THE ASTRAL PLANE, THE BODY OF LIGHT and TRAVELING in THE ASTRAL WORLD

THE ASTRAL PLANE, THE BODY OF LIGHT and TRAVELING in THE ASTRAL WORLD

Issued by the Order of the Thelemic Golden Dawn
(Order of the T\G\D\)

By David Cherubim (Frater Aurora Aureae)

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

It is a common belief among members of the Golden Dawn -- and among the occult population at large -- that there exists beyond the physical world another world of a more subtle nature, often termed the Astral Plane, and that also in the physical body there exists a more subtle body of approximately the same size and shape as the physical, often termed the Astral Body or Body of Light.. However, as common as these beliefs may be they are rarely proven to be true by way of scientific experimentation, and as such they are of no practical worth. Belief without experience is of no practical use to the student of Magick. In point of fact, the student should believe nothing of which s/he does not understand by way of direct experience; and even after obtaining any experience the student should in no manner become convinced thereby, losing him/herself in the awful abyss of belief which is the annihilation of intelligence. Belief is the enemy of intelligence, the latter being the fruit of experience or the child of knowledge.

If the student of Magick is to advance in the appropriate manner s/he cannot indulge in any form of belief, especially without an experiential understanding of the object of his/her belief. Factor X, the Great Unknown, should always come into play no matter how much you believe yourself to be in possession of the full knowledge of a thing. Scientific progress of any kind is founded on this great principle. True knowledge is the fruit of using this great principle in acts of experimentation. The more we know of anything, the more we should realize the limitations of our knowledge, doubting our current data to make infinite our research. Factor X is a vehicle through which knowledge becomes eternal, revealing the infinite possibilities of the object of our research.

As any person possessing normal intelligence should know, genuine knowledge is not obtained by what you read or hear; for it is an experiential reality derived from the direct observation of or participation in a particular activity or event. To obtain genuine knowledge concerning any branch of Occult Science you must first experiment with its prescribed methods. To have knowledge of the Astral Plane and Astral Body demands experimental work from the student; and such work, be it of a practical kind, will be of an unlimited nature. There is no end to the development of the knowledge of any branch of Occult Science. In fact the goal of all such knowledge is infinite in kind, being perpetual in itself.

The knowledge of the Astral Plane and of the Astral Body, though possessing great variety, is nevertheless bound to the single operation of the Great Work. All occult knowledge of any practical kind is consecrated to the Great Work, which, from the current perspective, is the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. The student of Magick is to learn the nature and laws of the so-called Astral Plane and of his/her Body of Light as a means of eventually rising beyond the Astral, through direct experience, and attaining that which lies beyond that point in consciousness. What lies beyond the Astral is the Solar (or Mental) Plane wherein one attains sublime knowledge and communication with one’s Holy Guardian Angel or Solar Self.

The Astral World is only one aspect of the Universe, and there are greater Worlds beyond it. It must be passed through if the student of Magick is to attain the goal of the Adepti, and this can only be done through direct experience of that World by traveling therein with a Body suitable to its peculiar nature. Such is one of the fundamental reasons for the formulation of the Astral Body. With this Body of Light the student comes into direct contact with the innumerable phenomena that exist in the Astral World and that are vital parts of the inner workings of the mind of the student. By traveling in the Astral World you make contact with and obtain knowledge of various astral principles which are part of the constitution of the Psyche. This knowledge is not only useful as a means of developing conscious awareness of the deeper elements of existence, but also as a means of learning to creatively manipulate the subtle activities of those elements in accordance with the proper motion of the True Will of one’s Holy Guardian Angel.

In this lesson the student will discover various theories about the Astral World and Astral Body, including the practical methods for formulating and projecting the latter into the former. At the end of this lesson the student will find a ritual which is particularly designed for projecting the Astral Body in the use of what are technically called "Path Workings." A Path Working is a method of traveling in your Body of Light to one of the twenty-two Paths on the Qabalistic Tree of Life contained in the Astral World. Such is called the Yetziratic Tree of Life, and by traveling the Paths of this Tree we are able to obtain a Universal Knowledge.

PART I
THE ASTRAL PLANE AND
THE GREAT MAGICAL AGENT

The Astral Plane -- called Kama-Loka (World of Desire) in Eastern Philosophy and the Plane of Yetzirah or World of Formation in Qabalistic Philosophy -- is a four-dimensional plane composed of a luminous etheric substance called the Astral Light. It is not the plane of imagination as is so often asserted by those who are inexperienced in this field, but rather is the faculty of imagination a door to this formative world, a passage-way to its mystery. This world is, in theory, the so-called plane of dreams to which we travel in our sleep; and it is also the so-called plane of the dead to which we travel when we physically die. But if we pass on to higher planes we leave this Astral World, severing our connection with our Astral Body, leaving it behind like an empty shell to inevitably decompose.

The word Astral comes from the Latin word for stars, referring to the starry or illumined nature of the Astral Plane. A star is a symbol of Light, which is a metaphor for the primary substance of which the Astral Plane is composed. All other elements, which exist therein, are only modifications of this single substance of Light. In this Astral Light are all physical phenomena contained in their formative astral state of being, and it is from this Light that manifestation is made possible on earth; for it is the link between spirit and matter, and it is the subtle transmitter on earth of the influences derived from the higher worlds.. It is through this Light that we are brought into direct contact with the Higher Forces of Nature and the Universe. For this Astral or Yesodian Light is the reflection of the Light of the Sun of Tiphareth; and be it well noted that the Light of the Sun of Tiphareth is but the reflection of the Light of the Hidden Sun of Kether.

The Astral World contains within itself two aspects, one higher and the other lower in nature. We must not assume this to be an actual fact of the nature of the Astral World since experience, I venture to say, may prove otherwise. Rather shall we find it more practical to adopt this dualistic concept for purposes of research, that is, for developing direct knowledge about the nature of the Astral Plane. This Plane of Light is one, of course; but it appears in the form of two, and these two planes are capable of being subdivided. There are, in fact, many different planes in the Astral, but they can be categorized into two specific types, being of the lower or higher substrata of the Astral Plane. These two substrata may be described as being angelic and demonic in kind. Angelic we shall define as "that which is orderly in nature". Demonic we shall define as "that which is chaotic in nature." There are many angelic and demonic beings living in the Astral World, both of which are expressions of the nature of the Astral Light.

