Esoterica


   
Magic and Religion
An Introduction to Western Esoterica

What is Magic?
Our term derives from “magus,” the Zoroastrian priests of Persia, from a root “to be able.” It is an attempt to make sense of and in some sense harness the primeval forces of our world, yet we consider it distinct from both religion and science. In the words of Aleister Crowley, magic is “the science and art of causing change to occur in accordance with the will.”

Ancient Understandings
Egyptians believed in heka, the animating and controlling force of the universe. Anyone could use heka, gods or mortals. Magic in itself was morally neutral. Mesopotamians had greater respect for gods, fear of demons, and interest in astrology. Demons caused all hardships, and ritual action was necessary for protection. The Zoroastrians of Iran developed this into a strong dualism of good and evil, light and dark. Hittites placed a government monopoly on magic.

Western Magical Tradition
Magic is related to both science and religion: spells overlap with both petitionary prayers and mathematical formulae. Superstition also plays a role, e.g. knock on wood, salt over the shoulder. But Western magical practice possesses a long and complex history. Here below I focus on three foundational roots of magic as we know it: Solomonic grimoires, Hermeticism, and Kabbalah.

The Testament of Solomon
Possibly the most influential book that most people have never heard of. No-one knows just how old it is. Estimates range from pre-Christian to medieval: Jesus makes what appears to be an ambiguous reference to it. It is the story of the building of the Temple, involving a signet ring from the Archangel Michael that allows Solomon to control daemons of various stripe.

Phantasmal Phonebooks
Key to the Solomonic tradition is the assumption that all ills originate with evil spirits, and that every spirit has a corresponding holy angel. If you know the name of the demon and its opponent angel, you have power over the outcome. Also, the notion that certain signs—like a star within a circle—can contain or control a demon so that it may be safely summoned persists to this day.

Hermeticism
The Hermetic tradition arose in Hellenistic Egypt, and represents a merging of Greek and Egyptian philosophies. Its foundational texts purport to have been written by “Hermes Trismegistus,” presumably a merging of the gods Thoth and Hermes. Thoth became, in monotheistic understanding, the mind or the reason of God, parallel to the Greek Logos.

Thrice-Great
Hermeticism consists of three broad branches: astrology, alchemy, and theurgy. Astrology seeks correspondence between earth and the heavens. It can be “natural” or “judicial.” Alchemy is a philosophy of change, be it mineral, botanical, or spiritual. “Salts” are broken down into “quicksilver” and “brimstone,” equivalent to yin and yang. Theurgy is the evocation of spirits, distinct from thaumaturgy (wonderworking) and opposite to goetia (summoning demons).

Kabbalah
Broadly speaking, kabbalah is Jewish mysticism, and mysticism is personal union with God. Kabbalah begins with the apophatic understanding of God as Ein Soph (endless, infinite) revealing Himself within Creation as 10 Sefirot (emanations). Each manifestation corresponds to a level of reality. At the lowest level, our own, God is Shekhinah, the cloud of divine presence. These 10 theophanies, in their 10 realities, are traditionally arranged into a Tree of Life.

Chariots of Fire
Merkabah (“chariot”) mysticism heavily influences Christianity, through prophets such as Ezekiel and the epistles of Paul. Spiritual ascent grants wisdom and power, as one is effused in the mysteries (sacraments) of union with God. Christians and Jews share this understanding of secret sacred mysteries, and of a fourfold interpretation of Scripture, the medieval Quadriga. More recently, Hasidism democratized Jewish mystical traditions.

Enoch Walked with God
John Dee was a 16th-century polymath and spy who sought the secrets of the universe through communication with the angels via scrying—a literal crystal ball. He systematized much of Western magic into a single, highly complex system of seals, glyphs, tables, grids, and rituals around a celestial language called Enochian. He was likely taken for a ride by his interpreter Edward Kelly, yet his work remains highly influential to this day.

Witch-Hunt
Maleficium, the use of esoteric means to cause harm, has been punishable by death since the Code of Hammurabi, the 12 Tables of Rome, and the Law of Moses. White magic was legal in pagan societies, but Christians eschewed it, while classing natural magic as “morally neutral.” The idea of the witch in league with the devil is a surprisingly modern phenomenon, whilst educated men dealing in sorcery had been rather more tolerated throughout the Renaissance.

What Never Was and Always Is
Folk magic has always been with us, much of it Christian. Neopagan revivals—Golden Dawn, Thelema, Wicca—have more to do with medieval traditions than with any ancient and unbroken line: “20th-century religion based on 19th-century scholarship.” Today chaos magic is big business, from simple spells for sale through topical Tarot decks to psychologized astrology.



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