True, without falsehood, certain and most true, that which is above is as that which is below, and that which is below is as that which is above, for the performance of the miracles of the One Thing. And as all things are from One, by the mediation of One, so all things have their birth from this One Thing by adaptation. The Sun is its father, the Moon its mother, and the Wind carries it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth. This is the father of all perfection, or consummation of the whole world. Its power is integrating, if it be turned into earth.
-The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus

Truth did not come into the world naked , but it came in types and images. One will not receive the truth in any other way . . .
-The Gospel of Saint Philip

In Vajrayana the mandala plays an essential role in spiritual transformation. Far from the visual two-dimensional figure of cloth, paper, or sand, the mandala is visualized by the practitioner as a three-dimensional representation of certain realms or palaces of existence. Through mental and physical development the practitioner is able to project himself or herself into the realm and utilize the power of the mandala for very pragmatic purposes such as healing or identification with the attributes represented by the various beings encountered therein. For example, if the practitioner is meditating on the mandala of the Five Dhyani-Buddhas and he or she wishes to cultivate
Dharmadhatu Wisdom (insight into the emptiness [ shunyata] of all things) then the white image of Vairocana in the center of the mandala would be the focus of the meditation. The meditator would begin by visualizing their surroundings as corresponding with the colours found on the mandala.⁽²¹⁾ Next he or she would visualize the figure of Vairocana (with all its endemic symbolism) sitting above their head. When the figure is sufficiently visualized, the image is "brought down" to envelop the meditator. In this way the meditator has completely identified his or her consciousness with that of Vairocana. Used in this way the symbols have a tangible and pragmatic effect on the person or persons using them.

The main premise of Multidimensional Consciousness is that there are various strata or levels of consciousness or perception which can be experienced by the individual. These levels of consciousness are arranged in a hierarchy⁽²²⁾ where a "lower" level of consciousness cannot comprehend a higher level. However, the higher levels of consciousness not only comprehend the lower but they encompass and integrate them as well.⁽²³⁾

In Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism⁽²⁴⁾, Govinda purports that there are stages of ever widening perception towards which one can develop sensitivity. Govinda begins this graded model with what he describes as "point consciousness." Point consciousness then leads to "linear consciousness." Point consciousness is unable to comprehend a line because it is only aware of its individual boundary. However, the line is made up of many points and is able to comprehend its parts and at the same time be bound by its own structural limitations. The next two stages are "two-dimensional consciousness" and "three-dimensional consciousness." In "two-dimensional" consciousness the points, lines, curves, and designs are conceivable but spatial relationship of planes is not recognized. In "three-dimensional consciousness" each of the previous forms of consciousness can be conceived of in their totality.⁽²⁵⁾

Govinda states that:

. . . the consciousness of a higher dimension consists in the co-ordinated and simultaneous perception of several systems of relationship or directions of movement, in a wider, more comprehensive unity, without destroying the individual characteristics of the integrated lower dimensions. The reality of a lower dimension is therefore not annihilated by a higher one, but only 'relativized' or put into another perspective of values.⁽²⁶⁾

Each of the aforementioned stages leads to an ever expanding and wider frame of reference. However, Govinda does not end his model at our three-dimensional waking consciousness. He states that when one realizes that each of the previous stages, and in fact all things, are conditioned by a myriad of factors (Pali: patichchasamuppda: lit. "conditioned arising") one begins to gain insight into the law of cause and effect (Skt: karma: lit. "deed"). Through observation of the various phases of karmic chain-reaction one becomes conscious of a

supra-individual karmic interrelatedness, comprising nations, races, civilizations, humanity, planets, solar systems and finally the whole universe. In short, we arrive at the perception of a cosmic world- order, an infinite mutual relationship of all things, beings and events, until we finally realize the universality of consciousness in the Dharmakya, when attaining Enlightenment.⁽²⁷⁾

Thus, the symbols or images used in ritual can be understood as existing simultaneously on many levels of consciousness. They are not only simple lines or points but participate in the entirety of the universe.

