Theos-Talk Archives (August 1996 Message tl00362)

>So, magic is not really (or should not really be) a no in Theosophical
>circles. It may be different for magick, but I don't know much about that.
>I don't know anything about Enochian Magic as how it relates to the above,
>so I can't comment on that. Maybe you can provide a little description
>of it?
	It shouldn't be, I agree.  Especially as HPB both practiced it
and discussed it.  But it is.  The very word raises theosophical hackles,
as Chuck can tell you (of course Chuck doesn't care as much as I do).
Magick, with a final k, is Crowley's definition:  "The science and art of
causing change to occur in conformity with will."  By this definition
we are all magicians, and life itself is magical.
	Enochian Magic is a form of ritual magic, but I have
introduced a yogic form that I call Enochian Yoga, for those who
don't like ritual.  Started by Dr. John Dee, it was elaborated on
by the Golden Dawn and Crowley.  I have done my own elaborations
on it as well.  Today it is a stand-alone magical school that some
people use as a religion (kinda like Theosophy).  Its main claim
to fame is its unique map of the magical universe, which is every
bit as colorful and enticing as the Tree of Life.  There are four
Watchtowers, one for each of the four lower cosmic planes.  Each
Watchtower contains 156 Squares, and each Square is a unique
region or subplane of the invisible worlds.  Each Square has a
ruling deity, and so on.
	Basically, I theosophied Enochian Magic and turned
it into a workable and relatively complete magical system.  For
this, some regard me as an Adept, while others regard me as
a cheap charlatan (for example, I have been called an "armchair
magican" because I do not belong to any magical organization,
and my Enochian Physics was called "more about Theosophy than
about magic" and so on).

>Tantricism is a different case, except when the original tantrical works
>are meant by this, I think. Often Tantricism is associated with sex magic(k)
>nowadays, and that is generally considered to be a 'no' in Theosophical
>circles
	Yes, but there is sex magic and sex magic.  If we agree
with Jung's theory of the anima and animus, then real sex magic
is nothing more than the process of becoming a whole and complete
person--a re-unification of the psyche.  However, theosophists
throw out the baby with the bath water and dismiss the whole subject.

> What is this tantricism in your books all about?
	It is about feeling whole and complete--a samadhi
if you like.  You see yourself as the King of the Watchtower, and
unite with the primary Goddess (or vice versa if you are a
woman).  This union can be either a physical union as done
in ritual, or a psychic (visualized) union as is done in yoga.
This is all because I am coming at the topic from an
Enochian viewpoint, and such a visualization or ritual makes
sense from this perspective.  But the same result can be achieved
by other means because the goal is a degree of samadhi, or
emptiness and bliss.

Thanks for asking, Martin.

	Jerry S.
	Member, TI