Glossary - exWitch Australia (formerly 'Born Again Pagan')

WITCHES' PYRAMID

The Witches' Pyramid describes the necessary conditions you must meet to perform Magick.

The Witches' Pyramid is expressed in two main ways, the most common of which is also known as the Four Powers of the Magus and may be expressed as: To Know, To Dare, To Will, To Be Silent.

This axiom was first stated in The Ritual Book of Magic by Clifford Bias: "The Magus, the Theurgist, the True Witch stand on a pyramid of power whose foundation is a profound knowledge of the occult, whose four sides are creative imagination, a will of steel, a living faith and the ability to keep silent." This concept was expanded upon in Amber K's book True Magic.

These Four Powers of the Magus are the personal attributes traditionally necessary and required for the successful use and practice of Magick. Without these four attributes combined, the individual will never be successful in Magick.

The reasoning is quite simple; none of the attributes mentioned are enough in themselves, as all four attributes must be present to balance each other out. For instance:

To Know - Knowledge is no good, without the will and audacity to see Magick done. Know who you are and what you are. You have to know the rules. You must know what magickal rites you are going to be doing. And you must know your intention.
To Dare - Audacity is no good, without the knowledge and will to see Magick done. Dare to do what you are planning. Do you dare to follow it through?
To Will - Will power is no good, without the knowledge and audacity to see Magick done. Do you have the ability and the will to follow through? Can you will your energy to make it happen?
To Be Silent - What good are the above, without the discretion to remain silent until the Magick is done? To reveal your Magick before it is done, is believed by many to dissipate it's power and effectiveness. In part it means be silent and not brag or boast about what you have done and don't take your Magick for granted, but sit back quietly, watch, and know that you are growing. But beyond this, "To keep silent" means to become still within and without. To clear your mind of distractions in meditation. To become aware of subtle currents, instincts, and emotions. It represents knowing and awareness, more than secrecy.

Some versions (though most do not) add a fifth 'attribute' "To Imagine" or "To Visualize" (see VISUALIZATION). In his Magic: An Occult Primer, leading occultist David Conway explains the absolute necessity of visualization for performing Magick:

"...the technique of visualization is something you will gradually master, and indeed must master if you are to make any progress at all in magic... it is our only means of affecting the etheric atmosphere.
It enables us to build our own thought forms, contact those already in existence and channel the elemental energy we need down onto the physical plane."

In short, anyone aspiring to use Magick, he/she needs a knowledge of what he/she is doing, the audacity to use it, the will power to control it, and the discretion to remain silent till the work is complete.

In most occult Traditions and paths these are believed to be the conditions for performing Magick (see also MAGICK, Theory of).

Another version of the Witches' Pyramid is a Glyph which symbolizes the mentality necessary for the directed manifestation of magickal energy. It is composed of these attributes: personal will, imagination, and Visualization. All three of these must enclose the expectation of success.

There are many different types and styles of Magick involved in the practice of Western Magick. Some covens/practitioners differ in the type used; some use all and some may combine only a few techniques. Basically Magick may be organized into two cat!egories: operative and ceremonial.

The first covers Spells, Words of Power, the use of Unguents/Potions, etc. The second is concerned with the operation of Wiccan and other Neo-Pagan rituals. The aspects of Magick can be thought of in this manner: sympathetic, ritual, raised, drawn, and sex magick.

Witches Pyramid

Ritual is a means of concentrating and attracting those energies that are symbolized through the use of gestures, word phrases and images (symbols, Runes, etc). The magickal theory being that by acting out certain symbolic gestures, with concentration on their meanings, one can attract sympathetic energies inherent throughout the Universe. These energies can be directed by the use of one's controlled will. This aspect is sometimes refereed to as the Witches' Pyramid.

Expectation is considered essential to a successful manifestation. In essence, you must will a thing to be, imagine the outcome in your mind, and visualize what it is that you desire. Beyond this you must have the expectation that it will manifest as you desire it to.

The Elemental Plane (also known as the Plane of Forces) is believed to flow like a river to and from the Physical dimension and the Astral Dimension. In occult theory, it is this plane which carries magickal energy to the Astral Plane where it takes on the image of the desired effect. Once the thought is formed there it then passes back through the Elemental Plane and manifests upon the Physical (see also AS ABOVE, SO BELOW).

Sex magick is the use of energy raised through sexual union. This is the most condensed and powerful form of energy that can be raised from the human body. Some Craft Traditions employ it in the Third Degree Wiccan Initiation ceremony. In Eastern mystical Traditions it is known as Tantra.

The ancient Egyptians employed it as well. The energy raised in sex magick is sometimes referred as the Kundalini power, or serpent power. The serpent headdress of ancient Egyptian rulers is symbolic of the serpent power having been raised to the third eye, the sign of Divine Union, or Samadhi. The Kundalini force is seated at the base of the spine and governs the sexual nature of the individual. In Magick it is drawn up through each of the chakra points to the third eye, employing sexual energy as the energy of propulsion.

The Imagination and Will in The Witches' Pyramid

Among those who do not practice Magick, it is quite common to find an attitude that irnagination is purely fantasy. To a practitioner of Magick, however, imagination is a vapour that can carry Thought-forms into the astral levels through the sub-conscious doorway. On the Physical Plane a person's thoughts in imagination can manifest as a novel, a movie; or a work of art. On the Astral Plane a person's imagination can manifest as an etheric image. This image can be as real to astral entities as any physical form is to material beings (see also AS ABOVE, SO BELOW).

