The Codex of the Magician - BOEL - Mystery School for the Study of Qabbalah, Magic and the Western Mystery Tradition

The Codex of the Magician

This text is an excerpt from the forthcoming book “

High Magic in the Western Mystery Tradition

” by Salomo Baal-Shem. Salomo Baal-Shem asserts his moral right to be indentified as the only author of this work. Including the right of reproduction in whole or part in any form. The text of this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form of by any means, electronic or otherwise be lent, resold, hired out or circulated without the consent of the Author/Publisher in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on any subsequent purchaser.

The following four rules of conduct distinguish the true student of the mysteries. In all circumstances of life in which he is not sure how to act these guidelines can point him the way. In the opinion of the author every student of the mysteries should seek to make these rules the basis of their life.

It is NOT the purpose of this codex to tell the students how to live their lives, but it is a set of four advices which every student can accept or reject according to their personal ability of discrimination. (To adopt these guidelines blindly would, actually, contradict the second rule!) Each and every student should consider carefully by using his ability of discernment how to implement these guidelines.

1. The true magician considers himself a part of the universe and an instrument of God. He ever aspires to fulfil his task within the cosmic whole with unreserved dedication. First and foremost, he is a servant of the Light.

The magician is never inattentive or mindless, and he recognises his chances for spiritual growth even in everyday activities by practicing to perform them in presence of mind and with dedication to the Light. He takes advantage of the moment and is centred in the present. In all situations of life he strives to serve the Light, be it on the path of the hearth-fire¹, in the interaction with our fellow human beings or in spiritual work. The higher task of his life is always in his mind and he approaches each new experience in joy.

He is not lethargic nor does he neglect the practical exercises in the mysteries, but he improves steadily his spiritual education to be able to fulfil his task. He also has patience and endurance because he knows that he has to keep on learning all his life.

By relinquishing his egoism² he becomes a channel for higher powers and the forces of the universe may operate through him, helping him in all his works and deeds.

By relinquishing his personal confinedness he acquires the ability to perceive the course of events intuitively and to act in accordance with the Divine Plan.

2. The true magician uses his keen mind and his precise power of observation to constantly improve his knowledge about himself and the universe. In doing so he uses the principle of discrimination to tell right from wrong. He views everything with honesty and sincerity and his thoughts, judgements, words and deeds are always characterized by truthfulness.

He always strives to form a personal opinion based on his own cognition. He scrutinises the reasons for his own decisions. He is very observant and assesses everything soberly and dispassionately. When he has attained further cognition he is always willing to modify his judgement and his opinion accordingly. Above all he endeavours after self-knowledge.

When he has to make a decision in a life situation the scale of which he cannot fully grasp he uses his power of discrimination to estimate which provisional decision would make sense on the basis of what he already knows.³

3. The true magician has has to bring his emotions into equilibrium. He must not abandon himself to the qlippotic (i.e. unbalanced) powers of fear, rage, hate, grief, envy and greed and he must not be influenced by them. Instead he is motivated by divine enthusiasm (euphoria) deriving true daring thereof and living live to the fullest extent.

He may overcome any negative feeling through inner balance and divine euphoria - the most powerful of all emotions. He considers painful experiences and difficulties in life or in his spiritual training to be tests given by God to be solved and to learn from them. He accepts the tasks given to him in life and in his spiritual work without complaining or being unhappy, for he knows that there is a deeper meaning within them. He faces strokes of fate intrepidly and in equanimity. No painful experience can bring him out of balance or discourage him from the path of virtue and he does not permit his loyalty to the mysteries to falter.⁴

4. The true magician must be motivated by humanitarianism, benevolence, compassion and respect to his fellow men (and all life forms) and by loyalty to his spiritual group, his teacher and his spiritual ancestors.

His behaviour in all mundane and spiritual matters has to be motivated by a sense of responsibility towards his fellow men. He must not steal from his fellow men nor betray them or lie to them, thereby bringing the mysteries into bad repute and diminishing their reputation, but he always has to act in such a way that he furthers the reputation of the mysteries and brings their principles to fruition. He also has to deal mindfully with nature. The life of everyone he meets and the world in which he lives, becomes a little better, because he is there.

He owes respect and faithfulness to this spiritual group, his tradition, his older fellow students who have led the way, to his teacher and his spiritual ancestors. He considers himself part of a line of tradition of human beings who have kept the fire of the mysteries alive and who have passed it on, and he acts with the awareness and the responsibility of being a part of this tradition. He supports his group and he is thankful that destiny bestowed upon him the grace to be allowed to participate in the teachings of the mysteries. He maintains silence concerning the secrets of the mysteries and his group and when he talks about the mysteries (or about his group) he does so with respect and regard.

In the opinion of the author the true magician should strive to follow these four guidelines in all aspects of his mundane and spiritual life and in doing so he will be a servant of the Light in all his deeds and thus he will live in unison and harmony with the universe.

¹ The path of the hearth-fire is the path of spiritual growth which can be achieved by devotedly and righteously performing our everyday tasks (in our job, household, family etc. ...).

² He should, especially, beware of pride and arrogance.

³ For instance, at the beginning of the spiritual path I may not know whether meditation does actually leads to higher knowledge, but I know that it surely does not do any harm. I also know that many wise men have recommended meditation for this purpose, and I can decide that higher knowledge is desirable. Therefore it might be worth a try to engage myself in meditation, even if I cannot yet be certain.

⁴ This does not mean there might not exist situations in life in which it makes sense to interrupt the spiritual training for some time.

We are an internationally recognized mystery school and magical lodge and offer serious magical training based on the principles of the mystical Qabbalah (Kabbalah, Kabbala, Kabala), Hermetic magic and the Western Mysteries. Magical training in an authentic mystery school (or magic school, and/or magical order) of the Western Mystery Tradition is the spiritual and mystical preparation for initiation of the student of the mysteries. Like every true magical lodge or magic school and every true Hermetic order we take training in magic very seriously. We stand in the spriritual tradition of the Rosicrucians and do not only teach the ancient ritual magic (or ceremonial magic), the Egyptian magic, the Celtic magic and the Greek Mysteries, but also the classical pillars of the Hermetik Tradition such as astrology and Tarot.