Crowley was an individual who was highly Mercurial. As Mercury was paradoxically both the god of communication and of thieves we can see Crowley as an individual who was simultaneously a highly gifted and spiritual person but who also had very sadistic and inflated tendencies. The paradox of Crowley's personality is what tends to attract and repel many individuals to this day. With the introduction to the Western Esoteric Tradition and Crowley's understanding of the Tradition we now turn to an introduction to the main principles of Analytical Psychology and Carl Jung's understanding of alchemy as a psychological process.

Chapter Three
The Conjunction of Carl Gustav Jung

Turn to me with your whole heart and do not despise me because I am black and dark, for the sun has burned me so, and the black depths have covered my face.
-Aurora consurgens, 14^th c.

The King's Riddle: Here is born the richly honoured king/ No higher may be born, With art or through nature/ Of any living creature.
Answer of Queen Luna: Here is born the noble empress rich/ All philosophers say she and her daughter are one. She multiplies and gives birth to countless children who are immortal/ and without nourishment.
-Rosarium philosophorum, 16^th c.

The Fundamentals of Analytical Psychology

Rather than engage in a rudimentary review of the clinical applications of analytical psychology we will limit this overview to the philosophical implications of the model of the psyche as understood in analytical psychology and what it means to be psychologically "whole" from theperspective of this particular model.

The Collective Unconscious

The collective unconscious is a fundamental facet of Jung's model of the psyche. The collective unconscious is a shared human structure of instinct and spirit. Jung separates personal unconscious (see below) from the collective unconscious. The latter is defined as:

qualities that are not individually acquired but are inherited, e.g., instincts as impulses to carry out actions from necessity, without conscious motivation. In this "deeper" stratum we also find the a priori, inborn forms of "intuition," namely the archetypes of perception and apprehension, which are the necessary a priori determinants of all psychic processes.⁽¹⁸⁰⁾

From Jung's more esoteric writings the collective unconscious is equated with such terms as the Gnostic pleroma⁽¹⁸¹⁾ or prima materia to illustrate its role as source of consciousness and all conscious archetypal expression.

Archetypes

Perhaps one of Jung's most enduring, and misunderstood, theory is the theory of archetypes and archetypal images. When approaching archetypes and Jung's model of the psyche, it is nearly impossible to separate the theory of archetypes from the collective unconscious. When one refers to the collective unconscious one is equally referring to archetypes in potentia.

According to Jung:

Archetypes are typical modes of apprehension, and wherever we meet with uniform and regularly recurring modes of apprehension we are dealing with an archetype, no matter whether its mythological character is recognized or not.⁽¹⁸²⁾

One misunderstanding regarding archetypes which Jung found disconcerting was the assumption that the archetype "was determined in regards to its content, in other words that it is a kind of unconscious idea . . . it is necessary to point out once more that archetypes are not determined as regards their content, but only as regards their form and then only to a very limited degree . . . The archetype in itself is empty and purely formal, nothing but a facultas praeformandi, a possibility of representation which is given a priori."⁽¹⁸³⁾ In other words, the archetype is a form which can be represented many different ways but the representations are not themselves archetypes, nor does any representation exhaust the archetype's possibility.

The Personal Unconscious

The personal unconscious, unlike the collective unconscious, is the sum of personal experiences and processes.⁽¹⁸⁴⁾ Jung gives the following definition of the personal unconscious:

The lower the value of a conscious content falls, the more easily it disappears below the threshold [of consciousness]. From this it follows that the unconscious is the receptacle of all lost memories and of all contents that are still too weak to become conscious . . . Besides these we must include all more or less intentional repressions of painful thoughts and feelings. I call the sum of all these contents the "personal unconscious."⁽¹⁸⁵⁾

The Ego

In C.W. 9ii (Aion) Jung states that the ego is "the complex factor to which all conscious contents are related. The ego forms, as it were, the center of the field of consciousness. And, in so far as this comprises the empirical personality, the ego is the subject of all personal acts of consciousness."⁽¹⁸⁶⁾ The ego is not a simple aggregate of the psyche, that is to say it is a sophisticated structure in and of itself which is constantly influenced by various stimuli which are both conscious and subliminal. Therefore, when we speak of "the ego" we are not referring to a static portion of the psyche but to a dynamic process which is constantly in flux and which cannot be described exhaustively.⁽¹⁸⁷⁾ Simply put the ego is our identity in our personal field of consciousness. The next "layer" of the psyche according to Jung is the shadow.

The Shadow

The shadow represents the first step or confrontation towards psychological wholeness (individuation). The shadow is described as:

. . .that hidden, repressed, for the most part inferior and guilt-laden personality whose ultimate ramifications reach back into the realm of our animal ancestors and so comprise the whole historical aspect of the unconscious . . .If it has been believed hitherto that the human shadow was the source of all evil, it can now be ascertained on closer investigation that the unconscious man, that is, his shadow does not consist only of morally reprehensible tendencies, but also displays a number of good qualities, such as normal instincts, appropriate reactions, realistic insights, creative impulses, etc.⁽¹⁸⁸⁾

The shadow is the root of personal projections which in turn influences the way the individual perceives not only himself or herself but others as well, not to mention the entire "objective" world. Without a thorough (as thorough as possible) understanding of the shadow and its influence and its eventual integration there is little hope for any true self-knowledge. Without this initial penetration the individual will remain at the mercy of the emotional and autonomous nature of the shadow. The only way to reduce the power of the shadow is to bring as much of it as possible to the light of consciousness. However, the shadow also has a drive to be made conscious, as can be seen through projections. Once the initial confrontation with the shadow is engaged, the third portion of the personality, the anima/animus, can be approached.

The Anima/Animus

In Jung's model of the psyche there is a contra-sexual component in each individual. For a man this contra-sexual "female" is called the anima while in a woman this "other" is called animus. For Jung it was crucial that one enters into a dialogue with the masculine and feminine "other" in order to bring that which is unconscious to the light of consciousness. The anima and animus are autonomous factors within the psyche. As with the shadow if the anima/animus projections are not brought to the light of consciousness it can have a direct negative influence on the conscious life of the individual and their relations with other men and women. The shadow is more easily confronted because, according to Jung, society already has in place a set of collective cultural norms and moral education with which to analyze the shadow's content whereas the anima/animus has no such paradigm to be measured against.⁽¹⁸⁹⁾ Instead, the anima/animus can only be comprehended through one's projections onto individuals of the opposite sex. One should keep in mind that though the anima/animus is a highly abstract concept, its role is vital to Jung's contention that every human being is in essence a psychological androgyne, and much of the individuation process consists in making this androgyne explicit or conscious.

The Self

The self is an archetype of order and completion. It governs the process of individuation and tends the totality of the personality, understood as the unity of conscious and unconscious. When encountered the self appears with a sense of numinosity and authority. The self can also appear in many forms. Some symbols which represent the self are: the circle, the square, a quaternity, a child, mandala, and even various animals, insects, etc. According to Jung the self grounds the movement of the psyche to the teleological expression of individuation. The self unites the conscious ego with the unconscious psyche. The self is the center of this totality in the same way the ego is the center of consciousness.⁽¹⁹⁰⁾ In essence the self is both the process and the goal of individuation. It urges individuation and is the product or child of individuation.

Individuation

The goal of analytical psychology is individuation. The process of individuation, like that of shadow confrontation, is an on going process. Individuation is never fully achieved and can only be approximated. The process of individuation is not, as Jung found many people tended to assume, a purely conscious effort at bringing the ego into consciousness where the ego is identified with the self. If this were the case then individuation would equate to ego-centricity and autoeroticism.⁽¹⁹¹⁾ In fact the individuation process is quite the opposite of hedonistic pursuits: "the self comprises infinitely more than a mere ego . . .It is as much one's self, and all other selves, as the ego. Individuation does not shut one out from the world, but gathers the world to oneself."⁽¹⁹²⁾ As we shall see in the section below, entitled "The Alchemical Conjunction as Psychological Process", individuation is represented by the Great Work of the alchemists.

With this very brief introduction to the main tenets of analytical psychology we turn to a cursory review of Carl Gustav Jung's biography.

A Brief Biography of C.G. Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was born in Kesswill Switzerland on July 26, 1875. Jung's father, Johann Paul Achilles Jung, was a Swiss Reformed clergyman in Keswill and would eventually become chaplain at the Friedmatt Mental Hospital in Basel. Jung's mother (Emilie, née Peiswerk) came from a prominent Church family in Basel and would prove to be an influential figure in Jung's life.

In Jung's recollection of his early years, as given in his autobiography Memories, Dreams, Reflections⁽¹⁹³⁾, we see that Jung was confronted with many spiritual dilemmas which would eventually help to formulate many of his key theories. Important occurrences include a dream atage three of an enthroned subterranean ritual phallus which was identified by his mother in the dream as the "man-eater". Jung felt that this dream represented the dark or chthonic side of God. For Jung the bright and loving figure of Jesus, as revealed through orthodox Christian doctrine, played little part in his early life. Jung came to dwell on the dark chthonic side of Jesus:

Lord Jesus seemed to me in some ways a god of death, helpful, it is true, in that he scared away the terrors of the night, but himself uncanny, a crucified and bloody corpse. Secretly, his love and kindness, which I always heard praised, appeared doubtful to me, chiefly because people who talked most about "dear Lord Jesus" wore black frock coats and shiny black boots which reminded me of burials.⁽¹⁹⁴⁾

Another pivotal vison to occur in Jung's early life is the infamous "turd" vision. In the summer of 1887 Jung was admiring the Cathedral in Basle when he thought: "The world is beautiful and the church is beautiful, and God made all this and sits above it far away in the blue sky on a golden throne and . . . "⁽¹⁹⁵⁾ The problem began for Jung with what followed the "and" which was that a large turd fell from the sky and smashed into the Cathedral. For Jung the thought which he fought to prevent from manifesting represented "the most terrible sin . . . the sin against the Holy Ghost, which cannot be forgiven."⁽¹⁹⁶⁾ For several days before the initial vison Jung attempted to prevent the thought from manifesting in its entirety but to no avail. Somehow God was forcing him to think the unthinkable. Jung came to the conclusion that it was God's intention that human beings should sin⁽¹⁹⁷⁾ and that without the capacity to endure the potential of sin, grace had no meaning. This realization had a cathartic effect on Jung, now he could allow the vison to run its full course:

I gathered all my courage, as though I were about to leap forthwith into hell-fire, and let the thought come. I saw before me the cathedral, the blue sky. God sits on His golden throne, high above the world-and from under the throne an enormous turd falls upon the sparkling new roof, shatters it, and breaks the walls of the cathedral asunder.⁽¹⁹⁸⁾

Instead of a sense of eternal damnation Jung felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He came to understand that the experience of God was immediate and that there was no need for a mediator such as the "Church."

These two experiences were important in that they helped Jung to understand that God (or the unconscious) has autonomous dominion over consciousness and that ultimately the unconscious can manifest as both the God of Light ("dear Lord Jesus") and the God of Darkness (the "man-eater"), perceived by his mother in the phallic dream, and that both of these manifestations of divinity are equally valid.

During his school years Jung was drawn towards both the Arts and Science with the latter eventually becoming his dominant discipline. In 1900 Jung completed his medical training and decided to become a psychiatrist. While acting as Assistant Staff Physician at the Burghölzli Psychiatric Hospital, Jung became concerned with the overemphasis on recording and analyzing symptoms of patients with little regard for helping resolve the problems with which they were inflicted. This observation lead Jung to attempt various treatments through psychoanalytical techniques with a certain degree of success.⁽¹⁹⁹⁾

In 1907 Jung began what would prove to be a pivotal friendship with Sigmund Freud. Jung and Freud soon entered into a mentor/student relation in which Freud viewed Jung as an "heir" to his teachings and Jung, who up to this point was actively involved in studying and applying the theories of psychoanalysis, was happy to fulfill the role. The friendship and mentorship had continued until 1912 when Jung and Freud came to a point of contention over Jung's findings which are recorded in Symbols of Transformation (C.W. 5) especially chapter VIII (The Sacrifice).⁽²⁰⁰⁾ In this work Jung moves away from Freud's crucial emphasis on sexuality and its identification with libido and the issue of incest motifs in cultural mythology. While Freud tended to maintain a strict literalist approach to the issue Jung extended libido beyond sexuality and looked at incest symbolically as the introverted union to the energies of the mother. Jung was unable to concede to various aspects of Freud's model and the eventual questioning of the validity of the entire psychoanalytical theory especially the reductionistic identification of libido with sexual energy. Then in 1913 Freud and Jung went their separate ways. The effect was devastating on Jung who had a serious psychic disturbance. In MDR Jung recounts that the chapter in C.W. 5, "The Sacrifice" meant his own sacrifice.⁽²⁰¹⁾ In many ways this break was the necessary catalyst which would lead to Jung's development of his own immersion in the unconscious and his eventual interest in alchemy. In alchemical terms it was the necessary nigredo or depression which must precede the Great Work.

The next important occurrence in Jung's life (in regards to his understanding of alchemy) comes in 1926/27, when Jung is introduced to Chinese Alchemy through Richard Wilhelm. Through this introduction to Eastern Alchemy Jung eventually began to seek sources from the Western alchemical tradition.⁽²⁰²⁾ At first Jung found the alchemical works too obtuse. The symbolic language in which they were written forced Jung to put aside the pursuit for two years. Eventually Jung turned to the alchemical works with renewed diligence. Jung came to realize that throughout many alchemical treatises certain phrases were commonly repeated. In order to facilitate his study Jung began a lexicon of several thousand entries which cross referenced common words and phrases. Jung continued this process for nearly a decade.

In MDR Jung states:

I had very soon seen that analytical psychology coincided in a most curious way with alchemy. The experiences with the alchemists were, in a sense, my experiences, and their world was my world. This was, of course, a momentous discovery: I had stumbled upon the historical counterpart of my psychology of the unconscious. The possibility of a comparison with alchemy, and the uninterrupted chain back to Gnosticism, gave substance to my psychology. When I pored over these old texts everything fell into place: the fantasy-images, the empirical material I had gathered in my practice, and the conclusions I had drawn from it. I now began to understand what these psychic contents meant when seen in historical perspective.⁽²⁰³⁾

For Jung analytical psychology was a form of inner alchemy (as opposed to the gross attempt at transmutation of base substances into physical gold) which attempted to bring together the agencies of the unconscious in the light of consciousness just as the alchemists attempted to purify the fragmented and gross material world into a fully integrated and divine heaven on earth. Jung felt that alchemy was an expression of psychological processes and nowhere was this process more fully portrayed than in the Conjunction.

