Behold, the Arrow! And other sources of Causal Initiative
"Certain schools of late years have written very enthusiastically about the age of Aquarius, but their attitude may seem to adherents of the true Rosicrucian doctrine as somewhat heretical and pharisaical. This is to be explained by the fact that in Aquarius the sun is in its detriment. People who wish to reform the world (on a pattern of theoretical excellence totally unconnected to human nature) are at the very antipodes of solar life and light. They fear vitality."
-Aleister Crowley, Liber 777
Crowley tells us that magick “creates change in conformity with Will.” But he also indicates clearly that we use nature (demonstrated reality) as a starting point. Now if we really accept reality, and we accept Pangloss’ assertion that each day is more perfect than the last in this, the best of all possible worlds, (why shouldn’t we?) why would we do magick? What’s the difference between the people who want to reform the world and the people who want to create change in accordance with Will?
The clue is in the quote above. The magician is vital, positive, solar, and the source of causal initiative. That is to say, things happen because the magician makes them happen. When Crowley tells us that the “Age of Aquarius” people fear vitality, he means that this is the thing they hate and want to change. These people don’t make things happen, they find things in the world they want to un-make, un-discover, un-invent, undo. This is the real meaning of the aspect of sun-in-detriment. It manifests in the popular myth that “science has gone too far.” Whether we’re talking about atomic bombs or genetic research, thinking “this new technology is bad and can never be used responsibly” is foolish. This is the same mindset behind the war on drugs. If lame idiots with no higher purpose in their lives fuck themselves up on cocaine and rob people we blame the drugs, or, better yet, artists who “glamorize” the drugs. If world leaders use the threat of nuclear war as political capital, the bombs are the problem. If companies use their massive wealth to ensure that new methods of agriculture and food processing are rubber-stamped into production without serious testing, and people get sick and die because of it, we should never have “toyed with nature.”
The problems are obvious. The nihilism of western culture, the herd mentality of democracy, and the corruption of corporate plutocracy are the problems. The people who produced incredible art using drugs, weaponized nuclear material, and developed new ways of growing and processing food are all SOURCES OF VITALITY. Although they didn’t create the problems, because they are the sources of causal initiative, they get the blame.
Let’s look at the two words in opposition here:
Reform: re “back,” formare “to shape.”
Conform: com “together,” formare “to shape.”
Reformers want to step back and undo the causal process. That’s not something you can do “according to Will.” Will is constantly renewing itself with each passing moment. It can’t get stale, and its work is not done until The End, presumably after many more incarnations and, as it seems to be indicated, at least one more Aeon. Will is the future, not the past, because the nature of the spark of life is TO GO, and I would hazard the assertion that a forward direction is indicated. When you bring something into conformity with this spark, it also picks up that dynamic essence. It GOES, along with the Going of Hadit. It doesn’t depend on something that has already been established, which “reforming” necessarily does.
To me, this establishes the difference between low magick and high magick. Low magick is something you do because you have to. There’s some pressing need that has to be met, and magick is the tool you use to meet that need. Fine! But absolutely uninspired. For a lot of people it stops there, and they only ever turn to those tools when they’re in some kind of crisis. High magick is magick you do because you’re looking to expand your horizons, see and hear something new, learn something you didn’t even know you didn’t know before. Whether you’re invoking Hebrew Archangels or calling up Goetic Demons, the “high” or “low” quality comes from the source of causal initiative. Does it come from the person doing the working? Or from forces that are creating crisis for the person doing the working?
A lot of people got involved with the occult INITIALLY because of a crisis. But what keeps them there? Is it the recognition that this system can hone them into a talented source of causal initiative? Or more crisis? Sometimes it isn't even their own crisis! Think about the fluffy white-lighters who bring energy to "heal the earth" or pray for world peace...
-Aleister Crowley, Liber 777
Crowley tells us that magick “creates change in conformity with Will.” But he also indicates clearly that we use nature (demonstrated reality) as a starting point. Now if we really accept reality, and we accept Pangloss’ assertion that each day is more perfect than the last in this, the best of all possible worlds, (why shouldn’t we?) why would we do magick? What’s the difference between the people who want to reform the world and the people who want to create change in accordance with Will?
The clue is in the quote above. The magician is vital, positive, solar, and the source of causal initiative. That is to say, things happen because the magician makes them happen. When Crowley tells us that the “Age of Aquarius” people fear vitality, he means that this is the thing they hate and want to change. These people don’t make things happen, they find things in the world they want to un-make, un-discover, un-invent, undo. This is the real meaning of the aspect of sun-in-detriment. It manifests in the popular myth that “science has gone too far.” Whether we’re talking about atomic bombs or genetic research, thinking “this new technology is bad and can never be used responsibly” is foolish. This is the same mindset behind the war on drugs. If lame idiots with no higher purpose in their lives fuck themselves up on cocaine and rob people we blame the drugs, or, better yet, artists who “glamorize” the drugs. If world leaders use the threat of nuclear war as political capital, the bombs are the problem. If companies use their massive wealth to ensure that new methods of agriculture and food processing are rubber-stamped into production without serious testing, and people get sick and die because of it, we should never have “toyed with nature.”
The problems are obvious. The nihilism of western culture, the herd mentality of democracy, and the corruption of corporate plutocracy are the problems. The people who produced incredible art using drugs, weaponized nuclear material, and developed new ways of growing and processing food are all SOURCES OF VITALITY. Although they didn’t create the problems, because they are the sources of causal initiative, they get the blame.
Let’s look at the two words in opposition here:
Reform: re “back,” formare “to shape.”
Conform: com “together,” formare “to shape.”
Reformers want to step back and undo the causal process. That’s not something you can do “according to Will.” Will is constantly renewing itself with each passing moment. It can’t get stale, and its work is not done until The End, presumably after many more incarnations and, as it seems to be indicated, at least one more Aeon. Will is the future, not the past, because the nature of the spark of life is TO GO, and I would hazard the assertion that a forward direction is indicated. When you bring something into conformity with this spark, it also picks up that dynamic essence. It GOES, along with the Going of Hadit. It doesn’t depend on something that has already been established, which “reforming” necessarily does.
To me, this establishes the difference between low magick and high magick. Low magick is something you do because you have to. There’s some pressing need that has to be met, and magick is the tool you use to meet that need. Fine! But absolutely uninspired. For a lot of people it stops there, and they only ever turn to those tools when they’re in some kind of crisis. High magick is magick you do because you’re looking to expand your horizons, see and hear something new, learn something you didn’t even know you didn’t know before. Whether you’re invoking Hebrew Archangels or calling up Goetic Demons, the “high” or “low” quality comes from the source of causal initiative. Does it come from the person doing the working? Or from forces that are creating crisis for the person doing the working?
A lot of people got involved with the occult INITIALLY because of a crisis. But what keeps them there? Is it the recognition that this system can hone them into a talented source of causal initiative? Or more crisis? Sometimes it isn't even their own crisis! Think about the fluffy white-lighters who bring energy to "heal the earth" or pray for world peace...