The Qabalah Applied
The work of polishing the rough block of temperament into the finished Ashlar of character is achieved by dwelling in meditation on the ideal you have set for yourself, and by thought control. Control the imagination and you control the emotions. Build daily; build steadily; build systematically. Do not accept your feelings as your masters: learn that feelings can be mastered by the higher mind, and bring them into subjection to your directing judgment. This is the work of the Exempt Adept.76
Setting the Scene
When Dion Fortunes quotes Jesus, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost,” 77 she gives us the clear message that the involvement and consideration of the body is essential to the training of the esoteric senses. The invitation is not to separate ourselves from the world, to transcend the physical or favour the spiritual above it, but to engage with every aspect of our being, so the physical and spiritual are integrated as we use them in balance. This is our starting place.
We are about to work with her formula in a practical way, taking the themes and journeys of the novels and combining them with the earlier Qabalistic analysis. Thus we will create an ongoing practice that engages our senses and body and inner vehicles in such a way that we become the living temple through which the wild freedom of the spirit can manifest.
The four books describe the establishment of the middle pillar within us. They each take us through a journey, which begins in places of fragmentation and confusion and the separation of the masculine and feminine principles.
Regardless of our gender or orientation, each journey begins with the wounded masculine and involves the emergence of the empowered feminine as teacher and guide and concludes with a marriage or union that resolves the dilemmas presented in the beginning and opens up a new life or way.
Reinstating Lilith Le Fay
The presiding genius of this whole work is none other than Lilith Le Fay. She has been a controversial figure in esoteric circles, having been ritually banished initially from the Society of the Inner Light and later by another prominent occult group. There are many stories of her malign influence and suggestions that we should be very wary of her. There is no denying that Lilith Le Fay, as the dedicated priestess of the Dark Isis, is a powerful archetypal presence and, like any other essence or being from the archetypal realm, should be worked with respectfully and with an understanding of the clarity, discipline, and parameters that are the safeguards of this type of work. Dion Fortune showed clearly in Moon Magic the techniques used by Lilith to create mood and a suitable response, and use of these is part of a magician’s repertoire. We, who through doing the work are privileged to see behind—or rather, beyond—the scenes do not need to fear the effect upon us of the ‘“special effects.” Rather, we can accept them at face value, and with common sense, love, and trust use the imagery of the books to take us to a place of deep connection.
We remember always that our concern is not with the imaginal form of the priestess but with the current of revitalising spiritual energy—the reinstatement of the ancient Goddess of Life—of which the figure we know as Lilith Le Fay is an archetypal aspect.
This book was inspired by a group meditation on the Dion Fortune material, which led to a spontaneous experience of Lilith Le Fay emerging from the inner planes to guide the direction of the meditation. It was a powerful and utterly benign experience for all concerned. Since then she has remained as muse and guide of the work, and, when approached with genuine inquiry and respect, has always responded in a similar way, with no remit to control or overshadow. As in the books, it is the work that is of importance, not the personality or ego of any student or discarnate entity. She holds the deep intention of the work laid out by Dion Fortune of uniting the masculine and feminine in a sacred marriage that will regenerate the world and make concrete and visible seeming abstractions.
Rules of Engagement: More on Spiritual Hygiene, Potential Pitfalls, and Basics
Intention is fundamental to the practice of magic, so we begin there.
In any magical order, one of the first questions a prospective initiate should be asked is “Why do you want to do this?” And before beginning this work, we have to ask ourselves the same question and be honest about the answer.
In ritual lodges the usual answer is a variant on “to serve the light,” but that same issue is addressed by Dion Fortune in the novels in a much more concrete way. The men pursue their quest because they are blocked or frustrated in their lives in some way and are looking for resolution or deeper meaning. As within, so without: by healing themselves, they are addressing the healing of society; their personal work has a wider remit. Similarly we must find our motive—our dissatisfaction and our need. By letting it guide us into the way, within the context of the wider spiritual remit of service, we trust that our actions may also influence the evolutionary current and work like leaven in the cosmic mix as they are benefitting ourselves.
Having established a clear intention, we must then create a structure of engagement: regular times to practice the exercises, contemplations, and rituals suggested.
