The Magical Messiah

[Excerpt from an as-yet untitled upcoming book, taken specifically from an exploration of some of the Hermetic/esoteric meanings of the Ten Commandments.]

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Ex 20:17)

A topic of much contemporary interest to the New Age and Neopagan movements is that of cultural appropriation. For instance, are the “neoshamans” and “urban primitives” of our day merely spiritual thieves, or are they rightfully adapting the ideas and method of cultures past and present for their own traditions?

The key to this first question lies in the uncomfortable bravado and indignation with which the issue is usually met by the growing legions of “tribal” tattoo-covered “neoshamans” and studded-black clad “chaos magicians” of the urban landscape. For my part, I must ask: What traditions? If the hungry legions cannot point to true religion as their foundation, a living orthodoxy, they will remain hungry, no matter how many techniques of ritual, vision questing and pseudo-meditation they pry from the hands of their living brethren or lift from the defiled tombs of the holy dead. “Occultism” and “spirituality” have become only the intellectual homes of ghouls dressed in the mishmash of the expensive burial clothes of those from whom they have eaten. And like the ghouls of legend, lore and Hollywood, their hunger never abates.

Dramatic language to be sure, and seemingly harsh when used to describe fellow seekers. Still, my description is unfortunately apt. An entire “system” of sorcery has been built around what I have described above, though using the more picturesque title “paradigmal piracy”. This, a radiative anti-magic practice wherein the sorceror seeks to consciously “paradigm shift” from one religion or spiritual tradition to another and another and another as casually as I change my socks, is only the most extreme example of what Arthur Versluis refers to as the “anti-tradition”. (See The Philosophy of Magic for a brilliant study of this topic written in the 1960s, by a genuine magician watching the dramatic public emergence of the anti-tradition all through our culture.)

Such a condemnation might seem odd, coming, as it does, from a Christian Hermetic who enthusiastically learns from Buddhist, Taoist, Hindu and Pagan sources. Am I not committing theft or fraud as well? Such a question deserves a serious response.

The commandment under our present consideration is one of envy sourced in a great cultural lack in the West (spreading rapidly through the East as well): as Versluis points out, orthodox religion and the arts of mysticism, magic, alchemy and related pursuits have been rent asunder over the course of centuries of spiritual decay. This is not to say that our culture has not made some important forward movement, but that we have lost our soul as a cultural unit. It is only when religion and mysticism (used here to refer to the individual application of religion) are one, or at least when they respect one another fully, that either one of them is healthy. Mysticism is the life-force of religion, while religion give mysticism a body and a context (or matrix). Religion is also important because, contrary to modern occult cant, not everybody is a mystic, magician, priest or shaman by talent or temperament. This point is essential, but only if taken with proper humility: “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” (Mark 9:35) These are callings for some just as medicine, engineering, and auto repair are callings for others. “The powerful magician, the artistic genius, the profound thinker, and the radiant mystic certainly merit all these qualifications and perhaps still greater ones, but they do not dazzle God. In the eyes of God they are dear sheep to him; in his consideration of them he desires that they shall never go astray and that they shall have life increasingly and unceasingly.” (Meditations on the Tarot, pg. 39) Make this a theme for contemplation and much occult nonsense, as well as the pride of “human progress”, dissolves.

This dissolution has not reached the same degree in much of the East, and never existed at all in most “primitive” or “tribal” cultures. It is not, therefore, unwise to examine them from the perspective of a Western spiritual seeker. The problem arises when we seek to completely replace our own beautiful traditions, supplanting them with random elements lifted from the traditions of others. The so-called Perennial Philosophy is still alive in the West, as are our religious traditions. They are not dead, or even diseased, but wounded. Therein lies the essence of a healthy approach to exploring the spiritual traditions of others, living or dead.

When a person breaks a limb, even all four limbs and several ribs to boot, we do not leave her to die or, worse, bury her alive. yet, this is precisely what most occultists in the West are trying to do! Similarly, we would never dream of fusing that person’s whole body with the bodies of multiple other injured parties, thinking that so to do would leave us with one whole, healthy individual, but again that is the approach taken by numerous New Age practitioners every day!

