“Devote the mind to confusion and we know only too well, if we´re honest, that it will become a dark master of confusion, adept in its addictions, subtle and perversely supple in its slaveries. Devote it in meditation to the task of freeing itself from illusion, and we will find that, with time, patience, discipline, and the right training, our mind will begin to unknot itself and know its essential bliss and clarity.” –Sogyal Rinpoche, Translation of the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Some people call it “the Void;” some call it “Bardo”; some call it the “ether;” the symbolic-minded refer to it as “Jacob’s Ladder;” and modern science calls it the Earth’s electromagnetic field. Far from some New Age inspired theories, these comparisons are conclusions that are drawn from hard data; data of which has already been suggested in this series and other work done by The Last American Vagabond. The cross-analysis at hand, thus, will not be addressed here, and it should be heavily noted that a person who outright disagrees with this sentiment is a person who simply has yet to do adequate research on the subject. An individual’s interpretation of the data isn’t something that can be given to someone, but the hard data itself is becoming less and less refutable—especially with the contrast between ancient and modern science.
As a generalized example, consider the earth’s electromagnetic field as the home of the radio wave. Hertz radio waves are, of course, also brain waves that are the byproduct of thinking. Entities, both good and bad, that have been outlined in this series as being under the studied field of Demonology, are a form preternatural electromagnetic phenomena that transmits to a brain as a radio transmits an AM or FM broadcast. In light of this, the focus of this article will be on the mechanics of contact and communication—or, “climbing Jacob’s Ladder.”
In esoteric philosophy, the study of the invocation and evocation of angels, demons, and gods is considered “Theurgy”—and because of its controversial cast of characters, the 72 Lesser Keys of Solomon and its study (Goetia) are some of the most well-known and little understood aspects of theurgy. In addition, while Aleister Crowley was by no means a paragon of morals and ethics, he was not nearly as dastardly as he is considered by the common public; Crowley was snide and somewhat narcissistic, but his self-service was by no means bent on world domination or the corruption of all good things, and he did a great deal of undeniable good, at the very least, when considering his work on theurgy and divination (like his work on the Tarot deck, for example). In terms of the steps that Jacob’s Ladder consists of, Crowley is certainly a recommended source, but merely one of many recommended sources(see Manly P. Hall, Henry Laurency and R.A. Schwaller De Lubicz for some more details).
Some readers may have already noticed the deeper implications of research like this, yet if they have not, it is very important to address these implications—especially since it is one of the biggest critiques against magicians like Crowley. The implications, in specific, are that, firstly, this article is intended for therapeutic, alchemical-transmutational applications. In layman’s terms, it is to help a person get rid of the trauma lingering in the neuronal complexes so that they can live in a greater sense of peace; a sense of peace which is measured by how harmoniously a person lives in accordance with Natural Law, and how deeply the can perceive their truest nature or their Hermetic “Holy Guardian Angel.”
However, as any historian or theologian will say, Black Magick was directly created by White Magicians. Unintentionally, of course—but when a person has the mechanics to contact an angel, all that is needed is some minor tinkering and reapplication of the methods in order to summon demons. This article, technically, as well, is subject to this line of criticism—and quite frankly, it would be irresponsible to not address this. It is primarily asserted here that the powerful individuals who would be using these forces for evil, are already doing this on a much larger scale than is considered by the average person; this article is simply an attempt to level the playing field.
Secondly, as will be elaborated, the interaction between brains and entities is a much deeper, more nuanced aspect of everyday life that many people are already doing on a regular basis—whether they know it or not, whether they want to do it or not, and whether the entities are good or not. A quintessential teaching of the Gnostic Mysteries was, “Not everything entering the human mind is of the human mind,” and a person who is not directing their own thoughts will find something else helping to direct them more often than they would expect. A perfect, and perfectly disturbing example of this, is Mainstream Media and Edward Bernays’ classically villainous phrase: “Manufactured Consent” of the public. Give the people the ideas to think.
As is usually the case, before the science can really be scrutinized, the original mythology and metaphysics of the ideas must be laid out in order to supply an adequate context for investigation. The “cast index” of entities will be discussed in its own part of this series. As well, before this conversation, take into account the ideas of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, hypnosis, and ceremonial trances/waking dream-states from Part 2 of this series. It’s time to get really heady.
Consider the human being as a filing cabinet, their brain the manila folders, with the neurons being the data contained within the cabinet. These files, depending on how well they have been kept, can either tell a conclusive narrative of well-organized categories and data sets, or the papers could be balled up and crammed into the manila folders—or anything in between. Traditionally, an individual tends to be somewhere in the middle of these examples. In a workplace, if the employee has properly filed all the material, the material can be easily accessed so as to be properly and effectively used in the situations in the world that the information pertains to. This is an efficient, fluid process of operation.
