The Veil of the Temple
As soon as the Seeker overcomes his first Abyss, which separates the world of men from the world of Magic, finds his root in the World Tree and begins to move along it, and balances the elements of his being, a very serious barrier appears before him, traditionally called the Veil («Paroket»). After completing the stages of Seeker, Devotee, Philosopher and Practitioner, the Magus is ready to step across the threshold of the Temple, and to do this he must pass through the Paroket.
Eastern philosophies called the Veil an Illusion («Maya»), while Western ones compared it to a covering that separates the realm of holiness from the profane world.
It is described as a Veil, beyond which the initiate first glimpses the “true” reality — that which is “above the Abyss”, as a covering that separates the “illusory” material world of images from the “real” world of ideas.
Tradition places the Veil between the Sun and the Moon, emphasizing the qualitative difference between the direct Light that emanates from the Sun and the reflected light of the Moon; that is, the influences of the Higher worlds penetrate the spheres below the Paroket only indirectly. In general, the idea of a qualitative difference between Direct and Reflected Light is one of the cornerstones of Western magic. Reflected Light bears traces of both the Light itself and the screen from which it was reflected; therefore, below the Veil, images are distorted through perception of the “transmitting forms” of Light; above the Veil it becomes possible to perceive Light directly, without the mediation of distorting reflectors. That is, overcoming the Veil means moving from perceiving forms alone to the perception of ideas, eidos and entelechies.
Like the Abyss, the Veil marks an abyss in the mind. The mode of thinking on one side of this abyss differs qualitatively from the mode of thinking that predominates on the other side. Below the Veil, even in ideal conditions, only balancing of opposites is possible, reaching its maximum in the Quaternary; above the Paroket, however, it becomes possible to transcend the binary system by adding a new, fifth element — Spirit.
If at first the Wayfarer thought the world was solid and comprehensible, then that it was inconstant and mutable, then that it was fluid and directed, and finally that the world is mobile and ascending, beyond the Veil it turns out that the world is simultaneously solid and illusory, stable and arbitrary, and at the same time beautiful and mysterious. In other words, the Veil marks the transition from the boundedness of the Quaternary to the freedom of the Pentagram. All those efforts to balance one’s components that were undertaken before encountering the Veil culminate in the transformation of Equilibrium into Harmony, which is reflected in the passage through the Paroket.
It is clear that to overcome the covering of illusion, the Paroket, a complete transformation of all the being’s principles and an unwavering will is required.
Accordingly, at this stage it is necessary to unite within oneself the stability of Earth and the focus of Air, the plasticity of Water and the energy of Fire, transmuting all these qualities into the force and refinement of aspiration for power and freedom.
To pass beyond the Veil, the traveler must sacrifice his habitual, limited personality, which will be stripped away by sober recognition of the world’s illusory nature.
Clearly, passing the Paroket is not yet a proper attainment; it is the opening of new possibilities for achievement, but it is precisely these newly opened possibilities that offer a chance of victory in the main battles that lie ahead.
Can the ritual of seeking One’s Vision serve to overcome the Threshold of consciousness (the Veil), or is there something separate for this?
“Will a new personality appear later?”
Yes, after all, personality is just a product of upbringing, and when one changes their life path (through the pursuit of approaching the monad), individual views, value systems, and ways of realizing Will can be lost or fundamentally changed. This seems to me like a complete disintegration/rebirth of the past personality and a transition to a new, higher-quality one. Perhaps I misunderstood something about the “sacrifice of personality”?
Kabbalists talk about a kind of spiritual birth after crossing a certain conditional threshold. This is probably when a new personality appears. I wonder if the so-called MAHSSOM, the crossing of which leads you into the spiritual realm, is the first abyss or the transition through the Paroket?
As I understand it, this barrier regulates the vertical flow of power. It’s not the same barrier that separates the world of humans, say, from elementals or from the interworld, is it? What is the fundamental difference in overcoming it?
No, this is not the veil; the Veil can be parted, but the Boundary remains unbreakable. To overcome the Veil, a concentration of efforts is sufficient; however, to cross the Boundary, an excess of Strength is needed.
EN, your primary focus is on the emergence of a new identity. But if after Paroket the identity remains the same, considering the understood illusoriness — is this not Paroket or for someone else?
The personality does not remain “the same” even just over time. Personality is a temporary formation; it is constantly transforming. Moreover, it transforms significantly during major crossings, such as the passing of the Veil.
It sounds so simple 🙂
“This is not the Second Abyss yet, is it?”
“It’s not a chasm at all; it’s just an obstacle.”
It seems that overcoming the veil is a transition from the First Attention to the Second Attention in the terms of Latin American writers.
The abyss is the foundation of the Egregore (myth) to which the Self is attached. Can it be said this way?
“The veil marks the transition from the limitations of the Quaternary to the freedom of the Pentagram,” i.e., can it be said that it resolves the analogous Transition?
At the moment I have a feeling of differentiating the Path. If before there was an amorphous feeling of one, now there is a vision of many, but in one direction. Can this be explained somehow?
All the roots of the tree grow from the trunk, all the branches of the tree reach up… Remember – as in the Small, so in the Great… Observe, compare, reflect:)
Brought as a sacrifice to oneself
on the ancient Tree whose roots go
into the unknown Ansuz Teiwaz Eihwaz
intent expressed by runes we
sacrifice the personality that society created and create a new personality….
Enmerkar, is there any general main criterion by which a Seeker can understand whether they have reached the level of Tiferet, an adept?
Tiferet is a state of internal consistency, coherence of inner actors. It is not yet a state of perfection, but it is a state in which sustainable forward movement towards this perfection is possible. Modern schools point out that it is at this stage that the traveler uncovers their individual logos, or as they call it – ‘Sacred Guardian Angel.’ It means a vision of the Path and an understanding of one’s place on that Path appears.
Thank you.