For the essay on Erami, Finding the Gnome in Yourself.
Copyright (C) 1998 by William Mistele
The Gnome Erami
On Sublimation, Tantric Alchemy, and Rejuvenation
Franz Bardon says of Erami in The Practice of Magical Evocation that he is
a "powerful gnome-magician." Erami teaches the magick of sympathy and
preparing an earth mirror and fluid condensers. You can also learn
practical applications of earth magick and how to protect yourself from
various dangers.
Erami's essential quality is that he is aware of the energy within the
earth over a wide area. As an undine is aware of waves, currents, and
tides within the sea, Erami is aware of the electro-magnetic flows and
other energies moving through the earth. Erami perceives earth energies
as having a fluid quality. When we look at ice, we have no difficulty
thinking of it as frozen water. We realize the same substance falls as
rain and flows as rivers into seas.
For Erami, physical matter has a light glowing within it. That light
can be released. It is freed by gravity waves, by magnetic tides, by
thunderstorms, and changes in temperature. The way we can feel a static
charge of electricity when we place our hand in front of a computer
monitor, Erami can feel the energy or electronic vibrations being emitted
by physical matter.
The Chinese art of Feng Sui discusses the modulation and accumulation
of earth energies according to the lay of the land. You could say that
Erami, like the gnome Muscar, is a Feng Sui master. It is my impression
that Erami is very good at fertility. He would make a great master of a
Beltane ceremony if it was the fertility of the fields and nature which
you were after.
Erami reminds me of one of my Tai Chi Chuan masters. Master D'ong has
the natural feeling of a tree about him when he does Tai Chi. Master D'ong
is very rooted and his vitality is organic. There is no feeling of ego or
competition about him. Erami is like that. He is a celebration of the
earth energy itself. It is what flows through him.
As Erami and I were talking, we began discussing the magick of
sexuality from an alchemical point of view. Erami put it this way, "The
seed of the male seeks to be within the woman's womb as the seed of the
tree seeks to be within the nurturing soil of the earth. There it is
sheltered, protected, and given a chance to be reborn--to grow and to
flourish. You can acquire within your own body this feminine earth energy
and so feel more at peace with yourself and a part of the harmony of
nature."
I had previously spent a fair amount of time with another gnome named
Mentifil on the beginning of the process of alchemy. Powerful gnome
magicians are quite capable of producing the philosopher's stone, a
material substance which greatly enhances vitality, health, and life
force. These gnomes also are intelligent and observant enough to see
clearly that the same process which perfects the energies of nature also
occurs within their own consciousness as well as within human beings.
Mentifil's procedures is very elaborate. We began by meditating on the
planetary metals one by one spending some time on each until I could see
where its molecular and atomic vibrations dissolve into the pure light of
akasha. Mentifil has a very developed power of concentration. It is hard
for me to imagine a human master in any religious tradition who has
anything remotely similar to it.
Still, the reason Mentifil insists on mastering a wide spectrum of
metallic energies relates Jungian psychology. To upgrade the quality of
the life force within your body, you have to gather all aspects of your
psyche. No significant part of the self can be left out of the process of
refinement. Otherwise, at some point your concentration will weaken and
the energy you are trying to refine will become contaminated. A gnome
alchemist embodies within himself a miniature version and a reflection of
the larger solar system.
I asked Erami about his version of this process of tantric alchemy
between human partners. Again, gnome magicians have a flair for tantra.
That is, they are aware of polarities and how uniting them can be used for
magick. The process within nature which produces the physical substance
of the philosopher's stone can be reproduced as an internal meditative
process.
In the beginning, Erami has the male project his mind into the female
to heighten her connection to nature. The amplification of energy that
results is then used to circulate and refine vital life force. Erami does
not emphasize doing this through sexual embrace. To do so, however, would
require the partners to be very relaxed and appreciative of each other
while maintaining a deep trance.
Mentifil's method does, by the way, emphasizes the imagery of the male
and female in yabyum or physical embrace as well as interacting in
different ways on different planes. The way Mentifil overcomes the
dispersal of the partners' energy due to arousal and passion is that he
has the partners work on the astral plane independent of the body. In
Mentifil's method, when the woman accepts the male's yang, electrical
energy, she makes it part of herself. It combines with her own energy.
The result is that she then emanates a magnetic field which is the
equivalent of creating an entire astral kingdom out of the potency of her
imagination and her powerful femininity.
The primary focus moves to this astral domain and so it is here and
not the physical plane where the two partner's blend and unite their
energies. You could call this astral domain a sacred space where two souls
join. This enables containment. Then in Mentifil's method the procedure
moves to introduce divine masculine and feminine archetypal images to
amplify the relationship. This is similar to the union of God and Goddess
in the Wiccan ceremony but combined and sustained with the concentration
of a Tibetan lama.
