Schema
We are all, every day, surrounded by a universe of mystery.
Naturally, there are some small mysteries that we manage to solve, some subjective truths that we uncover. We create a smaller world for ourselves, full of things we think we understand, and try to block out what we cannot understand. Most of us wake up in the morning, though living by day and sleeping by night might not accommodate our inner selves. As it is difficult to conceive of the world's bounty as possible breakfast options, we reach for the socially approved "breakfast foods". We work for money so that we may buy the things we need to exist, only occasionally wondering why money exists in the first place.
Forcing order out of chaos, however, can only succeed so long and so far before it inevitably fails. As we live, we also know we will eventually die. This inevitability compels us to seek some explanation of what happens after death; hypotheses on the unknown. Our homes get flooded, our towns rocked by earthquakes, our islands pummeled by hurricanes, and we cannot help but acknowledge a power truly beyond our reckoning. We look at the earth and each other, and wonder just how we all got here in the first place, what we're doing here, and how much longer will it all last.
All religions are essentially means of "understanding" the great unknown. As it is an unknown, we can never be certain of one religion's validity over another. In a way, we are all reaching out to that which is beyond us, in a way that suits us. Agere is no different from other paths in this respect. It is a path by which practitioners attempt to determine their place in the universe.
And so it comes down to this:
There was the one, there is the one, there shall always be the one. Yet the one falls into many forms and divisions.
Know that in the beginning, there was one being, and the one being was everything in the universe. And now, though we think there are many beings in the universe, all of us and everything unique, but still, we are all part of the one.
As humans, it is difficult for us to fully comprehend the one universality. It is, in fact, beyond human comprehension until that time the human spirit is freed from the physical body.
Acknowledge this, and do not claim to be able to conceive the inconceivable. Know that it exists in every one of us, and rejoice and celebrate in knowing of our oneness with it. There is but one universal force, one ylem. Its existence is known, and felt, and revered, and loved. It is called by many names and believed to exist in many forms, and is sometimes objectified or categorized. But it is all one.
Guidelines
It is virtually impossible to lay down any kind of guidelines for a path which divides into as many paths as there are individuals. Ultimately, the best path has but one follower.
You must first know yourself. None can define this, nor can anyone tell you how this must be done.
You must know within yourself.
Also part with the notion that you will be celebrating your path with lots of other like- minded folk. We are individuals. To be among us, you must simply walk among us. Don't join or cleave.
We believe in perspective as everything. There is no ultimate truth, and no concrete good and bad. You must choose wisely.
Magic is instinctive. It must come from within you. You must be able to sense what needs be done at any time, and how to do it. No book ever written can unleash the power of instinct.
Your will has the power to destroy you. Dedicate yourself to the training of your will.
Let all your doing be for the doing's sake. Seeking reward only reaps disappointment.
Revival is useless. Know the past, but live in the present.
Seek to attune yourself with the rhythms of nature, and with the life force of the universe which is everything and us all.
Seek to live in harmony with the natural world and with your fellow beings. Believe that the best followed path is that of the least resistance.
The universal life force can be though of as the divinity. Though it is those entities that we, as human beings, do not perceive to be alive, still it is the lifeforce. There is nothing that is not this life force.
There is but one being in the universe.
Power lies within you, and does not come from symbols or tools. You may need such external cues to evoke that power within yourself. Thus is the journey from outer confidence to inner confidence to be undertaken.
Use what external cues you like, so long as you keep in mind that you do not need them.
Acknowledge the interaction between what appears to us to be this universe and other planes, for all does not exist in a linear fashion.
The universe is constantly changing.
Acts of evocation effect change.
Here ends The Pandect.
Chapter Six
A Simple Magical System Agere promotes the practice of magic as mentioned in The Pandect. However, the type of magic used is not of the high ceremonial nature, nor is it tool-oriented play acting. This magical system is no ornate set of rules and fancy practices.
