The Western Esoteric Tradition in Bridge of Souls

Pentagram by Levi, Eliphas (1855) Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1468770

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting  it." - Aristotle.

The modern literary world is full of stories and plots related to Magic.  Even ignoring those books featuring a famous boy wizard, we have a plethora of stories with supernatural elements.   Readers of all ages clearly enjoy the potential for the highly imaginative plots that are provided by the possibility of being able to manipulate reality by means of some supernatural device. 

But Magic (some practitioners prefer "Magick" to differentiate from stage illusions) is not just a gratuitous way to include vampires, dragons and wizards into a story.  Although, looking at the shelves in the book shops, you might be forgiven for thinking so, it also has a serious side and a long history.

In the same way that I meticulously researched the other elements of Bridge of Souls, I also completed considerable research on many esoteric paths, techniques and beliefs during the writing of the book, to make it as genuine and realistic as possible.  Since the book launch, some of my readers have written to me asking for more details about the real Magical practices presented in my story, so I thought I should provide some additional background information.

I will however add that serious Magical study should be approached with considerable caution as it is unsuitable for many people.   My personal research leads me to believe that such practices can magnify any existing flaws that exist within the psyche and bring very real harm to the unprepared student.

In this blog post I will talk a little bit about Magic, as it relates to what is called The Western Esoteric Tradition, or WET.   In subsequent posts I will talk about some of the other traditions.

There is considerable debate, even within Magical practitioners, as to the origins of the specific techniques that are represented within most WET schools.   There are many ways to describe the differences but I will try and simplify them for my blog reader by describing schools who prefer traditional folk medicine and nature based worship and those schools who prefer a more formal temple setting and rituals based on sources, such as Kabbalah, and sacred God/Goddess archetypes.

In reality, there is considerable blurring and sharing of techniques and, in an effort to provide some clarity to readers who know nothing about this topic, I am guilty of some over simplification.

Folk Based Schools and Techniques. 

Nature worship is one of the oldest forms of religion.   These techniques seek to thank the archetypes of Nature for their bounty and sometimes to ask for their intervention in the lives of the mortal beings.

A good introduction and discussion can be found here

Formal Temple Ritual Schools and Techniques.

Formal ritual magic also has a long history, especially in the Middle East.   Although such schools did exist in Europe it was not until the Renaissance that many esoteric texts became known in the West. 

A good introduction and discussion can be found here

Grades and progression

Western society is preoccupied with measures of progression and grades.  From belt colours in Martial Arts (they were only introduced to cater for Western tastes) to academic degrees and grades.  The reality is that the only true mark of progress is the measure of your own self improvement and progress in comparison to yourself.  But very few people have the maturity to understand this concept, so all schools in WET have grades to mark progression.  Some have 3 degrees - which traditionally should denote student, practitioner and master/mistress.  Other schools have 10 degrees marked by the Cabalistic tree of life (I deliberately use C or K to spell Kabbalah as you will find a wide variety of spellings in the genuine literature). 

Left and Right Hand Path worship

Many teachers and writers within the field make an important differentiation between the purpose or intent of a ritual or of a student's study.   These people talk about the Left and Right Hand Path (LHP and RHP).  Good and Evil are complex topics and I do not have the space, time or inclination to discuss them here.  I will therefore summarise and simplify by saying that Left Hand Path magic is sometimes described as the subjugation of spirit by matter and Right Hand Path magic is sometimes described as the subjugation of matter by spirit.  Some people also differentiate these two paths by saying that Left Hand Path magic is for personal gain and Right Hand Path magic is for non personal gain, although this greatly over simplifies this complex issue.

Recommended Reading

Finally, I will provide some links for those readers who want to do their own research into this topic.

Long before the esoteric revival of the late Victorian era (1880s such as the Golden Dawn and Theosophy) there was a French Magician, Eliphas Levi.  His writing in the 1850s formed the basis of Magic that we understand today.  Here is one of his classics.  

Dogme et Rituel de la Haute Magie


Israel Regardie is another major influence, this time for the modern Magical revival in the late 20th century.  He was custodian of much of the Golden Dawn materials and he released them to the public.  His book "The eye in the triangle" is excellent and gives an insight into his one time mentor and employer Aleister Crowley.  It also provides a personal account of a very serious lifetime study of Magic.

Israel Regardie - The Eye In The Triangle



The last book is one that caused a dark period of Magical revival, namely the mass murders of innocent women as witches.  

Malleus Maleficarum

Click here to read free extracts from Bridge of Souls

#Magic #History #Background #Wicca #WET