Instead, we perform skillful surgery in a few problem areas to remove truly dead tissue and build bridges across the resultant gaps with transplanted or donated tissues, we infuse healthy blood from a willing donor, and we make certain that the healing body takes in proper nutrients in correct proportions to enable it to repair itself (always the best solution when the damage is slight enough to make it viable). A more difficult process, perhaps, and often painful, but if performed ably and with dedication, we have a whole, healthy, vital person in the end, rather than a disease-bearing corpse or a monstrous chimera.

I think that the point is probably plain enough, but for the sake of absolute clarity, let’s examine the metaphor. The spiritual traditions of the West—Hermetism, Christianity, Judaism and Islam*—are vital and alive, with much will for survival and the inner power to thrive. But they are most definitely wounded, each to its own extent and in its own way. In order to rehabilitate them, we must fill in gaps with borrowings from other living traditions. We do this in full awareness, rather than out of semi-conscious envy for the spiritual powers and experiences of others, because we know that our own traditions once held those very same practical methods explicitly, but they have since been wrenched away by the overzealous, or else forgotten by the indifferent. Such is the way of the “march of progress”.

This, though, is the mission of the Hermetist of any religion: recombine orthodoxy with mysticism. This is a task of lifetimes, and it cannot be artificially forced into a religious body or the culture at large, so each must first make this a personal effort. That is, each Hermetic must make this unity of soul and spirit (literally, and in terms of the present discussion) within her own person. In so doing, many philosophies, religions, theological constructs and methodologies will be explored, with bits and pieces being taken along for the ride and fitted back into the holes proper to them. The records of many such recent journeys exist for Christians to learn from and enjoy, such as our anonymous Unknown Friend, as well as Arthur Versluis, Thomas Merton, and Mouni Sadhu, many of which have been invaluable sources of teaching and inspiration for me personally. I hope to add some small measure by way of this present book.

In Hermetic/gnostic terms, then, this final commandment refers first to the full edifice of the religious and spiritual traditions of others (“your neighbor’s house”), and then to the more or less important ideas and practices within them. We shall not unlawfully desire and use them, either to replace our own, or by misguidedly grafting them all together into a harmful mishmash, but shall instead respectfully explore and examine them as humble students and servants, knowing that if we but ask, that which we lack will be given for our everlasting health.

*Others could be named, such as Neoplatonism, Platonism, Orphism, Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, and many more. However, they have all more or less lent their vital force and central fire to one or more of the traditions named above.

Halloween falls on October 31st every year, and is the evening before Hallowmass (Hallow’s Eve). Samhain, or true Halloween, however, falls on November 7th this year (and a different day every year; check a good Witch’s calendar or astrological calendar), the Saturday following the secular Halloween. How does true Halloween (which I will call Samhain through this article, for the sake of clarity) differ from the secular holiday?

The first answer depends upon your current religion, and your religious background. For most adult Americans, Halloween is just a way to indulge in the “dark and spooky” without social stigma, and for children to indulge their sweet teeth during the increasingly cold and dark half of the year.

For those who practice magic, divination, ancestor veneration, or anything similar, Halloween is an effective time for all of the above due to its cultural associations. The actual tides themselves have not changed to suit modern proclivities, but enough cultural energy has built up around the night of October 31st (and the day of November 1st for Roman Catholics) that it serves as a particularly effective time for all of those aforementioned activities. It is also close enough to the actual date of Samhain (which, again, changes yearly, but which is never far off of Halloween) that it naturally partakes of some of the Samhaintide energy.

Samhain itself is, of course, an even better time for magic and all things “dark and spooky” (as defined by modern Western culture). The natural tides are in motion at this time of the yearly cycle, when the Sun enters 15 degrees Scorpio, in such a way as to very literally thin the veil between the planes. The planes, it must be remembered, are not separate in the same way that one room is separated from another by a solid wall. Instead, they are segments of a continuum which runs from the physical to the spiritual. The segments are useful for defining the areas of the continuum which tend to interact more directly with one another, but are not absolute. For instance, the “lower astral” and “higher astral” are just the more and less dense sections of the astral plane; as different as they can be, they are still just “the astral plane” because they have more direct interplay with one another than either of them has with, say, the spiritual plane. Ultimately, though, everything is made out of the same “mind-stuff”, so neither the physical plane nor the spiritual plane, nor anything between, is firmly separated off from the rest.