Magic is the art of affecting change through concentration. It is necessarily a spiritual act which requires evocation, or the tapping of an inner divinity.
Consider the following paradigm:
EVOCATION----------=Reaching Within----------------------=Magic INVOCATION---------=Reaching Without--------------------=Prayer
That is, for these purposes consider prayer to be the reaching out to a power beyond the self to affect change. In magic, one turns within to contact that power.
There is no secret to the practice of magic. You must simply feel strongly enough about what changes you want to affect or make (from becoming more alluring to your choice of gender to simply giving thanks for an incredible bit of luck) than when you evoke, when you touch the ylem within you, the power of your passion will work for you.
And now, more on evocation.
Evocation is the central concept of this magic. In all reality, there's not much point to magic without it. It is both an easy and difficult concept to get.
For starters, please imagine:
A rain drop falling into a puddle
A stick of wood being consumed by a fire
Several candles melting together into a pool of wax
In each of these instances, an individual object becomes part of a greater whole. Now imagine a film of each of these events. You run the film backwards, so that the individual object emerges from the whole.
This is the basic concept of evocation. You are attempting to reunite your divine self --that part of you beyond the physical self-- with the greater divine being all around you.
As opposed to invocation, which is an appeal to a higher power, evocation summons the divine self from within to join with the greater universal being. Yes, you are divine all of the time. You do not become divine for a few minutes, and then have it disappear until your next evocation. However, we are not always aware of this inherent connection to the extent that evocation can bring us. This awareness-- the euphoria of actualizing our universality, if even for a few moments- -is what evocation is all about.
Evocation is both simple and difficult at the same time. If you are in the proper mindset and you have achieved comfort with the notion, you can perform evocation at any time. All you need is to feel yourself fall away. However, it cannot be done while the mind is laden with mental baggage. If you are preoccupied with being John Smith or Jane Doe, your evocation will not be as successful as if you are able to let go of the shell.
You may require some physical cue to help you in your evocation. Candles, incense, flowers, tea, a favorite tree, a spot by a running stream--your cue can be anything which triggers evocation within you. There are no right or wrong cues.
Chapter Seven
Meditation The final aspect of spiritual practice in Agere is meditation. The following are brief phrases and sayings to assist you in your meditation. Some of these are teachings of the Buddha, others are the works of Buddhist monks; and still others are original.
To use these. simply choose one to your liking. Focus on it. Concentrate. As you repeat the words in your mind, develop an image, feel a sensation that you associate. Let your mind become the meditation.
There is no right or wrong way to use these. I cannot tell you what they are supposed to mean.
Discover for yourself.
Earth, air, water, sun
We are all, and all is one As the leaves of the tree and petals of the flower
I too am one with the divine power
Clothe me in the fabrics that do not exist
I see with my own eyes
But I do not see with them
Be like the ocean that births no waves
Be awake
Let your mind be so full of love
that it may pervade the world
Perfume compares not to the fragrance of virtue
If you cannot find a friend, travel alone
Even a good thing isn't as good as nothing
White clouds hold lonely rocks in their embrace
Scoop up water, and the moon is in your hands
The ten directions are without walls
The four quarters are without gates
The flute without holes is the most difficult to blow
Sun and moon cannot illuminate it completely
Heaven and earth cannot cover it entirely
Though we're born of the same lineage
we don't die of the same lineage Last year's poverty was not real poverty
But this years poverty is poverty indeed
The instant you speak about a think you have missed the point
Author's Note Agere exists independently of any other organization or denominational group, including the Coven of the Knowing Raven. Members may be ordained clergy in other denominations which are not affiliated with Knowing Raven. Please respect our right to existence, as we respect and defend yours.
Anyone regardless of creed is welcome among the ambiguous membership of Agere. Having completed reading the Book of Agere and thoroughly understood its contents, you may consider yourself clergy, in as much as such a thing exists.
Wisdom be with you.
--The Reverend Raven Standingstone
May, 1994
