Apotheosis

If we are to believe everything we read on the Internet, there was an event last Tuesday night which changed the world!  Not seen in over 2000 years, the "Star of Bethlehem" was reappearing in the Heavens! 

Dramatic!  Rare!  Magical!  Behold!

Ooh, shiny!

I jest, of course, but the clickbait just got to be too much. Also, when people get caught up in the good feelings of drama and fantasy, they tend to develop an acute allergy to reality and facts.

Jupiter and Venus conjoin every 13 months or so on the average, and their conjunction in 1988 was significantly closer. Furthermore, Venus goes retrograde between July 25 and September 6, so this conjunction is only the first one in a triple conjunction between the two planets. (Now that's a little more rare; it happens about once every ten years.)  The first encounter is the closest, however, and there is actually plenty of omens and portents in the Heavens overall at that moment which are worthy of inspection.

Starting with the focal matter at hand, we have the celestial tango of the Greater and Lesser Benefics under the solar spotlight in the Sign of Leo.  Love meets charity, beauty bonds with bounty.  In and of itself, aside from a very weak square to Saturn retrograde in Scorpio, there are no drawbacks here whatsoever.

Propping up this beatific conjunction are trines to Uranus in Aries and Luna in Sagittarius.  There is a strong impulse for sudden change here, change in an independent and perhaps unorthodox manner, coupled with idealistic optimism.  These three assemble a Grand Trine in the Fire signs, adding fuel, power and balance to this impetus.  The Grand Trine itself is somewhat transitory, as Luna forms one of its vertices, but it makes that snapshot in time all the more significant.

The only thing that would have made this conjunction more auspicious is if it were just a few degrees further along in the Zodiac.  Then it would have conjoined with the fixed star Regulus as well.  Regulus is Cor Leonis, the Heart of the Lion, one of the four Royal Stars of Persia, and the "kingmaker" among the stars.  In this case, however, Jupiter would hand over his sceptre to a new Cytherean Queen.  If one is looking more towards a spiritual omen, it would be more the case of "God is coming back and boy is she pissed!"  Despite the precise conjunction not really being there, the path of the triple conjunction does pass over Regulus, so I anticipate seeing more women rise to positions of power in the future.  This heralds a change in the governmental order of things, and Pluto hovering in Capricorn would back that up.  (The last time Pluto hung out in Capricorn, France and the American Colonies had their revolutions.)

The patriarchal structure will not go unopposed, literally, as a Sol-Mars conjunction in Cancer is trying to extinguish Luna's enthusiasm by fighting Fire with Fire.  That conjunction having a trine to Neptune retrograde in Pisces supports that resistance through belief systems and disinformation.  One can even see shades of the Emanuel AME and black church burnings in all of this.  As would be indicated by the outpouring of forgiveness from the victims and the subsequent "Hate Won't Win" campaign catching Fire, so to speak, the benefic conjunction supported by the Grand Trine prevails, with an assist from Pluto opposing the Sol-Mars conjunction. 

So this is indeed an auspicious snapshot of the Heavens, but the Star of Bethlehem it is not.  However, if you want to look for the next solid candidates to herald the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, look to the Grand Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in Aquarius close to Winter Solstice 2020 and Spring Equinox 2080.  Their close encounters bring each other within 6 arc-minutes of one another, which is 4 times closer than this last Jupiter-Venus conjunction.

Esoteric Orders: A Survival Guide
          Section I: How To Find An Esoteric Order

Last Chapter: Section I: Introduction

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Back at the turn of the 19th century, if you wanted to get involved in an esoteric Order, you needed to know somebody. Secret societies were, well, still secret back then, for the most part. On rare occasion, one might see an editorial, or even rarer, an advertisement in a fringe magazine, with contact information through postal mail, if one was lucky.

How much things have changed in a century and a quarter.

When I was initially looking for the Golden Dawn in 1997, I stumbled upon AvatarSearch one night, which billed itself as the search engine for the occult Internet. Although it’s already been gone for a few years, it did a pretty good job in its day. I remember typing in “Golden Dawn” and immediately getting half a dozen solid hits. Before I knew it, it was 3 AM, my eyes were glazed over, and so was my mind from all the information that had been thrown at it. I started out excited, and ended up inundated.  Nearly two decades later, in a World Wide Web where “Google” has become a verb, a newcomer would only get more overwhelmed.

