Syllabus of the H.O.L Neophyte
The grades and syllabus of HOL have been considered and set up to allow the magician to follow his own devices and not to restrict the development of the individual. Teaching shall be done by the grades above and are part of the flow of knowledge. Neophyte’s will be taught by the initiates with guidance from his adept and the initiates by the adepts, in turn the adepts will be taught by the Magus. This method guards against two things firstly it prevents dogma developing and secondly it enhances learning in a natural way, when a students is expected to teach those below them they tend to learn faster and better.
All initiation is done by self initiation we believe that no one person is capable of conferring initiation on another it is a matter of personal responsibility. Each ritual will be provided when the student is ready, there are blanks to fill out to tailor the rite to he individual.
The House will not chase members for their work or for submissions, no reminders will be sent and if a period of one month elapses without any contact we will assume that you have found a better path to follow.
Neophyte
The Neophyte constitutes the first of the grades and is numbered 4, the neophyte’s work is to practice the basic skills that will enable them to achieve a state of Gnosis and develop their own magical methods and Voice.
The Neophyte is expected to be able to submit a record of continues 6 months work to qualify for the grade of neophyte and once the work has been received the ritual will be released and the Initiate will work with the Neophyte to help tailor the ritual, in some cases and where geographical & personal conditions allow they will work directly together.
The Neophyte should make a careful record of all the days work, taking note of the time and date of performance of exercises and the conditions that they are performed under. For example:-
15 October 2009
06:00 am Performed the GBR ( Gnostic Banishing Rite) and then 20 Minutes Asana, I felt clear headed and energised after the GBR. The foggyness of sleep had vanishes and I felt positive and alive. The asana practice was very difficult and painful, I felt a slight rapid trembling in my arms .
12:00 pm Performed 10 minutes of Mental concentration using the Earth Tattwa, my mind wandered 15 times in total, the last time I didn’t even realise it had I found myself thinking of the visit by my parents this morning and the conversation we had. It may be useful to practice the GBR before I do this work.
This record will aid the development of the magician and will facilitate the introspection required to achieve the deeper states of Gnosis.
Techniques and Exercises
Posture & Relaxation.
The neophyte should practice either the motionless techniques as prescribed by Pete Caroll in “Liber Null”
“Arrange the body in any comfortable position and try to remain
in that position for as long as possible. Try not to blink or move
the tongue or fingers or any part of the body at all. Do not let the
mind run away on long trains of thought but rather observe
oneself passively. What appeared to be a comfortable position
may become agonizing with time, but persist! Set aside some
time each day for this practice and take advantage of any
Opportunity of inactivity which may arise.
Record the results in the magical diary. One should not be
satisfied with less than five minutes. When fifteen have been
achieved, proceed to regulation of the breathing.”
Alternatley Crowleys practice of Asana as directed in “Magick in Thoey and Practice” is also suitable (see” LIBER E vel EXERCITIORUM SUB FIGURA IX”)
“Asana --- Posture.
1. You must learn to sit perfectly still with every muscle tense for long periods.
2. You must wear no garments that interfere with the posture in any of these experiments.
3. The first position: (The God). Sit in a chair; head up, back straight, knees together, hands on knees, eyes closed.
4. The second position: (The Dragon). Kneel; buttocks resting on the heels, toes turned back, back and head straight, hands on thighs.
5. The third position: (The Ibis). Stand, hold left ankle with right hand, free forefinger on lips.
6. The fourth position: (The Thunderbolt). Sit; left heel pressing up anus, right foot poised on its toes, the heel covering the phallus; arms stretched out over the knees; head and back straight.
7. Various things will happen to you while you are practising these position s; they must be carefully analysed and described.
