“True Names”
Magic’s broad emphasis on names — the extraordinary attention it pays to names, titles, and verbal formulations — stems from a deep understanding of the inseparable connection between an object’s existence and its “naming”, that is, its description. We have already said that naming, from a magical worldview, is identical to creation, since its essence consists in the actualization of the corresponding Logos.
However, this conception has far wider implications than enabling effective realizations, since for the Magus realizations are primarily a way of developing the mind, a means of expanding it fully.
The familiar formulation that “things exist only as names” is much more literal than it may seem at first glance. Indeed, for the Magus, mind and being are inseparable from one another: they condition one another, give rise to one another, and are, in fact, two sides of the same process. The “point of their intersection” is the Logos, in the broadest and fullest sense of the word – name.
In other words, the process of awareness, according to this Myth, is identical with the process of creation, since both terms describe the same thing: the translation of a process or object from the sphere of possibility, from potential existence, into the sphere of interaction — into actual being. It follows that objects exist precisely to the extent that they become objects of awareness; and this claim is not one of “subjective idealism”, because the reality of objects is in no way denied, but rather it speaks to the interdependence of being and mind. Put differently, to say that something is real and to say that it has a name amount to the same thing.
The Logos, the name, is not merely a label; it designates a set of properties that is understood as the object. When, from the entire field of potential interactions and qualities, the mind selects certain constellations and points to them as suitable for awareness — that is, names them — it thereby establishes the internal logic of that system or process, and thus delineates a particular Logos, the system-forming rule that, in turn, directs those manifestations.
Before the Logos is singled out, one cannot speak of the object as existing, although all its potential elements have always been present in the Environment, remaining unmarked and therefore unmanifest.
It is clear, however, that not every naming signifies the selection of a Logos. To distinguish “empty”, “arbitrary” names from “creative” ones, the concept of “true names” is introduced as the verbal, embodied in thought, imprint of a Logos. Experience shows that different “names” correspond to systems with differing viability, depending on the understanding of the internal logic able to bind separate elements and energies into a coherent whole.
It follows that the mind’s ability to correctly “name” is closely tied to its “creative capacities”, and that “knowledge of names”, identical to “knowledge of the Logoi”, is, in fact, a measure of magical Authority, which implies the ability to “see the logic” — that is, to name and thereby – – to single out as actually existing for the mind – internally stable systems.
When the Magus speaks of the “laws of nature”, he does not mean some abstract rules; he means that different systems have different degrees of effectiveness and stability depending on their Logos, their proper “law”. Accordingly, understanding the mode of interaction among particular elements that produces an effective system is to know such a “law”.
The transition of the Magus’s mind from a “passive” condition, in which it is merely a “plaything” of forces, to a creative state presupposes understanding of the Logoi, or rather mastery of the Logoi, and thus the attainment of greater freedom. The Magus sees that “everything is possible”, but “not everything is beneficial” — that is, not every objectified system will prove to be a suitable instrument for the mutual permeation of being and mind — and the Magus’s creativity is not the creation of arbitrary phantasmagoria, but an instrument for achieving the Great Perfection.
Aha, and the Letter-ary… Are the Letters the building blocks of Names? Where are the rules of these Letters hidden or laid out in plain sight?
“A name that can be named is not the true name” (Lao Tzu)
The main word in Kabbalah, the name of God, is pronounced differently: Jehovah, Yahweh, and others. Which of them is true? – It is considered that all known variants are only attempts by the uninitiated to express the inexpressible, and that pronouncing: Tetragrammaton (four-letter name) is more correct, as it does not distort (but does not reflect) the true name. The sage’s thought sees in the Name of God the original picture of the world. In it – both the Original Power (Nothing and Everything) and its division into the first binary, and the interaction of the poles, and the birth of the androgyne, and the beginning of a new cycle.
Many words of description are contained within just four letters of the language of Kabbalah. The descriptions of the letters themselves explain to the reader that the letters – graphic symbols – are images of forces they are trying to represent.
The question arises: how fully do the images reflect reality?
Objects appear when their names become known, but have you encountered names that fully contain the object?
It is worth looking at a tree, and then reading the word: tree or drawing this same tree on any suitable plane, and it immediately becomes clear that neither the word nor the drawing contains the tree in its entirety, but are only conventional signs referring memory to the real perception of what is commonly called – a tree.
There is Something that exists in perception Before Words – that Common ‘language’ (without an alphabet) that the Creator has written in the very Principle (I do not know if it is correct to say here – Logos?) of a human being. History still keeps the myth of the Tower of Babel, from the time when everyone understood each other in one ‘language.’
