21st Century Mage: Bring the Divine Down to Earth

86 Pages·2002·0.52 MB·English

by  Jason Augustus Newcomb

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,
•
21 s t C e n t u r y M a g e
BAING THE DIVINE DOWN TO EARTH
Jason Augustus Newcomb
B o o
W E I S E R K .S
Boston, MA/York Beach , ME
First publishedin2002 by
Red Wheel/Weiser,Ll.C
York Beach, ME
With officesat:
36HCongressStreet
Boston, MA02210
Table of Contents
www.rt'dwht'elwt'isl·r.Ct)1I1
Copyright©2002Jason Augustus Newcomb
Allrights reserved.Nopart ofthispublication muyhereproducedor transmitted
inanyformorbyanymeans, electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying, Introduction vii
recording,or byany information storageand retrieval system, withoutpermission
inwritingfrom RedWheel/Weiser,LLC. Reviewersmayquote briefpassages.
PartI: Making Spaceforthe Divine
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData 1. The Knowledge and Conversation of
Your Holy Guardian Angel. 3
Newcomb,JasonAugustus.
21stcenturymage:bringthedivinedown toearthI byJasonAugustus 2. The Abramelin Program 15
Newcomb.
3. Preparation for the Abramelin Operation 21
p.cm.
Includesbibliographical references.
4. The Foundation of Your Spiritual Practice 31
ISBN 1-57863-237-4 (alk.paper)
1. Magic.2. Guardian angels-Miscellanea.3. AbrahambenSimeon, 5. Work on Yourself 51
ofWorms, 15thcent. I. Title:Twenty-firstcentury mage.II.Title.
BF1623.A53N49 2002
133.4'3- dc21
Part II: Calling Down the Divine
2002001950
6. Methods for the Attainment 71
7. Yoga Techniques 75
Typeset inSabon,UniversCondensed, and UnivcrsExtended
8. Ceremonial Magick 87
Printed inCanada
9. Astral Travel 95
TCP
10. The Wof WOperation 101
0908 07 06 05 04 03 02
87 65 432 1 11. Devotion 105
12. Sexual Techniques 109
13. Awareness and Zen 113
14. The Supreme Method 117
aa.llarm
21sT CE NTURY MAGE
PartIII: Communion with the Divine
15. The Full Program 121
16. Invoking Your Angel 127
17. Conquering the Four Evil Princes 131 Introduction
18. The Abramelin Squares 145
Notes 151
Bibliography 161
W ithin the pages of this book you will find a com
plete elucidation of the most modern methods of
illuminatingyour mind and achieving divine con
sciousness. Yet, these methods are based on some ancient
practices for communing with your Holy Guardian Angel
described in The Sacred Magic ofAbramelintheMage. I have
distilled the widely variant methods for contacting the Holy
Guardian Angel into a clear and concise plan, which I refer
to as the Abramelin operation. You youcan fashion this plan
into your own unique spiritual practice. I have devoted my
entire adult life to understanding the nature of the magical
and religious experience, and I hope to share what I've
learned in these pages.
I have always had an interest in spirituality, particularity
the esoteric sort. Before my teens, I started to amass a small
I
21sT CENTURY MAGE INTRODUCTI.ON
viii
library of books on the occult, one of which happens to beThe operation as described in the Abramelin, and still managed to
Book ofthe Sacred Magic ofAbramelin the Mage. I consider achieve the result I sought in much less time than the book
myself a skeptical and pragmatic mystic. I love to experience prescribed. I feel that p~~cisely following the instructions in
the transcendent joy of higher states of consciousness and the any book isunnecessary, as long as you are consciously aware
oceanic experience of cosmic union, but I don't believe that of your choices, and are following your personal intuition. I
mystical gadgets, crystals, and "secret knowledge" in and of do, however, devote a chapter in this book to an outline of all
themselves will get me there. Illumination is a natural state the medieval rules for those of you who would like to follow
and requires neither special beliefs, psychedelic drugs, nor the the Abramelin plan to the letter.
