paxlynx

Integral Spell Development

The following is a metaphysical thesis on the theory of the working of magic, and the description of a supportative cognitive system for its use. It is derived by a mostly mundane human from a larger work by the great dragon and mage Foxgorsus Silverclaw. Originally it was developed merely as a property for a simulation and game centering around an imaginary world where magic is widely used. One intent of the writing it was to provide a theoretical basis for the magic which the characters used in that simulation. It soon became apparent, however, that thought and idea can not be isolated from being, and the phenomena, psychology, and philosophy described in the thesis are not only compatible with the world as we generally know it, but provided insights and explanations for many of the philosophical questions which I entertained.

It is based on varied readings, notably those of Jane Roberts, and my own meditations to some extent, but it also represents the inscription of currents from rather deep levels of my psyche. It is interesting to note that the model not only unified many previously known ideas, magical systems, and philosophies in an elegant manner, but also set down many explanations and relationships which were unknown to me or unexamined by me at the time of the writing, but which were sometimes subsequently discovered in only slightly different form. These discoveries were in the form of readings in newly obtained books and discussions with others. There was a high degree of synchronicity and telepathic or concordant currents in the psyches of several people, and an experience involving the influx of great energy which was considered by myself and the others involved to be one of enlightenment. The idea of that experience is summarized at the end of "The Last Lesson", and should be interpreted in the sense of our relation to the unified being/creator and the creations: we are not the creation, but the creating. We are not nouns, but verbs. I have not seen this idea elsewhere expressed as a statement of being. Others may not see the distinction between this and other similar expressions, but, to me, the accompanying surge in energy and sudden increase in my understanding of my relationship with the cosmos was astounding.

The writing soon took on a life of its own to a great degree, and I consider it to be largely inspirational in origin. When re-read at various times some days after the writing, I often had the strong feeling that I was reading it for the first time, and suddenly understood that it answered some question which I had not been able to solve until the re-reading.

Any sort of writing, of course, has this quality to some degree, but it seems to me that this thesis has it to a much higher degree than usual. I find myself referring to it when faced with some particularly sticky point and discovering an explanation which I had forgotten was there. Much of it was written when half asleep, so it does not seem unlikely that I tapped levels which were generally not available, just as great insights are sometimes provided in dreams.

It is with the thought that the sources of real information are often nebulous that I consider this to be more than the fantastic prose it started out to be. As the pragmatic considerations more and more outweigh its humble origins, I see this more as very workable model of the cosmos, in keeping with phemonelogical traditions, and yet unifying in its treatment of magical systems as well. It is, as Foxgorses testifies to, just a model, but I think it is a good one, and I offer it as a source of ideas to those interested in finding a workable view of the cosmos.

Specific references to what is obviously our own game system and fantasy world have been left intact. I found that when I began to be bogged down and the writing lost its life, that a specific reference which indicated the fictional nature of the work had the action of relieving the tendency to justify the work and opened the channels to the better material. There is so much scientific rationalism in the culture today that I find it difficult to seriously present ideas which, on the surface, are so outlandish. I suspect that many fictional writers have used the same technique, but I have deliberately tried to balance the two approaches to maximize the clarity and applicability of the work. To one who is already a magical thinker, this may be seen as the struggles of the beginning mage, but he will undoubtedly understand the problem. The physicist or accomplished philosopher may marvel at the deviations of the accepted modes of thought and criticize the loose terminology, but the words I really needed don't exist as far as I know, and I have had to make do.

My hope is that this may be of help in the great task of uniting the various modes of thought and being, and aid in reaching the inspirational and artistic modes from the logical modes. There are many ideas here which are in concordance with those of the mystics, particularly those of the far East, but without contact with the culture which provides a context for these concepts, I have found it difficult to plumb their depths. It is for this reason that I feel the creation of a model which starts from a rational starting point and progresses to the mystical view is of value.

Attaining the mystic point of view is of extreme importance if we are to survive, and keep the earth intact. We have reached a critical point in our history in that our actions affect the entire planet. There is no longer a place for escape or rebuilding, as our ancestors had, when we destroy ourselves or our environment. The solution is not in the advance of technology, which embraces the ideas which have led to many of our problems, but in the understanding of the limits of that mode of thinking and integrating it with other modes. We must develop a true understanding of the sacredness of every object, as well as every person. We must open our selves to the truths of the cosmos, and let go of our fears. We must learn to think magically and artistically, as well as logically, and learn to recognize the terribles limits of belief and habit when we see them as more than tools of our true being. It is with the hope that we may yet do this in time that I add this cognitive model to the many other creative outcroppings extant.
__Blue

The following model is very flexible and can reliably represent the various abilities and relationships which the mage must deal with. It is necessary for the mage to use some model which the corporeal mind can deal with since he is manipulating the corporeal world. The mage should accept completely the truth of this model and attempt to understand it in all aspects. It requires a high level of development to competently criticize any limitations in it, and by the time a mage reaches the level where he can do so with understanding, he will also realize, in spite of seeming contradictions, the greats truths contained therein. In any case, it is important to understand the system first, and doing this requires the full attention and at least temporarily delaying criticism (this is true for any learning). Keep in mind that, because of the nature of the material discussed, terms and diagrams are necessarily somewhat imprecise, but, with diligence, the reader can understand them and infer the true meanings which are valid on the more subtle levels.

Read through the entire text once to begin with to familiarize yourself with the terminology, and then go back and study each section separately, assimilating it as you can. Do not let yourself worry about contradictions with earlier or more primitive models you may be familiar with. This method supersedes and subsumes those methods, but you will first need to understand this new model thoroughly to understand how in some cases.

The intended audience ranges from the beginning mage, who will need to work diligently to understand what this text is about, to the accomplished high mage, who will find new ideas and under-utilized techniques, presented in a cognitive and consistent manner.

Thoughts are the primary existence. They create what can be thought of as fields which travel through the void. As two thought fields intersect there are effects which may be considered in various ways.

They create patterns which deform the natural evenness of the void into ridges and valleys at a particular frequency. These radiate that frequency outward into the void. Other thoughts will tend to form a pattern with the first field if some sort of compatibility exists between them, and this second thought will be reinforced as it receives the increased energies of the sympathetic duplex. The two thoughts will then have a tendency to reinforce each other and form a strengthened structure. Like attracts like.

As various structures are formed by the combination of these ideas, they assume a stronger reality to those other ideas which share a compatibility. Other thoughts are also forming their frequency structures, and sending out their own waves of consciousness. As these waves pass through the existing structures, a phenomena is created. This happens repeatedly as each idea is compared with all other ideas, and eventually various grid patterns emerge, which may be viewed as a reality system, or plane of existence. Since ideas which are largely incompatible with a reality system have a lower resonance and a more subtle pattern formed, they tend to be ignored, while those ideas with higher compatibility experience more reinforcement, and will tend to become seen as more real, and further define, refine, and strengthen the reality plane. This is the synergistic effect.

Now, all realities are, in fact, concurrent and cospacial. When an entity has an idea, it will find its place on the grid where it has the greatest compatibility. The energies, of course, continue on, but the entity will lose sight of them as they pass from his own pattern complex, since the returning resonances will be too far off frequency for him to easily recognize them. The energy returns from planes just a bit off frequency (and no plane is ever completely compatible - no thought is ever completely the same - as any other) and will tend to pull the original idea more towards its own tone. When there are several returns with roughly equal returns, bifurcations will occur, and the original energy is split into several thoughts, each to find it way towards the more compatible system.

On the ideational side, where the source of idea and energy lay, ideas pass across all other planes and thought fields, and each intersection creates new patterns in infinite variety. On the manifestational side, the various energies created cluster towards a strong pattern and will converge into a more limited variety: there are limited manifestations in a plane, but an infinite number of planes to choose from. The diversity is in the subtle move from one sub-plane to another. This is termed entropic redistribution.

The vortex is the model for this two-way flow from the ideational side (noesis) to the manifestational side (noema). Because the lower planes have such a great concordance (and as in a literary concordance, each phenomena being well defined and having its specific location), the amplitude of vibrations are quite strong, and easily noticed (i.e. more real to casual observation, and more easily classified by analytical methods). The non-instantiated ideals reside in the noesic sphere as undifferentiated nodes of iconic super-existence. It is not possible to place these under a definition, but energy flows outwards from them to form instantiated events as it passes through planar systems, and is then returned through the converging rotation, often with enhancements.

The basic idea in its purest form is considered as the core vertex. Each of these vertices is vectored bidirectionally from noesis to noema and back. They also generate side currents by linking closely allied bits of consciousness with them in pattern, perhaps from other harmonically related planes, or perhaps from self expansion as each temporal transition adds intensity to it. This is called field or vertex gradation. The idea, even in its purest form, is fuzzy, and will tend to expand spontaneously. When the expansion is sufficient to interact with an allied vertex, the phenomena of saturation occurs, and each idea becomes aware of the other, and their energies mingle to the extent of reinforcing one another, and yet also drawing each to the other, and to the void in between them. As the various inter-frequencies becomes recognizable as a parallel line, they form the event fluxions, which are capable of interacting with the grid on their own existence. The core vertex is inviolable, of course, and there is always sufficient confluence to ensure it's refluxive nature. There is simply a conversion of the void surrounding it to increase the total population.

The combination of the fuzziness of the core vertex with its associated event fluxions, and the vertex gradation leads to spontaneous expansion of the grid laterally. Included with this is the bifurcation of fluxions. Overall, the various effects account for the expansion of the meta-cosmos. Each idea has its own intentionality associated with it, as well as its own unique tone and harmonics. The various events which are generally interpreted as the influence of one entity upon another to cause changes, are actually bifurcations and the official recognition of one branch as being compatible with the intentionality of the idea.

The actual grid is infinite in dimensional analysis, and can be represented by a hyperloidal vortex, with total interspaciality and concurrency. The hyperboloid is a suitable curve for representing this flow, as only a portion of it may be manifested, and the infinite nature of the energy flow is analogous to the asymptope. There are also an infinite variety of hyperloidal formulae. It is important, of course, to recognize, that any model which can be formed on the corporeal plane will, by necessity, be more clearly defined than the actual reality upon which it is based. The eternal struggle is to more clearly approach the best harmonic resonance so as to allow a pragmatic solution.

In general, the working of magic will be through the process of vortex compression. Compression is the linking of objects by the psychic handling of two objects in an equal and associative manner. This will be both laterally, to concentrate the effect in a well defined way by creating a strong core vertex, and vertically to facilitate the passage of as much energy as possible with minimal losses to field gradation. The intentionality of the idea as perceived on the corporeal plane needs be sublimated to the noesic plane to gather sufficient energy. The ordinary methods of change rely on pre-existing structures, and use corporeal interfusion to work. This may be thought of as a ladder structure between two vertices or event fluxions, so as to short circuit the routing of the energies involved. The magic for throwing a rock is so well established that, over time, numerous lateral connectives have been formed between the active entity and the stone, and so it is not difficult to perform the act on the lower levels. More difficult are those things which are not well established, such as those effects achieved through technical or scientific means. The connections here must usually be formed at higher levels, closer to the iconic super-existence, at least in the beginning. Magic, of course, is nothing more than a great increase in freedom to affect things (create bifurcations) than is possible through established methods. It is often considered to be one entity affecting another without intervening connections, those very connections which form the ladder structure of more mundane processes. In fact, the connections exist at a higher level zone. Various example of analogous processes can be noted (as above, so below), as in the body itself, which becomes more competent in a task as practice is performed. It is worth noting that not only will physical practice improve performance, but imaginative rehearsal as well, the performance in the mind only, and so in the nervous system, will appreciably increase capability.

The essence of spell development then, is to build those ladder structures which link the two objects and allow the flow of the willful energies. There are many and varied systems which do this. Sympathetic magic works on the symbolic level, thaumaturgy is not only symbolic, but creates links in the corporeal grid structure as well. Seals, naming, and ritual also work largely on the symbolic level, but on a somewhat more subtle level. In any case, the ladder must be built substantially enough to allow energy flow to take place (through habituation, belief, and intellectual modeling), and the planar grid must be expanded sufficiently for the effect to be permissible within the reality structure and overcome any limitations of entropic redistribution.

In some systems, particularly in the higher magics, and to some degree in the clerical workings, there is a fair bit of vertical compression, and the path between the iconic super-existence and the corporeal manifestation is shortened. It is convenient to use the god icons to quickly reach the higher levels, and the mechanism of displacing personal responsibility towards the deity is often an effective means to overcome the strong entropy or planar limitations. There is also a strong element of concordance if many of the entities involved have a common belief, and this allows use of existing ladder structures as have been developed in the various creation mythologies. The disadvantage, of course, is that the flow of energy is also based on the perception of the deity's nature, desires, and field of control. There may be other deities with conflicting interests in the mythology, or stringent worship requirements on the part of the recipients of the effect.

As for the second and third sphere magics proper, vortex compression is through individually formed ladders, reached not through religious ecstasy, but meditation, dream workshops, mystic methods, and cognitive modeling. The difficulty is in the transitional stages. Even if the consciousness can be routinely centered on the iconic level, there still must be a method to translate the energy on to the corporeal plane, but if one is wholly on the level of ideation, differentiation becomes impossible. All fluxions converge and any energies sent out bifurcate into the myriad structures and substructures. If sufficient energy is released to affect the intended plane, all planes are affected, and all possibilities become equally represented. The need is to find a means of presublimation; i.e. ladder over to the other vertex at a level low enough to result in instantiation. In other words, one can not find a need to light a fire when one is basking in the warmth of cosmic bliss.

The second sphere is a bit more workable in this respect, since the effects are predefined, and much of the work can be accomplished on the lower planes. In a third sphere working, when not only the ritual and devices are minimized, but the actual effect is decided on the spot, it becomes nigh impossible to deviate from wanting to do what the universes are already doing. Since this treatise is not intended to discuss the third sphere, about which almost anything which can be said is by definition not sufficiently flexible to be true, the remainder will deal only with the first two spheres. It is well to keep in mind, however, that the cleping of second sphere magic, using fundamental concepts, is generally more than enough to accomplish purposes, assuming that the ladder structure is well designed.

There exists strong forces toward refluxion not only from the core vertex's own integrity, but also from the gravitation towards adjacent event fluxions. One may think of the event fluxions as lying in the valleys of the planar vibrations, and as needing some particular energy to ladder into the next fluxion, which is to say: given a number of thoughts, all new thoughts will tend to become like one of the others which already exist. The fluxion which radiates from the new creation will generally be much more subtle than the adjacent ones. One must therefore concentrate on the new idea and, through repetition, make it available to the mnemonic structures, and the perceptive mechanisms (remember that perception is active). The corporeal plane also has a strong temporal structure and derives much of its meaning nexus from stability. Any new idea has potential to disrupt this stability, bringing up unpleasant associations with the chaotic forces. There exists a balance between the ideas of law and stability, which allow a slow, methodical, and in-depth investigation of phenomena, and the ideas of chaos which generate the creative manifestations needed for growth.

The tremendous energies which are naturally available to the entity and the more or less lawful structural inertia used to maintain the integrity and meaningfulness of the lower planes are carefully balanced. It is the work of the entity to shift the balance to accomplish it intents. This is particularly difficult for the mage, as he is usually working with more energy and with less familiar ladders. The failure of a working is usually due to the inability of the mage to maintain the creative idea with enough intensity to establish its vibrational tone strongly enough to allow its perception. Strongly held ideas may be picked up by sensitives easily enough, but it is another matter to manifest the idea physically. If one observes a former mundane, learning the craft, the reaction upon completion of his first effect will often be one of complete astonishment, much as the small child will show as much surprise as delight in his first successful performance of some small physical act such as putting on an article of clothing. The reaction is due to the breaking through of the complex of self-doubt and inertial fixations.

In order to clarify the main issues and mechanisms, this discussion will center on them in full polarization. One pole will be the high mage, who has established good control and the other will be the complete mundane with no contact with the magical way. This is an important consideration because each mundane has buried beneath his common thoughts the stirrings of the mage, and each mage has within him the scripts and structures used in the mundane world. The mundane is troubled by his strange dreams, spontaneous visions, and irrational fears and limited by his belief structures; the mage is disturbed by self doubts, fear of chaos, fear of ostracism, and the actions and thought projections of the mundanes. It is the integration of these two poles within the individual which must be achieved to do any new work. This is true of any creative endeavor, but especially true of magic because of the power and chaotic possibilities. When working in the higher planes, much of the familiar structure is no longer available, so it also becomes more difficult to maintain the ego structure needed for corporeal life.

How may this basic conflict of great energy being channeled through a minuscule valve be resolved? The solutions lie not in changing the existing structure, but in the building of new structures. The nature of these new structures are of critical importance in determining what sort of effects, and how much power, will be available.

It is quite easy to fall into the old mundane habits when faced with a difficult area and lose contact with the magical structures. It requires a great deal of energy and concentration, especially when starting out, to maintain the magical meta-cosmos.

We actually work in myriad worlds as a matter of course, but rarely pay attention to them as separate structures. When using mathematics, we easily shift from the abstractness of a geometrical theorem, to representational mensuration, to the perceived length of a rafter, to an imaginative construction of various pieces of furniture in a room being built, to an estimate of abstract fiscal units which may be obtained by the transference of a title in the realm of codified law and social custom pronouncing the new house to be the personal property of one entity within the governmental district. All of these ideas are parts of various subsystems. Each is far removed from the consciousness of the piece of wood involved and the history of the tree from which it came. To the mundane, the wood's awareness is so far removed from his own main vibrational tone that he will deem it as non-existent - and it is unaware, to the extent that the fields have barely perceptible levels to him. If that wood is used by a skilled cabinet maker the level of awareness is different. More attention will be paid to the history of wet and dry cycles, the grain structure, insect damage, and the like. A great artist may understand even more, and gain much of his inspiration from his perception of the woods actual broad existence. The mystic or high mage will understand the consciousness of the wood, and may even communicate with it.

Those structures which are broad enough to support a body of meaning and be
relatively self-sufficient in its complexity may be considered a
meta-cosmos. We may discuss several possible candidates for such a
classification.

Mathematics may be used as a structure. It is highly relational to many other structures, and is broad enough to provide an analogous structure to most other phenomena in other structures. Naive reality as perceived though the physical sensory organs also have many of the qualifications needed, and we generally spend a fair bit of our lives in just that world. Language is another major structure, and the naming and classification of the various physical entities, as well as many abstractions, shows the great breadth and power available here. All of these structures, however, have sufficient limitations to make them unsuitable as fully operational meta-cosmos. We need to have a structure which is open ended, and which will have enough models available to make it rarely necessary to go outside of them. We need to include emotional content, creative impulses, morality systems, and spirituality to reach the level of a useful meta-cosmos. All of these fields combined can be considered as the basis for the meta-cosmos that is usually called reality by the mundane.

