It has now been a week since I've begun working with Franz's Initiation into Hermetics. Given that the book was aimed at total beginners it may not be fair for me to relay my intake of this book but nevertheless I shall. What I mean is, I'm not exactly a beginner to occult practices both from the viewpoint of a scholar and as a practitioner so it's very possible that my own practices would shape how I would handle the exercises in the book. Anyways, let's begin.
I won't deny that some of the exercises have merit. For example, Step 4 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit is about consciousness transference. At first this begins with an inanimate object, then it upgrades into animals before finally settling in on humans. If one were to add in places as opposed to objects or beings or maybe in addition to them, then what one would get is remote viewing. Given the subject of this forum I don't find there is much need for me to go over the numerous studies and experiments that have been done on the subject matter of remote viewing and other psi research. Likewise I am certain most of you are probably aware that most guides on psychokinesis call for the practitioner to use visualization and to still your mind and to concentrate. If there is one thing I can at least credit Franz's Initiation into Hermetics for, it is that some of the exercises, namely starting from Step 5 of the Magical Schooling of the Soul, require testing for physical results results instead of limiting themselves to purely just mental or emotional. Yes, influencing true random number generators to affect their results by using psi so as to be of significant value aka micropsychokinesis does count on a technicality though aside from being rather boring in my opinion, unless you want to limit yourself to just affecting slots towards your favor this has very little practical use. Oh sure. Some people do seem to have the ability to affect even true random number generators. That does not mean they can also start a fire with their mind. 2 different things and one of them is restricted to something that is already existing while the other may not require it. What I mean by that is you cannot influence a random number generator that doesn't exist but you can bring forth a flame. With all this said, while some of the exercises of Franz's Initiation into Hermetics have value there are some however which may be rather pointless and dare I say ineffective if followed directly.
The first 3 Steps of the Magical Schooling of the Soul are essentially about understanding one's self with regards to themselves and then unto others. If one already has self awareness such that they know themselves and how they pertain to others, then these Steps have already been done. Others in this case refers to the Elements which have been described more like emotional tendencies if anything else so far. The ideal here is to know thyself and to enoble one's own character.
Okay so what happens then if one already knows who they are and lacks any desire to change who they are as a person? The white and black soul mirrors serve to help the practitioner to focus on their traits with the ideal that the traits of the white soul mirror, those of the noble properties are exemplified while those of the black soul mirror, that is to say the unsavory traits are diminished. Make a list of personality traits of yourself. Do you persevere, do you find it easy to enter into a state of mind vacancy? Well another word for perseverance is stubbornness and to suffer. To put that into another light it's sort of like saying concentration camps and ethical cleanings are noble because they ultimately cultivate perseverance the same of which can be said of people like Laerte Patrocínio Orpinelli. Oh and if you can easily induce yourself into a state of mind vacancy that also means you have the tendency to become thoughtless a trait which Franz marks as a negative trait and should thus be a part of the black soul mirror, that which to subdue if one cannot get rid of it permanently. At the same time hatred and vengefulness can be said to make some people more sharp and alert. At times these 2 personality traits which Franz marks as negative may ultimately serve a more beneficial purpose than one such as tolerance depending on the context and situation. This is not to say that morality in of itself is subjective and to wrap up this side note about morality, an objective viewpoint of morality does not entail that it is also knowable what is and isn't moral nor does it exclude the possibility that some moral values may have conditional parameters. In short, what use are those soul mirrors to a self aware practitioner who takes pride in their callousness? In that case they might as well not even bother with them and just skip the first 3 steps of the Magical Schooling of the Soul.
Now to be fair, it is possible that to Franz a mind vacancy doesn't mean a literal vacancy of all thoughts and mental activities whether they be conscious or not. Indeed, if one were to be technical, unless you're dead your brain is always filled with activity, that is to say you are in a state of perpetual mental activity whether you are aware of it or not. To will yourself into not thinking thoughts requires mental activity even if you no longer become aware of it. Under this purview an empty mind becomes impossible to obtain simply because the mind is never without activity whether it be intended or not and regardless of one's awareness of them or if they of an automated process. As such in order to achieve a mind vacancy some liberties must be allowed, some mental activities permitted. I digress.
While step 1 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit is about the emptying of one's thoughts, the achieving of a mind vacancy, step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit focuses on concentration. Now, clearing your mind of distractions may help you to concentrate but not all meditative practices require it. While some assume the practitioner must or ought to begin from a state of mental clarity and with no distractions, to begin from a state of a mind vacancy so to speak others such as myself find the emptying of the mind to be unnecessary. //Seriously. Why is it so common for people to treat their minds as the enemy?// Anyways, some of you may be aware that not all meditative practices require one to kill their mind so to speak. There is also the method of focusing on a subject matter and concentrating on it. If one takes this approach to meditation, one where they do not view/treat their minds as the enemy, then there's really no point in trying to obtain a mind vacancy if one can just simply focus on the subject matter of their target anyways. One could very well just skip step 1 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit.