"mercy" of God. God, whoever s/he really is, wants us to In Part I, I outline the Abramelin operation so that you
experience these ecstatic trances. S/he requires no sacrifices know what preparations to make. In Part II, I discuss the
and no ascetic, behavioral taboos or moral strictures. framework of your spiritual practice and methods you can
I spent my spiritual adolescence primarily within the use to develop it. Part III contains details about the culmina
Golden Dawn tradition, studying the teachings of its most tion of your work-invoking your Holy Guardian Angel and
famous student, Aleister Crowley. Virtually single-handedly, working with it to positively transform your life.
Crowley expanded the idea of the Holy Guardian Angel into I believe that profound spiritual experiences are the
the whole process of spiritual awakening.I In my experience, birthright of all human beings. These experiences awaken
the Holy Guardian Angel is that completely divine part of within us new and expanded possibilities for happiness,
you that is beyond waking consciousness. The experience of achievement, and wisdom. Many amazing and wonderful
contacting your Holy Guardian Angel is the marriage of things have happened in my life as a direct result of working
your "human being" with your "divine self"-yourconscious with the tools that I have outlined in this volume. I hope that
self with your unconscious self. Uniting these two modes of you will experience similar joys.
consciousness has always been the goal ofmystics and sages. Throughout history, there have been certain people
It has sometimes been called the alchemical marriage of the whether they are artists, mystics, religious leaders, or scien
Sun and the Moon or the marriage of the Red King and the tists-who were giant strides ahead of the rest of the human
White Queen. In Indian Tantric philosophy, it is often called race. These people possessed a universal awareness, a super
the union of Shiva and Shakti. This union is said to take conscious ability to see and create, and the wonders that they
place in the spiritual third-eye center. All of these names and beheld and gave to the world have become the foundations of
symbols reduce to the fact that illumination is one thing, our cultures.
regardless of the labels and explanations that people attach These people,whether they fully realized it or not, hadcre
to it. ated a connection with the universe that enabled them to see
When I performed the Abramelin operation, I did many the "bigger picture" in ways that ordinary people only dream
things wrong, omitted incredible amounts of the details of the of. The theoretical physicist Albert Einstein; the mystics St.
21sT CENT UR Y MAGE INT RODUCT ION
Paul; Joan of Arc, and St. Teresa, the vrsionary occultist in the truth and beauty of the universe.This isa magical and
Aleister Crowley; the immortal playwright William Shakes spiritual experience thateveryone should enjoy. "T~e illum~­
peare; the nature-mystic-poet Walt Whitman; the founder of
nation and spiritual glory which the Angel brings IS so fair
Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy; the founder of the and holy and terrible a vision that in the devotee is in~uce.d
Theosophical Society, Helena P. Blavatsky; and many, many a rapture, an adoration, a transport of ecstasy which is
others throughout history possessed genius, vision, and un beyond all human conception and human speech,"3wrote
earthly imagination. These people had, in one way or another,
the noted mystic and initiate Israel Regardie. After such an
the Knowledge and Conversation of their Holy Guardian
experience, you are no longer the same. .
Angels.
Once you have attained the Knowledge and Conversation
We all have this potential for power, genius, and vision. of your Angel, and as long as you heed the counsel of your
Every person has the potential for a universal awareness.
Angel, your course in life becomes clear. The steps that you
Conversing with the Holy Guardian Angel is a mode of
must take to achieve your goals are easy, and you can take
access to the connection between human consciousness and
them confidently. Life becomes a natural and creative expres
universal, or divine, consciousness. Weare all born with this
sion of your inner beauty. Aleister Crowley wrote, "This is
connection. The connection is subtle and unconscious, and it
the essential work of every man; none other ranks with it
is unfortunately lost very quickly amid the pressures of either for personal progress or for power to help one's ~el­
growing up in the world. Without this access to universal lows. This unachieved, man is no more than the unhappiest
consciousness, or without the Knowledge and Conversation
and blindest of animals .... Achieved, he is no less than the
of our Holy Guardian Angels, we humans are blindly grop co-heir of gods, a Lord of Light. He is conscious of his own
ing in the darkness of our conflicted and confused thoughts . "4
consecrated course, and confidently ready to run it.
and feelings.
