The Method of Mysticism

"This is the secret of the Holy Graal, that is the sacred vessel of our Lady the Scarlet Woman, Babalon the Mother of Abominations, the bride of Chaos, that rideth upon our Lord the Beast." -Liber Cheth, line 1

The method of Mysticism is the systematic dismantling of all attachments and desires, to rest in the seer's natural, unconditioned state.

The most nefarious desires are:

* The desire to have influence in the world (material possessions and power)
* The desire to survive, propagate life
* The desire to attain, have 'enlightenment'

The most nefarious attachments are:

* The attachment to material objects (wealth)
* The attachment to other people, including friends and family (love)
* The attachment to intellectual maps of any sort - Theological, Moral, Ontological, Epistemological, etc. - though some are more useful than others (e.g. heliocentric > geocentric)
* The attachment to life (health), forms as they are (instead of in their naturally ever-changing, non-substantial state)
* The attachment to God
* The attachment to notions of 'self'

"Now therefore that thou mayest achieve this ritual of the Holy Graal, do thou divest thyself of all thy goods. Thou hast wealth; give it unto them that have need thereof, yet no desire toward it. Thou hast health; slay thyself in the fervour of thine abandonment unto Our Lady. Let thy flesh hang loose upon thy bones, and thine eyes glare with thy quenchless lust unto the Infinite, with thy passion for the Unknown, for Her that is beyond Knowledge the accursed one. Thou hast love; tear thy mother from thine heart, and spit in the face of thy father. Let thy foot trample the belly of thy wife, and let the babe at her breast be the prey of dogs and vultures." - Liber Cheth, lines 7-10

The primary method is meditation. Meditation is the focusing of the mind to 2: the seer and the seen... and nothing else. No other thought may intrude.

And behold! if by stealth thou keep unto thyself one thought of thine, then shalt thou be cast out into the abyss for ever; and thou shalt be the lonely one, the eater of dung, the afflicted in the Day of Be-with-Us." -Liber Cheth, line 12

This is the beginning stage which leads eventually, by various degrees, to the focusing of the mind to 1: seer and seen are one. Desires and attachments disintegrate if they have not already voluntary been stripped away through austerities.

"For if thou dost not this with thy will, then shall We do this despite thy will. So that thou attain to the Sacrament of the Graal in the Chapel of Abominations." - Liber Cheth, line 11

It is said that, "This Path is beyond Life and Death; it is also beyond Love; but that ye know not, for ye know not Love." (Liber Cheth, line 20) This is because "Life and Death" are One in the Serpent's Body which is a Ring; that is, from the annihilation of the self into the Impersonal Unity comes a recognition of the unity of life and death (and other dualities). This Path is also beyond Love because Love requires a 'lover' and a 'loved.' That is, it requires Two things just like Knowledge requires a 'knower' and a thing 'known.' But in this attainment We have annihilated all mutiplicity; therefore it is said, "It is not known if it be known." (Liber Cheth, line 21)

The result of this process is the annihilation of the old 'self' - the ego, everything we thought was our 'self' - and the 'arising' of the True Self, the Crowned & Conquering Child, beyond all dualities. Only when all elements of multiplicity, temporality, and distinction have been annihilated, the One - which is None for it is continuous (Liber AL I:27) - may be perceived. Therefore it is said, "Bind nothing! Let there be no difference made among you between any one thing & any other thing; for thereby there cometh hurt." (Liber AL I:22) Only when this is achieved does one become "chief of all," (Liber AL I:23) recognizing one's True Self as coterminous with the All. Then are all things seen as a joyful sacrament and we may proclaim "Existence is pure joy." (Liber AL II:9)

"Yea! verily this is the Truth, this is the Truth, this is the Truth. Unto thee shall be granted joy and health and wealth and wisdom when thou art no longer thou. Then shall every gain be a new sacrament, and it shall not defile thee; thou shalt revel with the wanton in the market-place, and the virgins shall fling roses upon thee, and the merchants bend their knees and bring thee gold and spices. Also young boys shall pour wonderful wines for thee, and the singers and the dancers shall sing and dance for thee." - Liber Cheth, lines 13-14

In this Path, having come to the End, one recognizes it is one with the Beginning.

" Wherefore I charge you that ye come unto me in the Beginning; for if ye take but one step in this Path, ye must arrive inevitably at the end thereof... Therefore unto Hadit and unto Nuit be the glory in the End and the Beginning; yea, in the End and the Beginning." - Liber Cheth, lines 19, 22