My Thoughts on Enochian Magic
© 2002
>> This question is about enochéan magic. Even if I am not very interested myself in practical answers, I am interested to know why major hermetic writers (thinking about Moryason in France) warn about enochéan. The funny thing is that nobody clearly says it is 'wrong' but everybody is very reserved on the subject. <<
I find that Enochiana is nothing more than the product of a rational mind and has no intrinsic magical value. It's thesis of an "angelic language" is, from a Hermetic perspective, absurd. It reminds me of those who are obsessed with the language of "Middle Earth" from the Tolkein trilogy. Like the Enochian "language" it is merely an artifice of the modern human mind that has no basis in objective reality.
The "entities" evoked are likewise the product of only the rational aspect of the human mind and unless this is understood from the outset, a great amount of delusion and self-deception can occur. Personally, I found no value in Enochiana.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
25 Jul 2002
>> I would also be interested to know more about why you have dismissed Enochian Magic as being of no value. I don't quite understand why the idea of an "angelic language" is absurd from a Hermetic perspective. <<
At the "angelic" level of consciousness, communication is not a matter of words. It's a matter of essential meaning, communicated directly without clothing of any kind. An "angelic language" composed of funny sounding words misses the point entirely.
>> The idea of a Magical Language seems to be what Bardon's Qabbalah is all about! <<
Bardon's Quabbalah is about magical *utterance*, not magical *language*. Such utterance can be applied to any mundane language. Nor does it presuppose itself to be an "angelic language".
>> I'm also not sure what you mean when you say that the Enochian entities are "the product of only the rational aspect of the human mind". If the Enochian entities are only parts of the psyche and have no objective independent existence, fine, but how can they only relate to the rational mind? Surely, if they are merely internal to the individual, they are primarily associated with the subconscious, not the rational mind? <<
The subconscious psyche is composed of two primary factors -- rational mind and instinctive emotion. The generation of the Enochian entities is almost computer-like -- purely rational and logical and bereft of instinct or emotion. Any emotion is brought to the equation by the magician but is not an inherent part of the process.
>> Also, since by the Hermetic axiom every factor in the microcosm corresponds to one in the macrocosm, how can the Enochian entities only represent factors in the microcosm? <<
These entities represent factors within the individual's subconscious psyche, which in turn represent universal forces. The thing is, as representative of the human psyche their association with the universal forces is so clouded and distorted as to be non-existent. In other words, they directly reflect the individual's own psyche; but only by the most circuitous, indirect, round-about way do they reflect the universal forces underlying the human psyche. This is why I judge them to be of no appreciable value, especially to the novice.
>> Finally, if Enochian is so inferior to Magical systems which actually involve the evocation of objective beings, why is it generally regarded in the exact opposite way, as a system which puts you more quickly than any other into contact with powerful objective beings and forces? <<
This has to do with the nature of the untransformed psyche. Other systems that supposedly involve the evocation of objective beings, when performed by an untransformed psyche, involve the instinctual emotional nature directly and this presents greater difficulty than Enochiana which taps only the rational mind directly. The rational mind is the lower and more readily accessible aspect of the modern psyche and thus nets quicker and easier results, such as they are.
As a possible tool, I would relegate Enochian magic to Hod and the work of a rational analysis of the psyche. Used in this way and with the full awareness that one is evoking only the contents of one's own psyche and examining it from a rational perspective, then Enochian magic can have practical value. However, there are much better and more direct (therefore less prone to self-delusion) methods -- such as Bardon's soul mirror and character transformation work.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
26 Jul 2002
In Josuah's original post asking about Enochian magic, he commented that while several folks have spoken against it, none have gone into detail about why they felt that way. I think the main reason for this is that Enochian magic is so popular and to speak against it tends to cause quite a stir. ;-) It's such a seductive practice for the novice (since it generates what appear to be genuine results rather quickly) that to speak against it requires a lot of time and effort. It is also usually a futile expenditure of time and effort. But since Josuah raised the question here, on the Bardon forum, I think it deserves a fuller answer. Bardon is not Golden Dawn (after all, isn't that what attracts most of us to Bardon -- that his system is different?). Therefore, it's to be expected that certain GD practices will not be appropriate for the beginning student of IIH.
>> Some comments on this from Benjamin Rowe, extracted from his excellent essay on scrying: <snip>
"It is equally clear to those who have used the system extensively that it is not the product of human creativity, but of a being or beings possessing a much higher order of perception and a much greater scope of action. The magickal beings who are bound into this system are all (except the cacodemons) of at least the human level of development. Each has a nature as deep and complex as any man, and each has an individual will as strong. Further, the system appears to touch on every part of the magickal universe; no magician has yet found any limit to its connections. Both of these facts demonstrate that the origin of this magick must have been truly divine. No lesser source could possibly have bound together the elements it contains; no lesser source could have made those elements so instantly and perfectly responsive to the will of the user." <<
This is exactly how the human psyche seems to someone who doesn't comprehend its powerful creative potential. From the inside, it seems infinite and divine, but when one steps outside, it becomes apparent just how limited it truly is. When I read Ben's comments, I see this 'from-the-inside-only' perspective at play. Everything he describes fits this perspective, while nothing fits the 'from-the-outside' perspective. Ben of course is very talented and sincere and it seems that he is taking Enochiana beyond this 'from-the-inside-only' perspective, but I dare say Ben is a rare case. The danger I see in Enochiana is the same danger that I see in all acts of evocation performed before sufficient self-transformation and regeneration of the psyche has been accomplished. Namely that without an understanding of the territory, it's VERY easy to get lost. In fact, it's more likely that you'll get lost than that you'll find your way.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
28 Jul 2002
>> The metaphor of getting lost is a curious one. Exploring anything *new* in the psyche you are essentially lost by definition, as you've never been there before. The two mechanisms I see at work are: 1. Have a map created by explorers before you and later contact and develop trust in native guides. This means the territory is new to you, but hopefully you can benefit from the warnings and discoveries of others. 2. Know your way home (but don't leave a trail of crumbs, 'cause we know that doesn't work :-) <<
I think the most essential thing is the context in which exploration of the psyche occurs. With Enochian magic, it is not stated that the arena of work will be one's own psyche. In fact, just the opposite is usually stated. So the novice goes into it thinking that their experiences have nothing to do with their own psyche. This fact almost guarantees getting lost -- it's like exploring China with a map of Japan and a Japanese-to-English dictionary! ;-)
Enochian magic *can* be used for the conscious exploration of this realm of the personal and group psyche, but only if that is the context in which it's employed. The problem though is that the methodology itself combined with the lower astral arena in which it's employed, can produce very unwieldy experiences that the novice has no way to control.
As I've said many times, there are better, safer and more direct ways. The very best method that I know of is Franz Bardon's Step One, Two and Three. Here the work is placed -- from the outset -- in the proper context. Furthermore, it is removed from the lower astral arena of dense symbol and placed in the clearer arena of introspection and intentional self-transformation.
My best to you,
:) Rawn Clark
28 Jul 2002