Solid, principled esoteric Orders have to walk an interesting tightrope in the 21st century. Tradition holds that they operate under a veil of secrecy. They have their oaths to preserve and their heritage to protect. Contemporary society, however, almost demands that they present some sort of public presence. This typically rubs raw against Orders’ oaths of secrecy, but it also provides them a powerful benefit, as they also have the responsibility of their egregore to perpetuate. Finding that balance is a difficult exercise, but one that they should not shrink away from, as good Orders are all about proper equilibrium, for their members and themselves.

Because of this, websites of responsible esoteric Orders are going to be predominantly for educational and informational purposes.  If their tradition already has a rich and protracted history, plenty of space will be devoted to it.  If the Order is a variation on a tradition, or an entirely new incarnation, expect there to be some sort of founding statement or manifesto, defining itself and its raison d'être.

Every half-decent website is going to have a fairly sizeable section devoted to resources, including such things as references, articles, images, historical letters, art, news, and event announcements.  Information pertaining to the Order's teachings, even if it has been published for decades, should be significantly excised, simply out of respect to the tradition and its oaths.  However, you can get an idea of the group's mindset and center of attention from the resources they provide.  If their materials adhere closely to their own tradition, you can expect the Order to be focused and devoted to that tradition.  However, if their information spans widely across a number of different doctrines and practices, it could be evidence of a hazy concentration on, or worse, a fundamental lack of understanding of, their own tradition.

Since these sites are primarily about information, and because these Orders are still semi-secret, don’t be surprised if they make it a little difficult to find out anything about how to become a member.  In fact, you should count on it.  You might find a reference on a remote page to a post office box or an email address.  At most, there may be an online form to fill out for serious inquiries only.  Many Orders, including ones with groups, circles or temples world-wide, shy away from publishing their locations.  After all, a good Order is going to, first and foremost, be discreet.

The more dubious Orders out there do not suffer this conundrum.  In this day and age, anyone with a little pocket change and time on their hands can register a domain name and set up a slick website, replete with fluffy bunny affirmations, surrounded by lots of eye candy.  In this sense, the Internet is the “Wild Wild Web” when it comes to trying to make heads or tails of legitimate esoteric Orders.

Those types of groups, more especially the smaller ones, are more than ready to let you know how widespread they are.  The thing is, finding out that an Order has multitudinous temples across the globe really doesn’t tell you much.  When newcomers see the word “temple”, they think of a free-standing building with dozens of people participating.  Truth be told, many of the “temples” out there are a couple people running things out of their spare bedroom, if you’re lucky.

The same goes for any references to membership brought up by the website.  Simply put, the earlier there is mention of the ease, and especially the cost, of joining their Order, the sooner you know what their focus is truly on.  If the information on the main page of the website reads like the script of a bad infomercial, then it is highly likely that they are trying to sell you something.  That’s fine if you’re looking to buy a pentacle necklace, a cool talisman or some other pretty bauble, but we’re talking about the first step on a new spiritual life here.  Think about it.  If a website claims to be the elite Order of its tradition, would it be so indiscriminate of its applicants as to allow anyone with a credit card and a button click to become a member?

Along the same vein, if an Order claims that they have all the tools and tricks to make your newly-founded spiritual life instantly powerful and easy, then they are trying to take you to the cleaners.  There are many reasons why the endeavor is called “The Great Work”.  It’s because it takes a Great deal of Work to achieve it.  Any good writer can give easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for rituals and ceremonies.  Knowledge, however, falls considerably short of gnosis, and won’t get you even near the threshold of understanding or wisdom.  Spiritual growth requires a great deal of personal introspection, admission of hard truths about yourself, and significant psychological change.  There are no short cuts.  You will not hold dominion over your own personal world until you first know thyself.  As above, so below.  As within, so without.

Remember that this is but your very first step in finding the spiritual path that is right for you at this very moment.  Surfing the web is a good opportunity to get a glimpse of what’s available out there.  However, just because certain statements and claims are out there on the Internet, that doesn’t make them true.

If you want to find the right esoteric Order, you are going to need to do more than scratch the surface.  You are going to need to crack the veneer.  There are plenty of people out there, also accessible through the Internet, who have been underneath the candy-coated shell.  You can glean a great deal of valuable information from them, if you next choose to seek them out and engage them properly.