These Angelic and Demonic forms live and breathe in their own astral "heaven or hell," which two terms have come to be commonly used for the two substrata, as appellations for order and chaos in the Astral World. However, such terms as these have taken on a rather distasteful color due to Christian dogma and are therefore too limited in their scope. Therefore we shall use instead the terms "Amenti and Tuat," the Upper and Under Worlds of Egyptian Mythology. Amenti is divine and solar in nature; Tuat is gross and lunar in nature. From the point of view of Qabalistic Philosophy, Tuat and its demonic influences correspond with the Nephesch or Animal Soul, whereas Amenti and its angelic influences correspond with the Ruach or Mental Soul.

In terms of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, the Lower Astral can be symbolized by the Sephira called Yesod and the Higher Astral can be symbolized by the Sephira called Tiphareth. Yesod is the Sphere of the Moon, which is said to rule the Lower Astral; Tiphareth is the Sphere of the Sun, which is said to rule the Higher Astral. The Moon is an occult symbol of the feminine earthly principle (Yin), whereas the Sun is an occult symbol of the masculine heavenly principle (Yang). This gives us a clue into the nature of the higher and lower planes of the Astral, one being active and the other passive, one being full of life and energy and the other being a place of death and passivity.

The Astral World is the substratum of physical existence, its underlying support or substructure, and the matrix of its various manifestations. From the point of view of that which is beyond the Astral, this so-called plane is an illusion, and one to be transcended in the Higher Visions. But to properly transcend this plane demands passing through it, learning its laws and the elements which make up its nature in both its lower and higher aspects. It cannot be ignored if the student is to advance to the higher planes; for it is the foundation of the Tree of Attainment.

From the point of view of the Material Plane, the Astral Plane has a water-like or mirror image effect. For it reflects the images from the Physical Plane in reverse order, so that the right eye of your physical body appears as the left eye of your Astral Body, and so on. Of course it is really the opposite of this, with the physical existing in reverse order, being a dense reflection of the Astral. But then again, from the point of view of the Mental Plane, the forms in the Astral are inverted or upside down reflections of principles existing on a higher level. It will greatly benefit the student to invest a good deal of time in meditating on these occult ideas. For it will greatly enrich his/her understanding of the nature of the Astral Plane. However, it should be noted that the word plane can be misleading, causing the unfamiliar student to imagine the planes as existing one above the other, when in fact the planes interpenetrate and coexist with one another. This also will require much meditation to understand.

It is also necessary for the student to grasp the Qabalistic concept of the Four Worlds. It is not only essential for the student to comprehend each world separately, but also the relations that exist between these four so-called worlds. These four worlds are the following:

1. Olahm Ha-Atziluth (World of Emanations. It is also called the Archetypal World).

2. Olahm Ha-Briah (World of Creation. It is also called Khorsia, the Throne).

3. Olahm Ha-Yetzirah (World of Formation. It is also called the World of Angels).

4. Olahm Ha-Assiah (Material World. It is also called Olahm Ha-Qliphoth, the World of Shells).

Atziluth

is the World of Emanations and corresponds with the element of Fire and the letter Yod of the Tetragrammaton; Briah is the World of Archangels and corresponds with the element of Water and the letter Heh of the Tetragrammaton; Yetzirah is the World of Angels and corresponds with the element of Air and the letter Vav of the Tetragrammaton; Assiah is the World of Action and corresponds with the element of Earth and the final Heh of the Tetragrammaton. These may also be termed the Spiritual World, the Mental World, the Astral World, and the Material World.

On the Qabalistic Tree of Life, these Four Worlds correspond with the four Sephiroth of the Middle Pillar. Thus Kether is the Spiritual World, Tiphareth is the Mental World, Yesod is the Astral World, and Malkuth is the Physical World. On the other hand, we can also say that Netzach (Fire) corresponds with the Spiritual World, Hod (Water) corresponds with the Mental World, Yesod (Air) corresponds with the Astral World, and Malkuth (Earth) corresponds with the Physical World. These Sephiroth do not actually symbolize the Four Worlds, but they do pertain to the actual principles that govern them.. Thus do they indicate in themselves -- and by their arrangement on the Tree -- the nature and order of the Four Worlds.

The Spiritual World is the highest, being the purest in nature or the primordial cause, whereas the three worlds which emanate from it are less divine in nature and are in fact reflections, on a descending scale, of the first world. Thus the Astral World is a reflection of the worlds above it, but it also partakes of the elements of the Physical World. The Astral World contains within itself the reflections of all things, from above and below, in the form of astral figures or objects; and, be it well noted by the student, it is the Formative World of Angels who assist in the formation and ordering of the Material World. It is these Angels who we often encounter in Astral Journeys, and who guide us in our travels in the Astral Body.

As mentioned before, the substance of the Astral Plane is Light. It is the Astral Light of which we find great discourse in the books by the famous 19th Century French Magus Eliphas Levi, who also called it the Great Magical Agent. Concerning this Great Agent of Light, let us take careful note of the following informative words written by Eliphas Levi: "The Great Magical Agent, by us termed the Astral Light, by others the soul of earth, and designated by old chemists under the names AZOTH and MAGNESIA, this occult, unique and indubitable force, is the key of all empire, the secret of all power. It is the winged dragon of Medea, the serpent of the Edenic Mystery; it is the universal glass of visions, the bond of sympathies, the source of love, prophecy and glory. To know how to make use of this Agent is to be the trustee of God’s own power; all real, effective Magic, all occult force is there, and its demonstration is the sole end of all genuine books of science. To have control of the Great Magical Agent there are two operations necessary -- to concentrate and project, or, in other words, to fix and to move. Fixity has been provided as the basis and guarantee of movement by the Author of all things: the Magus must go to work in like manner."

