Let me stress that these are best guesses on my part.
Further, I am using several terms familiar to humans to provide some point
of reference. Since many people do have some background in Christianity or
Catholicism, I chose to use the terms Cherubim and Seraphim as a level
reference only. Whether there are actually entities classified as this is
better left to other discussions. Further, I am not positive about the fifth
and sixth levels, for they very well could be reversed. However, I do
believe that, in time, as we are more ready to understand, these levels will
be revealed in more detail.
At this point, we move into a discussion of the area of
Mental Transmutation. The idea of transmutation is to change one form of
energy into another (after all, "everything is energy"). The theory of
mental transmutation is simple: use a higher principle to overcome the
effects of a lower principle. While the idea is simple, it could not (and
cannot) be fully explored until the seven principles are understood.
"To change your mood or mental state, change your
vibration."—The Kybalion
Everything is mental. Everything is energy. Everything
vibrates. YOU are the master of your own mood and mental state.
Another person may do something that angers you, but they do NOT force you
to lose your temper—YOU lose control of your temper because of YOUR reaction
to something they said or did. The baser negative emotions (hate, envy,
jealousy) are all states of low-vibrating energy. To change your mood, raise
your mental vibrational level.
"To destroy an undesirable rate of mental vibration, put into
operation the Principle of Polarity and concentrate upon the opposite pole
to that which you desire to suppress. Kill out the undesirable by changing
its polarity."—The Kybalion
Polarity is in everything; everything has its opposite.
Love and hate are the same thing vibrating at different ends of the
spectrum. Happiness and sorrow are the same, but vibrating at different
rates. To counter something, use its opposite. From chemistry, we know that
if we mix bases and acids in equal strengths, they will cancel each other
out to form a neutral substance. To see this in everyday life, try being
very positive and cheerful around someone who is in a bad mood. The bad mood
cannot survive for long when confronted by a positive mood. It is also
possible use a bad mood to cancel a positive mood. Watch the people around
you. Someone will come into the office in a bad mood and snap at someone;
later on, that person will be short with another, etc. The chain goes on and
on. Polarity and vibration are key elements to
mental transmutation.
"Rhythm may be neutralized by the application of the Art of
Polarization."—The Kybalion
Everything is in constant motion, and there is a rhythm to
the motion.
The swing of the pendulum to the left is equal to the swing of the pendulum
to the right. To avoid being caught in an undesirable swing, we use polarity
or vibration to move ourselves above or below the oncoming swing, thereby
moving ourselves outside of the effect. The higher Hermetic Master will
polarize or move him/herself to the very positive side of the "I AM" pole
and vibrate to a rate at which the backwards swing of the pendulum will not
affect him/her. This is done to some extent by all who understand this
principle. They simply refuse to be swayed by the reverse swing.
"Nothing escapes the Principle of Cause and Effect, but there
are many planes of Causation and one may use the laws of a higher to
overcome the laws of a lower."—The Kybalion
For every cause there is an effect, and for every effect
there is a cause.
For every event there must be some initial action, and there is some
reaction for every event. For an idea to manifest on the physical plane, it
must first exist as thought; then it must take form on the mental plane and
eventually be made manifest back on the physical plane. There are many
planes on which we operate. The principle of causation exists on all planes.
Just as one plane may influence another, causation on one plane may
influence other planes.
"True Hermetic Transmutation is a Mental Art."—The
Kybalion
Everything is mental; we are but a thought in the mind of the
ALL. Influencing the physical and mental planes are brought about by control
of your mental power and abilities in conformity of the laws of existence.
"The ALL is MIND. The Universe is Mental."—The
Kybalion
Magickal Ethics
Before delving further into the principles and ideas of
magick, it is critical to begin our exploration of the subject of magickal
ethics. The foundation of this discussion will be that YOU are responsible
for YOUR actions. Everything that you do has influence or effect on
something else.
Magickal ethics follow the same principles as physical and
mental ethics. Ethics can be broken into three broad categories:
-
Ethical Objectivism holds
that there are moral and ethical absolutes that can be known.
-
Ethical Relativism holds
that the ethics of a situation depend on the situation, the time, and the
culture in which the event occurs.
-
There is a third system that
combines the two beliefs, saying that there are some fundamental ethical
truths, but that they must be applied in consideration to the situation in
which the event occurs.
Magickal Ethics is based on standard ethics. Magick is an
ability that everyone possesses; everyone has the potential to use
it, but few rarely learn to use it. You must consider magick to be
another skill, like martial arts or cooking, that can be developed by any
individual.
Many ethical situations will resolve themselves to the
question of, "Would I want someone to take this action without my
permission?" and "What actions would I consider appropriate for someone to
take on my behalf?" We must be cautious of
attempting to rationalize our actions by claiming that we would really want
someone to do something for us if we were in a situation.
Let’s look at a few examples of magickal ethics and "regular"
ethics.
Magickal:
Can I cast a spell to make John Smith want to sleep with me?
Can I cast a spell to make John Smith fall in love with me?
These questions are often rationalized by the following types
of ideas:
But I just "know" that we are soul-mates.
But I just "know" that if he realized his true feelings he
would want this.
But I just "know" that I could make him the happiest person
in the world if he would let me.
And the list goes on!
Physical:
Can I physically force John Smith to have sex with me?
Can I coerce John Smith to have sex with me?
Could I put something in John Smith’s drink so that I could
have sex with him?
These situations are clear-cut examples of an action that
will cause harm to another individual.
Magickal:
Can I ask someone to attack me magickally?
