A note on my metaphysics. At the top of the tree are Values. Values has two items underneath it, Religion and Art. These are cultural interpretations of the values held by that culture — or, the manifestation of these values in the world within a specific socio-political grouping. Note that they reinforce and influence each other. Below Religion is Politics. As Schmitt says, political theories are merely secularized theology. To put it differently, one’s conception of the eternal will obviously determine one’s conception of the temporal. Below Politics are Morals. These are the day to day impulses which comprise the culturally contextualize definition of a “good” person.
The magician operates in the realm of Values, or should. He often utilizes Art and the trappings of Religion, but the difference between a Magician and a Mystic is that the Magician operates within the realm of Values directly. This, I think, is why Crowley warned against Religion and Mysticism.
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This is not a part of the writing.
Values
| +——————————+
Religion Art
|
Politics
|
Morals
Tao Teh Ching #38 (excerpt)
Therefore, the Tao is lost, and then virtue
Virtue is lost, and then benevolence
Benevolence is lost, and then righteousness
Righteousness is lost, and then etiquette
Those who have etiquette
are a thin shell of loyalty and sincerity
And the beginning of chaos
(Translation by Derek Lin)
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