This Great Agent of Light -- also called the Soul of the World (Anima Mundi), Luminiferous Ether, Magnetized Electricity, and the Imagination of Nature -- is the Fluidic and Living Gold of Alchemical Philosophy. It is divine and natural, spiritual and material, celestial and terrestrial. It is substance and motion, an ambient and all-permeating fluid and an omnipresent mysterious force in Nature. It is an electro-magnetic- fluidic-essence, which penetrates and pervades every visible form in Nature. This Magical Agent is a universal-plastic- malleable- substance, called by Eliphas Levi "the Plastic Mediator", and it receives and preserves the impressions of all things, the vibrations of all modes of motion and the images of every form. As such, it is the Memory of Nature. All human thought and action impresses itself on this Universal Agent, producing corresponding astral forms that take on a life of their own. These forms can be constructive or destructive, useful or useless, depending on the power of their human source and the degree of their emphasis in the mind.

The subtle particles of this so-called electro-magnetic field of light vibrate at a much higher rate of motion than the particles of the physical plane. This makes the astral forms of this invisible agent imperceptible to our human senses. It is not that such astral forms are really imperceptible to us; it is rather the case that our physical senses simply are unable to grasp them based on the low vibration of the elemental activity of these gross senses in the human body. As shall be expounded later, we can definitely perceive these astral forms, not with the gross physical senses, but with the so-called astral senses which are the peculiar possession of your Astral Body of Light.

It is by way of the Great Magical Agent that all things in the universe are linked with each other. In this Light no man or woman is an island, being that they are connected to all other things through the medium of this Astral Light. It is therefore through this Agent that one is able to influence another, whether such be in the form of a blessing or a curse; for it is the transmitter of thought and feeling between one mind and another; and through it one man can impose his will on another. In common humanity, this Agent influences men and women unconsciously, for better or for worse. The student must become conscious of the subtle activities and influences of this Agent on human behavior that s/he may be able to rise above these influences, becoming their master and not the slave of their unconscious effects.

The Great Magical Agent is symbolized by the Occult Serpent, which is a representation of the phallic or reproductive force in Nature. This force can manifest as Active, Passive or Equilibrated. This theory is embraced in the Hermetic Symbol of the Caduceus. In this symbol there are two Serpents, one active and the other passive; and in the center, at the summit of the Caduceus, shines a Golden Globe of Equilibrated Light. These are the Qabalistic Forces of OD, OB and AOUR. OD (AVD) is the special Fire of the Sacred Magick of Light, Life, and Love. OB (AVB) is the special Fire of Black Magic. AOUR (AVR) is the Balanced Light of Open Day, the divine product of the balanced interplay of OD and OB, or Light and Darkness. To attain this Great Equilibrium is to liberate yourself from the constricting folds of the Astral Serpent.

The student must learn to sublimate and direct this Serpent Force by means of his/her Nervous System to make it a fit instrument for his/her Will to accomplish the Great Work. According to Eliphas Levi, "The Great Work is, before all things, the creation of man by himself, that is to say, the full and entire conquest of his faculties and his future; it is especially the perfect emancipation of his will, assuring him universal dominion over Azoth and the domain of Magnesia, in other words, full power over the Universal Magical Agent. This Agent, disguised by the ancient philosophers under the name of the First Matter, determines the forms of modifiable substance, and we can really arrive by means of it at metallic transmutation and the Universal Medicine. This is not a hypothesis; it is a scientific fact already established and rigorously demonstrable." Azoth is the essence of the Astral Plane, and it is the Great Arcanum of Magical Philosophy which Eliphas Levi sought to depict in his drawing of the androgynous figure of Baphomet, the Mysterious God of the Ancient Templars who is like unto Pan, the Male-Female Quintessential One. Levi wrote, "God, for us, is the AZOTH of the Sages, the efficient and final principle of the Great Work." In Alchemical terminology, it is the First Matter of the Great Work of which Levi wrote, "The Gnostics represented it as the fiery body of the Holy Spirit; it was the object of adoration in the Secret Rites of the Sabbath and the Temple, under the hieroglyphic figure of Baphomet or the Androgyne of Mendes."

PART II
THE FORMULATION OF
THE BODY OF LIGHT AND
TRAVELING IN THE ASTRAL PLANE

The Astral Body -- also called the Astrosome, Astral Double, Magical Body, Sidereal Body, Fine Body, Body of Fire or the Body of Desire (Kama-Rupa) -- is, to all practical intents and purposes, an artificial body used by the Magician as a means to project his/her consciousness beyond the Physical Plane into the Astral Plane. It is a body of illusion of which the gross physical body is said to be a replica on earth. Between these two bodies there is a connecting link, often termed in occult literature the "silver cord." This so-called cord may become astrally visible to the student in his work. This cord is what maintains the connection between the physical and astral bodies when the consciousness of the student is traveling about in the Astral World. If this cord were somehow severed during an Astral Journey, the student would be unable to return to his physical body, and would become as a lost phantom roaming about hopelessly in the Astral. The physical body of the student would then be open for possession from an astral entity that is earth-bound. This, note it well, spells the word DANGER. Thus the link between your two bodies must be made strong, incapable of being destroyed.

As the student will discover through his/her own experience, the Astral Body possesses its own senses, which are peculiar to its own nature. These are the ‘astral senses' that play such a vital role in Astral Journeys by which we experience our visions. The development of these ‘astral senses’ is also an essential part of the training and education of the Body of Light. The student must learn how to use these senses on the Astral Plane. This can be achieved through such simple techniques as learning to hear the sound of a bell without the presence of a physical one; learning to see an object, such as a person, with eyes closed; learning to smell an object, such as a rose, without the presence of a physical rose; learning to touch an object, such as a hand, without the presence of an actual hand; and learning to taste an object, such as an orange, without eating an actual orange.

