Philosophadam
06-07-2010, 04:33 PM
Dear brothers and sisters on the Path,
I'm writing to express some doubts and ask some questions in the hope that, with your rich experience in the Western ceremonial tradition, you might be able to assist me.
I have felt a strong connection to the main Golden Dawn rituals and have been seriously studying the Ciceros' Self-Initiation book. However, I have many doubts and wonder how I should address them. I doubt the validity of astrology as anything but a pseudo-science. I also wonder if, when practicing the LBRP and other rituals, which rely so heavily on imagination and visualization, whether the Archangels are not mere figments of my imagination. How can I be sure that I am not deceiving myself into believing that they are in some sense "really there"? How do I know that the names and sigils do not only evoke mental images that are imagined into the real spaces in which I work as projections of consciousness?
I have a few more questions:
1. Is studying the horoscope and the traditional associations given to planets in our solar system necessary to progressing on the path of the G.'.D.'.? If so, can they be skeptically conceived in some way that does not force us to become superstitious or to believe on blind faith?
2. How do you conceive of the entities "evoked" and "invoked" in Golden Dawn rituals (e.g. Archangels, angels, elementals, etc.); are they objective presences or aspects of your own mind, mythic archetypes, for instance?
3. How do you know that the "astral realms" are not mere creations of your imagination, not outer spaces, but inner spaces?
4. How do we know that we even have a soul? What if our awareness is always One with the Divine and it is only a matter of effecting a realization of this nonduality? If we must only become aware of the existing Oneness between the individual and the Divine, arguably the target outcome of the Great Work, why should we bother studying things like astrology or geomancy?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my questions and doubts and respond to them. It means a lot to me and I value what you have to share.
Take care an in LVX,
Adam
I'm writing to express some doubts and ask some questions in the hope that, with your rich experience in the Western ceremonial tradition, you might be able to assist me.
I have felt a strong connection to the main Golden Dawn rituals and have been seriously studying the Ciceros' Self-Initiation book. However, I have many doubts and wonder how I should address them. I doubt the validity of astrology as anything but a pseudo-science. I also wonder if, when practicing the LBRP and other rituals, which rely so heavily on imagination and visualization, whether the Archangels are not mere figments of my imagination. How can I be sure that I am not deceiving myself into believing that they are in some sense "really there"? How do I know that the names and sigils do not only evoke mental images that are imagined into the real spaces in which I work as projections of consciousness?
I have a few more questions:
1. Is studying the horoscope and the traditional associations given to planets in our solar system necessary to progressing on the path of the G.'.D.'.? If so, can they be skeptically conceived in some way that does not force us to become superstitious or to believe on blind faith?
2. How do you conceive of the entities "evoked" and "invoked" in Golden Dawn rituals (e.g. Archangels, angels, elementals, etc.); are they objective presences or aspects of your own mind, mythic archetypes, for instance?
3. How do you know that the "astral realms" are not mere creations of your imagination, not outer spaces, but inner spaces?
4. How do we know that we even have a soul? What if our awareness is always One with the Divine and it is only a matter of effecting a realization of this nonduality? If we must only become aware of the existing Oneness between the individual and the Divine, arguably the target outcome of the Great Work, why should we bother studying things like astrology or geomancy?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read my questions and doubts and respond to them. It means a lot to me and I value what you have to share.
Take care an in LVX,
Adam