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On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:01:27 -0700 (PDT), Kisai <...@gmail.com
*IB* continues his tour by introducing the reader to the power of
symbols in magic: aural, visual, and kinesthetic.
*IB* begins with the etymology of the word 'tantra' and delves a bit
into the history of Tantric Buddhism. Unfortunately, in doing so he
compares the spread of Mahayana Buddhism to Roman Catholicism which is
like comparing the proliferation of the useful herb of garlic in the
world to the voracious spread of the nutria in the southeast wetlands
of the United States. Despite some wacky sects, Buddhism grew in the
accepting soil of Hinduism and generally doesn't try to usurp other's
religions. Roman Catholicism grew from the doctrine of oppressed
monotheists and developed as a substitute government during turbulent
times.
Next, *IB* introduces mantra and the importance of names in magical
tradition. He mentions the myth of Isis wrangling magic from Ra by
finagling his true name from him. He also mentions the secret name of
YHVH, Sumerian mythology, and Rumplestiltskin. He then talks about
Kabbalah's love of names and grimoires as well.
*IB* exposits at length on mantra's, but unf., doesn't seem to get
exactly anywhere. He seems to hold the opinion that the mantra itself
is important, but its pronunciation is not, useful only for invoking a
trance (which is then used for magical action) and that mantras are
very much like political slogans that the hoi-polloi use as a
substitue for rational thought. My problem with his simplistic
thinking is that it should be rather easy to develop a mantra from his
methods for say mass domination of the public mind, but it is not.
People have feelings and they use words to express those feelings, but
its in the feelings, not the words, where the power lies over the
minds of the people. As for the use of mantra in magic, IMHO, its
merely a way to shut down the rational mind. As for the power of
names, well, that discussion should be reserved for a historical
analysis (like _The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice_).
For the remainder of the chapter, *IB* postively flies through with
scant descriptions of visual symbols, kinesthetics, visualisations,
drugs (by _trained users_, mind you... kids at home), trance,
hypnosis, and a whopping six paragraphs on chakras. Each subject
deserves books and books of attention, so I shan't go into further
detail here.
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