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To: alt.magick.tyagi,alt.magick,alt.pagan.magick,alt.consciousness.mysticism,talk.religion.newage,alt.fan.kali.inanna.astarte
From: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com (nocTifer)
Subject: Working with Wrathful Spirits
Date: 12 Jan 1998 15:26:46 -0800

49971105 aa2 Hail Satan!  
 
RE reasons to trust darkside forces:
same reasons to trust human beings or other animals.  some aren't 
trustworthy.  there are various methods of discernment for this, 
usually arising out of the particular paradigm of the mage or shaman.  
the typical Hermetic noctophobe divides up the world into White Hats 
and Black Hats and then constructs an elaborate system of codes to 
validate members of hir spirit-team, never thereafter trusting the 
Bad Side.  the more mature spirit-worker relies on interview, an 
intuitive sense of the spirit's relationship to the mage, and 
consistency of response.


RE motivations for rendering service to ostensibly objective spirit 
 entities:
I would preliminarily suggest that 'objective spirits' is an oxymoron
without validity (since 'spiritual' implies 'subjective' in my lexicon).
beyond this, presuming what I take to be absurd (externally-existing 
spirit entities), the motivations for cooperating with and serving 
such beings are many and varied, often comparable to relationships 
with human beings. 

self-destructive motivations typically inspire unconditional service, 
sometimes for the purposes of allegiance to an ideal or principle.  
there is the typical faustian bargain seized upon by the dualist, and 
even those who see these beings outside the dualistic paradigm can 
understand the benefit of a tit-for-tat exchange when there is 
sufficient reason to think that the spirit will hold up its end of 
the bargain.  haphazard bargains made with will-o-the-wisp transients 
are bound to prove fruitless.

RE how to penetrate the deceptions of spirit entities:
the traditional magical perspective on this is to 'test' them somehow by
requiring response to a query which will demonstrate their adherence to
symbolic standards of association: asking their name, color, glyph,
region of dominion in the presumed cosmological scheme, etc.

how do we penetrate the deceptions of human beings?  extensive 
communication, verification of claims made about minor actions, 
consistency in the history of interaction, coherence of expression, 
and response to minor challenge.


RE when to trust such entities:
when there is little to be lost in so doing, when the entity has, over a
period of time, demonstrated a reliable character, consistent demeanor,
and honesty of expression.


RE self-destructiveness as exemplified by 'darkside' spirit entities:
self-destructiveness is a valuable characteristic, despite what 
creationists and luxocentric weaklings will otherwise contend.  in 
terms of everyday life, self-destructiveness allows us to take risks 
and move beyond otherwise potentially paralyzing fears which have no 
basis to endure.  it can also allow us to terminate conditions within 
which we find ourselves to which our instincts for self-preservation 
may inspire us to cling irrationally.

those who have the strength to interact with wrathful spirits best do so 
armed with the knowledge that these beings are often misunderstood, are at 
least partly the result of our own repressed psychic elements, and can be 
prepared for through the development of a disciplined and potent will, a 
familiarity with basic magical or religious toolsets designed to assist 
interaction and self-protection, and some sense of one's objective in the 
enterprise.

mature mystical systems recognize this and integrate symbols of wrath and
repugnance into life-affirming and otherwise beneficent mythology.  an
example here is the renouned Padmasambhava, whose biography attributed to
Yeshes Tsogyal (Tibetan Buddhism) describes his residence within a 
charnal ground, usage of human flesh for food, skin for clothing, and 
the occasional murder of apparently innocent court officials and 
private citizens.

stories and symbols like these are understood by the experienced mystic 
as not only pointing to interior states of nonattachment and the 
transcendance of worldly norms, but also to important mystical 
disciplines that are too often prevented by the thanatophobic and 
psychically hamstringed Western religious.  these barbarians typically 
make real spiritual maturity impossible so as to inspire an endless 
relationship of dependence with the recognized social authorities, 
insuring that their system of support remains intact.

more than merely indicating our healthy self-destructive tendencies, our 
ability to encounter such beings demonstrates that we may be engaging what
some would call a path with a 'steep grade' or 'greater potential for fast
development', though this can be made less hazardous when engaged under
the guidance of a master of a tradition that integrates such practices and
understands the terrain.  given the lack of such a master, discovery of 
and alliance with beneficent spirit entities are often a valuable 
precursor to the more advanced practices.

blessed beast!
________________________________________________________________________
nocTifer: tyagi@houseofkaos.abyss.com  ---  http://www.abyss.com/tokus
TOKUS-COE Office: 408/2-666-SLUG --- Mother Church (CoE) coe@netcom.com
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