3.2 Artistic Creativity

      Expressing God forms in some creative medium is essential to learning the art of invocation and evocation (see Section 3.4, Ritual Magick).

      Any creative medium can serve as a viable framework within which to express relationships between God forms and structures within the given creative medium. For example, a pianist who wanted to evoke Abraxas* would meditate on Crowley's XVIth and XIth Tarot Trumps, study Crowley's discussion of these Trumps in his Book of Thoth, and study various sources on the mythological framework within which Abraxas resides. Since the name Abraxas was coined by Basilides, the pianist would become deeply involved in the study of the historical surroundings of the Egyptian Gnostics as well as the general structure of their pantheon. Also, the pianist would construct an original piece of music which was characteristic of the feelings he was acquiring about Abraxas. As an aid to help him create this piece of music he would study various pieces of music which he thought were germane to the character of Abraxas.

      A dancer would go through a process similar to the pianist by developing a dance which was to her characteristic of Abraxas. For both of these individuals, however, an abstract/symbolic artistic ability would greatly aid the evocation process. The reason for this is twofold. First, one common characteristic of most highly successful encounters with Gods is the phenomenon of visual hallucination, and one of the most powerful mechanisms for transforming the rational mind into the proleptic/analeptic space (see "The White Goddess," Robert Graves, p. 342, 343) where hallucinations readily manifest is abstract/symbolic art. Second, abstract/symbolic art is a very direct and economical medium for recording one's feelings about God forms.

      It is absolutely necessary for students of the Occult to have at least one creative medium within which to express their feelings about the Gods. Abstract/symbolic art is a medium in which it is relatively easy to develop an effective creative ability. "The Thinking Eye" by Paul Klee, and the works of Piccaso and Albert Speare are very good sources to study while developing an abstract/symbolic artistic capability.

*See pages XXV through XXVIII of "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" by Manley P. Hall, and various references to Abraxas in E. A. Wallis Budge's "Amulets and Talismans".