This could be a useful learning tool if the people know what
they are doing.
Physical:
Can I ask a friend to spar with me in some contact sport?
Notice that this situation involves mutual consent between
two individuals. Mutual consent changes the ethical picture. While it is
possible that bad things can happen as a result of the actions, both
participants understand the risk before the actions are begun.
There appears to be a conflict with the basic Wiccan belief
of, "An it harm none, do as you will." The actions could result in harm
being doing to one or more people by the action; the important thing to
remember here is that it is a risk that is mutually agreed upon. In this
type of situation, I believe that the concept of mutual consent should be
applied. I also believe that this idea should be applied in situations
involving pain as part of the sexual act—if the action is mutually agreed
upon by both parties, then the basic belief is not violated.
Many forms of magick work on influencing other people.
Magickal:
Can I put up a ward or shield around my property to deter
thieves?
Physical:
Can I put up signs that say, "Thieves keep out!"
Depending on the construction of the ward or shield, a
certain idea can be projected to those crossing the boundary. This idea
does influence another individual. This becomes a two-fold question:
"Would you want someone to try to influence you?" and "Since the individual
has made a conscious choice to interfere with my free will, then am I
allowed to try to keep him from taking an action?"
Magickal:
Can I put up a ward or shield around my property to cause a
thief’s heart to stop when he crosses intending to steal my property?
Physical:
Can I shoot someone who is stealing my property?
Most people will agree that they should have the right to
defend themselves and their property. However, the taking of a life in
any situation will have Karmic repercussions that must be faced—even in
the instance of self-preservation. Is a piece of property really worth the
taking of a life? A similar issue is whether you could incorporate a "death
action" into a ward to be triggered on the occurrence of an event such as
someone’s breaking into your house to kill you. How far will you go, and
where will you draw the lines?
Magickal:
Can I work a spell to raise the awareness of a person or
group of people regarding a specific subject?
Physical:
Can I force someone to accept an idea with which they do not
agree, even if the idea is considered "wrong" by society?
Every individual must develop at his/her own rate. The
spiritual development cannot be rushed or pushed forward. While the idea of
raising someone’s awareness may be appealing, would you want someone to
force awareness on you? Notice that the issue
is really one of consent.
Magickal:
Can I work a spell to raise the awareness of a person or
group of people regarding a specific subject, provided that they are
willing?
Physical:
Can I talk to someone on the street who agrees to the
discussion, or to someone who asks me about a specific topic?
Notice that the situation has changed such that the other
individual now has the choice to be made aware of a situation.
Many situations in magick involve consent and free will.
In most situations, magick should not be worked on or for a
person without his/her express permission. Also remember that permission
for one action does not imply permission for another. Permission usually
must come from the individual. There are, however, exceptions. Before the
age of consent, children usually may not give permission for magickal
actions, since they may not understand the ramifications of what they
desire. In the instance of working on or for children, permission from the
parent or guardian is usually required. The same holds true for those who
are mentally incompetent or those who cannot communicate for themselves.
In a perfect world, we would have the time to obtain
permission before doing any work for others. However, this is not always the
case. There are instances where time is of the essence, and there is not
time to obtain formal permission.
Magickal:
Can I use my healing abilities to keep someone who has been
struck by a car alive until emergency medical teams arrive?
Physical:
Can I use my knowledge of how to stop bleeding to keep
someone who has been struck by a car alive until emergency medical teams
arrive?
In these cases, it may be impossible to obtain permission.
Some would advocate doing nothing, since, if you take no action, then there
would not be any repercussions. Are there repercussions for not
taking action to prevent something when you could? That is a good question,
and one that is not easily answered. There is no physical law that says that
you must help someone in need. Is there a spiritual imperative saying
that you must help people in need? That is another good question. If you
follow the belief that before you can transcend fully, you must have
compassion for all creatures in existence, then the answer is "yes."
Before we rush out and start trying to save people, there are
other concerns to address.
What if the individual in question was supposed to die
at that time?
What if death by that particular occurrence was supposed
to occur to teach that soul a lesson?
Most people would like to believe that "untimely" death
couldn’t happen for a specific reason. This is incorrect. Before a soul
incarnates, the major life tasks are decided upon and set in motion. This
does not say that everything is predestined, but there are some
events that can be prearranged. One of these is "untimely" death. Death
itself is a critical experience in the soul’s development.
The question remains, then, do you take action to save the
individual? In these situations, we do not have the luxury of consulting the
Akashic records to see if this event was supposed to happen. If an event
was predetermined, there is no way to change the event. If the person
was meant to die in the accident, then they will die. Just as
"untimely" death is a possibility, living through a near-death experience is
also a possibility.
Before taking any action, especially magickal, you should
consider the ramifications of those actions. Also, you must be prepared to
accept responsibility for your actions, or your lack of actions. Many
situations where the ethics of an action is questioned come about because
one or more of the individuals involved does not want to take responsibility
for their actions.
The following ideas can help resolve ethical problems:
-
Always take responsibility
for your actions.
-
Always consider the
consequences of your actions.
-
Always consider the options
available to you (if there is time).
-
Always remember that every
individual has free will.
-
Always remember that you
should try not to harm others.
-
Always remember that every
cause has an effect and that every effect has a cause.
There is no quick and easy solution to the problem of
magickal or physical ethics. We do not possess a little computer where we
can type in a situation and an action to get a reading on whether the action
is ethical. The individual must decide the question of whether an action is
ethical. The extent to which an individual will go to observe ethics varies
with each individual.