And there is also present the clairvoyance of an ancient druid whose
observance of nature leads him to know every tree and plant in his land by
a touch of his hand upon the bark or the smell of the flower. In other
words, there is a highly developed study and empathy for nature completely
independent of working with polar energies.
By contrast, Erami's procedure is straight forward and seems
fairly familiar to me. As I work with it, it does a lot for me right
away. Still, I am fully aware that when you work with gnomes you get used
to placing your mind within something physical and then slowly, very
slowly, raising its vibration. Since many gnomes exist for countless eons
and they love precious stones, it is no big deal for them to spend
thousands of hours or the same number of days meditating with their minds
inside of one particular gem or whatever in fact they are concentrating
on.
A Zen master I know took fifteen years to solve his first koan.
Gnomes have a similar patience, that is, a near limitless concentration
when it comes to working on a project. If you ask them, "How long do I
have to work on this?" Without humor or sarcasm, they will reply, "Take
as long as you need."
There are of course a very great many methods and procedures in
tantra. There are also a wide range of goals depending on the
individuals' interests and general philosophy or religious ideals. As
you might suspect, a gnome is pretty much interested in refining the
vitality and intensifying the quality of the etheric energy within living
beings just as he is used to doing with physical matter.
Of course, you can perform a similar procedure working solo by
yourself. I think I have come to the realization that to love another
individual effectively I have to first find inner peace within myself.
Then I have more to give. Gnomes who are usually industrious and not so
interested in connecting seem to prefer working alone.
Human beings, by contrast, due to romantic notions often wish to
explore their natural attraction to another as a path of spiritual
development. Gnomes usually do not look at the opposite gender with the
same level of desire. But human beings have a much greater awareness of
akasha which celebrates the magick of love. And, in point of fact,
working with a partner vastly amplifies the degree to which energy can be
refined and transformed. The difficulty is that human beings, as I have
suggested, usually lack any conception of a gnome's patience and level of
concentration.
These then are the six steps in brief as outlined to me by Erami for
performing tantra or simulating the alchemical process within yourself and
also with a partner. I am going to spend a lot more time on how to do this
with a partner so consider this first part as a kind of introduction and
summary.
It is possible to move through these six steps all in one sitting to
the extent that you can distinguish the different energies and feel the
process moving naturally from one step to the next. You can also spend as
long as you may wish on any one step. The emphasis is not on how you
proceed--that is up to you. The goal is to master every aspect of the
process so you can produce concrete results when you wish. As I practice,
I return again and again to the beginning steps because it is easy for me
to see how they lay the foundation and maintain the quality of what is
later accomplished.
Solo Practice. I might mention that a simple way for a magician to
proceed would be by meditating with Erami. You just ask him to guide and
enhance your own concentration in this area. I am sure I have notes from
many years ago in which I describe Erami's aura but this still feels like
the first time I have evoked him. Nonetheless, the whole evocation is
very relaxed and laid back. Erami seems completely accessible.
In effect, I asked Erami to set up a circulation of energy between the
two of us which did not involve an accumulation of energy and in which no
energy needed to be dissolved afterwards. Occasionally, I asked him to
make the energy flow more gently and to reduce the intensity. The energy
was as strong as I needed to produce the effects and to heighten my
awareness of the steps in the ways I desired.
Of course, these six steps can be performed by yourself without
utilizing any entity outside yourself. These steps are also fairly
consistent with notions in traditional alchemy and also in some versions
of Taoist yoga with which I am acquainted. The six steps are:
1. You immense your awareness in your physical body seeking to be
aware of your etheric energy and the movements of vitality within you. It
is easy to get stuck at this point. You may not know what to focus on or
how to proceed. Your impressions may be dull and you may not sense much
about your body.
To overcome this you might approach your body as something you do not
know. Bring along a sense of curiosity and wonder. Concentrate on your
body with the objectivity of a scientist, with the calm serenity of a
yogi, and with the thirst for bliss and rapture of a mystic who is seeking
the mystery of the universe.
Bardon has students practice breathing vital energy into each part of
the body as well as accumulating and dissolving it afterwards. Erami's
emphasis is more on sensing the etheric vibration of the body. You
observe its functioning as it is. There are actually a multitude of things
going on which you can notice.
You can certainly sense the skin and the major muscles of the body.
With practice you can get sensations for the internal organs as well. You
can sense the changes in temperature and pressure as you concentrate on
different parts of the body. The blood circulation and temperature alter
to some extent as the blood vessels dilate and contract as you relax or
tense up.
There are a great many ways for learning to observe and notice bodily
sensations and energy flows. All of these are helpful. Erami, however,
is after the etheric energy which underlies the physical manifestation of
the body. To get a sense for this, you might imagine your mind is within
a stone, a tree, a pool of water, fire, the sky and also a cloud. See if
you can get a distinct sensation for each of these different elemental
states. Then bring this same kind of awareness with you as you study your
body from inside.
2. For Bardon, the male has a distinct charge of magnetic energy
around his head and electrical energy around his genitals or lower body.