This system, however, lacks much of the vocabulary, relational connectiveness (ladder structures), and transitional methods needed by a system in which a working magic can be developed. It is often thought that there is no direct relationship between the entity and the various objects and entities about him, and he is generally unable to perceive these connections using his sensory organs as he has been trained to do. Those perceptions are simply too incompatible with his world view to generate enough gradation to jump to the adjoining fluxions. It is necessary to enlarge the meta-cosmos formed and increase the range of the perceptions. Feedback is needed to properly direct the energies involved. Otherwise, the mage is in the position of a hunter who can not see his prey, and he will not gain proficiency since he will never know when his shot nears the target. He must be trained to see the connections which already exist, and strengthen them, and he must forge new connections where they are needed. The cognitive methods may be used to form new models and prepare the senses for their additional functions. Dream work can provide experience with the various ladder structures which might be used, and have the advantage of bypassing the time lag usually encountered coporeally, which hampers the feedback of the return event fluxions. Meditation is used to move to higher levels and adjacent planes, and to explore the extent of gradation possible. Mystic states provide sources of energy. Finally, the new, enlarged meta-cosmos must be assimilated into the ordinary mind, and the new ladders must become familiar landmarks. If one can work in the company of other mages, many of these problems are reduced, but ultimately, it is the internalized structures which must be depended upon.

It is a great mistake to rely on the structures of mythic or occult groups overly much, since it places a hard limit on how far the system will carry and often incorporates silly rituals and paraphernalia. These systems are usually too small to allow much progress. All of work done to attain proficiency must then be reversed to progress to a larger frame. If a large frame is used, however, the mage must have much patience, for it will take longer until results are seen, and it may be unwise to attempt too large a frame at first. All systems have the potential for working to some extent. Remember, all statements and beliefs are both utterly true and utterly false. They must be related to a structure to evaluate their pragmatic value.

The second meta-cosmos to consider is the psychic plane. This consists of the great globe of information, mythic and archetypal figures, the meaning of relationships between various concepts and images, and the emotions. It opens into the higher planes of icons, intentionallity, and ideation. Moral systems are replaced with direct empathy, piety and spirituality with cosmic consciousness. Creativity is associated with will and release. The plane of the psyche, subsumes the corporeal plane, but views it from a different perspective. The main threads are those of meaning rather than proximity in space and time. Events separated by many miles and many years may be considered contiguous, linked together by a cause and effect mechanism (and this should be considered only as a mechanism - the root of an an effect is actually intentionality). One may consider the outlook as being similar to that of the author of a story; the plot is spread over many chapters, but the thread of the story holds it all together. Time is relative to the action occurring, and the past and future are always open to the editing process. Dream events are considered as just as real as corporeal events, and may advance or elucidate the plot with equal strength. The world view of the first meta-cosmos uses primarily descriptive and symbolic language to refer to the corporeal objects which are sensed by direct, naive perception. The language used in the second meta-cosmos also encompass abstract ideas and ideals, and serve as symbols for the inexpressible psychic structures. Statements are often acts of the will rather than a description of an idea. Mathematics not only serves to describe the physical world, but is a language in its own right, and stretches beyond the imagination, urging the cognitive faculties to perceive the unimagined realities described by the mathematical relationships discovered.

In any meta-cosmos, we are dealing with the superimposition of a conceptual model upon the actual grid of existence. There are several points which should be emphasized in discussing this process. Firstly, any meta-cosmos is, in itself, a structure, and by its extension the actual grid is also extended. It is not possible to think about existence without changing it. This change may be to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the energies fed into the conceptual system and the harmonic relationships with pre-existing structures. Secondly, any system is necessarily deficient in acting as a complete model. There are many possible types of deficiencies specifically, but also several broad classifications which will apply generally. There will always be ladder connections between various nodes or fluxions within the system which will be unknown. There will always be unknown connectives to other planes (a stone in the corporeal plane may be a word, a note, a being, a painting, or any other object in another plane). Thirdly, any system will always be open ended. Some meta-cosmos may be more amenable to expansion than others, but there is always a hole through which expansion may take place - closure is never achieved, only blindness. Fourthly, the consciousness of all objects in the system can never be completely curtailed, it may only be ignored. The term entity is used for those objects which we wish to consider with its consciousness as one of its primary characteristics, but it should be remembered that this is an artificial distinction; objects and entities are perceptively and subjectively defined. This last point is important. The implication and corollary of this is that regardless of the system or perceptions imposed, the true multidimensional colligation of grid nodes is unchanged. There are always more possibilities than the meta-cosmos can account for, both desirable and undesirable. It is the primal strength of the intentions of the greater self fluxion, which is monitoring the entire grid, which allows an action to be efficacious.

It is also evident from the foregoing that any system, meta-cosmos, perception, object, structure, or even grid node, is at the least a potential plane. As the energies of a node emanate throughout the grid, new structures are formed on collision with other fluxions. These form connectives and ladder structures, although they may or may not be useful as such. We may distinguish between planes and sub-planes by applying the criteria of ease of expandability, richness of action and meaning, habitability by complex entities, and other such indications of complexity. This is, of course, a completely amorphous standard, but is useful for pragmatic qualification. Those entities which are to be considered as sub-structures play an important role in navigating the grid. They serve as rungs on the ladder structures used for presublimation.

Essentially, the difference between presublimation and cycle conversion is that the former is a jump to a higher level zone in the flow of the vortex rotation, bypassing the normal event steps by vertical compression, while the latter is a laddering to another fluxion at the same level zone(and possibly back again) by horizontal compression. In either case, the fluxions in question are mono-planar (including the paths to the iconic levels). Generally, one may think of mundane acts as traveling the paths which are strongly established in the structure patterns of the plane. Magical acts entail coplanar connectives, even if only to an adjacent plane, or subplane; one may think of strongly defined patterns which flow from ideation to instantiation along paths which are considered mundane to the plane in question to be non-magical, and that such core fluxions, together with its associated event fluxions and gradations to be contained within the simple vortex rotation cycles.

An example of such a simple cycle is a typical anger script. First the subject perceives an interruption in his expectation-gratification cycle, he experiences an elevation of his frustration level, and redirects the negative energy from his ego conflict to an exteriorized ideation. He either interacts with the exterior object, or suppresses the energy back into the psyche to be later released in what he perceives to be a more satisfying manner. The energy, now released, continues on. Refluxion waves return and impinge on the dipole of the energy source, releasing energy into the fear and guilt structures. This triggers the release of the valving mechanism which centers the perceptive system on the meta-cosmos in use, opening the perceptions to external energies formerly closed off. The horizons of the meta-cosmos wavers a bit, allowing the entity to view the object more objectively, and results in a vertical compression, increasing cosmic awareness. As the bounds of the meta-cosmos recede further, the entity begins to lose his orientation to his meta-cosmos, reestablishes the horizon, shutting down his extension of perception, and centers on the mundane perspectives to reorient himself, and awaits the opportunity to begin the cycle again. Naturally, the actual cycle will vary somewhat, but this is typical enough to serve as illustration.

Now we shall examine a short cycle conversion of the above example. Having grown weary of repeatedly growing angry, our subject examines the cycle and determines that there is a point at which his watcher can detect the coming process, and intervene. Let us say that he is unable to change his expectation structures, but determines that gratification may be temporally rerouted. He develops his habits of patience, and when the frustration begins to mount, he counters it with the satisfaction of proving himself a patient man. The two energies bond and sublimate into a sub-plane, leaving no imbalance behind them. Refluxion is reduced to a tolerable level, his meta-cosmos remains stable, and the whole process is reduced to shadow enactment.

Perhaps, though, in a particular set, he acquires a connective of patience to gullibility, and can not generate sufficient satisfaction to counter the frustration. He may now release the anger, but when faced with the refluxion, he counters the fear and guilt reactions by altering the meta-cosmos. He now tightens up the horizons, admitting less energy, and balances that which does get through with a belief structure entailing a superiority-inferiority dipole. He attributes inferiority to the external object, and superiority to his internal value system. Now the stronger anti-guilt energies combined with the energies from his new justice-retribution system will balance with the negative guilt energies. He has achieved a short cycle with out the wavering of his meta-cosmos. In the long term this will lead to problems as his growth energies attempt to surge past the horizons, but it is effective in the short run at least.

Now lets examine the situation using long cycle conversion. Instead of trying to avoid the end steps of the cycle, our subject attempts to bypass the intervening steps. He may enlarge his meta-cosmos, and devise some trigger mechanism to shift his state of awareness at some preliminary step. He may give up his expectation structure and work instead in an observational mode. Or he may shift into a psychic meta-cosmos, and attempt to identify with the object energies instead of exteriorizing them, also becoming accustomed to working with less firm meta-cosmos horizons. Or he may build a compassion component into his guilt and fear structure, allowing the flow of energies to remain internal instead of opening his horizon. In all of these methods, he stays within the same core vertex set. In either the short or long conversion, he builds additional structures, forming additional associated event fluxions to conduct the energy in a more efficient manner.

Another method our subject may use is presublimation. He may channel his frustration into an contemplational mode, distracting himself from the exteriorized object. This is actually picking up threads associated with another core fluxion. In this case he diverts the negative energies from the anger event to the positive energies of the observational event. The energy eventually travels around the core vertex colligate, and returns to the original anger event, but in this case externally to the original structure. The energy can now be directed as he chooses, and the anger pattern itself is weakened. Given enough repetition of this weakening, it may actually be replaced with the observational core and fade from the perceptual field.

Practically speaking, cycle conversion can be done on the corporeal plane alone, while presublimation needs a shifting to the higher planes. Cycle conversion is accomplished by shifting focus to another fluxion while presublimation works by shifting focus to the higher level. Do not confuse this with the detection of energies originating at those levels, as in the above example; it is actually working there.

Now, because on the higher levels there is actually a converging of the rotation into cospace (the unified perspective), cycle conversion may be accomplished with relative ease by moving to the ideational zones. This is termed superconversion, and is the basis of many magical workings. Whereas on the lower levels a laddering to an adjacent coplane of reality is specific but involves higher energies, on the higher level zones, specificity may be traded for efficiency with relative ease. If a specific effect is needed while still maintaining energy efficiency then vortex compression is used.

Many structures work in cycles. Breathing, eating and elimination, sleeping and waking, night and day, seasons, music, sound, bird migration, economic activity, wars, political climate, geological movements, and planetary systems all work in cycles, as do many phenomena which are generally undetectable by most observers. Many of these cycles are interrelated and the following of one or more may indicate the stage of seemingly unrelated events. This is because of natural ladder structures which are unknown to the observers. One of the tools of the mage is the careful observation of cycles, and the notation of the various correlations. Since some cycles have periods of very small time spans, while others vary over eons, it is extremely difficult to find all the rotations which effect the phenomena in question. The smallest cycle is exhibited, of course, by the node of the grid in the void state. These nodes represent the basic units of consciousness which form the structural elements of all the other structures.

Vortex compression, as has been noted, occurs in many ways. The two ways which we are considering in the current model are vertical and horizontal compression. Consider vertical compression to be a stretching of the consciousness over the span from the manifestational plane towards the iconic plane. In this mental state, there is awareness of both systems, and perception is focused in both places at once. A good exercise to develop this ability is to think of several things at once. Become aware of what your thoughts are doing while you are speaking to someone, where the ideas are coming from and how they are being translated into speech, and listen to the words and the sounds that form them. Watch the reactions of the person you are speaking with, and attempt to follow their reactions to what they are hearing. When you have managed this, also try to become aware of the flow of the sounds from your mouth to the other person's ears, and at the same time be aware of the larger purposes of the communication, and how those purposes are also being transferred by your body language and through your intuitive faculties across the psychic plane. You may, at various times drift into unfamiliar mental states, and perhaps sound a little foolish to the other person. Simply explain that you are practicing your presublimation skills in preparation for vertical vortex compression, ask them to have a little patience with you, and continue the exercise after having reestablished your horizon orientation. (If you are speaking with an idiot or a confirmed mundane (why would you be doing that anyway?), tell them you have a cold).

Another good exercise, if you frequent the theater, street plays, or musical events, is rivet your attention on the performance until you have been completely absorbed into the alternate substructure presented, then gradually, without losing any of the content of the play, observe the props and settings, the lighting, the stage itself, other spectators, your own body and physical position, etc. Keep increasing the scope of your awareness and the number of perceptions you are conscious of. Then selectively shut down your awareness of one or more of them. Learn to focus on those structures which you choose.

At some point in the exercises you must also become aware of the many thoughts and structures within your own mind. You will always notice a watcher, an observer of your other actions and thoughts. If you turn your attention towards this watcher, you will find that he will run away, and leave an imposter in his place while he takes up the watch from elsewhere in the psyche. He is, after all, the watcher, not the watched. You do not need to shine your light on him to use him however. You will find though experimenting that he is you, and what he knows, you also know. What the watcher has seen, you also have seen. If you work on one of the higher planes, do not expect him to be able to translate what he has seen in terms that your corporeal self can fully understand, however, for the words do not exist. This would be like taking a sample of the ocean home in a vial, and then expecting to sail a large ship in that small vial, and draw forth great fish. But you can always go back to the ocean when you want to.

As you move along in the work, you must learn how to keep your attention while you sleep. Keep the watcher awake so he can remember to tell you what he has seen in terms you can better understand. Learn to be aware of your sleeping state, and to bring your corporeal mind along with you when you dream. Your dreams can serve as a wonderful gateway to the higher levels. Dream symbols can sometimes be used as trigger mechanisms and used to form your personal yclepticon. Also practice this while you daydream, and learn to consciously let the corporeal world slip away from your attention.

You will discover that you can make up your own exercises, some of which may be particularly suited to your own idea structures. Always remember, however, that the different planes are different planes - do not attempt to make everything work the same way that you are accustomed to them working ordinarily. The higher planes are generally far less stable in terms of time and space - there is a greater interconnectedness there, and your thoughts will move you through different focuses at high speed. This is one of the greatest difficulties in the working of the higher magics. It requires great self-control to keep yourself stabilized long enough to direct the required energies. At first, just have fun with the various ideas you will meet until you learn the territory, and develop your other minds.

Horizontal vortex compression is most easily seen in thaumaturgy or sympathetic magic systems. By laddering in the corporeal plane itself, a fairly efficient system can be designed if the the ladder structure is strong. Even ordinary mundane acts are done by this method. In this case we have simple corporeal interfusion. When striking a peg with a mallet, we rely on the laddering structures of space and time - the peg must be in the path of the mallet at the time that the mallet is moving. There are also other connections which are made. The very fabric of matter is a structure which exhibit specific ladders. When two solids meet, one must move or be deformed. When a solid meets a liquid or gas, however, the gas is almost always displaced. Thus, each state of matter, and configuration of matter, has its own physical attributes, which in turn rely on its place in the ladder. As you work with the noetic codex and yclepticon, remember the large variety of phenomena which are already defined with great energy. It is very difficult to redefine these structures using the same symbols, as they are strongly imbedded in the psyche. The associations with words and concepts already formed incorporate limitations within them. To use interfusion, you will generally need to enter a new symbol into the yclepticon and define new meanings and relationships in the noetic codex at an appropriately high level. Interfusion always takes its form and reactions from at least the psychic plane, and at this level, there is strong influence from the over-psyche of the racial and cultural structures. It is for this reason that so much resistance is encountered when trying to redefine structures or when working at too low a level. Once you succeed in forming a strong structure, however, it may be used solely through corporeal interfusion, and moving to the higher levels is not needed. It is difficult to do this, though, and is usually used only for the common effects which are needed often, or for those effects which are useful enough to the populace that they are willing to incorporate it into their mundane horizons. They will not see the effect as being magical then, of course, but the mage will recognize it as being no more or less magical than anything they do. While the craftsman, the tradesman, the technicians of knowledge, and the farmer will work using only the established and known structures, it is the task of the mage to create and discover new structures.

Horizontal compression, whether on the corporeal level, or on the higher psychic levels, is generally done by discovering ladder structures which exist relatively strongly, but which were generally unknown. These ladders usually represent aspects of a structure which have a unity or reflexive relationship on a different plane or higher level, but which appear as unrelated on the physical plane, just as certain plants may seem to be separate on the surface but actually share a common root system. When the lucifer was invented, it was done by discovering the energy-chemical relationships which were there, created by those working on other planes. There exist more relationships between matter, energy, time, and dimensions which are still not generally known, but nevertheless await discovery. Over a period of time (in physical terms), other relationships are being formed, mostly by the over-psyche, or organizations of various entities interested in that work. This is done on the psychic planes, and often a man who farms the land during the day will create new structures while he sleeps, often without being consciously aware of his work. When these structures are sufficiently well established, they may be discovered and put to use, but often the discoverer does not understand the work that went into the creation of the structure to begin with. They attribute such things to the wonder of nature and never stop to wonder what their own role, as a part of that nature, might be. Horizontal compression, then, is the linking of these fluxions, and the manifestation of the ladders on a particular level, usually the corporeal level. It is always easier for several mages to work in concert. Not only is the research time divided, and the structures found made stronger by their combined energies, but it is much easier to spend the often considerable number of hours in the work when there is a group to relate to. The isolation of working alone is often the true bane of the mage. This refers to research and development of the spell; for group casting see the section on this below.

It should now be evident that the ordinary physical effects observed on the corporeal plane are explained by the model we are using, but that there is difficulty in overcoming the structures which exist. What we need for an effective working, therefore, is a method by which we can bypass the restraints of the corporeal structures. This will involve using the unity available on the higher planes with the linking of event fluxions on the lower planes. This is the process of superconversion. Subjectively, when one works a spell, one stands in a particular mental and psychic spot. There are a series of tones associated with the energies and structures involved, which produce what may be described as a cosmic chord. It the ability to center on this chord, and maintain it without distracting one's self for the duration of the casting which results in the effect.

The best level to work a superconversion is at the point of natural bifurcation, where the event fluxions differentiate in the line to the iconic level. The way to find this bifurcation point is to concentrate equally on the two (or more) events to be laddered, and follow the line up until they merge. This is the point of least resistance to start. If the level is too high for ease of instantiation, work downwards, building ladders as you go. If the point is too low to gather sufficient energy, focus more deeply on the individuality of the fluxions and their gradation patterns, and work upwards through long cycling. Once you have found the best level for presublimation, short cycle to manifestation and burn in the structures through repeated transits.

Once the structure and ladders are kiltered and familiar, there remains the problem of proper triggering and release. For the interfusion spells this is simply a matter of recalling the proper clepe and engaging the intent. For superconverting spells the process is somewhat more elaborate. Recall the clepe, center the psyche, find the chord in the noetic codex, move to the proper position to presublimate, ladder to the fluxions according to the codex, specify the target, gather the will, and finally shift to the gradation where you can feel the energy flow. This process should be practiced with a banal superconverting spell until the whole process becomes almost automatic. When all is ready, engage the intent and let go. The high mages of old could do all this in a blink of an eye, but take it slowly at first, always striving for perfect form and control. If you rush yourself or let yourself be pushed, you will probably lose control. The usual result of this is no effect but a shattered nervous system, but there have been occasions when the energies have been misdirected and undesirable results were obtained.