The rule is regularity. Better to meditate for ten minutes each day than for long but irregular sessions. It is common to begin with enthusiasm under the novelty of the material and then lose impetus, so we should begin slowly and build up momentum and a regular practice we can sustain in some form, through the times when even a small effort can seem too great.
With an archetypal figure—Lilith—as psychopomp, we must be aware of the dangers of literalism and glamour. The great occultists were firmly wedded to the real world and its responsibilities. Magic is no escape route from these; rather, inner contact renews and refreshes us for further work on the earth plane. Rupert Malcolm’s experience is a good example: through his magical work, his humanity and personality flower, and for the first time he is able to empathise with patients and to form relationships with his students.
By being well-rounded people who take responsibility for active lives with families and the usual commitments in the world, we keep the boundaries between the realities clear. To each world its own rules: it is simply hygienic to open any interaction with other planes of reality with awareness and commonsense, and to be sure to close down in the same way.
Preparatory Exercises
1. Sensing the Body
Inner work starts and ends with the body, and becoming present to our bodies is the fundamental beginning exercise. One recognised way to calm the body is by consciously tensing and relaxing each muscle of the body, beginning with our toes and working up the body to the scalp.
Then spend some time breathing slowly and rhythmically: breathing in to a count of four, pausing for a count of two, and breathing out to a count of four, at a speed that is comfortable for you. This has the effect of deepening the sense of contact with the body and opening us to the inner worlds.
2. The Interwoven Light
Having come into relationship with your body, the next step is to energise your inner vehicle: an important discipline called the practice of the interwoven light.
Here the middle pillar of the Tree of Life is built within the inner structure of your body.
Either sitting or standing, we begin by sensing the central axis of the body from the crown of the head to the feet and let our body align to it, letting the structure of the spine hold the weight of the body. If sitting, it is important that you are not leaning back and that your spine is as upright as possible.
Visualise or sense just above the crown of your head a sphere of brilliant, whirling white light. This is your connection to the sephirah Kether, the crown of being.
Vibrate the vowel sound U (oooo as in “you”)—sing it gently but powerfully, with a relaxed throat, to the length of your breath, and repeat if you need to, up to five or six times, to build your sense of resonance with the sphere. Then sense a pillar of incandescence moving down through the central axis, forming a sphere of grey/violet luminescence at the level of the throat. Here vibrate E (eeee) in the same way, then follow the pillar to the level of the heart, where it becomes a miniature sun, and chant I (eye). Follow the pillar down to the level of the genitals and see a sphere like the moon emerge and chant A (ah), and finally follow the pillar to just below the feet, to a sphere of autumn earth colours—citrine, russet, olive, and black forms: here chant O (oh).
Sit quietly after this exercise and gradually let your sense of your everyday awareness reestablish itself.
For the first week of the practice, do no more than the preparatory work and establish the pillar.
Then, to add to those exercises, proceed to the Fountain exercise: Begin by centering in Kether, and on an in breath let your awareness sink down to Malkuth, just below your body, resting there for an in breath and an out breath to activate the sphere.
Then, on an in breath feel the energy rising up the middle pillar, piercing each of the spheres and ending in Kether. On an out breath visualise a fountain of crystal light cascading down through the aura and collecting in Malkuth. Breath in and feel the power rise again to Kether, and as before establish the circulatory current. Do this no more than six times.
Take time to establish this discipline. It will deepen as you progress in the work, giving you an increasing capacity to connect the inner and outer planes. With this you will start to internalize your understanding of the Tree not as a static model but as a living glyph of fluid, interactive, and interrelational energies.
3. The Body of Light
Visualise or sense yourself putting on an indigo hooded robe and placing around your neck a pendant in the shape of a circled equal-armed cross. Feel the encompassing quality of the robe; feel the weight of the pendant and the intention it holds of participating in the cosmic life.
Let the power generated by the interwoven light energise and bring into being the magical identity represented by this form. It is as if we step into it and it enfolds us. It becomes the locus of our consciousness and we sense with its senses.
Take a little time to experiment with being in this body. You may want to walk around your room or you may find that it gives you a different relationship to time and space and its senses operate differently from your physical senses.