The Alchemical Conjunction as Psychological Process

Alchemy tends to be portrayed as a primitive pseudo-science which was concerned with the transformation of base metals, such as lead, into gold. On one level this definition of alchemy is correct. There are many texts which are dedicated to such transmutations though not all alchemy falls into this category. Some alchemists, such as Gerhard Dorn (16^th C.), point toward a deeper and more complex meaning of alchemy, a meaning which transcends the miraculous but purely mundane process of creating gold. For Dorn the alchemical process did not involve the transformation of lead but rather the transformation of the individual towards a union with the ground of being perceived in all. This psychological interpretation of alchemy eventually came to the attention of Carl Jung and would prove to be a major influence in his life and his psychology. Jung presents a psychological interpretation of alchemy in several places throughout the Collected Works including Vol.12, 13 and 14. In the chapter in C.W. 14 entitled "The Conjunction" Jung equates the alchemical process with the process of individuation. The purpose of this chapter is to review the alchemical conjunction and Jung's application of his psychological paradigm to this process.

The Conjunction

The imagery and symbols of alchemy can leave one with the impression of complexity bordering on the incomprehensible. Some images will be of androgynous figures, others will show bodies being pierced or dismembered by swords, spears or sickles. In each case the images or symbols point to a part of a greater process. Each symbol acts as a snapshot for a specific segment of the alchemical transformation. For example, we can take an image of death or burial as a symbol of the preliminary stage of the alchemical process, the nigredo (blackening) and putrefaction of the prima materia. For the alchemist this picture would refer not to literal death but a figurative death which is an essential precursor for the alchemical resurrection. The nigredo destroys the old to make way for the new, it is said "decay is a wonderful smith."⁽²⁰⁴⁾

As Jung states throughout "The Conjunction" the alchemists are attempting to explain something they could not "rationally" comprehend so they used the alchemical process as an analogy of one's spiritual progression.⁽²⁰⁵⁾ He correctly points out that there is no reason to throw out the findings or practices of alchemy simply because they may not make sense to the contemporary and "sophisticated" mind. One must simply remember that certain alchemical assumptions, such as the connection between matter and truth, are a product of the period but that they can still have equally important meaning for psychology today.

Nigredo

The preliminary stage of the alchemical Conjunction is the nigredo or "blackening." In alchemy matter is heated or burned in order to rid it of its impurities.⁽²⁰⁶⁾ This prima materia which must be purified is Mercurius and will be dealt with later.⁽²⁰⁷⁾ Jung describes this initial alchemical process as being equivalent with the confrontation with the shadow. Jung's definition of the shadow in C.W. 9ii(Aion) has an alchemical feel to it which helps to understand the connection between psychology and alchemy:

The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge, and it therefore, as a rule, meets with considerable resistance. ⁽²⁰⁸⁾

As can be seen in the above citation, the nigredo is very similar in nature to the process of shadow confrontation. In C.W. 14 we see another definition of the nigredo:

Confrontation with the shadow produces at first a dead balance, a standstill that hampers moral decisions and makes convictions ineffective or even impossible. Everything becomes doubtful, which is why the alchemists called this stage the nigredo, tenebrositas, chaos, melancholia.⁽²⁰⁹⁾

Therefore, the first stage of the alchemical process is the blackening of Mercurius or the confrontation with the shadow. To gain more of an insight into the blackening we need to know more about the complex nature of Mercurius.

Mercurius

Mercurius is a very elaborate concept in alchemy and perhaps even more complex in Jung's psychology. Mercurius is not only the base substance which undergoes the transformation but also the end result of the alchemical process.⁽²¹⁰⁾ Mercurius is separated into three types: Mercurius masculinus, Mercurius foemineus, and Mercurius menstrualis.⁽²¹¹⁾ The three types of Mercurius correspond to male, female and universal aspects of the same image. Psychologically Mercurius is both a symbol of the self and the collective unconscious.⁽²¹²⁾ Like the Roman god who was both healer and thief, Mercurius is seen simultaneously as a medicine and a poison. His dual nature is aptly applied to the unconscious which can either be integrated as a form of psychological medicine or can be the cause of psychological or even physical trauma.⁽²¹³⁾ In C.W. 13 Jung gives this summary of the nature of Mercurius:

(1)Mercurius consists of all conceivable opposites. . .
(2)He is both material and spiritual.
(3)He is the process by which the lower material is transformed into the higher and spiritual, and vice versa.
(4)He is the devil, a redeeming psychopomp, an evasive trickster, and God's reflection in nature.
(5)He is also a reflection of a mystical experience of the artifex that coincides with the opus alchymicum.
(6)As such, he represents on the one hand the self and on the other the individuation process and, because of the limitless number of his names, also the collective unconscious.⁽²¹⁴⁾

Generally speaking, the first five aspects are summed up in the sixth. In other words the previous five attributes reflect some aspect of the psychological process of alchemy. The image of the Mercurius is dealt with extensively in C.W. 12, 13 and 14 so a thorough investigation of the nature of Mercurius is beyond the scope of this thesis. The important concept to remember is that Mercurius represents different aspects or levels of the alchemical/psychological process.

In order for Mercurius to become a symbol of opus alchymicum/individuation it must undergo several transformations or stages which are known as the Conjunction. These three stages are, in Dorn's terms which Jung assimilates, the unio mentalis, caelum and unus mundus.

The Three Stages of the Conjunction

The main cosmological understanding in alchemy is that the universe was originally a unified whole and through the act of Creation reality became separated. The goal of the alchemist is to reestablish this wholeness in the final stage of the Conjunction (unus mundus.) In the alchemist's world of creation the individual is divided into three parts. The first part is the spirit which corresponds to the alchemical substance of Sulphur⁽²¹⁵⁾. The second part is the soul which corresponds to Mercurius. The final part of the individual is the body or Salt. Thus, the individual is both body and spirit with a soul which can partake in either side.⁽²¹⁶⁾

When looking at the sacred elements of alchemy we see that Fire and Air conjoin to form Sulphur, Air and Water form Mercurius while Water and Earth join to create Salt. In this sequence Fire is not acted upon (and is therefore the more active and more "spiritual") and Earth has nothing to join with yet she encompasses all that comes before her. She is therefore passive and more "bodily".⁽²¹⁷⁾ Sulphur joins with Mercury to form "Man" while Mercury and Salt form "Woman". Together Man and Woman form the "incorruptible One."⁽²¹⁸⁾ The incorruptible One is in essence identical to the quinta essentia or quintessence; it also stands as a symbol of wholeness as represented by its quaternitarian foundation. Edinger, in his Mysterium Lectures, relates this evolution from the base elements to the incorruptible One to both the Pythagorean tetractys and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

To return to the process of the Conjunction, we must understand that the individual stands in creation as a psychologically segmented being. There is a separation between the body and the world, between the soul and the body and between the soul and the spirit. In alchemical terms this differentiated reality is called the unio naturalis.

The soul stands midway between the body and the spirit. As Mercurius, the soul (anima/us) can be "good with the good or evil with the evil." It can join in a natural union with the body or a spiritual union with the spirit. Jung states that since "the soul animates the body, just as the soul is animated by the spirit, she tends to favour the body and everything bodily, sensuous, and emotional"⁽²¹⁹⁾ and so must be separated from it in the first alchemical movement. Jung describes the goal of the unio mentalis as "the attainment of full knowledge of the heights and depth's of one's own character."⁽²²⁰⁾

The unio mentalis, the first stage of the Conjunction, can be summarized as the removal of the soul from the body by the spirit which leads to the uniting of the soul and the spirit over and against the body. In alchemical terms this would mean the spirit leads the impressionable soul towards the spiritual and away from the "natural"world of bodily appetites. Psychologically this act is accomplished through "introversion, introspection, meditation, and careful investigation of desires and their motives."⁽²²¹⁾ By removing oneself from the sensual world one can turn instead to the work of the Conjunction. The union of soul and spirit takes place simultaneously in the mind of the individual and the mind of God. That is to say it is a process which occurs, simultaneously, in both the Microcosm and Macrocosm.

Although Jung does in one place equate the first stage of the Conjunction with the process of individuation⁽²²²⁾, it is more accurate to view the whole alchemical process as equal to the process of individuation and reintegrating the unified "oneness" with the world. This will be dealt with in more detail later in the thesis. The process of individuation is similar to the "voluntary death" of the old personality which was heavily influenced by the desires of the body and unconscious projections. In psychological terms, the union of soul and spirit in the unio mentalis is equal to "the ego-personality's coming to terms with its own background, the shadow."⁽²²³⁾ In alchemical terms, this stage is known as the albedo or whitening process. In order to gain a new and stronger integration there first must be a separation of the soul from the body. This paramount separation is the essential role of the first stage. However, this mental union is only the first step of the alchemical process since this "first union does not as yet make the wise man, but only the mental discipline of wisdom."⁽²²⁴⁾

The second stage of the Conjunction involves the reintegration of the new soul/spirit union with the body and is symbolized as the "chymical" marriage or wedding. In the first stage there was a union of the anima with the higher mental faculties such as reason, insight and moral discrimination. However, if this was the end of the process then the person would have only a small portion of the totality of the Work completed. The process:

may begin as a purely intra-psychic unio mentalis of the intellect or reason with Eros, representing feeling. Such an interior operation means a great deal, since it brings a considerable increase of self-knowledge as well as of personal maturity, but its reality is merely potential and is validated only by a union with the physical world of the body.⁽²²⁵⁾

Interestingly, Jung purports that the alchemists prepared the way for the theological assumption of Mary in this second stage. The unio mentalis was pictured by the Father, the Son and the their union in the dove (that "spiration" which is common to both). The second stage of the Conjunction is symbolized in the figure of Mary who represents the bodily, "passive" and "feminine" principle of the world.⁽²²⁶⁾ Perhaps more importantly she demonstrates the paramount necessity for the inclusion of the body in the final union of opposites.

In the second stage the alchemists would have been attempting to rework the unification of the higher faculties into the material components (i.e., the chemicals and minerals) of the alchemical process. Essentially they would be reuniting the soul/spirit union with the body. This action acts as a concretization of their spiritual ideals. In other words, the insights gained from the unio mentalis are made "real" or pragmatic. Here Jung gives an example of how the second stage relates to the process of individuation:

The second stage of the conjunction therefore consists in making a reality of the man who has acquired some knowledge of his paradoxical wholeness . . . The great difficulty here, however, is that no one knows how the paradoxical wholeness of man can ever be realized. That is the crux of individuation. . ."⁽²²⁷⁾

In order for the second stage to be completed the caelum had to be produced. The caelum is equated with the quintessence or heavenly truth (the Kingdom on earth).⁽²²⁸⁾ This heavenly truth is, psychologically, the self as imago Dei of the individual which is found in his or her dark residue which was burned away during the first stage. The caelum is a "symbolic rite performed in the laboratory. Its purpose was to create, in the form of a substance, that "truth", the celestial balsam or life-principle which is identical to the God-image."⁽²²⁹⁾ Psychologically the caelum "was a representation of the individuation process by means of chemical substances and procedures, or what we today call active imagination."⁽²³⁰⁾ The creation of the caelum can take place either spontaneously or it can be artificially induced through certain techniques such as following a dream or fantasy image to its source.⁽²³¹⁾ The caelum "as a rule occurs when the analysis has constellated the opposites so powerfully that a union or synthesis of the personality becomes an imperative necessity."⁽²³²⁾

Edinger gives this summation of the role of the caelum:

In an unconscious state, the Self expresses itself through an identification with the ego. The ego and the Self are mixed up with each other, and the Self expresses itself through the pleasure and power drives of the ego. After the unio mentalis has been achieved, the Self, or imago Dei, still remains in that ego-body residue and must be rescued; that's what the extraction of the caelum accomplishes. The consequence is that the universal validity of egohood, one's own ego and one's own self-centered⁽²³³⁾ drives, are reaffirmed on a conscious and differentiated level. That's what is symbolized by the caelum.⁽²³⁴⁾

Essentially the caelum helps to remove the self from the ego-body and all of its projections by uniting the soul informed now by the spirit with the body in embodied consciousness. Once the caelum is rescued from the ashes of the nigredo certain substances must be added to the quintessence.

The Symbolic Ingredients of the Mixture

The first ingredient to be mixed with the caelum is honey. Honey "expresses, psychologically, the joy of life and the life urge which overcomes and eliminates everything dark and inhibiting."⁽²³⁵⁾ According to Edinger, "you have to pour into the flask whatever you find sweet and desirable and what you long for. While you've been going through the stage of the unio mentalis you had to turn your back on all that, but now the time has come for the reverse."⁽²³⁶⁾ However, the honey can turn into a deadly poison should the individual become addicted to the joys he or she fought to control throughout the process of the unio mentalis. The second ingredient is Chelidonia [sic]. The most important part of this plant is the four golden leaves (thus a synonym of the philosophical gold). For Jung the flower represents "an accentuation of value: the addition of Chelidonia projects the highest value, which is identical with the quaternity of the self, into the mixture."⁽²³⁷⁾ In essence the flower is a "whole-making medicine." The third ingredient of the mixture is rosemary which, as Jung states, brings various qualities into the mixture. On one level the rosemary can be seen as representing spiritual and conjugal love.⁽²³⁸⁾ On another level rosemary can represent memory which "brings up the whole question of the role of memory in the process of individuation."⁽²³⁹⁾ This memory allows one to remember that he or she has a body to return to. Should this aspect be lacking then one would be stuck in the unio mentalis stage.

The fourth ingredient is the plant Mercurialis, which is divided into male and female. Where rosemary represented spiritual love, the Mercurialis represents sexuality. This addition of sexuality demonstrates that sexual libido, energy and passion are a necessary part of the mixture. Related to the Mercurialis is the red Lilly which is equivalent to both the male partner of the alchemical marriage and the quintessence of Sulphur. According to Jung "with this figure [the red Lilly] the adept mixed himself into the potion, so to speak, and, to make the bond inviolable, he added human blood as a further ingredient."⁽²⁴⁰⁾ The addition of the alchemist's own blood is the most important binding force between the body and the purified soul of the unio mentalis.

The above potion is now combined and mixed with the caelum. Thus, the caelum brings into everyday life what was previously an abstract realization. In alchemical terms this stage is known as the rubedo or reddening. Though this new mixture is a purification of the original unio naturalis there is still a third and final stage which the alchemist must attain. This third stage is known as the unus mundus.⁽²⁴¹⁾

The third stage of the Conjunction, the unus mundus, is defined by Edinger as:

a union of the previously united substances with the world-at least that's the simplified version. More strictly speaking, the third phase, -the creation or realization of the unus mundus- is a transcendent, symbolic condition that defies any comprehensive or adequate description. It refers to a superlative experience of unity in which subject and object, inner and outer, are transcended in the experience of a unitary reality . . . ⁽²⁴²⁾

Edinger is unable to give any more detail about the unus mundus. In fact, he states: "I think it's beyond our power to describe very specifically because it signifies a union with the totality that probably belongs only, in a really full sense, with the experience of death."⁽²⁴³⁾ Jung is not quite as abrupt but does imply clearly that the unus mundus is not something which can be easily put into words, but is the goal and completion of the process. Ultimately the unus mundus is "not a fusion of the individual with his environment, or even his adaptation to it, but a unio mystica with the potential world."⁽²⁴⁴⁾ The potential world is essentially equivalent to the idea of the "ground of being."

