Interaction with Power
Power as the ability to realize one’s will arises from the actualization of reality from a potential state into an actual one. In truth, it is that very translation — its cause and effect.
We have already said repeatedly, despite this obvious definition, confusion often arises, primarily from an unclear understanding of the difference between Power and energy.
It is precisely this misunderstanding that leads, for example, to a Magus behaving incorrectly when arriving at a Place of Power, and instead of becoming stronger, loses Power.
Let us try to untangle how the Myth we are discussing describes this situation.
There is little doubt that various objects of the manifested world differ in their ability to induce the development of awareness. Those that can do this by sudden leaps rather than gradually — i.e., produce sudden shifts in awareness — are called objects (places, items) of Power.
However, such an object is usually characterized not only by the ability to induce Power but also by higher levels of energy. Let us recall that the Myth calls the active component of life Power energy — the so‑called “red Light.” Power, by contrast (by default), the Myth uses the Power of awareness, the actualizing capacity.
In other words, acquiring Power usually means expanding awareness, while acquiring energy means the intake of Pneuma, which has a tonos, or more precisely — the intake of that Pneuma’s tonos, since the Pneuma itself does not move.
At the same time, absorbing energy from the environment is not the Magus’s primary task, since this process occurs on the “physical” level in eating, breathing, etc., and usually provides sufficient resources for the development of awareness. Only in some cases — illness or other loss of Pneuma — may direct absorption from objects be effective, and one must remember that any such absorption is predation (as, indeed, is nourishment itself), which, if done excessively, leads into the Qliphoth.
Thus, upon arriving at a Place of Power (or interacting with an item of Power), a being typically encounters two components: a higher Pneuma tonos and a Power-inducing current.
Depending on its aims, it may absorb Pneuma (risking a slide into the Qliphoth) or expand awareness. The approaches to each of these processes differ: to raise the Pneuma’s tonos (that is — to acquire energy), one must employ the absorptive capacity (attractiveness) — in other words, “breathe in energy”; to enter into contact with Power, one must align one’s streams of thought with the object’s streams so that induction can occur.
Note once more the important distinction: energy is absorbed, Power is induced.
It is precisely by overlooking this distinction that Magi sometimes try to “absorb” Power, and, failing to attune to it, fall into disharmony with the object’s currents; therefore — rather than acquiring Power — lose it.
Understanding this distinction allows one to develop effective strategies for dealing with objects of Power and to make full use of the opportunities for expanding awareness that the surrounding world offers.
Thank you for the article. Thanks to it, I understood the basic mistake I occasionally made throughout my life 🙂
To effectively interact with ‘Places of Power,’ one needs to have a sufficient level of Personal Energy and Experience in Attunement with ‘Object Flows.’ In my opinion, when at Places of Power, one should first ‘inhale’ a sufficient amount of Energy and only then engage in Attunement. If in the first stage the Place does not reciprocate, it’s better not to proceed to the second.
Thus, the loss of power is reduced by you to lost profit. This is understandable. But you talk about the induction of power. When there is a teacher or a book, the mechanism of induction is clear, but what about the Places of Power, say, just an empty clearing in the middle of a forest? What can be the bearer of power in such places?
But don’t water Magic with a sauce of morality. “Lost profit” is something from the realm of commodity-money relations, to which Magic, like other Paths of consciousness development, is not related at all. The loss of power is the loss of ability, not “profit”. The loss of power is the decrease in awareness. Is there profit in increasing awareness? – depends on what you call “profit”. Increased awareness is not a factor that increases success. However, it is a factor that increases efficiency. So, analogies from different planes are not always appropriate.
And regarding “bearers” of power – they do not necessarily have to be a specific object or person. They can be a combination of conditions or circumstances – in this sense, one can talk, for example, about “the time of power” (https://en.enmerkar.com/magus-way/vremya-sily), and by this same sense, a bearer of power can be a combination of objects in their interaction, etc.
By “lost profit,” I meant the principle – “Lost because I couldn’t acquire” and not “Lost because I lost.” I was proceeding from the principle of “induction of power,” which I understood as “A transmitter of power does not lose it,” which, in my opinion, corresponds to “Power is indestructible” or, roughly speaking, “what you know cannot be destroyed.”
Places of power have guardians. One must have a level of power that can give the key to enter a Place of Power. And to gain access to a Place of Power, one must earn authority in battle in that place. That is, it is necessary for a player with authority and access to the Place of Power to be found, who would be interested in fighting the seeker. Usually, guardians of places of power allow access to the place as an excursion. If the seeker shows interest in the place, the guardians introduce imbalance and, accordingly, loss of power. If the seeker continues to persist, the guardians may offer a deal in exchange for interaction with the Place of Power. If there is no deal, the guardians will point out the way out to the seeker, “The Place of Power is not a place to eat for free.”
“The key to the entrance to the Place of Power” is given by one’s own magicalness. When I connect through the depth of my Magic, nature is nothing but my body, a continuation of my physical body. And such characteristics and tendencies towards similar games are endowed to human projections that create them in their image and likeness.)