the timboucher experience

A while ago, I found an interesting article from Antero Alli on the differences between mystical and “magickal” approaches to the spiritual. This excerpt ought to summarize the whole thing:

The mystical path is primarily devotional, a path of the heart. Mystical tendencies encourage one to yield, acquiesce and eventually surrender around forces one experiences as greater and more intelligent than ones person. The mystic is carried by a genuine lack of concern for the outcome of destiny, producing a wisdom for letting things happen and flowing with the forces that be. Mysticism is any sensibility encouraging direct openess to and merging with the unknown universe on its innate terms, through reverence of mystery.

Magickal work is essentially self-determined wish fulfillment anchored in the will to power. Magick is rooted in the development of those volitional skills enabling one to effect change in the outer and inner worlds according to ones will, that is to say, on purpose. The magickian works to utilize the forces of nature to fulfill his/her intentions and often does so with the use of magickal tools, ie., ritual implements, herbs, incantations, sigils, etc.

He’s then quick to point out that these aren’t so much hard and fast distinctions as they are directions or impulses and that both exist to some extent in all who tread these roads. The keywords he uses to describe mysticism and magick, respectively, are “service” and “control.” As far as his above definition is concerned, I tend to fall more on the mystic side. That is, I’m more interested in riding the wave, rather than directing the storm.

The topic of weather might be useful for introducing what I think is probably the third impulse or direction which was not accounted for by Alli. I don’t know if the proper word for what I mean is divination or prophecy. People tend to use them interchangeably today, despite whatever historical differences they have had. In any event, following my analogy above, this person would basically be equivalent to the meteorologist. They would be the one who goes out and studies the chaotic patterns and is able to spot trends, decode relationships and predict future paths.

Let’s switch our analogy for a moment to dreams. In this realm, someone with a more magical approach is likely to be into lucid dreaming: waking up in their dreams, and figuring out how to consciously direct the action. Mystics might rather immerse themselves fully in the dream environment, and let what needs to happen happen. The greatest effort they might expend would be in remembering the dreams afterwards. In line with that, someone of the more “meteorological” persuasion would be the most interested in tracking and decoding the symbolism of the dreams, and possibly mapping them onto outward events (somewhat in the mode of Jungian psychoanalysis).

Again, I think all three of these aspects go hand-in-hand, each providing the others would balance and useful insights. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the role of conspiracy theory in pursuit of the mysterious “other.” I tend to think they fall most in line with the divination/prophecy tendency. Not all conspiracy theorists are necessarily concerned with predicting the future, so much as they are with unlocking the puzzle of the present. Not coincidentally, this is in fact the more proper use of divination: to uncover relationships and trends which exist now. Only through getting a more complete picture of the moment can you begin to extrapolate ahead. Certainly though, many conspiracy theorists do engage in predictive Armaggedon scenarios, which not only look forward, but fulfill current psychological needs for vindication.

Of course, conspiracy theory is not the only or perhaps even the best example of this “meteorological” tendency; it’s just one I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. The reference I made above to Jungian psychoanalysis also strikes me as a very appropriate one. And then there is of course my own writing, and that of the people whose blogs I read. Most of us seem very much in the mode of this endless cartographic decoding and translation process - which I think is both very interesting and very healthy when approached with the proper mindset. I guess ultimately what I’m trying to figure out is: just what constitutes the proper mindset? How do we communicate it to other people so they can adapt and adopt our techniques for their own use? Not to say that we’ve got it all figure out or that we’re perfect, but I at least think we’re having a whole lot of fun along the way.

• Weather Symbols
• Divination & Projection into stories
• The investigations are underway
• Questions about your hand
• I Ching As Operating System #mandalaOS