Now earlier I mentioned that some parts of Franz's Initiation into Hermetics may be pointless and dare I say ineffective if followed verbatim. Let us not forget that not everyone who studies the occult is looking for self-enlightenment, to raise their awareness so to speak. Not every practitioner is interested in raising their level, seeking inner peace, etc. Does that mean they are not a true magician or practitioner? Well no, I don't quite agree to that. Oh sure, it's often stated that one can never achieve the demonstrable effects such as levitation, pyrokinesis, psychokinesis and the such of which they are viewed not as the true miracle but an illusion if that is what they strive for without desiring to lift their spirits though from personal experience and from looking at some case studies, this may not necessarily be the case. Granted I'm not saying there is no value in them if to do so may increase one's likelihood of developing these powers assuming they can be developed at all. It could also be that raising one's own spirtualness may improve upon their existing powers or make it safer for them to do so but in regards to them being required? Maybe not. Besides, depending on what one values more one could say it is more impressive to levitate than it is to know one's self and to have both would be even more so.
In Step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit the initiate is tasked with visioning or rather imagining with their senses a targeted subject one at a time. That subject may be an object, a person, animal, place etc. 'It is of the utmost importance, when practicing these exercises, that you concentrate on the sound only and do not allow any visualization of pictures. Should a pictorial visualization emerge, you must immediately chase it away; when it comes to the pealing of a bell, you cannot allow the visualization of the bell to occur. The exercise is complete when you are able to maintain the acoustic imagination for five minutes.' This is to say you are to perfect using one of your senses before you move on to the next. Later on in Step 3 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit the initiate tasked with doing the same thing as they did in Step 2 only this time they are to do it with more than 1 of their senses. Now, if a practitioner were to find themselves using more than 1 sense should they stop and insist on focusing on just one until they perfect it? I'd say no, this is highly ineffective. If while trying to imagine an apple you not only visualize it but can also taste it, why limit yourself to just focusing on the visualization aspect? You might as well improve your sense of taste as well while you are at it. As such if the practitioner finds themselves using more than 1 of their senses then instead of being stuck on Step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit they might as well proceed onto Step 3.
As a final note I would like to point out that one need not complete all the previous steps in order to achieve some of the later ones. Will these earlier steps help to serve as a foundation? Probably. Are they absolutely necessary? From my personal experience and from observing some case studies, not exactly. Also unlike Franz I don't subscribe to the ideal of the so-called law of silence. To me it's more of an suggestion, an observation that discussing my practices would be more fruitful in certain situations and meaningless in others. Besides, I'm under no obligation not to do so and I'll decide if I want to or not. Either way it has no effect on my practices and whether I'll achieve them or not.
I won't deny that some of the exercises have merit. For example, Step 4 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit is about consciousness transference. At first this begins with an inanimate object, then it upgrades into animals before finally settling in on humans. If one were to add in places as opposed to objects or beings or maybe in addition to them, then what one would get is remote viewing. Given the subject of this forum I don't find there is much need for me to go over the numerous studies and experiments that have been done on the subject matter of remote viewing and other psi research. Likewise I am certain most of you are probably aware that most guides on psychokinesis call for the practitioner to use visualization and to still your mind and to concentrate. If there is one thing I can at least credit Franz's Initiation into Hermetics for, it is that some of the exercises, namely starting from Step 5 of the Magical Schooling of the Soul, require testing for physical results results instead of limiting themselves to purely just mental or emotional. Yes, influencing true random number generators to affect their results by using psi so as to be of significant value aka micropsychokinesis does count on a technicality though aside from being rather boring in my opinion, unless you want to limit yourself to just affecting slots towards your favor this has very little practical use. Oh sure. Some people do seem to have the ability to affect even true random number generators. That does not mean they can also start a fire with their mind. 2 different things and one of them is restricted to something that is already existing while the other may not require it. What I mean by that is you cannot influence a random number generator that doesn't exist but you can bring forth a flame. With all this said, while some of the exercises of Franz's Initiation into Hermetics have value there are some however which may be rather pointless and dare I say ineffective if followed directly.
The first 3 Steps of the Magical Schooling of the Soul are essentially about understanding one's self with regards to themselves and then unto others. If one already has self awareness such that they know themselves and how they pertain to others, then these Steps have already been done. Others in this case refers to the Elements which have been described more like emotional tendencies if anything else so far. The ideal here is to know thyself and to enoble one's own character.
