When someone tries to figure out the history of the Holy Guardian Angel in the Western Occult traditions, it's a lot like trying to excavate the Valley of Kings with a spoon. I tried it a few times over the years, but I never felt confident going back any further than Plato's Timaeus dialogue. I really felt completely out of my depth going back any further.
Fr. Acher started looking into it after some comments we exchanged about the HGA and Evil Daimon on this post back a few months ago. After much research, he's begun to publish his results. If you're an HGA aficionado, it's a very good read so far. I'm looking forward to future installments.
I had a little trouble figuring out that you click the morphing image to get to the articles at first, so here's some short cut links for technofeebs like myself:
Head for the Red: The ongoing adventures and insights of a magician's attempts to accomplish the Great Work.
I've been looking forward to reading this. Thank you for providing the quick links. I also just saw Fr. Archer's response to me on a previous post of yours. At the moment, I'm a bit tired and will need to re-read Fr. Archer's excellent post to process it more clearly, but I do intend to post a response of my own.
ReplyDeleteYou have both been incredibly helpful on my journey in ways I don't think either of you yet comprehend.
Thanks, RO - especially for the good discussion we had here when you posted on the Daimon Trap initially.
ReplyDeleteThe next chapter on Zoroastrianism is almost 80% done. I am currently digging into additional literature to cross-reference my initial findings. Should be out in early March... Let's continue to good conversation.
Oh, and I fixed the sidebar menu, thanks for the hint. The navigation should now work much easier on the page itself.
@Rose, you've totally reciprocated in the journey-improvement department. You've personally inspired one of my future projects aimed at helping military-induced PTSD victims. It was going to be focused on PTSD caused by guns and explosions and people actively trying to kill you personally, but you've demonstrated there are other things than just war that cause PTSD in soldiers. The basic goal is to harmonize Mars and Venus in the Sun, creating a solar framing experience... anyway, I'll take that part off line and talk to you about it some other time if you're interested. I just wanted you to know you also impact those who have impacted you. :)
ReplyDelete@Fr. Acher, Zoroastrianism is why I stopped looking back for older roots of the HGA. I couldn't (quickly and easily) find anything useful using Google, and what I had found in the Neoplatonics, GMP, and Plato were working well together to grant access to the Supernatural Assistant. I focused my attention on developing a rite and formal framework based on that information, and sort of quit researching.
One of the more interesting things I found in the research I did was how the "HGA" entity got more and more practical the further back you go. The emphasis on bringing an Eastern Mysticism type of enlightenment and transcendence we see today can be seen in the proto-HGAs, if you squint at it in the right light, but their primary function was to provide the ways and means to accomplish Thaumateurgical ends, with their Theurgical/psychopomp aspects present but less emphasized.
Jake Stratton-Kent's Geosophia and True Grimoire have shown me how much more information is available on the ancient past than I suspected. I'm hoping your work provides similar insight into the Zoroastrian occulture.
I too am very interested to see your Zoroastrian section. I am enjoying your series thus far. Great stuff.
ReplyDelete@RO, thank you. To know my work and my journey has helped to inspire you is awesome. I've worked hard for myself, but am incredibly stoked others are inspired as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes I am very interested your project, especially as described; a solar framing experience. Yes... you bet! Feel free to email me whenever you have the time.
RO - fully agree to your observation. If 'transcendence vs. pragmatism' were forming a single dimension than there was a clear shift in focus over the millennia - increasingly from the latter towards the former.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think this is in line with Jake's findings in Geosophia with regards to celestial and chthonic cults and how these evolved over time?
However, I guess thinking of these two as a single dimension is highly misleading... It's as if you think you can either be in Malkuth or Kether at any point in time? The real power lies in bringing them together.
Indeed Zoroastrianism is a very rich ground for understanding our current concept of the HGA indeed. I am just learning this as we speak and it is absolutely fascinating to study.
More to come.
Hi all,
ReplyDeletejust to let you know - the Third Part of the series finally saw the light. This one is exploring the HGA among the Zoroastrians. A real wealth of material to be explored and discovered here - and clearly an important source for the ideas we have about this topic until today.
Here is the direct link: http://www.myoccultcircle.com/hga-zoroastrians/
LVX, Acher