A spark of that Light

Throughout the Probation, an Angel might express his nature in a single moment, in a dream or a lost thought, but in a manner that is completely incomprehensible to the mind of the Probationer. One of the essential roles of a Diary is to map the inner world in such a way that only after a subsequent analysis this small detail will become revealed. It is the higher Grades specifically, such as Philosophus or Dominus Liminis, that, at the summing-up of all realizations, encounter a specific test of Ruach along with the awareness that they are ever-so-close to their True Will, as, in fact, they are. And in that fantastic period, by examining the past diaries, finding the right trail can be of great value.

This case particularly applies to a Neophyte, who may frequently receive a Vision or hear a Voice. This brief experience – a slight moment, a glint of Tiphareth – is not the ultimate one, and as he instantly finds himself back in Malkuth, it can be said with certainty that this flash of short-term enlightenment can affect the entire work further into the A∴A∴. This phenomenon of short-term enlightenment is also known in the East under various names and forms, and we will only mildly mention the experience of Kensho and some variants of Dhyana. It rarely ensues as a logical reward and a refund of spiritual effort, but rather it takes form as one out of two possible instances. The first, as a result of well-balanced work, in which there is no passion or tendency, but instead what takes place is the acceptance of all possible experiences as a simple resultant of the Will, wherein enlightenment appears only as an echo of the Aspirant’s inner calm. The second, this being a more common and drastic example, as a result of unbalanced practice, a state of frustrated struggle and tension in dealing with energies that are difficult or even impossible to control. Although the goal is identical, the second case is far more devastating if the flash of enlightenment does not occur, which is, statistically speaking, rare relative to the high frequency of such a case. As before, this mainly refers to the Grade of the Neophyte, in which the strikingly different experiences between the previous way of life and working with the raw energies of the astral plane can be extremely dramatic. It is difficult to fathom how such great sacrifice would ever become profitable; this stroke on the Aspirant’s psyche and nerves gets transmitted through the entirety of his being. Initially, the magician is dashed and energized, yet due to his weak experience, he is unable to ground these terrible forces which end up acting upon his being like horrible and infernal acid. Whatever yet remains, if anything, is unlikely to endure the flame, afterward cast by the Philosophus.

Frater 273∴