The importance of building a reverent attitude towards occult symbolism and inventory — Baal-Hiram

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Philosophy and Methods of Ceremonial Magic

The importance of building a reverent attitude

towards occult symbolism and inventory

Written by Baal-Hiram

It’s imperative for individuals following the occult or those who harbor an interest in it to have the right attitude towards the praxis, philosophy and myriad other aspects of the path. This means that practitioners must have a reverential attitude towards the path. What do we mean by a reverential attitude? This is primarily a respectful attitude towards the occult that does not allow any scope for demeaning and ridiculing the symbolism, philosophy and praxis of a spiritual tradition. As a practitioner, it’s important to inculcate a holistic attitude towards the occult in order to attain favorable results.

It is natural to ask why this is important. The answer here is quite simple: it is unacceptable to treat sacred objects as ordinary, worldly objects or to crack lowly jokes and ridicule them since each of the objects of a magical, theurgic or mystical practice reflects a certain sacred Prototype, from which it evolved.

All the actions performed with the help of the images are coming from such sacred Prototypes in the Higher Spheres, which are eventually reflected onto the material plane. This happens according to the main occult maxim taken from the quintessential Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus, which states "that which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above, like that below, for the great development of miracles of one thing." The principle of this action itself is described in another line: "This entity ascends from earth to heaven and again descends to earth, perceiving the power of the higher and lower (regions of the world)." In the context of this article, 'essence', 'ascends' and 'descends’ refers to a volitional impulse directed by the symbols to the Prototypes, and from them, respectively, back to the material plane.

Thus, any mental imprint or any careless statement about a magical tradition or symbol entails the ascent of this imprint upon the Prototype. The Prototypes should not be personified, since very often they are just Universal Laws. However, the Laws are applied to individuals. So, if the occult inventory is set up for a magical work, then it will be the conductor of all the actions that will be performed with it to the Higher Spheres, which will reflect as negative consequences of the aforementioned actions in the material life of the person. If you exaggerate and hyperbolize this situation, we can say that jokes about lighting a fire with a magic wand will actually lead to a ‘real’ fire.

However, there is an another side of the issue. It is connected to the personal perception and alignment of a person’s consciousness with symbols of the Primordial Images (occult instruments, vestments et cetera). With a constantly careless attitude towards the symbols, occult instruments et cetera, a person upsets his own connection with the Prototypes, and in his mind they seem to lose their sacred status, and become at par with everyday, mundane things, which he can also make fun of occasionally.

However, in doing so, a person harms himself, the results of his practice and occult work. This was already mentioned in Matthew's Gospel (ch. 7, v. 6): “Do not give the shrine to the dogs and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces.” This means that the Lord Jesus Christ warns us not to let the ignorant leave even mental prints on our objects or symbols; and even more, it concerns ourselves — for what is the point of protecting the occult inventory from external harmful influences, when one is constantly defaming them?

Despite the fact that everything should already be clear with the question about this reverent attitude, it is nevertheless necessary to consider the very causes of such reactions in people towards the sacred objects, symbols and allegories.

Most often, this attitude can be seen among novice practitioners and neophytes. This is a protective reaction of the human psyche in relation to something Majestic and Mighty.

For one in whom the Ancient Adam is strong (that is, full of egoism and base instincts), being close to that which surpasses the ordinary and vulgar consciousness, ideas, is uncomfortable.

Therefore, he wants to correct the space around him, at least within the framework of his own consciousness by forming an ordinary attitude to sacred things in order to achieve personal comfort. Mocking the Majestic and Sacred, a person kind of tries to fit this Sacred into his routine. Instead of rebuilding himself and rising to the level of the sacred plane, he tries to lower the sacred to his own vulgar, mundane level.

So, speaking about the Sign of the Enterer, someone will tell that he uses it to scare his domestic cat, or when he hears the words of a prayer, he will make fun of it, saying that this is “just another abracadabra”. Such a person does not deserve condemnation, but only pity because he is an example of a broken vessel that is not able to contain the Light given to him.

What he does not understand, however, is that by doing so he is only trying to protect the Ancient Adam in himself — the fragile ego of the layman. Such attempts shouldn’t be approved, and if you are located in a single space filled with sacred things together with such a person, you should stop him from this misbehavior. However, it would be more efficient not to explain the reason for their wrongness in a particular case, but to globally explain their conceptual wrongness, indicating that their behavior is a reflection of their current low level of spiritual development. Such people are unwilling to improve and make a transition to a more elevated and sacred consciousness of a new, spiritual person who, instead of trying to belittle the symbols and their meanings, will try to rise to a higher level where he will be better equipped to comprehend and work with the inner path of the occult.