Concerning the Body of Light, let us carefully note and diligently contemplate the following important statement made by The Master Therion (Aleister Crowley): "The essence of the technique of Magick is the development of the Body of Light, which must be extended to include all members of the organism, and indeed of the cosmos." The Master Therion also informs us, "One must develop one’s Body of Light until it is just as real to you as your other body. You must teach it to travel to any desired symbol, and enable it to perform all necessary Rites and Invocations. In other terms, one must educate it. Ultimately the relationship between both bodies should be exceedingly intimate. But first one must carefully differentiate between the two."

Such is the foundation of the Magick of Light; it is the basis of true advancement, the groundwork of authentic progress; it constitutes the first real step on the Ladder of Attainment. If any real magical progress is to be made by the student, s/he must make every effort to execute this work under the guidance of the Lamp of Science, exercising active indifference, not being disheartened by failure or too encouraged by success. Eventually you must be capable of traveling everywhere and doing everything in your Body of Light; it should become as equally important to you as your physical body, as an indispensable part of you.

Now this Astral Body can perform a number of tasks which are impossible to the physical body, such as being able to fly, or to pass through matter, or to travel freely in every direction through space, or to occupy the same space at the same time with another astral object, or to instantly change its appearance into another form without actually modifying its own nature. Of course it also has its limitations; for it is bound to the laws of its own plane. But such limitations, as with any other plane, are required boundary lines, confining and directing astral phenomena to move in accordance with the laws of their particular sphere of operation, just as with an automobile road which confines and directs a vehicle to travel to its destined place, or like the horizontal lines on school paper which confine and direct our place of writing with the intent that we may write straight and neat.

The Body of Light, particularly in its earliest stages of development, must be constantly purified, consecrated, exalted and fortified through its proper use in Rituals of Invocation and in the effective performance of Ceremonies, particularly Ceremonies of Initiation. It may also be fortified through the magical practice of assuming God-forms and also by the proper use of the Holy Eucharist. This Body of Light must be constantly educated by way of direct experience, by its practical application in the performance of various magical tasks, and by its learning to travel freely on all planes.

The assumption of God-forms is an especially potent practice that can assist the student in the process of educating and fortifying the Body of Light. It is with the Body of Light that you actually assume a God-form. A God-form is a representation on the Astral of a particular Force of Nature, which the Magician is seeking to invoke or meditate upon. In this work the Astral Body is literally transformed into the Body of the God or the God-form. The Magician can assume this God-form in his Body of Light, and perform therewith Ceremonies of Invocation to the particular Force of Nature, which the God-form is intended to represent in symbolic form. The God-form is the astral medium through which a particular Force of Nature is able to descend into the consciousness of the Magician. Its assumption in the Body of Light serves to exalt this body and extend its dominion on the Astral.

The Middle Pillar Exercise and the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram are, in themselves, Magical techniques which can assist you in the process of formulating the Light of the Astral Plane, and thus in the fortification of your Body of Light. As simple as these two basic Rituals may seem on the surface of things, they are actually highly complex rituals that produce various types of magical effects of a most constructive kind in the psyche of the student. They not only help to formulate the Astral Light in the Aura of the student, but they also help to make the student more receptive to the living nature and powers of his/her Body of Light which is, to all intents and purposes, the Magical Body of the student.

As the student advances in this work, it will become crucial to his/her progress that s/he create in the Astral his/her own Astral Temple, constructing it according to specific magical principles, placing therein astral objects of a significant magical nature. It is in such a Temple -- "a Temple not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" -- that the Magician can perform his/her astral rituals and invocations. This Temple, though demanding visual construction in the mind of the student, is nevertheless an invisible reality which is eternal in the heart. To visually construct this Temple in your mind through the function of your imagination is, in point of fact, a method for attuning your mind to that which is already a living reality in your Heart of Hearts. The physical Temple is but a replica of this Astral Temple, and therefore how vital it is that the latter be constructed according to the proper magical formulae! This last statement contains an inner meaning which the student should discover by meditation.

The Astral Temple is not only useful for the performance of rituals and invocations in your Body of Light, but also for the purpose of obtaining visions therein. Later in this lesson you will find a ritual in which you obtain your vision in the Astral Temple. One of the benefits of performing your magical work in your Astral Temple is that you are free of intrusion from other beings that are inimical to your work. Of course this can only apply to a Temple that is strong or fully established on the Astral; a weak Temple is more of an invitation to other beings to intrude upon your work, and the results of such a condition seem truly horrifying!

The most important use of the Body of Light, as with all else, is to inevitably attain the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. As stated above, the student of Magick must learn the nature and laws of the so-called Astral Plane and of his/her Body of Light as a means of eventually rising beyond the Astral, to attain that which is said to be beyond that point in consciousness. That which is beyond the Astral is the Solar Plane of Spiritual Consciousness wherein the Adept attains communion with his Holy Guardian Angel. It is only through the development of the Body of Light that this subtle communion with one’s Holy Angel can be attained, for it is through the Body of Light that the Supreme Illumination is reflected in the consciousness of man.

Ultimately, developing the Body of Light is the act of creating a proper vehicle through which the Holy Guardian Angel or True Self, once attained in the consciousness of the Adept, can express its brilliance. The student can in no manner attain the Knowledge and Conversation of his/her Holy Guardian Angel without first having a suitable vehicle on the Astral through which it can work its True Will. The student may have glimpses of his True Self, and may even hear direct communications from that Self in the form of intuitive thought, but such glimpses can in no manner be classified under the heading of true attainment, such being temporary conditions of the mind. The Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel is in no manner a temporary condition, but rather is it a perpetual event in the mind of the Adept of Magick. Without a suitable Body of Light, or Astral Vehicle of Consciousness, this perpetual form of divine realization is an impossible attainment.

To begin with, the student, who should be seated in the god posture in a properly consecrated magical circle in his/her physical Temple, must formulate his/her Body of Light in his/her imagination to the extent that s/he perceives it as being just as real as the physical body. The first step to this process is to visualize and perceive in the imagination your Body of Light as if it were coinciding in space with your physical body. There should be no question of belief or disbelief as to the validity of the existence of this Astral Body; it is, of course, an illusion, just like the physical body; but it is much closer to the heart of truth than the illusion of matter. The student must perform this experiment, applying the scientific principle of indifference or an attitude of detachment, wasting no breath in belief or disbelief. It is simply a matter of experimentation, of putting to the test what is merely a hypothesis to start with.