As you deepen into awareness of the body of light, your sense of the physical body will lessen, being more in the background. Contrary to glamorous accounts of astral projection, you do not lose awareness of the physical body, but your major focus is on the body of light and the inner planes. On completing your work, feel the body of light sinking deep into the structure of your body.
These exercises will precede all others specific to the books, throughout the course.
Preparation for the Lilith Meditation
Now that the preparatory work has been established, the first meditation involves linking with Lilith as guide and initiator.
This meditation is written simply, to allow your own imagination to fill in the scenes; in this way, they will become alive to you. Engaging with all the senses will help to evoke a strong sense of the essence of the spiritual current that Lilith represents. Remember, time is the gift that occult students give themselves. Read through the meditation (in the next section) a couple of times, so it becomes familiar, and then trust yourself to direct your own journey—although you can tape it for yourself if you prefer. Do it far more slowly than seems usual or even reasonable at first. Most of us race through all our activities too quickly to get the full benefit from them, and it is a challenge to break this habit.
Beforehand, decide how long you will allow for the meditation—twenty minutes is plenty after your initial preparation—and then stick to it, allowing space for each image to rise and gain strength before proceeding. Remember, it can help with initial impatience to regard slowing down as a subversive act, a reclaiming of our own internal space from the everyday world. Allow time to completely relax into the experience and to gently return and journal afterwards, and ring-fence it. Conversely, it is unsustainable and probably unfair to your other life commitments to allow too much time for the process, so be realistic, decide on your time, and stick to it.
If you know the books well, then it is likely that the images of Moon Magic have already become internalised, and even the first reading will begin to wake them to life within you.
After completing the preceding preparatory exercises, perform the Lilith Meditation.
The Lilith Meditation
You form and step into the body of light and connect to the ancient city of London, walking along the banks of the Thames on a misty evening.
Feel the rhythm of walking into the mist, into mystery and silence … A little way ahead of you, become aware of the figure of a woman with a broad-brimmed hat and a black cloak.
Let yourself follow her—your rhythm matching hers as she leads you onwards, across a bridge to the other side of the river.
She leads you to an old gothic-looking church dimly seen through the mist … and you pause at the entrance as she turns to face you, shining a crystal-clear light into your face, asking, “Why have you come? Why do you seek entrance here?” Answer spontaneously, and if she is satisfied she will invite you in.
You find yourself in a large room with high windows, lit by moonlight slanting across the dark polished floor. There is a great hearth and a fire in which aromatic woods are burning.
In the centre of this otherwise bare room are two chairs: one simpler, in which you sit, and the other like a throne, with many images carved on it. On this sits Lilith Le Fay, a priestly, still, and potent presence. Between the chairs is an octagonal Moorish table with a great blue bowl filled with water and having a lotus flower floating in it.
A strange smoke or mist hovers over the bowl, and as you sit opposite Lilith she invites you to look deeply into it.
As you look into the waters, you see sparks of golden light within the water and the silvery mist that is rising. You feel as if you are sinking into the deep sea of the beginning, touching the source of all life, feeling the sea, the moon, the deep flowing tides of the universe in which we live and move and have our being.
Behind Lilith you sense a vast veiled shape: the Deep Mother, the Dark Isis, and through her priestess, Lilith Le Fay, you connect to the continuing spiritual current of the work of Dion Fortune and commit yourself to the work.
As you do so, in your own way, you may be shown scenes or images relevant to the work and to aspects of your life, or you may just sink into the relaxation of acceptance into service.
At a certain point you will feel a change, the pull of the outside world and the impulse to leave. So, saluting the priestess and the Goddess she serves, you find yourself outside the church door and thoughtfully retrace your steps, crossing the bridge and walking along the Thames, allowing the scene behind you to fade back into its own realm and your awareness of the everyday world to come to the fore, until you find yourself back in the room you started in.
Take time to return, grounding and orientating yourself to the outer world.
You will use the early part of this meditation each time you connect to the current of the books in the inner realms.
The work that follows allows two to three months for each of the novels. Take your time, explore the journey, and enjoy!