Consistently effective Magick requires the actions of both the imagination and the personal will. The will by itself is an undefined current of energy. The imagination by itself lacks vitality. When the two factors are brought togetheI; substantial magickal effects are possible.

In practical application the Wiccan, Ceremonial Magician or other magickal practitioner must first evoke the imagination so that an image of the desired effect is created. Then the personal will must be used to direct the energy of the imagination.

Eastern Mystics call the creative power of the imagination Kriya Sakti. They view the imagination as the womb, and the will as the impregnating seed. When joined together they can produce the magickal child of external manifestation. It must be understood that will is not the same thing as desire. The personal will is an act of concentration and must be kept separate from desire. The imagination arises from desire and is vitalized by the will. Therefore the mind must be free of desire when focusing the will upon the image evoked by the imagination. This is why symbols and Sigils are favoured by the magician because they address the goal of manifestation and not the desired effect itself

A Biblical Perspective

The Occult usurps the rightful place of the Scripture in the life of the Christian. It attempts to give direction and guidance to the individual and ultimately deliver him into bondage. The Bible is clear on the subject. Astrology, Divination, consulting or contacting the dead (Necromancy) and in fact the Occult in general, is an abomination to God. Some would have us believe the Bible endorses certain Occultic practices as an art that offers mankind an understanding of his true self, an opportunity to create his or her own reality to suit his or her personal spiritual goals. The following Scriptures indicate otherwise.

"Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord." - Leviticus 18:21
"Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death... I will set my face against that man and I will cut him off from his people... I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them..." - Leviticus 20:1-6
"And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon, and the stars - all the heavenly array - do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven." - Deuteronomy 4:19
"If a man or woman living among you... is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant, and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky, and this has been brought to your attention... take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death." - Deuteronomy 17:2-5
'When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or Sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.' - Deuteronomy 18:9-11
"They forsook all the commands of the Lord their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal." - 2 Kings 17:16
"He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed; he also erected altars to Baal and made an Ashtoreth pole, as Ahab king of Israel had done. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, 'In Jerusalem I will put my Name.' In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to the starry hosts. He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced Sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger." - 2 Kings 21:3-6
"The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest... to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Ashtoreth and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. He did away with the pagan priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense... - those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts." - 2 Kings 23:4-5
"Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law..." - 2 Kings 23:24
"You are wearied with your many counsels; Let now the astrologers, Those who prophesy by the stars, Those who predict by the moons, Stand up and save you from what will come upon you. Behold, they have become like stubble, Fire burns them; They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame..." - Isaiah 47:13, 14
"The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven [see ISHTAR]. They pour drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger." - Jeremiah 7:18
"At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up and buried, but will be like refuse lying on the ground." - Jeremiah 8:1, 2
"The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth - all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods." - Jeremiah 19:13
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will cut off from this place every remnant of Baal, the names of the pagan and the idolatrous priests - those who bow down on the housetops to worship the starry hosts, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molech, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him." - Zephaniah 1:4-6
"But God turned away and gave them over to the worship of the heavenly bodies." - Acts 7:42
"No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." - 1 Corinthians 10:20

The above Scriptures clearly reject the use of Occult practices and all forms of divination by God's people. God not only cleanses his kingdom of all Occultic influence, he outright condemns those who practice its arts. Scripture also calls each of us to place our faith in Jesus Christ rather than the created universe. The book of Colossians reminds the individual to "see to it that no one takes you captive through vain philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of man, according to the elemental principles of the universe, rather than according to Christ" (Colossians 2:8). We are to remain vigilant and guard our hearts, for from the heart flows the living water of life.

The Occult offers us every opportunity to turn away from our Creator. We are seduced by other gods that come to us from the heavenlies as we seek to divine our future. The Occult claims to offer us hope, but it can only deliver our souls to be burned. It claims to decode the mysteries of the cosmos, yet the Creator has done so in his Word. The Occult utilizes various methods and devices to inform the novice; the Lord offers the believer the Scriptures for instruction and a relationship to cement his future.

The Occult attempts to displace the true God of the universe with the false gods of the ancients. The Christian stands as the only sentinel to call forth the deception of the Occult in another's life. We must stand and rightly speak God's truth into each soul and thereby become a missionary of hope, rather than a deceiver of demonic spirits.

PLEASE NOTE:
One of the major problems with 'defining' Paganism and/or its beliefs and practices is that it is an 'organic' movement, in that it is undergoing constant change and re-evaluation from within, and as such any 'one-size-fits-all' approach to understanding Paganism will be found wanting.

Due to the very 'organic' nature of Paganism, and the many differing Paths and Traditions within it, in many cases no one definition may be universally accepted by all Pagans. Therefore, where such cases of possible conflicting and/or contradictory meanings of certain terms occur I have endevoured to give not only the generally accepted meaning, but also any major 'variations' in belief and/or practice.

Christians who believe this difference in meaning of certain key terms, beliefs and practices to be unique to Paganism need to remember that such conflicts also arise within the Body of Christ - the Church. Take for instance the differing practices amongst Christians concerning Baptism and the different attitudes towards women in the clergy.

- Jean-Luc

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