Interestingly, a human, by their very nature, Perceives In Full Before Words, but each of us from birth is convinced that sharing the perceived with others can only be done through words and pictures, also described again by words 🙂
“A name that can be named is not the true name” (Lao Tzu)
By the way:
“The names given to earthly things contain a great delusion, for they distract the heart from what is solid to what is not solid, and he who hears (the word) ‘God’ does not comprehend what is solid, but comprehends what is not. Likewise, in the same manner, (in words) ‘Father,’ and ‘Son,’ and ‘Holy Spirit,’ and ‘life,’ and ‘light,’ and ‘resurrection,’ and ‘church,’ (and) in all others – they do not comprehend what is (solid), but comprehend what is not (unless they have known what is solid). (The names which were) heard exist in the world (for deception. If they were) in the aeon, they would not be named for the day in the world and would not be placed among earthly things. They have an end in the aeon.”(The Gospel of Philip(11)))
P.S. And Lao Tzu is cool – to know the world without leaving home.)
“The question arises: how fully do the images reflect reality?” This is a question about the quality of the ‘receiver,’ not the ‘transmitter’ – one can get 0% and 100% from the same Image with one’s awareness/body.
It’s simple. You take the letters of any alphabet and reveal their meaning. For interest, you can combine several systems and see (recognize) the matrix of language. And then you will feel that each language is also the customs embedded by the people in it, the way of thinking, knowledge. This expands perception at the level of consciousness, as one of the waves of reality.
By combining letters into a word, through meditation and vision, you will see how the image is recreated from energies and vibrations, feel the meaning.
By the way, Russian is quite common in worlds. But there are also other more widely used dialects.
Earlier, the Rus had a ready-made language matrix called “Alphabetical Truths.” Now, unfortunately, only a truncated and reduced alphabet remains, which has significantly limited the semantic and imaginative perception of words.
A very common reason for the emergence of distractors in limited consciousness, which poison it and cause it to act ineffectively, is its ability to confuse the relative with the absolute and to discuss the non-dual in dual terms. When consciousness confuses direct comprehension, non-conceptual knowledge with refusal to comprehend and to know – one of the key poisons, according to Eastern perspective, emerges – ignorance. Direct knowledge, non-dual perception – is not just to be ‘out of words,’ and certainly not in ‘refusal’ of words, it is to be there where words simply do not exist as a principle, where concepts do not arise (and at the same time, there are no obstacles to their emergence), rather than are denied or discriminated against. But on the relative level, where duality, binarity reigns, words, names – are a legitimate and lawful organizer of the creative process. It is just important to understand that ‘Give to God what is God’s, and to Caesar what is Caesar’s,’ and not to confuse levels of understanding, not to ascribe relative categories to the absolute, just as not to limit the absolute by depriving it of its right to manifest in the relative.
Any Form, as an inseparable part of the dual world, comes from Nothing before words. And it is precisely at the moment of the creation of form (delineating a block of energies from the unmanifested by consciousness) that its perception is more complete than when it is already clothed in simplifying words. The question only lies in the Way to share Full perception of forms, of system-forming connections. You didn’t take the phrase ‘True Names’ in quotation marks for nothing – maybe because you know that true names are not expressed in words.
And still, the question was specifically about Letters – what constitutes Names. It is strange to bypass this fact.
For example, runes – letters of Futhark: mere rote memorization of others’ descriptions, alas, does not give Understanding of the letters but only fills the expanding consumer with various instructions ‘in two words.’ But if you, through your own efforts, reach at least some understanding of their essence – then even one rune inscribed at the right place at the right time leads to the desired result. First, Odin understood the Runes, and after that – inscribed.
By the markings of symbols, one can determine the activity and passivity of the elements and energies contained within them. Most originated in dark worlds and have dialect as their basis. By the way, runic writing pertains to that…
But the main language in the worlds, which is common and mandatory for study (similar to our English, which is ‘international’) is language Me…y.
It is mandatory for training among magicians.
The language is quite complex as it is multi-layered and in verbal-pronounceable form is used for changes.
I don’t pronounce the names of the languages, no one particularly understands, I don’t see such.
There are lovers to ponder, but to work…
Sorry.
The letters were probably the same Names as the words derived from them, just more ancient. It is not necessary that the names created in ancient times greatly influence the names created later, as by the time new logos were created, the letters might no longer have been given special significance.
Any name is correct and complete if you are aware of what is beyond the word. And the words themselves are not the husk and not even a system of signs. In my opinion, it is strange to speak of God and his name in the current situation. When besides this question, I will not have another, then I will resolve it. (This is not magic but ‘here and now,’ as highlighted, including in this blog, in reality. You take and immediately apply it to each of your micro-actions) Right now, I am quite satisfied with knowing; my experience allows me not just to know but to realize that the spoken word indeed acts. And is both magic and creates reality. And that is what should be studied. And I will repeat once more, there are no all. I am a person, and I have not believed in anything since birth, and I have not been accustomed to anything, for example. And what will you do with me and this your statement about all?