I will be honest in saying that I don’t really understand the mechanism by which the planes “become closer”. Maybe the lower planes become less dense, or maybe the higher planes become more dense, or maybe something totally different happens; I don’t know. Experience shows, though, that this is what happens, and because of it many different metaphysical operations become a bit easier to perform.

Divination is the traditional activity for this time of year. Tarot readings, scrying, rune-casting, whatever it is that you do (or whatever you can have done for you) should bring you clearer answers with less effort this time of year. Take advantage! Samhain is not the only good time for divination, of course. Any time of year will do, with waning moons typically best. Still, Samhain, Yuletide, and Beltain are typically the best times for it. Along with divination, astral projection should also be easiest at Samhain, and easier throughout the dark half of the year than the light half.

General spellcasting can also be done to better effect at this time of year. The energy is flowing more freely all around, and messages get here and back with less resistance, so go ahead and do some magic (or have your friendly neighborhood spiritual worker do it for you).

Of particular interest on and around Samhain, too, is evocation. Because the planes are in closer communion, it is far easier to evoke a being to either astral presence or physical appearance. The higher beings, such as archangels, angels, and the greater spirits of the elements and of nature, are generally not too difficult to a well-trained summoner at any time of year. Samhain, then, is best for the evocation of “lower” elemental entities and demons, as well as for necromancy (the evocation of the dead). Now is a great time to set up a shrine to your ancestors, or to begin to befriend the spirit(s) of your home and the surrounding land.

The created gods, especially the earthy variety, are also much closer to us at this time. Cernunnos, Herne, Herodias, Habondia, Aradia, Osiris, Hermes Cthonos, Hel, Hades, Pluto, and so on are much easier to contact around Samhain, and throughout the dark half of the year. Light candles to one or two of them to whom you seem to be drawn in particular and ask them for their presence in your life. Don’t ask for anything until you have a real relationship with them; just talk to them and try to become friends. Friendship is its own reward, apart from any favors you may do one another.

I’m sure that other people have a lot of different ways of taking advantage of the season, things that I’ve never thought of. The above should give the interested some ideas, though.

Happy Halloween!

[Excerpt from an upcoming book. Title as yet undecided.]

This is, therefore, how Hermeticism differs from religious mysticism and metaphysical philosophy. Hermeticism as the aspiration to the totality of things is neither a school, nor a sect, nor a community. It is the destiny of a certain class or group of souls. For there are souls who must necessarily aspire to the “totality of things”, and who are impelled by the river current of thought, which never stops, flowing always forward and always further on, without cease… There is no stopping for these souls; they cannot, without renouncing their own lives, leave this river of thought, which pours without cease—equally during youth, mature age and old age—without halting, from one darkness needing to be illuminated to another darkness needing to be penetrated. Such was, is, and will be my destiny. And in addressing these Letters to the Unknown Friend, I address myself to he who shares this destiny with me.” (Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism, author anonymous, revised English translation 2002 Robert Powell, 2002 Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam, pp. 264-265, emphasis in the original)

So wrote one of the great Hermetic writers of all time, an anonymous man equally devoted to Hermetics and Christianity. For him, a person could be a Christian without being a Hermetic, but Hermetics is not complete without Christ.

In the opening quotation, our Unknown Friend also goes a long way toward telling us what Christian Hermeticism is. It is not a special sect of Christianity, nothing like a school or religious order. Instead, it is the God-given destiny of a certain group of individuals who are called to a greater, more direct understanding of the “totality of things”, or the workshop of God, during this life.

The first time I read that quotation, I wept. We are hermetics; as Christian Hermeticisms, we live in the world but are not of it. It is a wonderful thing to encounter, even through a book, the signature of a soul who travels the same path, whom God has blessed the same as ourselves. Yet, at the end of the day, the Christian Hermeticist is still a hermit.

Enough of the poetry! What is Christian Hermeticism in practical terms? This question has at least a four-part answer.

The first part, the essence, is mysticism. Mysticism is not an escape from the world, but the direct experience of God’s Presence while still in the world.

Next, the natural development of mysticism, comes gnosticism. This is not the escapist philosophy of the Greek Gnostic gospels, but the personal intellectual and emotional reflections of mystical experience.

