Hello, and welcome to Between the Pillars. I am White Raven, a ceremonial magician, occultist and alchemist.
This blog is dedicated to the practice of High Magick, and an emphasis on finding balance between the various extremities and polarities which are so prevalent in the world around us, as well as in realms beyond.
Thus, we stand between the kabbalistic pillars of Mercy and Severity, which often adorn the Eastern quarter in temples of ceremonial magick, and we seek to become a living embodiment in the Middle Pillar, following the middle path to Enlightenment and Salvation.
On this blog we shall cover a range of topics, from invocation and evocation, to spellwork, sigils, astrology, alchemy, and other spiritual principles. I am inspired by several different traditions around the world, all of which have made their way into my personal work, and the contents of BTP.
There’s also e-Grimoires, which can be found under the books tab, for those interested in learning about specific types of Magick in detail. You may follow me on Instagram as well.
FAQ
Here’s a list of some common questions I get asked often. If you’re absolutely new, start here before sending me an email.
What is Magick?
Difficult to say. It has been described as the “Art and Science of manifesting one’s Will”. It has been called both “yoga for the west” and “theurgy for the east”. It is the single most powerful and subtle force in the Universe and beyond, not belonging to any single philosophy, religion, movement or culture.
I suppose you could call it the innate ability of every human being to create his Universe, and dwell within in. To put it in less grandiose terms, it is simply the act of controlling your own reality.
It’s easier to say what Magick isn’t, and dispel preconceived notions. It’s not a New Age cult. It’s not paganism or satanism (although many pagans and satanists use magick, while many don’t). Magick is not an ideology, nor is it a religion, nor even necessarily theistic.
Some well known magickal traditions are: hermeticism, kabbalah, rosicrucianism, witchcraft, demonolatory, chaos magick, spagyrics, tantra, reiki, vajrayana, zen buddhism, hoodoo, gnosticism and santiera.
Aleister Crowley, Israel Regardie, Samuel L. Mathers, Giordano Bruno, Isaac Newton, Parcelsius, Terrence McKenna, Alan Watts, John Dee, Eliphas Levi, Paulo Coelho etc. are some notable people who have openly admitted to practicing magick. A majority, of course, kept it to themselves. But this should give an idea of the tradition we claim.
The word itself was coined by by Crowley, and is sometimes confused as a religious principle of Thelema or Wicca. While this is incorrect, it’s really not a big deal. Also, the word “Occult”, which just means ‘hidden’ or ‘secret’, is also used to refer to the practices of magick. Now you know why that one famous book was called “The Secret”.
Can religious people/atheists practice Magick?
Magick is your birthright. For some reason, people have begun to use the word occult and magick as interchangeable with ‘neo-paganism’.
Not all neopagans do magick. Not all occultists are neopagans. The most important occultists from the 19th to 20th century hailed from Christian and Jewish backgrounds. Crowley himself was an atheist. Alan Watts was a Buddhist. Ceremonial Magick may be traced as far back as the rituals of ancient Egypt, although magick is as old as human consciousness itself, and found in various primordial shamanic rites.
Some ‘Satanists’, such as David Myatt, were/are genuine occultists. However, they generally end up adopting more balanced traditions, as Myatt himself converted to Islam and later became a neo-pagan.
Long story short: yes, anyone can practice Magick, and every religion was born out of Magick, and created by Magickians. One of the oldest references to Christ describes him as a magician.
That gives you an idea how fallen modern organised religion has become. And regarding organised religion, I have little interest in it and in my opinion most major religions have reached the end of their lives, having exhausted any truth they had to offer. But that’s just my opinion, and you’re free to follow whatever you want.
God doesn’t hate you for doing it, and it wont drive you crazy. Can oil ever damage a oil-lamp? However, adding too much oil can definitely set it ablaze, and the wrong kind of oil probably could stop the flame. So do maintain caution.
Where Do I Start?
There several recommended resources.
But first, for a shameless self promotion 🙂
Under the books tab, you will find one of my own books called The Tree of Life: A Beginner’s Guide. Naturally, I’d like it if you started here. Trust me, it’s a really good book, and I spent a lot of time making sure it was beginner friendly…compared to the usual material.
You see, throughout most of human history magick was, and to some degree still is, kept secret. Now that we’re entering the Age of Aquarius, things are opening up. But, most historical magicians did not want to reveal their secrets to the ‘unworthy’. Due to this, there is very little true magickal knowledge that is both mainstream and uncorrupted (by religion, cults, ideology and politics).