For Govinda symbols help to activate the inner vision and that inner vision in turn helps to augment change. For example he states:

A thing exists only in so far as it acts. Reality is actuality. An active symbol or image of spiritual vision is reality. In this sense the Dhyni-Buddhas, visualized in meditation, are real (as real as the mind that creates them), while the merely thought-conceived historical personality of the Buddha is unreal in this sense. A non-acting symbol or image is empty form, at the best a decorative construction or the remembrance of a concept, a thought, or an event, belonging to the past.⁽²⁸⁾

The important aspects of Govinda's model which apply to the present work revolve around the notion that a symbol or image, if it is an active symbol, is real in its activity and will be experienced as such. That is to say that the symbol will have a causal connection with the individual who is entering into a relation with the symbol or image in the same way a stone dropped on a still pond will have an effect on the surface of the water. In either case, the cause and effect can be measured though perhaps not with the same method or degree of accuracy. Here is a final citation from Lama Govinda which clearly reflects how symbols are understood in the Western Esoteric Tradition:

The subjectivity of inner vision does not diminish its reality value. Such visions are not hallucinations, because their reality is that of the human psyche. They are symbols, in which the highest knowledge and the noblest endeavour of the human mind are embodied. Their visualization is the creative process of spiritual projection, through which inner experience is translated into visible form . . . which now takes on a reality of its own, independent of its creator.⁽²⁹⁾

Once the symbol is activated there is no concern as to whether or not the symbol is "real" or "visualized" because there is no longer any differentiation made between the two states. What was previously envisioned through mental exercise and meditation has taken on a reality of its own and functions autonomously from the original application.

The Cycle of Meaning and the Nature of Symbols

Lama Govinda's model of Multi-dimensional Consciousness demonstrates how a symbol can function on many levels of perception simultaneously and gives ontological status to their power. Contemporary researches in the anthropology of consciousness can also aid us in understanding where and how these symbols develop and how they relate to the human brain and its agency in their production and reinforcement. In the past thirty years there has been an increasing amount of study done in the field of anthropology and consciousness. Anthropologists like Victor W. Turner with his work on liminality⁽³⁰⁾, J. Ian Prattis and his interests in "Death Breath" and other forms of altered states of consciousness ⁽³¹⁾ and Charles D. Laughlin and the Biogenetic Structuralists⁽³²⁾ have helped lay the foundation for serious researches into the nature of consciousness from the anthropological perspective.

This "consciousness"approach to anthropology is important because it attempts to explain not only why certain groups of people use a symbol (which may include art, ritual, myth, drama, etc.) or what it means to them but, perhaps more importantly, how does it change or affect them both biologically and psychologically. A useful tool from anthropology which will help us understand how symbols function within a given symbol-system is the Cycle of Meaning.

The Cycle of Meaning⁽³³⁾ demonstrates how a symbol functions within a given world-view. At the top of the cycle we see the cosmology of the people or culture in question. That cosmology or ontological assumption is reflected in the culture's mythopoeia. The interpretation of the mythopoeia (such as art and ritual) is reinforced by a "shaman."⁽³⁴⁾ That reenforcement influences the direct experience of the individual. The direct experience is then again interpreted by the shamanic agency. This interpretation then functions to reinforce the endemic cosmology. What results is a closed cycle which is perpetuated by the culture's shaman.

The Cycle is usually applied to "pre-industrial" societies where there is a firmly established world-view. In such a society the shaman plays a crucial role in perpetuating the world-view. For example, if the society utilizes a form of hallucinogenic drug in their ritual practice and an individual has an experience in an altered state of consciousness it is up to the shaman to give meaning to that experience. However, should the experience threaten the world-view, i.e., the experience went too far into the "psychedelic realm", then the experience would be interpreted as negative or "demonic". In this way there is little or no chance of the Cycle being broken as anything which is contrary to the established world-view would be viewed as evil and avoided or shunned.

In the case of "post-industrialized" societies there is, generally speaking, no single established world-view. Our cultural shamans are not bound to interpreting one all pervading view and as a result may break off from one Cycle of Meaning to form yet another. Both Crowley and Jung can be seen as individuals who attempted to create their own Cycle from their respective fields.

For our purposes the Cycle of Meaning reveals how the symbols and other mythopoeia found in both Crowley and Jung's writings function within their respective lives. For example many of Crowley's visions and spiritual occurrences are heavily influenced by the Western Esoteric Tradition. Crowley's The Vision and the Voice⁽³⁵⁾ records his experiments with Enochian Magic which involved, in Crowley's case, a complex set of rituals and visualizations.⁽³⁶⁾ These rituals resulted in various visions and experiences which are couched in the symbolism of the Western Esoteric Tradition but they also reflect very subjective material. This does not mean, necessarily, that the visions experienced by Crowley were "literal" in the sense that the entities existed in a concrete or ontological manner (though they might have). Since Crowley was operating from within the cosmology of the Western Esoteric Tradition, he would have been experiencing what was being reenforced through the Cycle of Meaning as it appears within that tradition. This fact does not depreciate the validity of experiences but does give an alternate meaning to his writings.

