Where do I Go From Here?
“Every child is an artist. The difficulty is to remain one when you grow up.”—Picasso
The End is the Beginning—The Beginning is the End
Yogis, adepts, mystics, and even scientists know there is no ultimate end or beginning to anything. Everything in the world shares the same atoms and particles, always recycled and reused. Nothing is lost and nothing is gained; rather, it’s the endless interplay of molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles that gives birth to manifested existence.
This concept is expressed by the magickal image of Ouroboros, the serpent/dragon that devours his own tail.
Ouroboros symbolizes the cyclical nature of the universe, as well as the original (and underlying) unity of the universe.
In Qabalistic terms, he is the Three Veils of Negative Existence, the womb from which the Tree of Life is born.
Our connection to this primal oneness is through The Fool, whose tarot card is numbered zero, the shape of Ouroboros.
The Ouroboros
The Ouroboros
In Qabalah, “10” is a number of completion. Things are “done.” But “11” is the number of magick, because it symbolizes the urge to change from one thing into something else entirely. The Fool is Path 11; coming directly after the 10th Sephirah, it marks the end of the Sephiroth and the beginning of the paths. Even if our universe has a theoretical end, it just marks the end of one phase and the beginning of the next, whereof we know not what to expect.
Ouroborus is actively consuming himself. By devouring his own quarks, fermions, leptons, and bosons154 he gives birth to all that exists: stars, planets, the periodic table, humans—everything.
This idea of the universe having no end or beginning should relax you. There is no race to the finish line. If there is a goal at all, it is to have as much pleasure in each moment as possible.
What is the ultimate goal of magick?
Every magician will have to formulate the answer to that for themselves.
For me, the goal of magick is to increase the joy and pleasure of my life, while helping the world and those around me as much as possible.
Magick is about getting what you want, which includes not just acquiring the ability to attract the things you desire, but actually knowing what it is you want and understanding your relationship to the rest of the universe.
Wealth, love, joy, and self-esteem are by-products of a healthy magician doing his or her True Will—and selfishly loving every minute of it.
Now what do I do?
Enjoy the riches of Malkuth with gusto.
Malkuth is the Kingdom—your kingdom.
The lesson of this final chapter, which is the lesson of The Fool as well as of this book as a whole, is this:
Enjoy what you have—while you have it.
Evolve
“Wisdom says: be strong! Then canst thou bear more joy. Be not animal; refine thy rapture! If thou drink, drink by the eight and ninety rules of art: if thou love, exceed by delicacy; and if thou do aught joyous, let there be subtlety therein!” —Liber AL, II.70
Variety will always help to keep your life and your magick interesting. A good magician is one step ahead of his conscious mind’s short attention span.
Everyone reading this has a purpose and a perfection unique to his or herself. You have some special niche made just for you. We all do. It’s just a matter of finding and appreciating it, which can indeed be a challenge, since it’s already here before you. You may have to play many different roles and acquire many earthly baubles before you can appreciate the perfect simplicity of everything you already are—of everything you always have around you all the time.
Expect something amazing to happen. Your evolution will slowly live up to your expectations.
The Stonecutter
In the end, I leave you with a Japanese folktale155 as the most practical thing I could find to send you on your way:
Once a upon a time, a stonecutter was working next to a mighty rock. He paused from his labor and noticed a local merchant and his entourage pass beneath the shade of the trees nearby.
“Oh, if only I were a rich merchant! How happy I would be!”
A disembodied voice answered him from the mountain, “Your wish has been granted.”
When the stonecutter returned home, instead of his little hut, he found a grand and magnificent palace. The man was joyous, and in his new life, his old one was soon forgotten.
One day, while walking through a hot and humid market, he saw a fabulously dressed prince leaning cockily against his carriage, basking in the shade. “I wish I were a prince! He’s got power. He’s got style.” And so then he was a prince.
But as a prince, he found the sun still burned his face, gave him wrinkles, and made him old. “I wish I were the sun itself.” So his wish was granted.
As the sun, he at first felt mightier and more powerful than anything on Earth. But as he burned high above his old township, a large cloud moved in front of him, obscuring his view. “What is this? A cloud is mightier than me? Oh, I wish I was a cloud!”
As a cloud, he floated between sun and earth. He blocked the sun’s rays, and poured rain until he flooded the town, overflowed the rivers, and drowned the crops in water. Everything was washed away and the people fled.
But after all his watery destruction, a great rock remained on the mountainside unmoved. “Ah, this rock moves for nothing! How I wish I was a rock!”
And a rock he became. Proud, and unmovable, unaffected by the heat of the sun, nor the barrage of rain. “This is the best of all,” he thought to himself.
However, one day he heard a strange noise below him. When he looked down he saw a humble stonecutter driving tools into his surface. A trembling feeling ran through his body, and a great block broke off and fell to the ground at the stonecutter’s feet.
“Is man mightier than a rock? Oh, I wish I was a man once again!”
The mountain spirit answered, “Your wish has been granted.”
The man was content to remain a stonecutter for the rest of his life. Never again did he feel jealousy, covetousness, or painful longing, instead he knew only joy, relishing in his own humble perfection.156
Exercise 11: Enjoy the moment
In magick, we are not Buddhists. We don’t deny our desires until they disappear, nor are we hedonists, who blindly spoil ourselves with every lust or whim. Magicians follow a path of balance, of joy, of art and creativity, thereby attaining the Great Work.
Take the day off. Put your magick away and have some fun.
154 . These are all elementary particles, i.e., the basic building blocks of the universe from which all other particles are formed.
155 . This story is traditional with no attributable original author. The following is my retelling of this classic folktale.
156 . The moral here is not a new one, or an unexplored one. It’s basically the same message as Hermann Hesse’s classic Siddhartha, and similar sentiments can be found in many philosophies and religions. Even the folk song “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” by Bob Dylan illustrates the human longing to be somewhere, or someone, we are not, unable to enjoy what is already in front of us.