6.1 Phase I Work Effort

      The primary objective of this phase of effort is to transform myself from a normal, professional, social citizen into an efficient practitioner of the Occult Sciences. The basic mechanism to be used to effect this transformation will be to concentrate on one Tarot Trump for a week at a time. The twenty-four weeks comprising the six months of Phase I will therefore allow for twenty-two weeks to focus for a week on each Trump, and two weeks for documentation.

Task A - Analytical Thinking and General Knowledge

The more important tables of correspondence in Crowley's "777" will be memorized. This will include, but will not be limited to: Egyptian Gods, Roman Gods, Greek Gods, precious stones, perfumes*, plants, animals, legendary beings, Magical weapons, letters of the English Alphabet, parts of the human body, the King Scale of Color, the Queen Scale of Color, the Prince Scale of Color, and the Princess Scale of Color.

The mythological characters associated with each Trump will be studied on a weekly basis. For example, during the first week when The Fool is under scrutiny, Bacchus, Baphomet, and Sebek will be three of the various mythological images to be studied.

Task B: Artistic Creativity

Art work will be focused on a weekly basis around the Tarot Trump under study. Forms and colors will be in accord with the correspondences in "777" and the content of Crowley's Tarot Trumps.

Task C: Meditation

Three one-half hour practice sessions each day for five days a week will be performed. Monu Sadhu's books "Concentration" and "Meditation" and Crowley's "Book Four" will be used to structure the exercises.

Task D: Ritual Magick

A general purification ritual to effect the transformation of my being from a physicist to an Occult Scientist will be performed. The other four tasks will of course be a part of this ritual, but Task D will include a conscious awareness to specifically encourage the required transformation. Diet, exercise, social and familial interactions, and my general pattern of behavior will conform to the objective of effecting this transformation.

Task E: Parapsychology

A record will be maintained of any events which may possibly be classified as parapsychological in character. There should be a tendency** for such events to begin to manifest with increasing frequency as Phase I proceeds. One of the primary utilizations of psychic experiences in the initial phases of the research program will be to aid me in training myself to perceive the boundary conditions associated with synchronistic phenomena in order to be prepared for the possible necessity of constructing rituals in the latter phases of the program which are specifically designed to produce psychic events (see Section 5.5).

Task F: Documentation

An interim report and briefing will be prepared and delivered.

*My collection of perfumes almost completely satisfies the requirements of the 34 categories (22 Tarot Trumps plus 2 Trumps which do double duty plus 10 Sephiroth = 34) of "777".

**I am fully aware of the problems associated with biasing the interpretation of observations as a function of expectation.