Certain implications of the the Cycle of Meaning correlate with Jung's methodology. Not only was Jung writing from within the larger context of "Western" culture, he was also in a sense creating his own Cycle of Meaning. If a patient is being treated through the methods of Analytical Psychology then he or she can be seen as adopting that world-view. The analyst, as shaman, then reinforces the world-view and interprets any direct experience had by the patient, which in turn reconfirms the Analytical cosmology.⁽³⁷⁾ As with Crowley, this interpretation does not diminish the validity of the methods used by Jung. Ultimately the effectiveness of the therapy is in the hands of both the analyst and the analysand.

In the case of Crowley and Jung we see that they both attempted to break the dominant Cycle (for Crowley it was the Western Esoteric Tradition and for Jung it was Freudian psychoanalysis)thereby creating their own Cycle of Meaning in which they themselves became the primary "initiator".

Both Multidimensional Consciousness and the Cycle of Meaning demonstrate that in traditions such as the Western Esoteric Tradition and alchemy symbols function in a very complex manner. As we begin to look at the lives and writings of Crowley and Jung we will see that symbols can also help in opening consciousness into a more polyphasic paradigm by allowing for the validity of symbols and non-conventional forms of consciousness.

Endnotes

20. Vajrayna is the term referring to a specific form of Buddhism commonly thought of as Tibetan Buddhism though it is not limited to this region. Vajra (Skt.)means "Diamond" and yna means "Vehicle." The other two main schools are Theravda (Pali, lit. "teaching of the elders of the order") and Mahyna (Skt., lit. "Great Vehicle").

21. West-Red, North-Green, East-Blue, South-Yellow.

22. The term hierarchy (Gk. hieros- sacred, arche- order) in this context is meant to imply an implicit order of inter-connectedness not of dominance.

23. This type of model is also dealt with in great detail by Ken Wilber. Wilber uses Arthur Koestler's term "holarchy" (From his book Ghost in the Machine. London: Picador, 1978) where a holon is simultaneously a whole and a part of a greater whole. In this model the higher holons are fewer in number and more complex while the lower holons are numerous and simple (an example would the human body which is made up of many simple holons, i.e. cells, which in turn make a complex homosapien who is part of an even more complex system of collectivity. See for example: Wilber, Ken. Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The spirit of evolution. Boston: Shambhala, 1995.

24. Govinda, Lama Anagarika. Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, ME: Weiser, 1969.

25. Govinda, Foundations, pp. 217-218.

26. Ibid., p.218.

27. Ibid., p.219. The Term Dharmakya in this usage represents the true nature of the universe as transcendental reality.

28. Ibid., pp.105-106.

29. Ibid, p.92.

30. See for example Turner's concept of liminality in Turner, Victor. The Ritual Process: Structure and Anti-Structure, CH: Aldine, 1969, pp. 94-112.

31. See Prattis, J. Ian. Anthropology at the Edge, New York: University Press of America, 1997. Especially pp. 205-229. For Prattis' work on "Death Breath" ( a form of breath control which changes brain chemistry, thus causing altered states of consciousness) see pp.171-204. Interestingly, an author from the Western Esoteric Tradition, Frater U.^..D.^.. (Practical Sigil Magic, Minn: Llewellyn, 1990, pp. 33-38) discusses the use of "Death Posture" for invoking an altered state of consciousness.

32. See Laughlin, Charles (et al). Brain, Symbol, & Experience, New York: Columbia university Press, 1992 as well as Laughlin, Biogenetic Structuralism, New York: Columbia University Press, 1974.

33. See Figure One.

34. The term "shaman" is used in this case to represent any person (or group of people) who might be in the position of interpreting the mythopoeia such as a guru, priest, or spiritual guide.

35. Crowley (et al.), The Vison and the Voice With Commentary and Other Papers (The Equinox Vol. IV, no. ii, ME: Weiser, pp. 5-256.

36. The subject of Crowley's experiences are dealt with in greater detail in Part Two of the present work. His experiences appear here only as an example of the Cycle of Meaning.

37. This use of the Cycle of Meaning is not necessarily "orthodox" but it does give a different interpretation of Jung's method of Analytical Psychology. However, one should note that the Jungian analyst allows for the unique nature of an individual's psyche so their role as "shaman" is not absolute.

Chapter Two