In the third sphere, all of this is done with out benefit of the yclepticon or noetic codex, and uttermost control must be attained. Do not succumb to the temptation and try to ad lib a spell. You may be thrown completely out of control without even knowing the difference. The best result in that case is usually a localized disaster, generally contained by one of the extra-planar beings. The worst disaster was when a group conjuring of a wurdle prime was attempted (because of the mysterious nature and volatility of a prime some extemporary conversion are almost always needed), and one of the mages followed the wrong event fluxion. The spell collapsed and took out a hundred thousand square miles with it before the vortex retracted into refluxion. Many of the ladder structures were disrupted, and recovery on the physical plane was over five hundred years. .

The result of an effect must always be specified. If you attempt to work an open ended spell, such as creating heat, without a specific limit, there are several ways it may end unpleasantly. With the initial surge of energy, inertial refluxion may snap in with such force that it will close down the spell with no result than perhaps a headache for the mage. In effect he is shocked from the cast, just as a beginner when he tries an effect which he is not capable of. If the initial power is well channelled, it may indeed work, and drain everything the mage can muster until he drops from utter exhaustion, perhaps to remain unconsciousness for months as he tries to gather the energy to rebuild his meta_cosmos horizons. There is, of course, no real predictability as to the extent of the results. The third possibility is interfusion refluxion. This occurs when the mage attempts to valve the energy and loses his proper presublimation level. The usual result of this effect is for the energy to converge on his own event horizon. In the above example, he would incinerate himself. The other problem with such a spell is in its development. Without a tight definition of the results, the horizontal compression is so extreme it takes tremendous concentration to follow the ladders. Generally, it involves recursive patterning or iterative extensions, and it is extremely difficult to break out of the process. In the deliberate working of recursive or iterative spells, discussed below, one goes in with a limit set and returns to the bifurcation node when the proper event fluxion is reached. In open-ended spell formation, however, it requires an intent impulse from the watcher, a random event fluxion cycle conversion, or a good rap on the head from the mages instructor to bring him out of it. Don't do this.

On the other end of this particular fluxion is the problem of obtaining sufficient power to result in the transformation sought after. For the beginning mage this is always difficult. His powers of concentration, his underdeveloped channels, and his general confusion and lack of faith and experience all tend to limit his ability to perform the effect. Even when all else is properly done, he may be unable to muster the energies needed, and perhaps conclude that the working can not be performed by him. The solution, of course, is to keep developing himself. The first works to attempt should be the informational spells, since they require the least actual transfer of energy, and yet help to develop the proper faculties. Other techniques may also be used, and even advanced mages seldomly use (or are even aware) of them all. Some of these methods are discussed below.

a. Corporeal Preparation. Fasting, chanting, meditation, sexual abstinence, rhythmic exercise, physical depletion or insult, breath control, and voice projection, are all used to prepare in advance for the casting of a spell. All of have the effect of physically altering the state of the body, and so also the psyche.

b. Emotional Surging. This technique is the deliberate building of an emotional pitch, and then transferring the energy to work. This may involve the emotions of anger, love, hate, fear reaction (difficult to handle), manic exuberance.

c. Cognitive Scheduling and Pre-visualization. This is the building of cognitive pressure over a period of time to concentrate the other energies available towards the goal. It involves planning, horizon manipulation, theoretical diagramming, model building (such as we are doing now), and perception focusing through alternative denial.

d. Meta-cosmos Horizon Expansion. This is always needed at some point in the building of the faculties. By broadening the meta-cosmos, access to the energies of the higher or alternate planes is facilitated. Vertical compression on a more or less permanent basis is the main mechanism of this technique.

e. Presumptuous Hesitation and Cycle Synchronization. Presumptuous hesitation is the method whereby the enactment is delayed, allowing an anticipatory buildup of energy, to be released when a natural cycle augments the energy flow with its own. In a more refined sense, there are always cycles which may be used to advantage. Examples of this techniques include the release of energy by practitioners of the martial arts, holding ritual ceremonies to coincide with lunar or seasonal cycles, waiting to strike at an enemy army until they are at a low point of moral or organization, timing a discussion with another person with the occurrence of their entrance into a good mood, and following the wind gusts when knocking down a tree. For magical works it becomes important to understand the cycles which affect the psychic energies, and to synchronize ones own being and efforts with these. These psychic currents also include those of the mages own body and mind.

f. External Power Sources.

g. Power Accumulation Techniques and Devices. The accumulation of power can be done with the first three methods, a through c above, but is not limited to those methods. Linguistic significance is a powerful and easily used technique. In a sense, this is the building of structures, but primarily in the informational sphere. Various words are associated with energy, and the when energy is drawn in the preparatory stages it is linked with those words. Energy will then tend to accumulate around these words, as well as opening channels through static presublimation structures. The same method is used in rune assignation, magical energy storage devices, and scroll making. There is always a psychic structure incorporated into the being of the mage who devises such structures, but it need not take any energy usage to maintain their functions, just as dormant knowledge does not cause mental fatigue. If the mage desires, he can monitor the usage by others of devices he has created, but it takes special preparation to control their usage, as the structures will exist independently of his own psyche once they are created. The creation of permanent structures will be discussed more fully below.

These methods for obtaining power are ladder structures themselves, and as such, may be manipulated through superconversion. Once a method has been well practiced and the steps and functions are familiar to the mage, he may use cycle conversions to directly access energy through simple will. He merely has to move his thought to the chords where the energies flow and psychically affirm the reality his position. It is when he reaches this stage of development that he truly enters the arena of the high mage. All else will be found to have been preparation, useful as the results may have been. When he has indeed superconverted his will to converge the source and the manifestation he has begun the grandest practice of all - that of iconic instantiation. No more need be said of that awesome practice here, nor would any attempt to do so be elucidating.

Vortex compression should now be fairly well understood to be the virtual narrowing of the gaps between event horizons, or for vertical compression, the path length to the upper zones. There also exists the possibility for high compression, or hypercompression, as it is termed in the canonical texts. This is movement or linkage of non-adjacent fluxions, but not by building alternate paths as in cycle conversion. In conversion, the path length remains more or less the same, and gains in efficiency by bypassing the transitional nodes. To understand hypercompression, it must be remembered that the true nature of the vortex is cospacial. Hypercompression is achieved by actually eliminating fluxions by readjusting the meta-cosmos horizon temporarily. Subjectively, the intermediate fluxions recede from the perceptive field into one of the other dimensions, while objectively, the mage shifts his plane to an area where those fluxions are not prominent. The efficiency of transfer is considerably enhanced. There exists whole magical systems which rely on the extreme of this method, i.e. by eliminating all possible outcomes but those desired, any action which is performed must create the desired effect.

As mentioned above, the creation of effects which are to be temporarily elongated require the formation of new structures which are capable of storing or accessing energy independently of the mage. This usually means that the structure must include presublimation capability, instantiation specifications, trigger mechanisms, and intrinsic conversion paths. Hypercompression is very difficult to incorporate into these objects, but usually are not needed anyway, since paths as wide as are necessary can be included and the time needed for creation of the objects is generally not a critical consideration.

For permanent spells, the technique is to create a cycle conversion to a presublimation structure, and feed the energy downwards through a modified trigger to provide feedback fluxions, creating a valve node. If the valve node is used as an energy source self destructively, higher energies can be obtained with the same complexity, but the spell fires only once. To recharge such an object, energy is pumped into the system through the residual auras until the structure is rebuilt to the original intensity. One can also build a one time effect through energy storage, wherein the energy is accumulated by the mage and placed in a circular structure awaiting the trigger event fluxion to acquire sufficient solidity to reach gradation saturation with the storage fluxion. Circular storage structures are created from one or more fluxions with a cycle conversion loop to rechannel the flow back into the system. It is also necessary to include at least a small energy input to counteract the emanation losses for permanence, otherwise the structure is finite, although perhaps very long term.

The common scroll is simple a source spell coupled with a storage cycle and a trigger mechanism, all held together by a standard scrolling fluxion. The poorer quality scrolls, commonly available from commercial magic dealers, can misfire if used by a beginner because the trigger is not well isolated from the source spell, or the scrolling spell is not well structured. The resultant instability must then be handled by the user. This is the result of the commercial shops using mages who are not developed enough to use the better spells to keep their costs down. Beginners especially should obtain their scrolls from a reputable source. A proper scrolling spell incorporates the psychic linking needed to detect the intentions even of a mundane user. This applies to devices also.

In the creation of a magical device, the natural structures of the material and shape of the the device is used to augment the working. The internal crystaline patterns, the historical engrams of the material, and the psychic symbolism of the device type can all be used to enhance its use. Wands are generally easier to trigger in respect to its target, while rings will be more amenable to picking up the intentionality of the user, and so on. Devices may incorporate the use of several varied materials to combine the resonance and structures desired.

The importance of detecting and attaining resonance with the cycles of the natural structures has been discussed above. When performing a working with one or more other mages it is even important to consider resonance effects. Each mage who joins in a working introduces his own particular chords, as well as his personal structures and fluxions. These chords and tones have their own frequencies which the others must be attuned to, at least to the extent of not following them so strongly that his own chord will be thrown off frequency. It is for this reason that it is best to first practice together, just as musicians must practice. Even competent musicians will find it difficult to simple pick up their instruments and play together. They will also generally work under a conductor, whose responsibility it is to decide on the best interpretation of the score, adjust and make adjustments for the individual musicians, and give cues as to the tempo and sound of each member of the group. Just so in a group working of mages. Since the chords of the individual mages incorporate subcycles as well, it is important to have each participant begin at the proper phase. Synchronization of the timing alone will not be sufficient if one or more contributors are out of phase with the others or with the natural cycles.

Very often when an event fluxion bifurcates the energy and patterns divide into fluxions with nearly equal or harmonic fluxions. This occurrence can be of use when developing structures. The technique follow the two paths, looking for one which more nearly resembles the structure needed, replicate the structure in the psyche, change it necessary, and use the basic pattern as the skeleton for the new structure. It is also possible to find other skeleton structures by casting a widely gradated pattern into the void and follow back the return energies which return most strongly, indicating the presence of the skeleton. Sometimes a new structure can be almost completely formed using only overlays from other parts of the grid.

Another way to use these mutually resonant structures or sub-structures is to actually incorporate them into the energy gathering paths. By doing this one can increase the energy flow, with or without compression, or provide an alternate path if one becomes unusable, such as when encountering a counter-spell or when one path becomes connected to other undesirable fluxions and the possibility of routing to the wrong instantiation becomes to great.

In essence, all acts, magical or not, are of the same value. It is only in the analysis of an event under a particular system and logic that complexity varies. Since these events are always in relation to a particular system, however, analysis of complexity is valid.

The way that the event is analyzed is to place it on a matrix formed by the possible ways of describing an event in terms of separate fluxions which interact. Any event will have an infinitely varying number of fluxions associated with it, depending on the plane and system used. The first task, then, is to establish which system is to be used and from which plane the event is to be viewed. The simple act of throwing a ball to a child may be seen in light of the psychological and physical effects on the child, the event in terms of the rules of a particular game, the resolution of various formulas and kinetic forces, or as an emotional bonding between two playmates.

A matrix for finding the complexity of magical acts may include the intentionality of the act, the possible bifurcations of life path fluxions, the change in tone of the corporeal reality, the emotional reactions of creatures (including the primitive consciousness of physical objects), and the actual number and force of kinetic and static states of physical objects. In general, a rough idea of the complexity can be judged by the difficulty of describing the changes involved. This description is, of course, dependent on the type of model used for that description. The model may actually change from one spell to another. It is relatively easy to describe the lighting of a candle only in terms of the temperature of the wick, while a description in terms of the subsequent sensory input, heat transformations, and emotional and cognitive changes in the enabling of sight would be hopelessly complex. On the other hand, the creation of a ball of fire covering a large area is more easily described in terms of intention and practical effect rather than an analysis of actual heat transfer to all the objects in the affected area. Or consider the complexity of lifting a large stone and putting it down in another spot to build a wall, as opposed to doing it to destroy enemy troops and affect many lives. The first task, then, is to determine the type of viewpoint to be used on the matrix. Since each system or viewpoint is different, the matrix must be worked out on an individual basis.

Iteration is the repeated application of a process or effect. If a result can be thought of in terms of the iteration of many small effects, the complexity is reduced, and the difficulty of defining, and therefore causing the result, is also reduced. In the above example of a ball of fire, if the complexity is viewed not in terms of the heat transfer and effect of the myriad objects in the area, not in terms of intention, but rather in terms of the temperature change of the smallest possible divisions of matter within the area, the iteration of this analysis results in low complexity, albeit a large number of the simple effects. In this case, whether a material ignites, melts, conducts heat away, or simple gets hotter does not matter in terms of complexity. By specifying only the energy added to each bit of material the effect is simplified. The results viewed from a larger perspective may vary from those of another type of thermal application (such as the lack of increasing pressure outside of the area), and so the spell may be somewhat at variance from a natural phenomena, but the effect may be still sufficient to meet the requirements.

Another example might be the evocation of a rain shower. It is much easier to specify this in terms of the creation of a drop of water, repeated many times, than in terms of the creation of a weather system with its associated high and low pressures, temperature gradients, condensation and humidity relationships, and the like. In terms of event fluxions, much simpler structure need be formed, and they are relatively isolated from other fluxions.

Recursion is the formation of an internal loop in a structure which leads to the replication of the super structure of which it is a part. One may also think of it a fluxion which leads to itself in such a way that the structure expands at each iteration of it. The trigger is contained within the structure, rather than externally to it as in iteration.

The most fundamental example of recursion is in the spontaneous expansion of the grid. As each fluxion radiates outward it encounters other fluxions. This creates nodes from new fluxions radiate. If no fluxions are encountered, fluxions will bifurcate spontaneously, creating other fluxions which will in turn bifurcate, creating still more bifurcating fluxions, and so on.

Another example of recursion is the creation of a life form or imitative structure. Each form contains within it a pattern for reproduction of itself. Various types of chaining effects can also be created. For example, if the evocation of an electrical spark is structured so as to charge the target object to create a high potential, the charged object can then emit another spark.

Either iteration or recursion, unless it has a controlled energy renewal presublimation, must have an end condition to prevent runaway effects and the collapse of the mage's faculties. This may be done by a structure controlling the total energy flow available, a trigger mechanism which monitors the effects of the working, or a structure which limits the expansion or cardinallity of the structure. Since most workings use the mage's resources in some way, either in the building of the structures or in the energy transfer, the limits must be carefully considered, so as not to create an effect which would be over taxing. Another difficulty is the burning in effect of the working spell. If a structure is used many times in an iterative manner, the strength of the field patterns can grow strong enough to draw adjoining structures to it. It is possible to create a recursive or iterative structure which is so expensive and pervading that it will take over an entire plane. Consider the analogous case of a plague of locusts or slime mold. Careful use of these techniques can materially enhance ones ability to control his environment, but great care should taken, and the placement of limiting structures should be liberal.Integral spells requires the limiting of a working to a specified effect. Do not attempt to use these techniques as presented to create inclinational workings, as these need different methods, philosophies, and success attributes.

At the first successful completion of one of these exercises, or of any act which uses the magical facility, you will probably notice a feeling of shock as the meta-cosmos horizons come into conflict with the realization that they do not coincide with the reality experienced. This shock of the "impossible" having happened may make the successful completion of the exercise more difficult, since it will tend to bubble up into your thoughts and displace your sensitivity to the more subtle information flow. Simple remain calm and continue practicing. The blocking energies will subside after a bit, and eventually your horizon will permanently shift to the larger meta-cosmos you are building, at which point you will no longer feel the sensation of shock or exceptional circumstances.

Using a shuffled pack of ordinary playing cards, cut the deck by rolling your fingers up and down over the edges, trying to feel for a particular card, such as aces. When you can feel the cards well enough to pick the target card almost all of the time, try for another card. Gradually add more cards to repertoire, until you can find all the cards, both number and suit. You will find that each card has its own tone, and that when you have found the card, you can feel the act of picking it as real. In the beginning you will often find that the target card is adjacent to the one you have picked, and you will need to practice a lighter touch, and perhaps take a bit more time to get it exactly. Do not try to do this while playing a game, or you will confuse the vibrations with the emotional desire to win. This must be done in a quiet location until you have learned the feeling of the act and can identify it easily. You may also notice a surge of nervous energy, seemingly from the pit of the stomach or up the spine when you perform the actual cut. Try for subtlety and easiness in this transfer of force so as not to tire yourself and to open the channel more widely.

Another simple exercise using cards is to take the pack in one hand and, with the other, turn them face up into another pile, naming each card as you do so. Do this in a very relaxed state. Slowly become aware of the deeper levels of thought from which the naming of the cards come. Eventually you will notice that there are two sources. One is from the senses, but another is from another place, where the tone and quality of the act of turning and naming the card can be found. As you practice, you will find that there is an action on that other level which precedes the physical act. If you begin to channel the energies more from that pre-action level than from the sensory level, you will begin to name the cards at the same time, or just before, you actually see the card. Do not try to guess the card before turning it, simply look for the area which contains the pre-knowledge. Guessing will take your mind to other areas, far away from the desired destination, and slow your progress.This exercise will develop your precognitive abilities as well as acquaint you with the paths of energy flow from the icon and mental levels.

At any given moment, your current event fluxions have to potential for bifurcations. Center yourself in the present physical plane, and then feel for the two (or more) paths which run along these bifurcations. Do not imagine two possible courses which you may take - this is cognitive planning. Instead, sense the fluxions which present themselves, and exist by virtue of the natural gradations and energy saturation of the present fluxion. When you have had your fill of this for the while, trace the present fluxion back to the last bifurcation and sense what other lines formed the multiversal structures in that region. Notice how the various fluxions have different intensities and chords associated with them. This exercise is very close to the process of isolating the fluxions you will need for a particular working, as well as identifying the proper positions for linking cycle structures and Presublimation.

There are various ways to increase the ability to focus at the different levels of consciousness. Visualization of various physical objects, both existent and non-existent, will increase general concentrating powers, and the ability to use visual symbols. Work from imagining an object with closed eyes, to superimposing an image over a view seen with the eyes. Imagine an object moving around the visual scene, and then behind your head, or in the middle of your head. Build a visual scene with as much detail as possible, and see if you can draw it as if you were tracing it by seeing it on a blank sheet of paper. Try to see fields of solid colors, extremely bright point sources of light, or holes in the visual field of the physical world opening up like a drawing being torn open. Try to see objects from several views at once.

When you can visualize objects and scenes, work with the other senses: sound, taste, smell, feel. Look for beings which populate imaginary landscapes and attempt to engage them in conversations. Notice the differences between imagining things from your own will and detecting the forms and aspects of things which exist externally to you on the level you are working on.