Jung mentions that Dorn did not believe, as most alchemists did at the time, that the production of the lapis was the final stage of the alchemical process. Rather, the production of the lapis was accomplished in the second stage. This claim makes the third stage even more esoteric and powerful than the second. Dorn equated the unus mundus with "The One and the Simple." For Dorn the third and highest degree of the Conjunction:

was the union of the whole man with the unus mundus. By this he meant . . the potential world of the first day of creation, when nothing was yet "in actu," i.e., divided into two and many, but was still the one.⁽²⁴⁵⁾

Jung states that Dorn was not concerned with a literal fusing of the individual with his or her environment but rather a unio mystica with the potential world which exists as the essence of the material world. Dorn realized that no one could truly and fully reach the third stage since it would be the full realization that God is within the human being and that the world would be seen through God's eyes. In other words the human would become God on Earth. However, the term unio mystica does not necessarily reflect a transcendental or theological union but could point to a psychological union wherein the differences between religion and psychological experience are blurred . Jung concluded that this third stage was a universalizing concept which could be found in other spiritual traditions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism. For this reason he states to the Western reader who may have no patience for mystical rhetoric:

I would therefore counsel the critical reader to put aside his prejudices and for once try to experience on himself the effects of the process I have described, or else to suspend judgment and admit that he understands nothing. For thirty years I have studied these psychic processes under all possible conditions and have assured myself that the alchemists as well as the great philosophies of the East are referring to just such experiences, and that it is chiefly our ignorance of the psyche if these experiences appear "mystic." ⁽²⁴⁶⁾

From the tone of the above citation it seems obvious that Jung felt that the alchemical symbolism, as reflecting a psychological process, was extremely important for a deeper understanding of the essence of the unconscious and its connection with consciousness.

Jung gives his definition of the third stage as the synthesis of the conscious with the unconscious. As with Dorn, Jung felt that a full and permanent psychological union sustained over a life time was theoretically impossible since one cannot have a union of that which is realized with that which can never be fully realized.

The attempt to carry out the unus mundus would have long lasting psychological implications.⁽²⁴⁷⁾ At this stage Mercurius has undergone its final transformation towards unification. While Edinger stated perhaps the only way to truly realize the total unification of opposites is through the ultimate transition, i.e., death, Jung suggests throughout his work that this unification must be attempted and realized (no matter how fragmented) here and now. Obviously this type of experience of unity does occur as it has been recorded by the Rg Veda, Christian mystics, Sufis, Taoists, and Tibetan Tantric practitioners- not to mention Jung, Grof, Wilber, and many others. In each case the experience is brief but powerful enough to transform one's dominant world-view. In the same way the ultimate actualization of the self can be glimpsed but never fully realized.

Summary of the Three Stages of the Conjunction

In psychological terms the whole alchemical process is the attempt of an individual within a loosely outlined tradition to unify all opposing factions within that individual's psyche in cooperation with the self. The preliminary stage of the Conjunction is the nigredo or blackening which requires the individual to "burn away" the baser parts of the psyche. In other words the nigredo corresponds to the confrontation with the repressed shadow material.

As the shadow has been brought to consciousness (again this process is never fully completed) the Conjunction proper begins. The first stage of the Conjunction is the unio mentalis or mental union.⁽²⁴⁸⁾ Here the "spirit" separates the "soul" from the confines of bodily appetites. According to the alchemical tradition the soul as Mercurius stands between the body and the higher moral aspirations of the spirit. If left on its own the soul would side with the body so intense ascetic practices must be practiced in order to "encourage" the soul to gravitate towards the spirit. The purpose of these ascetic practices is to facilitate self-knowledge.

Once the "spiritizing" of the soul is complete the new and improved union of soul and spirit must be reintegrated with the body. If this reintegration is not accomplished one is simply left "living in the head" without a grounding in the physical world or with an asceticism which denies the body. The return to "this worldliness" is accomplished through the caelum which is the divine spark which is found within the waste of the nigredo. The caelum is the state where spiritual soul reincarnates in the body. That actual reunion with the body can only happen once the caelum is separated and prepared from the residue of the nigredo.

Before the reunion can take place, other psychological "ingredients" must be added. These ingredients are as follows: honey for those pleasurable aspects of life which had to be abandoned in the unio mentalis, Chelidonia is the essence of the quaternity and of wholeness, the third ingredient is rosemary which represents conjugal and spiritual love, next comes Mercurialis which represents sexuality in all its implications (Edinger also suggests that it refers to memory which is necessary in order to reunite with the body), following Mercurialis is the red Lilly which symbolizes the adept placing him or herself into the mixture, and finally, the mixture needs blood which is the most obvious necessity for reuniting with the body and its reality.

According to Dorn the lapis is completed at this stage. The alchemist's work is now complete. But there is a third stage which is highly "mystical" and spiritual in nature. The unus mundus is marked by the resolution of all opposites within the psyche. The individual no longer has psychological tensions which pushed him or her into the alchemical process in the first place. Dorn does not venture to describe what this third stage is like. We know only that for Dorn it is a union with the "One and the Simple" or the world before the creation of opposites (i.e., separation into subject and object) yet within the context of incarnate consciousness. For Jung it was not theoretically possible to live in the unus mundus as a permanent state. However, Jung did think it is possible for the individual to know aspects of both the conscious and the unconscious through the mediator, i.e., the self or Mercurius. In this stage the self is a link to the collective unconscious and the individual's consciousness which is now free of the psychological projections of the unio naturalis. However, one should be aware that the whole process from the shadow work to the integration is an on going process which defies completion. There is no quick fix in the individuation process. The psychological alchemist must carefully and consistently tend his or her inner labratory.⁽²⁴⁹⁾ Before going on it would be prudent to review Edward Edinger's interpretation of the psychological process of the Conjunction.

Edinger views the process of the Conjunction as two distinct motions, one down and one up. For a diagram of this motion please see Figure Five. Both the "down" and the "up" motions are made of four stages and three steps. The first stage represents the state of original wholeness prior to consciousness. The first transitional step, step (a), leads to the first split. This is the step where the self divides into two, corresponding to "the theme of the World Parents." Stage 2 is the beginning of ego development which is characterized by the separation of subject and object. At this point the ego starts to experience itself as separate from the world while still being caught in the polarity between Nature (Mother) and Spirit (Father). Step (b) represents the full separation from the Mother (Nature). Stage 3 is autonomous, independent thinking. Step (c) then brings about separation from the Father (Spirit). Finally, Stage 4 is characterized by independent, autonomous being, a state where the original unity has been differentiated into a fourfold multiplicity. At this point the individual is living fully in this world.⁽²⁵⁰⁾It seems likely that this stage would be equivalent to the unio naturalis.

Eventually this fourth stage begins to lose its luster. At the fourth stage the individual has full psychic differentiation and is fully part of society but insight into the inadequacy of this state of being begins to surface. This would be the alchemical equivalent of the four elements beginning to fall apart. Once this inadequacy takes root the individuation process begins the motion back "up" towards wholeness.

The first step, step (a), is equal to unio mentalis of the Conjunction. Edinger equates this to the reductive analysis of the shadow. This step is marked by the separation of the ego from the unconscious thus allowing the individual to take a critical view of his or her desires and projections. This leads the individual to Stage 3 and the next step, step (b). Step (b) is the uniting the soul/spirit union with the body. Once this is accomplished the individual is led to Stage 2. Here the ego has achieved the acceptance of the opposites and is able to endure the paradox of the psyche's two-sidedness. Following this crucial and mysterious process,⁽²⁵¹⁾ the individual enters step (c) or the unus mundus which leads to Stage 1 where universal wholeness prevails. Step (c) represents a union of the ego with the self and with the world. According to Edinger at this level "time and eternity are united and synchronicity prevails."⁽²⁵²⁾ Although Jung does not recount identically the same process that Edinger does, his, Edinger's, interpretation does give a helpful amplification of Jung's understanding of the alchemical process. Two areas which have not been touched on very thoroughly but which are essential to the Conjunction, are the psychological stress which is the catalyst of the entire process and the role active imagination plays in the eventual alleviation of this stress.

The Drive Towards Wholeness and Active Imagination

One may get the impression that the Conjunction is little more than sitting and watching the processes of the psyche in some form of reflective meditation. However, a person would undergo the process for one primary and compulsive reason. The reason would be, as Edinger states, that the individual is dissatisfied with the way the world is around him or her as well as their subjective response to the perceived world. As a result of this dissatisfaction he or she is compelled to begin the process of individuation. This drive would come from the self's desire to be made conscious in consciousness. Should the individual decide to ignore this desire the outcome could be psychologically disastrous.

Once the paradoxical nature of the psyche begins to surface there is a great deal of stress placed on the ego. Should the ego remain in its state of projection it may not be adequately prepared for the individuation process. This is why the nigredo is the preliminary stage of the Conjunction. Without the depression (blackening) to pierce the ego's projections the rest of the process would never be felt to be necessary. In The Stages of Life,⁽²⁵³⁾ Jung discusses the development of the psyche through different stages of life. All of life, according to Jung, is a series of confrontations, so to speak, between one's conscious life with one's unconscious life. Jung makes the following remark:

I would like to come back for a moment to the comparison with the sun. The one hundred and eighty degrees of the arc of life are divisible into four parts. The first quarter, lying in the east, is childhood, that state in which we are a problem for others but are not yet conscious of any problems of our own. Conscious problems fill out the second and third quarters; while in the last, in extreme old age, we descend again into that condition where. . .we become something of a problem for others. ⁽²⁵⁴⁾

In childhood there are no discernable problems for oneself since, according to Jung, there is not a fully established sense of consciousness. In the case of extreme old age the individual slips deeper and deeper into the unconscious leaving many conflicts of consciousness behind. The only point in life where there is, in most cases, notable psychic conflict is in "middle age." At middle age the individual begins to doubt the choices he or she has made or see how one-sided his or her successes have been and thus laments the past or pines for the future for answers and meaning for the present conflicts. The process of the Conjunction would be an example not of looking to the past or future for meaning but an attempt, in the present, to make conscious the unconscious conflicts in order to face them and thereby gain a better understanding of its contents in order to have control over them. The actual process of the Conjunction parallels a psychological practice, developed by Jung, called active imagination.

Jung found psychological practices such as Freudian free association, were ineffectual at allowing the unconscious an opportunity to make itself known.⁽²⁵⁵⁾ Free association, according to Jung, simply moves from one complex to another without, necessarily, following one particular complex to its root in the unconscious. As a response to this limitation Jung developed a means of allowing the unconscious a medium, through which it could be brought to consciousness. This method was termed active imagination.

In Jung's work, The Transcendent Function⁽²⁵⁶⁾, he gives a description of the practice of active imagination. In therapy the practice gives the patient and the therapist an extremely useful tool in uncovering unconscious complexes. On a personal level the practice allows the individual "a way of attaining liberation by one's own efforts and of finding the courage to be oneself."⁽²⁵⁷⁾ Jung found the practice of active imagination an effective means of uncovering unconscious material which was more malleable and effective than solely relying on dream analysis. When dream analysis and active imagination are combined unconscious material becomes much more comprehensible. In actual application active imagination allows the individual an ability to reactivate a particular dream or dream sequence and, in a less unconscious manner than the original dream, attempt to follow it to its conclusion.

According to Jung, the conscious and the unconscious act in a compensatory or complementary manner towards each other. Jung lists four reasons why this relation comes to be. The most important reason, in light of the Conjunction, is the fourth:

The unconscious contains all the fantasy combinations which have not yet attained their threshold intensity, but which in the course of time and under suitable conditions will enter the light of consciousness.⁽²⁵⁸⁾

The therapist and patient can help speed up the surfacing of these fantasies through the use of active imagination.

Active imagination is essentially observing and following a fantasy or dream, without intruding on it, until its nature is fully brought to consciousness. The method of active imagination could be simply recording any mental fantasy and analyze the outcome. A painting or drawing of a dream can be similarly employed, thus giving a visible object for the therapist and patient to discuss. Other forms of art such as dance can be used effectively as well. In each case it is not the perfection or degree of skill demonstrated by the patient which is important but the effectiveness of the process to bring to the surface those fantasy images which were previously unconscious.

The Conjunction can be seen as a form of active imagination par excellence. Even the term "the art of alchemy" suggests that there is more to the practice than a pseudo-scientific misunderstanding of matter. In fact, the Conjunction is structured so that the individual brings to consciousness, through projection onto the prima materia, those unconscious fantasies which are near the threshold and then probes even deeper until the self, with its inherently contradictory nature, becomes the mediator between the Microcosm and Macrocosm.

Summary of Chapter Three

The Conjunction is not an undertaking of leisure or curiosity. Nor is it a practice for those who are under the grip of the unconscious and have lost a grasp of the "real" world. In either case, the undertaking of the Conjunction would be psychologically harmful. As both Jung and Edinger have demonstrated, the Conjunction represents one way of undertaking the natural and universal drive toward wholeness. Although this drive can be interpreted as a specifically psychological teleology based on the actions and reactions of the conscious and the unconscious, it can also be understood as something beyond this limited interpretation where the summation of an individual's potential as a human being is brought into a form of actualization.

Jung, as an empiricist, could never posit that the Conjunction points to a Divine Being with whom the alchemist interacts. However, Jung did appreciate the spiritual nature of the alchemical tradition. Jung understood that the alchemists were using esoteric words and symbols, which were contemporary at the time, to explain what today could be considered psychological in nature. Jung's psychology does much the same thing as the alchemical tradition in that it uses theories like "archetype" and "synchronicity" to explain concepts which in our current development seem to point to something beyond the generally accepted view of reality. Perhaps in four hundred years people will look back on Jung's writings and comment on how quaint his theories about the psyche were, in much the same way that some people view alchemy today. More than anything Jung's understanding of alchemy and the Conjunction demonstrate that the human condition is far more complex and deep than most people care to think. It is far more simple to remain ignorant of one's projections and live in a state of unio naturalis than it is to enter into the trials and tribulations of self-knowledge found throughout the Conjunction. Jung was absolutely correct when he wrote: "Self-knowledge is an adventure that carries us unexpectedly far and deep."⁽²⁵⁹⁾

Jung found, through his personal experiences and those of his patients, that there seemed to be an innate need for the human psyche, both the conscious and unconscious components, to move towards a union with each other and so to wholeness. If ignored, this drive could be responsible for numerous psychological as well as physiological complications. For those who actively attempt to bring to consciousness portions of the psyche which are unconscious, whether this decision was made for them through unconscious motivation or by personal volition, there is the pivotal and transformative undertaking of the Magnum Opus. For Jung there was no sense of something being "only psychology." Every perception and assumption is derived from the psyche. However, the psyche is not entirely subjective or benevolent. There is an autonomy and potential maliciousness present which can override and manipulate ego-consciousness. To bring this unconscious potentiality to consciousness allows the individual to understand and integrate these seemingly foreign attributes.

