Abramelin, The First Day

Why did I decide to jump right into this process before trying other, less intense or time consuming ritual Magick?  At first, I did so because many of the workings I read seemed to have the HGA invocation as part of the opening series of protections and to me, it seemed silly to invoke anything about which I had little to no knowledge.  Plus, I would later discover that there was a much greater reason why I chose to begin this work, at this stage of my life.  After all, ignorance and Magick just don't seem to be very good companions.  So, I made sure to choose and use the latest guide for the work--the Dehn version called "The Book of Abramelin."  It seemed to be the most appropriate for me, since there were historical context-setting explanations and there weren't too many things I would have to buy to make K&CHGA a reality.  I would discover that this process was actually a continuation of work I had already completed...I just needed to make sure I had all the necessary items to undertake the process as outlined in the Grimoire.

The following is combination of journal excerpts and clarifications to them:

Preparation:  I purchased everything I needed to make the "Oil of Abramelin" (per the Crowley recipe), incense, wand of pecan wood (purchased lathed and unfinished) and all other items.  Getting the scarlet colored silk was a challenge, but the white cotton for the robes was much easier.  The incense was easy to procure, although I added an additional ingredient* to it, for a more uplifting effect. The altar was smaller than usual, so I converted a night-table that had a drawer in which I put the items after closing, but with the addition of a covered box top, it had the appearance I sought  The room I used was perfect for the work--I specifically rented an apartment that had a room with its windows aligned properly--one in the east, one in the west.  Another thing that I was told to do, by a good friend that had already completed this process, was to pursue the work WITHOUT a preconceived name of my HGA; that would be revealed as the work entered the second phase.  I  would later discover that no preconceived notions should be had about anything, as few things happen as described in the book--some things are hidden purposely. 

The work:  Day one consists of a clearing of sorts and is unlike the other days.  Some simply omit this day's work, but in my opinion, that would have been totally contrary to the purpose of the work.  In my opinion, it offers the initiate an opportunity to make an accounting of himself to himself. I chose the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur to begin the working, for obvious reasons--not because I am a Jew or religious; it just felt right. Now to be quite honest, I wasn't in prayer from sun up until sundown, but I did make a full accounting to myself of all the things I felt I needed to.  It was all new.  The level of detail required to perform the Abramelin seemed above and beyond what one would normally do for other ritual workings.  I opened and closed as per the literature.

Impressions:  On day one, some things seemed silly and difficult to do with a straight face.  This was a phenomena that occurred only at the very beginning.  "Inflaming" myself "in prayer" was not easy to do either.  Dressing up in the appropriate attire and making sure the room was properly consecrated took a lot of time and it seemed unimportant.  Something else I found myself doing initially--clock watching; an hour of constant ritual is tough to pull-off at first.  I also found myself wondering why I decided to start a process that could last a year and a half.  It wouldn't be long before I discovered that the entire process works and unites one to himself--his higher-self, identifies his purpose and other things that I will discuss as this series progresses.  There were no epiphanies to talk about from day one, incidentally.

My Thought Layers: Technicolor Music and Loud Arrays of Words

I think in layers. Do you sometimes think this way too?

My thoughts sometimes begin from an impulse that reminds me of a sustained sub-bass note, but as they progress upward, they become an active "voice" in my head. Initially, my thoughts have a deeper, more symbolic, non-verbal meaning. Passing into the inner-audio channel, my language constraints hide their full meaning. I am multi-lingual and because I am, I have multiple vocabulary lists. Normally, I am a fast English thinker, but in cases of severe English limits, a Spanish word or less frequently, an Italian or some other language's word flashes on to my minds inner screen. My "Namer and Guesser" or "NAG" is in charge of analyzing all the raw information I receive from sensory input. For just a nanosecond, it matches that raw information with my internal computer's database to determine its name.  The only exception to this steadfast rule occurred when I initially learned used my psychic faculties because the raw information entered my mind through a channel not wired directly to the NAG, thus bypassing it completely.  Well, that was until the NAG learned how to splice into or "tap" the new channel and re-direct that raw information through it as well. It appears that the NAG has some control issues and doesn't like to share any of its responsibilities.  In fact, during my Controlled Remote Viewing sessions, the most challenging aspect for me was to "freeze" my impressions before or just as they were interpreted by my "Namer and Guesser."  

The "Namer and Guesser" is what Ingo Swann (pictured at left), creator of the Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV) protocol and the world's foremost authority on the intricacies and functioning of the mind's paranormal attributes, named the internal mental faculty that takes information, matches it with known objects, cross checks and compares it to other known objects and then subjects it to individual likes, dislikes and other programming peculiarities within the unique human psyche. All this is done in "nano-time."  An example of this function occurs when matching impressions from all the five senses with the two newly discovered senses.

Mr. Lyn Buchanan (pictured at right), a former student of Ingo Swann and former member the CIA's Top Secret CRV Unit responsible for the success of project "STARGATE," named the two newest senses the "Ambiance" sense (formerly known as the "Sixth Sense") and the "Psychic" sense (formerly known as the "Seventh Sense" or "Clairvoyant Channel"). How many times have you looked at something and had to look again because you were not able to identify it or because when you looked the first time, something seemed odd or out of place, but you weren't sure what or why? Yes, thank the "NAG" for telling you that it could not offer a you either complete analysis or even close guess based on the information you dared pass off to it as "complete."