Feel for nebulous tones and concepts and translate them to writings, drawings, or other physical manifestations. Look at physical manifestations and try to see them as they appear on the higher levels. Use several senses to examine a physical object and its characteristics, and then try to sense its inner reality disregarding those common characteristics. Extend your senses to examine the inside of solid objects, and the aspects of those objects which extend outward from their physical boundaries. Sense their existence over varying periods of past and future times. Try to understand their being in relation to those times which are thought of as before their creation or after their destruction. Consider the sound of a color, the taste of a sound. Pay attention to the minor aspect of an object, such as the smell of ink, or the sound of writing on a piece of paper. Listen to the sound of a word apart from its meaning, and the dance of the mouth in producing it. Randomly combine words, and feel the new meanings of the phrases created. Look for the structures and patterns in things. Find the duality of various things. Listen for the spaces between sounds, the shadows between lights, the nothings between the somethings. Consider the history of the air you breath, and follow the path of the exhalation. Generally, reach to see the other aspects of the structures which are familiar and ignored.

An exercise which should be done until it becomes second nature is to make note of the differences between assumptions under the mundane thoughts and conversation which you often think, hear, or say, and the assumptions which are intrinsic to the magical meta-cosmos. Such ideas as cause and effect, religion dogma, justice, limitations of the self, the flow of time, and the spacial dimensions must be reexamined in light of expanded meta-cosmos. It will often be found that they mean entirely different things, or do not exist as such on the other levels or planes. Personal philosophies will need to be reformulated, and habits of thinking will require replacement. Underlying beliefs about the nature of the self, reality, others sharing that reality, and the relationships between them, some which one may not be consciously aware of, will need to be brought to the surface and possibly changed. Become aware of this at various times and examine your experience of the previous few minutes to find inconsistencies, and reinterprate the impulses behind those experiences in the light of the new assumptions. Isolate the structures which are commonly being used and replace those which are felt to be limiting or undesirable with better structures and concepts.

The following exercise to help to weaken the senses' perception of the world and the resulting hold on the mind is helpful. Concentrate on the idea that the world is covered with skin. Everything you see is actually the nervous impulses from your eyes. Likewise, you do not really hear sound, but the signals from your own ears. The sensations of touch, taste, and smell are also generated by your body and mind. Usually, they represent the world in a way which is useful, and accurate for the purposes at hand, but one can easily find simple deceptions in which it is easily demonstrated that the senses have been fooled. If all we know about the physical world is subject to the limitations of these mechanisms, then we must reconsider what can be said about the nature of the world. We must remember that our concepts of the world are created by the mind. The world is covered with skin. Concentrate on this idea until you feel the illusionary quality of naive perception , and the mind's purposes in creating these effects.

Since the aspects of reality which we consider to be legitimate is dependent upon our beliefs and thought habits, it is essential to become aware of what those patterns are. The following exercise will help in this process. First, one must be able to remember how onne arrives at a present thought. To improve the memory in this regard, at any given time isolate the thought which you are holding. Then recall the previous thought, and look for any connecting links in the chain. Go further and further back, following the chain as far as possible. Include any external events which triggered thoughts, as well as logical chains. In this way, you are able to not only improve your memory and attention, but you may also discover circular chains of thought and will learn more of how the thinking process operates.

Find some belief or attitude which you hold to be true. You may do this at random by reading a book or periodical, perhaps going over one passage several times, until you detect a reaction to the text. Let the mind drift about the thought for several minutes, and then follow the chains created. Question the validity of each thought, and make a list of the assumptions you made, the questions you considered, and the emotional reactions to those thoughts. As you examine each belief and attempt to justify it, isolate the assumptions which the belief relies on, and build the chains back to the source beliefs as far as you can. Diagram the structures you use in your thinking, and relate them with diagrams and beliefs developed in other sessions. Compare these structures, looking for common mechanisms and general patterns of thinking. When you reach those areas which are nebulous, those which are difficult to think about, where you tend to distract yourself with other matters or grow tired, those which are associated with significant emotional states, then you will be nearing those attitudes which you have kept hidden or forgotten. The ideas which seem most obviously true to you will be the very thoughts which you need to examine most closely, for these will be the strongest thought habits. Be careful here. You will tend to examine thses thought by asking the wrong questions or stating your beliefs within a context which is too limited. The arguments given to support the belief will generally present only a small portion of the available choices, and thereby limit the answers to the problem which you will consider.

Illusions are, for the most part, concerned only with structures on the mental level. They are done by creating strong structures on that level which use sympathetic attraction to link them with the mental structures of other entities, diverting their energy flow through the illusionary structures. Energies required for effects are obtained through the external structures associated with the other creatures.

There are two basic types of illusions: those which introduce a false image of reality by redirecting the mental flow, and those which actually create magical effects by surreptitiously using the target entities own innate magical faculties. Illusions are performed almost exclusively with short cycling and mental level compression methods.

They are not very effective with creatures which do not have a well established mental structures since there is so little to work with. These creatures are susceptible to permuting their sensory structures, but these workings tend to be too specialized to be worth investing the resources needed to develop them.

It is important to be able to work well on the higher levels to be able to uses the illusionary arts successfully. One must be able to contact the mental structures of the target strongly to effectively divert their flow. It is also important to be able to separate your own mental structures to ensure that they will not be affected by the energy flow.

Practical Hints and Methods Using Meta-cosmos Dependencies

In any meta-cosmos there are well formed structures which have evolved either naturally or through the repeated pathing of the occupants of that plane. Often these structures are seen as reality itself, and their absence is unimaginable and considered impossible to many of those occupants.

In the physical plane, these structures include time, gravitation, persistence of objects, sensory perception, and the various physical laws. The mental planes include mathematics, representative languages, moral philosophies, art and music (which also have strong links to the emotional levels and above), economics, and the sciences. The emotional plane includes hate, fear, joy, love, shame, pride, and so on. Of these, the positive emotions have their sources on the highest levels. While the negative ones reach to these levels, except for the melancholy and yearning of non-fulfillment, they have their sources in the interaction of the higher and lower zones.

Since there are often strong negative structures in the individual psyche, such as fear, these can often be turned to positive uses. The trepidation, and doubt of getting a spell to work can be used to advantage by cycle conversion, feeding the energy of these structures to power the spell. By building the auxiliary paths, one actually becomes stronger the more these negative emotions are generated. This should be done at a level as close to the source as possible so as not to continue to strengthen their paths. As soon as a bit of doubt is detected, follow it to the source and short cycle the flow to an adjacent fluxion which leads to the desired event manifestation.

Likewise, one can channel the energy of widespread negative beliefs into a working designed to counter the effects of these beliefs. This can work on both an individual and an over-psyche level. If one wishes to build a stable effect, use grid overlay techniques to equate gravitational forces with the desired stability. One way to minimize the negative forces of doubt when starting a project is to keep it secret from the mundane so as to eliminate any need to justify the methods used. Even a discussion with a mage using a different system can increase your confusion and doubt.

Use mathematical, musical, and linguistic structures to act as models for magical structures. If a working can be represented in mathematical terms, one can uses the associated faith in the structure of mathematics to ensure success if the analogy can be tightly made. It is commonplace for the mundane technicians and engineers to do this with great success, although they do not understand the underlying reality of what they are doing. They operate out of simple faith. This faith also prevents them from creating works and objects which are not within this frame, of course, and many things are impossible for them to do until their mathematical synthesis is enriched.

In the psychic plane, there exists many structures and beliefs. Religious beliefs, occult planes of existence and psychic organizations, superstitions, and even some psychological theories are all structures which have great reality due to the large amount of energy which has flowed over these paths over time. Use them. They are easily accessible tools which may be adapted for use, or even incorporated as they are. There are examples of eclectic cults which use the structures of religion, old magic working societies, and odd superstitions, all rolled together into a working spell, often with good success, and with virtually no knowledge of the fundamental theories. If these things can be done with simple belief and trial and error, surely they deserve a place in the mages bag of tricks, if only for a quick spell for a special occasion. It is not unknown for mages to have been able to use clerical spells under special circumstances where the help of the deity is obtained. If you work these spells in the presence of those who believe in the validity of these things, they will add their own energies and strengthen the spell as well.

There are two effects which may occur when using one of the many spells in the popular grimoires. One is that you may find a well burned in effect, giving good results disproportionate to the effort you expend. The other is finding that the spell structure has been dissipated or confused from many casual callings of it by people who use it in a joking manner. If a spell is evoked many times while linked with expectations of failure much of the available energy will be sidetracked to the extent of eventually shunting all effect into a dead end, or valving off the flow entirely due to the unconscious inhibitions of those using it. This is one of the reasons many mages favor secrecy in their work. You will need to experiment and probe the actual structures currently there to determine if any use can be made of it. At worst, you can uses some of the old structures as overlays in the making of a parallel working. Just remember that too much sympathy can inadvertently link the old trouble spots with the new spell and spoil your efforts.

There are many other meta-cosmos dependent structures which you can use. Explore the structures in the system you are working in and you will find many things of value. One caution however: if you want to work in various systems, by building a great deal of work which is applicable to only one system, you will need to reinvent many of your spells for use in the new systems. The most versatile spells are those which rely on the more universal, and secondarily, on the more personal structures.

Other Methods Using a Bidirectional Vortex System

The flow of energy in our model has so far been characterized as between the ideational level and the manifestational level, or as a general outward flow from the individual fluxions. This is, of course somewhat arbitrary, though useful. There are however other energy flows and other perspectives.

It will be beneficial at this point to discuss the nature of the grid and energy flows in greater depth. The grid is an abstract representation of the totality of the cosmos. From the highest level, which is to say, the most unified level of cosmic consciousness, there is no grid. All things come to a point here, and are undifferentiated. There is, however, a creative thrust here, and a seeking out for existence. This takes the form of differentiation. Creativity's nature is that of releasing energy; not directing it, but letting it go freely. As soon as the great creative thrust is released form the source of being, it begins to take on form. Positive or negative, good or evil, constructive or destructive - any way one thinks of it, it is the very same stuff. It forms dualistic streams, separate, and yet together. As these streams interact in terms of perception, finer differences may be perceived, and the process of comparison between these differences are temporally connoted. Time at this level is not as we perceive it physically, but more as another way to separate the differences between the structures which are forming. These structures, then, are formed by ideas, and the existence of entities correspond to those ideas. The entities are the transforming process itself, and are directly constituted by the initial unified being. This is the first dualism.

What can be thought of as energy flow is, in fact, more a measure of the amount of focus, and consequently, the amount of acceptance of the validity of the reality of those streams of consciousness. Because the structures encountered are actually conscious in and of themselves, as well as being substructures or superstructures of what one considers to be himself, they do seem, from our viewpoint, to conduct the energy (read existence) from other structures. That is, we are able to see them as separate from ourselves, and capable of independent reality because we have separated ourselves from the unified being.

Now, all of these structures are related to all others. We sort them out and classify them in various ways to suit our purposes. If we remember what out true role is, we can find other ways to establish correspondences between these structures and entities, and thereby perceive the flow of energy and being in a different manner. To attempt to see it all at once defeats the purposes of being separate to begin with, and is not particularly creative. To attempt to see thing from a different perspective, however, should be considered as part of the initial thrust of meaning we are creating, and we may be content to keep ourselves busy in this activity while only needing to occasionally remember the deeper roots of our being.

It is now obvious that many ways of perceiving energy relationships are not only possible, but desirable. In keeping with our primary explorations of existence, however, we must be selective and organized in which modes should be considered valid. We must have systems which provide richness, control, and consistency. Lateral relationships between fluxions are a mainstay of the work. These relationships should maintain system integrity and stabilize the structures as a whole. Any old relationship, as valid and real as it may actually be, need not enhance the overall quality of the systems we work under, and should not reach any further into other planes than is needed. We should consider the other planes as systems that use precisely those relationships which we consider invalid, and so maintain their own purposes and integrity. The variety of these planes are endless, but some of them do coincide very closely with our own. These systems or planes can be thought of adjacent (parallel in an analogous fashion), contiguous (intersecting in some regard), complementary (Intermingled, as physical reality and the psychic, mental, or dream realities), refluxive ( on the borders of our system in terms of natural variations), or disjoint (completely different systems which have no discernable correspondences).

Likewise, the possible methods of a working are endless, if all within the basic model of a grid and fluxion vortex framework. Generally, bidirectionallity is a use property to assign or attribute to a reality system, since it allows the needed contact between the various depths of thought. It is necessary in a viable system to concentrate on the small details of high focused existence as well as draw from the resources of the inner and more unified self. It is the idea of the bidirectional flow which provides a cognitive model for this. The fluxions serve the purpose of following the path of an initial impulse through its developmental stages, while acknowledging the integrity of its unique consciousness. The compression mechanism allows for the relationships of events without needing to revert to the undifferentiated being, which would be perceiving it at an inappropriate level. If you wish to develop another mechanism, you will eventually need to take these sorts of basic needs into account.

It is feasible to develop models which are not vortex based. Circularity has strong advantages, but certainly much can be done with linearly based systems representing straight thru flow from the higher levels, with all manipulation done on the more immediate levels. Systems also exist which use mapping and correspondence for the various relationships, and do not use any geometric or fluidic symbolism at all. Indeed in some systems of reality, flow and spacial representations are not possible, as these concepts are not part of their primary structures. The possibilities are open, but it takes much work to develop any such set of ideas, and even more to obtain a workable set of operators within them. If one reasonably flexible system is adhered to, there are great advantages in the depth of the habits developed, and in the familiarity one can attain in that system.

Nevertheless, for those wishing to attempt to enlarge upon, or divert from the system given, the following hints as to possible steps are offered. It is not recommended, of course, that any other than a high mage put his energies to a project of so large a magnitude.

1. Meditate and contemplate. Develop a feel for the possible relationships which may be expressed in terms of a well perceived system.

2. Determine the depth of personal development which will be required to use the system.

3. Prepare a cognitive model for use by the corporeal mind.

4. Prepare the inspirational objects needed to maintain connectivity with the sources of psychic energy.

5. Prepare illustrative exercises to demonstrate the working methods of attainment and development with the system.

6. Work with and exercise the system to determine its pragmatic qualities and wear it in.

7. Present the system to others to test its communicability, universality, and suitability for the intended participants.

8. Modify and refine the system until it becomes workable or demonstrates its inability to meet the requirements.

This is, of course, a cognitive system for developing systems. If you wish to develop a non-cognitive system, or develop a system in a non-cognitive way, you are on your own, as this text does not treat those aspects.

The Last Lesson

The preceding text should have made it obvious to the reader that thoughts build structures which attract other like structures, and encourage your other thoughts. The more often you think a thought, the stronger the structure becomes, and the more difficult it becomes to change your thoughts. If you are in the habit of thinking unproductive thoughts, or have negative ideas, you will build negative structures and attract negative events to you. Your perceptions will change to become more sensitive to that sort of event, and the quality of your workings (and your life) will deteriorate. If you consciously redirect your thinking patterns, you change your local plane of existence as surely, and much in the same way, that by looking towards to high paths of the forest rather than the bramble patches you will walk towards those pleasant trails. Looking at the mire and thorns will teach you how to reach them, but you will not notice the way out the swamp. Take only passing notice of difficulties, only enough to avoid the immediate ones, or you will surely draw them to you, and you to them. Do not talk yourself into unpleasant situations by looking to your senses for an accurate description of the cosmos. Your senses will follow your thoughts, regardless of how appealing the reverse relationship appears to the individual who does not understand this principle. Likewise, a mage who concentrates on destructive workings will tend to bring destruction closer to him, and those who work evil will bring it upon themselves. Those who work in arrogance will attract isolation, ignorance, and the wrath of the arrogant. Your perceptions will be formed by the fluxions you reinforce. The ultimate goal of the mage is to be able to work simultaneously on all levels at will. It is to be the universe, but actively as well as passively. It is to resolve the fundamental duality of being and creating.

All of the preceding is utterly true and utterly false. Learn it. Use it. Become it. Forget it. At the last analysis, it will box you in, for it does not contain the truth. The truth is that mage IS the magic. The mage IS the structure. The mage IS the energy. Do not ask what the relationship is between the parts of the cosmos. You are the relationship. Do not ask the ultimate question. You are the question. Do not ask how to follow the quest. YOU ARE the quest.

Appendix A: Miscellaneous Notes

On Spontaneous Expansions.

One may wonder how and why a fluxion would expand on its own, and what happens when it does. Consider that an event fluxion is a conscious structure. This means that it is its nature to expand. Just as the unified being has a creative impulse, so does the most minute particle of intelligence. It is, after all, the entire cosmos, even if it chooses to overlook it for the moment. As it exists, it senses the void at its boundaries, and can't resist poking its finger into it to see what will happen. What happens, of course, is that its finger gets stuck - once something is created, it can't be uncreated. Even if its destroyed, it isn't gone, just forgotten about as it travels off in some other direction. Now that its is stuck, it must develop another finger, for it still senses a void at its boundary, and is still curious as to what might be beyond it. You understand the process by now. When enough fingers are stuck in the void, they begin to talk to one another (it's lonely in the void). When the chatter gets loud enough, they form a union and decide they are themselves, not just a bunch of someone else's fingers. They discover that they, too, are real, are connected in their own right to the unified being, and can determine their own purposes. It is now that they may considered as an event fluxion and are perceived as independent by the observer.

More Discussion on Bifurcations.

Another way to look at bifurcations is as wave reinforcement between various fluxions, which may be represented as frequencies. When the fluxion waves periodically reinforce one another, forming a crest of energy, they form a reality or planar node. If the frequency of the fluxion varies it will form crests at different locations, the stronger of which becomes the current observable reality. since the other fluxion wave does not disappear entirely, that plane or reality version also exists, but not to the observer, since he is focusing his sensitivities only on the frequency which is derived from his intentionality. The frequency varies spontaneously and one of the bifurcations is chosen as the the main line, or they do so from an act of will which exerts a pulling action on them. If another wave intersects with the plane, bifurcations also may occur, and again the will or intention of the entity will choose between them. This effect is done magically by cycling and compression, which links to one or more other fluxions with the desired pulling action, or mystically through a clean presublimation, which generates the new frequency directly.

One may also consider the grid as a number of tapestries, each one representing a different plane. If a fluxion were a thread or group of threads, then shifting the position of the thread would change the pattern of the tapestry. If that thread ran through many tapestries, then the patterns of them all would be changed. Furthermore, the position on the thread first considered would find itself in another tapestry, i.e. another plane. That thread would still be next to the same threads as it was before, but their mutual positions would be different, and each would perceive the other differently.

On the Stability of Structures.