For Jung the symbolism and mythology of alchemy reflected an attempt by human beings to exteriorize the inner processes of the psyche. The Conjunction revealed this process clearly and as a result Jung spent a great deal of time involved in exploring its symbolism. Some critics will look upon this amplification of alchemy as superfluous for understanding Jung's model of the psyche. In fact, the alchemical tradition, with its highly abstract language of obtuse imagery, is in some ways more precise than the medical jargon of contemporary psychiatry. If we consider that the unconscious communicates in symbols then a symbolic language would be far more conducive for understanding it than the limitations of written, discursive language.

Chapter Four
Crowley and Jung: A Comparison

Man is capable of being, and using, anything which he perceives, for everything that he perceives is in a certain sense a part of his being. He may thus subjugate the whole Universe of which he is conscious to his individual Will.
-Aleister Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba

As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. It may even be assumed that just as the unconscious affects us, so the increase in our consciousness affects the unconscious.
-Carl Jung, MDR

The Magician and the Alchemist

On a biographical level we can see many interesting similarities between Crowley and Jung. Both of their fathers were intimately involved with the propagation of the Christian message. As a result Crowley and Jung had a firm background in Christianity and that tradition's endemic symbol system. For both individuals this symbol system was a major influence on their thought and in their own way each attempted to bring a new interpretation to Christianity. Jung attempted to give the central myths a psychological interpretation,⁽²⁶⁰⁾ questionably in accordance with Christian orthodoxy, while Crowley attempted to demonstrate that there was a social and spiritual shift in which the Christian paradigm (as a representative of the Aeon of Osiris) was outdated and violently oppressive. Crowley, and Jung to some degree, felt that Christianity needed to be replaced not revised.

As children both Crowley and Jung had difficulty socializing. Crowley always felt himself to be an outcast and would later embrace this attribute of his life.⁽²⁶¹⁾ Much of Crowley's life was spent in some form of isolation both self-induced and socially or politically enforced. Whether mountain climbing or trekking across Asia Crowley was comfortable with this sense of solitude.⁽²⁶²⁾

Jung also had difficulty fitting in during his early school years.⁽²⁶³⁾ When Jung was twelve (1887) he was shoved by another boy and struck his head on a curb, nearly knocking him unconscious. At the moment of the blow Jung recalls thinking "Now you won't have to go to school any more."⁽²⁶⁴⁾ For approximately six months following the initial trauma Jung would have fainting spells whenever he had to go to school and as a result he became more and more withdrawn. His parents and doctors did not know what malaise was causing the fainting spells, some doctors assumed it was epilepsy.

Jung's self-induced withdrawal from the "real world" was cut short when Jung overheard his father stating to a visitor that he, Jung Sr., was concerned that he may not be able to support his son should the condition continue indefinitely. This realization was highly transformative to the younger Jung. In all seriousness Jung declared "Why, then, I must work!"⁽²⁶⁵⁾ and recalls from that day on he became a "serious child." With that Jung confronted and defeated the fainting spells. We can also see Jung's tendencies towards solitude with his building of his Tower (Bollingen) which, in 1947, he began to frequent for greater and greater periods of time.

Despite their solitary natures neither of the men could be considered antisocial. Crowley, for example, thrived on attention. He would do or say anything which would fly directly in the face of socially acceptable behavior.⁽²⁶⁶⁾ While he denounced blind followers⁽²⁶⁷⁾, he also took great satisfaction at testing and trying the fortitude of many of his students, sometimes with a touch of malevolent glee. Jung too demonstrated active social interaction through his various lectures and travels throughout Europe, India, and Africa.

One major difference between Crowley and Jung, in regards to their travels, was their attitude toward foreign cultures. When Crowley traveled to India, Africa, Asia, or the United States, he would attempt, at some point throughout the trip, to "go native" by adopting the local attire, customs and if possible the language.⁽²⁶⁸⁾ In many ways Crowley's personality was highly malleable. However, Jung while appreciating other cultures, seemed to be wary, at least in his own case, that over identification with another culture's symbol system (take India for example) could pose a potential danger to his self identity. Jung fought to maintain an ego identity throughout his life.⁽²⁶⁹⁾ Jung was also concerned that aspects of "Eastern" religion could not easily be imported into the "West," though in many ways the "Eastern" traditions contained the very thing the "Western" traditions were missing, i.e., a direct experience of divinity (unconscious). Aside from these interesting personal anecdotes, the most striking biographical commonality between Crowley and Jung was their individual experience with what could be termed "paranormal" occurrences.

Early in his life Crowley recounts various premonitions including premonitions of the death of his father and mother. While in the Golden Dawn Crowley began to learn ritual techniques of invocation and evocation. Theses techniques and his own experimentation led, as mentioned before, to the reception of Liber Al Legis, the encounter of the Enochian Aethers⁽²⁷⁰⁾, and the direction to write Liber Aba to name only a small portion of paranormal occurrences he had experienced. For Crowley unusual appearances or synchronicities were simply a normal part of the Western Esoteric Tradition as he knew it.

Jung also had his share of strange occurrences. Recorded in MDR are references to a mysteriously shattered knife and split table⁽²⁷¹⁾ as well as a report ushered from a bookcase when he and Freud were discussing the validity of parapsychology.⁽²⁷²⁾ Aside from these "externalizations" Jung also had a very rich dream and fantasy life. Perhaps one of the most astounding examples of his fantasy life are the fantasies leading up to the writing of the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos (Seven Sermons to the Dead), an early piece of Gnostic poetry, in 1916.

Prior to the writing of the Septem Sermones Jung had a series of fantasies which involved three figures. Two of the figures, Salome and Elijah, were Biblical but the third figure was a large black snake. Soon after the initial fantasy was completed, another figure developed out of the Elijah character. Jung referred to this new figure as Philemon who "was a pagan and brought with him an Egypto-Hellenistic atmosphere with a Gnostic coloration."⁽²⁷³⁾ Philemon, a bearded, winged, and lame footed man, would prove to be an invaluable figure in Jung's life. For Jung he "represented a force which was not myself."⁽²⁷⁴⁾ It was Philemon who showed Jung psychic objectivity or the reality of the psyche:

Through him the distinction was clarified between myself and the object of my thought. He confronted me in an objective manner, and I understood that there is something in me which can say things that I do not know and do not intend, things which may even be directed against me . . . Psychologically, Philemon represented superior insight. He was a mysterious figure to me. At times he seemed quite real, as if he were a living personality. I went walking up and down the garden with him, and to me he was what the Indians call a guru.⁽²⁷⁵⁾

Eventually Philemon developed into another figure, Ka.⁽²⁷⁶⁾ Philemon represented Jung's spiritual self while Ka was the concretization or grounding of the abstract notions symbolized by Philemon.⁽²⁷⁷⁾ Eventually Jung was "compelled from within, as it were, to formulate and express what might have been said by Philemon. This was how the Septem Sermones ad Mortuos with its peculiar language came into being."⁽²⁷⁸⁾

The strange occurrences which preceded the actual writing of the Seven Sermons are recorded in MDR⁽²⁷⁹⁾. What is interesting in comparison with Crowley is that both the writing of Liber Al Legis and the Septem Sermones were accompanied be experiences of a "presence" in the room. In Crowley's case the presence was one figure, Aiwaz. In Jung's experience there were multiple "beings." He states "The whole house was filled as if there was a crowd present, crammed full of spirits. They were packed deep right up to the door, and the air was so thick it was scarcely possible to breath."⁽²⁸⁰⁾ Both Jung and Crowley wrote their respective works over a period of three days. The primary difference lay in the fact that Crowley would understand Liber AL vel Legis came from a præter-human intelligence while Jung viewed his experience as "an unconscious constellation whose peculiar atmosphere I recognized as the numen of an archetype."⁽²⁸¹⁾

One final similarity between Jung and Crowley was their interest in "Eastern" spiritual traditions. Much of Crowley's method involves Buddhist or Hindu concepts and aspects of their cosmology. Crowley was also deeply interested in Helena Blavatsky's (1831-1891) synthesis of "Eastern" and "Western" modes of esotericism in her Theosophy Movement.⁽²⁸²⁾ He also rendered his interpretation of the Shih I and the Tao Te Ching as well as essays on various aspects of Buddhism and Hinduism.⁽²⁸³⁾ By today's standards Crowley's scholarship is in some respect lacking. However, considering that at the time of his writings there was little authoritative work done on some of these subjects (like yoga) he still demonstrated some interesting insights.

Jung also exhibits a fascination with "Eastern" philosophy. His commentary on The Secret of the Golden Flower (C.W. 12), and The Tibetan Book of the Dead/The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation (C.W. 11) as well as his forewords to Suzuki's Introduction To Zen Buddhism (C.W.11) and the I-Ching (C.W. 11) reveal a person who sees a great deal of meaning in "Eastern" tradition but who also is cautious in regards to the impact of "Eastern" philosophy on "Western" psyches.⁽²⁸⁴⁾Again, Jung felt that it would be more germane for "Western" traditions to recover meaning from their own neglected resources than look towards "Eastern" traditions.

Along with their similarities Jung and Crowley also demonstrate some major differences. For example, Jung distrusted the validity of so-called secret societies. In discussing the process of initiation Jung states that modern Western society has little to offer in way of initiation.

Modern men have absolutely nothing to compare with this [i.e., initiatory practices of so-called "primitive"cultures] . . . Freemasonry, l' Église gnostique de la France, legendary Rosicrucians, theosophy, and so forth are all feeble substitutes for something better marked up in red letters on the historical casualty list.⁽²⁸⁵⁾

The basis for this claim is that Jung felt that these approaches to initiation do not lead to psychological transformation. Yet Jung did feel that symbols had initiatory possibilities:

The point is not-I cannot be too emphatic about this-whether the initiation symbols are objective truths, but whether these unconscious contents are or are not the equivalents of initiation practices, and whether they do or do not influence the human psyche. Nor is it a question of whether they are desirable or not. It is enough that they exist and work.⁽²⁸⁶⁾

Jung is essentially stating that he felt that the Western initiatory traditions like Masonry carried no potential for psychological transformation. On average this may be a correct assumption in that most people will be looking towards these societies for some form of fraternal/maternal companionship. However, to assume that this is the case en masse seems to be excessive. The symbols of Masonry, the O.T.O. or any similar Order can be highly transformative if the symbols are active for that individual. There seems to be little evidence to show categorically that these symbols cannot be become active or begin to function in a new Cycle of Meaning.

One reason Jung may have insisted that these traditions had little potential for psychological transformation could be due to the fact that at the time of writing (1928) many Occult Orders were surfacing, due, in part, to Crowley's notoriety, which claimed all sorts of fantastical abilities. Jung would have wanted to distance himself and his theories from the claims of such Orders as much as possible.⁽²⁸⁷⁾ Even in today's Occult literature some authors will use Jung's theories but many times they will be taken out of context in order to fit an "ontological" fact which the author/Order hold. However, since Jung was not involved in these Orders it seems unlikely that he would be in a position to comment on the validity of their initiatory potential.

Crowley attempted, through reorganizing the O.T.O. and founding the A.^..A.^.., to address the very issues which concerned Jung.⁽²⁸⁸⁾ Crowley felt that most Occult Orders depended too heavily on superstition and unprovable assumptions. Crowley understood that the processes of the Western Esoteric Tradition were highly effective approaches toward psychological transformation and he attempted to bring the "mysteries" under the aegis of "Science".⁽²⁸⁹⁾ However, in some ways Crowley lacked the very objectivity which he expected others to demonstrate.

In MDR Jung remarks that the only thing which helped him maintain a connection with the "real world" was his work and his family.⁽²⁹⁰⁾ The demands of family, friends, and profession gave Jung a focus which acted as a balance to his other world of archetypal images. Jung uses the example of Nietzsche as someone who had no such point of reference:

Nietzsche had lost the ground under his feet because he possessed nothing more than the inner world of his thoughts- which incidently possessed him more than he it. He was uprooted and hovered above the earth, and therefore he succumbed to exaggeration and irreality. For me, such irreality was the quintessence of horror, for I aimed, after all, at this world and this life.⁽²⁹¹⁾

One could argue that Crowley paralleled Nietzsche in this lack of grounding.⁽²⁹²⁾ Crowley lived very deeply in his interiority and had little connection to the concrete world around him. Arguably, what kept Crowley grounded at all was what his detractors condemned him for, i.e., his peculiar, and bawdy sense of humour and his emphasis on the sanctity of sexuality (and by extension the bodily aspect of spirituality). Without these factors in his life Crowley could well have ended his life as Nietzsche had. Jung was concerned that any person who lives in the grip of unconscious energies lives with the constant danger of one day succumbing to those energies thus losing all contact with the "real world." Of course Crowley would argue that it is a mistake to assume that the "real world" is anything but a creation of an imprecise understanding of its true nature.⁽²⁹³⁾ In many ways Crowley wanted what Jung had, scientific and "empirical" training. Jung, while maintaining an "objective" foot in reality, was drawn to the mystical and esoteric aspect of spirituality which Crowley lived in on a daily basis.⁽²⁹⁴⁾

Aside from the curious similarities (and differences) between Crowley and Jung as individuals there are also equally interesting connections between their two proposed methods of psychological and spiritual development. In many ways these two men, while hailing from two very different philosophical backgrounds (Crowley from the poetic and mystical and Jung from the empirical and scientific) formed similar notions of the development of the human potential.

Magick and Analytical Psychology: A Comparison.
The Ontological Assumption of Wholeness

One major ontological assumption made by both Jung and Crowley is that the human was at one point a self-contained whole and became fragmented due to the process of becoming conscious. Thus, the motion towards psychological and spiritual maturity is return to a state of unity but now at the conscious, not the pre-conscious, level. There are many philosophical arguments which can be raised in regards to this a priori assumption.

Jung's defense of his theories would be that he noted, through his own experiences and observations and those of his patients, that there is a definite teleology to life with the self (as an archetype of wholeness) realized in consciousness as its goal.⁽²⁹⁵⁾ These experiences lead to a model which supported the assumption that the human psyche is fragmented and that one must attempt to bring those fragments together through the life long process of individuation.

