Aleister Crowley – Goetia

This is Aleister Crowley’s essay introduction to his translation of The Goetia.

THE INITIATED INTERPRETATION OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC

It is loftily amusing to the student of magical literature who is not quite a fool — and rare is such a combination! — to note the criticism directed by the Philistine against the citadel of his science. Truly, since our childhood has ingrained into us not only literal belief in the Bible but also substantial belief in Alf Laylah wa Laylah, and only adolescence can cure us, we are only too liable, in the rush and energy of dawning manhood, to overturn roughly and rashly both these classics, to regard them both on the same level as interesting documents from the standpoint of folklore and anthropology and as nothing more.

Even when we learn that the Bible, by a profound and minute study of the text, may be forced to yield up Qabalistic arcana of cosmic scope and importance, we are too often slow to apply a similar restorative to the companion volume, even if we are the lucky holders of Burton’s veritable edition.

To me, then, it remains to raise the Alf Laylah wa Laylah into its proper place once more.

I am not concerned to deny the objective reality of all “magical” phenomena. If they are illusions, they are at least as real as many unquestioned facts of daily life; and, if we follow Herbert Spencer, they are at least evidence of some cause.

Now, this fact is our base. What is the cause of my illusion of seeing a spirit in the triangle of Art? Every smatterer, every expert in psychology, will answer: “That cause lies in your brain.”

English children (pace the Education Act) are taught that the Universe lies in infinite space; Hindu children, in the Akasa, which is the same thing.

Those Europeans who go a little deeper learn from Fichte that the phenomenal Universe is the creation of the Ego; Hindus, or Europeans studying under Hindu Gurus, are told that by Akasa is meant the Chitakasa. The Chitakasa is situated in the “Third Eye,” i.e., in the brain. By assuming higher dimensions of space, we can assimilate this fact to Realism; but we have no need to take so much trouble.

This being true for the ordinary Universe — that all sense-impressions are dependent on changes in the brain — we must include illusions, which are sense-impressions as much as “realities,” in the class of phenomena dependent on brain-changes.

Magical phenomena, however, come under a special sub-class, since they are willed and their cause is the series of “real” phenomena called the operations of ceremonial Magic.

These consist of:

1. Sight: The circle, square, triangle, vessels, lamps, robes, implements, etc.
2. Sound: The invocations.
3. Smell: The perfumes.
4. Taste: The Sacraments.
5. Touch: As under (1).
6. Mind: The combination of all these and reflection on their significance.

These unusual impressions (1–5) produce unusual brain changes; hence, their summary (6) is of an unusual kind. Its projection back into the apparently phenomenal world is therefore unusual.

Herein then consists the reality of the operations and effects of ceremonial magic, and I conceive that the apology is ample so far as the effects refer only to those phenomena which appear to the magician himself — the appearance of the spirit, his conversation, possible shocks from imprudence, and so on, even to ecstasy on the one hand and death or madness on the other.

But can any of the effects described in our book Goetia be obtained, and if so, can you provide a rational explanation of the circumstances? Say you so?

I can and will.

The spirits of the Goetia are portions of the human brain.

Their seals, therefore, represent methods of stimulating or regulating those particular spots through the eye.

The names of God are vibrations calculated to establish:

(a) General control of the brain (establishment of functions relative to the subtle world).
(b) Control over the brain in detail (rank or type of the spirit).
(c) Control of one special portion (name of the spirit).

The perfumes aid this process through smell. Usually, the perfume will only tend to control a large area, but there is an attribution of perfumes to letters of the alphabet, enabling one, by a Qabalistic formula, to spell out the spirit’s name.

I need not enter into a more particular discussion of these points; the intelligent reader can easily fill in what is lacking.

If, then, I say, with Solomon, “The Spirit Cimieries teaches logic”, what I mean is:

“Those portions of my brain which subserve the logical faculty may be stimulated and developed by following the processes called the Invocation of Cimieries.”

And this is a purely materialistic rational statement; it is independent of any objective hierarchy at all. Philosophy has nothing to say, and Science can only suspend judgement pending a proper and methodical investigation of the facts alleged.

Unfortunately, we cannot stop there. Solomon promises us that we can obtain information, destroy our enemies, understand the voices of nature, obtain treasure, heal diseases, etc.

1. Brings up facts from the subconscious.
2. “To destroy our enemies” is to realise the illusion of duality and to excite compassion.
3. The voices of nature may be increasingly understood through study and attention.
4. Business capacity may be stimulated.
5. Abnormal bodily states may be corrected through currents started from the brain.

There is no effect that is truly and necessarily miraculous.

Our ceremonial magic thus resolves itself into a series of minute, though empirical, physiological experiments, and whoever will carry them through intelligently need not fear the result.

I have all the health and treasure and logic I need; I have no time to waste. For me, these practices are useless, but for the benefit of others less fortunate, I give them to the world, together with this explanation of, and apology for, them.

I trust that the explanation will enable many students who have hitherto obtained no results to succeed, and that the apology may impress upon men of science that the study of the bacillus should give place to that of the baculum — the little to the great. How great one only realises when one identifies the wand with the Mahalingam, up which Brahma flew at the rate of 84,000 yojanas a second for 84,000 mahakalpas