Book Four - Magick

...by wise men of antiquity. They have established a complete and perfect "Science of Life," and they have given it the name of MAGICK The author uses the spelling "Magick" to distinguish spiritual and occult practices from stage magic or common illusions.. It is the primary secret of the ancient world; while the keys to this science have never actually been lost, they have certainly been used very little. The holders of those keys have always kept very quiet about them. This was especially necessary in Europe due to the dominance of persecuting churches.

Furthermore, the confusion of thought caused by the ignorance of people who did not understand it has brought the entire subject into discredit. It is now our task to restore this science to its state of perfection.

To do this, we must critique the recognized authorities. Some of them have made the subject too complex, while others have completely failed in basic matters such as logical consistency. Many of the writers are empirics original: empirics; individuals who rely on practical experience or trial and error without understanding the underlying theory or science., and even more are merely transcribers of others' work. By far the largest class of all, however, is composed of foolish frauds.

We shall consider a simple form of magick, harmonized from many systems both old and new. We will describe the various weapons of the Magician and the tools original: furniture of his temple. We shall explain what each item really represents original: corresponds to and discuss the construction and use of everything.

The Magician works in a Temple, which is the Universe—and the Universe (remember!) is conterminous original: conterminous; sharing the same boundaries or extent. with the Magician himself. By "yourself," the author means the contents of your own consciousness. Everything outside of your consciousness does not exist for you. In this temple, a Circle is drawn upon the floor to define the limits of his work. This circle is...