The pattern is reversed for the female. In this second stop, you want to
be able to feel, perceive, intuit, or otherwise imagine concretely these
polar energies.
Once you sense them, spend some time contemplating their qualities and
powers. In Bardon's system, this is one of the most important things to
accomplish. Whether you are a male or female, you then allow the magnetic
energy to circle around your whole body encompassing and containing the
electrical energy.
These two opposite energies then amplify each other. The magnetic
fluid seals you off from the external world generating peace and serenity
as well as feeling autonomous and independent. The electrical energy
enhances your sense of inner strength and self-illumination. I realize
there is a lot to discuss about electric and magnetic energies, how to
discern them, their many qualities, and how to regulate and to increase
them. I discus this topic elsewhere, for example, in my evocation of the
spirit Anamil of the earthzone, with some of the undines, and also with
the salamander Itumo.
3. The previous step is extended until you feel a part of nature.
That is, consciously focusing on the electro-magnetic energies in your
body brings you into rapport with the natural world. Time is suspended or
altered to align with the cycles of the seasons, the year, the movement of
weather and sun and moon. In other words, on an etheric and astral level,
you connect to the deeper energies within you. These lead to the
archetypes on the astral plane which mirror the processes within nature.
And also on this level your mind learns to be at ease within the
biochemical processes and life force of the physical body.
For example, you are at the point where you can sense that the process
of breathing within your body has its counterpart within nature and that
the two are not separate from each other. The vibration within your bones
are not so different from stone. The electricity driving your heartbeat
is not so different from the thunderstorm. Nor is the pressure within
your blood so different from the pressure within the earth causing magma
to rise or rivers to flow to the sea.
When I was growing up, I could not find very many Western poets who
could comprehend this correlation of body and nature, of microcosm with
the greater universe. To be honest, I still run into even New Age editors
and psychologists who think I am on drugs when I talk this way. But the
Celts, Wiccans and druids, Taoists, American Indians and shamans
understand that the body is transparent and that the energies of nature
are flowing through us all the time.
4. At this point, you begin to sense a circulation of energy through
the central channel of your body extending upward, out of the top of your
head, into the space around
around you, and back into your body at the perineum at the base of the
torso. This is similar to the magnetic field extending around the earth
from the north and south poles. You might think of this central channel
as a narrow tube running from the base of your body to the top of your
head. Gradually as you practice it widens and eventually in step six it
becomes your whole body.
In terms of imagination and psychic perception, the energies of nature
on which you concentrate yield part of their etheric energy to this energy
stream circulating through your body. If you think of sky and winds, you
feel some of that airy energy flowing through you. If you think of lakes
and seas, there is a more cool, watery magnetism flowing through you
also--and so forth with fire, earth, trees, animals (see a poem I just
wrote on wolverines), or whatever you are contemplating.
5. The fourth step continues as your aura expands further into the
diversity of forms and energies within nature. The sushumna or central
channel within the body from the perineum to the top of the head becomes
completely filled with akasha. The akasha is formless consciousness
penetrating through space and time. It reveals the origins, the highest
purposes, and the purest energy within anything.
There is now also more consciousness of the seven chakras. The
energies within nature both activate the chakras and yet the chakras
themselves are dissolved within this akashic awareness. The central
channel which is gathering and channeling the energy of nature through
your body transforms everything that enters it into its purest substance.
The inner light or essence within every vibration and energy is released
to join with the other energies.
Your awareness is within this akashic channel. Your awareness is also
within the flow of the energy field extending from your body into nature
and returning again to your body. And you are aware of those areas of
nature you are contemplating. You become the tree, the field, the
mountain, the lake, the sea, the thunder, the volcano, the stone, and so
forth without trying to do anything to them. You are just within them.
You do all three of these things at once--you are energy flowing through
the akashic channel, energy circulating out and back from nature, and you
are within nature without distraction.
6. The process at this point begins to produce your elixir. You sense
in your body the appearance of a refined, primal energy which is
rejuvenating. It is new, refreshing, and full of a wild and serene joy.
The energy field moving in and around you reveals a love which encompasses
and joins matter and spirit. It is as astonishing in its exuberance as it
is a stillness free of all attachment. It is the union of all the
energies within nature as well as their highest refinement. It is a wine
in the sacred celebration of the union of God and Goddess.
There is, of course, a balance to maintain during this procedure. If
the akasha is overemphasized, your aura will be too intense and repel the
energies of nature. For example, those who are too mental may attain an
inner illumination which works for themselves but which has little or no
influence on the world around them.
Those who are too immersed within the energies of nature as compared
to the akasha do not distill and yield the essence of the elements they
are working with. Their process loses its power to refine and to
transform. They do not uncover the purest vibration within matter. They
are saturated with elemental energies and possess power on the lower
astral plane. But they are too heavy. It is as if the power they hold
also possesses them. They have not attained to rejuvenation. The wonder
born anew in each moment is not present in them.