The names are the responsibility of the sephira Hod, in which the force of Netzach takes form.
In Netzach, this is precisely the energy that can only be perceived – it is either there or it is not, and it has no boundaries. In Hod, limitations and frameworks are established, thus distorting the primary energy. However, when we limit, we learn to control it. This is where the work of the Magician lies.
I completely agree with you – you cannot jump over your head, and to reveal potential and optimally organize your World – that takes effort.
Any Form, as an inseparable part of the dual world, comes from Nothing along with the word. Until an object in consciousness is named, it remains an unformed perception, a feeling, a whirlwind, not a logos.
And to understand how much consciousness simplifies and distorts the initial perception, giving it form, or reproducing an already created form, the concept of empty names and ‘True’ comes into play, if I understand the described myth correctly.
From this perspective, ‘True name’ by Lao Tzu relates to another myth and indicates the importance of perceiving ‘Nothing’ beyond the forms.
For example, the Creation of music…….First, the composer hears, perceives, creates a musical piece – highlights the Unity of its energies as Harmony (Consonance) from the General Unity, and then forms the Reflection of the highlighted consciousness’s Unity of harmony in the form of signs (letters) of musical notation, recorded in musical ‘sentences’ in the sheet music, thus presenting to the world the Form created from Nothing….Or perhaps does not record it, perhaps simply plays the Music on their instrument – and while listening to it, I hear that unique Harmony of the Unity of its energies – Sound – “Name” sealed in its essence……..A person who has not heard will ask me to convey in words – What is this Music like? – I will answer – It is enchanting, magical, wonderful – but, unfortunately, with any words I cannot convey What it is……a person can record my description in words, memorize it, and share with others as Knowledge received from one who truly Knows, that is, has Heard its “True Name” – But if we Listen to Music Together – then what is the need for descriptive words? – we will both know its Name……..and, perhaps, musical notation, as a universal language, one for all peoples is the closest to that Idea I am trying to express, in no way trying to discriminate against anyone’s Tradition or level anyone’s Myth.
“To hear through the ears but not to feel with the inner bodies. Everyone hears differently – different wave frequencies. I have confirmed this through my own experience trying to push my perception on others. The limitation is the degree to which one allows themselves to feel and the ability to resonate at a certain frequency. The presence of these energies is necessary. There have been times when I listen, and I seem to like the song, but I don’t feel it, I don’t resonate; it doesn’t touch me. Then I keep listening, adjusting, and suddenly – oh, I started to feel! A second ago I didn’t, but now I do.”
Resonance, Co-tuning – for me, these are the keys. If we recall the Torah, which lies at the origin of Kabbalah: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” it seems to me that the Word was not written but was spoken – and this Pronouncement of the Word is Sound. Yes, it is a waveform, just like Light (after all, Light and Sound are waves, only with different parameters of frequency, amplitude, length—if we speak the language of physics). The Perfect Form, the Uncorrupted Logos defining the structure of our world, and then went the unfolding, growth, and expansion of the Universe if you want.
And it seems to me that the initiated Jews, who, as is known, zealously protect the scriptures from distortions, are terribly cunning when they assert that the true pronunciation of the Name of God is lost. For example, Aleister Crowley, according to legend, said that if one were to pronounce the True Name of God, the entire Universe would crumble to dust. I believe that the Uncorrupted Logoi are deliberately concealed from the uninitiated, and this pertains not only to Kabbalah—the tradition that begins with Letters, letter combinations, letter rearrangements—but perhaps in those “True Names,” in those Unities of Harmonies, begotten by the Creator Before Words—Sounds—waves—energies, later reflected in Light, or rather in the play of light and shadow—that is, dark letters on a light background.
I think that those Spanish Jews who, in the Middle Ages, broke down the Torah into “molecules,” also incorporating the Ideas of the Neoplatonists, in particular, the Idea of the Pleroma, were searching for that very Literal content, that state of Light from Keter to Tiferet, embedded by the Wise One who perceived it and reflected it in the interweaving of letters and inter-letter spaces.
And resonance can be not only creative but also destructive; therefore, Crowley’s assumption is not without foundation in my opinion. That’s why the uninitiated are allowed to juggle only empty names, although it is not forbidden (conditionally not forbidden) to Know the True Name.
When a three-dimensional sphere moves through a two-dimensional plane, to a two-dimensional consciousness, it will appear as circles. Light has a dimensionality greater than 3, which is why it is neither here nor there for a three-dimensional being.
