, magic is essentially the art of communicating to different levels<br />
of reality, and the honing of word structure and meaning is a key ingredient<br />
in all communication, even (paradoxically) non-verbal methods.<br />
So that this directory is as clear as possible, our first order of<br />
business is to define the basic terms we will use, especially those expressions<br />
that most easily give rise to confusion. <strong>The</strong> vocabulary of Western magic is<br />
almost entirely handed down to us from the world of Graeco-Roman<br />
antiquity, a cultural matrix imbued from top to bottom with an unambiguous<br />
acceptance of the value of the magical art that contemporary Western culture<br />
can in no way approximate. Many of the cognitive dilemmas inherent in selfdescribed<br />
magicians of this era making use of the inherited terminology of<br />
long-dead cultures can be clarified by a more precise understanding of the<br />
actual etymological roots of these words.<br />
Furthermore, the recognition of the fact that words carry very<br />
specific powers and associations has long been a basic core principle of<br />
magical practice. Like both the poet and the engineer, the magician strives to<br />
discover just the correct word, understanding that nomen est omen (name is<br />
power). What one calls something or somebody can actually change that<br />
object, quality or person in subtle but significant ways. As Julius Evola<br />
remarked in his Men Among <strong>The</strong> Ruins, "every word has its soul". Our<br />
dissection of the magical vocabulary is carried out in this spirit. Contrary to<br />
the academic's dry and rational analysis, our quest is for the hidden soul, the<br />
animating daemon concealed in these words. <strong>The</strong> left-hand path magician<br />
deliberately seeks to break with the general pattern of the mass mind as<br />
demonstrated in any particular time and place. in the general atmosphere of<br />
illiteracy bred by an increasingly audio-visual culture, what could be more<br />
arcane than developing your knowledge of words?<br />
Magic<br />
Inasmuch as this work is directed to the practicing magician, it behooves us<br />
to dig into the foundation of the original meaning of magic itself. "Magic"