A very simple exercise called the Darkness Technique is employed by many Golden Dawn groups nowadays as a preliminary visualisation and meditation process. In simple terms, it involves covering your eyes with your hands, allowing no light in, and looking into that darkness, employing a deep, calming breath (I usually employ the Four-fold Breath with this). However, let’s look at it on a deeper level.
Apparent Meaning (Exoteric):
This technique has multiple practical uses. For one, cutting out the visual foci allows the student to concentrate on a single thing: the darkness before them, as well as their breathing. Secondly it acts as a form of sense deprivation, akin to what might be experienced in the deep darkness of a cave. This aids visualisation as it can stimulate the visual faculties from the very absence of visual cues, thereby resulting in hallucination if overdone, or, when practiced correctly, a more developed skill of visualisation, essential to magickal practice.
Spiritual or Mystical Reference (Esoteric):
This is a meditation on Darkness, for it is Darkness that the Neophyte dwells in, and it is Darkness that they wear as their vesture. Only when we come to accept that we live in Darkness are we then free to make the choice to leave that Darkness (“Quit the Night”) and live in Light (“Seek the Day”). Meditating on the Darkness attunes the Neophyte to these energies, allowing them to understand the Darkness, that they might, thereby, understand the Light. The action of using the hands over the eyes also intimates that we are in full control of whether or not we see the Darkness or the Light; it affords us the understanding that it is ultimately by our Hands (the Yod, the Primal Fire of God), and by the hard work thereby, that we reach the peak of the Mountain of Abiegnus and the Light of Kether.
Apparent Meaning (Exoteric):
This technique has multiple practical uses. For one, cutting out the visual foci allows the student to concentrate on a single thing: the darkness before them, as well as their breathing. Secondly it acts as a form of sense deprivation, akin to what might be experienced in the deep darkness of a cave. This aids visualisation as it can stimulate the visual faculties from the very absence of visual cues, thereby resulting in hallucination if overdone, or, when practiced correctly, a more developed skill of visualisation, essential to magickal practice.
Spiritual or Mystical Reference (Esoteric):
This is a meditation on Darkness, for it is Darkness that the Neophyte dwells in, and it is Darkness that they wear as their vesture. Only when we come to accept that we live in Darkness are we then free to make the choice to leave that Darkness (“Quit the Night”) and live in Light (“Seek the Day”). Meditating on the Darkness attunes the Neophyte to these energies, allowing them to understand the Darkness, that they might, thereby, understand the Light. The action of using the hands over the eyes also intimates that we are in full control of whether or not we see the Darkness or the Light; it affords us the understanding that it is ultimately by our Hands (the Yod, the Primal Fire of God), and by the hard work thereby, that we reach the peak of the Mountain of Abiegnus and the Light of Kether.
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4 comments:
Interesting technique Frater. However I was wondering if perhaps this can be developed for use in scrying training?
To be honest, I hadn't really considered that. The Darkness Technique is usually taught to Probationers, and skrying would not be Probationer work. Looking into the black of your cupped hands as opposed to a black mirror, etc., however, sounds like a viable option. There's only one way to find out! ;)
LLLSHJ,
Y.
Good technique, I never really thought about "palming" the eyes (as I call it) except when my eyes are tired and strained. :)
With visualization and comments of scrying -- I would like to hear more about this area from one who is experienced. I am finding this essential (IMO) skill tough to develop, and I'm sure part of this is my long-preconceived notions as to the nature of skrying. (Sometimes I think the Flying Rolls with visions are written to sound more "technicolor" than they actually would be in practice.)
Please elaborate in future blog posts, if you have experience to share.
I will post on skrying in the future. I have a few techniques which have been successful for me.
LLLSHJ,
Y.
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