Once the first step is achieved, and the image of your Astral Body is a living phenomenon in the field of your mind, the next step is to project the image your Body of Light outside of your physical body and to see it stand in front of you. This image must resemble your physical body, but from an astral point of view. This may be an extremely difficult operation to some at first, but continuous practice will bring the student to the inevitable point where s/he unexpectedly one day succeeds in this operation even in the face of bitter doubt. It all depends on the power of Dharana or concentration. The student must know how to sufficiently concentrate on a single object if any valid work of this sort is to be achieved. Concentration is one of the chief ingredients of the Great Work. The first real basic task of the student of Magick is in the development of the power of concentration. It is the attempt to restrain the mind to a single object of thought. It is the bringing together of all mental forces and attempting to focus those forces on a single point. (Note: The student should consult Aleister Crowley’s "Liber E vel Exercitiorum", section V, for further instructions on Dharana. See Equinox, Vol. I, No. 1, by Aleister Crowley.)

Once this Body of Light is standing in front of you as an image of yourself in the Astral, you must then attempt the even more difficult task of transferring your consciousness to it, shutting your physical eyes in the process. When this transference is complete, and you are fixed in the consciousness of your Body of Light, you should begin to perceive with your astral eyes the astral images of the physical objects in your Temple. It is a good practice in this respect to examine the objects, which are directly behind you, and to confirm the same when you return to normal consciousness. Keep in mind that there is no material object that does not have its corresponding astral object. The student does not need to be a skilled clairvoyant to perceive these objects; s/he only needs to sufficiently transfer his/her consciousness to the Astral Body to perceive them with his/her astral eyes.

After a thorough examination of the astral objects in your Temple, begin to rise straight upwards to a great height above the earth. The student may perceive various images as s/he rises. The student should take a careful mental note of these images, but should in no manner become fixed on them, losing awareness of the goal. The student must fix his/her attention on reaching to a definite place, not being distracted by the images that appear on his/her way. Once you are at a great height above the earth, stop and look around you. You may see figures approaching you or a landscape of some sort. With such figures you may communicate and seek their guidance. Then shall you perform in your Body of Light any special invocation that pertains to the particular place you wish to visit in the Astral, to cause such a place to appear before you with its corresponding figures and symbols.

At first the student may become alarmed by some of the figures s/he will encounter in the Astral and s/he may desire to immediately return to normal consciousness. This, however, is a sign of weakness and such a desire, no matter how gruesome a being s/he may encounter, must be surmounted by the Will to persevere. Aleister Crowley informs the student that "It is essential that he remain the master of all that he beholds, hears or conceives; otherwise he will be the slave of illusion and the prey of madness." Also he informs the student, "Let him beware of the thousand subtle attacks and deceptions that he will experience, carefully testing the truth of all with whom he speaks."

Once you have obtained your astral vision, it is then necessary that you return to the earth, bringing back your Body of Light to coincide in space with your physical body. You must then assume the God-form of Harpocrates and vibrate His Name to help you recover unity of consciousness, ending all in the Sign of Silence. After this it is an appropriate idea to knock loudly on your Altar, or to clap your hands, or to perform some act of Will to help bring your awareness back to the earth and then, and very importantly, must you tackle your Magical Diary and accurately record therein the experience of your astral vision.

After accurately recording your vision, you must then analyze it with the intent to discover whether or not its symbols correspond with the conventional symbols associated with its sphere of action. Such is called "the testing of the spirits." For instance, if you traveled to the sphere of Jupiter and saw a unicorn in your vision, you would know that your vision was on target, since the unicorn pertains to Jupiter; whereas if you saw an elephant, your vision would be off target since the elephant pertains to the Moon. (Consult the Table of Correspondences in Aleister Crowley’s "Liber 777" or in Appendix V of his book "Magick in Theory and Practice.")

Concerning the above, Aleister Crowley made the following comment: "This testing of the spirits is the most important branch of the whole tree of Magick. Without it, one is lost in the jungle of delusion. Every spirit, up to God himself, is ready to deceive you if possible, to make himself out more important than he is; in short, to lay in wait for your soul in 333 separate ways.. Remember that after all the highest of the Gods is only the Magus, Mayan, the greatest of all the devils."

After performing the above operation a number of successful times, you should find yourself able to transfer your consciousness at will to your Body of Light and thence back to your physical body. It should become second nature to you. Once this is attained, and it has become a basic part of the constitution of your magical personality, you must nevertheless fortify this Body of Light constantly by using and exercising it as much as possible, particularly with regard to ceremonial invocations, and this oftentimes while the physical body remains silent and motionless.

Now that you understand the technical methods for formulating and projecting your Astral Body, you may now consider the various ways in which you might want to employ it. But it’s principal function is in the acquisition of new knowledge acquired on the Astral Plane by way of traveling to specific places therein and encountering the symbols and beings therein, and through this knowledge to inevitably attain the Higher Knowledge of your Holy Guardian Angel. There are, of course, higher attainments to be made in the Astral, but it does not serve our current purpose to mention these here. It is only worthy to note this fact since the earnest student, I venture to say, may one day discover the Astral World to possess infinite experience and unlimited knowledge.

The Body of Light can and should be used by the student to perform Rituals on the Astral, particularly Rituals dedicated to the invocation of the Holy Guardian Angel. For it is from the Body of Light that the Magician rises into the consciousness of his Angel and attains Holy Union with Him. The student cannot expect to attain such union in a purely human state of consciousness; such is an impossible task. Consciousness must first be transferred to the Astral Body before it can be raised from the illusions of matter and united with the Solar Self.