From the lowest beggar to the richestcomputer executive,
every human being faces insecurity and fear. This is because
we have lost the connection with our Holy Guardian Angel,
our connection to the universe. As Aleister Crowley put it,
"the essence of the horror of not knowing one's Angel is the
utter bewilderment and anguish of the mind, complicated by
the persecution of the body, and envenomed by the ache of
the soul."2 We can remedy this. Every person can aspire to
this knowledge and possess this conversation.
Attaining the Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy
Guardian Angel forever transforms your mind, bathing life
PART I
Making Space for the Divine
~·'i
The Knowledge and Conversation of 1
Your Holy Guardian Angel
T his book is about a spiritual process that has been
slowly developing for hundreds of years. This spiri
tual process isthe inner purpose of the entireWestern
occult movement and isessentially a universal one known by
many names: enlightenment, illumination, gnosis, samadhi,
the oceanic experience, andcosmic awareness, to name afew.
In truth, all spiritual paths lead to this same goal. I am exclu
sively interested in helping you achieve this goal. In this
book, the goal is called the Knowledge and Conversation of
your Holy Guardian Angel.
"The Knowledge and Conversation of your Holy
Guardian Angel" is a rather strange phrase and you may
wonder exactly why I insist on using it. Aleister Crowley
originally coined the phrase, and no, I don't use it because
I'm a big fan of his. I think it isextremely accurate and use
ful. Crowley defined the phrase in more than one way
21sT CENTURY MAG E YOUR HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL
throughout his voluminous wnnngs, and it's hard to tell ~\arrent concept of you. Many people think of their Higher
exa.cdy what he meant by it. So I'll just tell you what I .... If as the best and most ~J?iritual part of their personality.
by It. mean rtt'he Higher Self is their generosity, loving-kindness, intu
.'tlveness, and so forth. None of this has anything to do with
-i.~ Know~edg~:Intimate familiarity. In this context, I ~',our
Holy Guardian Angel. Your Holy Guardian Angel
am usmg It to mean awareness of the reality of
,::;:might encourage you to be generous, or may inspire loving
your Holy Guardian Angel.
{kindness, but it is not any part of your personality. It would
-*. . be safe to consider it as a separate being, because it is so for-
Conversation: The ability to communicate.
eign that you may be unable to reconcile your Angel with
-i.~ Holy: Sacred, worthy of adoration. your self, even though your Angel dwells in your own inner-
.*.
Guardian: Tutelary and protective. most center.
The reason for this is quite simple. You are not the prod-
~:~. Angel: Spiritual Being. This being is not some uct of your own being. You are currently an amalgam of fam
shadowy reflection of your highest ideals; rather, ily and cultural tendencies combined in a unique way, juxta
you are a shadowy reflection of this being. posed on top of a spiritual infinity. The realyou issomething
of which you are, for the most part, unaware, although you
In otherwords, for me, "The Knowledge and Conversation
may feel some faint cry of longing from this inner being as
~fyour Holy ~~ardianAngel" means quite simply the aware-
you wake up each morning to go, once again, to a job that
be~s of and ability to communicate with your highest spiritual
you did not choose for love but rather for convenience, to
emg.
work on projects that are not your own. This is certainly not
to say that quitting your job is the key to spiritual unfolding.
WhatIstheHoly Guardian Angel?