On the other hand, if the entire filing cabinet is in disarray, there are many different circumstances that are brought about. Generally, a person will have to take extra time away from the job that they are tasked to do—since the information is not readily accessible because of its disorganization, the priority before the application of the information must be a re-organization process. During and especially before this re-organization process, there are a whole list of problems that can arise. The employee will likely succumb to heavier levels of stress, simply because it is harder to conduct their work, they may receive flak from their employer for inadequate performance—and depending on how bad the situation is, the employee and/or employer may need to call in a colleague to help sort out the mess.
While the disorganization is at its full swing, business opportunities are lost, time is wasted, ideas are frustrated, and here’s the kicker: if the employee sloppily conducts their business for a continuous and consistent period of time, con artists and low lives are apt to pick up on the poor business and seek ways to extort personal gains from the opportunities that the poor business presents. These con artists and low lives are not the ultimate problem with the business, although they can bring it all crumbling down easy enough. The real problem is the disorganization, and once the business is properly reinstated, the low lives will find no way to sustain themselves in the new situation of prioritization. The proper operations will make these con artists obsolete. This may, in a worst case scenario, lead to a conflict between the employer/employee and the low life which can be handled in any variety of ways. If this worst-case scenario occurs, it tends to continue to the last man standing.
This allegory should come across fairly straight-forward, the employee being the individual, the employer Natural Law and the angelic archetypes, and the criminals being the demonic presence. The conditions of the filed information, is the overall condition of the human being, which is fundamentally represented by the informational transmission of the human aura(which is a collection of energy fields that are emanated from the physical body, known as the chakras). The “archetype” of an individual is a symbolic interpretation of their “etheric body” or aura. In this sense, the “demon” or “angel” is the SYMBOLIC interpretation of a contained electromagnetic frequency of information. This contained frequency even has a name in modern physics, called the soliton. Whether or not these entities are as cognitive and aware as the human contacting them, is unfortunately not something that can be conclusively addressed in this article, as it is not something that even practicing occultists can agree on.
Many, such as Hermeticists, tend to consider the autonomy of these entities as being an allegory for the “self-contained/soliton” aspect. That is to say, that their idea of awareness is an allegory for solidarity. Instead of white noise, this is a specified and naturalized informational transmission—quantifiably, it is something rather than nothing—and that in and of itself is where the idea of sentient entities comes from. This is, of course, incredibly viable as an explanation. On the other hand, if these entities are actually as cognitive and aware as humans are, then there is of course only as much of an explanation for this as there is for human intelligence (which is hardly any explanation at all).
However, as is usually the case, there may be an explanation that involves both ideas. To make this a little straightforward, the Wikipedia definition of the occult term “egregore” is supplied:
“Egregore (also egregor) is an occult concept representing a ‘thoughtform’ or ‘collective group mind’, an autonomous psychic entity made up of, and influencing, the thoughts of a group of people. The symbiotic relationship between an egregore and its group has been compared to the more recent, non-occult concepts of the corporation (as a legal entity) and the meme.”
Record labels, publishing and production companies, musical bands and performing acts, workers’ unions, and even political administrations are clear examples of the concept of the egregore at work. This is not a theoretical idea, this is an esoteric definition of an outright undeniable phenomenology, and even technological artificial intelligence is the pursuit of the most physical esoteric definition of the egregore. Mainstream Media, as discussed above through application of Manufactured Consent, is a massive egregore of black magickal proportions.
Unfortunately, this is as conclusive an answer as can be assessed with an open source investigation. Perhaps this computerized artificial intelligence/occult egregore model is the best explanation overall for ideas of demonology and theurgy, although this is indeed theory. The egregore may either be a literal explanation of preternatural activity, or it may conversely prove the sentience of these entities. If an egregore is what happens when human electromagnetic activity is so focused that it becomes self-contained and somewhat autonomous, then perhaps when a person is so disorganized, the opposite of this happens—and instead of creating their own “egregore/thoughtform,” the person parasitically attracts another entity to them.
To take this even further, perhaps a person creates a sort of etheric container for an actual entity when they create an egregore. If the egregore is sustainable and appealing enough, perhaps a sentient entity may then begin inhabiting the conditions of the egregore. (This is quite heady material, indeed!) To err on the side of practicality, this article asserts the artificial intelligence/egregore model, with the possibility for this egregore model becoming a possible container for deeper intelligence.
To bring this full circle, this article series asserts that authentic cryptozoology and extraterrestrial phenomena are the ultimate example for this theory. When the egregore has been formed and strengthened enough, a person can slip further into a state of neuro-linguistic somnambulism, actually summoning an entity through an on-the-fly mental ceremony that evokes an electromagnetic entity to the physical realm of symbolic projection. Additionally, albeit noted with tongue-in-cheek nature, Aleister Crowley was famously known to live at Loch Ness for a period of time.
