The Battlefield – Earth
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought against them, but they did not prevail, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
(Revelation 12:7-9
Magical myth portrays the growth of consciousness not merely as an “ascent,” “expansion,” or “development,” but as a battle — not out of aggressiveness or bloodthirstiness, but from a wholly pragmatic observation that the process of transformation of Forces does not proceed smoothly, but through numerous active resistances.
Moreover, this pattern of development applies not only to the psychocosm; it permeates the macrocosm as well.
The binarity of the world, which is the condition of its development — creating differences of potential and the very possibility of movement — for a mind immersed in the “embodied” reality is not an abstract idea but manifests as a war, active opposition of the “materializing” and “dematerializing” forces.
Contemporary “refined” esotericism shies away from this age-old struggle, preferring to relegate it to speculative concepts, but for the practicing magus (as, for example, for the Christian hermit-monk, for the Zoroastrian mobed, or for the Alexandrian gnostic) the war “under the heavens” is a more than vivid reality.
The situation in the “dense” world is that it is precisely the turning point at which the Great Flow of Power reverses from descending to ascending.
Therefore, for beings dwelling “under the Earth,” — i.e. outside the Flow — this “lower” point is the most convenient place to draw energy.
Accordingly, for the beings that maintain the Flow’s integrity, this point is likewise a focus of special attention because of its vulnerability.
The battle that takes place in every soul and atom of the manifested world is not a mere trivial skirmish; it is a fight between forces striving to ensure the mind’s existence and its developmental environment, and forces striving to consume the resources of that mind.
Forces that shape the environment of existence are traditionally called Gods, and the forces that sustain it are angels (daemons). Forces that prevent the environment’s evolution, by consuming its resources, are called Demons.
The individual mind, especially one that has set out on the path of development, encounters forces of every kind — gods, angels, demons, spirits, and genii.
And it should be noted that, by and large, none of these forces is disposed to help the very expansion of the mind. The Gods are occupied with macrocosmic creation and governance; to angels a developing mind is a destabilizing element; to demons, it is a source of sustenance; to genii, it threatens equilibrium; to spirits, it competes for resources.
Therefore the only real ally of a developing mind can be another developing mind — a companion, fellow-traveler, master or guide.
Moreover, a developing mind, however much it may wish, cannot remain “neutral.” The very fact of its development requires imbalance, binarity, differences of potential, and thus participation in the battle.
And refusal to fight is still participation in it. Flight from the battle is also participation in it. Moreover, most often all withdrawals from the battle are defeats, or even a switch to the enemy’s side. And the only way to exit the battle is to rise above it, integrate the duality, pass through the Horns of Baphomet, and attain world integrity.
This, broadly speaking, is what the magus’s efforts are aimed at.
The magus fights selflessly and tirelessly in battle not out of belligerence, but out of the understanding that it is the only way to end the war.
Thank you for the wonderful article. But there is a nuance that is not entirely clear to me. You mentioned that the Lines of Tradition of Magical Schools were created by the Gods to ensure the flow of the Force, which gives the Gods a chance to defeat the Predators. This raises the question: why are the Gods not interested in the Development of Consciousness?
For the gods, the Lines are a chance for personal immortality, not a selfless gift.
Please tell me, what do you mean by “genius” in this article?
If we are talking about the Egregore, then it is clear why this is a chance for personal immortality. But we are talking about non-egregorial chains of continuity, so how is it that the Gods of the Lines receive a chance for immortality? If we believe that the Gods are in the Right, then, in theory, they are immortal already. If we acknowledge that the Gods also live in the Manifest, then it turns out that reaching the Right, we “transfer” the Gods into the Right? Am I thinking correctly?
Gods are immortal as principles, but not as personalities. As for personal immortality – inclusion in the Pleroma, it depends for the entire Line (including for its founders) on the overall success of the Line.
From this and other articles, one might think that apart from humans, there are no other developing beings… Is that so?
Why not? All free beings are evolving. Only for humanity (in the broadest sense, not in terms of the population of our world, but in terms of the evolutionary stage of consciousness) is a leap in consciousness through evolution possible.
In that case, everyone and everything evolves. Because everyone and everything is free – the Great Spirit is everywhere. Regarding the “leap through evolution” – as I understand it, this is possible for those who have fully accepted self-responsibility, that is, have accepted their absolute freedom – returned to the Great Spirit.
Hello, Enmerkar! As always, a very interesting article, there is much to ponder. Indeed, observing all this, you realize that “… fundamentally, none of these forces is completely set to ‘help’ the expansion of consciousness itself.” But I would like to ask you a question: have there been precedents in history where some force or a representative of the forces you mentioned suddenly became, so to speak, an altruist and helped the development of consciousness?
I join the question. Also: have there been cases where a human and another intelligent being were companions and mutually supported each other?
Your articles come one after another like a collective bell: they make you stop and think about what is happening with me, with the world around. This one, too, seems to call for war. But how far are those who hear the call from the caller, from listening to the call to participating in the battle.
Your words, Enmerkar, are like balm on wounds. But sometimes you want to rest, at least a little. And precisely at this time, such begins…
A wonderful way out – to rise above the battlefield. But before that, one must “grow up”?
This cannot be done with just a desire, with one effort of will. Although… for those who are ready for this, everything will come…
“..in the beginning were the heavens and the earth made by the word of God from water and by water. And the present heavens and earth, preserved by the same word, are kept for fire on the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men..” – how can you interpret the apostle’s words? Was it so important to voice this? Thank you.