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readoldthingsToday a brief commentary on a short and enigmatic verse.
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 6 reads:
Again, a short saying and straightforward enough-- But what does it mean, and why?
To Know, To Dare, To Will, and...
In magical philosophy it is said that there are 4 great virtues-- To Know, to Dare, to Will, and
To Be Silent.
If you're undertaking a magical working of any kind, no one else needs to know about it. In fact, you should try insofar as it is possible not even to talk to yourself about it.
Magical silence has a number of purposes, but among them is this: Remember that our minds are not isolated from one another, nor confined to our own skulls, as in the materialist fantasy. Rather, they participate in the larger minds of our families and social groups, our countries and regions, and ultimately humanity as a whole. In these larger minds there are forces and currents that are far larger than we ourselves are-- indeed, much of what we call our "thinking" consists of collective thoughts playing themselves out in modestly idiosyncratic ways in our particular minds.
When we come into contact with a person or a group of people, we open ourselves to the psychic influence of whatever larger mind they are participating in. The more of our own thoughts and beliefs we reveal, the more we open our minds. If we live in an age-- or if we simply find ourselves in a place-- which is characterized by baseness and rejection of the spiritual, then we need to very carefully guard our thoughts around most people.
Cave People
Remember Plato's cave-- most people are prisoners, spending their time staring at shadows on the walls. Not only that, but they know nothing else, and they like it that way. Returning from the sunlight of the Real, we find ourselves blind in the cave and we grope about in the dark like imbeciles. To the cave people we look like fools, especially to those who love the cave and its shadows on account of having attained status there. If we tell them the truth that we have seen (Pray God, let us see it!) about the World Above, they will mock us, like hogs trampling pearls under their feet. And if we entangle our minds in theirs, they will pull us down with them, so that we too start to forget the spiritual and turn again toward the world of shadows.
The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 6 reads:
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.
Again, a short saying and straightforward enough-- But what does it mean, and why?
To Know, To Dare, To Will, and...
In magical philosophy it is said that there are 4 great virtues-- To Know, to Dare, to Will, and
To Be Silent.
If you're undertaking a magical working of any kind, no one else needs to know about it. In fact, you should try insofar as it is possible not even to talk to yourself about it.
Magical silence has a number of purposes, but among them is this: Remember that our minds are not isolated from one another, nor confined to our own skulls, as in the materialist fantasy. Rather, they participate in the larger minds of our families and social groups, our countries and regions, and ultimately humanity as a whole. In these larger minds there are forces and currents that are far larger than we ourselves are-- indeed, much of what we call our "thinking" consists of collective thoughts playing themselves out in modestly idiosyncratic ways in our particular minds.
When we come into contact with a person or a group of people, we open ourselves to the psychic influence of whatever larger mind they are participating in. The more of our own thoughts and beliefs we reveal, the more we open our minds. If we live in an age-- or if we simply find ourselves in a place-- which is characterized by baseness and rejection of the spiritual, then we need to very carefully guard our thoughts around most people.
Cave People
Remember Plato's cave-- most people are prisoners, spending their time staring at shadows on the walls. Not only that, but they know nothing else, and they like it that way. Returning from the sunlight of the Real, we find ourselves blind in the cave and we grope about in the dark like imbeciles. To the cave people we look like fools, especially to those who love the cave and its shadows on account of having attained status there. If we tell them the truth that we have seen (Pray God, let us see it!) about the World Above, they will mock us, like hogs trampling pearls under their feet. And if we entangle our minds in theirs, they will pull us down with them, so that we too start to forget the spiritual and turn again toward the world of shadows.