Third, the Christian Hermetic practitioner expresses their gnosis (“knowledge”) through magic. Magic is not sorcery, but instead the liberating and healing power of God expressed through an intelligent agent. Much more will be said on the matter in Part 3, but it may suffice for now to state that magic is the channeling of the blessings sent in response to the prayers of mysticism.

All of these three phases finally find themselves written in the Book of the practitioner. That is, each individual Hermetic synthesizes the experiences, gnosis and blessings into her own life and makes use of them in blessing the lives of others. That synthesis is the fourth phase of Christian Hermeticism.

But is Christian Hermeticism actually Christian? That is a vital concern indeed! I will have more to say concerning specific aspects of Hermeticism, and their respective Christian orthodoxy, in later chapters. For now, I make recourse to my own story by way of an answer.

I had been involved in Hermetics in one form or another for years prior to becoming a Christian. Although I had many excuses, the main reason why I never explored Christianity in much depth was the Christian community itself. I felt prematurely judged by Christians and, by extension, by God. In response, I retreated first into atheism, and then into a philosophical form of Satanism. I believed in God, but did not have much understanding of Him, and so childishly rebelled against Him.* During this phase, I allowed myself to wallow in selfishness. At my lowest, I was actively invoking the Dragon of Dispersion, and making pacts with Lucifer and his cohort. In my foolishness and sinfulness, I committed abominable acts.

Hermetics rescued me. Or, rather, God rescued me through Hermetics. By a circuitous path, I came into the habit of performing a very intensive series of rituals and meditations each day which served to gradually increase my awareness of God, albeit in an abstract way, and to awaken my body, soul and spirit to cleaner things. Then, as if to bring the whole sequence to a climax, I suddenly began to suffer a series of dreams and waking visions. The archangel Michael came to me time and again and showed me my errors. He assigned me a few specific prayers and rituals for penance and baptism and, over the course of a very busy two days of uncharacteristic asceticism, I felt all of the weight of all of the guilt of all of my sins life from my heart. A final dream confirmed and strengthened my footing upon the narrow way. Still, I was not a Christian. That came a couple of more years down the line.

Having worked most of my way through a very intense Hermetic training system, I found myself living in an isolated mountain town in North Carolina. While at my place of employ reading a book on theosophy, a voice boomed in my head: “Who is your god?” I was shocked to hear my own inner voice immediately reply, “Jesus Christ!” Several days of meditation and prayer later, and I gave myself over to Christ.

And yet, I did not give up Hermetics. Why? Is there no conflict? Frankly, no. What does Jesus teach us? ” ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Mt 22:37-40 NRSV)

Hermetics replies: “I have come, divinely inspired by the truth. Wherefore, I give praise to God the Father with my whole soul and strength,” (Corpus Hermeticum 1:30) and “There is one way to worship God: be not evil.” (CH 12:23) Further, I was once told by a living Hermetic teacher, “The key to Hermetics is love. Trying to train in Hermetics without love is like trying to drive a hundred miles an hour on an empty gas tank.” (Imagine this quotation in a heavy German accent for full effect.)

So you see, the two are more than compatible: their message is identical.

*God is neither male nor female. For the sake of linguistic convention, I have chosen to use masculine pronouns when referring to God throughout this book. When referring to an anonymous human being, I will use feminine pronouns for balance and, once again, convenience.

For Christians, Jews, and even many of non-Abrahamic religions, Qabalah (Kabbalah, my usual spelling, has given way for this article to the more modern “Qabalah”; also spelled Cabala, among other variations) has been a keystone of spiritual thought and discipline for several centuries. Numerous concepts and correspondences have been mapped onto the central glyph, the Tree of Life, in many different configurations, in that time. All of these ideas have made Qabalah a beautiful and comprehensive philosophical structure, a vast temple of every piece of knowledge and experience to be had through human channels. As with most philosophies and spiritual traditions, though, a very few points of view inevitably stole attention and became “authoritative”.

These particular approaches to Qabalah, generally entitled the Western and Jewish qabalahs, are very useful and have proven themselves out over the past couple of centuries for their respective adherents. Unfortunately, the limitation of awareness to these two overarching approaches have caused them to lose sight of one another, and of all of the other approaches which have existed and which continue to be generated and evolved in the shadows of esoteric practice. The result has been the overall stultification of qabalistic exploration and an increasing inertia in the two systems.

