It is perfectly reasonable to ask, “If you believe that
these spirits are all doing their thing in some afterlife, how do you account
for ghosts? How about reincarnation and past life memory? Are the spirits out
there, down here, or inside me?”
One, let me state for the record that I don’t know. And I
don’t think anyone knows the entirety of what happens after we die. I don’t
think anyone fully understands what spirits are and how they operate. But I
have some ideas.
Let’s look at our own meatsacks as an example. Non-human
cells in your body outnumber human cells in your body by 10-1. That’s right,
you have ten times as many microbe cells in your body as cells you have
actually grown yourself. Those microbes are small, so they only make up about
3% of your total mass, but 3% is pretty significant. Also, does size really
matter when it comes to the ability of any given cell?
Chances are, our spirit-selves aren’t just some Jedi-ghost
version of you. Just like we have different organs and trillions of microbes
that make up our bodies, it may be a good bet that our spiritual selves have as
much complexity or more.
Let’s turn to our friends the Ancient Egyptians again, and
see what they had to say on the matter. After all, they probably studied the
afterlife more than any other culture on Earth. Keep in mind that Egypt was an
empire that lasted over 3,000 years and things differed from place to place and
in different time periods. The list I give here is not definitive and has some
of my take on the subject.
My friend @holy-mountaineering did a cool thing where he re-posted his first tumblr post. I remember mine concisely. Here it is, from Universal’s The Mummy 1932. Very appropriate for someone raised on monster movies as a kid. Posted on June 27th, 2011.
I would love to see other folks do this.
Let’s see if we can clear up some of this negativity with some humor. Seriously, play this with the volume on. You will laugh.
The first line is, “The Devil went down to Jamaica, he was lookin’ to sell some weed.”
WTF did I do now? Actually I feel like I just got initiated. This is the first anonymous hate post I have received on tumblr. Whatever it is I apologize and will just go back to posting about spirits and Egypt and shit.
To speak the name of the dead is to make them live again.
I didn’t say you did, just that there are techniques in yoga that are useful to magicians.
Also like…. I’m not the first person ever to say this about yoga and magick? Not by far.
“I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.” ― George Bernard Shaw
“The Order of Emergent Magi
have a saying, “The Citadel of Emergent Magick is built from stone mined from
the disciplines of yoga.” We use the word yoga as it comes closest to describing
the set of exercises used by magi to develop their ability. As many have
pointed out, yoga means “to join.” In the context of Emergent Magick (EMK), it
means to join with universal consciousness. While inspired by the practice
developed in India from which the name is taken, the yoga in EMK should not be
seen as synonymous with the varied Hindu mystical practices. It should also not
be confused with the stretching and poses which are a bastardized form of hatha
yoga practiced in strip malls all across Western nations. (Though there is nothing wrong with doing that as well).
Yoga encompasses a variety
of activities that can be used by a magus to improve their ability to alter
consciousness. In fact, the Order of Emergent Magi believe it is the only way
to develop any level of proficiency as a magus. Exercise can be seen as the
best analogy. Just like exercise, different forms develop different skills and
strengthen different body parts. An athlete has different routines to develop
cardio-vascular strength, muscle strength, flexibility, and coordination. A
magus has different yoga routines to develop their ability to control their own
consciousness, sense other consciousness, join with consciousness, and separate
from it as need be.
Many magi confuse yoga
with magick. While yoga can be a mystical experience, it remains controlled by
the magus. True magick always requires interaction with consciousness outside
the magus’s direct control.”
– Threskiornis, “Emergent Magick: Rebuilding Our Tribes Through Ritual and Meaning”
After @aweandimagination ‘s excellent question I did some poking around to learn more about Shintoism. Found this video of what is called “Kagura” a ritual dance that pleases the gods. As someone with a background in ceremonial magick this is awe inspiring. This is the kind of precision and clarity that makes a Western ritualist drool with envy.
I have not read “Six Ways.” I did a quick search on it and it certainly looks right up my alley. I just put it on my list of books to buy.
The Shinto question is a little more complicated. If you are approaching Shintoism as a way to study an advanced and long-standing animistic system, yes, absolutely Shintoism can be a good example. While Shintoism does not require initiation, it is extremely Japanese-centric, to the point where Shintoism considers Japan as the “holy land” of their religion. Some would say you can’t really practice Shintoism outside of Japan, though that’s a conservative attitude. One can also say of Shintoism, like other animist based faiths, that it is highly accepting of other religions and doesn’t require its followers to adhere to one set of beliefs and practices. I would even say that the Japanese word “Kami” is closest to how I use the term “spirit” in that it encompasses a range of beings from gods to land spirits.
Thanks for the questions. They really got me thinking. I haven’t studied Japanese religions since college and now I want to go back to that material.