One may wonder if the universe is so dynamic, how does it remain still long enough for anything to work. Time is the main ingredient. Especially on the lower planes, time stretches things out, obscures half the universe from the senses (the future), and, in general, smooths things out. Everything does jump all over the place, it just doesn't do it all at once. And again, the structures that exist never disappear. If we choose to keep looking at them, they apparently stay about where they are. Consider the difference between looking at a particular spot in a brook. If we define that spot in relation to the much slower moving bank, we find stability. If we choose to define that spot in relation to the rest of the water, it moves quite a bit faster, and eventually seems to disappear as it commingles with the rest of the water. And, thirdly, if we choose to look at the water moving in relation to the bank, it is gone almost before we see it. So the structures are stable because of the way we perceive them, and because we use the count of the hours to regulate our perceptions. We think of structures - i.e. they are thoughts; ideas. Thoughts themselves are transient, but the ideas are long lasting indeed. We can think ideas which are thousands of years old, and don't seem to have aged even a moment.

On Refluxion

One may wonder how refluxion actually works, and how it relates to spontaneous expansion. Recall from the discussion of expansion above that the curious fluxion and the unionized fingers eventually separated from each other. The initial fluxion remained. It did share awareness with its expanded parts, and was enriched thereby, but it also kept its own integrity. When expanding awareness develops into its own existence, it becomes different from its immediate source. When that source receives information from that other identity, it recognizes the source as being different. There is an expansive impulse in conflict with the will to be itself, and when this reaches sufficient intensity, there is a retracting of the recognized bounds of itself. It recalls its former self, and integrates new knowledge into that original tone, in effect forming a richer chord, but with the same fundamental tone. Thus it remains itself as it grows. Its growth therefore is not in diversity, per se, but in intensity. This is the refluxive mechanism. As its own identity grows stronger, there is less difficulty in expanding its horizon and definition of self, so it can then incorporate the foreign awareness as part of itself also. There is a constant readjustment of the balance between self and other, resulting in an overall growth in intensity, as well as in breadth. It becomes, essentially more itself and more its own potential. Consider the growth of a child into an old man: he is so much more than he was, and yet the same. This is related to the fundamental duality of the unified being verses the freed creative impulse.

On Recognizing and Using Structures.

It is relatively easy to handle a simple mental structure such as the game of chess, a book of accounts, or an idealized mechanical device. The structures which make up the physical and other planes, in their various levels are generally much more complex. In order to understand them sufficiently for a working, several methods are used. On the cognitive level, models are constructed in the same way as an account book. In this case, the various figures represent particular value, the concept of wealth, periods of time, correspondances between goods and monetary symbols, and so on. The structure is related in the mental level to those things which on the physical and social levels which they represent. This structure is defined and related so strongly that the loss of the symbol of wealth in the account book will produce as strong an emotional reaction to the man in commerce as the sight of an approaching hoard of locusts to the primitive farmer. The fortelling of hardship by the accountant is to the primitive as the prognostication of the mage is to the accountant.

In something of the same way, the mage discovers, creates, and uses structures. There are differences, however. The structures which the mage uses are generally more complex, and they operate on several levels. Many of the ideas which are related by these structures are more nebulous, and some are completely incomprehensible by the cognitive faculties. The source of energy which the mage uses may be represented by words, but the experience of contact with it is quite different than the simple direct perception of physical objects. He uses different senses to detect them, and differentt faculties to relate them to his being. Words such as inspiration, ecstacy, and spirituality are more difficult to define, but to those who have experienced those things, the words are sufficient. As the mage explores his inner realities and senses, he will find those things which correspond with such words as superconversion and presublimination. Even the mundane has an intuitive understanding of them, but it is his lack of experience in using them which makes the working of magic so alien to him.

Likewise, the structures and relationships which the mage uses in his work are not things easily described. The actual description of the magical structures are collected in the noetic codex, the structure of personal symbolism on the psychic plane. The corresponding object is in the yclepticon on the mental plane. There are then at least three structures which must be developed, the relationship between the clepe and the noesis, the noesis itself, and the magical structure which is responsible for the effect.

The clepe should be a word or phrase which works for the individual mage. Usually this means something which he develops himself, without any historic precedence which may link it to other structures. The sound of the phrase must feel right to the mage and resonate with the nervous system and psychic equivilents. The link between the clepe and the noesis must be forged and strengthened so that there is an immediate association between them. Only use the phrase when it is seriously meant, to avoid linking with other structures and thereby draining the power that has been built into it.

The noesis, also, must be well formed and linked. This is done with the will, building from other psychic structures, meditation, and dream work. Cognitive work may be of help, depending on how abstractly the mage can think, and how well the psychic structure can be described in mental terms, but it usually needs to be suplemented with other methods. The emotional level is also involved in this process, both for the proper transmission of the energy needed, and for any emotional content which may be involved in the effect. Emotional feedback is also used to monitor the process and ensure that the logical processes do not get out of control.

The last structure, the complex which is associated with the effect, is built with the intuitive and other perceptive faculties, and the will. It is here that the mage has the strongest interface with the structures which make up the objective aspect of the plane. This is the point at which the bifucations must be found or formed, and the levels of work depend on the nature of the plane and its current structures. These levels are generally completely out of the cognitive realm, and are handled by identification with the various emotional tones and psychic (or higher) chords of being. It is here that the mage must find the proper place to stand, so to speak, to percieve both fluxions as they flow towards manifestation.

Some of the work of dealing with structures may be done using musical constructions which are similar to, or flow out of the psychic and magical structures. The mage who is sensitive to music can produce structures of inner sound which are far more complex than anything which can be physically produced, or even physically heard. These structures may actually be in direct correspondance to the magical structures which are being accessed, and physical music which harmonizes with these structures can be used in the working of the effects. Those which are more inclined towards visual representations can use these types of motifs. This involves not just the simple graphic symbols ordinarily used, but highly complex movements of many colors, some not available on the physical plane, and often with elements on several planes or levels. For the more analytical mage, structures are handled by complex abstractions which are virtually indescribable in terms of language. They include pure feeling of the chords, various sense representations, mathematical-like relationships, and linguistic phenomona. Dualistic logic and tri-operational linking of multiple elements may be used. Each practitioner must evolve his own methods and become familiar with the techniques and parameters of them. The key elements to look for are the ready availability of energy and a strong feeling of meaning. If these are found, it may be assumed that the methods under development will prove to be fruitful. Overall, one should always find a feeling of fitness, the infinite, and harmony with the cosmos at the end of a working, even if fatigued. It is the sensitivity to this feeling of working with the universe which replaces the restricted and artificial logical structures of morality, guilt, ethics, and law and allows one the freedom needed to perform the work. Work with this level until you are confident to ensure that you do not go astray. It is the lack of this ability to relate properly to the higher levels which prevent the sorceror from working his so called black magic beyond the rudimentary levels.

In terms of mental and psychological structures, it is beneficial to recall one's thinking patterns, especially those which are habitual. The thinking of a thought generally will lead to another thought. This second thought is associated with a third and fourth, and so on, until a chain of thoughts is built. At various nodes in the chain, there are intrusions of structures from other levels such as fear, joy, or nostalgia from the emotional levels. There may be elements from the physiological being such as a thought of some particular food, or perhaps a feeling of abandonment, leading to hunger. There may be sexual associations, belief systems, mnemonic images, or a melody may be recalled. All of these associations form a mental structure. As this chain of thought is repeated, the structure is worn in, or learned. A habit of thought is thus formed. If the habit is unproductive, it may be considered as a neurosis, or if productive, as a desirable attitude. In either case, however, there will be a tendency to mistake the habit as an aspect of reality, or as a basic character trait, rather than simply as a habitual structure. This will tend to limit the freedom of the mage, and form boundaries to his meta-cosmos.

If a thought chain becomes habitual, the energies which flow through it find the easy path, much as the runoff from a rain storm will find its way to the lowest level, and thus to the streams and rivers. An attempt to stop an undesirable thought chain by blocking it, i.e. refuting the thought, is analagous to damming the stream. The water in the stream will eventually break thought the dam or overflow the banks and make new channels, often in an uncontrolled manner, and usually finding its way to the next stream fairly quickly. In the same way, the energies of intention will overflow and form parallel thought chains moving in the same general direction. The proper method is to build new structures, including observational structures, to achieve the desired ends, and direct the energies along these. That is, replace one thought with another, and think it often enough to wear it in. The new channel must be joined with the existing chain at the proper level so as to redirect the energy before it is diverted into the undesired areas. This is the same process as spell building, using the standard techniques of cycle conversion, but here it is used on the mental level.

It is also important to recognize structures as methods of the intent. They must be observed, and changed as needed. It is only when the structures are explored and understood that a cognitive approach to growth can be efficacious. This is not a trivial task. A strong observational structure must be developed, and some portion of the minds focus must always be engaged int he task. At troublesome points, special observational triggers may need to be developed ("count to ten before getting angry") to break into the chain. It is when all the structures of the mind become deliberate tools of intentionality, as much as the lines drawn on the paper are tools of the artist, that the mage finally gains the freedom and control which he needs to effectively create his existence and explore the possibilities of his being.

On the Nature of Reality: Other Analogies.

Consider a beam of light streaming thought a small window into a dark room. If the air is clear, it will be unseen. If, however, a stream of smoke is blown across the room, the beam and smoke will become visible at their intersection. Such is the visibility of a plane of reality, where the light of the individual intersects with the smoke of the planar entities. (the other entities are also beams of light, but this makes the analogy difficult.) If the smoke is not a solid stream but a cylindrical vortex, one might think that the light is ring shaped, since that is what is seen of it, or that the ring section is only an arc and not a whole ring, because not all of it is illuminated, but each has greater realities, and continues on their ways. It is the intersection which is seen, and nothing else. Likewise, if the eyes are focused on dust particles near to the face, the nature of the light will seem to be different than if the focus is several yards away. If that focus is habitual, then the other aspects of the intersection will never be seen.

Another way to consider reality is to consider the patterns which are formed when pebbles are tossed into a pond. In places the waves will reinforce each other, while elsewhere, a crest and a trough will be equallized. Where the crests from the patterns formed from several pebbles meet, a strong node in the pattern can be seen. Now, if the waves from one pebble were to change its frequency, then the way it inter-reacts with all the other waves would change, and the overall pattern would also change. If the structures and being of the individual are considered to be a complex pattern of waves, then the gross patterns formed with the other wave patterns in the pond might be considered to be his view of the cosmos. As one changes the perception of oneself, so the cosmos, as one perceives it, would also changes.

Many such models of existence may be found, and each can serve as a model to help the mind think of some particular aspect of existence. Together, they can point the way to an intuitve understanding of the cosmos. True wisdom of the cosmos does not come from understanding, which is based on the mental plane, but on the non-cognitive methods which generate thought. The cognitive methods are use to bridge the gap between the psychic levels and the mental levels, or, sometimes, to occupy the brain so that the higher aspects of the mind can do its work without being constantly interrupted by the foolish questions of the rational aspects. With practice, it becomes less important to understand what one is doing, and the practice of faith becomes feasible. It should now be realized that faith is not a blind belief, or childlike stupidity, but the acceptance by the logical and physically oriented aspects of the mind of its limitations. Faith is not what is thought, but what is done - and not done. It is the ability to work on more subtle levels with the psychic feelings (not just emotional feelings) to handle a situation and respond to the will. It is certainly not an excuse to leave the great logical and cognitive abilities of the mind undeveloped. These must be highly developed indeed to smoothly interface with the rest of the abilities of the entity. The thinking faculties are expanded, with practice, to encompass much larger areas of being than is usually the case.

On the Nature of Time.

Time is a structure, of course, much like any other, but it is more difficult to deal with for several reasons. To begin with, it is a structure which is fundamental not only to the physical plane, but also has strong analogies in the mental and psychic planes, in the form of sequential ordering. Because we percieve it as being so basic to existence, it is more difficult to build the cognitive models necessary to accept its manipulation on the perceptive and mental levels. While we freely move around in space, the dimensionality of time appears to be unidirectional, and we have become accustomed to viewing it as flowing at a constant rate. It actually does not flow at all -it we who flow - just as it is we who populate the differentials of space. It is generally best to begin time manipulations in dream work as it is natural to transcend it in that realm. We tend to find it more difficult to alter the past because the concepts involved are so much more incompatible with and disruptive to our normal meta-cosmos. All existence is actually co-temporal, and we can fairly easily accept the idea in an abstract sense cognitively, but it is very difficult and disorientating to adjust the primary physical senses to percieve its true nature. All this means it that it takes more work to to do this, and that you should take extra time to do it, paradoxes and oxymorons not withstanding. Remember the artistic models of painting, writing, and music to help the mental faculties deal with the absence of causality and flexibility of past and future structured event fluxions.

Appendix B: Diagram of 1 Aspect of a 3-D Planar Section of the Grid Vortex

Ideation
Iconic Super-Existence

                                       +
                        converging     +    this area is more compressed
                         flow is       +          than is shown
                          upward       +
       + + + + + + + + +               +               + + + + + + + + +
                          +            +            +
       + + + + + + + + +     +         +         +     + + + + + + + + +
                          +    +       +       +    +
       + + + + + + + + +.   +    +     +     +    +    + + + + + + + + +
 (A)                    .+    +   +    +    +   +   +
   flow continues from  .  +   +   +   +   +   +   +   + + + + + + + + +
   A to B through other .  +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +
   planes              .   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +
                       .   +   +   +   +   +   +   +  +  bifurcation
                       .   +   +   +   +   +   +   + +
causal zones           .   +   +   +   +   +   +   ++
                       .   +   +   +   +   +   +   +
                      .    +   +   +   +   +   +   +
                     .     +   +   +   +   +   +   +
cognitive zones     .                  +
                   .long   +   +   +   +   +   +   +
                  .cycle   +   +   +   +   +   +   +
 mental          .         +   +   +   +   +   ++  +  +  spontaneous
   &            .          +   +   +   +   +   +  ++  +     grid
emotional       . short  ..+   +   +   +   +   ++  +  +   expansion
 zones          . cycle .  +   +   +   +   +   +  ++  +     from
                .      .   +   +   +   +   +   ++  +  +   saturation
sensory zones   .      .   +   +   +   +   +   +  ++  +
                .      .   +   +   +   +   +   ++  +   + + + + + + + + +
  (B)           .      . +    +++++    +    +   + + +
       + + + + + + + + +    +    +     +     +    +  + + + + + + + + + +
                          +    +ladder +       +    +  +   +
       + + + + + + + + +     +         +         +     + + + + + + + + +
                          +            +            +
       + + + + + + + + +    flow       +               + + + + + + + + +
                          downward     +               event fluxion
                             is        + Core Vertex
                         diversifying  +
                                       +

Manifestation
Corporeal Existence

1989, 1990, 1991, 1992

Integral Spell Development Through High Vortex Compression and Cycle
Superconversion: Complete Methods For the Lower Two Meta-Cosmos (with
Processes for Presublimation of Corporeal Interfusion)

ADDENDA

Drg. Foxgorsus Silverclaw

The Negative Aspects of the Creative Act; Separation and Fear in the
Formation of Duality:

The most fundamental act of creation is the exertion of will and the formation of a psychic structure. This structure is generally described in term of an emotional feeling, an idea, or some form of delineation of properties or characteristics. For the structure to exist, the idea of non-existence must be juxtaposed with it. It is only through this dualistic process that creation can become more than an urge of the primary will at the level of unity. Creation is, in actuality, always linked with destruction. Any description of what is implies also what is not.

In that instance of creation, a separation is performed in two ways: firstly, the structure created is differentiated from that which is not the structure, and, secondly, the structure/non-structure dualism is differentiated from the Unified Being. The act of creation is one of release of energy, of the sending forth into the void of the tones of its being to interact and develop in its own right. This process is mostly often remarked upon in the discussion of the writing of a fictional work in which the characters seem to take on a life of their own. In a work of art, it is the recognition of this life, and the fostering of that life which gives the work its basic integrity.

But, as the creation moves outward and gains its own energy, it also becomes separated from the creator, who can no longer call back that energy. The source of energy in creative activity has no intrinsic limit, but when the attention of the creator is on his creation, he senses this severance and may feel it as a loss. He may be uncertain of his ability to create new structures, and as he remembers the processes he has experienced, he may focus on the contrasts of the elation of the moment of creation with the sense of loss as it moves away from him. This may lead to his feeling fear, and in turn trigger reactions of possessiveness. He may try to compensate by looking for some form of credit, praise, compensation, or some other indication of his worth. The ego, being primarily concerned with the immediate focus, in our case the physical plane, will tend not to see the psychic or spiritual connections which to the creation which remain.

He may immediately begin a new work, trying to recapture the sensation of energy flow and power which is present in the creative process. If this becomes a major motivation for working, he will gravitate more and more towards the level of the ego, and may, in fact, cut himself off from the inner level from where the creative energies flow. Also, over a time during which he repeats the cycle of creation and loss, he may form the belief that his efforts are transitory, at best, and perhaps futile. As he focuses more closely on the levels of gratification and compensation, he may experience a blockage of the energy channels. He has more difficulty working, becomes more critical and judgmental of the work, more fearful that he can no longer produce those creations which prove his ability, and so fall deeper into the morass of depression.

The solution is rediscover the joys of play, where no judgement is applicable, and no results are sought. He must recognize the trapping natures of the structures he has formed, and allow his work to proceed on its own. The creation is not produced by making it happen, but by letting it happen. The application of the will must be from a deeper levels than those areas where ideas of power are dominant.

When one moves his arm, it not the result of domination, power, and struggle with a recalcitrant muscle, but from a direct flow of intention through the nervous and physical structures. The exercise of the muscles, the learning of proper lifting methods, and the proper practice of rest and nutrition will contribute to the ability to physically perform those task which are desired. In the same way, the conditioning of the perceptions, the the attainment of necessary skills and knowledge, and the observing of the best methods to obtain the desired results will facilitate the production of the work, but this is a cooperative effort - not a power struggle. The creation itself, even as a totally non-manifested icon, anticipates its being and will gladly come into existence given half a chance to do so. It is by finding this impulse towards existence and following it that melding of consciousness which is the essence of creation occurs.

The negative energies should not be equated with badness, evil, pain, fear, or anger as their sole expression. Any act of creation involves separation of one aspect from another. Pain, anger, fear, etc. are also part of existence, and differentiate preferred structures and effects from those not preferred. They enhance the meaning of existence and express beauty in ways which would be otherwise not be possible. There is great energy available through the negative channels, and not to avail oneself of them is to lose meaning and power. The sad passages of a musical composition often carry the greatest beauty. These negative emotions lend meaning to art, writing, and to living. There can be no creation without destruction.

Often, these energies are repressed and allowed to build to unmanageable proportions. Through a lack of understanding, or through over-sensitive fear structures, the flow, or even the existence of these energies are denied. Sorrow, in its proper role, should carry a certain sweetness with it. Anger and pain should be part of a purging process, bringing the other energies to a sharper focus. Fear should bring with it the exercise of courage, and, consequently, the emergence of meaning, growth, and understanding.