It is the blending of the Astral Body with the Solar Self that establishes the attainment of the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel. Think of your Body of Light as being Lunar (Yesodian) in nature, whereas your Angel is Solar (Tipharethian) in nature. In Alchemical Philosophy, it is the Union of Sol and Luna, which constitutes the Great Work. The Path of Consciousness, which permits this Union, is the 25th Path of Samekh on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, which connects the two Sephiroth called Yesod and Tiphareth. It is through this Path that the Magician unites his/her Astral and Solar Bodies. Proper meditation on Atu XIV of Tarot, called "Art" or "Temperance", which corresponds with the 25th Path of Samekh, will greatly assist the student in comprehending the formula of this Path and its function as the connecting link between the Astral and Solar Planes.

Once the Body of Light is developed, it can be used by the Magician to protect him/herself against hostile forces of an astral nature, by performing therewith the Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or any other form of ritualistic banishing, and also when s/he assumes therewith the God-form of Harpocrates, giving the Sign of Protection. But the Astral Body, in and of itself, literally works as a Circle of Protection, formulating in the Aura of the Magician a reflection of the Divine Light. It wards off hostile forces by the very nature of its presence. There is no possibility of any hostile astral force breaking through the Aura of a Magician who has fully developed his/her Body of Light. It acts as a mighty shield against all astral forces that are inimical to the development of the Magician.

The Body of Light can also be used to make contact with another on the Astral Plane, and this may result in the other actually perceiving your presence and hearing any words you might utter in your Body of Light. For be it remembered by the student that the substance of the Astral Plane is the link between all men and women of the earth. As the student advances in the development of his/her Body of Light, such contact with another will not require the usual techniques employed for traveling in your Astral Body, but may be accomplished with the twinkling of an eye. For the Astral Plane is not bound to the same space-time laws as the physical.. In this plane one can travel from one point to another instantaneously. But for the student to be able to understand this aright, it will demand vast experience in this field of occult training.

An Adept who has taken students under his/her wing often uses his/her Body of Light to communicate with his/her students, to speak with them subconsciously. In the majority of cases the student will not be aware of what is taking place, being ignorant of the astral operation. This is due to the extreme sensitivity of such an operation which, if the student were aware, s/he might interfere with it. It is an operation that requires enormous skill in the use of the Body of Light and in the application of its powers.

PART III
PATH WORKINGS ON THE
YETZIRATIC TREE OF LIFE

One of the most practical applications of the Body of Light is for what are technically called Path Workings. A Path Working is a method of rising in your Body of Light to a chosen place or Path in the Astral Plane. As mentioned before, this Astral Plane is called the World of Yetzirah in Qabalistic Philosophy. In it is contained the Yetziratic Tree of Life. A Path Working is generally done by ascending the Yetziratic Tree of Life in your Astral Body to one of the Paths on the Tree. The Paths are the twenty-two connecting links between the ten Sephiroth or Circular Spheres on the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

The twenty-two Paths of the Tree of Life are linked with the twenty-two Hebrew letters and the twenty-two Major Arcana of Tarot (Atu of Thoth). The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac pertain to twelve of the Paths on the Tree. The Planets which rule these Signs also pertain to certain Paths on the Tree. This means that the Paths represent the Zodiacal and Planetary Forces on the Tree of Life which are also linked with the Atu of Thoth. The symbolism of the Atu of Thoth, like the symbolism of the Paths and their arrangement on the Tree of Life, are pictorial representations of the Zodiacal and Planetary Forces of the Universe, and can be used as doors to experience visions related to these forces. The twenty-two Hebrew letters, which are related to the Paths, can be used as keys to unlock these doors, in a manner that will be given later.

To correctly perform a Path Working it is necessary to know the symbols and meanings of not only the Paths and the Sephiroth of the Qabalistic Tree of Life, but also of the Tarot Atu of Thoth. These Atu are the Major Arcana (Major Secrets) of Tarot, numbered 0-XXI, commencing with the Atu called "The Fool" and ending with the Atu called "The Universe." The student should know these Atu "inside and out".. They should be studied, analyzed, and meditated upon. For they symbolize forces that exist and function in the subconscious mind, which is, of course, a psychological term the Astral World. These forces are microcosmic and subjective, reflecting macrocosmic and objective principles. As keys to the Paths on the Tree of Life, they attune consciousness to the force of the Path, to the inner meaning of which the symbols of the Atu are intended to signify. The student will find it a worthwhile task to work with the Atu and Paths in the order of their arrangement on the Tree of Life, following the course of the Hermetic Serpent. In this case you would start with the Serpent’s Tail at the place of Atu XXI and of the Path of Tav on the bottom of the Tree, and you would end at the Serpent’s Head at the place of Atu 0 and of the Path of Aleph at the top of the Tree.

The Way of the Serpent on the Tree embraces within its coils the twenty-two Paths. Such is called the Way of Initiation. The twenty-two Paths represent the various modes of this Serpent Force, which is the Great Magical Agent. In the Eastern Science of Yoga this Serpent Force is called the Kundalini, a sexual or reproductive force existent in every WoMan. It is this "Phallic Force" which is the substance of the Astral Plane and which is used to formulate the Astral Body. The twenty-two Atu of Thoth which this Serpent Force embraces in its coils, and which represent the nature of the Astral Light, can attune consciousness to the Astral Plane.

For operational Path Workings, the Atu of Thoth are used as doors to enter a Path on the Yetziratic Tree of Life. The Atu are linked subconsciously with the Twelve Astrological Signs, the Sun, Moon and Planets; and the symbolism of the Atu can be used by the student as a direct means to attune his astral consciousness to the Twelve Zodiacal Signs and their Ruling Planets, to obtain a vision of their nature and to develop a greater understanding of their relationship to himself as a Unity thereof.

Now if you wanted to perform a Path Working for the Path of Tav, you would use the Atu of Thoth called "The Universe" as a door through which to travel in your Body of Light to that Path on the Yetziratic Tree of Life. Or if you wanted to travel to the Path of Aleph, you would use the Atu of Thoth called "The Fool" as a door through which to travel in your Body of Light to that Path on the Yetziratic Tree of Life. Below is a list of the twenty-two Paths and their corresponding Atu of Thoth.