During my Baccalaureate studies in Meteorology, I was (and still am) a Kinesthetic learner. I took copious notes, would look at diagrams, watch the teacher as he spoke and reconstructed class at my apartment when I would re-type my written class notes. This re-typing step was critical, as I reconstructed the Atmosphere into 12 layers, would physically move them vertically and horizontally at the meso-scale to get an idea about the atmospheric dynamics of weather systems and other synoptic features. I would make-up hand gestures (symbols) to accompany concepts that would otherwise require a considerable amount of time and effort to completely write out using rote memorization. All Atmospheric layers stack back to the colder air and jet stream maxes located at the 300mb level (30,000ft), which form "short waves" in the long wave pattern at the 500mb (18,000ft) level, thus creating conditions favorable for precipitation-type weather.

I have an entire notebook filled with acronyms that involves the use of a minor hand gesture that kicks off a mental process. For example, there's one that cues an entire thermodynamic process within our atmosphere. My grades reflected the effectiveness of this approach, as did the fact that I can regurgitate this information to anyone interested in hearing about it. Unfortunately, it doesn't work well in the home environment's self-teaching platform. These gestures and memory short-cuts were not always effective. Problems appeared when I encountered non-standard weather cases and anything else that didn't fit a classic scenario.  This immediate need for the right answer required me to make a "WAG," or "Wild Ass Guess." I thought that was what I was doing, anyway. Very recently, I was in a chemically-induced, altered state of mind that gave me an opportunity to re-evaluate some of my mind's mysteries.  Surprisingly, I discovered that even non-standard cases also stick to the same principles as the more common scenarios, but in a more sublime way. I realized that I had mentally inserted myself into the problem, and visualized myself with my back to the wind.  I mentally turned myself 15 degrees to the left, revealing the location of the low pressure center and it was from there, I discovered, that I was interpolating while making all my "WAG's." If only I had realized this earlier, I would have had much more confidence in my meteorological observations and forecasts. Incidentally, I discovered that I use a similar process which seems to work during all my improvisational music performances and other performance-based tasks that have an established system of measurement.  Other mental operations have different requirements which work so differently from the way that this example works.

While conversing, I "see" thought matrices and mental flow charts that "appear" on my "inner thinking screen." These charts deliver my responses to me before the other person has completed saying their piece. I am unsure if this is a form of telepathy, because I am always generating and completing my spoken words mentally before I hear the other person's  words flow vocally. I assume that others do something similar to this as well. Could this be an example of the mind's advanced computing power in action? Is it an educated guess based on the diminishing probability of certain phrases appearing at certain points in people's speech? I say that it is a combination of both and that there is also a telepathic element involved as well. There are advantages to being tuned in to others' conversational frequencies. I am never at a loss for words and can charm just about anyone I meet by saying things delivered from above, processed in the middle with my impulses from below--remember these? These impulses seem to relate to observations about my environment and the non-verbal cues I receive from my victim...er, um, the person with whom I happen to be conversing. The descending, improvised statements are inspired from an Esoteric energy or force that feels as if it is located just above my Crown Chakra.

Other Esoteric relationships exist between sensory stimuli and communication dynamics.  Through the study and practice of Ritual Magick, these relationships become more important.  Some of you may know that I am 1/3 of the way through with the Abramelin Operation. I will say that it is a completely transformative experience. Results present themselves just after the routine this Sacred operation begins to seem like second nature. Recently, I started to notice that words and phrases I use contains more than just colloquial meaning. Each word I choose to use when I speak has an associated color, each color "feels" as if it would have a direction if it were in motion. Each of these possible perceptions of movement and texture contributes to emotional impact of my immediate environment. This makes better sense when taken in the context of music lyrics. Music alone is capable of generating an emotional response that influences the immediate environment. Selecting words that have multiple meanings (i.e. the double entendre) and utilizing them at significant points in the musical score, with proper intonation, creates effects unique to each listener during a musical movement by synergistically effecting the emotional "punch" of the song. This is the very principle I try to apply to human speech and its effect on others.

Words have the power to make people angry, happy and sad. Words can also inspire. Some people have the uncanny ability to select words based on their emotional strength and use them quite effectively; one example is Advertising and Public Relations Specialists--needless to say, they earn quite a good living influencing our decisions and our actions. These are actually Magickal principles that we, as Esoterists, have known about since antiquity.  They are just now being discussed by the masses.  As modern students of the Western Esoteric Tradition, it is important for us to always be one step ahead of everyone else, so that we never allow ourselves to fall prey to deception or manipulation.  By learning to master the intricacies of sublime relationships like those previously discussed, we empower ourselves to  better understand how our world truly works.

Now, you know that there are real relationships between sound and color, and that when properly manipulated by someone in a Magickal context, a significant emotional impact may be affected on an individual, the entire audience or a specifically defined demographic therein. So, it is important for you to try to find examples of these relationships during your day. Just think, the power of mantra during visualization is an example of how sound waves influence brain activity. Something seemingly as simple as basic human conversation is actually a complicated chorus of coordinated physical and mental processes. I select my words based upon their specific tonal color and emotional "charge."  I enhance them even more by using proper voice inflection and subtle forms of non-verbal communication as well. I do this for a number of reasons, but primarily, I do it to benefit in some way from it, or to get some type of predetermined reaction from the people with whom I happen to be speaking. This means that I am using Magick to manifest whatever it is that I happen to need when I am speaking.