All the energies should be given their proper due. Do not cling to your joy, but revel in it at the moment, for it will pass. Do not despair at your sorrow, for it will pass. Do not sustain your anger, do not hate your pain, for they will pass. Release these energies to continue on their infinite paths. As the wind and the tide bring strange and wonderful things to you, so, too, will they bear them away. What ever the winds of the cosmos bring, see and feel those things, and let them go, knowing that one day you too will follow the wind and be a strange and wonderful thing, transient to others. In this, there is great beauty and awe.

The negative is a valid and necessary part of any creative art. It is simple to see the role of the deep blues in painting, the shadows of the sketch, and the somber tones of music. It is less easy to see their role in the artifact of life, for we often lack the perspective of age or distance. Yet there is no less meaning or beauty in these things. If these darker emotions are embraced and known, instead of rejected, they can be understood and controlled by the deeper self, and used in proper measure. Even the cosmos itself struggles to become. But it is not a struggle of violence and anger as in a bitter conflict. It is the struggle of the artist, of the snake shedding its skin, and of the chick emerging from the egg. It is a struggle wherein even the pain of passage is underlaid by the joy of being, which pervades all existence. If the negative energies are denied, so too is this underlying joy, and the experience of being becomes meager and confused.

Protection Spells and the Abolition of Fear:
The Recognition of Structures As Structures as a Method of Transcending
Their Power; the Naming of the Demons and the Necronomicron.

The necronomicron, the ancient legendary book which named the demons with their true names, and thus gave power over them, is largely the application of a system of psychic and mental structures. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and other similar works use similar methods. The difference between these works and the structures of the vortex model lay in how the structures are described. Whereas in the ancient works the basic model is mythic, in the vortex the basic model is cognitive. A symbol is still a symbol, but the mode of thought varies. Mythic symbols, the description of the demons and gods, are dealt with on a more emotional level, and can better be used by those who prefer to think in an artistic mode. Various qualities and attributes are assigned to the various demons which are mapped to the various thought structures in the mind. In the cognitive model, the symbols are manipulated using rational symbols. The effects are much the same. The energy of the structures form the intersectional realities of the perceptions, and if these perceptions are granted the status of the sole reality, then they form boundaries of the meta-cosmos for the individual. If, however, the true nature of the structure is recognized, and the internal relationships of the structure is understood, then it no longer has power over the individual. A thought habit is understood; a demon is named. A trigger point to an alternative ladder structure is developed; a chant to calm a demon and call forth a friendly djinn is learned. The differences are those of modes of thinking.

Obviously, there can be various amounts of overlaps between these modes. Other modes of thinking can also be used. The main component is the recognition that the structure is a structure. The reality of the structure depends on its intersection with other structures, and all of its energy is ultimately derived from the level of pure being. These are tools of being, the methods of creation, the generators of meaning. These structures are important, but not all powerful. They can be, and indeed are meant to be used by the will as allies. It is when the personality clings to the structures that trouble arises. This happens in two ways: clinging will tend to mute the natural evolution of the consciousness of the structure and keep it from flowering into its own possibilities and beauty, and clinging will prevent the individual from enlarging, bypassing, or controlling the power of the structure.

Fear is a structure; a complex of thoughts which reflect the negative aspects of the possibility range to an undue degree. When a fearful thought is encountered it will tend to elicit a response from a counter-balancing thought. These thoughts form a bridge between them, and the thinking of one will then link to the thinking of the other. A wish will open the path to a dread; a fear will call forth a hope. The two thoughts become linked in a bipolar structure, and the focus of consciousness will tend to oscillate from one to the other, cycling over and over, gaining energy, and preoccupying the mind. If it is not recognized that the structure is actually just thought, but rather it seems that the reality is external to the self, then one can become trapped in the structure, and an obsession may be formed. By recognizing it as a habit or chain of thought, the awareness is lifted outside of the structure. An observational point is developed which sees not only the structure duplex, but also the other possibilities which exist, and view externally, the duplex is recognized for its true nature - the demon is named.

This is a simplistic picture of the workings of the mind, but accurate in principle. The actual complexity of structures may be much greater. Many pros and cons may be seen, many possibilities proposed, many underlying or unconscious (not looked at) forces may be involved. Months or years can be spent examining the situation from inside the structure, expanding it and giving it more energy as this is done, without ever seeing that one is actually inside of it. An outside is not seen because the focus of the perceptions is concentrated along the paths of the structure itself. The energies from outside become small by comparison. The whole perceived world is a structure, an intersection between the personality and the plane of existence. It is useless to argue that the structure, the situation, the world is just illusion. It is not illusion; it is real. But it is not the cosmos. It gains power as you give power with your thoughts, and by the time you recognize it for what it is you may have given it a great deal of power over long periods of time. The habits are well worn in. You may find a spot to rest in the practice of meditation, but upon re-entering the focus of the world, you will find the structures just as strong as they ever were. You have the choice now of being in that small secure and quiet spot you have developed during the practice of the occults arts, or immersing yourself once again in the chaotic world which has been developed in the past. These things do not change instantly. But you can change them.

New pathways can be formed. Troubled areas can be patched and observational posts and safety triggers can be installed. Alternative perceptions can be developed and whole new world intersections can be placed to work in parallel with the old ones. Gradually, as energy flows along the new paths, the new world takes on its reality and develops its energies. The old world fades and retreats into the position of an interesting, but powerless, position, at least for that individual. It still exists of course, but in another dimension or plane of being, and it continues to develop and enlarge itself, eventually to find its own pathway to to totality. The very process which has been experienced by the mage who set the old world view aside, and raises his level of awareness, has left behind an enlarged version of the the old reality, and new paths and growth patterns within it. These are made available, at least on a psychic level to those other individuals who formerly shared the world view.

The very act of reaching a more aware stage of being and enlightenment by one individual has enhanced the universe for all who live in it. If he teaches what he has learned, or leaves notes about his travails and victories, he can help others on these levels also, but it important to remember when discouraged (which is not infrequent), that simply thinking a thought frees it to travel through all of existence, and thus it is made available to others. It is the thinking of the thought which is the crucial step of creation. Those religious orders which do nothing but pray send their optimism throughout the cosmos. Those who fall into a morass of ignorance, hate and despair leave behind a knowledge of those traps. The watchers - the inner selves - are aware of the pitfalls and folly, and use the experience to advantage. Ignorance, hate, depression, the great sufferings of being are not the best paths to take, but the experience is not wasted. The overcoming of these things lead to great joy and wonder, and on the deeper psychic levels the individuals who suffer these things also serve the greater consciousness. The nature of the cosmos is growth, and their can be no growth from perfection. The expansion of consciousness is from the small and infinite to the great and infinite.

For the individual mage it is often desirable to protect himself from ignorance, fear, and other unpleasant and unproductive modes of being. This is most generally done by often referring to the meditative modes, wherein joy and love are the predominating forces. Hate is love which has not been accepted by the self, which has been choked off from it natural flow by the ignorance and fears of the lack of the realization of unity. When an individual has lost the feeling in his legs, when his feet do not move as he would, when he becomes frustrated and angry and attacks his feet, feeling them to be apart from himself, then he demonstrates the mechanism of hate. Similarly, when a man hates another, he demonstrates his ignorance of his connections with the hated man. They are of one race, one grand consciousness, and one being. They are separate, as are the hands, yet they are one. It is the lack of feeling the unity of the universe which makes it seem as if no connections exist.

It is the thing which a man secretly hates in himself that rouses him to the greatest anger when seen in another. The source of the anger is the blockage of the energy flow through the structures in question; the denial of those attributes in himself. His resentment of those qualities in himself feed the anger. The solution is to recognize the feelings, thoughts, and patterns within himself, recognize them as structures, and take the power from them. When he accepts and understands himself fully, he can also do so with others. When a wasp stings a man he object to the pain, and perhaps destroys the wasp so he will not sting him again (it may be difficult to understand the shared being of the wasp with the man), but he will generally not be offended or morally outraged. But if another man hurts him, he will often show a strong emotional reaction. He will say that the man should know better, but the root of is that he feels a stronger relation with the man, and is reluctant to see the hate within himself. He is upset because he does not accept that the man shows an aspect differently. If his attacker acts in a way in which he himself would not act, it threatens his sense of reality and truth. When the qualities and impulses which the individual associates with guilt and fear are recognized and handled from the aspect of intention and will, then the triggering of the uncontrolled energies is also handled. Impulses which are considered to be undesirable must be accepted as valid before they can be channelled wisely. Simply trying to cut them off will simply build the pressure to express them.

The more specific ways to protect oneself from harm is to recognize the reactions within himself, and to avoid materializing those structures as an unconscious symbol of unresolved conflicts. Problems can be worked out on the dreaming level, and thus avoid the buildup of energies as denial, or other defensive mechanisms dam the flow. Small problems and situations should be worked on, learned form, and allowed to act as a guide as to what areas the psyche is having trouble with. The unconscious areas of the mind should be explored. They are unconscious because they are ignored. There is a level at which we play games with ourselves which we pretend not to understand, but we which we can, in fact admit to, if we can control our fear. These are the areas which, when pressed by a person we trust, we will say that such and such things are true, but we will not admit to it. There are other structures which we no longer use, and about which we will say that we were once like this or that, but no longer are like that. And there are also mechanisms in force which could be discovered, but which are not because we are afraid to look at them. These too can be worked with by decreasing the amount of fear which we generate. Fear is controlled by recognizing it as a structure. It is legitimate in some situations, but is generally allowed to go unchecked and unrecognized for what it is.

The structures which conduct the most energy will be most real, just as dark lines drawn over lightly drawn ones will define the sketch. Choose the structures you need for your purposes, and wear them in by repeatedly using the thought chains of those structures. As you work with the new structures, you will feel their energy grow. In those situations where you must rely on your old structures because the new ones are not yet strong enough, keep in your mind that they are not the total reality, but a view of reality. Use them in the same way as you would use any worn out tool while waiting to replace it.

Name the demon. Understand the mechanism, and build paths of joy, faith, and trust. Allow the free flow of love and understanding. This is where the real power of being originates. Learn to understand how vast the energies available to the individual are, and how much control he can actually exert over himself are. One does not control oneself by fighting the self, but by loving the self. One must let go of the guilt, shame, fear, and other blocking structures which have developed over time. The goal of the mage is to exert control over his psychic universe in the same way that the artist learns to control the flow of paint. As one understands the self, and learns to consciously use his being as a medium of expression and creation, his world, which one creates with the mind, follows.

Love as Presublimation:

The basic source of energy is creative joy. There are other terms which may be applied, all of which express an aspect of this energy: love, inspiration, growth, will, beauty, ecstasy. These are all facets of the universes impulse to express itself and bring itself into being. Presublimation is the realization of the source of energy and the linking to that source at some deeper level. Even the negative energies have their ultimate source from the creative impulse. As the main fluxions are bifurcated, the energy may split into two totally divergent channels. A bi-polar love/hate type of relationship may often be found. A true lack of love is not hate, but apathy. In this case, the energy has been choked off to avoid the unpleasant effects of the fear or anger in a bi-polar structure. If the fluxions are followed up (or down, or in) towards the source of being, one can find the conflicting ideas which power both extremes. Often the joyful or creative energy paths are linked with other parallel paths such as goal-seeking, fear, or resentment, which interfere with experiencing the process in the moment of being.

Consider the case of an artisan who is overly concerned with the end product of his work. He may feel that it is necessary to produce a high quality product, and even when in the midst of creation, he criticizes the work and worries about its acceptance. Instead of finding the inner truths in the work and developing their expression, he sees the faults in the execution of the work and becomes discouraged. His productivity falls off, and he despairs of the completion. The struggle between the two paths, each fighting for the energy available, takes it toll in the form of weariness or boredom. He must first resolve the conflict and restructure the flow to allow the joyful pursuit of his ideal, knowing that the criticism of his work is a tool for his use, not a threat to him. When he bypasses the fear and anger structures by presublimation and allows himself the time and freedom to play with the ideas without expectations, the flow is re-established and the creative aspects of the work is accomplished. He can then use his critical abilities to revise the work, and derive joy in the exercise and refinement of those abilities. With the formation of these two new structures, both operating through clear channels from the deeper levels, the process of working is enhanced.

The greatest use of the presublimation of the creative energies is to direct them so as to increase the joy in ones own being, the increasing of tolerance and love for oneself. One needs to develop his personal freedom as much as possible in order to access the energy which is purpose to use. Such phrases as "do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" is a credo of personal freedom, helping to throw off the self-limiting structures one has built. As long as the will is subjugated to the vague moralities imposed by those who wished to manipulate you in the past, to the common platitudes of what one "should" do or be, rather than to the open expression of love, empathy, and creativity, the energy and consciousness to truly express the glory of being will be diminished or perverted.

Power, Guilt, and Fear:
Psychic Inertia and Blocking Structures:

Positive Structure Building Versus Wishful Thinking:
Reactive Emotionalism as the Counterfeit of Magic:

Factors which separate magical working from wishful thinking include:

1) Integrity of thought throughout all activities. Is there consistency of action, idea, expectation, and belief.

If some particular effect is desired, it is not enough to simply wish for it. Other thoughts and actions must be aligned with the thrust. A patient expectation must be developed. It may be unwise to count on immediate results, but it should not be surprising when the result manifests. Actions of a physical nature and effort to bring about the effect by others means should be converged with the magical effort. If one wishes to win the lottery, it is helpful to buy a ticket. If one wishes to learn something, it is helpful to study. The result should be consistent with the belief system. If it is thought to be an impossibility, then either the goal must be adjusted or the belief system enlarged to prevent an energy draining conflict. If there are conflicts with underlying expectations or purposes, these must be resolved. Beliefs involving unworthiness, lack of ability, or guilt will conflict with goals of attainment. Integrity of thought and action is not the same as self-limiting beliefs such as "only getting what you work for", "there is no free lunch", "you can't win", or "these things take time". Integrity is achieved from the level of intentionallity and an understanding that everything is symbol, and that the manipulation of symbol may be done from any and all levels and structures.

2) Linking with negative reactionary thought which will tend to divert or counter-balance energy of magical thought.

This is closely related to integrity as explained above, but deserves special mention because the links may not be conscious and can generate great energies. There may be two conflictiing goals involved which need to be reconciled. Also, there is a natural duality in any thought. The expansion of energy into a thought creates a refluxive shell around that thought which will tend to contain it, thereby defining a fluxion into its identity. To think of an effect is also to think of the non-effect. If one allows oneself to follow the negative branch or oscillate between the two poles of is/isn't then energy outflow will be minimized. Recognize the negatives as being just other thoughts or counterparts and treat them accordingly.

3) Consistency with basic belief system, reality structure of meta-cosmos, and intentionality with group-consciousness and oversoul.

Some things are impossible not just from the standpoint of specific, individual beliefs, but also from the standpoint of the overall reality system in which one lives. Even if one believes in the possibility that it is possible to fly from the peak of a mountain, one still recognizes the existence of the mountain as such. If one moves too far from the accepted meta-cosmos, changes are closer to moving into a separate reality than just expanding the current one. It is difficult to find where the fuzzy line dividing magical work in this reality and shifting realities is. At one level, all action involves shifting from one reality to another, yet there remain various intersections between those two realities in sufficient quantity and intensity that we call them the same system. It would seem, however, that the further we move from accepted cause and effect methods, perception gestalts, and value interpretation, the greater is the energy required in order to effect those changes.

4) Temporal consistency; is enough time allowed for effects?

5) Sufficiency of will, intentionality, and ability to think in the magical mode.

The Inter-relatedness of Problem Solving; the Gauging of Psychic Distance
and a Model of the Levels of Being;
The Self and its Intersection with Many Planes:

It is often noted that a skill improves over a period of time even when it is not being practiced. The motor skills and familiarity with specific aspects may need to be brushed up on, but the underlying principles, sensitivities, and understandings are improved. This is an example of how learning the better use of will, creative energies, and analysis are applicable across many areas. The art which is set aside for a period is, when taken up again, seen in a new light. Problems which were troublesome when the practice was set aside are suddenly seen as trivial.

This effect, the trans-discipline development, shows how the levels we usually think of as those at which the practice lies are actually supported at deeper levels. The practice of carpentry will improve the practice of calligraphy. Creativity is developed in carpentry, as is the understanding of form, the application of the physical body to the manifestation of the basic idea, the use and friendly cooperation with the tools of the trade, the understanding of how the various games we play subvert the free passage of the energies of the will, and the improvement of empathy with the materials with which the work is done.

All of these applications of intentionality can be applied equally well to the neglected art. We may refer to a factor which encompasses all of these processes as competence for the sake of convenience, although it must be remembered that by that term more is meant than the usual sense. General competence does not apply equally across all endeavors. Some disciplines require more intellectual ability, some physical coordination, and others emotional sensitivity. All disciplines require some application of any of these areas, and especially those fundamental abilities such as will, objective-subjective balance, system modeling and symbolism, curiosity and ability to learn, and creativity. Psychological stability is also implied in the above list of basic attributes.

Now, it is obvious that the practice of some particular skill will develop competence in some types of alternative activities more than in others. The practice of sketching will be more helpful to calligraphic endeavors than will the practice of tree felling (although one may be amazed at how much the felling of trees actually would help the writing arts - this because the basic abilities, such as will, can usually be improved by a great deal). It is of interest, then, to consider how the various disciplines of a man are actually related. This leads to the consideration of what be called psychic distance.

First, it is of value to remember that there are many systems of thought and expression which are of sufficient completeness to reflect a general model of reality to a high degree. The forces of a mechanical system can be analyzed quite completely by using the model of electrical energies. Each of these systems use mathematics as a basis, and the formulae for electro-magnetic resonance in terms of capacitance, induction, and resistance are quite parallel to those of mechanical resonance which consider inertia, potential and kinetic energy, and friction. There are many such systems which use mathematics as a fundamental structure.

In terms of artistic practices, blue may indicate either a color or a musical phrase, both of which relate to an emotional experience. Likewise the terms movement, freedom, space, ornate, and broad are all used equally well in both disciplines.

A term such as beauty crosses the boundaries of both art and science, and is uses by practitioners of both. This is indicative of the deep levels at which the idea of beauty is understood, and so the levels at which those energies originate. The concept of knowledge and understanding are also applicable in many varied fields. The precision of science and math is distinctly different from the use of that idea in the arts, but the concept of precision is from a level which is deeper than both. If a statement is made that precision must first be attained and understood before it is productive to abandon it to find the greater currents of truth, that statement could be understood in much the same way by the artist, the magician, the scientist, or the mystic. The idea of precision, the defining of relationships to a desirable level of instantiation, is a fundamental idea, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually.

The solving of problems and the working of creations may be done in several and varied areas, and at a number of different levels. This idea is one of the important principles of sympathetic magic and of thaumaturgy. The manipulation of symbols or other objects which are linked with others will have an effect on the objects with which they are linked. The energy flow within the symbolic system triggers flow in the larger or parallel systems as well; this is the very meaning of the link.