I also highly recommend the YouTube channel MindandMagick. It’s probably the best source of magickal knowledge that is extensive and authentic.
As for books, there’s a few you can try.
- Read the Kyballion, by the Three Initiates. It is a primer for basically all magick, and contains the Seven Hermetic Principles (one of which is the well known ‘Law of Attraction’)
- For those interested in Chaos Magick, try Liber Null.
- For those into ceremonial magick, I suggest The Techniques of High Magick by Stephen Skinner and Francis King.
- For Alchemy, you should try The Alchemist’s Handbook by Frater Albertus.
- For Astrology, read Astrology for Beginners by Bill Hewitt.
- I truly don’t know of many books for Witchcraft and Neopaganism, but I can reccomend the YouTube channels of The Witch of Wanderlust (witchcraft) and Arith Harger (norse shaman).
- For Satanism…well, just don’t read anything that calls itself “Satanic”, as 90% is written by fools and pretenders and will almost certainly get you in trouble. I recommend Liber Null once again, since the book has 3 sections, and the second deals with Black Magick (properly). You may also consider Magick in Theory and Practice is you are interested in Crowley’s brand of magick.
What about the Masons, Illuminati and other cheap Conspiracies?
First off, I don’t belong to any secret order. The group I identify most with is the original Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a magickal group that existed in the early 20th centruy. Not to be confused with the several groups that claim it’s legacy or use it’s name, nor with the ‘golden dawn’, which is a Greek political party. But other than that, I’m a solitary practitioner.
I’m not interested in conspiracy theories. Am I rejecting them outright? No, but as the saying goes “where attention goes, energy flows”. I have better uses fr my energy than push myself into a victim complex.
To answer your simplest and most likely questions: Yes, there was a pseudo-magickal Order called The Bavarian Illuminati. I say ‘pseudo’ because they fell apart spectacularly and extensively plagiarized from the Freemasons. Many magicians during the 1960s-1980s used the term ‘Illuminati’ to simply mean “The Enlightened”.
You can find such a reference in Liber Null. The author was simply referring to all those who were practicing magick and were ‘awakened’. Naturally, society has a tendency to distort the language used by magickians, and all the negative associations with the name ‘Illuminati’ only started after Dan Brown used it in Angels and Demons. If you want to be free of “the illuminati”, first and foremost stop imagining such a powerful group and stop giving them such a grandiose and flattering name. Words have power, as do thoughts. Start thinking for yourself, and stop wasting your spiritual energy.
The eye and pyramid? The original symbol of the Bavarian Illuminati was an owl. The eye and pyramid is actually a pretty deep occult symbol. Here’s a video about what it really means.
Are there powerful people molesting children? Yes. Both Hollywood and the Catholic Church have been caught molesting children. Ironically, these are the two biggest forces that warn people about the “evil” or the Occult.
Now does a group like the pop culture Illuminati really exist? Can’t say, but most likely not. I mean, there are many large and powerful groups that exercise global influence, but these are political matters, not magickal ones.
But what about all the other stuff? Like I said, it’s not really my concern. Some conspiracy theories may be true, and others may be false. I may be wrong about some things. I deal with these things when they come up.
Stop worrying and start living. You control your own world and reality.
Is the Occult and Magick the same as Mind control?
Absolutely. You know whose mind you learn to control? Your own. He who can control himself, commands the Universe.
Please Help, my Magick is not Working!
This post by me may prove useful.
Do you provide Magick services? It’s Urgent!
I’d much rather prefer that you learn magick from this blog and do it yourself. If you need the simplest type of magick because of an urgent matter, I’d say learn to make sigils, or use the sigils given in The Greater Key of Solomon.
Can I be your Friend?
Yes, but I should warn you that i’m not exactly the extroverted company that many are looking for, nor am I great at comforting people, and I usually forget to respond to messages. If you have suffered greatly, I wish you the best. We all have. That’s the price of self determination. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. In fact, the tunnel itself is illusory 🙂
Blah blah, something something politcs blah blah end times?
No I don’t care about various political ideologies, nor opinions of people on how the world may be fixed. No i’m not interested in hearing in being ‘saved’ or converting to any religion. No you may not draw on my energy without consent or I’ll curse the living shit out of you.
So what do you make of it all?
There is light in the world. There is also darkness. Both have their place. The purpose of life is to find meaning and fulfillment. People, by and large, are good, and each person has the potential to change his life for the better. hardship and suffering, are innate and inescapable parts of life. As is rapture, elation and joy.
That’s all. Enjoy the blog.
Between The Pillars 