So-called Western Qabalah practically stopped growing with the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn’s system. Even those outgrowths which do periodically occur are largely just minor modifications of the Golden Dawn’s correspondences and methods. Jewish Qabalah has remained relatively fluid, although the emphasis is entirely upon interpreting, and putting into action, Torah. As Western occultism has become less and less religious, and as Chassidic Judaism has become increasingly “fundamentalist”, the two approaches diverge more dramatically all the time. Western Qabalah largely lacks Spirit; some of its greatest adherents and practitioners have referred to it as little more than a “filing cabinet for ideas”, leaving no room for spontaneity, grace and love. Jewish Qabalah largely lacks generosity; most practitioners disallow anybody outside of their particular denomination or group to study the subject, and display open hostility toward anybody, Jewish or not, who dares to study or practice Qabalah in any of its forms (outside of a few popularizations of the essential ideas, intended only to give fellow Jews a taste of what they’re missing in their unrighteousness).

Of course, there are exceptions worthy of our investigations. Jewish writers like the late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, and Rabbi David Cooper have provided us with books full of historical, theological, philosophical and even practical materials full of Spirit and verve, but also imbued with a generous heart and an acknowledgement that anybody serious about their spiritual life can make use of these ideas and techniques to grow closer to God. Hermetic writers like Franz Bardon (in his ill-understood and underacknowledged Key to the True Quabbalah) and Rawn Clark (whose writings are all generously available for free at A Bardon Companion) provide an open-source Qabalah, available equally to all, full of religious love for the God Who lies back of all Qabalistic thought. These same Hermetic authors are not afraid to search the Jewish sources of all Qabalistic thought, just as all Hermetics must be willing to explore the Greek, Egyptian and Christian sources of their own traditions.

I will publish a lot of my own specific findings in an upcoming book on Christian Hermeticism. As a rule, though, all that is required of any Qabalist is a willingness to search out the hidden answers (and secret questions) through the disciplined and passionate application of Qabalistic techniques, both Jewish and Western. Then, and only then, will the Tree of Life erupt in blossom before your eyes, offering up its pomegranates freely.

The One Year Manual by Dr. Israel Regardie

Originally Twelve Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment

1981, Weiser Books (1976; originally 1969)

10 out of 10

God bless brevity. There is an awful tendency in occult literature to go on and on for hundreds of pages without saying much of anything of use. Most of Regardie’s books are relatively short, and the ones that are not spare no space for filler but are densely packed with information in the truest sense.

The One Year Manual is the ideal “beginner’s guide”. It is short (the editions in my possession going to 70 pages, plus preface and suggested reading list), by design, and wastes not a single word on nonessentials. With a stated mission to avoid convolutions of theory in favor of simple, effective practice, Regardie provided the would-be magician and/or mystic with a complete kit for at least a year’s worth of training.

The book starts off with Crowley’s four solar adorations, which amount to simple, poetic prayers for the four “stations” of the Sun throughout the day. The goal is simple: the Sun, as a symbol of the Unknown God, is “adored” throughout the day to keep the student’s awareness focused on the Divine, while at the same time giving a sense of connection to the macrocosmic universe and its great movements and cycles.

Body awareness follows as the first “step” of the work; this is practiced at a set time each day, as well as throughout the day during normal routines. The benefits are manifold and include a greater degree of self-awareness, Zen-like mindfulness, and the gradual relaxation of physical tension.

The second step concerns a method of very deep physical relaxation. In addition to deepending relaxation and body awareness, the student also learns to use this technique for healing simple physical ailments and complementing medical treatments for more intense illnesses. It is worth nothing that these two exercises also tend to produce a meditative state, which stands the student in good stead for more advanced training systems.

The third step, breath control, depeens the meditative state and further enhances physical and emotional relaxation. Just as importantly, we learn through breath to deepen our relationship with the vital energy which exists and moves around and through us.

What is generally the first step in contemplative and meditative practices, mental awareness, is the subject of step four. This is quite simply quietly and nonjudgmentally observing the flow of your own thoughts. Here, the student becomes very deeply acquainted with herself, as well as gradually relaxing her thinking-mind’s tensions.

