Completing a course in
Liber F, and continuing to practice these exercises, helps protect the
individual from the perils of being a magus. Before you discount that statement
as hyperbole, we have already put
forth that taking mind altering substances can be a key to magick. Few would
argue that drugs don’t take a toll on the individual mentally and physically.
To believe you can do these things without any ill effects is the epitome of
hubris. Like much in this book, Liber F is simply our take on practices that
have been used for thousands of years and proven to work. Having the ability to
stick to a routine, calm your mind, and control impulsive thoughts goes a long
way in helping prevent addiction and other complications.
It may seem incredulous,
but doing magick can lead to bizarre and often self-destructive thought
patterns. To believe what the majority of society tells us simply does not
exist places stresses on the mind and tends to isolate an individual socially.
To be constantly contemplating spiritual questions, (Why are we here? What is
the nature of the universe? What is truth?) can lead to obsessive behaviors.
We do not take this
lightly because we have lost friends to mental illness. While no hard data
exists, those who practice magick have noted that magi do seem to suffer from
psychological conditions more frequently than the general population. Consider
Liber F to be a vaccination against those maladies. In fact, a magus should
make routine a priority in their day-to-day lives. So when you do occasionally
participate in activities far outside the norm, you can easily recover. This
will make it that much easier to hold down a job, provide for loved ones, and keep
social ties outside your magical circle.
Part of what sets Liber F
apart from other courses of this kind is that it encourages the magus to start
working with a group as soon as possible. Those who work in substance abuse
treatment have proposed that the opposite of addiction is not abstinence, but
connection. Those who have strong social bonds and favorable living conditions
are able to recover from addiction and are less likely to become addicted in
the first place. This applies to other mental compulsions as well. EMK favors
group magick not only to create better magick, but so that each magus has the support
network they need to prevent harm caused by the dangerous work of magick
itself.