The Smiths, How Soon Is Now? From Meat Is Murder (Japanese Release)(1990).

Neptuneinfurs-Me fui hoy (outro)

P.116 / 1855

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The Magical Diary

“To those who seek reality the Key of Magick is offered, and they are hereby warned that the key to the treasure-house is no good without the combination; and the combination is the magical record.

From one point of view, magical progress actually consists in deciphering one’s own record.” - From “Magick in Theory and Practice” by Aleister Crowley.

A person’s “Magical Diary” is a record of their exploration of “magical” or “altered” states over a period of time.

In the work cited above, various definitions of Magick are given:

“Magick is the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”

“Magick is the method of science and the aim of religion.”

“Magick is the Science of understanding oneself and one’s conditions. It is the Art of applying that understanding in action.”

In this context the “Method of Science” or “Scientific Method” is “a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge”.

Empirical evidence is that acquired by means of the senses, particularly by observation and experimentation. For example, we may observe how white light behaves when it shines through a prism, in which case the evidence comes in to our awareness via our visual system.

A separate experiment might involve plucking different strings on a guitar and recording how the sounds compare to each other. In this case the evidence arrives via our auditory system.

Our senses are subject to errors in perception, such as optical illusions in the case of our visual system. Scientific instruments were developed to magnify human powers of observation, and also translate into perceptible form events that are unobservable by human senses.

Making an observation may affect the process being observed, resulting in a different outcome than if the process was unobserved. This is called the observer effect.

Human observations are biased toward confirming the observer’s conscious and unconscious expectations and view of the world; we “see what we expect to see”. In psychology, this is called confirmation bias.

To help avoid or reduce the impact of “confirmation bias”, an emphasis is put on the careful recording of observations, the separation of experimental observations from the conclusions drawn from them, and techniques such as blind or double blind experiments.

In order for a theory to be generally accepted by a practitioner’s peer group, the experimental outcomes used as evidence for the theory must be reproducible.

For example, if it is claimed that the ingestion of cannabis by a human subject causes an alteration in their perception of time (under controlled conditions), then this effect should be reproducible in other subjects under the same experimental conditions.

Note that the discussion above applies both to measurements of physical quantities in the external environment, and internal (subjective) measurements (e.g. time perception).

In “Liber E vel Exercitiorum” (”Book E, or The Book of Exercises”) by Aleister Crowley, the following instructions are given:

It is absolutely necessary that all experiments should be recorded in detail during, or immediately after, their performance.

It is highly important to note the physical and mental condition of the experimenter or experimenters.

The time and place of all experiments must be noted; also the state of the weather, and generally all conditions which might conceivably have any result upon the experiment either as adjuvants to or causes of the result, or as inhibiting it, or as sources of error.

Another way of thinking about these records is that they are similar to the travel log or journals written by explorers into areas of experience that are not well understood and may be outside the range of “consensus reality”.

In this approach we can think of different states of consciousness as “places”, where these places are not locations in the physical world, but rather a state of being that exhibits certain characteristics.

For example, we can talk about a band or performer taking an audience to a series of emotional states during a live performance, or a film or novel doing the same thing for the person watching or reading those works. These states would be familiar to many people, and would form part of consensus reality.

The states we are concerned with here are not currently part of consensus reality, even though an increasing number of individuals are exploring the regions outside of “Plato’s Cave”.

The records left by these “Psychonauts” (”Soul Navigators”) can help others explore these spaces, especially if they give concrete instructions on how to reproduce the experience(s).

While the findings noted in your Magical Diary may be helpful to others, the person they benefit the most will be yourself, for the following reasons:

The initial stages of the “Great Work” can be a long hard road, and it can seem at times that you are not making any progress at all. By keeping a record you can see that you are in fact making headway, which can help you to persevere in the journey.

By making it a habit to record your work, you help develop a detached “witnessing” attitude, which can help you process any “negative” material which may arise.

Recording aspects such as the current sign the Sun and Moon are in, the Lunar phase and mansion etc. may suggest patterns and relationships which you may not have been aware of.

Developing a habit of recording the stages of your journey will help develop a stronger ability in “pattern recognition”, which is crucial to better understanding your current position and which path to take next.

Records of personal interactions and behaviour can help you to stop unconscious behaviour patterns which are not helpful to you or others. The first step to journeying towards more positive states is making an accurate assessment of where you currently are.

The images shown above are:

“Aleister Crowley and the Practice of the Magical Diary” by James Wasserman (Ed.) (2006).

W. B. Yeat’s notebooks from his time in the Golden Dawn.

“Dr. John Dee’s Spiritual Diaries (1583 - 1608)”, detailing the system of Enochian Magic.

Page from Leonardo da Vinci’s “Codex Atlanticus”, showing the “Flower of Life” geometric symbol.

A drawing by Isaac Newton on the “Lapis Philosophorum” (”Philosopher’s Stone”).

Aleister Crowley’s holograph manuscript of “The Book of Lies”.

A diagram showing the ongoing process of “The Method of Science”.

A map of the “Tharsis Quadrangle” on Mars, as we continue to map and extend our knowledge of the family of planets around Sol.

“Plato’s Allegory of the Cave” by Jan Saenredam (1604).

“The Quest of the Holy Grail, the Search for the Stone of the Philosophers—by whatever name we choose to call the Great Work—is therefore endless.

Success only opens up new avenues of brilliant possibility.

Yea, verily, and Amen! the task is tireless and its joys without bounds; for the whole Universe, and all that in it is, what is it but the infinite playground of the Crowned and Conquering Child, of the insatiable, the innocent, the ever-rejoicing Heir of Space and Eternity, whose name is (WO)MAN? “ - From “Little Essays Towards Truth” (1938).

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