In Crowley's case he would be following the Qabalistic assumption that the Tree of Life not only represents the creation of the universe, and thus the separation of an original unity⁽²⁹⁶⁾, but also the key to the return to wholeness. In the Western Esoteric Tradition the return can follow the "Path of the Serpent"⁽²⁹⁷⁾ (Path of Initiation) which winds its way up the Tree integrating the attributes of the sefira as one negotiates their way or one can follow the "Path of the Arrow" (Path of Mystical Union) which gives one a glimpse of the unity.⁽²⁹⁸⁾ The two approaches are not mutually exclusive but one path would generally have precedence over the other in practice. If taken literally the return to Kether would be equated to the reacquisition of one's divine essence. However, if taken as a psychological process Kether can be seen as a representation of a unity of opposites (the Left and Right pillars) in much the same way as Jung would see the self functioning.⁽²⁹⁹⁾ For both Crowley and Jung the undertaking of the "Great Work" was an attempt, through various techniques, to expand one's gnosis or state of consciousness beyond the limited boundaries of ego-consciousness and into a more inclusive rapport with the unconscious or trans-personal.

The Stages of the Great Work

The processes of transformation found in Magick/Liber Aba and "The Conjunction" both begin with an investigation of the individual's mental processes. For Crowley this exploration was accomplished through standard yogic practices such as sana, prnyma, etc. In effect the individual who engages in these practices regulates the bodily processes in order to look more deeply into the nature of his or her mental composition.⁽³⁰⁰⁾ For Jung this mental investigation also corresponds to the first stage of the alchemical conjunction (unio mentalis) and preliminary practice of introspection so crucial to the analytical process. Both Jung and Crowley insist that this preliminary, and on going, work is essential if any true and lasting progress is to be made. The yoga of Magick/Liber Aba and the unio mentalis of "The Conjunction", both imply a form of asceticism, a temporary control or denial of the bodily and unconscious drives. The primary purpose of the initial focus on the mind is to "redirect"⁽³⁰¹⁾ the body and previously unconscious material toward spirit (or the "higher" functions) as opposed to allowing the body and unconscious factors to have dominance over the "soul". The mental asceticism is only the first stage of the Great Work. Neither Jung nor Crowley suggests a permanent segregation from the body. In fact both men put an important emphasis on the need to be in touch with the bodily. The importance of the bodily is reflected in what Jung calls the "missing fourth."

The missing fourth refers to the qualities which Jung felt were absent from the mythology of the Christian Trinity and thus also absent from "Western" culture in general.⁽³⁰²⁾ The qualities symbolized by the Missing Fourth are the body/Nature, the feminine and the demonic. Both Jung and Crowley understood that these elements of the human condition had to be addressed should there be any potential for spiritual growth.

In Crowley's cosmology, as revealed in Magick/Liber Aba, each of these missing factors is present in some form. For example, the feminine is represented through the Star goddess Nuit as well as her counterpart the dark mother Babalon⁽³⁰³⁾. The figure of Hadit is connected with "Sad, Set, Satan, sat (equals "Being" in Sanskrit), the South".⁽³⁰⁴⁾ Crowley's definition of the "Devil" is different from the common use of the term. For Crowley the "Devil" is called Satan or Shaitan, and is regarded with horror by people who are ignorant of his formula, and, imagining themselves to be evil , accuse Nature herself of their own phantasmal crime. Satan is Saturn, Set, Abrasax, Adad, Adonis, Attis, Adam, Adonai, etc. The most serious charge against him is only that he is the Sun in the South.⁽³⁰⁵⁾

The only true evil for Crowley is that which prevents the individual from discovering and actuating one's True Will.⁽³⁰⁶⁾ The figure of Heru-Ra-Ha represents the merging of not only Nuit (infinite) and Hadit (finite) but also the Feminine and the Masculine, the Natural and the Demonic, and elimination of all opposites whatsoever. In this way Crowley's "Trinity" of Nuit, Hadit, and Ra-Hoor-Khuit (who is also one with his twin [Haar-paar-kraat]) can be seen as an attempt to reconcile the missing qualities of the Christian Trinity.⁽³⁰⁷⁾

The second stage of the Great Work involves a reintegration of the body and the mind. However, in the process of the initial separation the mind and body are now directed towards the "spirit" as opposed to continuing to dwell in the original state of the unio naturalis. In Magick/Liber Aba the practitioner is introduced to the philosophy of the Western Esoteric Tradition which has as its primary goal the reestablishment of the individual's divine nature to eventually become, for all intents and purposes, a god on earth.⁽³⁰⁸⁾ Though Jung does not literally argue that human beings must become gods he does argue a very similar point. For example, if we look to Jung's interpretation of Christian theology Jung will state that the Christ figure is not the exclusive way to unite the human and the divine and that, in fact, it is the union of the human and the divine which is endemic to the process of individuation itself.⁽³⁰⁹⁾ Similarly, the alchemical tradition, and Jung's interpretation of the tradition, point to the perfecting or deifying of oneself. From Jung's psychological perspective when the self directs the ego or the ego comes under its suasion the self is, in fact, God. In this case the individual is no longer under the rule of the unconscious. Of course this could never be completed entirely as the unconscious can never be fully exhausted but the goal of bringing the conscious and unconscious under the aegis of the self is essential for psychological maturation.

For Crowley, every ritual, meditation, or practice must be dedicated to the discovery and fulfillment of the True Will (Yesod), the Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel (Tiferet), and eventually the complete transcendence of subject/object rationality which is symbolized by the crossing of the Abyss to enter Kether.⁽³¹⁰⁾ As mentioned above some individuals in the Golden Dawn and similar Orders with Christian influence felt that only through death could the individual transcend the Abyss. For Crowley it was not only possible to transcend the Abyss while living, it was essential should one wish to attain true Adepthood.

Jung also felt that it was essential to undertake the process of individuation in order for an individual to reach psychological maturity. For Jung that maturity meant psychological wholeness wherein one's unconscious material is brought to consciousness to be integrated and not repressed. With theories such as synchronicity⁽³¹¹⁾ Jung also demonstrated that the unconscious can take an influential role in an individual's life to the point that it can force a particular interpretation of reality which may have no external causal connection. Should the unconscious be ignored the individual risks further intrusion on consciousness which can vary in magnitude until the issue, whatever it may be, is resolved.

The Role of Sexuality in the Great Work

Crowley felt that one of the most powerful obstacles to the fulfilment of one's True Will was unconscious material. Perhaps the most important of these factors for Crowley, living in post-Victorian England, was sexual repression. On this issue Crowley most often sided with Freud's theories of libido.⁽³¹²⁾ However, for Crowley sexuality was not only a powerful unconscious or conscious motivating factor, it was also the crux to his spiritual theories. The alchemical hierosgamos was not to be taken figuratively. Sulfur (male) and Salt (female) would conjoin to give life to Mercury who was a product of but unique to the original dyad. For Crowley the secrets of the universe could be revealed through the sexual act in much the same way as vmchra tantric practitioners would understand sexuality. The following passage summarizes Crowley's view on the importance of sexuality:

There is nothing unclean or degrading in any manifestation soever of the sexual instinct, because without exception, every act is an impulsively projected image of the Will of the individual who, whether man or woman, is a star . . . The one thing needful, the all-perfect means of purification, consecration, and sanctification-independent of the physical and moral accidents circumstantial of the particular incident- is the realization of love as a sacrament. The use of physical means as a Magical Operation-whose formula is that by uniting two opposites, by dissolving both, annihilating both (to create a third thing which transcends that opposition), the phase of duality which constitutes the consciousness of imperfection is perceived as the absolute negative whose apprehension is identical with that duality-is the accomplishment of the Great Work.⁽³¹³⁾

Jung also understood the importance of sexuality but did not put the same emphasis on it as did Crowley. In MDR Jung states:

The problem still remains: how to overcome or escape our anxiety, bad conscience, guilt, compulsion, unconsciousness, and instinctuality. If we cannot do this from the bright, idealistic side, then perhaps we shall have better luck by approaching the problem from the dark, biological side.⁽³¹⁴⁾

The dark, biological side mentioned by Jung is equated with the notion of sexuality:

[Sexuality] plays a large part in my psychology as an essential- though not the sole- expression of psychological wholeness . . . Sexuality is of the greatest importance as the expression of the chthonic spirit. That spirit is the "other face of God," the dark side of the God-image. The question of the chthonic spirit has occupied me ever since I began to delve into the world of alchemy.⁽³¹⁵⁾

The third and final stage of the Great Work is where we find the greatest difference between Crowley and Jung. In Crowley's method the pinnacle of attainment was a complete destruction of the illusion of ego, of "I". Only by crossing the Abyss and attaining the grades of the Supernal Triad (Binah, Chokmah, Kether)⁽³¹⁶⁾ could one claim to be spiritually and psychologically whole.

Jung would, however, disagree with this assumption. The ego is not something which is to be eliminated. The elimination of the ego would mean the elimination of the individual's connection with the "real world"and one's identity in that world. Without the ego one would be lost in his or her interiority, possibly in some form of psychosis. What Jung was attempting to demonstrate through the alchemical tradition (as an example of a path toward individuation) was that maturation must take place in consciousness, in the embodied ego with no one factor being dominant. The ego does not have ultimate reign any more than the unconscious does. The self, as a symbol of wholeness, integrates all the opposing factions (in the Christian world-view this would equate to Jesus and Satan shaking hands) and functions as the new and complete personality of an individual.

For Jung the third stage of the Great Work is synonymous with the whole process of individuation which is a process that never truly ends. Jung's concern was not for establishing a literal and permanent interpretation of the unus mundus. He was not attempting to transform the earth into the Divine Kingdom. He looked instead to the symbolism of alchemy as representing the psychic process of every individual. By transforming an individual's psychological nature he or she actually changes their universe from one of controlling unconscious factors to one of unity (One World) between all opposing factors.

The Quest for Gnosis and the Path Towards Wholeness: Conclusion

This work has attempted to compare two figures, Aleister Crowley and Carl Jung, who can be seen as individuals who attempted to break down the socially accepted views of the psyche, religion, spirituality, and, perhaps most importantly, the nature of reality. Neither Crowley nor Jung were satisfied with a monophasic model of reality. Each attempted to incorporate the realization of the necessity and validity of an expanded sense of gnosis into a model of reality which could be called, in the words of Lama Govinda, "multi-dimensional." The success of these two figures in elucidating their model is completely subjective. Psychologically Crowley could be viewed as a failure in that with all that he experienced and preached it did not make him a better person.⁽³¹⁷⁾ Crowley demonstrates that the Western Esoteric Tradition can be a very effective tool in spiritual and psychological progression but he also stands as an example of an individual who, through the ever present danger of inflation, had difficulty functioning in the "real world." The greatest danger in working through the methods laid out in Magick/Liber Aba is that they are steeped in archetypal symbols and as a result can pose a threat to any individual who has not completed the preliminary work of the unio mentalis.

While Crowley's method of self-introspection and "scientific" methodology can help the individual maintain some form of objectivity ultimately the solitary practitioner faces many difficulties. This is the main reason for having an Order as a guide (assuming the Order is not corrupt). In the Cycle of Meaning we see that the shaman or guru plays an important role not only in propagating and reenforcing the world-view but also acting as a support for the initiate or chela. In many ways the Order acts as the guru to help guide and tend to the student. Crowley did not want only initiates to benefit from his teachings, he wanted all people to "Do what thou wilt"and as a result nearly all of Crowley's major works are published or in preparation and are heavily annotated to facilitate deeper comprehension.

The O.T.O., the A.^..A.^.., and other Thelemic Orders are attempting to take Crowley's teachings and make them more accessible to people who may have been unaware of Crowley and his model of spiritual and psychological wholeness. The validity of Crowley's system should be judged not by his biography but by looking at those who follow his teachings today.⁽³¹⁸⁾

Jung was initially concerned with alleviating psychological malaise through psychoanalysis. However, Jung soon began to realize that the reductionistic nature of Freud's theories did not conform to his own findings. As a result Jung began to appreciate world mythology and religion as their symbols appeared in his and his client's material. Finally Jung began to develop a model which included factors which were not limited to the individual and his or her interpretation of reality. Jung's theories such as the collective unconscious opened new interpretations of not only the human psyche but of art, culture, and religion. Jung's interest in alchemy moves his models from the domain of clinical psychology to that of the Great Work for which there is no higher purpose.

Taken individually both Crowley and Jung made significant contributions to their own areas of expertise. Many of Crowley's theories have worked their way into most divisions of the Western Esoteric Tradition including Ceremonial Magic, Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Chaos Magick and many others. For Jung we see many of the Analytical Psychology Institutes (primarily in the United States) focus more on Jung's clinical and medical writings while in other Institutes (such as in Zürich) there is more of an emphasis on Jung's understanding of the importance of myth and symbol for psychological health.

Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Crowley and Jung is that they demonstrated that the human condition is far more complicated and deeper than we generally suspect. Both men encouraged every person to delve deeply into their depths and examine, at length and with courage, what rose from those depths. Each man also insisted that the true goal of human development was to become fully human, to transcend the limitations imposed by collective consciousness and its constrictive epistemologies toward a union with inner powers universal in their embrace. By attempting to become more human in this sense we begin to break down the boundaries which prevent us from gaining more insight, more gnosis not only about ourselves as individuals, but our relation to others and the universe at large. Neither Crowley nor Jung represents the only way (or perhaps even the best way) to increase our gnosis but they do represent two very similar and effective methods for the completion of the Great Work and the eventual discovery of the path toward wholeness wherein each person can strive for their fullest potential, realized in greater personal integration and wider, indeed, universal sympathy.

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Articles

The Magical Link. Quarterly News Letter of the Ordo Templi Orientis International. Combined issue Vol. IX, No.4, to Vol. X, No.2. Winter 1995-Summer 1996 Era Vulgarus (E.V.).

Dourley, John, "Humanity, the Trinity's Missing Fourth: The Psycho-Spiritual Implications of Jung's Quaternitarian Psyche", Pastoral Sciences, 14, 1995.

Owen, Alex. "The Magician and His Apprentice", Journal of British Studies, Vol.36, No.1, Jan. 1997, pp.99-133.

1. We need only to look at the excessive regulation of so-called "mind-altering" substances such as LSD, Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), even marijuana. There may be legitimate arguments made as to why the general populace may be prevented from using the more potent substances but it seems unreasonable to prevent academic research on the effect of these substances on human consciousness.

2. Laughlin, Charles (et al.). Brain, Symbol, & Experience, New York: Columbia University Press, 1992, p.155.

3. Ibid.

4. See: James, William. The Varieties of Religious Experience. New York: Penguin, 1982, pp. 379-429.

5. See: Hillman, James. Insearch: Psychology and Religion, Dallas: Spring, 1979.

6. See: Grof, Stanislav. The Adventure of Self-Discovery, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988 and Beyond the Brain, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985.

