Magicians Live in a Magical Crucible
By Robert Zink
Definition of a crucible:
The melting pot or the bottom of the fire where metal is usually found. It is also what alchemist used in the old days for turning lead into gold.
The Outer Order of the Golden Dawn provides a crucible where spiritual development can be purified and rectified. The negative qualities are exposed to the candidate along with positive qualities. If the candidate is undaunted in his or her work, the result will be the formation of Gold that must develop in the Inner Order, generally in the Adeptus Major Grade.
The difficulty with a magical life is that you are always and forever living in the crucible. You are burning away that which is unworthy of your next spiritual destination, transforming and firing the gold into a more perfect metal. It never ends.
Living in the magical crucible as a way of life can be rewarding and challenging. The magician is always and forever working on purification of the gold within, and yet at the same time doing and performing practical magic.
The magician is in the world but not of the world. This means he or she does not buy into the trappings of the world or the limitations that others tend to believe in. There are landmines along the path of the magical life style. The magician must aspire to the highest level of integrity. This does not apply only to the magical world on their magical operations, it must apply to every aspect of the magicians life. There can be no exceptions. The result of less than total honesty is to invoke the evil to react upon the magician.
The magician must be transparent. This does not mean that certain secrets can and should not be maintained. What it does mean is that with the people the magician serves and teaches, and the family he or she loves, their must be complete transparency. To do less is to send a message to the universe, the source of all magical power, that less that honesty can be employed in the magi’s workings. Less than honest in all your workings and activities will result in impotent and powerless magic.
Remember, if you are a magician, you are always in the crucible. You are always in the fire or transformation and, either your transform yourself so that you can achieve the next magical and spiritual level, or you do not.
One of the problems with grades as used in the Golden Dawn is that they only indicate a snapshot of where a person likely is in time. Once the photo is taken, anything can happen and the grade that was obtained can be lost in the twinkling of an eye. The Magical lodge system tests the candidate with oaths and obligations that if surrendered, will naturally dilute the magician of his grade. The reason is simple: the magician gave his word, not to another person, but to his or her higher Genius and the Lord of the Universe.
The magical path can be rewarding, providing the magician an edge in life and a ladder to higher states of spiritual consciousness. It can be an empowering life. “Remember oh neophyte to mark this day as day one and to always give due honor to the Lord of the Universe.” Give honor though your actions of light, honesty and integrity and be bluntly honest with yourself and all you encounter.
In Light,
G.H. Frater P.D.R.
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I like what is written in this blog, thank you..
Jake D. Voie - January 19, 2012 at 2:53 am |
I like it. It states what should feel obvious to a Magician but some do need the reminder that the reason they’re on this “path” is to shed their old unrefined self and grow into a pure being. Shedding the old is likely to be painful, and emotional, and it is the test that we must endure that is called initiation.
Frater VAL - January 21, 2012 at 12:27 pm |