![]() I guarantee that whatever practices you are doing or experiences you are having, they will be enriched by writing them down. Try holding yourself to the same standard and see what happens. He didn't care if what was attempted in it was completely successful, but they had to do something, and there had to be a record of it. Crowley would not advance anyone past Probationer in A∴A∴ unless they could keep a complete diary for a year. Try to write something every day, even if it's "did nothing", because if you get that down you haven't done nothing, you've at least worked on your diary. This is a matter of preference, but don't be afraid to use a format that gets you to write, but doesn't look pretty. Nevertheless, a quality bound book has a real magical effect that should not be overlooked. The value of the diary is what is written in it, not what it's written on. They transport easily and can be copied without difficulty. Fancy manuscript books give a weight to the value of one's diary work - but loose binder paper sheets have become my own preferred means of recording entries. This is the magical diary.Īs for the actual practice of the magical record, here are a few personal reflections from my own work along these lines over the years:įirst of all, don't worry too much about presentability in terms of what one writes on. Most crucial to all of this is that a record of the procedure be made for oneself and others. The end is the attempted discovery of the meaning of one's existence. Skepticism is an important element but, as in physical science, as a means to an end rather than as an end in itself. Nevertheless, the method will remain scientific in the broad sense already outlined if one proceeds with attention paid to the observation of repeatable regularities, and if one refuses to be convinced of states of affairs by other then conclusive results. It may turn out, in exploring this phenomenon, that the self is not at all like a physical object, and that it is opaque to analysis in quite the same quantitative manner as are the chemical properties of H 2O, for example. Our questions therefore are: what is this self, what is its nature, its limits, its meaning? The aim of the experimentation is "religion" and so this determines the type of experiments with which the phenomenon is interrogated. One's own being, one's self is therefore the phenomenon to be subjected to experimentation. ![]() The oath of the probationer of A∴A∴ is to explore the nature of one's being. What is the nature of these investigations? The diary functions explicitly as a kind of lab notebook for various investigations that the magician undertakes. This way of understanding the idea of science also has the attitude that beliefs, assertions, or theories should be subjected to some kind of appropriate testing or verification.Ĭrowley's Magick does legitimately have some features of this type of science, and in few places more clearly than in his use of the diary record. The goal of using these methods is not itself determined by the methods, so this kind of 'science' is not necessarily tied to a particular metaphysics such as materialism or physicalism. ![]() Today, science is perhaps best understood as a set of methods for recognizing repeatable regularities. Magick posits a transrational source of knowledge, however, so Magick is not scientific in this sense. ![]() Hegel uses the term in this manner, for example. In the 18 th and 19 th centuries, 'science' was often used to connote any kind of knowledge arrived at through reason. What is 'science' then? If we attempt to answer that question, we will discover that the word designates more of a variety of background assumptions, activities, and attitudes, rather than something really specifable by a set of propositions that everyone would agree with. This idea of a scientific approach to mysticism and Magick is a key component of the Thelemic tradition, and is at the basis of the usefulness of the diary as well. ![]() This motto was used in every issue of his massive publication The Equinox. Why is this?Ĭrowley was fond of describing his approach to magical training with the motto "the method of science, the aim of religion". Keeping a diary of one's spiritual exercises, experiences, and reflections is one of the most important and effective activities the aspiring magician can dedicate themselves to mastering. ![]()
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