8. Note down the duration of practice; the severity of the pain (if any) which accompanies it, the degree of rigidity attained, and any other pertinent matters”
Breathing
The Neophyte should practice for a period of 6 months the techniques of breathing as described by Pete Caroll or the practice of Pranayama described by Crowley
“Stay as motionless as possible and begin to deliberately make
the breathing slower and deeper. The aim is to use the entire
capacity of the lungs but without any undue muscular effort or
strain. The lungs may be held empty or full between exhalation
and inhalation to lengthen the cycle. The important thing is
that the mind should direct its complete attention to the
breath cycle.”
Pranayama --- Regularisation of the Breathing
1. At rest in one of your positions, close the right nostril with the thumb of the right hand and breathe out slowly and completely through the left nostril, while your watch marks 20 seconds. Breathe in through the same nostril for 10 seconds. Changing hands, repeat with the other nostril. Let this be continuous for one hour.
2. When this is quite easy to you, increase the periods to 30 and 15 seconds.
3. When this is quite easy to you, but not before, breathe out for 15 seconds, in for 15 seconds, and hold the breath for 15 seconds.
4. When you can do this with perfect ease and comfort for a whole hour, practice breathing out for 40 and in for 20 seconds.
5. This being attained, practice breathing out for 20, in for 10, holding the breath for 30 seconds.When this has become perfectly easy to you, you may be admitted for examination, and should you pass, you will be instructed in more complex and difficult practices.
6. You will find that the presence of food in the stomach, even in small quantities, makes the practices very difficult.
7. Be very careful never to overstrain your powers; especially never get so short of breath that you are compelled to breathe out jerkily or rapidly.
8. Strive after depth, fullness, and regularity of breathing.
9. Various remarkable phenomena will very probably occur during these practices. They must be carefully analysed and recorded.
Mental Concentration
The mental work that should be undertaken is aimed at stilling the mind and enabling concentration to be improved, Pete Caroll in “liber Null” says
“Begin to withdraw the mind from any thoughts which arise. The attempt to do this inevitably reveals the mind to be a raging tempest of activity. Only the greatest determination can win even a few seconds of mental silence, but even this is quite a triumph. Aim for complete vigilance over the arising of thoughts and try to lengthen the periods of total quiescence.”
The use of the Five tattwas can be of great use here they are : a black oval; a blue disk; a silver crescent ( on its back); a yellow square; a red triangle. Each symbol should be used for a period of no longer than a week to prevent an imbalance. Simply stare at the symbol and try and constrain the mind to that image. At first the image should be sought with the eyes closed. With practice it can be projected onto any blank surface.
More detailed instruction can be found in Crowley’s “Magick in theory and practice, Pete carol in Liber Null states that:- “Any simple shape, such as a triangle, circle, square, cross, or crescent, is chosen and held in the mind's eye, without distortion, for as long as possible. Only the most determined efforts are likely to make the imagined form persist for any time. At first the image should be sought with the eyes closed. With practice it can be projected onto any blank surface. This technique is the basis of casting sigils and creating independent thought forms. “
Sound and Mantra work
“The part of the mind in which verbal thoughts arise is brought under magical control by concentration on sounds mentally imagined. Any simple sound of one or more syllables is selected, for example, Aum or Om, Abrahadabra, Yod He Vau He, Aum Mani Padme Hum, Zazas Zazas, Nasatanada Zazas. “
“Pete Caroll- Liber Null”
A mantra can be used to aid concentration and can help the student to uncover a deeper state of Gnosis. When using a mantra start off by muttering it slowly and quite loudly after 20 or so repetitions decrease the volume but increase the speed, then gradually increase the speed but decrease the volume until the lips are not moving and only a mental repartitions remains racing in the brain. After the desired amount of time has elapsed slowly in the same manner decrease the speed and increase the volume.
While these procedures seam basic and very simple their importance really cannot be overstated and any magician who is serious and worth his salt must spend time performing this work, the rest of the techniques of magic are hinged on these basics.
You may be thinking that these can be bypassed of that you have been performing them for a while now already. If this is the case and can provide us with six months of notes and magical record then we will be willing to discuss your grade of neophyte.
