2.0 – Practical Sections With the posting of Section 1.5, the basic philosophical foundations of the Neo-Platonic cosmology (as I understand them) have been laid out. The next section of posts will be on the practical application of the system presented in the previous sections. In this next series, I’ll be looking at the practical

1.5 – While we’re here: The Great Work in Action

Ok, so we’ve established what the Great Work “is” within the neo-platonic context in the previous installment of the NP Basics series. This post is about how it all unfolds in the life of your average Magician practicing the Great Work using the NP system. 1.5.1 – The HGA, Your Emissary from God Ok, so

A Quick Note on "Dishonoring" the Things of the Lower Realms

In the last post, I mentioned that Plotinus says that you are to honor the things of the higher realms and dishonor the things of the lower realm to remember your race and value. While I was speaking literally, I didn't get into detail about what that meant. It doesn't mean that you treat the

1.4 – Why we’re here: The Great Work in a NP Magical System

“The Great Work” A magnificent phrase, eh? I’ve been through so many online debates and discussions about what the Great Work “means” that it isn’t even funny anymore. There are those who say it is “attaining unity with the Divine.” Others say it is becoming the best that you can. Others believe that every person

1.3 – Spirits: Why we Work with ’em, How we Work with ’em

Now we get to the meat of the matter. This is the post I’ve been looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, I’m short on space. My posts don’t look that big when I’m writing them, but then they’re huge on the blog. So I’ll keep it brief. I did finally break down and get a

Advice to Aspiring Magicians

When asked for advice from an aspiring artist, H. R. Giger’s agent wrote an excellent reply. It can be found under the last entry, scroll down towards the bottom. Aspirants to the Great Work would do well to interpret this and apply it to their own lives. Myself especially. 🙂 http://www.hrgiger.com/faq.htm

1.2 – The Harmony of the Spheres

Let me just say up front, I really hated writing that last post. There’s so much more than I can cram into a blog post, it’s unbelievable. There are competing doctrines of creation, details given in the Bible that complement the details given in Trismegistus, and Timaeus, the thing that started it all… Man. There’s

1.1 – Neo-Platonic Cosmology: How it all started

The best encapsulation of the neo-platonic creation story that I’ve found is in the second book of The Divine Pymander by Hermes Trismegistus. (Check wikipedia for his story.) It’s simple and to the point. Christians like myself can identify enough parallels to feel at ease in it, and pagans can find enough other gods that

Neo-Platonic Basics

I’m in a bit of a quandary. I’ve been Working with this syncretic Judeo-Christian/Neo-Platonic system for a while now, based almost entirely on the the Three Books of Occult Philosophy by Agrippa. I’ve been reading Plato’s Timaeus, Plotinus’ Enneads, and Hermes Trismegistus’ s The Divine Pymander, and it’s all been percolating into a pretty strong

Holistic Wholeness and Perfect Goodness

Good news, everyone, I got it! I mean, I got it. I really got it. I had an epiphany last night and early this morning. I’ll try not towax all mystical and ecstatic on it, but it was beautiful. It madesense of everything. Literally, everything. Birth, life,m death, struggles, woe, time, death, eternity, bliss, joy,