It is also possible to have both the akasha and the immersion with
nature but fail to circulate these energies with enough strength and with
enough harmony within the central channel. In this case, the process also
fails. It is like a man and a woman who love each other but are too busy
or distracted to attain inner union. The potential is there but not the
fruit. In other words, part of the job in step six is fine tuning the
process and insuring mastery over the previous steps.
What we have done then is to identify the body with the fifth element
of akasha. The electric and magnetic fluids within the body also form one
of the most powerful forms of magick--an electro-magnetic volt. And there
is a circulation through the body of the four elements and all the
energies of nature. A refined vitality is produced for oneself and also an
uplifting influence is exerted on nature and those around us.
On an astral level, besides the feelings I have already mentioned such
as exuberance and primal joy, there is a sense of being in harmony with
the universe. These feelings are most remarkable. There is a profound
rapture--the ecstasies of the four elements are somehow woven together and
at peace. On the mental plane, the mind is still, serene, and
extraordinarily open. If you can get some results out of this, you could
say in Jungian terms as well in truth that you have found the gnome
magician within yourself. You have gone a ways toward mastering the earth
element.
Working with a Partner
Step 1. Erami says: "As I am and do with the earth, you do with the
woman--you identify with her, penetrate her with your consciousness, and
become one with her material being and the energy of her physical body."
The analogy again is--as a gnome is to the earth, the man is to the
woman's body. The gnome is within the earth. He makes it his home. He
studies it ceaselessly giving it his full attention. He searches for its
essence and beauty and he joins with that essence and beauty. He seeks
the spirit which underlies its existence that he might join with that
mystery. Please understand--for a gnome, a billion years is not enough
time to comprehend the mysteries of the planet on which we live. Human
beings have much more spiritual ability than gnomes but we have not yet
attained their level of mastery.
In regard to projecting your mind into your partner, recall that
transferring consciousness is a beginning exercise in Bardon. You
transfer your mind into every imaginable thing. From Erami's point of
view, you can also specialize. A gnome may be interested in understanding
the essence, every quality and vibration of a precious stone or planetary
metal. This is precisely the attitude you need to have when approaching
your opposite as embodied in a woman (or vice versa, for a woman
concentrating on a man).
In effect, if you do the solo practice, you now are performing the
solo practice within your partner's body with several alterations in the
procedure. I have met a number of individuals who have a flair for this
sort of thing. They have learned, for example, how to flow vitality
through the main meridians of their bodies through meditation. With a
little concentration and the same attention to detail and anatomy, they
can stimulate similar flows of vitality in another person's body whether
that person is near or on the other side of the planet.
A woman can perform these kinds of alchemical meditations just as
easily as a man. She can take charge and direct the process. I know some
women who do that when practicing sexual magick. If the woman is
practicing with a skilled partner, however, in the first step she opens
herself up completely and gives all of herself with joy to her partner.
She savors and celebrates every nuance of his attention. In other words,
she allows his energy to penetrate her. As he concentrates on her etheric
body, she welcomes him in.
It does not take much effort to observe that when couples flirt, they
give each other a lot of attention. When a man and a woman fall in love,
one thing which is usually present is that they feel they are experiencing
more attention from this other person than they have previously from
anyone else in their life. Quite naturally, this level of attention opens
the gates to the astral plane's archetypes. Couples can look back after
many years and still feel this power. In the courting phase of romance
there are often enchantments generated which last a life time.
Transferring one's consciousness into a woman, however, does not
necessarily produce results with any more ease than wind, water, seed, and
sun have it easy in fertilizing the earth. But she can assist by being
receptive and making her beauty accessible. Obviously, on a personal
level, trust is essential to this process. Nothing will close down more
quickly the alchemy of opposites joining than fear, distrust, or jealousy.
Partners working in this way, then, need the deepest regard and the
highest respect for each other. It is not a particularly romantic
procedure and it probably helps to forget about eroticism and sensual
pleasure altogether. It is not about passion, desire, tension, and
release yet being conscious of attraction is the heart of the process.
Though it is necessary to focus with calm alertness, there can still be
explosions of emotions. The mind may proceed with the observation and
shrewd alertness of a scientist, but what is required on an emotional
level is more of the nature of worship--of knowing how to enter and
sustain a sacred connection to divinity.
I have not yet asked Erami what things are sacred to a gnome. But for
human beings this is a deeper process than bonding. After all, we are
dealing with the fires of life where they are at their strongest. We are
opening the gates to all the domains within the human psyche--the
mysteries and secrets of matter and spirit enter into this process.
The procedure I am employing at this point, by the way, is not a
physical, sexual relationship. Oh, I know you clever Buddhist scholars
will point out to me that the Dalai Lama said in the Wheel of Time that a
man can not attain enlightenment in this life without relying upon a
physical consort, a karmayuga. This is something which is not widely
advertised in Tibetan Buddhism and lamas hardly ever mention anything
about it to Western students.
