This section is an overview of our approach to magick, ritual, and life. It is
not an attempt to teach, but to illustrate how we are different from other groups,
to elucidate our tradition. We will go into more detail when you work with us.
We believe Lord and Lady are as real as we are, but that their form and manifestation come from human conditions. The Lord and Lady wear whatever clothing is appropriate to the generation of humans who strive to commune with them. The Lord and Lady do not necessarily wear medieval clothing, or no clothing at all; they may be busy executives on LaSalle Street, or construction workers and environmental activists in the suburbs. We can update their image, as needed, to match the times.
Lord and Lady are nothing but life on this planet. To truly see them, see the blanket of life which covers this planet's thin crust. Spend time with nature. To us, Lord and Lady are not the creators of the universe, as the Judeo-Christian God is. Lord and Lady are manifestations of universal consciousness on this particular planet, which at a deep enough level underlies all realms of existence. Lord and Lady are limited at this time to this planet. The deeper realm of consciousness, the Cosmic Mind or Great Architect of the Universe, is the creator of all worlds and all universes.
In our service to this planet we commune with Lord and Lady, but sometimes in meditation we may meet with a deeper form of being which is not so limited in influence.
The elementals are also more complex and less powerful manifestations of life on this planet. Air, Fire, Water and Earth are not life itself but the basis of life. Without all four we could not exist. We invoke them to respect the basis without which we would not be. When we invoke them deeper more primal intelligences work with us to generate new forms of life and existence.
Other forms of deity are invoked to embody ideas as archetypes. All ideation has an independent reality because they exist on a high vibrational plane which transcends time and space, so that when we die or are distracted and move on to other things, the vibrations of the idea continue to resonate regardless. So all deities which we invoke are as real as we are, but are also manifestations of the union of human consciousness with forms of being which cannot manifest on the physical plane but through sapient beings such as ourselves.
Aglaian teaches that materialization of desire lies within the realm of spirit, not of flesh, and that a disciplined mind can manifest all good things. We believe that it is paramount to teach mental/psychic discipline, and that much of the external ritual is secondary to the training of the psyche itself.
Because of that, our training consists primarily of exercises to improve students' power of concentration, since that is the one thing usually most lacking in those who come to Aglaian. We also teach techniques of visualization/release, developing confidence in the Cosmic Mind (the Great Unmanifest which lies above and beneath the manifestations of Lord, Lady, and other deities), developing confidence in ourselves, and developing strong attitudes about life which inspire success in our daily undertakings.
When external ritual is taught, it is always emphasized that:
Critical to the correct use of ritual is the concept of mindfulness. Are you mindful of what you do during ritual? Are you really paying attention? Check how often you, when doing ritual, are thinking of things that happened at work today, or items you need to purchase at the supermarket. Or a flirtatious encounter which you continue to regale in your mind. It is this lack of mindfulness which can harm ritual the most, not whether you are putting your god representation on the wrong side of the altar.
One of our key lessons in life is to regain a sense of mindfulness in our daily living. If we gain the ability to drop mundane concerns when we enter circle, we have taken the first step toward gaining the mastery over our consciousness. Worrying about mundane concerns at inappropriate times shows lack of faith in the Goddess, in her ability to help you out of the problems. You are not alone, you are surrounded by a reservoir of divine energy which is taking care of many issues which concern you without your direct involvement. Trust them. Deal with your current situation, do not worry about other places or times over which you have no power. Imagine that you are a soldier and that the "General" is taking care of the battlefield. There is a Big Picture, and you need to deal with your part of it attentively and carefully.
Perhaps, instead of a worry or concern, there is some thought that gives you pleasure, that you continue to nurture as you enter circle. This thought is equally the enemy of proper attention during ritual. Think of what master consciousness serves. That Master is YOU . Is this wandering and fantasizing really what you want to be doing with your thoughts, at the most important time of the month? Are you in mastery of your mind, or do demons of inattention peck at you and command your will instead?
If you pay attention, to the best of your ability, your ability to pay attention and to regain focus will get stronger and become easier as time goes on. It will be painful at first.