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Next Chapter:  Engaging the Community

Tonight, I received the following email from Soror MKR.  She performed the Eadem Mutata Resurgo ritual to very positive effects.  Beyond that, I will let the letter speak for itself:

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Greetings Eric,

I have had the opportunity of performing your motto-changing ritual as published in Hermetic Virtues. I didn't want to change my current motto so much as abrogate mottos I have previously had in other Golden Dawn orders. I really just wanted to clean the slate and go on with just the energies of my current motto. It's not that any of my older mottos did not fit me at the time I had them, but for each motto change, they represented me operating from a new place and time. Those places and times were long past, but there was still a feeling of them lingering on in subtle ways.

I have to say that the performance of the ritual was a wonderful experience, in and of itself. The energies were intense, there were obvious temperature changes in the air at various points, and a most discernible feeling of a weight lifted as I abrogated the old mottos (three of them). But the interesting thing is that I've seen some changes in the way things are happening in and around me since I completed the ritual. There have been subtle and not-so-subtle serendipitous events related to my current motto and what it means to me. My current motto is related to truth, and I have had a variety of interesting truths revealed to me, both internally and externally, both in daily life and realizations and in dreams. I've also felt more balanced and been much more productive, both of which I had been working on and having some difficulties with, while after the ritual, it seems to be flowing more naturally and coming more easily.

I'm fully convinced this was all the result of the ritual. I'm very much looking forward to see where my motto takes me from here. Should I need to change my motto again at some future time, I plan to use your ritual again at that time. Thank you!

Soror MKR

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This ritual can be found in the latest version of Hermetic Virtues magazine.  If you have also performed this ritual, I would love to hear your results as well!

So much attention has been given to the 30th anniversary of the Consecration of the Vault of the Adepti by Israel Regardie, that another important milestone almost slipped under the radar.  This Summer Solstice marks the 5th anniversary of the publication of Hermetic Virtues magazine.  Vic Sabljic, a tireless and devoted servant of the Great Work, has bestowed a great service to the Western Mystery Tradition.  Furthermore, the list of authors who have written for Hermetic Virtues is a veritable "Who's Who" in the esoteric community.  From many different walks of life and many different traditions, Hermetic Virtues has also served to bring the community together in a greater sense of sharing and harmony.  For all of this, Vic and his Hermetic Virtues team deserves significant accolades.

This edition of Hermetic Virtues also marks my debut as a published author.  The article, Change Your Motto, Change Your Destiny, discusses the concept and history of changing one's name, the various reasons to do so, and provides a deeply meaningful ritual in order to effect such a significant change in one's own magical life.

Here is a small excerpt from the article:

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Abram was promised to be made a great nation by God, but his wife Sarai was barren. Jacob was a cunning lad who undermined his brother and was sent away. Simon was a simple fisherman, Saul a persecutor of Christians. Aside from all being prominent figures in the Bible, what did all these people have in common? They all experienced a life-changing event, after which they took on a new name.

The custom known as Shinui ha-Shem is exercised in the cases in which a person needs to acknowledge life-changing events, change one’s path of misfortune, or even as a last-ditch attempt to save a person’s life from critical illness and imminent death. The foundational premise of this is, if you change your name, you change your fate.

As a ceremonial magician, our first charge is to create for ourselves a magical motto. It is not supposed to be a title or categorization as such, but a conscious definition and crystallization of our intent and aim in our magical lives. It is our first application of Will, the first thing we truly magically create and, in that sense, it is a self-initiation in its own right. This is the magical rendition of Shinui ha-Shem.

However, the magical life is not all roses and rainbows. We endure trials and tribulations, we come to crossroads and, sometimes, we even get lost along the way. As the Hiereus reminds us, “every obstacle can at length be conquered by perseverance”, and when the dawn of a new day breaks, we arise not the same.  As the Angel beseeched Jacob, “Let me go, for the day breaks”, just before giving him a new name, it is such times in our own magical lives that may be opportunities to change our mottos. After all, if changing one’s mundane name changes one’s fate, then changing one’s magical motto changes one’s destiny.

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Be sure to go over to the Hermetic Virtues website and get your copy of the Summer Solstice 2012 edition today.  Personally, my favorite article is Two Thrones for the Golden Dawn by Aaron Leitch, with Enochian Magic in the Golden Dawn Tradition by Dean F. Wilson a close second.  It's a very good edition and you won't regret getting a copy for yourself.