But hey, we are dealing with gnomes here. Neither romance nor the
Buddhist concept of suffering have any interest to a gnome. Therefore, a
gnome is able to focus without bias on every aspect of the natural process
of attraction without blushing and without intellectualizing the topic.
When a gnome magician looks at human beings, he sees right away that
there is an alchemical process going on all the time between opposite
genders. The attraction is magick. As he would do in working with a
stone, he suggests also to human magicians--project your spirit into your
partner. Become fully conscious of every aspect of your partner's being
the way a gnome becomes conscious of the stone including the densest
vibration and the unique essence.
And then become aware of the spirit underlying its existence so that
the two--the stone and the light of akasha shining within it--blend as
one. There is nothing to force. The transformation occurs by holding the
opposites--matter and spirit, masculine and feminine--at the same time
within one consciousness. (For those who practice the cosmic language,
this is the process in the letter OE which pertains most to alchemy).
According to legend and modern magicians, a gnome magician can
transform one element into another as well as produce the physical
substance of a philosopher's stone. For a gnome, this is mind over or
within matter. For a human being, inevitably, this process involves the
heart as well. In terms of Erami procedure, it is possible but not easy
to do all of this while making love to a suitable partner. He would
prefer humans work alone or else transfer their consciousness into their
partner so there is no distraction from feeling an amplification of sexual
or psychological need.
To summarize, then, you project your mind inside of a woman's body and
become acquainted with every aspect of her physical being and etheric
energy. You may start using your imagination, move on to where you
receive impressions, and finally gain a strong sense of actually being
within and identified with your partner's body to the extent it now feels
like your own.
Millions of Americans, for example, are psychic enough to accomplish
this with ease if someone but showed them how and gave them a few pointers
along the way. The problem for psychics who can sense energy easily is
that they usually fail to combine their sensitivity with a implacable
spiritual will. Because their impressions are so real they think they
have accomplished what they are after.
But we are not primarily after feelings. We are after the vitality
which animates physical matter and living beings. It takes time to become
successful in this endeavor.
Others will object and say, "Hey, I am a macho man. I like women but
they are cheerleaders, objects of pleasure and support. They are the
reward and the beauty which compliments my power." This attitude actually
exerts a strong presence in all the world's religions.
Buddhists typically did not even teach nuns how to read and write nor
did they allow them to establish their own lineages and yet Buddhism has
refined tantra to its highest level on the mental plane. But we do not
need to be confused by ego and questions of gender superiority. We are
after the quintessence of nature's energies, the union of opposites which
enables the highest divinity to manifest within our physical bodies.
Tantra is becoming one with the object of your worship. Both genders
unite in this process.
I used to have a few partners a number of decades ago with whom I
practiced this sort of projection into each other's bodies but to a lessor
degree. They were sensitive and psychic and it all seemed very natural.
You could make any number of changes in body energy and activate the seven
chakras just by using your imagination.
You can also just stop here at the first step and not proceed. There
are some nice things which may result immediately. For one, you fool
yourself into giving your full attention to another person for an extended
period of time without asking anything in return. You do it the way trees
wait during the night for the morning light. You do it the way the sun
shines into the emptiness of space--that is, you do it out of joy. It is
an inner quest expressed outward.
Abandoning your own male form and identification with your body, you
become one with another. There is no thinking or labeling, just pure
observation and presence. The connection on a subconscious level at this
point can become very strong. Again, we are recapitulating what it is to
fall in love but we are doing so consciously and with a another objective.
In falling in love, individuals may say, "I feel like I have known you
my entire life though we have only just met. I feel I am a part of you.
I feel we will never be separate." Nice stuff, huh? The substance of
pure enchantment. Observe these feelings. If you like, cherish them and
savor their qualities. But do not get attached to these archetypal dream
images. Freely move among them as a priest in a temple who has the power
to evoke the presence of God or Goddess and yet remains humble because he
knows when and how to strip himself of ego. The ritual will accept
nothing less.
I often point out to couples that the stronger the attraction or
intimacy between them the greater the treasures of spirit and also the
monsters or negative powers within the psyche which are able to manifest.
The trust which can turn life into a feeling of wonder and newness
unparalleled by anything else in your experience is accompanied inevitably
by an equal and opposite force of abandonment, rejection, and feeling
violated. Both positive and negative open the door for each other to
emerge.
This is because when you enter the deeper levels of the psyche, you are
no longer protected by anything familiar. The unknown and the known can
easily blend together or shape shift into each other. The intimate
partner suddenly becomes a complete stranger. Partners who loved each
other for years can divorce and then hate each other as long if not
longer.
Those who work extensively with the body and vitality often ignore this
whole domain of feelings--of attracting and repelling forces. They do not
bother to focus on or process the emotions that arise as they flow more
life force through the physical body. This is because the astral plane
has its own laws governing exploration and transformation different from
the physical body which is their only concern.