7. See: James: Varieties, footnote 1, pp.10-12.

8. Fortune, Dion. The Mystical Qabalah, Maine: Weiser, 1991, pp.1-5.

9. Also known as Liber Aba and Book 4.

10. The term "Western Esoteric Tradition" will be used in place of the vague and often misunderstood term "Occult Tradition" and will refer specifically to those traditions beginning in the early 1800's. More will be said about this issue in Chapter Two.

11. The use of the term "Qabalah" with a "Q" will be used throughout this paper to refer specifically to the Western Esoteric Tradition. The spelling "Kabbalah" will refer to the mystical tradition of Judaism.

12. "Remember always that we have no use for piety, for vague chatter, for guess work; we are as strictly scientific as biologists and chemists. We ban emotion from the start; we demand perception; and even perception is not acceptable until we have made sure of its bases by a study of what we call the [mental] 'tendencies'." Crowley, Magick Without Tears, AZ: New Falcon, 1994, p.492. Brackets are mine.

13. The banner-head for Crowley's occult bi-annual magazine The Equinox was: "The Method of Science; the Aim of Religion."

14. This particular spelling of Magic will be dealt with in Chapter Two.

15. Posthumously published in one volume as Magick: Book 4(Liber Aba)Parts I-IV, Maine: Weiser, 1997. Second Revised Edition. Introduction, annotation and editing by Hymenaeus Beta (Outer Head of the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.)

16. "I have written this book to help the Banker, the Pugilist, the Biologist, the Poet, the Navvy, the Grocer, the Factory Girl, the Mathematician, the Stenographer, the Golfer, the Wife, the Consul-and all the rest-to fulfill themselves perfectly, each in his or her own proper function." Ibid., p.125.

17. Jung, C.G. Collected Works. Vol. 11. (R.F.C. Hull-translator) N.J.:Princeton University Press, 1970. any subsequent citations will be referred to as "C.W." followed by volume and page number.

18. Jung, C.W. 14, pp.457-556.

19. See Appendix One.

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.

38. Faivre is the chair of "History of Esoteric and Mystical Currents in Modern and Contemporary Europe" at the École Pratique des Hautes Études at Sorbonne.

39. Alphonse Louis Constant [c1810-1875](better known under the pen-name Eliphas Levi) was a French deacon who was expelled from St. Sulpice for teaching doctrines contrary to the dogma of the Church. He later wrote three major works on the occult: Transcendental Magic (1855), The History of Magic (1860), The Key to the Grand Mysteries (1861). Each of these works (the latter being translated and published in Crowley's bi-annual occult periodical: The Equinox vol.1, no.x) helped to rekindle interest in the Western Esoteric Tradition.

40. Faivre, Antoine. Access to Western Esotericism, New York: State University of New York Press, 1994, p.34. Squared brackets are mine.

41. One should note that the Western Esoteric Tradition has no connection to the Spiritualism movements of the 19^th century. In fact Crowley and others within the tradition denounced the practices of the movement.

42. Fortune, Dion. The Mystical Qabalah. ME: Wiser, 1991, pp.1-7.

43. Faivre, Access to Western Esotericism p.19.

44. Gershom Scholem in Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (p.213) states the term Tifereth (Beauty) is rarely used. Instead Scholem gives the term Rahamim (Compassion) for the sixth sefira. Since there are few, if any, sources within the Western Esoteric Tradition which consistently employ Rahamim we will only use the term Tiferet.

45. This Order will be dealt with in due course.

46. The Lamen is "a simple plate which (being worn over the heart) symbolizes Tiphareth, and it should therefore be a harmony of all the other symbols in one." Magick/ Liber Aba, p.111 (emphasis is Crowley's). Essentially the Lamen is a symbol which represents the individual and his or her spiritual aspirations.

47. The circle and square following the grade numbers have symbolic meaning. The circle represents divine nature while the square represents mundane or human nature. Thus, the Grade of Neophyte is symbolized as 0=0 indicating the initiate's fledgling status. The next Grade, Zelator 1=10 , shows the initiate has one "part" divinity while he or she has ten "parts" human nature (the grade also corresponds to Malkut the lowest sefira on the Tree of Life.) The second Grade of the G.^..D.^.. , the Theoricus 2= 9 shows that the initiate has progressed towards the goal of the Grade Ipsissimus 10=1 which corresponds to the highest sefira- Kether. This grading is meant as a means of monitoring spiritual evolution but it also tends to lead to problems with power struggles. William Gray brings up another interesting implication with this system:

It should be obvious that the Degree Scale described is more of an ideal to be achieved than an actuality to be encountered much in our faulty world. Who could imagine a 10=1 type of being? Ten parts divine and only one degree human! Short of an incarnate God, none of such a nature could possibly manifest through a human body, yet it must be possible for a being of that degree to exist, or the extremities of humanity and Divinity would not be what they are.

Gray, Inner Traditions of Magic, p.99.

48. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, pp.548-565.

49. Some more well known Orders in existence today include the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O-the O.T.O has approximately 3000 members to date), Argenteum Astrum (A.^.. A.^.. ), the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A), Society of the Inner Light (S.O.L.) and many Orders claiming lineage from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. This list is not in any way comprehensive nor does this list take in account all the individuals who may not be involved in an Order or those who are eclectic and borrow aspects from each one.

50. There is a similar occurrence in Wicca. While there are many covens claiming lineage from Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, even Starhawk for that matter (or any of the numerous off-shoots) one does not need to be part of a "trad" to consider oneself a Wiccan or Witch.

51. There is still a great deal of debate as to the existence of F. Sprengel.

52. Later Crowley would come to call his own order A.^.. A.^.. as a claim that he was propagating the true third Order. The three dots following the letters signify, among other things, "the principle of balance between the Three Pillars, three points of the Compass or Square, three points of the heart . . . They could equally, of course, stand for Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, or any Triad intended." Gray, William. The Inner Traditions of Magic. Maine: Weiser, 1984, p.99. Essentially they represent a process of spiritual evolution following the pattern of spiritual initiation, i.e. life, death, and rebirth.

53. The Neophyte Grade represents the first step toward spiritual realization and thus is numbered 0=0 to indicate the initiate's fledgling status.

54. The Hebrew alphabet is used as a sacred language in the Western Esoteric Tradition in the same manner as Pali is used by Tibetan Buddhists and some Catholic services are still conducted in Latin.

55. The "Knowledge Lectures" can be found in Regardie's The Golden Dawn, Minn: Llewellyn, 1988 and King's (ed.) Ritual Magic of the Golden Dawn, Vermont: Destiny, 1997.

56. Also known as Ether.

57. Also referred to as the Higher Genius or the Holy Guardian Angel.

58. Examples of such rituals are the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, the Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram, the Middle Pillar, and the Rose Cross Ritual. These rituals can be found in Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1988.

59. See James, Geoffrey, The Enochian Magick of John Dee, MN: Llewellyn, 1998 for an introduction to this form of Western Esotericism.

60. To use a term employed by William Gray. See for example Attainment Through Magic, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1990.

61. This idea is very close to Victor Turner's understanding of liminality.

62. In the tradition of the Golden Dawn the Secret Chiefs are usually thought of as either highly advanced human beings or a form of non-corporeal entity.

63. The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abra-Melin the Mage, (S.L. MacGregor-Mathers trans. and ed.), England: Aquarius, 1976. Based on a manuscript circa 14^th century.

64. Ibid., p.65.

65. Ibid., p.84.

66. As we shall see, Jung has a similar experience with a figure named Philemon.

67. The Sacred Magician: A Ceremonial Diary, G.B.: Gothic Images, 1992, by William Bloom is an interesting account of the Abramelin Operation which was conducted outside any particular symbol system.

68. The drivers which are common in the Western Esoteric Tradition appeal to each of the six senses. For example to cite Crowley: 1)Sight- the circle, square, triangle, vessels, lamps, robes, implements, etc. 2) Sound -the invocations [these are done by vibrating the names in a certain manner which resonates throughout the whole body] 3)Smell- the perfumes, e.g.,incense and oils. 4)Taste- the Sacraments [this varies from tradition to tradition though wine and bread are common.] 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 unusual kind. Its projection into the apparently phenomenal world is therefore unusual. Crowley, The Goetia, Maine: Weiser, 1997, pp.16-17. (Squared brackets are mine). In Brain, Symbol, & Experience (Charles D. Laughlin et al., New York:

Columbia,1992, p.146-7) we see a more sophisticated explanation of the effect that drivers have on the autonomic nervous system (ANS)and how through a "tuning" or learning process drivers can have a profound effect on the ANS thereby transforming the personality through altered states of consciousness (ASC).

69. This combining of mythologies and symbols does lead, as Ian Prattis has stated in his Anthropology at the Edge, p.220, to the problem of "symbolic appropriation" in society's quest for ritual. However, in the case of the Western Esoteric Tradition and the Golden Dawn few of the ritual facets are appropriated without a thorough understanding not only of the socio/mythological sources but more importantly, the psychologically transformative qualities.

70. Such "checks" would come in the form of various interviews with members of the Second Order (in the case of initiation) or with contact with the individual's supervisor and his or her peers as well as the individual's own exploration and introspection.

71. Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn, Minn.: Llewellyn, 1988.

72. Howe, Ellic. The Magicians of the Golden Dawn, Maine: Weiser, 1984.

73. Howe adamantly insists throughout The Magicians of the Golden Dawn that he is neither an Occultist nor a 'Magician' yet continues to make statements of judgment on both Occultism and magic without having ever experienced any of the rituals or practices himself.

74. Gilbert, R.A., The Golden Dawn Scrapbook, Maine: Weiser, 1997.

75. King, Francis, Ritual Magic in England, GB: Northumberland Press, 1970.

76. Regardie, The Golden Dawn, pp. 125-6.

77. Crowley climbed several well known mountains including the crumbling cliff-face at Beachy Head, Ixtaccihuatl & Popocatépetl in Mexico (1900) as well as an attempt on K-2 in 1902.

78. In his first biography of Crowley, The Magic of Aleister Crowley, GB: Frederick Muller Ltd, 1958, p.19. John Symonds recalls: "Crowley, who was capable of giving a good game to a professional chess player [he had won his half-blue], replied dryly, 'I wish I did [know how to play chess]; I've been trying to learn for the last sixty years."(Squared brackets are mine.)

79. Many of Crowley's poems are too esoteric for the average reader to be interested. However, three of his poems are in the Oxford Anthology of Mystical Verse (Nicholson, D.H.S (ed.). CO: Acropolis Books, n.d.) and many of his more engaging poems are collected in Aleister Crowley: Selected Poems, Selected and Edited by Martin Booth, G.B.:Crucible, 1986.

80. Examples of Crowley as essayist can be found in: The Revival of Magick and Other Essays. Las Vegas: New Falcon/O.T.O., 1998.

81. Crowley was given a dose of heroin by a doctor to help relieve his severely debilitating asthma. As a result he became an addict taking up to eleven grains a day. To attempt to wean himself from heroin Crowley attempted to use alternating doses of ether, cocaine, and various other substances with little success. However, throughout each use of a drug he would keep detailed notes of the effect each drug had n his perception and state of consciousness. The writings of Timothy Leary (Leary acknowledged Crowley as an influence) and the researches of individuals such as Stanislav Grof , Terrence Mckenna and Alexander Shulgin demonstrate similar interest in the effects of drugs on consciousness. Many of Crowley's observations are encoded into his novel, Diary of a Drug Fiend, Maine; Weiser, 1997.

82. Four sources should be consulted in order to get a more rounded biography: the first is Crowley's "Autohagiography" The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, G.B.: Arkana, 1989, the second is Symond's The Great Beast, London: Macdonald, 1971, Reagardie's The Eye in the Triangle, Las Vegas: Falcon, 1986 and finally the introduction to Magick/Liber Aba written by Hymenaeus Beta. These four sources act as a very thorough introduction to Crowley's life and thought.

83. The Brethren was founded circa 1830 by John Darby (hence it is also known as "Darbyism"). Crowley states that: "The Brethren believed that they were the only true Christians; they considered the idea of ordained ministers contrary to the teaching of Scriptures; the Bible is literally true; Christ's Second Coming was imminent; the elect would inherit the Kingdom of God"Crowley: Confessions, p.14.

84. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.432.

85. Crowley, Confessions, p.36.

86. In the early chapters of his autobiography Crowley refers to himself in the third person as he felt the person who was the Crowley of his youth was a separate person whom he could not relate to.

87. Crowley, Confessions, p.44.

88. Ibid., p.44.

89. Crowley's first sexual experience (with a woman) was at the age of fifteen. During his time at

Cambridge "his urge for sexual relations . . . was 'a blind, horrible ache for relief',and forty-eight hours never passed without this ache being alleviated." Symonds, The Great Beast, p.25. This "ache" followed Crowley throughout the remainder of his life.

90. Ibid., p.67.

91. Crowley, The Collected Works of Aleister Crowley, 3 vols. , Ill: Yogi Publication Society, c. 1974.

92. Ibid., p.73. Perhaps Crowley's most scathing attack on Christianity can be found in: Crowley, The World's Tragedy, AZ: New Falcon, 1991.

93. The concepts will be dealt with in greater detail later in the work.

94. Ibid., p.176.

95. Some of Crowley's other mottos were:6=5 - Ol Sonuf Vaorsagi(O.S.V-I reign over you- Taken from the Enochian Calls) 7=4 - Ou Mh (O.M.-No, definitely no! or Not Yet!) 8=3 - Vi Veri Universum Vivus Vici(V.V.V.V.V.-In my lifetime I have conquered the universe by the force of truth.) 9=2 - To Mega Therion (The Master Therion and/or The Great Beast.)

96. The term "Great Work" is used by Crowley in various ways. "It's a somewhat flexible term. Mainly, the "Great Work" is the whole process of initiation and mystical experience, in Qabalistic terms, up to and including the commencement of the passage of the Abyss. In that setting, it includes K&C of the HGA as roughly the middle step. In yogic terms, Crowley tended to place it with attainment of Samadhi. By extension, it can be thought to include the attainments across the Abyss, but that's strictly speaking beyond it. Broadly, the "Great Work" is fulfilment of the task of incarnation." William Heidrick (Treasure General, O.T.O) Personal email, Jan. 25^th ,1999.

97. This house, on the shores of Loch Ness, is located at 5714'N., 428'W and is the kiblah or direction of prayer for all Thelemites (devotees of Crowley's Law). Each of their temples are directed towards Boleskine.

