Thread: G'day

Hey.

My study background is philosophy (particularly metaphysics). I'd been exploring those concepts with the use of psychedelics for a number of years. Was getting over it and looking for a serious path. Discovered magick about 2 years ago and (as when I applied psychedelics to my philosophical enquiries) I was pleasantly surprised to find my personal suspicions and half baked concepts were well established in esoteric tradition (and then some!).

Started out thinking I would work through golden dawn grades, and practiced neophyte rituals daily for many months while conducting a broader survey. Now I've discovered alternative systems and am currently intimidated by my options. I see the merits of treading a well worn path (at least to start with) but am not keen to follow dogma blindly.

Currently idling practically with Mantak Chia's taoist (microcosmic orbit etc) stuff while I study Kabbalah based systems in more detail. I'm hoping to find a happy medium between the comprehensiveness of GD and the fluid pragmatism of a Chaotic approach while making sure I ask WHY? and get answers before I send any energy that way (Kraig's Modern Magick is an example of a disappointing treatment, as it seems shallow and leaves me hungry for the reasons behind what he's instructing).

Much of these concerns would probably be solved if I found some local people with similar interests. Rural Australia is a bit short of orders, as you might expect.

Anyway - nice to meet you all.

Hello and welcome, there is alot to be found here, you can actually find alot of information on different systems now more than never (recently da site got revamped) and all of us are eager to answer any questions you may have, and you are right, standing on a firm ground before trailing off is a good idea, its easy to lose yourself in the crowds of systems

from one solitary hermetic to another, greetings. I know one of my obstacles is actually getting into practice, the daily stuff is quite overwhelming and can turn tedious and trite if its the same thing over and over. I only mention it because I since it within your writing.

alot of guys on the net (haven't seen it on this site from the forums ive read so far) can be real nazis about subjective perspective. (i see it alot from the thelema crew) just remember its your path and guys from hundreds of miles away aren't gonna be able to tell you how to do it. take your time and you'll be inspired to do whatever for whatever reason. (it really matters little.) the best way for me is to make your own path using the stuff that interest you, form your post it seems we have that much in common.

the thing that'll really get you (if it hasn't already) is that you'll find that you've been preparing to be an occultist since you were born but never knew it until now

hope to have more disscussion soon.

hello and welcome to the site look forward to reading and seeing your posts

I'm really starting to feel a lot of Magick in the air

Hello and Welcome.

hello and welcome

hello and welcome

Thanks for the warm welcome

Please tell me if this comment is better suited to another thread:

ArrowheadEX - I agree that the path is not worth treading if it doesn't feel like your path. I'm at a cross roads right now, where I'm ready to knuckle down and do some serious work, but need to decide on the path. The conundrum I face is:

• I'm working towards full conversation with my HGA (or whatever the equivalent words are in other systems). This is at the end of the path (or at least a pit stop along a larger path).
• I am ill-equiped to determine the value of a path until I have established this conversation.

I think Chaos magicians face this a fair bit. The struggle with self-doubt when there's no better authority is at the core of their methodology. Although Carroll de-emphasises theurgy in the first place.

It's a catch 22. How do I know which path to tread if I'm trying to get to the map / lookout? The best approach I can come up with is a broad survey of options and an effective divination method (which itself is different within different paths - a similar catch 22).

I suppose I should just trust my intuition, but I naturally over analyse and second guess myself, so it's tricky. In the meantime, 2012 is bearing down on us and I've got that in the back of my head as a deadline for... something. I guess I want to feel prepared for whatever that might be (if it's anything).

I'm pretty sure I'll self-initiate through the GD grades. I find that system very comprehensive, and it has a finite end that I can reach within the deadline. I would treat it as an undergraduate course or primer, then get serious after that (keeping a record of what could be different as I go).

Any thoughts guys?