It won’t dissolve. It’s just a possibility to tune into the right frequency at some dimensionality and nothing more. It’s like having a key to a door, but who or what is behind it could be an ocean, it could be space, or it could be a desert. And you need to react immediately. It depends on luck)). To be noticed “there,” you also need to have the right tone and strength. And to change, you need to have the skills to create a shift in focus and intention; then the environment—the plane of matter—will react on its own.
For me, these are different states of perceptual focus. The higher and deeper it is, the clearer and easier it becomes; the closer it is to physics, the darker and more sluggish it feels. Though it depends on what one is accustomed to…
In my humble opinion.
When the word “red” is spoken, how can you be sure that I am reacting the same way as you, meaning that the same images arise in my mind and our feelings are identical? And that goes for anyone else as well.
Regarding the elimination of those who are undesirable—the world, it turns out, is small for many. On one hand, someone who has chosen the path of a warrior must think only about destruction. But there is also such a concept as nobility, and those who disregard it always end up losing in the end.
I view this in a broader sense. There’s nothing magical about me, and I don’t plan to (in response to those who want to impose their worldview on me). Whatever can be done with this fact is up to interpretation. I can be considered a bot of the matrix, or remain in ignorance, or be seen as possessed by demons. Personally, I don’t care; it should be indifferent to me, and I will practice my indifference. In general, I don’t have magic; I have everyday realism. I believe that the very structure of the universe is aimed at maximum diversity. In the sense that our universe is expanding, not simply replicating itself or loving itself. If we stay with cosmic examples, it’s more like a black hole. Whether I am a warrior or not, I live within a system that I actually enjoy. And I can even choose processes, edit and narrow down the world, or expand my consciousness. It’s not a fact that I always choose to expand my consciousness. But I am well aware of what I am doing. To enhance the effect, I think that from your myth, I can name the entity responsible for self-replication and self-centeredness. In my opinion, that is Lucifer.
It’s amusing when a Western myth reveals certain aspects of the Eastern one. I could never quite grasp this simultaneous dualism and non-dualism of Patanjali, related to purusha and prakriti. The whole system is aimed at non-duality, and yet – there is this original dualism. After all, there is something beyond properties that, let’s say, serves as the bearer of these properties; and that is prakriti, and originally so. Well, yes, originally, but only in actual existence.
And yet, there is such confusion in Western magic with these true names. Just like with the various signatures of different spirits. There are a great many names and signatures, but the nature of their origin is unclear. These are clearly human constructs, the mechanisms and nature of which are not revealed. And the literature tends to mislead a bit, as if saying: don’t worry about it, just do it. Quite suspicious. What is it – trade secrets, ignorance, or an attempt to gain power?
There is no other demon but our own mind, and the only way to subdue demons is to overcome our own negative inclinations. When a Western magician calls upon a demon, let’s ask the question, what exactly are they invoking? And whom can they control in this ritual? It becomes obvious where these names, images, and seals come from—they are products of the mind. The human mind is something much greater than people usually imagine. The visions can be such that it is impossible not to accept them as facts of existence. Trying to understand what it is and what nature it has seems not to be in the traditions of Western magic. In short, grab a shovel—go dig, and understanding may come in the process.
I have something in common from the past with paganism. And there was such a vision, I was shown a conversation among ordinary people, then a conversation in a circle, where mostly they were silent, as every word had power, like a disturbance or a blow (something equally sharp) in the space… and these were different languages, and I was also shown a conversation with trees and there were no words. I saw runes, but they were sounds, even one could say – notes. I was shown that even our letters “sound”, but they do not carry power. I was shown a word, I understood its meaning, but how it sounded did not match this meaning at all. And they also showed how a person incited a pack by the Name of a beast. No, this is not related to Satan. He was connected to his wolf-totem (and the wolf-guardian, as an animal he also had), and imposed the image of a wolf on himself. Physically human, but subtly – a wolf and with his will, his desire, gave the command. Strange, of course, but I have a lot of “fantasies” on this topic… Sound… energy… image… And also, each of us has a name…
Not the name that our parents give, I mean. How terrifying it is to forget your name, The name that the black rivers erased. Someone calls and screams from inside you, And you lie there with closed eyelids. Someone prays, asks “remember!”, Only the lips keep silence. Someone desperately just looks at The immobile state. And you lie there with closed eyelids, Hear in the black fog sounds, Someone prays, asks “remember!” The voice brings with it torments. The voice brings with it despair, The darkness of oblivion does not let go. You hear how the hours of waiting melt away, You try, you remember… How frightening it is not to remember the name, To remain in your black fog, To hear how the voice fades, To dissolve in its departing footsteps…