Spiritual unfolding takes place as you awaken to the karmic
You may now.be thinking that this Angel is just a metaphor, forces that have propelled you to where you are now and dis
o~ you m~y still ~e holding on to the notion that a golden cover that you do not even know the real you.
winged being of light awaits you in some invisible realm T Over the centuries, the Holy Guardian Angel has been
tell the truth, directing your energy toward figuurning out w/haat called by hundreds of names, including the Logos, the
an Angel really is will not bring you any closer to the Augoeides, the Genius, the Higher Self, the Inner God,
Knowled~e and Co~~ersation.Having said that, let me make Silent Watcher, Great Master, the Daemon, Adonai, Vishnu,
a few points of clarification. Arman, The Great Person, and even the Qabalistic terms
h Y~u might hear the Holy Guardian Angel referred to as Neschamah, Chiah, or Yechidah. Abramelin the Mage and
~ e HIgher Self. This is not inaccurate, but it can be mislead Aleister Crowley chose the name "Holy Guardian Angel."
mg. The Holy Guardian Angel is not you in any sense of your The name implies no particular theory of the universe, and
2 1 S T C E N T U R Y
YOUR HOLY GUARDIAN ANGEL
it would be silly if not impossible t
with his client is that of friendship, of community, of broth
ogy around the name. 0 try to erect a cosrnol-
erhood, or fatherhood."2
Don't confuse the Holy Guardian A '
ofyourpersonalirv for there i ,ngel with any aspects
r» ere IS no direct Ian hi
any part of your personalit d h re ations Ip between Thou Shalt Have No False Holy Guardian Angels
Your Holy Guardian An IY,an t e Holy Guardian Angel.
beyond that If you h ge IS not a human construct;. it is There is a very popular "angel movement" going on In
. ear somebod t Iki b Westernculture these days. Little "guardian angel" lapel pins,
as an interdimensional b ' y a ing a out their Angel
, emg or that they , and workshops on "working with your angel guides"
with Atlantis through thei A are communIcating
err ngel th lki abound. One of the main reasons that I have written this
something other than th H 1 G ' , ey are ta mg about
l e o y uardian Angel book is to throw the floodlight of sanity upon this flim-flam
want to share with you a reall bi .
that has been infecting the Western mind.
have the Knowled d y rg secret: you already
ge an Conve ' f The main thing that I would like to get across onthis sub
GuardianAngel You justd 'k r,satlOn 0 your Holy
. on t nowIt It'll ject is that each person has one Holy Guardian Angel, and
once you experience this ', . srea ystrange, but
, , cosmIC awarenes I' only one. Many of the self-proclaimed angel experts these
Its always been there There i s, you rea ize that
. ere IS so much th ff days assert that we each have many angel guides and we can
around you thatit di 0 er stu going on
rstracrs you from the work with them all and get just so much more angelic guid
that you're experiencI'ng , h pureecstacyofbeing
rtg t now The si] ' ance that way. These "angels" certainly exist, and you can
Holy Guardian Ang li 1 ,. e SI ent VOIce of your
e IS a ways WIth I' definitely work with myriad spirits, disembodied entities,
else in some distant 1 f ", you. t IS not somewhere
, 0 ty, spiritual sph I' d ' totem animals, and archetypal figures. There is nothing
you. Ifyou listen truly I' ere. t IS eep inside
, isten, you can h it b k ' wrong with doing this. In fact, it isquite useful in many ways.
now. It is a soft voice d ear It ec orung even
,~n YOU But these entities are not "guides." These entities are not
easy to mistake this f have to listen carefully. It is
VOIce or the h' yours. Most of them are unbalanced forces that are seekingto
your head. The way t 11 h many or er VOIces inside
, 0 te t at the voi , reach equilibrium through your perceptual system. Some of
It will always be in fa f oice IS your Angel is that
vor 0 you a qui d these entities exist inside of you and some outside of you.
encouraging you in and t d'l met a vocate. It is always
owar ove I They are unconscious forces that you need in your life, forces
These words from Aleister Cr .1 '
thatyou are probably drawn toward or fascinated by, butyou
the Holy GuardI'an AI' ow ey nicely sum up what
nge IS· "Th A ' should not consider them your advisors.