98. Regardie, Eye in the Triangle, p.93

99. Oscar Eckenstein (b.1858) was a well know mountaineer whom Crowley had met in 1897. Though Eckenstein felt that Crowley's preoccupation with magic and mysticism was a waste of time he did train Crowley in advanced forms of mental concentration which he, Eckenstein, used in climbing in order to stay focused at the task at hand. Eckenstein marks one of the few people who Crowley had a sincere fondness for throughout his life. Both Eckenstein and Crowley attempted to climb Chogo Ri in 1902 at a time when the peaks of the Himalayas were rarely attempted.

100. Crowley, Confessions, p.224.

101. "In the first edition this Book was called L [i.e., Liber L vel Legis] L is the sacred letter in the Holy Twelve-fold Table which forms the triangle which stabilizes the Universe. L is the letter of Libra, Balance, and "Justice" in the Tarot. This title should probably be AL, "El," as the "L" was heard by the voice of Aiwaz, not seen. AL is the true name of the Book, for these letters, and their number 31, form the Master Key to its Mysteries." -Crowley, The Law is for All, AZ: New Falcon, 1996, p.21. Square brackets are mine.

102. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.410.

103. See Ibid, pp.411-412 for a record of these tests.

104. The ritual Crowley used for this purpose can be found in Part IV of Magick/Liber Aba, pp. 415-419.

105. See Appendix Two for the text of Liber Legis.

106. Horus should not be taken literally as the Egyptian god but rather as some "entity" whether physical or mental, which has the qualities of Horus.

107. This concept will be examined in greater detail later in the work.

108. Crowley, The Book of the Law, ME: Weiser, 1990, p.12.

109. This sun motif is common in Egyptian mythology, with which Crowley was well acquainted.

110. Crowley, The Book of the Law, p.13.

111. "Following [the Aeon of Horus] will arise the Equinox of Maat, the Goddess of Justice. It may be a hundred or ten thousand years from now; for the Computation of Time is not here as There." Crowley, The Equinox, Vol. I, no. vii, p.400. Brackets are mine.

112. See Appendix Two: Liber Legis (I, 13-14)

113. Two verses which stand out are 26 and 61.

114. In many ways Liber Legis can be seen as a psychological compensation for Crowley. Crowley could be seen as attempting to give validity to the book by positing a "præter human" author. In fact in Jung's understanding of the collective unconscious the book could be seen both as psychological and "præter human" simultaneously.

115. Those who follow Crowley's teachings will shorten this reply with: 93 93/93. According to Occult Kabbalah, Love, Law and Will add to 93. Crowley acknowledges several influences in his understanding of will and love, such as Augustine, but this will be addressed later.

116. The Will also plays a essential role in Crowley's definition of Magick: "Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will." Crowley's Diary of a Drug Fiend, Maine: Weiser, 1997, gives an idealized portrait of the way in which one can discover one's True Will through Crowley's method of spiritual attainment.

117. Hadit is symbolized by the Solar or winged disk in Egyptian art.

118. These interpretations are found throughout Crowley's writings but primarily in his commentaries found in Crowley, The Law is for All.

119. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.23.

120. According to Crowley Ra Hoor Khut is a destructive form of the god Horus.

121. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.155.

122. See Appendix One, Liber Legis III, 51-54.

123. Ibid., p.168-70.

124. Hoor-paar-kraat is pictured as a young child with his/her right index finger pressed on the bottom lip in a gesture of silence.

125. Crowley will attribute both Ra-Hoor-Khuit (and at times Heru-Ra-Ha) with Kether (Crown) on the Tree of Life. Thus, Ra-Hoor-Kuit represents the highest inkling of divinity humans can come to know. (See: Equinox, Vol. IV, p.235).

126. For greater detail on the cosmology see: The Law is for All, For a more "interpretive" approach to the same see: Grant, Kenneth. Aleister Crowley and the Hidden God, G.B.: Chauser Press, 1973.

127. Again, in many ways "astral" rites resemble a form of what Jung would call active imagination except that the astral work implies a more intense trance like state. In either case, whether objective or subjective, any "entity" encountered can have an autonomous tangibility beyond the confines of the individual's ego conscious.

128. The Scarlet Woman acts as the akti (Skt.,lit. "force, power, energy') which brings into actuality the potential power of the Great Beast which was Crowley's role while he was alive. Both the "Beast" and the "Scarlet Woman" are "titles which may be assumed to refer to anyone who happens to hold either of those offices during the whole period of the Aeon [of Horus]- approximately 2,000 years". Magick Without Tears, p.302 In Crowley's The Comment called D (as found in The Magical Link. Quarterly News Letter of the Ordo Templi Orientis International. Combined issue Vol. IX, No.4, to Vol. X, No.2. Winter 1995-Summer 1996 E.V., p.4.) he states that the Scarlet Woman is "any Woman that receives and transmits My Solar Word and Being. . . for without Woman man hath no power."

129. For a record of the Working see: Crowley (et al.) The Vision and the Voice (Equinox Vol. IV, no. ii), Maine: Weiser, 1998, p.287-337.

130. Crowley, Confessions, p.680.

131. The word "Aba " qabalistically equals four (a (1)+b(2)+a (1)=4) which corresponds to the planet Jupiter in its authoritative aspect hence the alternate title of the work: Book 4.

132. In this case the term "Mysticism" is used in reference to the uniting of consciousness with a single source.

133. Ibid.

134. Adapted from: The Equinox Vol. I, no. ii, p.199 as found in Magick/Liber Aba, p. lix.

135. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.11.

136. Crowley states that religions have tended to distort ethical virtues. "Thus 'non-killing' which originally meant 'do not excite yourself by stalking tigers,' has been interpreted to mean that it is a crime to drink water that has not been strained, lest you should kill the animalcula." Magick/Liber Aba, p.22.

137. Paraphrase of Magick/Liber Aba, p.43. A summary of Crowley's interpretation of yoga can be found in Crowley, Eight Lectures on Yoga (The Equinox, Vol. III, no. iv), AZ: New Falcon, 1991.

138. A complete summary of the Student reading lists can be found in The Equinox Vol.I, no.ix, p.iv. With Crowley's formation of his own Order we also see that although he follows standard concepts of the Western Esoteric Tradition he is in fact removing himself from one Cycle of Meaning and beginning another.

139. For example if an individual wishes to "banish" laziness from their personality the individual could visualize a very detailed figure which represents sloth. Through the ritual use of the Fire Wand (to stimulate or inflame) the individual could visualize the figure being burned up or driven away. The last stage of the ceremony would be to seal oneself from the possibility of the figure returning. This could be repeated until the individual overcame the tendency towards lethargy.

140. Paraphrase. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.51.

141. The Tau given by Crowley is viewed with the point up representing the Will of the Magician. It also has obvious phallic connotations. The ten squares of the Tau correspond to the ten sefirot of the Tree of Life.

142. Ibid., p.51.

143. Ibid., p.55.

144. Ibid., p.58.

145. Ibid. The gunas can be found in greater detail in the Bhagavad-g t.

146. Paraphrase, Ibid., p.58f.

147. Ibid., p.60. Emphasis is Crowley's.

148. Paraphrase, Ibid.

149. Ibid., p.185.

150. In Crowley's tantric writings the Wand is symbolic of the erect penis.

151. Ibid., p.73. Emphasis is Crowley's.

152. "There is no emotion which does not leave a mark on the mind, and all marks are bad marks." Ibid., p.91.

153. See The Heptarchia Mystica of John Dee, ed. Robert Turner. UK: Aquarian, 1986 and Ibid., p.97.

154. Ibid., p.95. Emphasis is Crowley's.

155. Ibid., p.102. It should be noted that the Lamp is not a physical object but a visualized object though one could use an actual object to represent the Lamp. The Lamp is unique to every individual as it represents their link with Divinity.

156. A well-presented interpretation of the symbols of the Western Esoteric Tradition can also be found in Gray, William. Patterns of Western Magic as found in Tart, Charles T (ed.). Transpersonal Psychologies, New York: Harper & Row, 1975, pp.433-471.

157. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.126.

158. Ibid., p.127.

159. Dion Fortune's definition of Magic is less abstract than Crowley's: "Magic is the art and science of changing consciousness at will" but it also limits the scope of how Magic manifests in everyday waking life. See: Fortune, Dion. Psychic Self-Defense, GB: Aquarian Press, 1957, p.37.

160. "The Microcosm is an exact image of the Macrocosm; the Great Work is the raising of the whole man in perfect balance to the power of infinity." Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.139.

161. From Feb. 12, 1907-Oct. 9, 1907. Crowley completed the Abramelin Operation through daily practice which for the most part was done entirely through visualization. See, Crowley, The Equinox Vol. I, no. viii, pp. 13-39.

162. Two main theories are evident in regards to the "Astral Plane." The first theory posits that there is a literal "astral plane" which is tangible and malleable and which not only contains a counterpart to every object on Earth but has its own set of indigenous beings. The other theory is that the "astral plane" is a result of mental visualization wherein one encounters "beings" of one's own mind. Of course there is also middle ground between these two approaches.

163. Crowley, Magick/ Liber Aba, p.241.

164. Ibid., p.242.

165. This whole process is identical with the Cycle of Meaning where, in this case, the Magician learns a set of symbols and his or her experiences utilize the learned symbols and the results thereby reinforce the symbol system, either through a "shaman" or superior, and the process begins again.

166. Owen, Alex. "The Sorcerer and His Apprentice." The Journal of British Studies, Vol.36, No.1, January 1997, pp.99-133 .

167. These astral workings can be found in The Equinox Vol. I, no. v, Special Supplement, pp.3-176, and with commentary in The Equinox Vol. IV, no. ii.

168. A thorough treatment of this topic can be found in Appendix III of Magick/ Liber Aba, pp.499-512.

169. Crowley's 9 = 1 motto was To Mega Therion which translates as either The Master Therion or The Great Beast.

170. Ibid., p.503 f. Emphasis is Crowley's. Crowley also states that every person has a method of Qabalah unique to that person: "Never let your mind wander from the fact that your Qabalah is not my Qabalah; . . . you must construct your own system so that it is a living weapon in your own hand." Crowley, Magick Without Tears, AZ: New Falcon, 1994, p.14.

171. This literalist interpretation of subjective experiences of astral entities can be seen in various places such as Timothy Leary's Star Seed theory, Occultist Kenneth Grant's obsession with the power of Sirius, P.K. Dick's recollection of his experience of Valis, and Robert Anton Wilson follow the same line of thought in his Cosmic Trigger trilogy. For these authors and others, we can see a shift away from the idea of a personal Divine Genius or Holy Guardian Angel(as part of the Magician's personal being)toward a projection of these experiences onto the external universe filled with beings who are attempting to contact or interact with the human race. Conversely, in the exploration of ASC by such authors as T. McKenna (The Archaic Revival, SF:Harper, 1991, pp. 10-12) we see that "entities" encountered in experiences of expanded gnosis caused by psychedelics can be perceived as wholly autonomous beings. See also Chapter One (pp. 23-41) of Hanegraaff, Wouter. New Age Religion and Western Culture, NY: SUNY, 1998 for a study on the phenomenon of Channeling.

172. This assumption does not reduce the power of such experiences. If we take Jung's approach to the unconscious, especially his understanding of the collective unconscious (to be addressed below) then the impact on the individual's psyche will be intensely numinous and forceful.

173. The Equinox of the Gods: The Equinox Vol. III, no. iii, AZ: New Falcon, 1991.

174. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.445.

175. Homilies on the First Epistle of John, VII, 8 in Augustine of Hippo. Homilies on the Gospel according to S. John, and his First Epistle, London: Smith, 1884.

176. One issue Crowley does not address in relation to Thelema and Augustine is the issue of Grace. In some ways the issue of Grace could be applied to Thelema in both its origin and its nature.

177. Rabelais, François. Gargantua and Pantagruel, trans. Burton Raffel, New York: Norton, 1990. For a summary of Crowley's acknowledgments see Crowley, "The Antecedents of Thelema" as found in The Revival of Magick and Other Essays, 162-69. Crowley found Rabelais' emphasis, on personal freedom and various "Dionysian" pursuits, among others, paralleled his, Crowley's, view of Thelema.

178. Crowley declared that the Magical Tradition and the Holy Qabalah were "the Children's table from which Freud . . . ate a few crumbs that fell." Crowley: Confessions, p.45. Of Jung Crowley states: "However, we should all study Jung. His final conclusions are in the main correct, even if his rough working is a bit sketchy; and we've got to study him, whether we like it or not, for he will soon be recognized as the undoubted Autocrat of the 1917 dinner-table." An Improvement on Psychoanalysis from: Crowley, The Revival of Magick and Other Essays, p.81.

179. Wilson, Snoo. The Number of the Beast, London: Calder, 1983, p.3.

180. Jung, C.W. 8, p.133. Emphasis is Jung's.

181. Jung, C.W. 12, p.107f. and C.W. 13, p.334 & 336.

182. Ibid., p.138.

183. Jung, C.W. 9i, p.79.

184. Jung's personal unconscious is similar to Freud's theory of the "unconscious."

185. Jung, C.W. 8, p.133. Brackets are mine.

186. Jung, C.W. 9, p.3.

187. Ibid.

188. Jung, C.W. 9ii, p.266.

189. Jung, C.W. 9ii, p. 17.

190. Jung, C.W. 12, p.41.

191. Jung, C.W. 8, p.226.

192. Ibid.

193. Jung, C.G. Memories, Dreams, Reflections, (Recorded and edited by Aniela Jaffé), New York: Vintage, 1989. Henceforth cited as MDR. One should note that not all scholars accept MDR as strictly or scientifically autobiographical. For example, Richard Noll states: "Thus, with MDR we do not have the human history of a renowned physician and scientist, but instead the myth of a divine hero, a holy man. . . and therefore a biography as "cult legend." The Jung Cult, NJ: Princeton, 1994, p.15. See also: The Cambridge Guide to Jung, (ed. Polly Young-Eisendrath and Terence Dawson) UK: Cambridge, 1997, p.xxxiii: "It is now realized that this work, which used to be read as autobiography, is the product of very careful editing both by Jung and Jaffé."

194. Jung, MDR, p.13.

195. Ibid., p.36.

196. Ibid.

197. The "sin" referred to here can be seen as the sin of becoming conscious and that God can only become conscious through human consciousness. This theory is also evident in Paul Tillich's Systematic Theology 3 volumes, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956-64.

198. Ibid., p.39.

199. The first example of Jung's use of analytical methods occurred in 1904 when he treated Sabina Spielrein (1885-1941) for hysteria. See Cambridge Guide to Jung, p.xxi and MDR: p.115.