We might take a few pointers from a gnome in this regard. How does a
gnome get around this problem when every tree, flower, plant, and stone
has its own unique astral qualities or feeling? How does he overcome
attachment and antipathy, the desire to possess or flee from what he sees?
For a gnome, the earth is the body of the Goddess. The whole of the earth
and everything within it is holy. He accepts everything that is there.
When he encounters forces which are destructive and annihilating, he
observes them with the detachment and scrutiny of a scientist.
When he encounters what is awe-inspiring, wondrous, and full of
beauty, he does not lord over it like a dragon with a hoard of gold. He
seeks instead to make it part of his own consciousness. He is receptive
to everything and yet focused on his goal so his concentration is never
undermined by distractions, mistakes, or misfortunes.
I have make this slight diversion to remind partners to remain free,
trusting, and committed to beauty while they explore the mysteries of
love, union, and intimacy. Why such a high level of commitment? Because
becoming one with another is the same process of attaining inner peace and
becoming one with yourself. It takes a profound acceptance and a
willingness to understand the whole of life.
Step 2. In the second step, we gain a feeling for and access to the
woman's body and her energy as if it is our own. We are not after
control. We are after a joining of two individuals with different
chemistry, polarities, and electro-magnetic energies. We acquire this by
degrees. But along the way there is a blending of mind with physical
being. The result is that two become one energy system at least during
the process of meditation.
As I do this, I notice that projecting my mind into a woman sets up a
double electro-magnetic volt. This seems to happen by itself as the
energies find their own level of balance. Recall again that Bardon
ascribes to the female magnetic energy in the lower part of her body and
electrical energy around her head and vice versa for the male. There are,
of course, a lot of different flows and aspects to this generalization but
over all this generalization has useful applications.
In a magick volt, you make a ball of magnetic fluid surrounding a
smaller ball of electrical fluid. As the man projects his mind into the
woman, part of the male's electric and magnetic energies are extended
into the female. As a natural result, the female's lower magnetic energy
encompasses the male's lower body electrical energy. And the electrical
energy around the woman's head is encircled by the magnetic energy of the
man's head. There is also an increase in the joined flows of
electro-magnetic energy through the sushumna--the major channel of
vitality in the body. This is what I notice going on as I practice the
second step.
You can also project your mind into something without supposedly
leaving a trance of your presence. You are there observing and alert but
your presence is not felt. In Erami's practice, however, a fair amount of
your own energy accompanies your mind as you project into the woman. This
bringing together of opposites so they interact and transform each other
is typical in the process of alchemy.
I notice also the specific quality of the woman's magnetic and
electrical energies and the way they are interacting with my own. I
notice how her energies are different from my own. I modulate and expand
the magnetic energy around my head in order to contain her electrical
energy and I do the same with the lower energies as well.
I could comment on this in more detail but what is most important is
the way the opposite energies strengthen and amplify each other. We all
have our experiences with male-female interactions and in this meditation
there is a fair amount of fine tuning of the process to get the right
balance. You want the magnetic fluid, whether upper or lower, to be cool,
clear, and calm. And you want the electrical energy to retain its full
intensity and expansive power.
And this step from the woman's point of view? In the first step, she
was more passive acting in a responsive manner to the man's concentration.
I do not intend to insist on this. But to get heat, you need fuel and
fire. If one partner is more active, for balance, you will need the other
partner to be more receptive. The task however remains the same whether
the male or female is the most active. The electrical fluid must arouse,
be aroused by, and strengthen the magnetic. And the magnetic, while
remaining totally receptive and responsive, must contain every aspect of
the electric within a state of complete serenity.
If the woman shifts her personality so she is electrical in both her
upper and lower energies, you naturally end up with a very exiting and
vivacious woman. But, unless compensated for by a more magnetic male, the
partnership will lose its capacity to generate feelings of happiness and
well-being. Without an adequate amount of the nurturing power of the
magnetic energy, the ability to contain and preserve the two partner's
life force is lost. There is distraction and contamination so that the
quality and amount of their vitality is not does not reach its potential.
Similarly, if the male is magnetic in both the upper and lower regions and
the woman does not compensate by becoming more electrical, the partnership
loses the strength and will needed to overcome obstacles.
The first step, then, is more like two individuals flirting. The woman
reveals a delight as the other's thought or touch caresses her body. In
this second step, she is as equally engaged in concentration as the man.
She senses and follows the movement of energies within her own body and
within the man as well. She is aware to the same extent as he of the two
bodies becoming one energy system amplifying each other's energies. In
practice, as long as one individual is receptive and the other strong
enough, the process can go on even when only one person is doing the
concentrating.
3. Now, through this connection to each other--of being one within
each other--time is suspended. There is a shift in your orientation from
everyday life into the cycles of nature. You feel a part of nature--like
a tree, a waterfall, a canyon, or a mountain. As you meditate, you body
and mind become very still. This shift can be gradual or sudden as you
move from step 2 to step 3.