Individual, with his ,. engel IS an actual
, own UnIverse exactl ' Your Holy Guardian Angel isentirely different from these
IS not a mere abstraction a s 1 .' f y as man IS.... He
, ' e ecnon rom a d 1 ' entities in everyway. In essence, your Holy Guardian Angel is
ones own favourite I' , , n exa ration of
qua rties. . He ' hi , the center of your universe, the pivot point, the axis onwhich
a man, possibly a being h h·· IS somet mg more than
d~' ~lready your consciousness revolves. To propose that there are many
stage of humanity 0 as passed through the
,an IS peculIarly intimate relationship of these angels is to propose that we have more than one axis,
~I"
21sT CENTUR Y MAGE
Y OUR H O L Y GU ARDIAN ANGEL
more than one center of being. It is just not accurate. Your
Guardian Angel is always with you. You can have your Angel
Holy Guardian Angel is the purveyor of your purpose in life, right this moment, if you want. The Angel is there, perche~
which is also singular. If you do this one thing-your pur
and waiting above and wi,minyou. You can speak now, and if
pose-you are unstoppable. Ifyou try to do some other thing
you listen, you will hear an answer. Other voices may answer
on the advice of some "angel spirit guides," disparate forces
at the same time. Some of these other voices may say that
may eventually pull you to pieces.
you're being foolish, that there are no angels, and that this
Some people try to suppress all sorts of anger and despair
book is silly. Your angel's voice will actually be easy to recog
beneath a love-and-light surface, which any psychologist will
nize amid the throng. It may be loud, or it may be silent, but
tell you, is unhealthy, There is a good reason why
initwill be honestyand love.Itwill bea voicethat is, in truth,
"New-Agers" are sometimes regarded as "spaced-out." By
more you than anything you've ever known of yourself. The
submitting to the power of unbalanced archetypes, people
voice is intimate, familiar, never lofty or full of itself. When
allow themselves to be vampirized. They ask the advice of the
you hear this voice, there is no question that it is your Angel.
"blue angel" and then the "purple angel" and then the "laven
You may not be ready to hear what it has to say, but perhaps
der angel," and each one gives them differing and opposing
you can catch a whisper. J dare you to speak to your Angel
instruction. They feel like they're becoming truly enlightened.
right now. Ask. Jdouble-dog dare you.The degree of blissthat
On the contrary, these colorful guides are soaking up all the
you feel in response is the degree to which you are presently
original and unique life-energy of these individuals.
capable of communicating with your Holy Guardian Angel.
One exception among the New Age literature is Edwin
Many people think that enlightenment, gnosis, or the
Steinbrecher's The Inner Guide Meditation. This book con
Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel
tains amethod ofcontactingyour "Inner Guide," a figure who
come like a cataclysm. They think that ifthey just keep doing
is, in my experience, a personified symbol of your Holy
some sort of technique over and over, one day, someday,
Guardian Angel on the astral plane. The inner guide medita
they'll become illumined in some sort of divine thunderstor~.
tion is a simple way of contacting your Holy Guardian Angel
It is true that you will have peak experiences-e-explosive
through the subjective figure of an "Inner Guide." Using this
oceans of bliss that will change you forever-if you follow a
system,you can speak with your innerguide and obtain advice
serious practice. However, for the most part, spiritual growth
and help on your spiritual path. The method is so lucid and
is like cultivating a plant or garden. It grows little by little,
usefulthatIrecommend ithighlyto anyonelookingfor a truly
season by season, until one day you realize that you have a
easy and flexible technique. The inner guide meditation does
beautiful and illuminated soul. Often this realization isas cat
have its limits, and may seem overly simplistic to anyone who
aclysmic as any samadhi.
is really steeped in the Western occult movement.
People have constructed many different models of the
One of the most important things that I realized by using
subtle realms beyond the physical plane. There is the
simple techniques such as Steinbrecher's is that your Holy
Theosophical model, the Qabalistic model, the Vedantic