Inspiration and Exaltation

A well-known rule states: everything achieved without inspiration, has no chance of lasting, has no roots in existence. In the manifested world, any realization – whether in “everyday” life, in art or in Magic – proves truly stable, takes root, and embeds itself in the fabric of being only when it is carried out with the support of the energy of the vod.

Indeed, inspiration is the ability to see logos, the “ideal archetypes” of objects and phenomena, and without such vision any realization will be disharmonious, out of accord with the inner logic of the cosmos and with other phenomena.

Inspiration is a necessary condition of any creative act, yet for truly creative processes — in art or Magic — more is required than simply seeing the logos: one must enter their flow — a vodic frenzy.

At the same time, it is clear that such a fundamental force cannot fail to be distorted in a darkened mind, and it is no surprise that the demon of false inspiration — Dantalion — seals the Gatekeepers’ passage just as the rune of the true vod — Dagaz — seals the Runic order. (It is important that within the Lemegeton system, between Dantalion and Bael — false adoration, a false god, false Omega and Alpha — there also appears the “false guru” Andromalius, expressing the mind’s reaction to false enlightenment; for this reason, predators of all kinds so often mask their influence as ‘teachings’, and inspiration is so often replaced by plain possession.)

Such “hollowed-out” inspiration — exaltation — is an equally mind-elevating state, yet it is utterly fruitless: Dantalion “blocks” both the Martian fiery energies responsible for “burning desires” and the manifestations of intelligence capable of critically rejecting such departures from reason.

That is, a mind cut off from the stream of its “true desires”, and having dulled the critical edge of its self-analysis, easily falls into a beatific “stream of light” and “rays of benevolence”, while in fact losing both its capacity to realize and its capacity for love and compassion.

The likelihood of slipping into such a stream of false inspiration is often linked to people wanting to ‘be exalted’, wanting to ‘catch inspiration’, and if they fail — they turn to imitation. Therefore in the Runic order Dagaz sits beside Fehu: if inspiration cannot be attained, one must toil, and conversely — before the vod of the free creator arrives, many “routine” efforts must be expended.

Since both the very seeing of the logos and the related acquisition of vodic power require a special state of mind and a particular energetic level in its bearer, it is clear that such an achievement is neither everyday nor easily attained. Therefore all great artists, musicians, and great Magi were not only people of the vod, but also diligent workers: they tirelessly prepared foundations and groundwork so that, when inspiration came, it would have somewhere to take root and something in which to manifest.

Nevertheless, vodic energy is a natural expression of the embodied mind dignitas, hamingja or baraka, and therefore every creature has a need to express it. In other words, every being from time to time feels the need for inspiration, which it is not always able to manifest.

Unfortunately, the most common way of “discharging” such a need is when a mind, accustomed to torpor and sloth, refuses to work on the groundwork, preferring instead to imitate the vod occasionally, falling into exaltation and using it to drain accumulated tension in order to return to a lethargic state; if genuine inspiration does awaken in such a being, it quickly dies for lack of suitable ground for expression.

It is no surprise that all “achievements” and “realizations” produced in an exalted state are empty and short-lived: they, like ordinary mass-market goods, have no roots in the world’s natural currents of power.

Other common ways of releasing vodic tension, as well as unused impulses of other energies, can be sex, psychoactive substances, or aggression.

Thus, for any creature aware of its creative nature, it is important not merely to “wait for” inspiration or to “seek” it, but to work the ground for its manifestation, to make preparations that will be shaped by vodic energy, and certainly not to “drain” inspiration by replacing it with imitations or surrogates.