tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965291110074390288.post1918940889004655607..comments2023-04-16T10:24:32.414+01:00Comments on Mishkan ha-Echad - Golden Dawn Blog by Frater Yechidah: Asceticism in the Golden DawnFrater Yechidahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630272924336872824noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965291110074390288.post-37455857845196215392008-09-10T19:24:00.000+01:002008-09-10T19:24:00.000+01:00This is an often overlooked topic, in my opinion, ...This is an often overlooked topic, in my opinion, within the GD (or esoteric studies in general).<BR/><BR/>In some circles of esoteric study being an Ascetic is encouraged. Most of this I think comes into the Western traditions through the influence of groups like the Theosophical Society in the later 19th and early 20th Centuries. While there were some early examples of this asceticism in traditional Western esoterics (the Pythagorean Brotherhood comes to mind), the general concensus was to live in the world around you rather than to denigh the self. Moderation, as you so point out was the main emphasis from the Greeks particularly which influenced the WMT.<BR/><BR/>The issues of sex and food in relation to magick often come up, and I think that you hit the nail on the head by saying that even in these, moderation is the key. There will be times when fasting (preparing for a ritual or initiation, etc.) is called for, and even encouraged. Once these periods are finished, then the person goes back to their normal daily routine or life (having sex and eating what they normally would eat).<BR/><BR/>In LVX,<BR/>SamuelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-965291110074390288.post-58662837902701897702008-09-05T01:51:00.000+01:002008-09-05T01:51:00.000+01:00On the subject of sexual desire being just as wort...On the subject of sexual desire being just as worthy a path to the Divine as anything else, the words of the 16th-century kabbalist Elijah de Vidas (<I>The Beginning of Wisdom</I>, "Gate of Love," ch. 4) are relevant: "One having no passionate desire for a woman is likened to a donkey or even worse, the reason being that from what one experiences sensually, a person must proceed to understand the service of God."<BR/><BR/>De Vidas, in the same passage, cites a parable in the name of 13th-century kabbalist Isaac of Acre. A common man once saw a beautiful princess step out of the bath and said out loud that he wished she were his so they could make love. Overhearing him, the princess said, "In the cemetery this will be the case!" She meant that only in death could a princess and a commoner be equal and have anything to do with each other. But being somewhat simple, the man thought she was instructing him to meet her secretly in the cemetery. So he went and sat there, thinking single-mindedly of his desire for the princess. Of course, she never showed up, but the man continued to sit and contemplate her beauty day after day, until at last he came to focus single-mindedly on the love of God and transcend all sensual concerns. In time he became a beloved holy man whom others would seek out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com