Perhaps this stillness arises because the electrical, expanding
energies in both the man and the woman are now completely contained and
sustained within the protective and nourishing magnetic fluids. In any
case, as is typical in alchemy, you reach a point where you feel fairly
autonomous and independent of the outside world. The two of you are
within your own psychic space free of outside influence.
At this point, your astral bodies open up to a whole new dimension of
feelings under the stimulation and amplification of each other's auras.
The woman's lower magnetic energy increases and overflows moving upward
and joining with the man's mental magnetic energy making his mind far more
serene and clear. The amount of the man's lower electrical energy also
increases flowing upward and joining with the woman's electrical energy
around her head making her far more confident and radiant.
The powers of attraction are now very strong. Yet even though there is
a direct connection between the polar energies in the partner's lower
bodies, the erotic element seems to be instantaneously transferred upward.
You can feel this--as the erotic and sensual sensations awaken they are
swept away into the upward pull of the sushumna or central channel of
vitality at the center of the body. This happens because the joined
magnetic energies are equal in power and quite capable of containing the
electrical.
If there is a problem with either fluid fulfilling its function,
return to the second step in which you observe and contemplate all aspects
of the two fluids in the body. At the end of this essay, I give some
examples of where I discuss further these two fluids in other evocations.
There will always be surprises, new or unknown sensations or emotions
appearing, because these two fluids are the essence and the highest
potency of the energies underlying nature.
4. In terms of feeling, the magnetic fluid now becomes dominant.
There is a vast expansion of the woman's aura so she easily identifies
with the world of nature around her. For a human being, there is a
feeling of being a part of the trees, the rocks, the forests, the hills,
the mountain chain, the sky, the winds, the seas, and the fires within the
earth. Like Erami, there is an awareness of the life force within nature
over vast distances. You are now learning to think, feel, and perceive as
a gnome magician.
The process at this point is primarily in awakening the latent powers
in the woman's body--she has a closer connection to the earth and to
nature than does the man. (You can observe this for yourself and state it
in your own way. It boils down to saying that the genders have different
ties to nature and can use each other's approach to further their own
connection.) Since he is projecting within and identifying with her body,
her archetypal energies, her feminine connections to nature, become
amplified. This expansion of energy occurs on both the astral and the
physical/etheric planes.
The electrical, however, is still present in that it underlies this
psychic expansion of awareness into the natural world. The electrical, you
could say, is now refined so that it psychicly extends the partners' auras
outward. The analogy here is that when a couple really love each other
they often become a dynamic force in transforming the world. They have
extra energy. Their enthusiasm, conviction, empathy, and sensitivity
influence others around them..
The difference between the loving couple and this alchemy is that the
energy extended outward takes place on a very subtle level and through
clairvoyance. The joined auras of the male and female amplified by the
electrical and magnetic fluids on the upper and lower levels create a
magick mirror or a crystal ball out of their auras. The two partners
reflect within themselves all the energies in the natural world. Love
alone is suited to accomplish this. All of nature is attracted to and is
inspired by this joining.
The gnome, for example, has a great advantage in producing a physical
elixir. This physical elixir has great potency in also regenerating the
astral and mental bodies. The human partners can produce the quality but
not the substance of this elixir within their auras. The gnome, however,
is not so successful on the astral plane. Even in this process as
outlined by Erami, the gnome does not reflect in his astral body anything
even remotely similar to the astonishing beauty that human beings produce
in their astral bodies. The ecstasies of all four elements in nature are
captured in the joining.
5. On the fifth level, the peace, serenity, and harmony of nature are
retained, but the energy circulation becomes far more intense. The
male-female combination generates an energy field like the two poles of a
powerful battery. There is a circulation of energy rising from the lowest
chakra, ascending through the center of the body to the top of the head,
out of the head, through the surrounding natural world, and back into the
body at the root chakra.
As with the fifth step in the solo practice, this energy tube or
sushumna channel is filled with akasha. The energies and elements of
nature are refined by being brought into contact with akasha. All seven
chakras are also joined within the sushumna blending and transforming the
energy that moves through them. This procedure bridges the gap between
matter and spirit, between the elements as they exist within nature and
the way they can be refined and united on each of the four planes. As
with the solo practice, the sushumna also expands to include the whole
body.
Among the differences between working alone and working with a partner
is that the connection to nature is stronger when the man has a female
partner in the fourth and fifth steps. The connection to the elemental
energies are denser and so you spend more time being within those forces.
In the fifth step with a partner, the energy circulation through the
sushumna also accelerates. There is more energy moving since the
combined fields of the two individuals has a greater effect.
At this point, you may begin to notice an exquisite sense of being
attuned to the energies within and underlying nature. The undine Isaphil
once asked me to reveal the dreams within the four elements. Another
undine named Istiphul once asked me to reveal how the higher and greater
love that guides the universe manifests within the four elements on earth.
When you are in union with your partner on a deep level of harmony, you
can sense these dreams within the elements and the way nature reflects
within itself the beauty of Divine Providence.