PATH	TAROT	ATU
Aleph (11)	Atu 0	The Fool
Beth (12)	Atu I	The Magus
Gimel (13)	Atu II	The Priestess
Daleth (14)	Atu III	The Empress
Heh (15)	Atu XVII	The Star
Vav (16)	Atu V	The Hierophant
Zayin (17)	Atu VI	The Lovers
Cheth (18)	Atu VII	The Chariot
Teth (19)	Atu XI	Lust
Yod (20)	Atu IX	The Hermit
Kaph (21)	Atu X	Fortune
Lamed (22)	Atu XI	Adjustment
Mem (23)	Atu XII	The Hanged Man
Nun (24)	Atu XIII	Death
Samekh (25)	Atu XIV	Art
Ayin (26)	Atu XV	The Devil
Peh (27)	Atu XVI	The Tower
Tzaddi (28)	Atu IV	The Emperor
Qoph (29)	Atu XVIII	The Moon
Resh (30)	Atu XIX	The Sun
Shin (31)	Atu XX	The Aeon
Tav (32)	Atu XXI	The Universe

If it be your Will to perform a Path Working to obtain a vision pertaining to a Planet, you would use the Atu of Thoth that corresponds with the Planet. Thus if it be your Will to obtain a vision of Saturn, you would use the Atu of Thoth called "The Universe" which corresponds with the Planet Saturn. Or if it be your Will to obtain a vision of the Planet Uranus, you would use the Atu of Thoth called "The Fool" which corresponds with the Planet Uranus. All the Planets have their own corresponding Atu of Thoth that can be used for operational Path Workings. Such are the following: (Note: The Sun and Moon are listed below as Planets, though technically the Sun is a Star and the Moon is a Satellite.)

PLANET	TAROT	ATU
Saturn	Atu XXI	The Universe
Luna	Atu II	The Priestess
Mercury	Atu I	The Magus
Venus	Atu III	The Empress
Sol	Atu XIX	The Sun
Mars	Atu XVI	The Tower
Jupiter	Atu X	Fortune
Uranus	Atu 0	The Fool
Pluto	Atu XXI	The Aeon
Neptune	Atu XII	The Hanged Man

The Sun, Moon and Planets are Celestial Forces which influence events on earth through the medium of the Astral Plane. They represent the actual forces of the Universe which initiate, constitute and govern all events in heaven and on earth. The Planets travel through the Signs of the Zodiac, changing the nature of their influences as they do so. These changes naturally affect human conditions through the medium of the Astral Plane. Thus a proper understanding of these Planets and their influences, by way of conscious recognition, is most vital to the development of the student of Magick who is bound to make conscious all those hidden or unconscious influences that affect his/her life.

To travel in your Body of Light to the Planetary Paths on the Yetziratic Tree of Life can help you to develop conscious knowledge about the actual Celestial Forces which express themselves through the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, attuning your awareness to the various subtle ways in which these cosmic forces work through the Astral Plane, invisibly affecting your life and your environment on earth. Once this form of conscious knowledge is obtained, a certain species of transcendence ensues in which you are able to realize, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that you can master the various ways in which these Celestial Forces affect you in and through the Astral Plane, to alter their effects at Will. This, may you note it well, is one of the most important advantages of performing operational Path Workings. It is, in point of fact, one of the essential ingredients of the Holy Eucharist of Magick Power.

If it be your Will to perform a Path Working to obtain a vision pertaining to an Astrological Sign, you would use the Atu of Thoth that corresponds with the Sign. Thus if it be your Will to obtain a vision of Scorpio, you would use the Atu of Thoth called "Death" which corresponds with the Sign of Scorpio. All the Signs have their own corresponding Atu of Thoth that can be used for operational Path Workings. Such are the following:

SIGN	TAROT	ATU
Aries	Atu IV	The Emperor
Taurus	Atu V	The Hierophant
Gemini	Atu VI	The Lovers
Cancer	Atu VII	The Chariot
Leo	Atu XI	Lust
Virgo	Atu IX	The Hermit
Libra	Atu VIII	Adjustment
Scorpio	Atu XIII	Death
Sagittarius	Atu XIV	Art
Capricorn	Atu XV	The Devil
Aquarius	Atu XVII	The Star
Pisces	Atu XVIII	The Moon

The Twelve Zodiacal Signs are the Archetypal Images of our own Celestial Natures, representing our own Universal Identities. Each Sign is a unique Archetypal Center of Expression for the Current of the Universal Will. The Zodiac of Signs is a Circle of Space that surrounds the earth. It is the apparent Path of the Sun called the Ecliptic. In this Circle the Planets travel in their orbits. This Circle is divided into twelve parts called the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac with each part containing 30 degrees of space. Thus the Circle of the Zodiac contains 360 degrees in all. The motion of the earth round the Sun once a year causes the Sun to appear to pass through one of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac each month.

These Twelve Signs are the various aspects of our Universal Self and they comprise the Unity of our being. They are the twelve cosmic modes of solar expression or the Twelve Rays of the Sun of Life. Through these Twelve Rays the Sun expresses and experiences itself as a Unity. These Twelve Zodiacal Rays are what constitute the Unity of our True Self represented by the Sun. This True Self, which we may rightfully call our Multidimensional Self, is a Unity or Synthesis of our various potential selves rather than one unchanging Self. These various potential selves are represented in Astrology by the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. These Twelve Zodiacal Signs comprise what we may rightfully term our Astrological Self which is simply another name for our Universal or Multidimensional Self which is really not a self at all. It will, of course, demand much diligent meditation and experiential knowledge from the student to properly grasp in his/her mind these seemingly paradoxical yet fundamental ideas of the True Self. Yet the fruit of such diligent meditation and practical knowledge is food for the aspirations of the soul, illuminating one’s Path to Wisdom.