200. Jung, C.W.5, pp.394-440.

201. Jung, MDR, p.168. For Jung's account of his relation with Freud see pp.146-169.

202. The first source which Jung commissioned was the Artis Auriferae Volumina Duo (1593). See MDR: p.204.

203. Jung, MDR, p. 205.

204. From Stolcius von Stolcenberg's Viridarium (1624), as found in Roob, Alexander. The Hermetic Museum: Alchemy and Mysticism. New York: Taschen, 1997, p.227. This form of cleansing symbolism is also the process revealed in the Death Card (XIII) of the Tarot.

205. "Owing to medieval ignorance both of chemistry and of psychology, and the lack of any epistemological criticism, the two categories ["truth" and "matter"] could easily mix, so that things for us that have no recognizable connection with one another could enter into mutual relationship." C.W. 14, p.467. Square brackets are mine.

206. "Right at the beginning you meet the "dragon," the chthonic spirit, the "devil" or as the alchemists called it, the "blackness" or the nigredo, and this encounter produces suffering. . . In the language of the alchemists, matter suffers until the nigredo disappears. . ." Jung cited from: C.G. Jung Speaking, pp. 228ff. In: Edinger, Edward F. The Mysterium Lectures, Toronto: Inner City, 1995, p.157.

207. "Mercurius is the prima materia. This must be dissolved at the beginning of the work, and the dissolved bodies then transformed into "spirits." The transformation is effected by putrefaction, which is synonymous with the nigredo, the grave, and death." C.W.14, p.501.

208. Jung, C.W.9ii, p.8.

209. Jung, C.W.14, p.497.

210. "Mercurius is not only the lapis as prima materia but the lapis as ultima materia, the goal of the opus."Ibid., p.501.

211. Ibid., p.462.

212. "The Mercurius of the alchemists is a personification and concretization of what we would call today the collective unconscious."Ibid., p.462.

213. "If the demand for self-knowledge is willed by fate and is refused, this negative attitude may end in real death." Ibid., p.474.

214. Jung, C.W. 13, p.237.

215. It should be noted that Sulfur has a positive and negative side (Sulphur duplex). So while Sulphur has a putrefying factor it is also a physical representation of solar (active) energy. See Jung, C.W. 14: pp.127-128.

216. Paraphrase, Edinger: Mysterium, pp.275-277 & C.W. 14, pp.459-462.

217. This concept is identical to the Kabbalistic Tree of Life where Malkut holds the entire Tree within her.

218. See Edinger: The Mysterium Lectures, Toronto: Inner City, 1995, p.276. & Jung, C.W. 14, p.459.

219. Jung, C.W.14, p.472.

220. Ibid., p.474.

221. Ibid., p.472-3.

222. Ibid., p.471. "The unio mentalis, the interior oneness which today we call individuation, he [Dorn] conceived as a psychic equilibrium of opposites." Brackets are mine.

223. Ibid., p.497.

224. Ibid., p.465.

225. Ibid., p.466.

226. Ibid.

227. Ibid., p.476.

228. Ibid., p.487.

229. Ibid., p.494.

230. Ibid.

231. Ibid., p.495.

232. Ibid., p.494.

233. The emphasis here is on "self" in a Jungian context.

234. Edinger, Mysterium, p.288.

235. Jung, C.W.14, p.490.

236. Edinger, Mysterium, p.290.

237. Jung, C.W. 14, p.490. In Mysterium, Edinger states that this flower symbolizes rational reason which is equal to wholeness.(p.291)

238. Ibid., p.494.

239. Edinger, Mysterium, p.291.

240. Jung, C.W.14, p.492.

241. We should note that there does not seem to be any obvious boundary between the process of the caelum and the end result, the unus mundus. Perhaps the caelum can be seen as a process which, when completed, is identical to what is described as the unus mundus.

242. Edinger, Mysterium, p.296.

243. Edinger, The Mysteries of the Coniunctio. Toronto: Inner City, 1994, p.79.

244. Jung, C.W. 14, p. 537.

245. Ibid., p.534.

246. Ibid., p.535.

247. Ibid., p.539.

248. This first step is identical to shadow work.

249. A brief, but an adequate example of this fact can be found in Jung, C.W. 8, pp.72-73. Ultimately shadow confrontation/unio mentalis is never fully complete "The volatile essence [nigredo/shadow] so carefully shut up and preserved in the Hermetic vessel of the unio mentalis could not be left to itself for a moment, because this elusive Mercurius [self] would then escape and return to its former nature, as, according to the testimony of the alchemists, not infrequently happened." Jung, C.W. 14, p.522. Brackets are mine.

250. Paraphrased. Edinger, Mysterium, p.279-280.

251. "The great difficulty here, however, is that no one knows how the paradoxical wholeness of man can ever be realized." C.W.14, p.476.

252. Edinger, Mysterium, p. 281.

253. Jung, C.W. 8, pp.387-403.

254. Ibid., p.403.

255. Ibid., p.82.

256. Ibid., pp.67-91.

257. Ibid., p.91.

258. Ibid., p.69.

259. Jung, C.W.14, p.520.

260. This is perhaps most evident in Jung's Answer to Job, Edinger's The Christian Archetype: A Jungian Commentary on the Life of Christ, Toronto: Inner City, 1991 , and John P. Dourley's The Illness That We Are, Toronto: Inner City, 1984.

261. Crowley was notorious for encouraging social ostracization. The English paper John Bull published many inflammatory and, by and large, slanderous articles. The most notable articles claim Crowley is the "Wickedest Man in the World." This title was to follow him beyond the grave to this day. Many sensationalist authors drop Crowley's name in the hopes that his distorted (though not entirely inaccurate) reputation will sell books.

262. The first two volumes of Crowley's autobiography (1929) were originally published under the title: The Spirit of Solitude: An Autohagiography Subsequently re-Antichristened The Confessions of Aleister Crowley.

263. See Jung, MDR, chapter II and chapter III.

264. Ibid., p.30.

265. Ibid., p.31.

266. One incident which reflects this can be found in Confessions, p.688f. Crowley describes a story he wrote called The Testament of Magdalen Blair (Equinox Vol. I, no. ix.). The story revolves around the following question: "Since thoughts are accompaniments of modifications of the cerebral tissues, what thoughts must be concomitants of its putrefaction?" Crowley recounts "I managed to make the story sound fairly plausible and let myself go magnificently in the matter of horror. I read it aloud to a house party on Christmas Eve; in the morning they all looked as if they had not recovered from a long and dangerous illness. I found myself extremely disliked!"

267. "I admit my visions can never mean to other men as much as they do to me. I do not regret this. All I ask is that my results should convince seekers after truth that there is beyond doubt something worth while seeking, attainable by methods more or less like mine. I do not want to father a flock, to be the fetish of fools and fanatics, or the founder of a faith whose followers are content to echo my opinions. I want each man to cut his own way through the jungle." Crowley: Confessions, p.618.

268. There is a famous story (Confessions, p.625-626) where Crowley enters into an Arab coffee house where a fight is in progress. Crowley, dressed in turban and robes recalls "I walked into the scrimmage and drew sigils in the air with the [star sapphire] ring while intoning a chapter of the Koran. The fuss stopped instantly, and a few minutes later the original parties to the dispute came to me and begged me to decide between them, for they saw that I was a saint." Brackets are mine.

269. This is notable even in early childhood with Jung's development of the two "personalities." See MDR, Chapters I and II.

270. Recorded in The Equinox, Vol. I, no. v & Vol. IV, no. ii.

271. Jung, MDR, p.105f.

272. Ibid., p.155f.

273. Ibid., p.182.

274. Ibid., p.183.

275. Ibid.

276. The "Ka" is an Egyptian concept of an embodied soul.

277. Ibid., p.185

278. Ibid., p.191. Apparently Jung considered the Seven Sermons as a sin of his youth (Ibid., p.378) but in fact they are highly expressive of Jung's thought at the time (1913-17) and give a unique insight into the foundations of his latter interest with alchemy.

279. Ibid., p.190-1.

280. Ibid., p.190.

281. Ibid., p.191.

282. See: Crowley, Commentaries on the Holy Books (The Equinox Vol. IV, no. i, pp.224-336 for his commentary on Blavatsky's The Voice of Silence, IL: Quest, 1992.

283. See for example "Science and Buddhism" in Crowley, Collected Works, Vol. II, pp.244-260.

284. In MDR, pp.274-284, Jung reveals some of these concerns as he gives his impressions of his trip to India in 1938.

285. Jung, C.W. 7, p.231. Brackets are mine.

286. Ibid. These sentiments are comparable to those expounded by Lama Govinda in Chapter One.

287. Jung may also have been concerned with the fact that between the Wars many individuals were jumping from one religious fad to another (many Western Esoteric and related Orders flourished during this period). He may have questioned the commitment of these types of initiations and what would be the aftermath on the individual's psyche.

288. An example of some of the changes Crowley brought to the O.T.O. can be found in The Equinox, Vol. III, no. i. Especially Liber CXCIV (pp.241-46) and The Equinox, Vol.III, no.x.

289. "There is only one method to adopt in such circumstances as those of the Aspirant to Magick and Yoga: the method of Science. Trial and error. You must observe. That implies, first of all, that you must learn to observe. And you must record your observations." Crowley, Magick Without Tears, p. 142. Emphasis is Crowley's.

290. Jung, MDR, p.189.

291. Ibid. Emphasis is Jung's

292. Crowley had a great deal of respect for Nietzsche as can be seen from Crowley's use of Nietzsche as one of the Saints in Liber XV- Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae Canon Missae (Gnostic Mass). See: The Equinox Vol. III, no.i, p.261.

293. We see a similar approach in Ngrjuna's "Two Truths." Relative Truth (samvrti satya) dictates, for example, that a table exists. We can see it and feel it so obviously it exists. However, Absolute Truth (paramrtha satya) shows us that a "table" is only an organizing of various independent aggregates. So in actuality there is no thing called table. (See: Schumann, Buddhism: An outline of its Teachings and Schools, Ill: Quest, 1989, pp.142-148). Crowley addresses this theme in many of his works and it can be found in Chapter I verse 22 of Liber Al Legis: "Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt."

294. To fully grasp the extent of Crowley's dedication to his spiritual ideals the reader is directed toward the following diaries: Magical Diaries of Aleister Crowley, (Stephen Skinner, ed.) Maine: Weiser, 1997; The Magical Record of the Beast 666, John Symonds & Kenneth, Grant eds.) London: Duckworth, 1993; The Temple of Solomon the King (The Babe), in The Equinox, Vol. I, no. viii, pp. 7-47; The Vision and the Voice with Commentary and Other Papers (The Equinox, Vol. IV, no.ii, pp. 411-422. The diaries are interesting because they where written, on the whole, with no intention of public consumption and thus tend to reflect Crowley in a more honest light.

295. For an overview of this issue and Jung's philosophical influences in general see: Nagy, Marilyn. Philosophical Issues in the Psychology of C.G. Jung, New York: SUNY, 1991 (pp. 209-219). See also: Jung, C.W. 8, The Soul and Death, p. 406, "Life is teleology par excellence; it is the intrinsic striving towards a goal, and the living organism is a system of directed aims which seek to fulfill themselves."

296. See Figure Six (a).

297. See Figure Six (b).

298. See Figure Six (c).

299. This unifying of opposites or rather the "solution of complexes" is one of Crowley's definitions of the Great Work. See: Crowley: The Law is for All, p.32.

300. The yogic forms of meditation implied here are considerably different from some meditation practices found in Buddhist practices such as satipatthna (mindfulness). In the latter case the practice is passive and unintrusive whereas the former requires a deliberate control of mental processes.

301. We could also use the term "retune" if we consider the neurological effect of these practices on the automatic nervous system (ANS). See: Laughlin et al.: Brain, Symbol, Experience, specifically

Chapter 5.

302. See Jung, C.W. 11, pars.243-295. Dourley, The Illness that We Are, pp.51-69 & "Humanity, the Trinity's Missing Fourth: The Psycho-Spiritual Implications of Jung's Quaternitarian Psyche" in Pastoral Sciences, 14, 1995, pp.34-64.

303. The figure of Babalon (Crowley's spelling ) is similar in many respects to the Hindu deity Kl. On the Tree of Life (see Figure Two) she corresponds to the sefira Binah. She is the Dark Mother portrayed in Crowley's The Vision and the Voice and Other Papers (The Equinox Vol.IV no.ii) especially the 12^th Æthyr (pp.148-153).

304. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.24.

305. Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.163.

306. "The word of Sin is Restriction." Liber Al Legis, I, 41.

307. In The Equinox Vol. I, no. vii, Crowley gives two ritual practices, Liber Nu & Liber Had which the practitioner can use to realize or actualize the qualities of Nuit and Hadit through various techniques. Jung has a similar understanding of the Nuit/Hadit connection: "In knowing ourselves to be unique in our personal combination [Hadit]-that is, ultimately limited- we possess also the capacity for becoming conscious of the infinite [Nuit]. But only then!" Jung, MDR, p.325. Brackets are mine.

308. Crowley states in Liber Oz: "There is no god but man" (Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.689. Italics are Crowley's).

309. "The Anthropos [which Christ is an example] is a symbol that argues in favour of the personal nature of the "totality," i.e., the self." Jung, C.W. 11, p.185. Brackets are mine.

310. Each of these changes occurs along the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life (Fig. 6 (a-c)). However, the results are brought about through the Path of the Serpent (Fig. 6b). That is to say the experiences are not transient, as would be the case with the mystical experience of the Path of the Arrow (Fig.6c), but a permanent restructuring of the Initiate's cosmology.

311. See Jung, C.W. 8, pp. 417-531.

312. Crowley cites Freud throughout his works but felt that he, Freud, and other psychologists were simply appropriating something the esotericists had known for centuries: ". . . interior struggle is at the base of nearly all neuroses, as Freud recently "discovered"- as if this had not been taught, and taught without his massed errors, by the great Teachers of the past!" Crowley, Magick Without Tears, p.40. The errors referred to by Crowley are the tendencies of Freud to reduce sexuality to a psychological process. Crowley would view sexuality as the ultimate expression of spirituality. For Freud's theory of libido see: Freud, Sigmund. On Sexuality, New York: Penguin, 1981.

313. Crowley, The Law is for All, p.63.

314. Jung, MDR, p.152.

315. Ibid., p. 168. Brackets are mine.

316. Crowley equates the Ipsissimus Grade (Symbolized by the sefira Kether) with the Buddhist notion of nirodha-sampatti which is the attainment of the state of extinction in which every mental activity is temporarily eliminated. See: Crowley, Magick/Liber Aba, p.654.

317. In his biographies of Crowley John Symonds incessantly points out that Crowley had an abusive personality, had few positive relations with people, and died a lonely, impoverished man. While this may be the case Crowley did nothing in an ordinary manner. To assume that he should have followed socially accepted norms when he was attempting to demonstrate that those very norms were, in his opinion, the cause of much repression and atrocity is erroneous.