| The Mystic and The Occultist |
| The Mystic concentrates on abstractions, or attributes more than on aspects, and on the life side more than on the concrete. He/she aspires, burns, harmonizes, loves and works through devotion. He/she meditates by attempting to eliminate the concrete mind altogether, and aspires to leap from the plane of emotions to that of the intuition. The Mystics faults are of this type: dreamy, visionary, impractical, emotional, and lacking in the quality of mind known as discrimination. He/she is intuitive and prone to martyrdom and self-sacrifice. The Mystic eliminates or endeavors to transcend the mind in the process of finding ~Self~. The occultist, through his intelligent interest in the forms that veil the self, and by employment of the principle of mind on both its levels, arrives at the same point. He/she recognizes the sheaths that veil, applying self to the study of the laws that govern manifestation at the same time. His/her focus is on the objective, and in earlier years may overlook the importance of the subjective, though eventually arriving at the central life by the elimination, through conscious knowledge and control, of sheath after sheath. He/she meditates upon form, until form is lost sight of, and the creator of the form becomes all in all. ~A Treatise On White Magic~...pgs 150-151 The keynotes of Occult life have been the notes of knowledge; a mental approach to divinity, the recognition of divine immanence, and of the fact “as is He so are we”. There is, however, no sense of duality. The goal is achievement of such an approved and appreciated identification, that man becomes divine. This is not the same as Mystical union. And yet the whole theme is mystical and innately subjective. The time must come when the mystic will appreciate and follow the way of the head, and not only the Heart, learning to realize the one must lose the sense of the Beloved, in the knowledge that he/she and the Beloved are One, and the vision must and will disappear as it is transcended in the greatest process of identification through initiation. The Occultist, in his turn, must learn to include the mystical experience in full understanding consciousness as a recapitulatory exercise, before transcending it, passing on to a synthesis and inclusiveness to which the mystical approach is but the beginning, and of which the mystic remains unaware. The Mystic is too apt to feel the occultist over-estimates the way of knowledge, and repeats glibly that the mind is the slayer of the real, and that the intellect can offer nothing. The occultist is equally apt to despise the mystical way, and to regard the mystical method as living ‘far behind him’. But both must learn to tread the way of Wisdom. The mystic must and inevitably will become the occultist whether he/she likes the process or not. It cannot be escaped in the long run, but the occultist is not a true one until recovering the mystical experience. ~Esoteric Psychology~ Volume II A. Bailey pgs 543-544 |
| Mystical Consciousness |
| The Mystic has that innate sensitivity that leads unerringly to a higher vision, and then becomes a mediator between worlds, having an understanding of the inter-relation in man's essential duality during manifestion. Neptune is the planet associated with Mysticism. The true mystic is aware that he/she is a soul in form, and is motivated by spiritual activity. This is the Way of the Heart. |
| Occult Consciousness |
| Occult consciousness is an intelligent, fusing awareness that produces scientific at-one-ment of the higher and lower selves through the use of the mind. He/she is mentally polarized and profoundly aware of the forces and energies of existence, and can weild these forces on the physical plane with desired results. The planet associated with Occultism is Uranus. This is the Way of the Mind. |
| The Blending Of Heart and Head Upon the Lighted Way |
| The path of Knowledge is that of the occultist or sage; that of Love is that of the mystic or saint. The Head or Heart approach is not dependent upon the ray, for both ways must be known; the mystic will become the occultist; the white occultist has been the saintly mystic. True Knowledge is intelligent Love, for it is the blending of the intellect and devotion. Unity is sensed in the Heart; its intelligent application to life has to be worked out through Knowledge. The past has seen much application of the Heart way, so now Mental unfoldment is of primary importance. ~A Treatise on White Magic~, A. Bailey…pages 120-121 The mystic is not necessarily an occultist, but the occultist embraces the mystic. Mysticism is but one step on the path of occultism. By finding the kingdom of God within him/herself, and by the study of the laws of the laws of their own being, the mystics become proficient in the laws that govern the universe, of which he/she is a part. The occultist recognizes the kingdom of God in nature or the system, and regards the self as part of the greater whole, and therefore governed by the same laws… …after initiation, the mystic is merged in the occultist, for he/she has become a student of occult law; working with matter, its manipulation and uses. Before initiation the mystic path might be expressed by the term probationary. Before the occultist can wisely manipulate the matter of the solar system, he/she must have mastered the laws that govern the microcosm, and even though naturally on the occult path, will still have to find the God within, before safely venturing on the path of occult law. The mystic seeks to work from the emotional to the intuitional, and thence to the Monad or Spirit. The occultist works from the physical to the mental, thence to the atma or Spirit. One works along the line of Love, the other along the line of Will. The mystic fails in the purpose of his/her being, that of love demonstrated in activity, unless he/she coordinates the whole through use of intelligent Will. Therefore, the Mystic must become the Occultist. The occultist similarly fails, and becomes only a selfish exponent of power, working through intelligence, uless finding a purpose for that will and knowledge, by an animating Love, which will give sufficient motive for all attempts. ~A Treatise On White Magic~ A. Bailey, ppgs 147-149 |