The Intensity of the Way
A Western Magus who sees life as a struggle for the right to be himself lives in a world full of dangers, but also radiant with joy. Unlike the dreary, monotonous existence of most people, bound hand and foot by inner and outer predators, the Magus’s life is brimming with activity, even though at first glance it may seem no different from ordinary life in society.
However, the fullness of life that distinguishes the Magus from the “ordinary” person does not arise spontaneously. It is born from the combination of complete tension of all his forces and absolute relaxation that we have already discussed.
This state is like metal heated to white heat: it becomes fluid while retaining hardness, and it becomes luminous as it emerges from darkness.
Indeed, the Magus’s Way is forged in the crucible of passions, balanced by the light of wisdom.
One who is calm — whose lot is the bliss of contemplation — will never be able, nor would he wish, to become a Magus. A Magus is never balanced, although he is always harmonious.
The Magus would agree with Jung’s famous saying:
«I would rather be whole than good»,
since he strives for the complete assimilation of his Psychocosmos, for total mastery of it, without neglecting any of its components.
Yet the boiling of the Magus’s psychocosmos is not chaotic; on the contrary, it is highly organized and structured along semantic axes formed in his mind thanks to another burning desire of the Magus — the desire for understanding.
It is precisely because the binary between reason and feeling is not neutralized, but integrated into the being of the Magus that he can move along his Way.
And on this Way the Magus does not hide from dangers, but neither does he rush recklessly into them; he does not flee from battles, but he does not provoke them, and his life itself is a continuous Hunt for Power.
In his actions the Magus is guided above all by concern for Power and harmony. On the one hand, he strives by any means to expand his awareness. On the other hand, this expansion of awareness gives him a clear perception of the unity of the cosmos as manifold manifestations of the Great Spirit. This understanding is free of religious sentiment, yet it is filled with a deep sense of the sacredness of every element of the cosmos, no more and no less important than any other element.
But Magic is not pantheism. The Magus clearly sees the world’s shortcomings, its internal contradictions, its darkness and vices, and does not shut his eyes to them while admiring universal harmony. On the contrary, the Magus always actively takes part in the battle against these vices, striving with all his might to resist the spreading sense of mutual consumption, although he understands clearly that the demonic is as necessary to the world-process as the angelic. Moreover, the Magus is ready to fight both demons and angels if they limit human freedom.
It is precisely within such sustained intensity that the Damascene steel of the Magus’s life acquires those unique qualities that enable him to enter the battle for his mind and keep it whole not only throughout his incarnation but also after its end.
Damn, everything inside aches because I can’t follow this path ((( Where I live, there is not a single person who practices this, and you can’t learn everything from books; I would give anything for it…
To walk the Path, nothing is needed except the Path and the Traveler. You don’t need anyone – listen to your heart and go where it points you – that will be the Path.
It will be difficult that way (I’ve been living with a mindset for half a year that when I hear ‘You will die tomorrow!’ I reply ‘I’m not against it; there’s nothing here anyway…’; I only live with dreams, but they can’t last forever…
And no one promised an easy and pleasant stroll 🙂 But difficult does not mean impossible.
To: Hilet
The mindset of ‘…there’s nothing here anyway…’ isn’t the best. It would be more effective to say something like – ‘I will die, but I’ve already accomplished … and I can still …’.
For qualitative changes to occur – start with quantitative ones. This site has a lot of Correct information, now NET provides a huge information field.
And also, when the student is ready, a Teacher will appear (in one form or another :))
Hihet: ‘there’s nothing here anyway’ – maybe you need to do something so that something exists. If there’s nothing, and nothing holds you – take a staff, pack your bag, and go… better than waiting for death.
Thank you. A very good article. Not many words, but all the essence.
How to relate to what is happening with Hihet, this is from the Internet:
If something unpleasant happened to you, and you can’t do anything in the situation, – don’t despair, change your attitude towards it. There can be many points of view. We offer a few. Just, please, don’t take this text too seriously!
Buddhism: If something bad happened – in reality, it is not bad.
Hinduism: This bad thing happened before.
Mormonism: This bad thing will happen again.
Islam: If something bad happens – then it was the will of Allah.
Catholicism: Something bad happened because you were bad.
Calvinism: Something bad happened because we didn’t work hard enough.
Orthodoxy: Something bad happened? Well, whatever.
Stoicism: This bad thing is only beneficial to me.
Krishnaism: Something bad happened. Rama-rama.
Judaism: And why do these bad things only happen to us?
Existentialism: What is this bad thing, essentially?
Hedonism: Nothing is better than a well-turned-out bad experience.
Rastafarianism: Let’s roll a joint from this bad experience!
Subjective solipsism: A bad experience is me!
Objective solipsism: A bad experience is you!
Pessimism: Bad experiences are permanent! They have been, are, and will be.
Gestalt approach: What do I care about this bad experience?
Freudianism: The bad experience happened in early childhood.
Nietzsche: The bad experience only made me stronger.
Jung: The occurrence of this bad experience is a manifestation of the archetype of the Great Mother.
Bern: This bad experience started with my grandmother.
Carnegie: A bad experience happened? Smile at it!
Enmerkar: Usually on the path of the soul’s embodiment into the Monad, bad experiences happen. In the western tradition, this is what they call a completely opaque vessel that periodically emits Darkness. This is what prevents the Absolute from becoming absolutely integrated. Binarily manifesting what our Ever-Living World is.
I hope you understand that I am joking with my understanding of your worldview.
With deep respect for your texts, Good Night!