Gmar Tikkun

The magical description of the Psychocosmos speaks of the development of the mind as a gradual filling of the Vessel with Light. The ultimate goal of this development is considered the complete filling of the Vessel with Light, which in the East is called Enlightenment (Bodhi), and in the West — Rectification (Gmar Tikkun, גמר תִּיקּוּן).

At the same time, a Psychocosmos that is in the process of formation and development is the dwelling place of a vast number of beings, both those belonging to the field of its mind and those that have come from outside that field.

In other words, just as the Macrocosm is an aggregation of stars, planets, nebulae, dust clouds, and so on, the Psychocosmos is also filled with the subpersonalities of that mind, its shadows, as well as predators and parasites.

Each such entity impedes the passage of Light, “eclipsing” it and creating dark patches and zones favorable to destructive inhabitants.

It follows that the more fragmented the Psychocosmos, the more chaotic its inhabitants, the more obstacles are found within it, and the harder it is to fill with Light.

The aim of all ways of harmonizing and developing awareness is to facilitate the passage of Light — the idea is to make the Vessel more “transparent” to Light.

Two principal approaches have been developed for this.

The Eastern Way is aimed at reducing the number of objects present in the Psychocosmos by recognizing their illusory nature and dissipating that illusion. The traditional metaphor used to describe this process depicts it as the calming of waves on the surface of a lake; in the terms of our discussion, it may be described as “clearing” the road for Light by removing all obstacles — the “emptying” of the Psychocosmos. An empty Psychocosmos, from which all obstacles have been removed, is readily and evenly filled with Light, corresponding to the transition to the Arhat state.

The Western Way emphasizes the integration of all the objects filling the Psychocosmos into a single core of mind, and their subsequent harmonization to transform them from a cause of obscuration into a source that directs and refracts Light, much as a piece of coal under high heat and pressure transmutes into a diamond that transmits and refracts light.

On this Way, the efforts of the mind are directed along two main directions: on the one hand — achieving inner unity, overcoming fragmentation and bringing order to the mind; on the other — bringing it into harmony with the world, cleansing and enlightening the very core of the individual. Thus, Western Magi, on the one hand, seek to identify dissonant elements of the mind, and on the other — to restructure the mind’s essential elements into the “correct” order.

The identification of dissonant elements, “inner demons,” occurs during exploration of the Psychocosmos (for example, in Kol rituals), and in luring them out (for example, in Competitive rituals). The harmonization of the developing system takes place through transmutations and transformations (for example, in those Kols).

However, regardless of the chosen Way and its particular Wyrd, the mind striving for development must clearly understand that its path is to be filled with Light, and subsequently — either dissolving into that Light (on the Eastern Way) or identifying with it as an indivisible unity (on the Western Way).

It is clear that in the end the result is indistinguishable — both Ways lead to the union of the mind with the Great Spirit, and a fully realized Western magus attains the same state as a fully enlightened Eastern master.