The Science of the Magi
Papus liked to divide his books into
three parts. First the theory. Then
principles for putting the theory into practice. And finally examples of actual
practice. After which there might be a number of Appendices on various topics.
His Treatise on Practical Magic is no exception.
Those who move on from his
elementary introduction are, however, in for a shock, for the next chapter
plunges into erudite theorising. It is in fact not by Papus himself but
reprinted from l’Apodictique Messianique by Hoëné Wronski (1776-1853) a
tragic figure who wrote a number of abstruse works of esoteric philosophy that
few could understand and others didn’t want to. Latterly a friend of Eliphas
Levi, he died of starvation when faced with the prospect of selling former
published works as waste paper in order to pay for publishing new ones. A
computer buff before his time, he also invented a kind of encyclopaedic
machine, the remains of which ended up in a junk shop until discovered and kept
as a curio by Eliphas Levi.
Obviously high on Papus’ list of
esoteric pioneers, Wronski’s encyclopaedic review of the different forms of
magic makes for challenging reading even though Papus claimed that differences
from his own ideas were so slight as to be not worth mentioning. By no means a
plagiarist, for he always acknowledged his sources, but with all the demands on
his time along with his sense of missionary urgency, Papus did not believe in doing
his own writing if he could use someone else’s. A trait which, in other areas,
made him a formidable organiser of other peoples’ talents.
However, passing on from Wronski to
his own description of the inner constitution of the human body and its correspondences
with the natural world, we can begin to appreciate the relevance of his medical
studies, and his esoteric approach to them, which was in terms of a triplicity, with an overriding fourth. Thus
(i) the head, (ii) the torso above the diaphragm, and (iii) the torso below the
diaphragm – which are embraced and
overseen by a higher form of consciousness.
The lower torso corresponds
anatomically to the digestive organs, physical form expression, and the domain
of sensation and instinct. The upper torso corresponds to the chest, heart and
lungs, physical vitality and the domain of emotion and higher feelings. The
head corresponds to the back
of the head, prolonged by the spine, to nervous force and the domain of intellect and collection of knowledge.
Whilst enveloping these centres like an angel’s
wings are the functions of the brain with the five senses and organs of
expression as its servants. In other words a Higher Self.
Papus liked to refer to an early Platonic idea
of people being originally created only as heads, to which body and limbs were
later added by celestial powers to give them a means of physical expression. Somewhat
bizarre imagery if taken literally but that can be aligned with traditional
symbol systems such as the Tree of Life.
Papus indeed launches off into many
directions from here on – which makes his book hardly one to recommend as a
‘do-it-yourself’ guide to the aspiring beginner. And one point he acknowledges
that for serious progress to be made, enrolment with a responsible initiatory
group is probably essential. Indeed he did much in the course of his life to
establish or encourage such organisations and became involved with a
considerable number.
There was also a kind of middle way
provided by the Groupe Indépendant d’Études Ésoteriques (or G.I.E.E.) he had founded in 1889, that had grown in
size and influence until this same year of 1892 saw publication a 60 page
booklet about it – La science des mages et ses applications
théoriques et pratiques. (‘The Science of the Magi and its theoretical and
practical applications’. We have already mentioned it in SOH No 4).
Published by Louis Chamel at the
Librairie du Merveilleux for 50 centimes, and described as “a little résumé of
occultism”, it covers in a tenth of the
space the essence of the overblown Traité Méthodique de Magie Pratique. Not
that the latter does not have its value as an old curiosity shop with its
considerable detail on elementary astrology, planetary talismans, country
magic, love charms, and even how to win a lottery by means of kabbalistic
numerology and imagery in dreams - with the proviso however, that one should
not attempt to gain personally from the operation!
So we probably do best to
concentrate our attention on the smaller book, which tells us that occult
science taught in the ancient sanctuaries was divided into four main subjects. The
study and handling of elemental beings and forces, or Alchemy. The
study and handling of astral forces, or Magic. The study and
handling of the occult forces within man, or Psychurgy. And the
study of the forces of the Empyrean, or Theurgy. But that
nowadays the remnants of these teachings had been put to work under the names
of Magnetism, Hypnotism, Spiritualism, Telepsychism, Telepathy, Psychometry and
Sorcery.
By special breathing exercises we
can accumulate nervous energy within ourselves, spiritualise it by prayer, and by
the will project it beyond ourselves. The nervous tension brought about by the
exercises produces a condition in which a part of the astral body exteriorises
and can act at a distance. This action corresponds to that of the Hindu Fakirs
and the Magic of the ancients. But in the majority of cases with modern mediums
and movement of objects at a distance the process is either partly or
completely unconscious.
The phenomena are analogous to those
of a magnet acting on metallic objects at a distance or even through other
material substances. But here the magnet is replaced by a human being, and the
astral body takes the place of the magnetic field. Cures by ‘animal magnetism’ are
produced by the action of the astral body (or fluid) of a human being on the
physical or astral body of another. The power was described in the 16th
century by Cornelius Agrippa in his chapter on Sorcery.
The process can be carried out either
by astral images or by Elementals. In the first case, a
particular stimulation puts the evoker into a state of semiconscious somnambulism,
that is to say opens his eyes to the astral. Practically all modern instances
are of this type.
In some villages one still finds
‘sorcerers’ capable of producing serious phenomena, having conserved fragments
of ancient practical occultism, concentrated by a will brooding in solitude, manipulating magnetic and psychic fluids with
much power. {Note, an excellent example is to be found in my translation of
Paul Sédir’s ‘Initiations’ in the account of a Breton werewolf. XX – ‘Invisible
Enemies’. G.K.}
The sorcerer is to the occultist
what a workman is to an engineer. The workman knows how to perform a task
according to rules he has learned in the workshop but does not understand the theoretical principles behind them. The
engineer, on the other hand, would be capable of establishing the rules that
guide the workman but might be at a loss if called upon to do the job himself! The equivalent in the esoteric field a self
styled expert incapable of producing phenomena.
Ceremonies and symbols accumulated
in ritual provide elementary procedures for engaging the human will, and the
employment of magical weapons and evocative words of power are directed at action
on the astral and the beings who populate it. A magical operation consists of
obtaining consciously and without a medium contacts obtained by
spiritualists and others in their séances.
In this a part of the astral body of
the operator(s) is projected to establish a point of application in the
substances disposed in advance for this effect. In which the operator must
never lose consciousness, for then he or she would no longer be a practising
occultist but a passive subject or unconscious medium.
In sum, practical occultism demands
a series of very serious efforts based on a profound knowledge of the occult
forces of Nature and of Mankind. The more one studies it the more one realises
that there is nothing that opposes positive teachings of our present knowledge.
The forces studied are analogous to magnetism and electricity with animal
intelligence thrown in as well, the generators of the forces being living
beings rather than machines or physical apparatus. There are new proprieties
and new methods of experimentation; but nothing of this is supernatural for anything
that exists must be natural.
The sorcerer who collects plants at
midnight on the mountain, pronounces strange words and makes bizarre gestures
is no more alienated than the locomotive that whistles and jets forth fire on
the railway track. The locomotive is a generator of physical forces. A magician
is another kind of generator – of higher forces – and in full control of himself or herself.
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