With this model, the conditions of a person’s mental “filing cabinet” is the state of their karmic conditions, which are represented in the neurons. Energetically, this neuronal activity creates these archetypal frequencies that an individual emits simply by existing. It is their unique essence, and these modes of expression of their existence on the etheric level scientifically serve as electromagnetic radio stations that a person cycles through, tuning to a certain station given the circumstances of the person’s environment and the control they have over themselves. Fundamentally, these etheric radio stations are a person’s repertoire of their states of consciousness. Many people use a very limited variety of their states of consciousness, and some allow egregores like the Mainstream Media and unquestioned social normalcy to actually dictate what states of consciousness they cycle through. If a person is not careful, their stations may be getting constantly changed by their environment on a continuous basis, unbeknownst to them.
Learning the nature of changing the station, strengthening the signals, and knowing when to use what stations, are the psychosomatic aspects of alchemy and transmutation. For more scientific studies on these altered states of consciousness and neuronal radio stations, Dr. Stansilav Grof and his theory of Condensed-Experience Systems of the brain is recommended research. For brevity, this article will only briefly elaborate that the ceremonial aspects of evocation and invocation are attempts to tune a person’s state of consciousness/radio broadcast to a specific mode. Incense, candles, mantras, talismans, sigils, et cetera, are methods of tuning.
Lastly, it is essential to discuss the aspects of white and black, light and dark magick, specifically when climbing Jacob’s Ladder into the transmissions of the ether. When a person is invoking and evoking, whether it be an egregore or a full-on entity, they are on a scientific level undergoing changes through neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the study of the malleability of the neuronal complexes, as well as the study of how exactly to change these neurons for the better, specifically in terms of psychotherapy and psychiatry. The only real reason for a person to be communing with preternatural egregores and entities, is in order to bring the person closer to the view of their true self in light of Natural Law, which is the Hermetic idea of the “Holy Guardian Angel.”
In White Magick, a person seeks the “counsel” of positive frequency stations or spirits, in order to apply this to their understanding and invoke therapeutic, alchemical neuroplasticity. Any other reason for communion with entities is Black Magick, but more specifically—it is evil-minded when it is used as a short cut for any reason. In traditional magic, some of the worst spirit possessions are said to occur when a person has actually summoned the entity, in order to make the entity impress to the human the information that the entity holds—whether this be wealth, power, virility, or whatever the case may be. If a person is attempting to take the information of the entity without assessing it and assimilating it of their own accord (so that they can get the “upper-hand” in society) then it is merely a couple of steps away from a possession. All an entity must do is seize the opportunity. To embolden the ego is ultimately negative, and to shed the karmic limitations of the ego in steps towards the truest self is positive.
Let it be known that theurgy is not recommended to ANYONE who does not have years of disciplined occult experience, and even theurgy of White Magick is swimming with the sharks, hoping to successfully navigate to the desired destination. If a person does not have the adequate experience and training, but feels the need to pursue some of the therapeutic concepts touched on in this article, a hypnotherapist, specifically one licensed in Neuro-Linguistic Programming is recommended.
Just because a person is attracting negative circumstances due to their karmic projections does not mean that they have entities leaching away their brainwaves, but this article asserts that a person who leaves negative circumstances (egregores) unattended for long enough can and likely will attract something closer to a classical demonic possession. In any minor ailment or even entity possession, the only ultimate remedy is the alchemical notion of the Holy Guardian angel.
Dear reader, you have been warned, so tread very lightly and at your own risk when ascending or descending Jacob’s Ladder to the Stars.
[accordion title=”21st Century Demonology Continued” close=”0″]Part 1: Esoteric Sciences, Fortean Cryptozoology, & Beyond
Part 2: Folklore, Sleep Paralysis, and Brain Waves
Part 3: Theurgy and Jacob’s Ladder to the Stars
Part 4: Media Metaphysics & Shamanic Trances
Part 5: Cast Index, Ceremony, and the Metaphysic Ecosystem[/accordion]
Sources: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos275.htm, http://www.crcsite.org/printegregor.htm, http://www.hermetics.org/pdf/grimoire/goetia.pdf, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_U4IJny0CU, http://www.fatuma.net/text/R.A.SchwallerdeLubicz-TheTempleinMan-SacredArchitectureandthePerfectMan.pdf, http://www.laurency.com/ContPS.htm, http://www.thelemapedia.org/index.php/Holy_Guardian_Angel, https://gnosticteachings.org/books-by-samael-aun-weor/introduction-to-gnosis/360-lesson-nine.html, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soliton, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egregore, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boleskine_House, http://stangrof.com/, https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/ancient-knowledge/trauma-transcendence-neuroplasticity/