General Theory of Magic. How to read magical literature.
The Law of Cause and Effect, which supports the process of self-knowledge, suggests that it is not enough to observe the effects of the manifestation of a phenomenon that magic literature shows us. The key to self-knowledge is to find and establish the cause of the observed effect.
When we read certain literature, when we observe the various effects that literature has on our consciousness, we must always understand why it has this effect and not another. Why one category of literature is easy to master and makes our magical core blossom in full colour, while another makes it shrink and dry up. As we have said, we are all unique, each person’s consciousness is woven in different patterns. But only by analysing the effects can we come closer to understanding the peculiarities of our consciousness and, on the basis of this understanding, outline the right vector of development, focusing on what promotes our growth and not giving up on what hinders it.
Analysing the literature we read will help us to do this.
All literature is written by a person who was a product of his time. He lived in a certain epoch, in a certain society with its hierarchy of values, with the prevailing tradition to which the author belonged in any case, in certain living conditions. All this could not but influence his view of the world, as it was the filter through which information was refracted in his mind.
And in every book we can distinguish two key points:
- the main idea of the book,
- the filters through which the main idea has been refracted.
The most basic filter is always tradition, because it defines values and beliefs, and all other views and opinions are subordinated to these values and beliefs by the law of hierarchy, that is, they are their consequences and reflections.
In order to separate the tradition from the main idea, it is worth paying particular attention to such parts of the book as the introduction and the epilogue. Usually we skim through these pages without much interest, trying to get straight to the work itself. And very much in vain. The information in these parts of the book can be very useful for understanding what tradition the author belonged to, what were the conditions of his life, in other words, we can set filters to refract information.
If you pay attention to the words of gratitude, for example, you can pick up a thread that leads to an understanding of the tradition to which the author and his literature on magic belonged. Such words are always given to the egregorial system, which is currently the censor of published literature. That’s why the author couldn’t help but express his gratitude. For example, to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, to a party, and personally to the president, to one’s mother or father, to one’s neighbour, or to Felix the cat. If we understand the egregoral environment in which the author found himself, we can understand his logic in placing accents on the basis of main/non-main.
Having understood the tradition to which the author belonged, it is necessary to find out what he wanted to say with his work. He did not start writing just to thank his egregorial system. If a book has passed through the centuries, it means that it contains a certain amount of information that makes it relevant despite the changing times, despite the fact that the tradition to which the author belonged may have lost its former position or even disappeared into oblivion. This information is the essence, the seed, that we must grasp.
So when we identify the main idea and the tradition reflected in the work, we need to test these two components on ourselves and understand the reaction of our magical core. What makes our magical core respond with growth and development – the main idea or the tradition. And what makes our magical core shrink or not change at all?
If a tradition or a thought has given you no response, we will mark such traditions and thoughts as having no effect in our further work. But if a tradition or thought has given a boost to the growth of our magical core, we should pay close attention to it. If it was a tradition, it is an indication that we need to delve deeper into its study. If it was the main idea of a book, then it is the idea that we will continue to seek out and find in the literature we plan to read.
Thus, following the law of cause and effect will give us an understanding of what exactly influences the development of our magical core, and will help us to be more conscious in our choice of literature to read. We will be able to focus on what will definitely be useful, and not waste time on information that will not have a pronounced positive effect.
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