Why should you study and practice Magick? Because you can't help doing it, and you had better do it well than badly. - AC, MWT:2
I don’t believe in hiding my mistakes. Assumptions of infallibility lead to stagnation. I do not deny my error, neither do I attempt to clear the record of all evidence of my mistakes. I will, however, make notes on prior posts to indicate that there are errors and where corrections can be found. This records the evolution of thought and progress of the thing involved.
The goal of occultism is, in my estimation, perfection. Perfection is (most likely) unattainable. The moment we achieve, or come close to, perfection, our new clarity of vision allows us to see flaws in our original conception. From this we can formulate a new goal. By admitting our mistakes, we can thereby rectify them, and thus become one step closer to perfection. Rejoice in those who correct you, for they are aiding you in your quest for perfection. [One should differentiate between someone disagreeing with you and proving that you are wrong. Test the spirits of the corporeal as well as those summoned to your circle.]
That being said, let me get to the point of this post. While I have been studying, and practicing, Thelemic ritual for some time, they tended to move in bursts and spurts. I committed the various rituals to memory and continued on. Sadly, it seems that the fallow periods caused me to forget some elements and when I started up again, my brain filled in the forgotten pieces. Some of these were probably correct, but many were wrong. This can be evidenced by the various addenda and errata I have had to make for the various articles I have posted. Over the past year or so, I have been performing these rituals daily and their errors have become more pronounced. People would come and drop information that clarified points. The frustration of being corrected has caused me to refer to the source documents again and again.
This brings me to the first point, constantly review the source material. Liber O is invaluable. Any ritual not there can be found on the web. Check multiple versions to ensure that you aren’t finding some strange variant. This is especially important if one has taken a hiatus. Reverify to make sure you haven’t regressed to prior misconceptions and bad habits. Make notes and use them. When I start a new ritual, I type it up and set it with my collection for reference during my practices. Eventually, it will be committed to memory and then it goes into an inactive pile which is available “just in case”.
So, to sum up, I apologize to any and all of you who may have been led astray by my errors. Please look forward to corrected versions being written.