If one is unhappy, for example, increasing happiness may be done by changing the attitudes or beliefs involved, changing the social situation, or simply smiling more often. The physical act of smiling will evoke the physiological reactions associated with it, and these in turn will have an effect on the psychological and psychic levels. At the same time, the decision to smile is indicative of the intention to be happier and will increase the energy from the upper (or deeper) levels as well. Since the action is working from two directions at once, each reinforcing the other, a definite and effective result can be obtained.

If a problem in energy flow on a deep level of the psyche creates problems on the levels which are closer to the surface of awareness, there are are several approaches which may be taken. If each problem is individually solved, there are two processes at work. One is the formation of new problems which express the underlying imbalances, and the other is the tendency to solve the problem at the deeper level through the feedback or circuit looping of the energies at the surface back to the source levels. Which of these two processes become dominant in any situation depend on the depth of the source energies, the ability of the individual to learn and restructure his meta-cosmos from the surface awareness levels, the susceptibility of the deeper levels to change, and other various factors dependent on the particulars of the situation.

If the imbalance is addressed on the deeper levels (such as when the belief system defining the meta-cosmos is adjusted) there will be more of a tendency for the manifestational level imbalances to be regulated as well. In any case, whether the work is done on the source levels or the manifestational levels, all of the structures and processes which depend on the energies in question will be affected to the degree of those dependencies.

Any work towards problem solving will enhance the competence of the individual, and the processes of will, creativity, love, etc. will result in an overall improvement in the functioning of the individual. Some people are more attuned to working in intellectual, emotional, meditative, physical or other various modes, and thus there are various paths or schools which will work better or worse for them.

An object of being exists on many levels. Consider a model wherein an idea such as coolness is transmitted through various other systems of reference or planes. The pure ideal is generally not available for manifestation, but is experienced as a chord, a complex of related or complementary ideas. The root idea will combine and recombine with various other objects in bifurcations and gradations as it interfaces with plane complexes. On the emotional level coolness may manifest as aloofness, objectivity, reserve, calmness, contemplation, and many other emotional tones and feelings which incorporate coolness. Moving into the artistic planes, coolness is seen as cool colors or cool musical tones, smoothness in dance, and various other interpretations. As the object passes through the mental plane it relates to concepts such as low temperature or energy, particular light frequencies, and various intellectual models of the representations of coolness on other levels. Physically, coolness can be seen as a cool breeze, lake, or low body temperature. In the realm of dreams, the many expressions on the other level may be encountered (dreaming touches many levels of reality), as well as representations peculiar to dreaming.All of these manifestations are, of course, highly variable and individual in nature, and the many subtleties of expression are very rich.

In essence, the model encompasses the idea of any object being much greater in scope than can be seen in any one reality. One may think of an object as tracing a hair root, which is essentially a capillary engaged in growth, chemical and small scale physical processes, upward to a supportive root which combines many hair roots, then to the trunk of a tree, a massive block of wood and insulating bark, as well as a complex highway for the transportation of substances. Moving still upwards, on encounters the structure as a branch, twig, and leaf, each with its own characteristics and processes. Each of the physical manifestation are different when considered in the plane of roots, branches or leaves, and yet is the same being. It is the intersection of the object with the plane of existence which determines its manifestational characteristics.

Consider another example. A long pole lays across a sheet metal fence and an asphalt shingle roof. A bird is perched in the middle of the pole, and on end is lodged in a wasp's nest. The other end leans against the branch of a tree. The wind causes the tree to sway. The pole abrades the roof as it is pushed by the branch. The bird's perch becomes unsteady, and the bird must shift its weight to remain in balance. The pole scrapes across the metal fence and creates an unpleasant noise. The end of the pole crushes the wasp's nest and several of the wasps. Taken alone, each of these events express unique meanings, and appear to be unconnected, in terms of meaning, from the others. Yet, each event is connected in terms of our general concept of cause and affect. To the wasps, the other events are not seen in the way we would see them. The abrasion of the roof would not seem to be a destructive event, although to the person who must repair the leak, it is.

Similarly, there are many events which are connected in ways we would not be aware of, and, indeed, all events are connected in some way. The ways we see things to have connections or isolation are characteristic of the plane of reality we are working in. When we dream, for example, objects are related in ways which would seem chaotic in the physical world. Canyons turn into train stations, and apples crowd into great green mice which race down the rails into fiery caldrons of fields of lupins which burn with violet flames made of silk. The thread of connections are symbolic, and lay on the psychic and emotional planes. These images are, in turn, often related to complex social relationships or personal experiences on the physical plane. Time may run backwards, with later events causing earlier ones, or time may cease to run at all. The events which pass through the plane of dreams are not perceived in the same way as they would be physically.

When the psychic, artistic, magical, and intellectual faculties are developed, events and the relationships between them are seen differently. This is the result of becoming aware of these events from the planes in which these faculties have been developed. There are many such organizations and planes. Frames of reference and systems of reality can be developed in infinite variety. The views of a forest are as varied as the number of places in which one can stand. In viewing the forest, we generally overlook the differences in one scene and another several feet away, but to a beetle the difference one tree and another may be as different worlds.

Psychic distances are gauged by the meanings connoted within the belief system in which we are currently working. What may be meaningless to one person may hold great meaning for another. What be meaningless while working in one system may be meaningful while working in another system. It is the connections between events, within the working system, which determine the meaning.

Our concept of the self will vary with the system in which we perceive the self. If we see ourselves as only a random configuration of chemicals and physical energies, we will see less meaning in our lives than if we see ourselves as the manifestation of the intersection of an infinite entity with the physical plane, which itself is the intersection of infinities. The sacredness of a rock lies in the awareness that it is not just a rock as normally perceived, but the rock-like manifestation of the rock entity as it intersects with our perceptions of it as related to our perception of the physical plane. The rock, too, is infinite in its true nature.

With the attribute of meaning, the functions of power are also related to the connective links found within a reality. Power is essentially the ability to manifest the will. In terms of physics it is the ability to do work, and the work of the psyche is the creation and expression of the values of being. The forging of the linking structures in the vortex model is done through the inclusion of event-connectedness in the reality system by expansion of the system sufficiently to perceive aspects of the natural connectedness which exists between all objects in the multi-verse.

From the deepest levels, love can be seen as the relatedness between the self and that which is seen as not self. As the links grow stronger, a movement towards the unified being is perceived. It is at the intermediate levels, where only some objects are seen as connected, that power exists. These connections may be an extension of the set as perceived in mundane reality, or as another set of connections with various degrees of disjointedness with the mundane. Love, or the negative complement of hate, form strong links. Hate, however, carries the threads of fear and dependency to such a large degree that creativity and power flows are hampered. When one develops love with an object, movement is perceived more as moving ones self than as moving an unrelated object. The movement through power of an object which is loved is a creative act which recognizes the sacredness and uniqueness of the the object, and includes a knowledge of the necessity of freedom for that object. We manipulate the object not by changing it, while we ourselves remain unchanged, but by the shifting of the perceptive fields in which the two infinite entities intersect. The psychic distance between the two objects, the internalized self and the externalized object, is varied by changing the perceptive field itself, just as two objects in the physical plane can be thought of as being moved by altering the space between them.

Analysis of Linguistic Metaphor and Physical Symbolism;
A Method of Finding Linking Metaphysical Structures

It is possible to gain insight into the psychic forces at work in the creation of physical symbols and effects by looking at linguistic symbols which are commonly used. Although it may seem simplistic to look for literal meanings in metaphors, there are several mechanisms at work here. The fact that a particular turn of phrase is used implies that it has been chosen for it semantic correlation to the inner realities, not just acquired randomly. In addition, linguistic symbolism has been developed over time, and is accepted by the culture, and so also by the individual, as valid. Even if the metaphors does not at first accurately reflect a relation between the psychic forces and the physical manifestations, because the meaning is available, it is convenient and useful to begin to form the relationship, and using the phrase will tend to create the structure linking the various levels by directing the flow of energy.

Some symbolism is fairly obvious. If a person is in a situation which he describes as "eating at him", and the unresolved tensions eventually result in the development of an ulcer, the physical symbol and the linguistic symbol are easily equated. Similarly phrases such as "a pain in the neck", "weighing me down", "closing ones eyes to the situation", "cracking up", or "hard to swallow" invite various related scenarios of physical manifestation, either in the body or in the environment.

The psyche is capable of very rich and convoluted expression, however, and each individual uses symbols in his own personal style. Various events carry personal meanings due to the individual structures formed in context with ones own history and attitudes. The genetic, familial, and social influences will partially determine how an event may be utilized. If a group of ones friends have recently suffered from colds as an expression of a desire to be freed from a habit of intellectual stuffiness, then a person may also contract that disease as an expression of concurrence. The viral forms will be readily available, the group level gestalt of consciousness supports the manifestation, and the psychological expression of closeness will help the individual and social dynamic which binds the group at that level. If, however, a cold is also symbolic of unacceptable to the particular individual, or if it is dangerous due to an inability to mount a proper defense by the immune system, the manifestation might be an allergic reaction to pollen, a clogged sewer pipe, or a request of a house guest to prepare an uncommon recipe. There may be related dream sequences, or synchronicity in an event which would otherwise seem to be trivial. Once reality is seen as being laden with meaning and expression from the deeper levels instead as random external forces, the building of the drama can be seen and appreciated.

The semantic and syntactical study of the language, the number of words available to describe various concepts or objects, the words considered pejorative or scatological, and the sounds of the spoken language provide important clues to the nature of the culture and the predilections of the individuals within the culture. Whereas in one language one makes a walk, while in another he takes a walk, there are underlying assumptions about the individuals volition, his relationship with energy, space, and time, and the various philosophical ideas about plenary, grace, God, nature, and the like. Word order and connectives can provide insights into the value placed on objects and descriptors. The language leads one to think in certain ways, and also limits the thoughts that one can have on a rational level. Poetry, as a means to transcend the strictly rational constructs of the language, is, in itself, directive. The use of rhyme and standard meters are dependent on the words available. Free verse, although not as constrained as standard forms, carries its own implicit values and overtones. The emotional reactions to the sound of a word cannot be divorced from its semantic value, and often the only words available to express an idea fall into a tight acoustic grouping, or evoke unsuitable reactions. The length of a word, either as a spoken or a written symbol, also carries meanings and limitations. These words are not randomly assigned by a disinterested party, but evolve from the culture and are indicative of the base assumptions of the culture. The subject of semiotic analysis of the language is far more complex and extensive than can be treated here, but an awareness of the validity and importance of the subject is vital.

The psychological import of words and phrases, visual symbols, jingles, colors, and other physical symbols are daily exploited by commercial advertisers, publicists, and politicians. Sometimes a subconscious evaluation is made to use a particular symbol; at other times a determined study is made of the effects of the symbol in question. In order to retain the freedom to judge a message intelligently and avoid being manipulated, it behooves one to be aware of the more subtle content of the medium itself, and bring those hidden messages to the surface of his thought.

It also behooves one to recognize that the greatest source of hidden messages is the complex structure of the brain and physical aspect of the mind, which we might term the subconscious. Our own habits of thinking can preclude the expression of concepts for which we have no words, and arbitrarily inhibit internal discussion of a problem, or prevent the reaching of a solution, by effectively denying to the rational mind the very existence of structures and aspects of our reality.

The method of free association, as has been long used by psychologists, is an example of the structures and connections which is used in thinking processes. There are many paths which will link one word to another, but there may exist predominant patterns. Precisely which word will be associated with another will depend on the links which have been established over time as well as the current thoughts and emotional state of the person. There is an undercurrent thought, at any given time, which will tend to move the thoughts in a particular direction. If one is hungry, one will tend to think of food, and a word such as plate will then be associated with cup, perhaps, while if one is concerned with jewelry one may link it with gold. If one is involved in the fabrication of steel parts, plate may be associated with sheet steel. Other factors include the objects a person is looking at, the previous conversation, and the random trains of though that one is engaged in. The interaction of these various factors will determine the link which is actually made.

The other factor in the formation and invocation of the links is the intention or will. By exerting a mental pressure in one direction, links will tend to be made in sympathy with the underlying ideas and psychic chords of intention. One may make a conscious effort to relate words and concepts in terms of certain principles, and search for relationships which are valid in those terms. If one looks for examples of some philosophy or mechanism, he will begin to find them as the energy channels are formed. He will then begin to form the links between words and ideas differently than he had previously done. Since all ideas and words ultimately have equal possibilities of being linked with any other, the only practical limitation of the restructuring of thought is concerned with the basic view of reality which is held, i.e., the meta-cosmos.

Language as a View of Reality

There are modes of thinking which do not use language such as physical actions, reading, and playing a musical instrument. Many thoughts are, however, translated into terms of language. These thoughts, concepts, and relationships are constricted by the language. Linguistic or symbolic thinking contributes as much to ignorance as much as to knowledge. The structure of the language, the relationships between objects and ideas, the definitions of words, the emotional content of the sound and rhythm of the language, and the fixation of ideas all edit the breadth and content of thought.

If a language is incapable of manipulating ideas in a magical way, then, if one is limited to that language, one is also imposing restrictions on magical thinking. As one spends more time thinking in a language, the pattern of the language is superimposed on ones meta-cosmos, and in large part, determines its boundaries. Expressions for describing the self, space, time, life and death, power, will, and various other qualities invariably relate to only a small part of the actual experiences possible. There exists many concepts for which no words exist. The state of mind in which one knows what is about to happen because one stops thinking that one does not know what is about to happen, and realizes that it is happening and has happened and will happen all together without being centered in the little present but is, instead, centered in the always present .... has no word. It is a valid experience, however, as are so many states of mind that may be encountered. Perhaps a word exists, but is not known. Perhaps there is a word in another language which describes the feeling well, but is not officially part of the language. Many borrowed words are added to a language for just this reason.

The most insidious case is when a word sort of describes an experience, but doesn't go far enough. Then the more subtle aspects of the experience tends to be ignored. The experience is made to fit the word. When communicating a thought, the other person thinks he knows what is being said, and speaker may think he has been understood. Much communication relies on the unspoken understanding between people. Over a period of time, one learns to associate a word or phrase with an experience, and that trope then corresponds to that experience, and reminds one of it, but the word does not carry the information. The actual information is in the psychic sphere, and is then related into the mental plane. If the information is psychic in nature, however, difficulties arise. Unless both parties already know what psychic reality is being referred to, the description is relatively meaningless. In addition, that experience is difficult to access because moving from the inadequate symbol to the thought loses the implications of the trope.

Memory is essentially symbolic. Psychic and emotional tones transcend the symbolism of the word. If one wishes to enter a particular psychic state, then, it is difficult to do this from the symbolic level. It is like trying to create the painting from a description of it. It is easy to describe a painting in symbolic terms, but one can not use the description to recreate the original art.

Understanding the problem helps to alleviate it somewhat, but other measures may also be needed. Because the thought chains and habits of perception are intertwined so closely with the language structures, it may be necessary to learn another language to restructure the thinking processes. A language with a closer correspondence with the nature of the thoughts and perceptions which are to worked may be needed. Simply using the new meta-cosmos with the new language provides alternative chains and helps to sidestep the old habits. The structure of the new language may need to be parallel with the new modes of thought, as well as the vocabulary and tonal qualities. In essence, it is of great value to obtain a magical language when working magical effects.

CURING CANCER

A tumor is often the physical manifestation of the psychic condition of attempting to encapsulate negative feelings. These feelings may be of disappointment, fear, hate, feelings of unworthiness, or lack of love.

The feelings are part of the psyche, but are rejected because of their painful nature or conflict with other feelings that they should not be part of the self. Perhaps one feels bitter but also feels that it is wrong to be bitter. Perhaps one remembers times when their was a lack of love or appreciation, but one also feels that they should be forgiving or understanding of the others involved in the situation. Perhaps there is an impulse to grow which is frustrated by other beliefs, and a conflict has arisen.

Because one attempts to bury the negative feelings, they have no outlet for the psychic energy they contain. Energy builds up, until finally, they become physically part of the body, in the form of a tumor - part of ones self, and yet isolated from ones self. To fear your negative feelings is to hold give them power over you, to hate your feelings is to imprison them within you.

These feelings are made of consciousness. They exist as consciousness, and, as such, yearn for being, expression, and release. It is the nature of all consciousness.

The solution usually prescribed in the psychic healing is the visualization technique, wherein the imagination is directed to picture the destruction of the cancerous cells by the defensive aspects of the body such as antibodies or white blood cells. This method works by brute force of will, and overpowers the negative thoughts by directing the energy available to the individual towards the thoughts of life and healing.

There is a more effective method however. It is to use the most powerful force in the cosmos - the power of creative love. Direct your love towards the cancer, which is the physical expression of your disappointment. Have empathy for it, and understand the sorrow of its being. Accept its being, and give it the energy of your love, so it may go on its way. The creative act is one of release. If you love that part of your being which is sorrowful, the energy of that love allows it to move from the trapped position in which it finds itself. As the energy of the feelings are released, the cells of the tumor will dissipate. Instead of making it go away, you permit it to go away. Those energies which cause the tumor to exist will be released, and instead of fighting for recognition, will be released into the vastness of the universe.

When an animal is trapped in your house, it desires escape. When the flue is closed and the smoke pours from the hearth, opening the doors will let it out. If the doors of the psyche are opened, its troubles seek release in the same way.

The cure for hate is love. The cure for fear is love. The cure for disease is love. Understand your enemy, love your enemy, and he will cease to be your enemy. Love your negative feelings, and they will fly away as a pet bird when it is released to its freedom. Set it free.

Working with Structures

feeling of separation from deep self and cosmos
feeling of powerlessness

1989, 1990, 1991, 1992

Integral Spell Development Through High Vortex Compression and Cycle
Superconversion: Complete Methods For the Lower Two Meta-Cosmos (with
Processes for Presublimation of Corporeal Interfusion)

ADDENDA II
Notes on the Cascading of Reality Systems
Drg. Foxgorsus Silverclaw

Analogy and isomorphic thought patterns are at the root of thinking and physical perception. At some point a pattern is perceived - i.e. a correspondence is found between an external structure and a neural structure. If the external structure is strongly analogous to the internal gestalt, the external structure is recognized as an instantiation of the pattern. Those aspects which are anomalous are regarded as minor, or possibly ignored if in radical opposition to the gestalt. If the anomaly is strongly present, if the individual is curious and expansive in attitude, or if it is repeated often, then the gestalt may be extended and new neuronal pathways formed.

Now, what is considered as external is also internal in origin from an inner (spiritual) level. The external patterns therefore flow from the internal ones, but several layers exist. The origin is on layer one, the external phenomena on level two, and the neurons on level three. Perception of the external event is, therefore, the impression of the inner reality onto the thought and neuron level by the symbolic mechanism of physical externalization.