Commonly we think of ourselves as only one Sign of the Zodiac when we are, in fact, a Unity of all Twelve Signs; and to focus upon one to the exclusion of the others, as is most often the case, is to neglect yourself as a Unity or synergistic being. The Sun of Unity is only such by way of his being the Many. You are the Sun, a Unit of the Macrocosm. In Thelemic Philosophy, this Sun of Unity is Hadit, a single point concentrating infinite Space. Nuit, his bride, is the Goddess of Infinite Space and the Infinite Stars thereof. Nuit is identifiable with the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, which represent in Astrology the Macrocosm or Universe. The Sun expresses and experiences itself as a Unity through the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac; or, in other terms, Hadit fulfills himself by combining with Nuit for the birth of Ra-Hoor-Khuit who represents, in Thelemic Philosophy, a Unity which includes and heads all things, or a Unity of Unities.

To travel in your Body of Light to the Zodiacal Paths on the Tree of Life can help you to develop knowledge about the various parts or facets of your True Self, those parts of yourself which constitute your Oneness and which are symbolized by the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. The value of this task cannot be over emphasized; it is of vital importance to the student if s/he is to truly attain Union with his/her True Self or Holy Guardian Angel. For in the current paradigm we are using, this Angel is a Unity of the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac and thus S/He cannot be realized without an experiential understanding of those various facets that go to make up Hir Being. From this perspective your Holy Angel has twelve faces; S/He is comprised of twelve distinct parts which make up the whole of Hir Nature. Each part is a distinct reality-tunnel which the student must experience as an entity unto itself, at first without any reference to the other parts, but only to finally synthesize all parts into One Reality-Tunnel which is, paradoxically, multidimensional in nature.

I shall now present to you a ritual for operational Path Workings. The student will do well to first use this ritual for obtaining visions for each Path in the order of their arrangement on the Tree of Life, commencing with the Path of Tav and ending with the Path of Aleph. This can be done several times until the student is familiar with each Path, acquiring a basic knowledge of each. After this, the student can perform at will a Path Working for any one of the Paths depending on the nature of his aspiration or intent at any given time. It should be performed in a consecrated Temple, otherwise in a quiet space consecrated to the work and made free of all possible intrusion. Be it noted well by the student that no astral work should be performed without making sure, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that there is no potential for intrusion. For instance, you do not want your pet dog barking at you while you are communicating with an astral being who, I might add, would not take too well your leaving his presence to tell your dog to shut up! I do not want even begin to describe the gruesome details of such an act. However, it may all be summed up in the word DISASTER!

A RITUAL DESIGNED FOR
OPERATIONAL PATH WORKINGS

1. Thou shalt first perform the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram or the Ritual of the Star Ruby (Liber XXV). In this thou shalt make exceeding sure of the effectiveness of thy banishing and of the soundness of thy Circle.

2. Next, thou shalt compose thyself in the God Posture, and thou shalt completely relax thine every nerve and muscle. (See "Liber E vel Exercitiorum" for a description of the God Posture.)

3. Now shalt thou formulate thy Body of Light, seeing it coincide in space with thy physical body. In this thou must exercise great skill in thy use of concentration, maintaining a keen sense of separation between the two bodies, and not allowing them to be muddled in thy mind.

4. Project thy Body of Light outside of thy physical body, and with thy physical eyes see it stand in front of thee. It should appear unto thee as being just as real as thy physical body, and of the same size and shape.. Its presence should be seen as an exact astral image of thyself. In this thou mayest become alarmed by the presence of such a figure, but this is not unlike a foolish man who sees his own shadow and mistakes it for a ghost, becoming frightened thereby, or like a little silly boy who is frightened by the terrible bogey man of his own infantile making.

5. Now project thy consciousness to this Body of Light, gently and with great industry, shutting thy physical eyes in the process. In this thou shalt make exceeding sure that thy consciousness is separated from thy physical body. It is the separation of the subtle from the dross, or fire from earth. Yet between the two there remains a silver link, maintaining their connection. If this link were to be severed during thy travels, thou wouldst be unable to return to thy physical body, and thou wouldst slowly perish in the flames of the Primal Fire.

6. Now shalt thou begin to travel straight upward in thy Body of Light, seeing thyself rise high above the earth to the secret place of thine Astral Temple located in the Starry Heaven of Nuit. It is in the midst of the glittering stars, in the secret place of Angels who chant mysterious litanies in perfect harmony with the Musick of the Spheres.

7. And when thou hast reached thy Temple in the midst of the glittering stars, and in the secret place of Angels, thou shalt enter therein and take thy stand in its holy centre, in thy place of ultimate power where burns the Great Invisible Primal Flame of the Ageless Stars.

8. Then shalt thou envision before thee a door in the form of one of the Atu of Thoth. In this thou shalt see the Atu in all its colorful splendour, radiating the beauty and magnificence of its images and figures, and illuminating the Temple.

9. In thy Body of Light approach the door which represents the Path thou dost wish to travel, and vibrate the appropriate Hebrew letter of the Path, as if it were a key to open the door in some mysterious way; and with your Body of Light travel freely into the Atu itself, as if thou art instantaneously leaving one plane and entering another, even as if it were a quantum jump from one reality-tunnel to another.

10. Thou shalt now experience the Vision of thy chosen Path, seeing thyself in the plane of the Atu. In this thou mayest assume the image of the figure of the Atu, like the figure of the Hierophant, the Hermit, or the Devil, depending on thy chosen Path. Otherwise thou mayest be thyself, and such figures may come unto thee. Or there may come unto thee Angels, or other astral beings, and with these thou shalt communicate, asking of them what thou wilt. In this thou shalt be prepared to command or banish such beings.

11. And when thou hast attained thy vision, and hast satisfied thine appetite for Knowledge, thou shalt depart in peace from thine Astral Temple, with great reverence and many blessings; and then shalt thou begin to travel downward to the earth, to the place of thy physical Temple.

12. And when thou hast returned to thy physical body, with thine Astral Body coinciding with it in space, thou shalt assume the God-form of Harpocrates, and vibrate His Holy Name; and then shalt thou recover Unity of Consciousness in the Sign of Silence; yea, in the Sign of Silence.

Love is the law, love under will.

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