Okay so what happens then if one already knows who they are and lacks any desire to change who they are as a person? The white and black soul mirrors serve to help the practitioner to focus on their traits with the ideal that the traits of the white soul mirror, those of the noble properties are exemplified while those of the black soul mirror, that is to say the unsavory traits are diminished. Make a list of personality traits of yourself. Do you persevere, do you find it easy to enter into a state of mind vacancy? Well another word for perseverance is stubbornness and to suffer. To put that into another light it's sort of like saying concentration camps and ethical cleanings are noble because they ultimately cultivate perseverance the same of which can be said of people like Laerte Patrocínio Orpinelli. Oh and if you can easily induce yourself into a state of mind vacancy that also means you have the tendency to become thoughtless a trait which Franz marks as a negative trait and should thus be a part of the black soul mirror, that which to subdue if one cannot get rid of it permanently. At the same time hatred and vengefulness can be said to make some people more sharp and alert. At times these 2 personality traits which Franz marks as negative may ultimately serve a more beneficial purpose than one such as tolerance depending on the context and situation. This is not to say that morality in of itself is subjective and to wrap up this side note about morality, an objective viewpoint of morality does not entail that it is also knowable what is and isn't moral nor does it exclude the possibility that some moral values may have conditional parameters. In short, what use are those soul mirrors to a self aware practitioner who takes pride in their callousness? In that case they might as well not even bother with them and just skip the first 3 steps of the Magical Schooling of the Soul.
Now to be fair, it is possible that to Franz a mind vacancy doesn't mean a literal vacancy of all thoughts and mental activities whether they be conscious or not. Indeed, if one were to be technical, unless you're dead your brain is always filled with activity, that is to say you are in a state of perpetual mental activity whether you are aware of it or not. To will yourself into not thinking thoughts requires mental activity even if you no longer become aware of it. Under this purview an empty mind becomes impossible to obtain simply because the mind is never without activity whether it be intended or not and regardless of one's awareness of them or if they of an automated process. As such in order to achieve a mind vacancy some liberties must be allowed, some mental activities permitted. I digress.
While step 1 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit is about the emptying of one's thoughts, the achieving of a mind vacancy, step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit focuses on concentration. Now, clearing your mind of distractions may help you to concentrate but not all meditative practices require it. While some assume the practitioner must or ought to begin from a state of mental clarity and with no distractions, to begin from a state of a mind vacancy so to speak others such as myself find the emptying of the mind to be unnecessary. //Seriously. Why is it so common for people to treat their minds as the enemy?// Anyways, some of you may be aware that not all meditative practices require one to kill their mind so to speak. There is also the method of focusing on a subject matter and concentrating on it. If one takes this approach to meditation, one where they do not view/treat their minds as the enemy, then there's really no point in trying to obtain a mind vacancy if one can just simply focus on the subject matter of their target anyways. One could very well just skip step 1 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit.
Now earlier I mentioned that some parts of Franz's Initiation into Hermetics may be pointless and dare I say ineffective if followed verbatim. Let us not forget that not everyone who studies the occult is looking for self-enlightenment, to raise their awareness so to speak. Not every practitioner is interested in raising their level, seeking inner peace, etc. Does that mean they are not a true magician or practitioner? Well no, I don't quite agree to that. Oh sure, it's often stated that one can never achieve the demonstrable effects such as levitation, pyrokinesis, psychokinesis and the such of which they are viewed not as the true miracle but an illusion if that is what they strive for without desiring to lift their spirits though from personal experience and from looking at some case studies, this may not necessarily be the case. Granted I'm not saying there is no value in them if to do so may increase one's likelihood of developing these powers assuming they can be developed at all. It could also be that raising one's own spirtualness may improve upon their existing powers or make it safer for them to do so but in regards to them being required? Maybe not. Besides, depending on what one values more one could say it is more impressive to levitate than it is to know one's self and to have both would be even more so.
In Step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit the initiate is tasked with visioning or rather imagining with their senses a targeted subject one at a time. That subject may be an object, a person, animal, place etc. 'It is of the utmost importance, when practicing these exercises, that you concentrate on the sound only and do not allow any visualization of pictures. Should a pictorial visualization emerge, you must immediately chase it away; when it comes to the pealing of a bell, you cannot allow the visualization of the bell to occur. The exercise is complete when you are able to maintain the acoustic imagination for five minutes.' This is to say you are to perfect using one of your senses before you move on to the next. Later on in Step 3 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit the initiate tasked with doing the same thing as they did in Step 2 only this time they are to do it with more than 1 of their senses. Now, if a practitioner were to find themselves using more than 1 sense should they stop and insist on focusing on just one until they perfect it? I'd say no, this is highly ineffective. If while trying to imagine an apple you not only visualize it but can also taste it, why limit yourself to just focusing on the visualization aspect? You might as well improve your sense of taste as well while you are at it. As such if the practitioner finds themselves using more than 1 of their senses then instead of being stuck on Step 2 of the Magical Schooling of the Spirit they might as well proceed onto Step 3.
As a final note I would like to point out that one need not complete all the previous steps in order to achieve some of the later ones. Will these earlier steps help to serve as a foundation? Probably. Are they absolutely necessary? From my personal experience and from observing some case studies, not exactly. Also unlike Franz I don't subscribe to the ideal of the so-called law of silence. To me it's more of an suggestion, an observation that discussing my practices would be more fruitful in certain situations and meaningless in others. Besides, I'm under no obligation not to do so and I'll decide if I want to or not. Either way it has no effect on my practices and whether I'll achieve them or not.
