DE MATRIMONIUM ET RECONCILIATIO INTER INGENIUM ET MOTUS
ET FRUCTUS CONIUNCTIO SUUM
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Balance has lately become the object worthy of much controversy
within the Oasis recently. Hod and Netzach, Intellect and
Emotion: in particular. And much good advice was given as to
how to co-exist with people of one or the other preference. It
is an important issue for many good reasons. One of which that
Hod could be seen as Law and Netzach as Love.
I have been distressed by statements like: "practical Magick is,
by nature, a Hod activity". I disagree in this wholeheartedly.
Crowley's interpretation of Magick is as follows: "The Science
and Art of causing change to occur in conformity with Will".
Science being attributed to Hod and Art to Netzach. Meditation
on the Art Tarot card will reveal this and many other mysteries.
While Magick has alot to offer to those who are adept in
Mathematics, Geometry, Qabalah, Astrology, etc., it has just as
much to offer to those who move instinctively and are sensitive
to the energies and images around them, those adept at Tarot,
Iching, and other methods of divination. They rely not so much on
the Hod activity we call "Intellectual Knowledge", but trust on
the inner voice of the Beloved to guide them through life.
While things like Musick sound great when played properly it must
be remembered that Musick is a Netzach function, those who allow
the musick to move them through their emotions are much better
musicians than those who have attempted to turn it into a
mathematical procedure. Sometimes a "mistake" sounds better than
the way in which the piece was written. The best known musicians
are those who dared to defy the laws of musick and create
something totally new. If nobody dared to deviate from the norm
from fear of breaking tradition I am afraid that music would be
rather boring.
Balance is the basis of the Work. Those of us who are
intellectual by nature, should aspire to use this Hod function to
stimulate the emotional aspects of Netzach. Failing to do so
would make us cold, calculated and calloused, incapable of
feeling the subtle energies stimulated by our Magick. Nothing
more than a thinking machine, unable to hear The Voice within
because we feel it is beyond logic. We would be lost in Its
simplicity.
On the other hand, those of us who are of an emotional nature
should use this Netzach purpose and employ it to stir the
discriminating genius within us all. Should we fail to
accomplish this task we would become nothing more than foolish
idiots, gullible to the point of abuse and superstitious to the
level schizophrenia. We would not recognize The Voice of The
Beloved or the intricacy of His language, thereby falling prey to
the Demons of deceit.
Per chance what is needed is for those who are
Intellectually inclined to lend a helping hand and help those
who are having a difficult time expressing the Hod aspects
of Magick. Maybe making the time to help a fellow Brother or
Sister would be a positive step in opening the heart?
And perhaps those who are Emotionally responsive should take the
time to touch those who are having difficulty displaying their
emotions. Just reach out and hold them an extra few seconds the
next time you give them the famous Thelemic bear-hug we greet
each other with. Acknowledge that it is more than a habit we
have gotten into.
It is far more important to have Hod/Netzach balanced people in a
group, than to have a group balance by people who are either Hod
or Netzach. Thelema is primarily concerned with the growth of
the individual. Any group that is genuinely connected to the
Universal Order is a vessel capable of distributing Knowledge and
Wisdom to its members; if the emphasis is removed form the
individual and focused on the group, forgetting that it exists
solely for the service of the aspirant, it will soon become an
empty vessel.