It is important that the lessons of mindfulness carry over into your normal existence. Lessons fly by you, important information surrounds you, which unless there is constant mindfulness will be ignored by your mundane consciousness. A beauty of mindfulness is that it can easily be practiced in our late 20th century world where constant activity often prevents the practice of standard meditation. You may call this form of "mundane life" mindfulness the walking meditation, or the supermarket meditation. It means to really, really pay attention to whatever mundane activity you are pursuing. It means to give the demons of fantasy and worry a rest, for at least a few minutes.
No matter how boring or mundane some aspect of your life is, really paying attention to it will open up new realizations that you were blind to before. Being unmindful is a form of blindness. We do not think anyone chooses to be blind.
The reason we are seeking to improve our lives is to serve as a better vehicle for the healing entity of the Goddess. If we are broken, we cannot help better the world around us.
Aglaian also insists that students, should they become strong Craft workers, do exercises such as meditation, visualization/release, breath control, and concentration exercises at least half an hour every day. Of course many times we fall short of that attainment, but it is the goal we strive for.
The human psychic glandular system is a kind of muscle which gets stronger with use, and which atrophies with disuse, exactly like musical ability, mathematical ability, or memory.
Doing ceremonial magick, or any physical ritual act, will not by itself make the psychic system stronger. And because that physical ritual is the primary emphasis of many groups, that is a big difference between our tradition and others.
When we do psychic manifestation, or "magick", we are using a form of energy which transcends the lower vibrational physical universe and the lower three dimensions. Many groups, however, talk of this psychic energy as almost a physical thing. Creating the cone of power, releasing it to fly off to do its work. These are all very three-dimensional metaphors. It is also often stated that energy can be located in a crystal or flow through an athame, like electricity.
We do not question that there are forms of healing or life force energy which have lower vibrational rates which are limited by the three dimensions, and which are usually focussed around the body. But the energy we use in psychic work, telepathy, clairvoyance, and visualization transcends time and space in a way which, in ordinary stages of consciousness, is impossible to conceive. It is unnecessary and counterproductive to conceive of this energy as a physical object, taking up space, moving hither and thither.
If we are truly effective in manifestation, we are working with an energy which is in all places and all times, simultaneously. We need merely visualize our goal, and empower the goal with enthusiasm and single-minded concentration. We should not be distracted by trying to visualize the energy itself. The energy itself cannot be imagined, its power and brilliance transcends our mundane experience, and works of its own accord, not needing our feeble instructions. All we have to do is "program" it through effective visualization of noble goals.
Because life is a learning game. Playing the game well means developing your own resources. Going outside to an external authority is alright from time to time, but usually unnecessary. And the more you trust outside authorities for this kind of information the weaker your powers will become.
No important thing needs to be taken on faith. All things are knowable if you have the persistence and have found your Path.
We do teach a divinatory system, generally at this time Tarot, and we give an overview of other divinatory systems. At that point then the student is free to pick their own system of divination and study it further on their own. We don't care which you pick, the physical method is unimportant. What we teach is development of direct intuition and direct psychic knowledge. Strong direct intuition will make you a stronger user of the "divination vehicles" currently available.
Qabala is an important western mystical tradition and very powerful when a lifetime is devoted to its study. Our two major concerns about Qabala are (1) that without years of study, our casual use of it is rife for misunderstanding, misuse, and descent into "mumbo jumbo"-ness and (2) it is fundamentally a Judaic system which is very hard, if not impossible, to strip from its Old Testament gematria context.
Also, we have a tendency to agree with rabbis who feel that the Qabala is a system which is only understood properly in the Jewish context by Jews, and is fundamentally misunderstood by many if not most ceremonial magicians.
Aglaian believes that sapience is important to every living system. It is hard to believe that intelligence does not evolve on other worlds. It seems a natural enough outcome of an evolving ecosystem. And we all seem to hope we find intelligence on other worlds.
