Beginning on the Path

General Discussion
1

howdy all.

this isn’t strictly about black magic, but i use it as an example below.

in some of EAs books and elsewhere, it’s generally accepted that the path of dark ascent gives too much power to the neophyte way too soon, and that revelations along the path come somewhat at random, or at least in intermittent and unpredictable bursts.

i’m curious as to when and how others have experienced these moments of enlightenment, and what finally allowed them to walk through doors which were suddenly unlocked and flung open.

my own experience began with LaVey’s rituals which induced auto-hypnosis and hallucination. next came the modern grimoires which i used to summon goetic spirits for the first time, including EAs writings. oddly, though, Mark A. Smith’s books presented me with visions and experiences i am still having difficulty deciphering. clearly a significant current to study, but it ultimately wasn’t for me. what results i did get, though, were impressive enough to warrant my respect of the system.

now, working through the BoA and KoF, i’m eliciting my own revelations, albeit slowly. oh, and the tarot has always been the cosmic roadmap i’ve used for comparison. it’s absolutely invaluable for gluing all the bits and pieces you pick up over time back together. the tarot seems like the scrapbook, while your experiences are the things you put in it. having suits and elements etc gives you an idea of where everything should go to make up the final mosaic.

anyway, back to the question. how/when did you achieve your first revelation along your path, and how have you managed to unlock more doors as you’ve progressed? conversely, have you noticed that it’s not up to you, and that doors open in their own damned time?

right now, i’m thinking of building an astral lock-pick kit and busting into the temple. i hate even having to wait for fast food, let alone the keys to magical power!

kind regards, james.

2

In my personal experience, it is all up to how willing you are to do the work required. There are several paths, some require much more patience and inner perfection, while others don’t require as much inner alchemy as they do building the ability to wield the powers without knocking yourself out of the game.
Now, this is only my perception so far, having watched others as well as having analyzed my own path.

Either way though - doors will open as fast as you are willing to put the work into mastering what is required. While some find it well enough to open a few sigils and meditate for 20 minutes per day, it doesn’t matter what path your on - this will not be a fast path. Others find it necessary to maintain a meditative state all day, to do full meditations hours per day, to work massive rituals one after the other - never looking back - always looking forward - perfecting themselves from the inside out.

The crux of the matter is - no lockpick is going to bring you the power without putting hours of hard work into practice. Even those who have taken the “most power in the least amount of time” have worked tirelessly to achieve their goals.

The ‘instant power’ thing is attractive, and would be nice - but it’s not practical and it usually doesn’t end very well. Usually you’ll come up against powers and entities you can’t handle because you didn’t take the time to strengthen yourself to be able to handle it. Some get lucky, while other’s spiral into a pit of pure insanity and chaos and self destruction.

Those who take the short path are still in it for a shit ton of hard work, sweat, and tears. Those who take the short part will find themsleves facing certain death or insanity and barely make it out alive. THEN they strengthen themselves to be able to handle it and go a little deeper until they nearly take themselves out of the game, work on themselves to handle it and go a bit deeper.

Both methods have strengths and weaknesses.

But - as I have said several times already - you will not get anywhere if you aren’t willing to put the work in.

Study, meditate, perform rituals, perfect spells, wield the powers and grow. Work constantly and you will become a god.

Take whichever path you desire - but don’t expect to be able to obtain the keys of knowledge and power of the universe without working your ass off.

Good luck man - anyone can do it - it’s a matter of will. Will and Imagination. Both take an extraordinary amount of work to perfect unless you’re one of the gifted few who were born with a will that could shatter worlds and an imagination that can condense and manifest instantly. But you’d know if you were because you wouldn’t have to work for it.

Some gifts are given by entities - and that is yet another road. However, you have to still get to the point where you have the will and imagination required to bring them into manifestation before you and command them with the will of a god.

3

good points.

i do my work every day to some extent and my ritual practices aim at improvement and upwards motion. i intentionally avoided the fast path because i saw insanity and chaos on the horizon.

kind regards, jimmy.

4

Did I hear you correctly that you CAN astral project ? If so then I recommend seeking out a few of these beings on the Astral Plane and making friends. This will help you immensely.

5

ah i’m afraid that’s my biggest problem at the moment.

although, after two days of sleep deprivation (exam period), i managed to achieve an open-eyed scrying event. it really all does begin with the imagination, and just letting it run from there. at first it was an alien planet with flying walruses, but then it became ikea catalogues in full colour, full 3-D and utterly awesome. usually it’s internalised when i scry, but this was actually obscuring my mundane vision when i opened my eyes, which was very cool. i’m looking at furnishing my new place at the moment so the ikea catalogues are probably a future event (or just a product of my subconscious).

kind regards, jimmy.
p.s, once i get astral projection nailed, i’ll seek out some interesting beings to help. until then, i’ll be evoking various demons and angels for developmental assistance and useful pointers.

6

This thread reminds me of one of my favorite Dion Fortune quotes:

“There comes a time in the experience of every student of occult subjects, provided he is sufficiently interested in them, when the ideas that occupy his mind begin to affect him; and the Unseen World of which he has read is slowly rising above the horizon of consciousness and the subtle is becoming tangible. He will find himself in a veritable No Man’s Land of the mind, and he must do one of two things and do it quickly. He must either bolt back into his body like a rabbit down its hole, or he must press on and open up the higher consciousness. But one thing he must not do, he must not linger in the land of phantoms that is the frontier between subconsciousness and superconsciousness, for that way lies madness.”

(from Sane Occultism)