Hey all, Rory here. So I’v only recently started posting here but I’ve been studying E.A’s methods for about 2 years. I’ve also started reading a lot of Michael W. Fords work. I’m currently finishing his ’ Magick of the Nephilim ’ & about to start ’ Bible of the Adversary '. I’ve found mixing his methods with E.A.'s really interesting as E.A. gives a very simple , practical approach to magic & , in particular , is by far the best at describing the state of gnosis, which he calls the theta-gamma-sync & , most importantly , how to enter it. So combining his practical approach with Fords beautiful , super evocative incantations and rituals , as well as the history and mythologies behind spirits , in particular Samael , Ahriman , Tiamat & Lilith ( who I think I’m slowly falling in love with the more I read about her 
) really helps get me in the right state of mind before I perform an evocation. That is , I use Fords books to study the history & mythologies of the spirit I want to evoke. I also study the beautiful illustrations in his books. I then offer up incantations from his works to that spirit , along with incense & Abramelin oil & then I use E.A’s practical approach to perform the actual evocation of the entity. It works well as I spend a long time before the actual evocation really immersing myself in the spirits history and personality & firing my imagination with images of the spirit, so I really feel I know the spirit quite well before I evoke them. I just wanted to share this with other new magicians as I’ve found it very helpful as before i had less success just trying to summon the spirit off the bat so to speak. Basically Fords works really fulfill the subjective synthesis step of E.A’s evocation method.
Anyway I wanted to ask about entering the crossroads through the theta state. I’m wondering how deep into trance I need to get & How I can tell if I’ve reached the crossroads. I’ve started meditating regularly recently as after having some success with evocation ( which I’ve detailed in another post ) I really wanted to get the basics down so I could get good enough to perform the evocations regularly well enough to have a full physical manifestation of the spirit and communicate with them with ease. I mainly focus on void meditation & gazing at the flame of a violet candle for 10 mins , without blinking , and visualizing violet light leaving the candle and entering my third eye. I’ve found these effective & can now easily do 10 mins of the void meditation without any stray thoughts & I can visualize clearly the violet light leaving the candle & can almost see it reaching all the way to my third eye ( it stops just a little short, still a few inches from my face but I’m getting there ) Since starting these meditations I’ve noticed an effect , which has gradually become more intense , when I enter into the theta state. Very soon after dropping into theta I start to see steam rising from all over my body and rising all over the room, it is most concentrated around my body though . It started off just in my peripheral vision but gradually increased & now the ’ steam ’ rises straight in front of my eyes in vapoury wisps. It starts to appear after about 10 - 20 seconds of entering theta & it increases to full intensity after about 30 - 60 seconds & remains as long as I stay in the trance state. It’s very relaxing I’m curious if anyone else experiences this. I suspect it might be my aura and the ’ steam ’ from the room is the aura of the objects in it but I don’t really know & I don’t see any hint of colour in it but I know newbies often wont see any colour in auras at first. What I really want to know is if any of the experienced magicians on this site can tell me , firstly , what it is I’m seeing & , secondly ( most important ) , if it indicates how close I am to entering the crossroads. I know I haven’t got there yet as E.A.'s described it very well but I know I am getting closer to it. Also , can binaural beats help with entering the crossroads as I’ve used them in the past & found them useful. On one occasion in particular I used them & found myself dropping deeper into trance than I’ve ever been. I was lying on my back , gazing at the ceiling , when it gradually began to morph into a black & red tinged sky ( like something out of a horror movie ) with dark grey clouds. This was quite a dramatic change & wasn’t something I was trying to force myself to see at all. It formed on it’s own & it was really clear, it wasn’t at all the result of me squinting or purposely letting my vision go funny or my eyes blur or anything like that. I simply let myself get really relaxed in a dark room & it occurred spontaneously. That’s one thing I’ve learned in magick , darkness has consistently proven to be my friend as it always heightens my senses , through a little fear , it sparks the imagination. Hope to hear from ye soon
I’ve been focusing intently of Fords work to as of late. Bible of the Adversary, Liber HVHI , and dragon of the 2 flames. He has a great YouTube channel as well.
yeah I’ve watched loads of his videos. I wish he’d explain how to enter the state of gnosis more & describe the experience of it , he tends to just say to really get into the incantations by vibrating each word & the like but I do really enjoy his videos & his books & E.A’s explained the trance state pretty deeply anyway. At this point I think I know all I need to about it & I just need to focus on attaining it, Having the experience. I am getting closer. I think at some point you gotta stop researching & just start practicing till you get it. What’s your experience with entering trance & reaching the rapture?
Have you read this newsletter - The Irreplaceable Value of Ecstasy In Evocation? It fleshes that out a little.
The newsletter archives on here are WELL worth reading, there are some real gems, and if the links no longer work (parts of the site are old) then you can usually find them at archive.org.
That’s really helpful thanks. It really breaks it down.