Why, then, do some Earth-friendly people treat humanity as if it were nothing more than a cancer on the face of the planet? Why sometimes do we villify the products of intelligence, such as technology and mass society? It is hard to believe that other species, having gained tool-using ability, would do things so differently, given the chance. It is difficult to believe that a species, given the opportunity to expand to large numbers, would resist that temptation.
We do not believe intelligence is a one-edge sword - a sword of destruction. We believe that every planet that evolves intelligence (sapience) does so for a purpose. We believe sapience allows ecosystems to expand in ways impossible on a planet devoid of intelligence. It is possible that we may destroy ourselves, but we believe Gaia views this as a risk worth taking.
Why? Because this planet, without humanity, is doomed. Within the next several million years, without humanity's intervention, another asteroid will hit the earth. Possibly it will be big enough to wipe out most land-living species, possibly all life. In several tens of millions of years, perhaps longer, the Sun's light output will change sufficiently to destroy life on this planet.
Life on Earth is a short production without human beings. But with human beings methods emerge of extending life beyond this planet, of stopping threats to life which a non-intelligent ecosystem can do nothing about (such as asteroid strikes).
Viewed this way, human beings, and possibly other species in the future, become Gaia's sword and defender. If we destroy ourselves, we have no doubt that Gaia will try again with one of the other smart animals. We are necessary to Gaia, and must try to control our tendencies toward short-sightedness and destruction. Intelligence, and its servant technology, are the planet's best protector.
We believe that all psychic work, whether it be an attempt to send a telepathic message, do distant healing, or astral project to someone, is really only easily done when a feeling a love is manifest during the Work, and the stronger the feeling of love and lack of self-centered ego, the greater the success. The more our work is tuned toward the benefit of others, the better our work will be in the psychic realm.
A corollary to this is a diminishment of the ego awareness is necessary if we are going to become effective psychic workers. People who brag about their New Age accomplishments, or their visionary or healing experiences, begin to lose contact with the Cosmic Mind. The ego is an illusion manufactured by the human being at this point in our evolution to facilitate the processing of information and survival of the species. But it is only a tool, like a pair of pants or a set of socket wrenches, which we should not become too attached to. The more we live the life of "I", pridefulness, ego, and self-centered attention, the smaller the world we retreat into and the less of a potential humanity we find within ourselves.
All higher vibrational actions, which characterize most of what people think about Magick, pass through the Higher Self or Inner Self. People sometimes visualize it as the Goddess or as a guardian angel. Through this portal everything passes, and She is pleased when our thoughts turn to love and betterment of others.
So Love is not just a good thing -- it is the Law!
We can state our position on Black Magick very succinctly: there is no Black Magick. There is no reason to actively protect yourself from psychic attack, because nobody can psychically attack you. There are no wizards hexing you, no witches cursing you, nobody to blame for your misery but yourself.
The reason there is no black magick is related to the topic covered above under the heading, "Love". All psychic impulses pass through the Higher Self. The further removed from the emotion of love our feelings are, the less we are in contact with the Higher Self. Someone whose emotions are nothing but raw hate or envy are in no contact at all with the Higher Self. These feelings they have are only hurting themselves.
The only way for black magick to affect you is through the very mundane (and non-magickal) means of invoking fear. If the so-called black magick practitioner lets you know through some means that they are doing ju ju against you, your own fear will do their job for you, if you let it. If you let yourself feel that others can have power over you, then you automatically give power over to others. But this is just normal psychology, and has nothing to do with magick or occult work.
We do believe, however, that binding spells, so long as they are done in love and with potential benefit to all parties, can be effective, because we have witnessed their effectiveness. But binding spells are not hurtful in nature.
We realize we are probably not making ourselves very popular with these statements, because so many New Age businesspeople make their money "fighting psychic attackers", and so many people have got this as a ready-made excuse for their life problems.
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This page created 01/22/98 Last updated: 01/23/2001 This Aglaian Information Page © 2001 by Jeffrey Benner. Permission must be obtained before reproducing in any non-electronic format. All defects in this product are only temporal illusions, which you must strive to transcend.