Expanding on the previous step, step five introduces the student to mental concentration, and deeper meditation, by way of mantra repetition.

The second, more active, portion of the year is opened in step six with the training and strengthening of the will. Do to the discipline and concentration developed over the past few months, this exercise will likely come easily. Still, it is the first time in this programme that the student exerts any active volition as opposed to more or less passively experiencing herself.

Step seven changes the nature of the work dramatically by introducing the daily practice of the Rose Cross Ritual. This ritual is, in my opinion, one of the finest techniques to come out of the Golden Dawn’s corpus. While Regardie does not state it implicitly, this ritual has some profound effects for the careful student. It banishes negativity, makes one astra-mentally invisible (as opposed to most banishing rituals, like the LBRP, which tend to “light one up” on the inner planes), and tends to induce a deep sense of divine peace. This ritual acts as a very intense prayer, and can really exalt and humble the student.

Step eight, as is the trend, expands upon the previous work by intensifying the student’s awareness of Divine Presence and energy by way of the Middle Pillar Ritual, another gem from the Golden Dawn.

The remaining four exercises are more or less abstract magico-mystical practices entitled, in order, “Symbol of Devotion”, “Practice of the Presence of God”, “Unity—All is God”, and “Invoke Often! Inflame Thyself with Prayer”. While profoundly different on the surface, these final steps are the perfect culmination to the training year in that they entail finding and employing personalized, emotionally and intellectually engaging methods of prayer and meditation.

These final chapters also include words of immense wisdom and beauty as well as encouragement. They are alone worth the cost of the book even to the most advanced student. I return to them periodically as “inspirational reading” and find them to be ever refreshing.

While definitely based in the Hermetic and Kabbalistic systems and traditions, there is nothing in this book which cannot be easily adapted for training a new student in nearly any magic-mystical system. I myself simply handed The One Year Manual over to my own student and said, “Here. This will be your course of training for now. If you can make it through, you’ll be ready for anything else you choose to study.” For the budding Hermetic, I can imagine no better first year of training than this book with, perhaps, The Kybalion and Regardie’s The Tree of Life to provide theoretical foundation.

I keep being forcibly cheered-up. About two weeks ago, I was in a very bad mood as I was walking in to work. An elderly Hassidic man and wife were walking toward me on the sidewalk. I’m accustomed to the Hassidim of the area more or less ignoring gentiles like myself, at most exchanging brief nods to one another from across the cultural gap. On this occassion, though, it was not to be. The couple stopped in front of me and the gentleman looked in my eyes and pointed his curved finger at me imperiously while saying, “You have a good day. And that’s an order!” Then he and his wife gave me two of the most sincere smiles I’ve ever seen and kept on their way past me. I was not able to be grumpy for the rest of the day.

My fiancé and I were recently in a harsh conflict with one of her housemates who took it upon herself to be needlessly abusive. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say that I was angrier than I have been in some years, and for several days in a row at that. On Friday night when everything was coming to a head and I was expecting a real conflict as my fiancé returned to the house to retrieve her more important belongings, I waited outside so as not to make things worse by my temper. I was vaguely aware at this point of a group of three Hassidic men walking up the street in the gloom. When they got close to me, they stopped, and out from behind the two younger men in front stepped a particular elderly man who pointed his curved finger at me and said, “And that’s an order!” He then chuckled and all three men continued on their way. I think the two younger men were quite taken aback by their elder’s mysterious gesture and words toward a strange gentile, but the old man and I shared a moment then which brought a smile to my lips, a laugh to my throat, and tears to my eyes.

On the Tree of Life, there are Holy Names, Archangels, and Angelic Choirs associated with each of the states of being known as the Holy Sephiroth. The sephirah at the bottom of the Tree, Malkuth (Kingdom), has associated to it the Angelic Choir called “Ishim” (AYShYM) which translates as “Fiery Souls”.

Who are the Ishim? Well, you are one of them. Or, at least, you can be. In Kabbalah, the Ishim are said to be the souls of humanity when we are inflamed with love for God and each other.

