Transcendental Magic — Éliphas Lévi

A WARNING TO THE IMPRUDENT 249 a hermit completely shrouded in his cloak. Such retirement must not, however, be one of isolation ; attachments and friendships are necessary, but he must choose them with care and preserve them at all price. He must also have another profession than that of magician; magic is not a trade.

In order to devote ourselves to ceremonial magic, we must be free from anxious preoccupations ; we must be in a position to procure all the instruments of the science, and be able to make them when needed ; we must also possess an inaccessible laboratory, in which there will be no danger of ever being surprised or disturbed.

Then, and this is an indispensable condition, we must know how to equilibrate forces and restrain the zeal of our initiative. This is the meaning of the eighth key of Hermes, wherein a woman is seated between two pillars, with an upright sword in one hand and a balance in the other. To equilibrate forces they must be simultaneously maintained and made to act alternately ; the use of the balance represents this double action.

The same arcanum is typified by the dual cross in the pantacles of Pythagoras and Ezekiel (see the plate which appears on p. 166 in the " Doctrine "), where the crosses equilibrate each other and the planetary signs are always in opposition. Thus, Venus is the equilibrium of the works of Mars ; Mercury moderates and fulfils the operations of the Sun and Moon ; Saturn balances Jupiter.

It was by means of this antagonism between the ancient gods that Prometheus, that is to say, the genius of science, contrived to enter Olympus and carry off fire from heaven. Is it necessary to speak more clearly ?

The milder and calmer you are, the more effective will be your anger ; the more energetic you are, the more precious will be your forbearance ; the more skilful you are, the better will you profit by your I intelligence and even by your virtues ; the more indifferent I you are, the more easily will you make yourself loved. I This is a matter of experience in the moral order, and is literally realised in the sphere of action. Human passions produce blindly the opposites of their unbridled desire, when .

p. 250they act without direction. Excessive love produces antipathy ; blind hate counteracts and scourges itself ; vanity leads to abasement and the most cruel humiliations. Thus, the Great Master revealed a mystery of positive magical science when He said, " Forgive your enemies, do good to those that hate you, so shall ye heap coals of fire upon their heads.

Perhaps this kind of pardon seems hypocrisy and bears a strong likeness to refined vengeance. But we must remember that the magus is sovereign, and a sovereign never avenges because he has the right to punish ; in the exercise of this right he performs his duty, and is implacable as justice.

Let it be observed, for the rest, so that no one may misinterpret my meaning, that it is a question of chastising evil by good and opposing mildness to violence. If the exercise of virtue be a flagellation for vice, no one has the right to demand that it should be spared, or that we should take pity on its shame and its sufferings.

The man who dedicates himself to the works of science must take moderate daily exercise, abstain from prolonged vigils, and follow a wholesome and regular rule of life. He must avoid the effluvia of putrefaction, the neighbourhood of stagnant water, and indigestible or impure food. Above all, he must daily seek relaxation from magical preoccupations amongst material cares, or in labour, whether artistic, industrial, or commercial.

The way to see well is not to be always looking ; and he who spends his whole life upon one object will end without attaining it. Another precaution must be equally observed, and that is never to experiment when ill. The ceremonies being, as we have said, artificial methods for creating a habit of will become unnecessary when the habit is confirmed.

It is in this sense, and addressing himself solely to perfect adepts, that Paracelsus proscribes their use in his Occult Philosophy. They must be progressively simplified before they are dispensed with altogether, and in proportion to the experience we obtain in acquired powers, and established habit in the exercise of extra-natural will.

p. 251CHAPTEK IX THE CEREMONIAL OF INITIATES THE science is preserved by silence and perpetuated by initiation. The law of silence is not, therefore, absolute and inviolable, except relatively to the uninitiated multitude. The science can only be transmitted by speech. The sages must therefore speak occasionally. Yes, they must speak, not to disclose, but to lead others to discover.

Noli ire, fac venire, was the device of Eabelais, who, being master of all the sciences of his time, could not be unacquainted with magic. We have, consequently, to reveal here the mysteries of initiation. The destiny of man, as we have said, is to make or create himself ; he is, and he will be, the son of his works, both for time and eternity.

All men are called on to compete, but the number of the elect — that is, of those who succeed — is invariably small. In other words, the men who are desirous to attain are numbered by multitudes, but the chosen are few. Now, the government of the world belongs by right to the flower of mankind, and when any combination or usurpation prevents their possessing it, a political or social cataclysm ensues.

Men who are masters of themselves become easily masters of others ; but it is possible for them to hinder one another if they disregard the laws of discipline and of the universal hierarchy. To be subject to a discipline in common, there must be a community of ideas and desires, and such a communion cannot be attained except by a common religion established on the very foundations of intelligence and reason.

This religion has always existed in the world, and is that only which can be called one, infallible, indefectible, and veritably catholic — that is, universal. This religion, of which all others have been successively the veils and the shadows, is that which demonstrates being by being, truth by reason, reason by evidence and common sense. It