How then can truly new reality be perceived? This is done at the innermost levels through the inner perceptions of the spirit. The universe, to the individual then, consists of the external symbols, the thoughts and neuronal structures, the inner reality, the interface between the self and the non-self, and the cosmic reality which is not the self. Since the self is linked at its core to the entire cosmos, nothing is truly not the self, but the deeper the level the link is considered at, the more undifferentiated and the more general the perceptions are. Since it is the nature of creativity to differentiate and pretend that two things are not one, there is a constant tension between the cosmic all/nothing duality and the specific me/not me duality.

An event begins with the outward thrust of consciousness. When the finger of knowing touches the edge of the self, perception occurs, which is the interface between the internal and external patterns, and the examination of similarities. The structure gestalts are adjusted to enlarge the metacosmos, and varying degrees of learning is performed by extending and manipulating structure pathways. This process can be considered as a cycle in four stages: thrust, perception, interaction, and integration. The beginning of the next cycle is not just at the end of the previous cycle however. The thrusting out of consciousness occurs at any stage. Perception itself is a thrust of awareness. Cycles beget cycles, and awareness begets awareness then, and consciousness creates and explores multiverses in multidimensions.

An event fluxion exists on many levels. It exists as a spiritual model, an artistic tone, a feeling, a thought, a drawing, a formula, an object. These are all variations of expression of the root fluxion, each expressed within a certain context, and explored and expanded within that context. Expansion within one context acts as an impetus and model for growth within the other contexts. The expression and resolution of restriction might be expressed as a social condition, a dream, a technical problem, a disease, the breakdown of a car, or an artistic creation. All of these represent the root fluxion in various ways, and a particular method is used because of a variety of reasons. One approach may be blocked by a constrictive belief system, another by lack of familiarity with effective methods with that context, another by a dearth of richness of expression. Each context carries its own flavor and possibilities. Eventually an idea may be propagated throughout all contexts and systems to maximize experience and expression, and this would entail working with that fluxion within all systems.

While working primarily in one system, such as the dream system, physical reality, or musical modes, there are limitations of expression as defined by that system. We often move freely from one system to another without being aware of the shift. The other system may be expressed in terms of the primary one, as when we describe dream sequences in physical symbols, or refer to a painting of an object as that object ("I'm drawing a horse"). We may deny the reality of the other system ("It's just a story" or "It's only a dream"), and justify that attitude by the failure of primary system methods to be effective in the secondary system, or vice versa. Expansion of the boundaries of a system is one method to relieve this problem, but ultimately, it is necessary to understand that working on a problem in one context is equivalent in some sense to exploring it in another. The translation involves the redirection of the energy flow in the root fluxion, and even in cases when no direct analogy can be perceived by the structures in either system, the energies are redirected and will influence the relative outcomes and expressions.

There are various inertial forces involved, and resolution may be delayed or diverted in unexpected ways, but the root fluxion energies will eventually tell. Blockages may exist in various contexts. A dream of wealth may translate to a rich meal or it may result from a feeling of insecurity and redirected energy flow as compensation. The richness and variety of expression and symbol make it very difficult to establish general correspondences, but individual cases can often be resolved on an intellectual plane with practice and persistence. Even those cases which can not be handled in an intellectual or linguistic way can be dealt with. Because there is no way to say a thing or think a thing does not mean it can not be perceived, expressed, or solved. A stirring musical passage is an example of this. It is only our familiarity with and reliance on thought and language which creates the discomfort associated with the ineffable. It is difficult to communicate the ineffable to others, or to get confirmation of it. New methods of communication need to be developed for this purpose. New methods of memory, symbols, neuronal pathways and faculties need to be formed. Magical symbols serve some purposes in this, as does music, art, koans, dance, and telepathy. As work progresses, systems merge smoothly into one another and become expanded. Frustration is increased in dealing with others whose systems and methods are not developed in these areas, of course, but even here there are opportunities for expanding the consciousness as one strives to understand their modes. Even encountering the foolish provides an interface with that which is different from the self, if only at unconscious levels, and challenges one to truly understand and utilize the experience of their being.

All event fluxions extend to all planes, but may vary in their intensity of expression on any particular level. This process of expression in multiple planes is termed isomorphic cascading. Symbolic magic works by manipulating magical symbols on the level of magic and will, which will cause changes on the other planes as the fluxions reshape themselves along their lengths. The effectivness of the magic is dependent on the strength of the linkage between the planes of the fluxions in question, the counter-forces from other planes, the clarity of the symbols, and the level of awareness on the levels of the working.

At some point in the latteral expansion of a fluxion, bifurcation takes place. As the two fluxions propagate through alternate realities, they are interpreted at those planes as separate events, which may or may not seem to have a relationship between them. Sometimes a causal relationship may be percieved/assigned, sometimes a pattern is detected and seen as syncronicity, or such events may be considered as coincedence. Sibling fluxions may not even be seen as bifurcations of the same fluxion at another level, in which case no relationship at all is seen.

One manifestation may be difficult to handle, so a bifurcation is made and the associated event is worked on instead. Perhaps it is deemed impossible to actively work on a communication problem with the boss on the job, but the telephone system at home can be improved. These events may seem to be unrelated, but they might be both manifestations of a bifurcated fluxion, and when the phone is fixed, the problem at work is also resolved, apparently by some unrelated turn of events.

Further Notes on Isomorphic Cascading

Consider a model of reality or a mode of thinking to be a horizontally positioned plane. Examples might be chemistry, mathematics, music, logic, ecology, electronics, drawing, or poetry. An event or fluxion may then be considered as a vertical which passes through these planes, and represents some idea. A paradigm of reality would then be the intersections and correspondences between a set of ideas and a set of thinking modes.

The scientific-mathematical paradigm assumes correspondences between physical phenomena and mathematical models. If the math can be extended, the physical model is examined for behavior which is analogous. Likewise, if a discovery is made in physics, the behavior is described mathematically, and the math is extended to maintain consistency. Implicit in the paradigm is the strong connection between the two modes. The physical is usually thought of as primary and causal, while the mathematical is descriptive. Few people in the field would think that one could actually extend the physical universe by developing mathematics, only their understanding of it.

A stronger example of causality as originating in one of two connected modes might be drawing. A drawing of a tree is based on the natural object. If a tree grows or changes one could then make a new drawing. While one could draw a tree differently than it seems to be, it is not thought that making that drawing would affect the tree itself.

All ideas are conscious and are formed by gestalts of basic units of consciousness. Major organizations form relatively stable ideas which may lend themselves to classifications, which can then form systems of ideas, both vertically and horizontally. If we examine some mode of thinking, we can discern various entities which we can term as basic ideas or event fluxions. Lets consider two modes which share elements.

                           plane 1:
                     a   b   c   d   e  k
                       f   g   h   i  j


                           plane 2:
af fb bg hd gc ch di ie ef eg eh ei kf kg kh ki kj ax bx cx dx

Some observations about the two planes are considered:
1. There are obviously correspondences between the two planes.
2. Both planes also have elements which are not shared by the other.
3. When the analogy of patterns between the planes is understood one might derive the combinations formed by the letters a-i in plane two from the elements and their relationships in plane 1.
4. The analogy will, at some point not work because the relationships are somewhat varied. Hd and di disturb the order of the pattern in relation to plane 1.
5. A plane 3 could be devised which would be analogous to the hd di anomoly.
6. Plane 1 and plane 2 could be changed and enlarged to increase the correspondence. Making them smaller by dropping some of the elements could also increase the correspondence.

Now lets consider plane 4 as a b c d e f g h i j k. This corresponds to both plane 1 and 2, as well as the hypothetical plane 3. If there were also a plane 5 which corresponded to plane 3 and 4 well but not obviously to plane 1, we could consider it as being of a magical nature in relationship to plane 1. Suppose we replaced the letters with their integer equivalents and found interesting relationships based on the operations of addition and subtraction. We might discover a hidden relationship between plane 5 and plane 1: a correspondence which would not be recognizable to us as visual pattern, but could be handled with our new "mathematical" plane.

This discussion is analagous to working on different levels of reality. The theosophical plane, for example, might be plane 5, which could relate things which by ordinary standards would be unrelated. Obviously, when dealing with the totality of what we consider as the cosmos, the number of planes or modes and the number of elements and ideas are far greater. The relationships would be more complex, and thus more difficult to sort out, systematize, and use. Fortunately, we have capacities which are little used but can be developed to further our efforts. Dreams, art, poetry, and emotion can all be used as tools to explore new relationships. There is a rich ground of symbols which we can adapt, and we can form new symbols from recombining others. The main difficulty is that we try to find corre-spondence between the main modes which we habitually use and the new mode which we are exploring. The scientist has difficulty understanding alchemy, the artist has difficulty with math, and the priest has difficulty with physics. This is not universally true, of course, but then, these are all major disciplines. We tend to separate the modes into disjuctive boxes, however. The bio-chemist might paint in his spare time, but will not try to find corresponding elements of chemestry and art and try to solve a chemical formula by juggling the colors and composition of a painting made to represent the chemical problem in question. This might be just the thing that is needed however.

How would one represent the ideas of valence, p-orbitals, copper, ph, or atomic weight in an artistic mode? How would the two modes be inter-related. What would be needed to be able to find a new drug by painting the disease, balancing the composition, and translating the changes in the painting into chemical terms to indicate a formula. When one considers the time and work which has gone into the building of the philosophy-math-science isomorphisms, it seems that it may be no small task. What, however, might be the results of such investigation? Perhaps the new paradigms developed would be tremendous breakthroughs in our understanding.

If we consider that all the universe is one at the level of cosmic consciousness, and that at other levels we might consider things in myriad ways, then it would seem possible to build systems which would reliably link any combination of elements with any other. Perhaps whole classes of mathematical problems which are considered unsolvable could be approached by translating the equations into musical expression. We could then use our powerful musical abilities to find the proper direction. The use of magic would be better understood and developed into practical methods. Anamolies in a system (such as science) could be handled instead of ignored, and a mutual respect between people working in varied or foreign disciplines could lead to greater communication and learning. In this sense, the idea of isomorphic cascading could be considered to be a master paradigm; a master key to unlock the other paradigms.

As practice, one might simply list the key ideas in any field and attempt to translate them into other modes. Paint your equations, play your chemical reactions on the flute, graph your poems, and computerize your dreams. Assume that any event or process exists in infinite vertical length, passing through all models of thinking. If it can't be found, perhaps the model needs to be expanded horizontally. Setting up tight correspondences and forming a third modal plane which consists of the relationships between two others, thus linking those two planes, is basic to the methods of vortex compression as discussed in Integral Spell Development.

Parallelism

The most common cascades are parallel universes or subsets of the universe which are formed by alternative perceptions. Each individual perceives the universe in his own particular way according the pattern recognition methods he has adopted. Each of the patterns which are drawn from the field of possibilities form what may be visualized as a plateau across the fluxion flows, constituted from the various points at different levels of the same fluxions and points from various fluxions. Each possible combination of points from each of the fluxions have the potential of a meaningful phrase pattern. It is the combination of the phrase patterns, or palteaus, which form the totality of reality as experienced by each individual. Ambiguities, agreements, and ignorance form the mesh which unites one universe with another and forms the basis of mutual existence.

Change is the process whereby the various patterns and their relationships are adjusted. As the plateaus and the fluxions they hinge on are changed, the dynamics of the energy flows is changed, and reality may be considered to consist of this dynamic.

When change is desired, the place to start is the building of ambiguities. Events, patterns, perceptions, and ideas are examined and interpreted in alternative ways. If the levels are much removed from each other, the two interpretations may be considered as isomorphisms, if they are closely related they may be seen as viewpoints. In either case the patterns and flows are examined and their characteristics learned. The start and end points are compared, differences noted, and preferences determined. After a sufficient period of burning in, the new pattern system may viewed as officially real and correct, and the energy flows rerouted through them.

TIME

We think of time as a linear scale extending backwards and fowards with the present in the middle. The past is considered as fixed and knowable with the future being unknowable and either fixed or fluid according to our beliefs as to predestination or cause and effect.

Think instead of time as a model in two dimensions as shown below.

                         ³
       state -2                   | state -2 present          state -2
       past ----------------------+--------------------------- future
                                  |
                                  |
       state -1                   | state -1 present         state -1
       past ----------------------+--------------------------- future
                                  |
                                  |
     state 0                      | state 0 present           state 0
       past ----------------------+--------------------------- future
                                  |
                                  |
     state 1                      | state 1 present           state 1
       past ----------------------+--------------------------- future
                                  |
                                  |
     state 2                      | state 2 present           state 2
       past ----------------------+--------------------------- future
                                  |

As an idea evolves and gathers energy, it is manifested on the physical plane which we generally call reality. The sequence of examination of that idea is perceptualized into terms of past and future as well as physical coordinates. When we work out a mathematical procedure, a chess position, or a fictional plot, we think almost in terms of past and future, but from a different perspective. The "future" is not unknowable, as such, but unsupported in terms of our though mode until the foundation is laid, so we first lay the foundation and examine it before we build upon it and examine its consequences. An idea, however, is often evolutionary in nature, and variations are played with. In this case the "past" foundation is changed and the possibilities from this new basis is explored. One can see how the above diagram corresponds with this model. The main vertical axis is analogous to the root idea as it evolves from the top of the diagram downwards. This movement also is analogous to time in terms of sequential development and stepwise refinement. This is very close to the idea of an event fluxion, with energy flowing from the ideation planes where the germ of an idea is created towards the manifestational planes where the idea is actualized. Now, in practice, the idea is concieved as a whole, the result of all actions being created at the same time as the causes and mechanisms of the idea - else how and why would one think of an idea which had no result. The idea is not fully formed however. Details must be worked out and the execution must be considered.

We can think of the original conception of a thought - a system - a sequence, as being outside of time and as moving in terms of development through yet another dimension of back to front. As the idea and its consciousness develops it elicits responses on the lower or simpler dimensional planes, becoming more simplified, stark, and refined as it moves. As it manifests into into and through each dimension, it reverberates through these dimensions and provides feedback into the higher dimensions. The perception of each dimension focuses on those aspects of the idea which the entity is accustomed to using. An idea develops musically in terms of frequencies and hearing, visually in terms of sight, and numerically in terms of mathematics. The foundations of the sequence is altered to suit the new understandings and developments of the idea as it progresses.

The past changes to accommodate the new present, and future changes as explorations branch into new areas. The state 0 past in the system of the state 0 present is not the same as the past was when the present was in the state -1 stage of development. Likewise, as the idea develops further, and the state 0 present becomes state 1 present, the past will simarly change. This is much the way we rewrite and edit a story or a musical composition. We do the same thing with reality, but do not consider it so.

Now the state 2 past does not suddenly spring into existence where it had none before, it simply did not exist on this particular dimensional reality or plane of being strongly enough to be considered as real. This is somewhat like a hurricane which is still only a mild breeze locally because the storm is still to distant, or like the first inkling of the new day which is visible only to the careful observer of the heavens but not to the fisherman readying his boat. In like manner, the pasts which are no longer applicable may fade into to legends, dreams, and fairytales. Some of these did have a real existence in a different state of the world, and have real existences on other planes of reality, possibly a physically oriented system.

There is no particular limit to the number of realities or dimensions except the limits of perception or imagination of the entity. Often, the important thing is to realize that whatever system with however may dimensions we are using to conceptualize and perceptualize an idea or reality, there is always another layer and dimension which is not being utilized and which may be considered when resolving dilemmas of closure. The cosmos is open-ended.

Achieving Resonance:

In any given planar system, those structures and thought patterns which are considered real are those which achieve a reasonably high resonance with other structures. Considering minor chords as they apply to food is more difficult than to music, but less difficult as they apply to fish farming. Patterns of correspondence can be made to fish farming however. The problem is that they seem to be on a more abstract, and thusly less practical level. In order to perform cognitive magical acts, the mappings of the elements of the magic system need to be made to seem more real. Either the mental structures used for this need to be strengthened, or the rebellion of the mind against alogical structures need to be mollified.

An a priori decision to ignore structural inconsistencies is one step which may be done. Blind faith, suspension of disbelief, or emotional fervor are possible modes of enhancement. Breaking down of belief or clarity also contributes to maintaining inconsistencies. The problem with these approaches is that oscillating thought patterns tend to be set up, especially when the various modes of thought and context need to be switched so one can operate on the various levels of reality. It is difficult to suspend disbelief in magical healing when the pain of a toothache demands immediate relief. It is difficult to emulate a lily of the field when ones stomach is empty. We have too much time and energy expended in physically medicinal and non-lily behaviour to easily and effectively give up these ideas. Well-practiced ritual and rote will help in this area.

A better approach however, is the enlargement of the meta-cosmos and an intellectual system which allows for perception on various levels simultaneously. Just as we can easily see a chair as an item of furniture, pieces of wood, and feel the comfort of sitting down, so can we build a philosophical system which lets us eat our cake and have it as a symbol of celebration or congeniality, while at the same time recognizing it as as a physical manifestation of an idea expressing a spiritual value. The multi-leveled cosmos approach gives us a sound reason for abandoning our mundane belief structures when it is appropriate.

By allowing magical phenomona to exist in the mundane reality as an expression of the same will and functions that bring that same mundane reality into existence, we eliminate a fundamental clash of structures. The resonance is achieved by operating from the broader unifying level. If we understand that four apples and four years are both instantiations of the mathematical concept of four, then why not as easily understand that aspirin and aura manipulation are both instantiations of the concept of alleviation of pain. One should understand that pain is a symbol of psychic turmoil, and can be dealt with on any level on which a valid symbolic expression of relief has been developed.

Essentially, we express and explore our beings by the manipulation of symbols. All things which we experience are symbols on some level. Here is a resonance. Our concept of a chair is a symbol, our idea of the wood itself is a symbol, as is our merging of our consciousness with that of the tree which once manifested itself as that wood. The atoms, molecules and energy fields which make up the wood are also symbols, in the context of our concepts of chemistry and physics. That these symbols are used in different ways and contexts does not cause us any great distress. To use magic then, we need only enlarge our idea of reality to encompass the use of symbols in the context of will and magic.

At this point then, with the groundwork laid, we need to actually form the mental and perceptual structures, practice them to establish them in the energy flows, and begin to use them. The difficulty or ease a magical work is related to the actual effect of it to the extent that it achieves a resonance with the existing structures of the reality system. Almost anything can happen in a dream because dreams are supposed to be fantastic and open ended. In physical reality, it is easier to get money by getting a better job or winning the lottery than by having gold fall from the ceiling because the former is more plausible to the current belief system. In the end, all are equivalent. Each of these occurances would have the desired effect, and each uses just the same amount of magic to achieve. One must work harder to have gold fall from the ceiling only because of the additional work needed to overcome the belief system. If one were to exhibit a winning lottery ticket to others, they would think it extraordinary, but not impossible, but if one were to demonstrate the creation of gold from thin air, in would involve changing the belief systems of many people, requiring revision of our system of scientific thought. That requires a great deal more energy than guessing a lucky number.