That Jewish gentleman improved my life, possibly forever. If I never see him again, I’ll always have the memory of his visits and I think that it’ll always make me smile. That’s what being a Fiery Soul is about. We all can be heavenly angels just by loving, and spreading the love. You don’t have to be perfect; you just have to improve lives in any way you can. The argument of “grace versus works” is solved: God is most active when we let His grace flow into the world through our works.

New Age, New Thought, and occult understandings of the world’s religious and spiritual traditions tend to be superficial at best. I am not excempt from that analysis, though I have been personally trying to deepen my knowledge of those sources from which I draw the most, especially the Bible, Christian mysticism, Zen Buddhism, and the old Hermetic documents. I am still no expert, but I’ve learned some things of importance. In Hermetics, we try to take the broad view of things: neither losing the forest for the trees, nor the trees for the forest. We don’t always succeed, but at least the effort tends to lead us in the right direction.

For around six months, I was a member of a truly amazing church family in Waynesville, NC. The Creative Thought Center is a marvelous church based in New Thought, especially Earnest Holmes’ Science of Mind (or “Religious Science” as he sometimes called it). The CTC is, thankfully, independent of any otherarching hierarchical organization, such as Holmes’ Church of Religious Science, which allows them to be very accepting of people of all manner of religious and spiritual traditions, including Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and many more obscure that you likely have never heard of. I had overwhelmingly positive experiences with these folks. I want to emphasize my love for them before I move on.

Unfortunately, the CTC family has a tendency, like many involved in the study of one metaphysical branch or another, to fall prey to one or more of the various “pop mysticisms” which keep coming into existence these days. Perhaps more than any other time in history, mysticism is a popular topic, but also more than any other time, it is heavily overlaid with modern and postmodern expectations and imaginings so as to lose much of the true message of mysticism.

“We’re all ONE, so you can be RICH!” It sounds ridiculous when you put it in stark terms, but that’s exactly the message so often given. It does not follow.

I will be the first to say that, yes, greater material prosperity can be had through the use of magic, affirmative prayer, and so on. Such uses of the so-called “powers” are not, however, the primary objective of mysticism; the powers, when used at all, are to be used in all ways to aid in the mystical ascent and to aid those around us.

In many ways, it is a good thing that pop mysticism has gotten people to re-evaluate their place in the world, their relationship to the Divine, and their relationships to one another, but I think that it often does more harm than good as it turns the mystical quest into the same debased search for power found in the medieval demonologies.

As a Hermetic, I’m often in touch with sources of information that many people do not have ready access to. Still, a lot of information is withheld. It seems like humans aren’t given a lot of answers on purpose.

Many people of faith (of every faith) have a hard time with this. The very fact that we aren’t capable of knowing everything is, in part, what produces fundamentalism.* Some people are utterly tortured by that lack of knowledge; their worldview relies upon constants, and when the ideas thought to be constant are frequently moving, shifting, and outright changing, we humans can come to crises. It is important, therefore, to carry several tools in your faith kit along your spiritual path.

First of all, be skeptical. This does not mean that you shouldn’t believe anything; frankly, that’s impossible in any case. Instead, be careful about the ideas and answers that you do accept. Always ask questions; the Socratic method is nothing to be ashamed of.

Second, love the questions. Learn to accept uncertainty as a gift from the Divine, ever leading you to explore His mysteries and His creation. Questioning the assumptions of your faith is not a sin, but instead a great compliment to God as it displays your willingness to use your divinely-gifted talents and intellect. We are here, in part, to learn, so learning is never wrong of itself.

Third, Occam’s razor! This one gets thrown around a lot, but it really can be helpful. In essence, any answer you come to should make the fewest number of assumptions possible to the situation. That will tend to keep you on a reasonable track. Of course, in matters of spirituality, we often have to run full-bore held aloft by unproven hypotheses, but we need to be fully conscious of the fact when we do and understand the limitations of our situation. As Galileo Galilee said, “Religion teaches us how to go to heaven; science teaches us how the heavens go.” Faith has its place.

While it sometimes makes me feel uneasy, I really enjoy the search. I get to exercise my intellect, along with my intuition, gut instinct, and my heart. Body, soul, and spirit get involved in equal parts and the whole process is exhilarating.

*For a fascinating historical and idealogical analysis and account of the rise of fundamentalism in the Abrahamic faiths, see, The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong (2001, Ballantine Books)