6. In this final step, you sink down into a dot behind the woman's
solar plexus and perceive her entire body filled with akasha. The akasha
is a penetrating emptiness. The energies of nature and of the man and
woman continue to flow through this akasha within the body. The male and
female are joined from the densest level of matter to the highest levels
of spirit. And the energies of nature blend and leave behind the highest
essence of the life force within them.
A very refined vitality is produced. The differences between
masculine and feminine are also overcome within this unified field of
energy and awareness. The magick here is the magick of love. Every
sensation, experience, feeling, thought, memory, and aspiration of the two
individuals are fused within this oneness.
The elements of nature and the energies with minerals, plants, flowers,
trees, and animals are attracted and drawn in to this oneness which
encompasses their own nature and existence. Again, the energy is refined
and transformed. There is a purifying, cleansing, and harmonizing
influence on all that is in contact with this energy field of two united
as one.
I ask Erami, "How is it that you know about this process."
Erami replies, "The tree takes the energies of the earth and the light
of the sun and unites them in the fruit it produces. Each kind of fruit
has its own taste and qualities. Some are sweet and some are bitter.
Some are healing and nurturing. Some are poisonous or hallucinogenic.
But each has its own essence.
"It may not suit your taste to blend an apple and a pear into a new
fruit combining the qualities of each. But the life force within each can
be carefully refined and united to produce an elixir stronger and more
nurturing than either fruit by itself. This kind of alchemical joining
can only be done within a state of oneness with nature. You have to
become the spirit within matter--timeless, empty, and all-encompassing--to
discern how opposites can be united in harmony.
"This is both a natural process and a way of making something new like
a creator. Love, the joining of opposites, is the means for capturing the
highest beauty and harmony and condensing these so they are given physical
expression. The elixirs that result have great potency and rejuvenating
power because they enhance the qualities and life force within whatever
they touch.
"Transformation and change are everywhere in nature. It is natural to
ask, `From what source do these transformations arise and what is their
perfected course? And in what way can they all be brought into harmony and
unity?' I have asked and pursued these questions for many long eons and
countless centuries. I have shared with you the process of uniting
opposites which I have found to work within myself."
In summary, I would point out that, though we do not hear about it
much these days, a great deal of energy went into the practice of alchemy
in Western history. Bishops, popes, and kings financed and were involved
in the research though much was motivated by greed. In Taoist monasteries
in China where the refinement of life force was the highest ideal,
individuals practiced internal yoga and alchemy for a life time. There
were many variations relating to healing, magick, and martial arts and
sometimes they did it very well.
Padma Sambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, also utilized tantra.
He changed tantra from the Taoist direction of strengthening life force
and the Hindu goal of attaining union with the crown chakra to achieving
the Buddhist ideal of enlightenment. Though they may share many things in
common, the auras of Taoist, Buddhist, and Hindu masters are usually very
different from each other. They pursue different goals, prefer different
methods, and get different results.
Without a doubt, Erami is squarely in the Taoist camp emphasizing the
perfection of nature's energies and attaining a quintessence or
philosopher's stone. But when you place me and Erami together, you get
another result. I am interested in Divine Providence in its four
fundamental qualities of omnipotence, omnipresence, wisdom, and
immortality. When I work with Erami, I bring something of my own goals to
the process.
I want the refined vitality which is able to reflect within itself the
harmony of nature and of the universe. The refining of vitality and
healing power are of the earth element. The harmony is an aspect of
wisdom. I also want the magick of love, the omnipresence, the awareness
which encompasses opposites on all four planes.
Will is demonstrated through the degree of commitment. My ability to
call Erami is part empathy and psychic intuition but there is power also.
I know he will come and work with me because I can identify with the
source of spirit from which his existence arises. The will to unite
matter and spirit is in part an aspect of omnipotence.
As I have suggested, in working with Erami, I am finding the gnome
within myself. The gnome within me is a lover and a creator as well as
one who refines the energies of nature. And a creator works with all four
fundamental qualities of spirit at once.
Note: there are a number of other evocations I have done which have
information bearing on the electric and magnetic fluids and their relation
to magick. I worked with the gnome Mentifil and posted some of the
preliminary meditations on the planetary metals on my web site.
I discuss the electro-magnetic fluids with the salamander Itumo who
specializes in thunderstorms. The earthzone spirit Haiamon in Libra
specializes in sexual polarities in nature. Anamil in Aries specializes
in using the electro-magnetic energies for solving any problem. Jachil
specializes in combining the fluids within a state of serenity and
personal love which gives a unity with nature.
Tagora in Scorpio specializes in tantra and the joining of opposites
as they pertain to the chakras in the body. Radina also in Scorpio
discuses the joining of opposites and mastering the energies of nature in
relation to divine healing. And finally Chimirgu is a master of the
akasha and akasha, of course, is essential for Erami's alchemical
process.
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